Atmos has announced that it will integrate Sony’s new α7R mark III and IV cameras into its VTOL fixed-wing drones. The drone manufacturer told Commercial UAV News that adding the cameras to the company’s high-end Marlyn Cobalt UAV will improve surveying and mapping applications by increasing coverage and accuracy.

“By offering these two options, we can cover a large range of applications and use cases,” stated Vasilis Tziampiris, Marketing Lead at Atmos, a Dutch company focused on the design and production of drones for aerial surveying and data collection.

Both the α7R mark III and IV cameras have an ISO of 32,000 (expandable to 102,400) and camera sensors with high mega pixel count (42,4MP for the α7R ΙΙΙ, and 61MP for the α7R IV respectively). When combined with Zeiss’ 35mm (α7R III) and 21mm (α7R IV) lenses, these cameras will enable drone surveyors to achieve GSD (Ground Sample Distance) levels below one centimeter. 

According to Atmos, this technology will provide Marlyn Cobalt users with increased coverage and accuracy, allowing them to map an area of 210 hectares (nearly 520 acres) with accuracy down to a centimeter in a single flight.

Tziampiris reported that the decision to integrate the α7R series cameras is based on Atmos’ long partnership with Sony. “We started working with Sony around 2016 because Sony cameras were considered the ‘workhorse’ for the surveying industry,” he stated. “We realized that from the start that this was really good collaboration regarding camera software development kit integrations, and manual techniques. It’s no surprise to us that Sony is the number one name when it comes to drone payloads”

Going forward, Tziampiris said that Atmos is confident that continuing the collaboration with Sony will enable his company to continue to enhance and expand services for its surveying customers.

“What we see in this industry is that there is a new application every day, so it’s important for us to work with a company like Sony,” he explained. “Customers in fields such as agriculture, construction, and surveying need different payloads for different types of applications, and Sony’s new cameras give us the flexibility to easily change payloads on our drones for different use cases. The partnership works for everyone.”