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The GCS is responsible for mission planning, mission control, mission debriefing, and maintenance activities of the Black Eagle System in accordance with military requirements. The GCS hardware is based on a PC computer in a rugged casing.
In the GCS application the operator may create, plan, control and change flight missions in real time by using a GIS 2D/3D map and a simple point & click interface. Old missions can be debriefed at the same time. Every leg of the flight may be defined by the operator. Every waypoint may be defined. Several coordinates systems may be used. The GCS offers an interface for calibrating maps, so the operator may turn any picture into an exact map for the flight mission. The aircraft location and direction, waypoints and route, are displayed on the GIS map in real time. All mission information is saved to an SQL log file.
In the GCS the communication with the aircraft is set and established. The GCS application allows the operator direct control of the aircraft. The user can order the aircraft to lift off or land by the click of a button and to send the aircraft to a coordinate or to fly according to a mission route.
Through the Video interface, the operator can control the camera. The GCS is supplied with a joystick for enhancing the camera control. Move the joystick to have the camera face a requested direction or have the camera set to always face forward. The received video is captured by the GCS, displayed on screen, encoded and saved to disk. The user may choose from several video codecs. An external screen may be connected to the GCS for another display of the live video. Live snap shot images can be captured and saved by a click of a button.
The GCS comes with a UPS in a rugged casing to ensure at least 6 hours of operating without the need to be connected to the power grid. An external control box offers the user the ability to connect an external keyboard, video display screen and mouse (KVM). The GCS has a built in CD/DVD burner and several USB ports.
GROUND CONTROL SYSTEM (GCS)