Under license from Measurement Devices Ltd, the ‘LaserAce’ has been used to full effect in this industry by manufacturers Ag Lasers, based in California, USA and DynaNav Systems Inc, based in Vancouver, Canada. AG Lasers and DynaNav engineers have been able to use the ‘LaserAce’ to develop an in flight vertical height over ground recording and reference system.

The unit (dimensions 4.25 x 2.5 x 1.625 inches with a total weight of less than 12 ounces) is installed on an inspection plate on the underside of an aircraft wing or fuselage of a helicopter. A vertical reference display provides a continuous stream of data on the left hand side of the DynaViz “heads up” display while in the “roadway” guidance mode. This ensures that this critical information is within the pilot’s line of sight at all times and will form part of his normal instrument scanning procedure without distraction. The unit is vertically accurate to within inches and has a height limit of 150 meters or 500 feet above the ground.

Immediate benefits of this new technology will be seen particularly in seeding and fertilizing activities with much improved repetitive deposition accuracies and minimized drift. In addition the unit is currently installed in the U.S. Army’s unmanned aircraft program as part of their guidance systems.

Story compliments of Ag Lasers (Mindrum Precision Inc).

For further information please contact Paul Rivers at privers@mdl.co.uk or call him directly on +44(0) 1904 791 139.

20/12/07 11:07am