| Niagara Mohawk Rolls Out Tadpole's Field Mapping System
It's an increasingly mobile computing business world. And at GITA's Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego, CA, one of the field systems on show at GITA is the Conic GIS mapping software of California-based Tadpole-Cartesia. The latest utility to deploy Conic across its networks is Niagara Mohawk of upstate New York, where it's seeing threefold productivity gains in its field workforces. Using wireless pen computers running Conic GIS, Niagara Mohawk's field technicians record asset data such as customer location, poles, and transformers, and then upload that data directly from the field to the utility's corporate GIS database.
Niagara Mohawk (www.nimo.com), is an investor-owned energy services company that provides electricity to more than 1.5 million customers across 24,000 square miles of upstate New York and natural gas to more than 540,000 customers over 4,500 square miles of eastern, central, and northern New York. The utility recently announced that it had received federal agencies clearance to merge with National Grid Group plc. When completed, the $3 billion merger will create the ninth largest electric utility in the U.S. with an electric customer base of 3.3 million in addition to 540,000 natural gas customers. It will also create the most extensive electric transmission network and second largest distribution business by customers in the New England/New York region.
Deploying Conic GIS in its field operations forms part of Niagara Mohawk's enterprise-wide use of technology to strengthen relationships with its customers. The program targets improved customer service, improved corporate asset records, and improved operational efficiency.
"Every minute counts in today's competitive energy business and Conic GIS is helping Niagara Mohawk to quickly develop and maintain an accurate GIS database of customer location and facility asset information," says Len Schick, manager of GIS at Niagara Mohawk. He adds: "With a valid central database of our assets, we're tuned to meet our business goal of better serving our customers and reacting faster to power outages."
For more information, contact Tadpole at 760-929-0992, or by email [email protected].
PCI Geomatics and RADARSAT International Sign Agreement
PCI Geomatics and RADARSAT International (RSI) announced the completion of negotiations that have produced a new license arrangement, providing RSI with additional floating licenses for OrthoEngine(r) and EASI/PACE(r) software solutions. The approximate value of this agreement remains undisclosed.
EASI/PACE is PCI Geomatics' remote sensing software that provides a wide range of image processing algorithms, classification and mapping tools, analysis functions, and various other geospatial applications. OrthoEngine is PCI Geomatics' hotogrammetry software solution. Both EASI/PACE and OrthoEngine work with an extensive range of data formats using interactive environments to produce professional results.
The signing of this agreement brings an expanded roll for PCI Geomatics software solutions and product support to RSI, allowing RSI to provide its optical clients with extended operational services.
"The new licenses will allow us to expand our range of optical image processing services and keep us at the forefront of providing image processing solutions for satellite data to our clients." Don Herriot, Production Manager, RADARSAT International
RSI and PCI Geomatics have enjoyed a long and successful business relationship in the geospatial industry, cooperating on many domestic and international remote sensing data projects. Since entering a strategic marketing agreement in 1997, the two companies have been offering each other's products to their respective worldwide clients.
For more information, contact: Deborah Ferazzutti, Marketing Communications Coordinator, PCI Geomatics, 50 West Wilmot Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 1M5, Tel: (905) 764-0614 X306, Fax: (905) 764-9604, Web: www.pcigeomatics.com
TOPOZONE LAUNCHES TOPOFACTORY MAPPING SERVICE
Maps a la carte, Inc. announced the release of TopoFactory,TM its new topographic map download service. This online service revolutionizes the process of acquiring topographic map data by combining the interactive mapping features of TopoZone.com and the distribution capabilities of the Web. TopoFactory lets users create custom seamless topographic maps using the award-winning search tools and user interface of TopoZone.com (www.topozone.com) and then download the maps directly to their desktop for use in a wide variety of GIS, CAD and mapping applications.
