PRODUCTS

Safe Software Adds Support to FME
Safe Software Inc. announces it has added PostGIS and PostgreSQL import and export capability to its core data translation technology, making it immediately available for its flagship product FME (Feature Manipulation Engine). This solution enables the reading and writing of PostGIS spatial data and PostgreSQL attribute data to and from more than 100 FME-supported formats and systems. FME support for PostGIS includes spatial data reading and writing according to the OpenGIS Simple Features Specification 1.1. It also includes coordinate system support using both OGC WKT and PROJ4 mechanisms.

Safe Software FME SDP Server
Safe Software announced the introduction of its OGC-based interoperability product FME Spatial Data Provider (SDP) Server, Version 2004. The FME SDP Server is an Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC)-based OLE DB provider. Users of OLE DB consumer applications that implement the OGC Simple Features Specification for OLE/COM can now preview, inspect, and import more than 100 data formats supported by the FME SDP Server. For more information, a free evaluation, or to see the product in action, visit www.safe.com.

Intergraph Collaborates on Interoperability
In an effort to further advance enterprise-wide interoperability, Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions, a strategic member of the OpenGIS Consortium (OGC), has announced a customer-driven initiative with other consortium members, Autodesk, Laser Scan, MapInfo, and Oracle Corporation, to facilitate interoperable data sharing and access using Oracle Spatial, open, enterprise database technology. A first-of-its-kind collaborative effort positioned to develop and submit open specifications to OGC’s consensus standards process, this initiative takes steps to enable additional seamless data exchange capabilities at the database level in organizations where separate departments require a range of applications. Each vendor will provide free Interoperability Kits for complete data access through Oracle between Intergraph, Autodesk, Laser-Scan and MapInfo's tools and technologies, regardless of the application used to create, analyze or view the spatial data. Using the new kits, customers can eliminate complicated data transfers or the storage of multiple copies of the same geospatial data between departments, thus preserving data integrity and enhancing productivity.

ArcGIS ArcWeb Services
ESRI now offers packages of ArcWeb Services that can be accessed by ArcGIS Desktop users through a free downloadable toolbar. The service packages currently offered by ESRI are ArcWeb Sampler (a free service package) and ArcWeb USA. The ArcWeb USA service package is a comprehensive offering of detailed data for the United States that includes street data, high-resolution imagery, weather data, topographic data, demographic data, flood data, and more. ArcWeb Sampler includes data such as world basemaps, shaded relief imagery, population data, world gazetteer, world airports, and world earthquakes. Many additional service packages are planned. Using the ArcWeb toolbar, ArcGIS Desktop users can access a vast collection of always-current data via the Web and combine it with their local data. Because the data is accessed over the Web, it does not have to be stored or maintained locally. This results in a significant savings of time, expense, and computer resources.

New Raster Data Formats in ArcGIS 8.3
ESRI announced support for three new raster data formats in ArcGIS Desktop 8.3. The additions of JPEG 2000 from Mapping Science, Inc, MrSID Generation 3 from LizardTech, and the DIGEST(ASRP/USRP) format underscore ESRI’s commitment to promoting open interoperability in geographic information system (GIS) software. Currently, ArcGIS supports more than 50 data formats via data converters or via direct read. For more information on Mapping Science's GeoJP2 data format, please visit www.mappingscience.com. For more information on LizardTech's MrSID Generation 3 data format, please visit www.lizardtech.com
DIGEST (ASRP/USRP)-DIGEST Annex A is used primarily by international defense and military agencies. The ArcGIS Desktop 8.3 raster update is now available for download for ArcView 8.3, ArcEditor 8.3, and ArcInfo 8.3 from http://support.esri.com

Océ TCS400 Introduced
Océ has introduced Océ TCS400—a fully integrated large format color print, copy, and scan system. This multifunction system gives companies using CAD, GIS, and other software applications a fast, easy, and hassle-free way to handle large format color and black-and-white technical document output. The Océ TCS400 system delivers additional innovations such as replacing the need for multiple systems to do different jobs, processing very large color files three times faster, and producing twice the number of monochrome prints per hour over other thermal inkjet printers. Users benefit from easier job processing, tighter workflow control and, for the first time, the ability to manage print queues directly from their desktops—freeing users to focus on their core job responsibilities instead of waiting for prints.

RSI Releases ENVI 4.0 Software
Research Systems, Inc. (RSI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastman Kodak Company, has released ENVI software 4.0. This software upgrade offers major new enhancements over previous versions of ENVI software including new image orthorectification tools, classification tools, mosaic color balancing, pan-sharpening algorithms and other features. ENVI software is a powerful remote sensing image analysis and exploitation software tool that includes links to popular GIS software programs. ENVI software is used in a variety of industries, including natural resources, oil and gas, environment, archaeology, emergency response, military intelligence, defense, and homeland security. The availability of high spatial resolution imagery from the QuickBird and IKONOS satellites, coupled with ENVI software 4.0’s new functionality, provides enhanced capabilities for precisely locating objects of interest within an image, and perform tasks such as change detection and image sharpening with much higher accuracy than was possible before.
BUSINESS

