Hartley Wintney, September 14, 2011 - Getmapping’s South African subsidiary Geosense, has begun to deploy its VisionMap A3 camera system for aerial survey work across Southern Africa. The VisionMap A3 is a radical departure from traditional air survey cameras, enabling aircraft to fly higher and capture very large areas at high resolution. The A3 has the additional benefit of being able to capture oblique images during the same survey.

Getmapping has already successfully operated the A3 camera in its UK market, where it was able to capture data faster and more cost effectively in what is considered to be a difficult survey environment. “The A3 system enables us to capture imagery much faster than other systems, which is vital in the UK where the prevailing weather conditions severely restrict the amount of time we have to undertake surveys,” said Dave Horner, Managing Director of Getmapping. “In addition, because the A3 flies much higher than other systems it has allowed us to acquire imagery in areas such as London where the air space, at normal survey camera altitudes, is heavily restricted due to commercial air traffic.”

Geosense will now be deploying the A3 system in Southern Africa to bring the same benefits to the African market. “The A3 is a potential market-changer in Africa” said Geosense MD Matt Murphy. “Customers who were previously restricted to 40-50cm resolution imagery because of the vast size of their areas being covered will now be able to get 20-25cm imagery for the same cost. In addition, the A3's rapid processing system will enable us to deliver data to customers in a fraction of the time taken by traditional work flow. We will also be offering customers the option to purchase oblique imagery because it can be captured as part of the high resolution vertical imagery process.”

“Getmapping and Geosense showcased the A3 at the recent Africa Geospatial Forum in Nairobi and will be doing so again at Intergeo, the world’s largest Geo event which is taking place in Nuremberg between 27th – 29th September 2011.