NORCROSS, Ga. – Leica Geosystems announced that Fugro Horizons has completed upgrading its four Leica ADS40 airborne digital sensors to the newer Leica ADS80 model. Leica completed the upgrades at its facility in Connecticut, and Fugro has deployed the enhanced sensors for the spring flying season.

“The upgrade enables us to acquire data at higher speeds without losing resolution,” said Paul Harwig, president/managing director of Fugro Horizons.

A global remote sensing, mapping and GIS services firm based in Rapid City, S.D., Fugro Horizons has used the ADS40 digital sensors in nearly all airborne imaging applications over the past several years. These applications include infrastructure planning, agricultural monitoring, engineering, disaster response, property assessment, water resource management and others. “This investment will allow us to better serve the market by operating with increased flexibility, higher productivity and a competitive cost structure,” said Harwig.

The new Leica ADS80 is a large-format digital sensor that offers superior flexibility, productivity, efficiency and reliability. Compared to its ADS40 predecessor, the ADS80 is equipped with a lighter control unit with a greater data throughput rate, allowing for acquisition of higher spatial resolution data at faster airspeeds. The minimum ground sample distance attainable has been improved to 5 cm at 140 knots.

“Thanks to the more compact Control Unit with a lighter data storage device, our ADS80 clients are flying the new sensor in smaller, more fuel-efficient aircraft,” said Jean Gardiner, general manager of the Leica Geospatial Solutions.

The ADS80 Sensor Head 81 upgrade chosen by Fugro Horizons provides four times the light sensitivity of the previous model as well as a better signal-to-noise ratio and 10 percent wider spectral bands (red, green, blue, and near infrared). The result is digital imagery that is much crisper than previously available. Other important ADS80 capabilities include perfectly co-registered multispectral bands and true stereo image collection.