DigitalGlobe Picks Up NextView Contract
(Source: GIS Monitor, October 2, 2003 edition) The next contract for imagery from the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) is appropriately called NextView. It follows ClearView, which NIMA split between satellite imagery leaders DigitalGlobe and Space Imaging in January of this year. NextView, a five-year contract with an estimated value of more than $500 million, has been awarded to DigitalGlobe, along with partners BAE SYSTEMS and Ball Aerospace. NextView calls for a new, 1/4- to 1/2-meter resolution satellite expected to launch in 2006. NIMA will fund construction and launch, but DigitalGlobe will own the bird. NIMA will get discounted imagery while the company sells non-discounted imagery to other parties. (This 60-centimeter natural color image of the Pentagon was collected by QuickBird on August 2, 2002. Courtesy DigitalGlobe.)
DigitalGlobe, which employs about 300 people mostly at headquarters in Longmont, Colorado, will likely add some 50 more in the coming months, and perhaps another 50 over the next few years. Space Imaging, based in Thornton, Colorado, which teamed with joint venture partners Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, and newly airborne ORBIMAGE, has about 270 employees. The company is still in discussions with NIMA about future work and possibly a new satellite. While disappointed, the company expects revenues of more than $200 million this year. According to Space Imaging, about half of that revenue comes from overseas. Based on reports, both companies were surprised at the award and had expected a split award similar to the ClearView contract.
The rationale behind the choice is still not public, but in a call to DigitalGlobe, NIMA representatives noted that the company scored well in each of five categories: business viability, schedule, technical, management, and price.
The general sense from my reading and discussing the award with people in imaging is that NIMA will likely fund some further work with Space Imaging. The agency doesn’t want to risk Space Imaging going out of business. Having two U.S. imagery providers keeps costs down and provides a “backup” should DigitalGlobe run into delivery problems. With only one U.S. provider, NIMA would perhaps at some point have to resort to the procurement of imagery from overseas. Exactly how ORBIMAGE fits into the vision is unclear. The company worked with Space Imaging for the NextView bid, so a longer term partnership may be in the works. —Adena Schutzberg, www.gismonitor.com

NASA Rejects Only Landsat Continuity Bid
(Source: GIS Monitor, October 2, 2003 edition) In a quiet announcement overshadowed by the big NIMA imagery news, NASA rejected the single bid of $500 million from Resource21 to commercialize the Landsat program. For that sum, Resource 21 offered to provide Landsat comparable imagery for at least five years. The Landsat program has been providing data for 30 years and there are concerns that this key scientific timeline is in jeopardy for future researchers. NASA runs the program and managed the bid, but the U.S. Geological Survey is responsible for Landsat data archiving and distribution.
Landsat 7 has been plagued by an anomaly since May. A report on the anomaly, dated October 1, 2003, notes that attempts to fix the malfunctioning Scan Line Corrector (SLC, a device which compensates for the satellites forward motion) have come to an end; the problem appears to be permanent. The satellite will continue to acquire imagery, and a procedure to distribute the so-called “SLC-off imagery” is in the works. Even with SLC off, the center parts of images are useful.—Adena Schutzberg, www.gismonitor.com

Space Imaging May Get Contract, Too
(Source: GIS Monitor, October 9, 2003 edition)
The day after announcing the $500 million award to DigitalGlobe for the NextView imaging contract, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) said it was seeking the same amount for a parallel award to Space Imaging. (Image of the Grand Canyon, courtesy Space Imaging.) It made me wonder how much money the two companies spent on their initial bids. If the government is going to continue to give both companies money, perhaps it’s time to stop the bidding competition and just give out money. Would that not be less expensive, both for the public and private sectors?—Adena Schutzberg, www.gismonitor.com

Intergraph and FIG Join Forces
Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions announced a new partnership with the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) to promote the use of advanced technology in land administration and management infrastructure among surveyors and surveying organizations worldwide. Through the partnership, Intergraph will award 21 GeoMedia grants, valued at more than $8.2 million, exclusively to FIG members.
Grants include an annual GeoMedia Research Grant—$5,000 (U.S.) cash funding and a $50,000 software donation in recognition of an innovative applied research proposal within the academic community that promotes the implementation and evolution of GIS; ten GeoMedia Education Grants with a total value of $7.6 million (U.S.); ten Open Interoperability Grants—GeoMedia software and open, OGC-compliant software components, valued at more than $55,000 (U.S.) each. A distinguished panel of judges including both FIG and Intergraph executives will judge the submissions. Proposals for the Open Interoperability Grants and GeoMedia Education Grants must be received by December 31, 2003. The deadline for the GeoMedia Research Grant is March 31, 2004. For complete guidelines and submission information on the GeoMedia Education and GeoMedia Research Grants, visit www.intergraph.com/gis/education. Complete guidelines and submission information on the Open Interoperability Grants can be found at www.intergraph.com/gis/interop/grant.asp.

