CARLSBAD, Calif., May 2 (UPI) -- A wireless link that carries high-definition imagery from military and commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has been successfully tested.
The test carried out last month near San Diego involved a high-def link developed by Global Microwave Systems (GMS) mounted on a UAV provided by Belgium company Flying-Cam. The video stream was reportedly steady during the entire test flight.
GMS parent company Allied Defense Group said Tuesday the successful test opens a door to new applications for military UAVs as well as the commercial security, television and movie industries.
"This is a significant achievement at a point where the whole world of video is in transition from standard definition to high definition," said GMS President Sam Nasiri. "Now we can not only read a license plate on a car traveling at 65 mph, we can see it from 2,000 feet in the air with greater brightness, clarity, and color definition."
UAV drones have become a front-line intelligence and reconnaissance asset for U.S. forces due in large part to the aircrafts' ability to survey ground locations for long periods at altitudes where they can be neither seen nor heard by their unaware targets.
The addition of high-definition imagery means that UAVs can presumably produce sharper real-time images with more detailed intelligence data.
High Definition Messenger Link is made up of the transmitter itself along with a 6-antenna receiver and a high-definition MPEG2 decoder.
