[Elphel-support] elphel camera for remote sensing package

[Oleg]

Hello Jo,

I am investigating different remote sensing packages for UAVs and have yet
> to find one that suits the needs that I envision. Many people are taking
> small digital cameras (GoPro and other similar cameras) and strapping them
> onto UAVs and flying them around and mapping the ground, which is
> fantastic, but none of these cameras (as far as I can tell) is generating
> images that can be standardized to each other or to any specific standard
> in general. It would be nice to have an incident light meter on the UAV
> that is measuring incident light and transmitting this incident light
> reading to the cameras so that they have a standard from which to
> reference, this way actual reflectance of objects on the ground could be
> calculated. Also, there are many instances where the dynamic range of the
> image sensor is not great enough to measure all areas of the scene, so if
> an array of cameras could capture the scene at different exposure values,
> these images could be combined in post to generate a floating-point image
> for scientific purposes, and an HDR composited image for human viewing of
> the terrain.
>
I have attached a conceptual image of what the array could look like with
> both Infrared and visible spectrum sensors, even having one camera that is
> incident light referenced would be a huge leap forward from where things
> are now.
>

   - It is possible to have one of the cameras (with autoexposure set to
   -2EV) in the array set the exposures for others. The easiest way is to do
   it through the network - can be done with PHP, for example.
   - The cameras must be synced with one of them act as a trigger source.
   - Mutual orientation is also important.

We might be moving toward this type of
camera<http://blog.elphel.com/2012/10/heptaclops-camera-and-the-393/>
and
maybe have a prototype.

Is a package like this something that Elphel is considering or might
> consider in the future? Miniaturization of current components would be
> required in order to fit an array of even three cameras in most current
> electric RC based UAVs that are available. I think there is a good market
> for a robust and open remote sensing package for UAVs. Just look at how
> well 3dRobotics is doing with their ardupilot boards. One of the most
> discussed topics on the forums is integrating cameras into the different
> aircraft platforms, and how frustrating this is.
>

At the moment the weight for UAV use can be reduced by using the boards w/o
metal bodies/covers or creating a custom lighter body for the array.

By the way, our office is located in West Valley City and you are welcome
to visit us - just give us a call.

Best regards,
Oleg Dzhimiev
Electronics Engineer
phone: +1 801 783 5555 x124
Elphel, Inc.
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