SPH Engineering announced the launch of a drone integrated metal detection system with a Geonics EM61Lite metal detector, a new product of UgCS Industrial Solutions. The same performance and robustness available for users of the standard EM61-MK2 time domain metal detector are now available for airborne use – to find metallic objects in hard to reach or dangerous areas.
The new system is capable of detecting metallic (magnetic and non-magnetic) items in the first few meters under the surface. It could be applied for many applications, including UXO search, detection of underground infrastructure and archaeological needs. The integrated system has been extensively tested at SPH Engineering’s test range, and has shown excellent performance and repeatability for targets such as pipes (steel, stainless steel, reinforced concrete) as well as steel drums.
“For 3 years we have been experimenting a lot with different metal detectors. Our main disappointment was there were a lot of metal detectors on the market with declared characteristics like the ability to detect nails at the 10m underground. But while tested, the majority of devices did not work properly. Finally, we have found the sensor that works in full compliance with manufacturer estimates: an airborne (lightened) modification of the proven Geonics EM61-MK2 metal detector”, Alexey Dobrovolskiy, CTO of SPH Engineering, comments. “I’m happy to announce the availability of the EM61 in the airborne variant. I would like to say big thanks to our colleagues from Geonics – with their help and consultations we were able to integrate the EM61 with our UgCS SkyHub onboard computer and our ground control station in short 3 weeks. Now our customers can enjoy the fully integrated solution – starting with unified mission planning in industry-standard UgCS mission control software and including features such as automatic data logging in geotagged form and automatic terrain following with radar altimeter”.
“The integration of our EM61-MK2 sensor for UAV-based deployment has been a concept of interest for some time. To this end, collaborating with SPH on this project has been invaluable. Providing us with years of relevant experience and access to proprietary, industry-standard software, our work together has been able to progress on a very productive timeline. We’re excited for where we already are to this point and, of course, where we might still go in future”, Simon Boniwell, Marketing & Sales Manager at GEONICS LIMITED, adds.
For more information visit : www.sph-engineering.com
