14 DAY TRIAL // UltraCamXp and UltraCamXp Wide Angle (WA) have followed in the footsteps of their predecessors, the UltraCamD and UltraCamX, in receiving the USGS Certification. Microsoft made public the notices received from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) at the ASPRS 2010 conference in San Diego this week. Both megapixel cameras have been available for purchase from Vexcel Imaging, with two UltraCamX sold just this month, one to Valley Air Photos and the other to Strong Engineering.
Existing and future customers of Vexcel Imaging, leveraging UltraCamXp and UltraCamXp WA, now also have the quality guarantee offered by the successful competition of the USGS Sensor Type Certification Process. “The United States Geological Survey (USGS) certifies that the UltraCamD/ UltraCamx camera system manufactured by Microsoft Vexcel Imaging GmbH, of Graz, Austria meets the claims of the manufacturer and is capable of providing quality, consistent image data to support civil government mapping and ortho-photography product development,” an excerpt from the statement provided by USGS reads.
UltraCamXp has been available to customers worldwide since 2008, representing a consistent evolution compared with UltraCamD and UltraCamX, in terms of storage and footprint. The UltraCamXp Wide Angle camera offered for purchase starting in 2009 is designed to allow customers to take advantage of the new shorter focal length lens technology.
Microsoft considers UltraCamXp WA an alternative to UltraCamXp, but tailored to lower flight altitudes, while providing the same ground sample distance (GSD). Both cameras offer 196 megapixels (17,310 across track x 11,310 along track), and a pixel size at 6 micrometers. Customers choosing either of the two products are able to also leverage Vexcel’s UltraMap 2.0 workflow software system, as well as UltraCamX ‘s storage (DXp) and computing (CXp) systems.
“We are very pleased to be able to share this information with the mapping community at the ASPRS Annual Meeting,” Alexander Wiechert, business director of Microsoft and managing director for Vexcel Imaging GmbH, says. “This certification is important for our customers.”