History of PhotoTelesis

PhotoTelesis designs, manufactures, and markets high performance and cost effective digital video recorder, imagery management, and data communications products. Recognized as the leader in tactical imagery transmission, PhotoTelesis has a proud 20 plus year history of serving a diverse government customer base.  Images captured by PhotoTelesis products and a variety of other imaging sensors can be transmitted over government secure and non-secure radios, government satellite circuits, and commercial cellular and satellite radios.

Throughout its history, PhotoTelesis has been at the leading edge of technology development and application in the Command, Control, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C2ISR) area. With over 2,000 installed systems, the company's comprehensive products and system integration ability has provided video and imagery management capabilities for:

  • Defense
  • Law Enforcement
  • Intelligence
  • Drug Interdiction
  • International Peacekeeping
  • Disaster Response

PhotoTelesis was founded in August 1985, and quickly achieved strong name recognition within the Department of Defense and Federal communities. In 2005 PhotoTelesis merged with Symetrics Industries to become PhotoTelesis LP, a component of the Symetrics Technology Group.

PhotoTelesis has a long history of industry firsts including:

  • Creating the first image transmission system used by law enforcement

PhotoPhone

  • Transmitting images over cellular radios

CommRIT

  • Transmitting images over secure tactical satellite
  • Producing the first airborne secure tactical reconnaissance image transmission system

ATR

  • Producing the first tactical reconnaissance image transmission systems
  • Producing the first laptop image system (before the "laptops" of today existed)

ACT

  • Being one of a few (no more than 10) industry companies to be invited to participate in the first government/industry NITF standards group with the DIA and CIA
  • Being the first company ever certified under NITF Version 1.0 standard
  • Producing a pocket cell-phone camera

Micro-RIT

  • Deploying the first platform-wide (F-14) image transmission/reception capability
  • Pioneering IP video transmission
  • Building a hand-held image transceiver

MMR

  • Building an image transceiver on a card for embedded image transmission
  • Deploying embedded hand-held real-time image processing sensors

MSA

PhotoTelesis' comprehensive product line provides users with a full complement of hardware and software to support operations from various platforms, including:

  • Man Portable Applications
  • Aircraft Platforms
  • Ground Vehicle Platforms
  • Portable Base Stations
  • Fixed Base Stations