GIS Vendors Form Initiative
Autodesk, Inc. has announced a joint initiative with Intergraph, MapInfo and Laser-Scan to facilitate and promote enterprise interoperability. This team will enable their respective off-the-shelf products to interoperate more seamlessly via Oracle Spatial, the open enterprise database. Each of the four vendors will deliver an Interoperability Kit that will simplify data access and data sharing from and to the applications, reducing deployment time and enforcing open standards across departments. Today, using Oracle Database and the products from Autodesk, Intergraph, Laser-Scan, and MapInfo, each department can now use their preferred tools and, at the same time, work from a shared enterprise database. And, as part of the team’s continuing commitment to the Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC) vision and mission, the results of this effort that address new feature representations for annotation and oriented points will be matured and submitted to the standards setting programs of the Open GIS Consortium for additional community input. For a White Paper on geographic information systems (GIS) interoperability via Oracle Spatial, and information on the Interoperability Kit, visit: www.autodesk.com/isd.

Boeing to Process Data from Endeavour
Boeing has received $9.2 million in follow-on orders from the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) to produce a digital topographic model of the Earth from radar data collected by the space shuttle Endeavour. This award to Boeing under NIMA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) program brings the total contract award to over $19 million. Boeing is one of two prime contractors involved in the SRTM program, and is responsible for the overall project management of its team and development of the interactive editing system interface and editing software that is being used to produce the data at Boeing. To date, the team has produced more than 3,000 cells of radar data over portions of four continents with each cell being one degree of latitude by one degree of longitude in size. Boeing's SoftPlotter, a software program that processes terrain data derived from aerial and satellite imagery, is the production foundation for the software developed and in use by the Boeing team.

NEWS

Earthquake Damage Detection
A new study documents the potential high-resolution QuickBird satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe can bring to post-earthquake damage detection and recovery efforts. The study, conducted by ImageCat, Inc., was partially funded by the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) headquartered at the University at Buffalo. The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), through its “Learning from Earthquakes” program, provided imagery to ImageCat, the University of Tokyo, and several other research organizations around the world involved in the use of remote sensing for disaster response. This combined effort represents a significant milestone in the field of earthquake research.
For several years, researchers at ImageCat have investigated how remote sensing technologies can improve response and recovery activities after major earthquakes. This research has focused on various aspects of damage detection, including the distinction between extreme damage versus non-damage states, the quantification of damage states on a regional basis, and the assessment of damage sustained by individual buildings. In the study just-released by EERI and MCEER, satellite imagery is identified as an effective and valuable tool in the response and recovery phases of the emergency management cycle for reconnaissance and monitoring recovery operations.
To conduct its research, ImageCat used the events of May 21, 2003, when an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale rocked Algeria—drastically affecting the towns of Rouiba, Boumerdes, and Thenia, among others. In its wake, the first priority was to assess and limit human injuries and fatalities, a monumental effort considering the total death toll reached 2,266 with 10,261 injured. Structural damage assessment and recovery was also a priority as 214 commercial buildings and 1,029 individual residences were destroyed.
To evaluate the potential of satellite imagery to assist in this assessment and its possible use for coordination of site visits and relief efforts, the researchers turned to DigitalGlobe, provider of the world's highest resolution commercial satellite imagery that boasts a vast, up-to-date archive of digital images. EERI acquired before and after QuickBird data, including imagery dated April 22, 2002—approximately one year prior to the earthquake—and May 23, 2003 —two days after. QuickBird imagery captured on June 18, 2003 enabled the further assessment of high-resolution imagery for monitoring recovery efforts during the following month.
During the evaluation phase, automated change detection algorithms were created, offering a “quick-look” damage as­sessment and providing the focus for more detailed inspection of building damage using visualization techniques. A visual comparison was then drawn between enlarged views of the before and after QuickBird images, which were displayed side by side within Research Systems’ ENVI image processing environment. Due to the extremely detailed representation offered by QuickBird satellite imagery, severely damaged structures were readily identified. In addition to urban damage, the images also effectively showed the location of temporary tent camps housing displaced residents. Researchers hope to use such imagery in future events to provide “real time” assessments that will guide the work of field reconnaissance teams.

3rd Annual Intergraph Awards and Competition
Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions an­nounced the third annual Intergraph Best Practices Awards for educators and Intergraph Poster Competition for students. The worldwide competitions recognize projects and programs based on Intergraph’s geospatial technology, including GeoMedia, GeoMedia Professional, GeoMedia WebMap, GeoMedia WebMap Professional, G/Technology, MGE or the IntelliWhere or ZI Imaging suite of products. Students are encouraged to display their creativity and innovative use of geographic information systems (GIS) software and geospatial technology in the classroom byentering a poster in the competition. Educators are asked to submit entries that demonstrate practical training and application of GIS-related programs in the classroom. Complete competition guidelines and entry forms may be accessed at http://imgs.intergraph.com/education/awards.asp. Entries must be received no later than February 14, 2004. Award recipients will be announced in March of 2004. In addition to receiving cash funding for research or study up to thevalue of $1,000 (U.S.), recipients will receive on-stage recognition at GeoSpatial World 2004, the Intergraph GeoSpatial Users Community International Training and Management Conference to be held May 12-14 in Miami, Florida.

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