A new NOVA special, “Rise of the Drones,” features the Autonomous Real-Time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance Imaging System, or ARGUS-IS. The sensor uses 368 imaging chips similar to those found in cell phones to capture separate videos and piece them together to form a 1.8 billion pixel video. This means that the surveillance drone can capture images of birds flying, people walking on streets and cars traveling — all from 17,500 feet above the earth.
ARGUS-IS designer Yiannis Antoniades explains that his device can store 5,000 hours of footage a day, or a million terabytes of high definition video.
Antoniades can click on any part of his screen to open a new zoomed-in window. This allows him to isolate areas while also keeping a larger perspective.
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