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Logos Technologies has successfully conducted advanced flight testing of its Redkite wide-area sensor aboard the Insitu Integrator unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The demonstration took place at Boardman in Oregaon United States and now confirms that Redkite could capture stabilized, wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) and successfully stream it to multiple handheld devices on the ground from the payload bay of the tactical Group 3 UAS. This is the second successful airborne test with the Integrator.
Back in February, Logos Technology worked with Insitu to demonstrate that Redkite could handle the launch and in-flight characteristics of Integrator. Now, they have confirmed that Redkite can capture, render and stabilize imagery in real time with its compact, on-board processor, streaming it to the users. The Redkite is compact, lightweight electro-optical system that weighs less than 35lbs and performs at the level of larger WAMI sensors. Redkite monitors a city-sized area in near real-time, simultaneously detecting and tracking multiple, geographically dispersed targets while also recording events for later analysis. Sensor operators can quickly access live or recorded data - establishing connections and relationships between persons of interest that would not otherwise be detected. It comes in two configurations: a platform-agnostic pod for manned and unmanned aircraft and an integrated payload module.
Both versions image over 12 square kilometers at once - detecting, tracking and recording all significant movers within the scene in real time. It also stores up to eight hours of geo-tagged mission data for forensic analysis. When combined with the Integrator, the WAMI system will provide the tactical commander with new intelligence and surveillance resources, delivering real-time imagery straight to the mobile device in his hand.
Redkite’s features include:
- Ultra-lightweight – less than 35lbs
- Coverage of an area up to four kilometers (2.48 miles) in diameter
- Resolution optimized to track vehicles and detect moving dismounts
- Onboard storage of up to eight hours of mission data
- Advanced internal and external data processing options
- Streaming video windows to support more than 10 sensor operators at once
- Imagery that can be transmitted to handheld devices
- User-defined “watchboxes” to provided sensor operators automated detection alerts
Housed in a platform-agnostic pod or a 10-inch gimbal, Redkite can be mounted on a variety of civilian and military platforms. In addition to light planes and helicopters, the sensor can go on small- and medium-sized unmanned aircraft. As such, Redkite lends itself to military, homeland security and public safety missions.
According to RedKite, the next step for the Redkite on Integrator is to further reduce the system weight to allow for full endurance flights. They also plan to test the cross-cueing between Redkite and the onboard full-motion gimbal sensor. For more information, click here.