Commenting on the development and release of TopoFactory, William Everett, Maps a la carte, Inc.'s President and CEO, said, "TopoFactory is a unique mapping service that streamlines the way professionals and consumers acquire digital topographic maps. The user defines the location and size of each map and downloads exactly the map needed for the application. For an annual subscription fee of $150.00, we give our subscribers the ability to make as many maps as they want directly from their browsers. This custom subscription service saves the user time and money and provides a compelling economic value when compared with CD-ROM products."
Early adopters of the service have been extremely enthusiastic about TopoFactory's quality of service and scope of coverage. Stephen L. Miller, Senior Mining Engineer at Twentymile Coal Company said "TopoFactory is a phenomenal service that goes far beyond anything offered by CD-ROM vendors by providing seamless USGS topographic map coverage of the entire United States. It is ideal for everyone from the day hiker to the geologist and engineer. TopoFactory provides the perfect base mapping solution for the mining industry. " James R. Dunkley, an engineer with MD Atlantic Technologies stated that, "This is a wonderful service and I am very pleased at the ease of working through the map making process. I am using the maps and world files in my Terramodel software application and then laying out project boundaries, flight lines, and ground survey positions with ease. Best of all, I can keep all of the data in digital format".
Ed McNierney, Maps a la carte, Inc. Founder and Chief Map Maker, described TopoFactory's appeal to the professional community: "TopoFactory fits smoothly into the workflow of GIS and CAD users and other mapping professionals. Custom image files can be created in either TIFF or JPEG formats with ESRI or MapInfo world files. In addition, we maintain a unique map history for each licensee, providing quick access to and retrieval of custom maps. TopoFactory increases the productivity of mapping professionals by providing a simple, integrated solution for base map acquisition. We are also extremely excited about the opportunity to apply our unique TopoFactory service to other raster data sets in the future."
For more information, contact: William Everett, President and CEO, Maps a la carte, Inc, Phone: (978) 251-4242, Email: [email protected]
ESRI, AirTrak Announce TerraTrak Solutions
ESRI and AirTrak announced the release of the TerraTrak solutions, TerraTrak, TerraTrak+, and DualTrak+. Each solution provides a low-cost, easy-to-use tracking and messaging system for fleet management serving any number of industries. TerraTrak provides graphical fleet management including automatic terrestrial vehicle-location using global positioning system (GPS) technology and real-time map display that can be easily accessible via the Web.
TerraTrak+ provides the same functionality as TerraTrak but also includes powerful two-way messaging. DualTrak+ provides dual-mode terrestrial and satellite tracking and two-way mobile messaging.
The solutions are the result of collaboration between ESRI, AirTrak, and the Cloudberry consortium. With AirTrak's automatic vehicle location (AVL) and GPS providing the backbone of the system, ESRI provides geographic information system (GIS) tools, and Cloudberry provides wireless and satellite services, all of which integrate to provide a turnkey solution for small- and mid-sized online fleet management. All AirTrak products integrate with ESRI's ArcLogistics Route software, which provides optimized route management and scheduling. The easy-to-install, complete hardware and software packages are customizable for specific applications and can be acquired using various low-cost airtime plans.
How does the system work? The in-vehicle hardware unit receives, stores, and forwards signals from GPS satellites to servers managing time, location, speed, and heading information. GPS and message transmissions use nationwide wireless and/or satellite networks for messaging. Application service provider (ASP) services feed the user desktop with map display, with an optional Web browser component also available.
The TerraTrak solutions were developed using ESRI's MapObjects component-based, embeddable software to provide real-time map display of vehicle locations. ESRI's RouteMAP Internet Map Server (IMS) provides fast and efficient Internet-based vehicle routing. Future releases will include ArcIMS as the core Internet-based GIS component.
ESRI and Main Course Technologies Announce PortaTrak
ESRI and Main Course Technologies (MCT) announced PortaTrak, a new location-based services solution for mobile asset tracking. Developed using ESRI ArcIMS Web geographic information system (GIS) software, PortaTrak merges global positioning system (GPS), wireless, and Internet technologies to allow businesses to locate and manage their mobile workforce from any location. Users can locate people, vehicles, and other mobile assets and receive real-time traffic updates.
