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BUSINESS
NOTES
Announcements
Google Inc. has acquired Keyhole
Corp., a 3D digital mapping company. Keyhole’s
technology combines a multi-terabyte database of mapping
information and images collected from satellites and
airplanes with access software. Google announced effective
immediately, a price reduction for Keyhole 2 LT from
$69.95 to $29.95. Keyhole was founded in 2001 and became
well-known when its tools were used on television news
during the Iraq War.
PCI Geomatics announced that it
has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hansa
Luftbild Consulting International GmbH of Muenster,
Germany that outlines terms of collaboration for
identifying and pursuing image-centric opportunities.
Terra Image USA, LLC has been
named the exclusive distributor of SPOT satellite imaging
products and services to the U.S. civilian government
market, including federal, state, and local government
entities and U.S. universities. Terra Image USA is a joint
venture of The Montecito Group and Iunctus Geomatics
Corporation. Terra Image USA’s Chairman, Joseph T.
Gorman, is the former Chairman & CEO of TRW and also
Chairman of The Montecito Group.
Contracts
IDELIX Software Inc. and RSI
(Research Systems, Inc.), a wholly owned subsidiary of ITT
Industries, announced that the Special Projects Office of
the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Enterprise
Directorate has funded the integration of Pliable Display
Technology (PDT) by IDELIX into the client software
applications of RSI’s Image Access Solutions.
Sanborn has purchased a
state-of-the-art, ground-based LiDAR (light detection and
ranging) instrument, the Trimble GS 200 3D laser scanner,
as an alternate means of terrain and digital image
acquisition.
Pictometry International announced
that the City of Indianapolis and Marion County have
approved a license agreement for the company’s imagery
and software.
Definiens Imaging and PCI
Geomatics signed a three-year eCognition educational site
license with OhioView, a statewide program that focuses on
satellite remote sensing data and technologies in support
of applied research, K-16 education, workforce
development, and technology transfer in Ohio. Through this
agreement, 150 licenses of eCognition Professional,
software for contextual image classification, will be
distributed across the 12 member universities of OhioView.
Support services and software upgrades are included in the
arrangement.
The Government of Finland and
ImageOne Co. Ltd. of Japan signed $3.44 million US worth
of RADARSAT-1 and –2 data and services. Finland (through
the Finnish Institute of Marine Research) has signed an
agreement worth $1.04 million US for RADARSAT-1 and –2
data and services over the years 2004-2008. ImageOne Co.
Ltd, Japan’s leading provider of satellite imagery and
services, and a RADARSAT-1 distributor since 2000, has
signed a $2.4 million US agreement for the exclusive
distribution rights to RADARSAT-2 data in Japan. The
agreement is for six years. In addition, RADARSAT
International has signed four contracts, worth a total of
$2.35 million US, with three long-standing defense
clients. The contracts include RADARSAT-1 network station
downlink renewals and a large-volume RADARSAT-1 data sale.
A defense interest, as well as a U.S. agency also have new
contracts. Network station clients have signed downlink
renewal agreements, and the U.S. agency has signed one
contract for a mobile network station downlink renewal and
another for a substantial volume of RADARSAT-1 data.
PlanGraphics, Inc. has been
awarded a contract to develop urban road pavement, bridge,
and drainage facility management systems for Guangzhou
City, China. The $1.57 million project, to be conducted
over 22 months, is being financed by the World Bank.
The Department of Urban Services
in Canberra, Australia purchased QuickBird imagery from
Sinclair Knight Merz, a
DigitalGlobe business partner, for
incorporation into ACT Locate, a tool used by urban
planners, developers and resource managers for various
mapping and spatial information applications pertaining to
Canberra, Australia’s capital.
Sanborn has been selected by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to
demonstrate high spatial resolution landcover and
landcover change products derived from aerial digital and
satellite imagery acquisition in accordance with NOAA’s
Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP), a current
government-funded program.
Products
Sensor Systems announced its
latest version of RemoteView. The goal of the software is
to help those who are “drinking from a digital fire
hose.” New tools help users find and access imagery.
Harris Corporation unveiled
InReality Analyst Edition, a new version of its InReality
visualization software modules. Analyst Edition offers a
viewing application and enhances the value of 3-D models
by expanding their use across a variety of applications.
New versions of the Pliable
Display Technology (PDT) Software Development Kits were
released by IDELIX Software Inc. featuring new programming
options and performance enhancements. The company showed
off the technology at GEOINT 2004 on a “smart” touch
sensitive table from Mitsubishi Electric Research
Laboratories (MERL). Unlike other tables, this one keeps
track of each user’s window and does not allow anyone
else to work with it.
Litigation
In October, New SI LLC, the
company that competed with Orbimage for the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s latest NextView
contract, filed a protest with the U.S. Government
Accountability Office regarding the award. An attorney has
been assigned to the case and a decision is due by January
28. Orbimage was told by National Geospatial-Intelligence
Agency to continue its work on the contract. Orbimage
feels the protest is without merit.
LizardTech, Inc. has filed an
appeal in its ongoing patent infringement lawsuit against
Earth Resource Mapping (ERM) in the U.S. Court of Appeals.
ERM feels the case is without merit and threatens JPEG
2000. The two companies have been involved in litigation
since 1999.
Hewlett Packard has filed a patent
infringement lawsuit against Intergraph alleging that
GeoMedia’s “gap closing” algorithm infringes on its
intellectual property. There is ongoing litigation between
the companies regarding both hardware and software.
Hir
es
Michael Villarreal has joined
Sanborn as senior product manager, and is responsible for
product innovation and extension. David Carter joined the
company as project manger; he will be responsible for the
success of current and future GIS projects. Bill Claveau
has joined the Sanborn team as senior program manager.
Dr. Manfred Krischke has been
named Intermap GmbH Managing Director. Krischke co-founded
and managed RapidEye AG for nearly six years. His primary
responsibilities will include the management and expansion
of the Intermap GmbH Wessling office.
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