MAY 10--Geodetic Systems Inc. (GSI; Melbourne, FL;www.geodetic.com), a provider of portable 3-D coordinate-measurement systems for industrial measurement, announced that General Dynamics C4 Systems has acquired a V-STARS S8 photogrammetry system for its quality-control operations. General Dynamics C4 Systems is an integrator of secure communication and information systems and technology providing satellite and wireless communications products under the VertexRSI, Prodelin, and Gabriel brands. The V-STARS system will be utilized by the VertexRSI Programs division that designs, manufactures, and installs satellite communication systems, Earth station antennas and subsystems, radio telescopes, and radar antennas. GSI develops and markets V-STARS photogrammetry systems and the state-of-the-art INCA3 photogrammetric camera for measurement applications in aerospace, space hardware, power generation, automotive, shipbuilding, and more.
Under this sales contract, GSI will deliver the highly portable V-STARS single-camera system and provide an extensive training program for VertexRSI metrologists and engineers. This group will learn photogrammetric measurement techniques that will improve overall quality in the installation of large antennas with critical tolerances on the reflector surface. V-STARS capabilities include 3-D data collection, high-end analysis capabilities, rapid image/point processing, multiple coordinate systems, full CAD file support, and best-fit functionality for point cloud-to-surface model analysis.
General Dynamics will use the photogrammetry system to confirm the quality of primary antenna surfaces. GSI's INCA3 camera, an integral element of the V-STARS system, can capture an object's surface from a 60-ft-tall cherrypicker or from the production floor. Traditional measurement equipment can take many hours to measure an antenna surface. V-STARS can perform an entire surface measurement in just minutes. The system can deliver accuracy up to 0.001 in. or better for a 9--13-m antenna.
V-STARS photogrammetry systems are primarily used for in-place measurement and inspection of large objects in unstable industrial environments, where conditions like vibration, movement, and extreme temperatures exist and pose problems for other types of metrology instruments. Users can shoot field measurements with minimal downtime to others working concurrently on an assembly such as a large aircraft. A V-STARS system consists of one or more INCA3 cameras, a notebook computer with powerful, proprietary V-STARS software, and various accessories. The entire solution can be carried on-board an airplane, or checked as standard baggage to go from factory floor to offsite plants, or anywhere in the world.