"We have integrated our state-of-the-art database technology, GPS technology, the Web, and wireless devices to bring elegance and cost-effectiveness to mobile asset tracking," says Pat Coggins, cofounder and chief technology officer, Main Course Technologies. "This technology allows dispatchers to track a vehicle from any location and see a graphical report that shows where the vehicle is, as well as what the traffic and road conditions are that surround it. This helps dispatchers and drivers to avoid road conditions, traffic incidents, and other problems, which may affect their ability to remain on schedule."
ArcIMS is the backbone of this new service, providing the capability for end users to access location data over wireless devices in real time. It is used in conjunction with MCT's PortaTrak to track mobile assets and then transmit their locations via the Internet to mobile devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, and other wireless equipment. PortaTrak is a Web-based tracking service that uses GPS and wireless data transmission to send exact location, direction, and speed of resources. This new service also has the ability to provide real-time traffic reports. This is the first wireless Internet application to offer up-to-the-minute traffic and location information.
One of the key features of ArcIMS is the ability to establish a common platform for exchange of Web-enabled GIS data and services. ArcIMS is more than just an Internet mapping solutionÑit is a framework for distributing GIS capabilities via the Internet. ArcIMS operates in a distributed environment and consists of both clientside and serverside components. Typically, the client requests information from an Internet or Intranet server. The server processes the request and sends the information back to the client viewer. In this particular customer solution, the information is sent back to the end user and is displayed on his/her wireless device.
ESRI can be found on the World Wide Web at www.esri.com.
DeLorme Announces Availability of XMap(R)API for Integration of DeLorme Geospatial Applications
DeLorme announced it has launched an initiative to provide application software developers an affordable solution to add geospatial capabilities to their products. Through the DeLorme XMap application programming interface (Xmap API) developers can enhance the benefits of their software products by integrating the GIS features found in DeLorme's XMap product suite. Features include simple navigation, routing and location services, database integration, geocoding, GIS analysis, GPS and image registration.
"The availability of DeLorme's geospatial software applications will open up a world of opportunity for developers in many vertical industries including utility, CRM, municipal government, real estate, insurance, transportation and telecom," said John Ferketic, DeLorme's Applied GeoSpatial Solutions Director.
Geospatially enabling software applications provides a competitive edge for developers who rely solely on tabular data representation for analysis. There are many software markets where geospatial integration would be beneficial, among those are sales force automation and asset tracking, as well as software created for vertical industries such as insurance and banking.
Developers will have immediate access to the API for XMap(R) Express, a product that provides fleet field technicians with on-demand mapping, routing capabilities and spatial document management. The program offers easy-to-use search options to find a location by entering in a placename, street address, zip code, latitude/longitude coordinates or street intersection. This API will also support future XMap product development.
For more information, contact: Mike Perreault at (207) 846-7111 ext 2593 or by email at [email protected].
ORBIMAGE INTRODUCES MARITIME INFORMATION SERVICE FOR CONSUMER MARKET
Orbital Imaging Corporation (ORBIMAGE), introduced the ORBIMAGE Maritime Information Service, which enables navigational software and hardware providers to offer additional data sources to their installed base of customers. The daily service will deliver detailed weather and sea surface information that is beneficial to coastal boaters and sport fishermen, as well as many coastal commercial vessels.
The Maritime Information Service features daily sea surface information, including plankton concentration data from ORBIMAGE's OrbView-2 satellite, sea surface temperature and daily weather information. Additional information includes local marine forecasts, weather routing, buoy data and value-added analysis by oceanographers.
ORBIMAGE's partner, Applied Weather Technology, Inc. (http://www.appliedweather.com) (AWT), has provided weather data for ORBIMAGE's SeaStar Pro Fisheries Information Service since 1999. Through the extension of its previous agreement with ORBIMAGE, AWT will now provide the weather data and co-market the Maritime Information Service to leading charting software and hardware companies.
