The ‘Hawk OWL’ is a low cost, high endurance multi-camera (near 360° FOV) aerial surveillance system created by Spill Consult Ltd. It consists of a helium filled balloon with cameras mounted around the base. When tethered, the balloon is then raised to provide an aerial vantage point. Real time video is beamed back to the base station for analysis.
The base station is running a Windows 7 application developed by Winchester Innovation Ltd. This application allows the operator to view multiple streams of video. Digital pan and zoom is supported as are recording and file saving.
Infra red cameras have been added as an option more recently for day/night surveillance capabilities.
Winchester Innovation used knowledge of Windows Software and video encoding and transmission standards to design and develop the base station application. It also includes software protection software.
The system makes extensive use of Windows video and media manipulation libraries.
“As a customer, working with Winchester Innovation is simple. They understand our requirements within the software and they make them happen. Most importantly, they understand our business.
The software they have developed allows simple and full use of our Hawk Owl system. Our infrared camera involved some more complicated commands including target tracking. Winchester Innovation overcame these issues without a problem in addition to completing the software within a tight deadline.”
Stuart Gair, MD Spill Consult Ltd.
Read more in our blog post.
