Topcon announces rotary-wing UAS

Topcon Positioning Group announces the addition of a rotary-wing unmanned aerial system (UAS) to its mass data collection solutions line.  The Falcon 8 — powered by Ascending Technologies — is designed for inspection and monitoring, as well as survey and mapping applications.

“Rotary-wing systems provide the perfect solutions for small-scale sites and projects for which flexibility of takeoff and landing or an oblique perspective is required,” said Charles Rihner, vice president of the Topcon GeoPositioning Solutions Group. “The Falcon 8 offers the flexibility to maneuver in small spaces and can cope with challenging environments often presented in inspection and monitoring. It is also well suited for smaller mapping or modeling projects up to 85 acres that require high-resolution imaging.”

The Falcon 8 features new AscTec®Trinity technology, an autopilot safety feature that provides three levels of redundancy for protection against performance drop or loss of control.  Three IMUs (inertial measurement system) synchronize all sensing data and identify, signal and compensate when needed. 

Two models are available — the GeoEXPERT for surveying, modeling and mapping projects, and InspectionPRO for industrial inspection and monitoring applications.  The GeoEXPERT includes a HD RGB camera payload, while the InspectionPRO features an HD RGB camera and infrared sensor combination. 

“Both versions offer easy deployment and operation with real-time video and data monitoring capability, navigation software for planning and optimizing flights, as well as photo-tagging and desktop software to quickly generate high-quality and easy-to-edit material,” said Rihner.

The Falcon 8 complements the Topcon Sirius Pro a fixed-wing UAS, providing large area accurate mapping without the requirement for traditional ground control.

About Topcon Positioning Group
Topcon Positioning Group is headquartered in Livermore, California, USA (topconpositioning.com). Its European head office is in Capelle a/d IJssel, the Netherlands (topconpositioning.eu). Topcon Positioning Group designs, manufactures and distributes precise positioning products and solutions for the global surveying, construction, agriculture, civil engineering, BIM, mapping and GIS, asset management and mobile control markets.  Its brands include Topcon, Sokkia, Tierra, Wachendorff Elektronik, Digi-Star, RDS Technologies, NORAC and 2LS. Topcon Corporation (topcon.com), founded in 1932, is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (7732). 

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