Customers of the service will receive digital maps through a web page or through email. They will view the data using their navigational software and hardware. Two major software manufacturers in the market, Maptech, Inc. and Raymarine Inc. (formerly Raytheon Marine Company), have already integrated ORBIMAGE data into their product lines, which were introduced at this year's Miami Boat Show.
For more information, contact: Barron Beneski (703) 406-5528 Beneski.[email protected]
Z/I Imaging and Applanix sign OEM collaboration agreement
Z/I Imaging Corporation and Applanix Corporation announced that they have signed an OEM agreement to offer a version of Applanix's POS/AV Position and Orientation System in Z/I Imaging's product line. The two companies have also agreed to work together to develop software for automatic post-processing of POS/AV data.
Effective immediately, Z/I Imaging will offer two new products through its global system of subsidiaries and resellers, the POS/ZTM-510 and POS/Z-410. Based on the POS/AV-510 and 410, these systems will offer integrated, upgradeable hardware components for real-time integration into Z/I Imaging's flight management systems. Z/I Imaging will also offer the POS/Z-510 as an option on its upcoming Digital Modular Camera (DMC) 2001.
Z/I Imaging and Applanix will also incorporate a POS mode into the next generation of ImageStation‰ Automatic Triangulation (ISAT) products. This will allow fully automated block adjustment of data from any version of POS, providing automated quality checking and blunder repair for projects with and without ground control.
"Applanix is unquestionably the world's leading provider of advanced real-time positioning systems," said Lewis Graham, chief executive officer of Z/I Imaging. "Both of our companies have recognized that by tightly integrating the Applanix Position and Orientation System with Z/I Imaging's advanced automatic triangulation solutions and flight management systems, we will achieve significant improvements in both accuracy and throughput for our customers. In fact, we believe that the combination of POS/AV with our new ISAT product can eliminate the need for ground control in many project scenarios while assuring the user of total quality checked results."
"We are very pleased to have signed this agreement with Z/I Imaging," said Blake Reid, president of Applanix. "Z/I Imaging is a world leader in earth imaging systems, and their selection of our technology once again endorses Applanix as the system of choice for airborne positioning. Both companies' customers will benefit greatly from the product integration and development we've agreed to undertake."
ImageAmerica, Inc.is Awarded Orthoimgery Project in Hamilton County TN
ImageAmerica Inc. announced that it had been awarded a contract to provide its TerraSource(R), DirectOrtho Update product to Hamilton County TN. ImageAmerica was notified that following a public bidding process its proposal had been accepted by the County. Tom Maher, Chief Operating Officer of ImageAmerica said, "Hamilton County joins a growing list of municipal governments who have embraced the benefits of our new technology products. Using our Direct Digital Aerial Camera system we have already collected imagery, and with the abilities inherent in our automated orthophoto processing system we will provide new orthophotos for Hamilton County in a few weeks."
Al Butler, Director of GIS for Hamilton County said, "ImageAmerica has developed an innovative process that starts with a new digital image rather than the traditional photographic images used by other firms. The process depends on our existing digital elevation models (DEMs), which were developed as part of the State pilot project for property mapping in 1997, and reconciliation with existing digital orthophotographs. The result is reduced cost for updating our GIS base map."
For more information, Contact: Tom Maher, ImageAmerica, (800) 275-0133 www.terrasource.com, [email protected]
GLOBAL Terrain and Intermap Technologies and Space Imaging Europe Sign Distribution Agreement
Intermap Technologies through its GLOBAL Terrain data store, announced that Space Imaging Europe has signed a data distribution agreement. The GLOBAL Terrain Distributor's Agreement will allow Space Imaging Europe to provide its customers with high-resolution digital elevation products or precision ortho-rectified IKONOS imagery using the GLOBAL Terrain DEMs.
