GTS Announces New SAASM Compliant GPS Module for the G700SE-M Tactical GPS Camera
Geo Tactical Solutions (GTS), in collaboration with Ricoh Americas Corp. and Eka Technologies, is in the final stages of development for its new SE-7 GPS module for the Ricoh G700SE-M Rugged GPS Camera. The SE-7 module will add several important capabilities to the Ricoh G700SE-M to support advanced geospatial photo collection, mapping and analysis. Noteworthy features of the SE-7 module include greater speed and accuracy of GPS readings, automatic photo ‘memos’, recording ‘object’ location, GPS Track-logs, the ability to record and display multiple GPS coordinate formats, electronic compass, selective availability anti-spoofing module (SAASM) compatibility and GIS integration.
Recording ‘Object’ Location
Laser range finders may be connected wirelessly to the SE-7 module via Bluetooth or by cable connection to record distance and GPS coordinates of objects within photographs. The Ricoh G700SE-M with SE-7 module combines the range finder’s data with GPS positional data to calculate the location of an ‘object’ within a photograph. All GPS coordinates collected with the SE-7 module may be stored and displayed in a variety of formats including LAT/LONG, MGRS, Decimal Degrees, DMS, UTM and State Plane depending on user requirements.
SAASM Compatibility
The SE-7’s SAASM provides accurate GPS readings even in the presence of malicious jamming or spoofing. Secure and decrypted GPS signals are recorded by connecting an external GPS SAASM device such as a DAGR (Defense Advanced GPS Receiver) to the SE-7 module. This powerful feature ensures the accuracy and precision of GPS coordinates in a GPS-compromised environment.
Automatic ‘Memos’
The Ricoh G700SE-M with SE-7 supports up to 20 attribute fields called ‘memos’ which are used to tag photographs with relevant information such as photographer’s name, operation ID, operation type, unit ID, and so on. This information, along with GPS coordinates, GPS date and Zulu time, are automatically stored as metadata in each image file on the G700SE-M. “Memos are set by the operator before collecting photographs to automate the process of recording complete who, what, when, where and why information for each photo,” explained Andy Shannon, Sales and Support Manager at Geo Tactical Solutions. “Collecting this information not only transforms a photograph into a powerful information source, it keeps photographs organized by common attributes and facilitates more complete, accurate and simplified mapping and reporting during data processing.”
Electronic Compass and GPS Track-Logs
The SE-7’s electronic compass allows users to accurately record the direction a photograph is taken regardless of the angle the camera is held. In addition, the SE-7’s GPS Track-Log feature can record and map the geographic path by which photographs are collected. After images are collected in the field, data is uploaded from the SE-7 module in preparation for analysis, mapping and reporting.
GIS/Mapping Integration
GTS offers photo mapping and management software (PhotoGIS) along with the Ricoh G700SE-M (with SE-7 GPS module) for mapping, editing and reporting photos collected in the field. Digital photographs collected with the G700SE-M can be converted into a number of file formats suitable for mapping in popular GIS applications such as ArcGIS, FalconView, TIGR and Google Earth for further geographic analysis. After importing data, the images are plotted as a separate spatial data layer along with their associated attribute information (‘memos’).
“As a direct result of customer feedback, we designed and developed the SE-7 module to be extremely lightweight, rugged, and versatile while providing all the capabilities required by the most demanding operations and workflows,” noted Mr. Shannon. “This new enhancement will allow the Ricoh G700SE-M to lead the way in GPS camera technology for years to come.”
Navy SOUTHCOM Uses GTS' GPS-Enabled Tactical Cameras For Haiti Earthquake Response Efforts
On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, the already impoverished Caribbean Country of Haiti was shocked and devastated by a catastrophic magnitude 7.0M earthquake, negatively affecting an estimated three million people by death, injury or homelessness. The United States Navy was one of many other organizations around the world to answer the profound cry for help. As with any significant natural disaster response effort, up-to-date and timely intelligence on the ground and from the air was needed to understand the who, what, when, where and why of the situation for supporting informed decisions and effective resource allocation.
The Challenge
U.S. Naval Forces SOUTHCOM, in collaboration with other forces, was tasked with delivering support and supplies to help stabilize one of the most devastated regions in Haiti—Port-au-Prince, the Nation’s Capitol. The mission was to identify where aid was needed most and get food, water, medical support, shelter and other assets on the ground as quickly as possible to stabilize the local Haitian population. This would allow International Aid to confidently and successfully take over the post-earthquake support efforts.
SOUTHCOM needed timely and accurate geographic and situational intelligence to help them identify what was needed where. Important elements of that intelligence included ground and aerial photographs. From the start, SOUTHCOM had access to over six thousand photographs taken from various locations around the Country but didn’t know exactly when or where the photographs were taken. They needed a fast and easy way to capture and geo-locate images to effectively coordinate their disaster relief efforts.
The Solution
SOUTHCOM used a combination of cameras and software to collect, geo-locate and share ground and aerial images. Geo Tactical Solutions (GTS) provided enhanced GPS-enabled Ricoh 500SE-M tactical cameras for collecting geotagged images along with FoxView Google Earth software for exporting images to KML and mapping them in Google Earth. Google’s Picasa web application was also used as a quick and easy solution for hosting, mapping and sharing the photographs within SOUTHCOM and other supporting organizations.
The Results
With the geotagging and ‘memo’ capabilities of the 500SE-M GPS cameras, images captured on the ground were easily mapped in Google Earth and Picasa to collaborate with other Navy and emergency response personnel on where the most troubled areas were, when the images were taken, and what activities were occurring in those areas. For acquiring geo-referenced aerial images, SOUTHCOM used the 500SE-M camera from Navy UH-60 helicopters. By the end of SOUTHCOM’s presence in Haiti, a large collection of useful geo-referenced images were collected that were passed on to International Aid organizations, helping them to more effectively target their limited resources in support of the distraught Haitian population.
Image Mapping Software (PhotoGIS)
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Ruggedized And Bridging The Gap!
Ricoh G700SE-M Rugged Tactical GPS Camera
The best of both worlds; small and compact like the Tough Point-n-Shoots but with added versatility of a DSLR. Waterproof and tough to sustain the abuse of the most challenging work environments while delivering enhanced capabilities.
- The most advanced geo-tagging camera available.
- Captures GPS “object” location when coupled with a laser range finder.
- Powerful optics capable of achieving detailed images beyond 2,000 meters.
- Night vision optics compatible for 24-hour operations.
- Bluetooth® and wireless LAN capability
- Additional support for bar code readers
- Resistant to shock, dust, weather, water, and chemicals
Exclusive "M" Firmware
The G700SE-M Rugged Tactical GPS Camera is our flagship product. This camera contains our exclusive "M" firmware which adds several powerful capabilities to the Ricoh G700SE camera that you won't find anywhere else.
Some of these capabilities include:
1. Capturing "object" location (when coupled with a laser range finder)
2. Instant internal memory deletion and password protection
3. Extended geographic data formats such as MGRS, Decimal, and LAT/LONG
4. SAASM compatible GPS receiver
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