NORCROSS, Ga., 6 June 2012. ORTHOSHOP Geomatics Ltd. bought a second Leica RCD30, an imaging camera from Leica Geosystems Inc., following its purchase of a Leica ALS70 City Mapper (CM) laser scanner and RCD30 camera.
The RCD30 will potentially fulfill three roles for the company. The first role, a two-camera configuration, includes two cameras mounted side-by-side in one aircraft. The RCD30’s controller is designed to control up to five separate camera heads, enabling coverage of a larger swath and achieving greater operational efficiency. Secondly, the additional RCD30 can be mounted on a separate aircraft, so multiple digital acquisition projects can be handled simultaneously. Finally, the additional camera provides equipment redundancy.
“We also seized the opportunity to standardize our operation around the Leica IPAS and FCMS positional, navigation, and sensor control solutions, giving us a coherent approach to all critical project planning and execution elements,” says ORTHOSHOP CEO George Constantinescu. “Our legacy RC30 analog sensors now benefit from the same leading-edge positioning and control technology as our latest digital sensors.”
In Jan. 2012, ORTHOSHOP expanded its airborne acquisition capability with the purchase of the Leica ALS70 LiDAR scanner and RCD30 camera, which were installed together in one aircraft. The firm integrated the two sensors for simultaneous collection of LiDAR point cloud data and metric-quality RGB/NIR imagery.
“With its single-lens, twin sensor design, the RCD30 is a step forward in medium-format camera technology,” says Constantinescu. “It is a true metric camera built from the ground up for mapping, and its attractive form factor means it can be deployed in a wider range of aircraft than most other metric cameras, making it an ideal imaging sensor for its intended niche.”
