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The NZ Army is soon to benefit from an
innovative surveying device that was developed by a New
Zealand company and is being used or trialled by armies
around the world.
An “ike” is a rapid data capture device for mobile
mapping and damage assessment. The device, developed by
Wellington company Surveylab, takes a GPS (global
positioning system) a step further, adding a number of
different measuring systems such as a compass,
inclinometer (pitch and roll sensor), laser distance
meter, digital camera, and computer. |
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For the military, the 1100g
ike is a useful tool for gathering terrain knowledge on
the battlefield. Because there is “one button push” to
capture the data, the ike provides much higher accuracy
than traditional terrain capture methods. It has many
different applications, and is being used in the US, and
is about to be used by the Australian and Canadian
armies for mine mapping, disaster relief, research, and
during deployment. MAJ Herman Hudepohl is involved with
introducing the device into NZDF, initially to the RNZE.
He says that because the collected data can be quickly
transmitted back to a central analysis point, which can
then process the information and send soldiers further
instruction, the device extends the capability and skill
set of people on the ground. “If you get some people on
the ground early on, they take the photos with
geo-reference locations on the images that they have
taken; for example, a power station, a leak, a crash
site or disaster site, and those images can go to a
project team. Then all the experts can sit down and
analyse the situation, and go, ‘right, this is what
needs to happen’, and action it accordingly”, said MAJ
Hudepohl.
An older model of the ike has been used by NZDF in
exercises such as last year’s TasmanEx, when Joint
Geospatial Support Facility (JGSF) used the device to
obtain detailed knowledge of the hydrography of the
Napier harbour and the Port of Napier. Since then,
Surveylab has taken part in a cooperative research and
development project with the US Army to move the device
from a civilian unit to a military device. The new
model, to be purchased by the NZDF, has extended
features such as a longer range laser and a higher
resolution digital camera. It is also now a sand colour,
rather than bright orange. |
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