NEANY has expanded its partnership agreement with Visual Intelligence to deploy Visual Intelligence’s iOne M+ 108 megapixel metric mapping system in NEANY’s flagship unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Arrow. NEANY will utilize the iOne M+ system for large area high-resolution geospatial imaging for both military and commercial applications.

NEANY’s Arrow is an unmanned aircraft that is suitable for both military and commercial operations where dependability and extended endurance are required. The Arrow is an efficient, cost-effective solution with integrated payloads supporting a variety of global missions. These include homeland defense and security, border and port patrol, urban mapping, counter-narcotics applications, disaster preparedness, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). The Arrow is equipped with a 6-megabit TCP/IP data-link for disseminating valuable real-time intelligence, video, and situational awareness data. The Arrow’s fifteen cubic foot payload bay is the largest in its class and can accommodate sensor packages weighing just over two hundred pounds. The Arrow is built using over ninety-percent commercially available (COTS) parts making it a low-cost and easily sustained operational asset.

The iOne M+ allows aerial imaging companies to capture a larger footprint faster and at a lower cost than competing products. This combination makes the iOne sensor systems the most cost effective solution in the industry. The iOne M+ has larger than Medium format, a footprint of 12,500 x 8,592 pixels, and near infrared (NIR) capability. It can generate orthoimages and imagery ready for exploitation in color and multispectral 4-band with extremely high geometric accuracy. Weighing in at less than 20 pounds, Visual Intelligence has optimized iOne M+ system for multiple forms of aircraft including UAVs like NEANY’s Arrow. The iOne M+ is based on Visual Intelligence’s patented and award-winning iOne Sensor Tool Kit Architecture (STKA), a next generation open systems COTS software/hardware foundation for high performing, multi-purpose 2D-3D geo-imaging sensors for aerial, terrestrial and mobile applications.

“NEANY is on the forefront of expanding the applications of UAVs for both military and commercial applications, and our Arrow vehicle is an optimal platform for advanced imaging technology like Visual Intelligence’s iOne IMS system,” said Steven Steptoe, President and CEO of NEANY. “This is another breakthrough on several fronts. In the past, this kind of advanced geospatial imaging sensor has only been available in large formats suitable for larger aircraft. However, Visual Intelligence has successfully miniaturized it for unmanned vehicles. Additionally, as the commercial market matures these kinds of sensors will no longer be employed exclusively for military use and we see numerous opportunities for deploying this technology for commercial clients. The Arrow and iOne M+ combination is a powerful sensing solution for meeting the needs of commercial industries.”

“The geospatial industry is entering a new era that is seeing a dramatic increase in the number of ways advanced sensors are used as well as an enormous expansion in the range of environments where they are deployed,” said Visual Intelligence CEO and President Dr. Armando Guevara. “UAVs are one of the most exciting areas for the use of high-resolution metric imaging sensors. Visual Intelligence has taken a leading role by designing metric miniaturized sensors for use in non-traditional ways, including UAVs, smart phones, engineering, precision building interior mapping and more. NEANY continues to revolutionize by recognizing the value of having these advanced sensors on unmanned aircraft, and they are doing very exciting things with the technology. Not only are they supporting our troops in war zones to safely and efficiently gather geointelligence, but the door to other areas including homeland security, law enforcement, wildfire mapping, precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, disaster preparedness/response and much more. We are proud to have NEANY as a partner, and we look forward to our continued close work with them for years to come.”