Sizing Up the Situation

About this technology

Overview

In order to measure hailstorm damage to the Space Shuttle's External Tank, Kennedy Space Center developed the Scaling and Measurement Device for Photographic Images. The device, which provides a non-intrusive means of adding a scale to a photograph, attaches directly to a camera. Two lasers fitted to the device enable it to project a pattern into the field of view. When a photograph is taken, the image of the laser pattern appears, along with the image of the object under investigation, allowing the viewer quantifiable information as to the size of the object. Armor Holdings, Inc., signed a non-exclusive license with Kennedy to commercialize the Laser Scaling Device, which benefits crime scene investigators, photographers, and surveillance personnel. Law enforcement photographers that take pictures of crime scenes can use the device to shoot scaled photos of blood-spatter patterns, graffiti, or other components of crime scenes. In other applications, industrial photographers can use the device to shoot scaled photographs of large items that are not easily accessible by means of ladders or lifts.