Hood River, OR, April 30, 2014 -- The US Coast Guard has concluded the last phase of its analysis of small unmanned aircraft, looking at Hood Tech Vision’s UAV imagers and finding them qualified.

From: Hood Tech Corp Vision, Inc., Hood River, Oregon
Date: April 29, 2014
Subject: Hood Tech Vision Imagers Pass US Coast Guard Evaluation of Small UAVs
Contact: Dr. Andy von Flotow, Hood Tech Corp Vision, Inc., 541-387-2288, [email protected]

According to Small Unmanned Aircraft System News (http://www.suasnews.com/2014/04/28789/acquisition-update-coast-guard-concludes-last-phase-of-small-unmanned-aircraft-system-demonstration/?utm_source=sUAS+News+Daily&utm_campaign=64ea83a390-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b3c0776dde-64ea83a390-303664173) the Coast Guard has concluded its analysis of small UAVs. They found that a UAV with Hood Tech Vision imagers “showed how little of an impact operation of the sUAS system had on the other work the crew had to do on the ship.” Designed to determine whether the presence and operation of a small UAV would enhance or interfere with normal maritime operations, the “demonstration at Wallops Island” ... “provided the necessary maritime environment without the limitations of actually being at sea.”

“Maritime air surveillance is a critical component to Coast Guard cutters’ capabilities to secure, safeguard and provide effective stewardship of activities in the maritime domain.” “The key to the…system’s usefulness is in selecting the right camera for the (small UAV),” Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Vajda said. “It is very dependent on the quality of the camera. You need a certain level in order to be able to identify what you are looking at…The small UAS (and its imagers) will address the NSC’s immediate need for a persistent airborne surveillance capability,” said Vajda.

When Hood Tech began producing 800-gm video-camera turrets in 1998, it enabled an entirely new class of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Hood Technology Vision now designs and manufactures imaging and video processing systems at the highest level of the National Imagery Interpretability Rating Scale (NIIRS): level 9. Hood Tech matches embedded stabilization technology with electro-optical lenses that zoom up to 200 times. This results in a field of view of 0.3 degrees, in a package that weighs from less than one to six kg.

Hood Tech Vision imagers consume as little as one-fifth the power common for such systems, increasing the power budget to other sensors for Multi-INT missions. Designed for manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), boats, land vehicles, and towed and stationary mounts, the reliability and utility of Hood Tech’s daylight and thermal imaging products has been demonstrated over more than 750,000 hours of use in a variety of temperatures, humidity, dust, smoke, haze, and other environmental factors (http://www.hoodtechvision.com).

Dr. Andy von Flotow founded Hood Technology in Hood River, Oregon in 1992. Along with the design and manufacture of stabilized imaging systems, Hood Tech:

Develops, tests, and manufactures launch and retrieval systems for UAVs
Operates controlled launch and quiet wind tunnel test facilities
Monitors blade vibrations in industrial turbines and jet engines, including diagnostic methods that predict possible future failures.

The Hood Tech web site is: www.hoodtech.com

Contact:
Andy von Flotow
Hood Tech
1750 Country Club Rd.
Hood River, OR 97031
541-387-2288
[email protected]
http://www.hoodtech.com