Punta Gorda, Fla. --
The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) members from Southwest Florida who serve on the Rapid-Response Reconnaissance teams deployed for state’s emergency management team have adopted a motto which reflects the need for a high-level of adaptability to complete their mission. They are trained to follow in the wake of disasters and gather vital data which will guide the decision-making process for statewide response efforts. The Airborne Digital Imaging System (ADIS) carried to capture and relay images is the product of a project team comprised of Group Five members who share the same ability to be adaptable in pursuit of their mission.
In early 2007, the Charlotte County government approached the local CAP squadron concerning a project to provide aerial reconnaissance for post hurricane and tornado damage assessment, missing person searches, environmental surveys of flooding and brush fires, and record affects other natural and man-made activities.
The squadron has enjoyed a long history with the county and had worked with them on previous projects including the making of a pictorial record of the Gulf Coast shoreline before and after major storms to help determine the extent of coastal erosion. The latest proposed project would require making digital images of much of the entire county, over 700 square miles at a resolution that would give detail for features as small as five inches in size. In addition, the county requested that each photograph be uniquely identified and geographically referenced using coordinates from satellites in the Global Positioning System (GPS).
The Charlotte County Composite Squadron members realized that such an undertaking would require a sophisticated suite of hi-tech equipment. A project team was formed and began to study the advanced technology that CAP was already employing for missions. They focused on the specifications for the Satellite Digital Imaging System (SDIS) to determine the best choice for camera equipment, laptop computer, and GPS receiver. However problems began to surface with regards to choosing the right data uplink for the system. It became apparent that the satellite uplink had limitations in the bandwidth of the satellite modem and there were problems with reliability due to the fact that the relay service from the satellite was rapidly deteriorating from the effects of solar radiation.
The project team, under the direction of Lt. Col. Edmund H. Smith, Jr. explored available alternatives for the uplink. Colonel Smith drew upon his years of experience with radios before the current era of ‘plug and play’ technology when radio operators often had to design their own equipment. He realized that they needed equipment with a much higher data transmission rate than that offered by the previous slow-scan and satellite-based systems.
Colonel Smith’s team began to focus on the emerging broadband technology and finally came up with a solution using Mobile Broadband. This maintain the ability to transmit photographs from the airplane as with the satellite-based system. “The key factor was the broadband technology offered a baud transmission rate 500 times faster than SDIS while sending images with a much higher resolution”, said Smith, “the only drawback to the plan was that Mobile Broadband is not authorized for use while the transmitter is airborne.”
The resourceful members recognized that the unique geography in the Charlotte County area allows a CAP airplane to be within a 20-minute flight from a hard-surface runway. Several of the local airports feature long runways due to their use as former Air Corps training fields. “This allows the flight crew to take the photos, fly to the nearest hard-surface runway, and in most cases transmit the photos during an extended rollout before becoming airborne once more” said Capt. Earle Bretz, mission rated pilot and Charlotte County Squadron’s public affairs officer. Under this scenario the transmission of images would only be delayed on a few minutes as compared to SDIS and would still allow the image processing phase to begin while the aircrew was airborne gathering more images.
As the project team looked more closely at the proposed broadband system, they realized there would be a substantial cost-savings over the satellite-based system. The county commission ultimately approved the plan and requested that the funds created by the savings on the equipment be used for system operator training flights while imaging key infrastructure, evacuation routes, and coastal barrier islands.
On the ground, sophisticated hardware and software was needed to process the large number of aerial images. With each image recording and area of ground 800 feet x 800 feet, the project would ultimately produce over 50,000 images. Each of these needed to be individually processed before being submitted to the county. This herculean task would require sufficient computing power to handle the demands created by processing large graphics files. An Imaging Processing Computer workstation was acquired for the task. The workstation included high-speed processors, multiple wide-screen monitors, multiple DVD/CD drives, and one terabyte of data storage.
An unexpected benefit was that this workstation is also an excellent platform for use as a flight training device; creating future benefits for both cadet and senior members along with the unit’s aerospace education program.
The ADIS design team completed extensive research to locate commercial software that could support the county’s specifications for the final product. Once the choice was made, the CAP team worked with the software developers to add enhancements to the product in order to meet the mission needs.
The Charlotte County Commission recognized the CAP project team for their ingenious and cost-saving design for the Airborne Digital Imaging System (ADIS). “Having an accurate record of before-and-after high-resolution images can speed the flow of resources and aid in recovery efforts” said Capt. Bretz. The investment of less than $30,000 in equipment and training can translate into millions of dollars down the road for the county seeking funds for disaster recovery.
The commissioners issued a proclamation for March 25th from hence forward to be recognized as Civil Air Patrol Day in Charlotte County. At the presentation of the proclamation, a commission member made a point to talk about CAP's airborne imaging capability.
The imaging system project is a good example how CAP members combine their knowledge and skills with the CAP mission to provide cost-effective solutions that benefit the community at large. It demonstrates how CAP personnel, whether airborne or on the ground, adapt to overcome challenges and proving they truly are citizens serving communities... above and beyond.
For more information on ADIS, contact the Charlotte County Composite Squadron at (941) 639 1711. |
