Video: QNX-powered Laser Camera System for the NASA Space Shuttle

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the thing I like about working at QNX is that people use our software to create really cool stuff, like cars that talk to smartphones, and really important stuff, like medical devices that save lives.

Sometimes, though, someone uses QNX technology to create something that's both cool and important. Case in point: the Neptec Laser Camera System, or LCS.

A part of every Space Shuttle flight since 2005, the LCS is a high-precision 3D scanner that can detect the tiniest fractures in the shuttle's heat shield, even if they're only a few millimeters in size. Just as important, the LCS provides NASA with the data to determine whether a fracture poses any threat to the shuttle crew.

I promised a video, and here it is: an interview with Neptec president Iain Christie, who discusses the critical role that QNX plays in this very critical system:



To learn more about the LCS and its use of QNX technology, check out the article I co-wrote with Iain back in 2005.