"Intermap has done extensive evaluation of our DEM products for the rectification of digital imagery" said Ron Birk, Vice President GLOBAL Terrain. "Our GT2 product, 2 meters vertical accuracy and 5 meter data post, will provide 'precision level' ortho-rectification accuracy for all look angles of IKONOS data collection".
"Space Imaging Europe is very pleased to be a GLOBAL Terrain distributor" said Nick Kladias, Marketing Manager, Space Imaging Europe. "Intermap will be providing us with both Digital (first) Surface Models and Digital (bald earth) Terrain Models from its GLOBAL Terrain data store. This will allow SIE to provide a broader suite of products and services to our customers."
Intermap Technologies is building a global database of digital elevation models (DEMs). Intermap digital maps are used in a wide range of applications including planning and engineering projects, in navigation systems, and to enrich satellite images. Working for governments and private industry and governments worldwide, Intermap's STAR-3i IFSAR radar system maps large areas accurately and, quickly, and can acquire data in overcast or and dark conditions. Intermap generates maps, DEMs and orthorectified images in highly automated production facilities. Map products are available at the Company's GLOBAL Terrain ( www.globalterrain.com ) e-commerce Internet site.
For more information, contact Intermap at its website at www.intermaptechnologies.com .
San Mateo County Standardizes on Intergraph's GeoMedia for Countywide GIS Initiatives
Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions, a division of Intergraph Corporation, announced that San Mateo County, California, has standardized on Intergraph's GeoMedia(r) technology for its countywide GIS initiatives. After completing a comprehensive evaluation of leading vendors' enterprise GIS software, the county selected GeoMedia, GeoMedia Professional, and GeoMedia WebMap to support its GIS requirements.
The county also selected Farallon Geographics Inc., a certified Intergraph business partner, for GIS implementation, professional services, and training. This GeoMedia GIS solution will benefit San Mateo County by helping to establish a centralized data management workflow, and with GeoMedia WebMap the county can easily access data and distribute it widely to county personnel while improving data sharing and communication.
The county is integrating the GeoMedia products with Oracle8i and AutoCAD as they develop and manage an enterprisewide database and GIS basemap system.
The county's entire cadastral and planimetric landbase, consisting of parcels, right of ways, streets and highways, elevation contours, hydrographic features, and other data, will be housed in an Oracle8i Spatial database. Farallon Geographics is assisting the county with full-scale enterprisewide GIS implementation, ranging from setting enterprise GIS data maintenance and workflow standards and procedures to developing and installing spatial databases. Farallon Geographics is also providing countywide product training and is building Web-based applications that will provide easy access to the county's wealth of GIS data and support a wide range of county department workflows and business operations.
For more information, contact: 1-800-791-3357 (within the United States) or Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions' Web address: www.intergraph.com/gis.
ORBIMAGE MODIFIES RADARSAT-2 LICENSE AGREEMENTWITH MDA
Orbital Imaging Corporation (ORBIMAGE) announced that it has modified its license arrangement with MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) that previously provided ORBIMAGE with exclusive worldwide distribution rights for imagery from the RADARSAT-2 satellite scheduled for launch in 2003. Under the terms of the new agreement, ORBIMAGE will retain the exclusive distribution rights for RADARSAT-2 imagery to customers in the United States, the largest market in the world, and the worldwide satellite capacity necessary to service this market.
ORBIMAGE will return license rights to customers in other parts of the world to MDA. This new agreement will have the effect of reducing ORBIMAGE's financial obligation to MDA and will permit ORBIMAGE to focus its marketing and sales efforts in the United States, its highest priority market.
For more information, contact: Barron Beneski (703) 406-5528 [email protected]
HJW Introduces Consultancy-Driven Business Development Team
HJW, Inc., announced the introduction of its Consulting and Development (C&D) Services. Enhancing traditional sales efforts, HJW's new C&D Services will give prospective clients access to expert project design and technical solutions from the formative phase of every mapping project. Directed by Joseph Bartorelli, the C&D Services group is comprised entirely of former HJW project managers who have years of proven land-based mapping experience. Bill Zeman manages C&D Services for the Northwestern U.S., and Kurt Okraski manages C&D Services for the southwestern states.
