Insitu
 | |
| Company type | Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems |
|---|---|
| Industry | UAV Systems |
| Founded | Bingen, Washington (1994) |
| Headquarters | Bingen, Washington |
Key people | Steve Sliwa, CEO |
| Products | UAV aircraft and Control Systems |
Number of employees | <400 |
| Parent | Boeing Defense Systems |
| Website | Insitu.com |
Insitu, Inc. is an American company, headquartered in Bingen, Washington[1] that builds UAVs. On July 22, 2008 it was announced that Insitu would be acquired by long-time partner Boeing. This was not a merger, as Insitu has continued to maintain its own separate corporate structure.
History
Insitu originally designed its UAVs for use by commercial fishermen to track schools of fish, and reduce the time required to make a sufficient catch[2]. The name Insitu come from the Latin phrase In Situ, which means "in place", referring to the ability of the aircraft to make tight orbits in specific locations, but also to be able to do certain reconnaissance in place of actual people.
Technical Information
Unlike most other UAVs, those produced by Insitu do not require a runway because Insitu's aircraft are launched by a pneumatic catapult launcher, and are recovered by flying the aircraft into a suspended cable which captures the aircraft by hooks located at the end of the wings. This allows the aircraft to be launched and recovered from a truck, zodiac, small ship, or other area where a traditional runway is unavailable or impractical.
The aircraft can be configured to operate autonomously, or operated using telepresence. However, landings are always performed autonomously, as the aircraft require specific angles and speeds to make a successful landing.
Current Products
Future Products
- Integrator[6]
Former Products
- Aerosonde - A weather tracking system, spun off as Aerosonde Ltd
- SeaScan - A system to track fish (typically tuna) to reduce the time required at sea, and to prevent the catching of Dolphins. SeaScan is the basis for ScanEagle, Insight, and GeoRanger.
References
- ^ "Insitu, Inc. Contact Information". Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ "Insitu, Inc. History". Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ "ScanEagle Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) from Boeing and Insitu". Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ "Insight Unmanned Aircraft System by INSITU". Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ "Fugro GeoRanger by Insitu for Geomagnetic Surveys". Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ "Insitu Integrator unmanned aircraft system (UAS)". Retrieved 2008-06-18.
External links
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