Posted on 06/09/2010 6:56:53 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Wholesale gadget site Chinavasion has a product called the RC plane camera that will let you convert your remote-controlled aircraft into an overhead spy camera.
This cylindrical device attaches to your hobby airplane or helicopter and lets you shoot VGA-quality video or photos at 1,280x960 resolution. It probably won't give you the quality military unmanned aerial vehicles are capable of, but hey, capturing aerial views of your neighborhood is still pretty cool.
Why spend money on something like that when almost everyone owns a regular compact digicam? Well, a Canon Ixus or Sony Cyber-shot, however small, will still weigh about 3.5 ounces. This RC plane camera is less than a tenth of an ounce even with the mount factored in, so it's more likely your plane will be able to take off compared with a tacked-on point-and-shoot. Furthermore, you wouldn't want to risk damaging your $200 digicam in case of a crash landing.
The RC plane camera is available for $47.10 and ships internationally from China.
Cool.
A.C.O.R.N look out!
A good thing to have for CWII... of course, even better are good supply [lines & stores] and intelligence.
I like the way you think.
:D - Thank you!
Getting rather pervasive out there.
Can also be used as the steering device for a poor man’s cruise missile, terminal phase. (GPS for ballpark). Could fly right in a window. With a suprise at the end.
Some novelist will probably build a plot around that.
Any guess on which chapter will contain that part of the story :-) Accomplishing that level of terminal performance might require better performance than the average joe can afford. Camera, CPU and avionics need to be pretty good.
Regular RC controllers are good for a little over a mile out. (well beyond the range of visibility)
Getting the live video stream back gets a little tricky.
Amazing how much fun you can have on the cheap.
I would write it to steer GPS for the main flight. Have a spotter on the ground near the target for visual terminal flight. Camera in the nose of course. Marine software COTS already steers to a waypoint, I assume aviation also.
What’s to keep some loon from loading up a Cessna to a Gulfstream with whatever and flying to a GPS point, now that it’s been unencoded down to -1M? Forget the terminal video. No need for a disgruntled former taxpayer or a jihadi to fly himself either. It could be take off, parachute, and the plane does the rest unmanned. COTS, today.
That’s why they are so particular in the DC ADIZ. Among other reasons.
Yep. Technology is very cheap and effective. Anyone can get it. Novelists, of course, can get it, too. :)
Aviation GPS can already fly a plane all the way to the ground with a few meters resolution.
save
Civil War recon ? Terrorist bomb aiming ? Bull. The customers will be paunchy married men wanting to peek at the neighbor lady sunbathing behind the tall hedge.
I was thinking more that certain beaches will have to install air traffic control towers when the weather is warm enough.
I know about the DC issue from a first hand experience. I was testing a high power "wifi" for range. My pilot flew the aircraft from St Mary's airport in Maryland toward DC. We still had good contact with the ground station, but air traffic control was telling the pilot that it was time to go back. We accomplished the desired measurement. I was ready to head back to the airport. The aircraft was poorly pressurized and we had been over 15,000 for an extended period. If I was getting light headed, I'm pretty sure the pilot was as well.
Or AA emplacements.
It’s a lot cheaper for novelists. “All my thrills are vicarious.”
They just increased GPS accuracy again. Somebody is bound to take advantage of it.
At least you didn’t get an Apache escort!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.