US Navy Releases a Still Photo from Hood Technology’s 2009 UAV Video Imaging of Maersk Alabama’s Lifeboat with Captive Captain

“Phillips’ lifeboat, as seen by Bainbridge’s ScanEagle drone. Photo: Navy”, just released, (www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/10/navy-seals-pirates/090409-n-0000x-937/) is a frame from the video supplied by Hood Technology’s UAV imaging system. “We have always been proud of our equipment, but never more so that it was used to help in the rescue of Captain Phillips”, said Lars Bergstrom, Hood Tech Vision’s Chief of Operations. “That was a dramatic moment for us and for the entire world.” The US Navy SEALs Team Six (that later killed Osama Bin Laden) rescued Captain Phillips. Among other sources, the SEALs team used video that Hood Tech’s UAV imaging system provided while monitoring the Maersk Alabama’s lifeboat, which was commandeered by the pirates when they took Captain Phillips hostage. The still photo from that video monitoring illustrates one of the ways in which Hood Tech’s UAV camera system is used.

When Hood Tech began producing 800-gm video-camera turrets in 1998, it enabled an entirely new class of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Hood Technology Corp. Vision, Inc. (Hood Tech) now designs and manufactures imaging and video processing systems at the highest level of the National Imagery Interpretability Rating Scale (NIIRS): level 9, and has just announced new stabilization technology and electro-optical lenses that zoom up to 170 X. This results in a field of view of 0.3 degrees, in a package that weighs less than six kg. Designed for manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), boats, land vehicles, and stationary mounts, the reliability and utility of Hood Tech’s daylight and thermal imaging products has been demonstrated over more than 600,000 hours of use in a variety of temperatures, humidity, dust, smoke, haze, and other environmental factors (www.alticamvision.com).

Dr. Andy von Flotow founded Hood Technology in Hood River, Oregon in 1992. Along with the design and manufacture of stabilized imaging systems, Hood Technology:
Develops, tests, and manufactures launch and retrieval systems for a variety of UAVs and
Monitors blade vibrations in industrial turbines and jet engines, a diagnostic method for predicting possible future failures.

Contact:
Lars Bergstrom
Hood Tech
3100 Cascade
Hood River, OR 97031
5414909099