SBIR-STTR Award

NOAA uses large-format aerial film camera systems to collect data for the, monitoring of marine mammal populations protected under the Marine Mammal, Protection Act and the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Historically, the major, users of these cameras and film have been the military and government mapping, agencies. As these users move to newer technology, manufacturers are ending,, or severely cutting back, the production of aerial films and camera repair parts., Consequently, NOAA requires a digital camera system that will deliver high, resolution aerial imagery equivalent to the imagery they currently gather. Aerial, Imaging Solutions proposes to design a multiple digital camera, forward motion, compensated, stabilized mount and control system to fill NOAA’s sampling, needs. The Phase I goal is to develop a prototype that will match or exceed the, image quality and coverage of the venerable film camera systems NOAA now, uses., SUMMARY OF

Anticipated Results:
, At the completion of Phase I, Aerial Imaging Solutions will demonstrate a working, prototype of a turn-key, three-sensor, forward motion compensated, stabilized, digital camera and data collection system

NOAA uses large-format aerial film cameras to collect data for monitoring marine mammal populations protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Historically, the major users of these cameras have been the military and government agencies. As these users move to newer technology, manufacturers are ending the production of aerial films and camera parts. Consequently, NOAA requires a digital camera system that will deliver high resolution aerial imagery equivalent to the imagery they currently gather. In Phase I, Aerial Imaging Solutions designed a multiple digital camera, forward motions compensated mount and control system to fill NOAA’s sampling needs. Additionally, we produced a prototype of the design. The prototype was approved for flight by NOAA’s Aircraft Operations Center and test flown by both the National Marine Mammal Laboratory Steller Sea Lion group and the Southwest Fisheries Science Center Photogrammetry group. The results exceeded all expectations, confirming the feasibility of replacing NOAA’s aerial film cameras with the proposed system. For Phase II, we propose to deliver two commercial-quality FMC mount systems to NOAA researchers. SUMMARY OF

Anticipated Results:
Phase II will produce two fully-operational, commercially viable, forward motion compensated, three digital camera mount and control systems. Aerial Imaging Solutions will also market the mount system to other potential users and will continue to enhance it’s capabilities to keep pace with advances in imaging technology