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Development of Swedish Airborne Laser Bathymetry Systems (ALBS) started in the 1980s
by the development of the Flash system within the Swedish defence research agency.
At that time the primary driver for the technology was submarine hunting. In the
beginning of the 1990s the Saab group received the commission to develop a replacement
for the Flash system, and the first Hawk Eye system took form. Two Hawk Eye systems
were delivered during 1994 and 1995, one to the Swedish navy and one to the Swedish
maritime administration. The submarine activities decreased during the 1990:s and the
systems primary use became Hydrographic survey. A lot of data and experience were
collected during the systems operation within the complex waters of Sweden. One of
the systems was sold to and used by the Indonesian Navy in the late 1990:s. The other
system was operated by the Swedish maritime administration until 2003. |
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In 2002 Saab sold the products rights to three former Saab employees that had been
in charge of the development. A new company, Airborne Hydrography AB (AHAB), was formed.
The owners had the vision to create the next generation Hawk Eye. The system should be a cost
efficient technical advanced survey system, primary for surveying of the coastal zone,
gathering geo referenced bathymetric data, topographic data and digital imagery in the
same sensor. The development of Hawk Eye mark II, an Airborne Laser Bathymetry &
Topography System (ALBTS) were up-started. |
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The first Hawk Eye
II system was delivered during autumn
2005. HawkEye have since
then performed a number of successful surveys around the world, including US, Europe and Asia. HawkEye services
are at present supplied by Blom Aerofilms ltd, UK.
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AHAB offers full customer support program, including education of operators,
system maintenance, spare parts handling, support during run in of the survey
organization, tools and processes and telephone and on site support. In addition
customers are offered software updates and hardware improvements to maintain the
technical competitiveness and increase the system lifetime.
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