The aerial camera systems used by IMF’s Photogrammetry and Image Analysis department were developed there both for research purposes and pre-operational use. These systems make it possible to record and immediately process high-resolution aerial images that are used especially for traffic and disaster management. Pre-processed image data and thematic analyses, for example traffic data, are transferred to a mobile or stationary ground station with an integrated microwave data link.
The DLR aerial camera systems were developed and certified for the Cessna (D-FDLR), the Dornier Do 228 212 (D-CFFU), the Dornier Do-228-101 (D-CODE) and for the Bo 105 (D-HDDP) and EC135 (D-HFHS) helicopters of the Eurocopter company.
The hardware configurations for the sensor systems depend on the particular aerial platform. The sensor on the Cessna and on the Do228 is referred to as a 3K system and on the helicopters as a 4k system. At an altitude of 1,000 m above ground and a focal length of 50 mm there is a ground resolution of 13 cm per pixel.
Applications:
Example of a terrain model and orthomosaic of the 3K camera system for the Oktoberfest in Munich
Platform: Eurocopter BO 105, external installation on a multi-purpose carrier
Cameras: 1x Canon EOS 1D-C, 2x Canon EOS 1D-X
Size and weight: 542mm x 869mm x 595mm; 82kg
Coverage / resolution (1000m flight altitude): Image recording: maximal 2560m x 460m; up to 7cm 4k video images: maximal 808m x 424m; up to 13.8cm
Microwave data link (12Mbit/s for distances up to 70km)
Used in disaster-control exercises together with the Bavarian Red Cross and the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance in 2014 and 2015, and for real-time mapping during a mass public event (Wacken Open Air 2016) and a forest fire drill in Catalonia in 2016