"Nearly 75% of our clients are from the public sector and contract us to create base maps to build their GIS," said Mark Safran, HJW Chief Operating Officer. "They know what they need, but might not be fully aware of the process. Also, there are so many existing and emerging technologies involved that people who don't work specifically in this area might get confused. That's where our C&D Services comes in; it's made up of a group of professionals who have managed so many different types and scopes of projects that they personally know what it takes to realize each client's particular goal. It's exciting to be able to provide solid technical service at the early stage, when it's often most needed and has the greatest impact," he added.
Joe Bartorelli, director of consulting and development services, has more than a decade of photogrammetry and remote sensing experience. He is responsible for driving both the consulting and business development aspects of HJW's C&D Services. Prior to his current position, Mr. Bartorelli was HJW's general manager of the southwest division. He has managed numerous large mapping projects during the past ten years, including for the City of Los Angeles, Orange County, Clark County and the Otay Water District. Mr. Bartorelli is based in Southern California.
Bill Zeman, manager of consulting and development services, Northwestern U.S., has spent more than 15 years managing photogrammetric projects throughout the United States. He was a senior project manager for HJW. Mr. Zeman's expertise is in the management of complicated orthophotography and GIS projects, such as for the cities of San Francisco, San Ramon, Oakland and Contra Costa County. His base is HJW's corporate headquarters in Northern California.
Kurt Okraski, manager of consulting and development services, Southwestern U.S., who also has more than a decade of experience in the mapping industry, opened HJW's Phoenix, AZ office last year. He is aggressively developing the company's presence in the southwestern market and has managed a number of projects, including for the Arizona Department of Transportation, Coconino County, City of Susanville and the Little Colorado River Corridor project.
HJW was formed as a forestry company in 1949. Since that time, the firm has developed into a full-service geospatial firm, offering aerial photography, photogrammetry/digital mapping, digital orthophotography, remote sensing and GIS. The company was the first to provide digital orthophotos on the West Coast and developed the first orthophotography software, OrthoviewŠ, in the United States.
For more information, visit HJW at www.hjw.com.
A NEW IMAGE ENGINEERING COMPANY
Inpho, GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany announced the formation of a new company in North America, Inpho Systems Incorporated (ISI), in Estes Park, Colorado. ISI combines the best in European image engineering technology with an experienced American/European management team to provide a wide variety of innovative and progressive photogrammetric and image processing products and services throughout the world.
Professor Fritz Ackerman, the founder of Inpho, and the Institute for Photogrammetry in Stuttgart, serves as ISI's Chairman of the Board. Dr. Werner Mayr, currently a Managing Director of Inpho and formerly with Siemens, Zeiss and Vexcel will be ISI's Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Dr. Eric Christensen formerly with EarthWatch, Lockheed, EG & G and duPont will serve as company President. K.C. Foley formerly with EarthWatch, TRIFID, Intergraph, Shell Oil and General Dynamics will be ISI's Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Chief Technical Officer (CTO). The four bring more than 100 years of combined professional experience in photogrammetry and remote sensing technology, applications and management to ISI.
Initially, the company will focus on marketing and distributing Inpho and GeoToolBox photogrammetric mapping products such as airborne sensors, scanners, and triangulation, DTM and ortho production software in North America. Next, ISI will offer services to help customers integrate GeoToolBox products with each other and into existing production systems comprised of other vendor's software and hardware. And finally, ISI will commercialize advanced image collection, processing and exploitation technology to provide specialized spatial information and services to customers worldwide.
For more information, contact: Inpho Systems, Inc., P.O. Box 2838, Estes Park, Colorado, 80517, Phone: (970) 586-1973, Fax: (+1) 970-586-4991, Email: [email protected] Website: www.inphosystems.com HOME |
