OPENGIS WEB MAP OVERLAY SPECIFICATION RELEASED
On April 19 the Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC) made the new OpenGISª Web Map Server Interface Implementation Specification available on its public web site (http://www.opengis.org).
This specification represents a remarkable technical and commercial breakthrough. Previously, complex technical issues and lack of industry consensus have kept the "where" out of most distributed information systems. Now the Web is "spatially enabled." Software with interfaces conforming to this specification will enable automatic overlay, in ordinary web browsers, of map images obtained from multiple dissimilar map servers, regardless of map scale, projection, earth coordinate system or digital format. By itself, this is an extraordinarily useful capability, but it also provides a foundation for interoperability involving more sophisticated geoprocessing capabilities. Already, the OpenGIS Web Map Server Interface Specification works with catalog services defined in the OpenGIS Catalog Services Specification. This enables creation of "spatial search engines" for queries of thousands of map layers for which data providers have provided "metadata" (data about the geospatial data).
Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of digital maps and earth images, which until now could not be accessed and used without special skills and software, will suddenly become an integral part of the Information Infrastructure. Such maps and images show, for example: transportation routes, land use and ownership, zoning, watersheds, elevation, population density, average income, aerial photos, cell phone coverages, and pipelines.
Mr. Thomas Kalil, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, White House National Economic Council, an early, enthusiastic supporter of OGC's Web Mapping Testbed effort, said, "Geospatial information is critical for disaster management, crime mapping, environmental monitoring, community decision-making, and a whole host of other public and private sector applications. The development of open standards and specifications will greatly accelerate our ability to access and understand geospatial information from multiple sources."
In coming months, vendors of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), earth imaging systems, spatially enabled database software, and systems for navigation, digital cartography, and facilities management will implement the OpenGIS Web Map Server Interface Specification in software upgrades and new software. Map and imagery suppliers will make their data available over the Web through these vendors' OpenGIS-conformant servers. Then Web users will easily find, view, overlay, and combine different thematic maps for a given region. The new specification will boost the utility and commercial value of location-aware, Internet-connected cell phones, laptops, and car computers. Such devices will, for example, access spatial data on the Internet to provide directions and travel advisories and also information about nearby goods and services.
OGC is an international, not-for-profit organization founded in 1994. OGC's 215 industry, government, and academic member organizations participate in a consensus process to integrate geoprocessing into the world's information infrastructures.
Airborne 1 Completes Time-Sensitive LiDAR Survey of San Luis Obispo
Airborne 1 Corporation recently completed a time-sensitive survey of 10,000 acres of urban and watershed areas in central California. Using an Optech Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper (ALTM), Airborne 1 collected high-accuracy elevation data for the creation of digital terrain models and 0.5 m contour maps of the San Luis Obispo area. In addition to the LiDAR data collection, Golden State Aerial, a leading central California photogrammetry firm, compiled digital orthophotos of the study area.
The elevation data is being incorporated into a detailed watershed analysis of the region being performed by the leading engineering firms employed by the City of San Luis Obispo. According to Randy Rhoads, COO of Airborne 1, "In addition to requiring high-density, high-accuracy elevation data, the timing of the survey was critical. By providing lidar services that were optimal for the schedule and budget, we were able to contribute to the successful completion of the project."
Airborne 1 provides flexible access to advanced LiDAR technology for clients in the photogrammetry, surveying and mapping fields. Airborne 1's digital mapping services and solutions include a dedicated airborne LiDAR survey group operating Optech ALTM sensors; flexible fractional ownership plans for clients without dedicated access to LiDAR technology; LiDAR data processing, analysis and application development; LiDAR field survey coordination and project management.
For more information: Airborne 1 Corporation, 5777 W. Century Blvd. #725, Los Angeles, CA 90045, Phone: 310.342.7100, Fax: 310.342.7109, Email: [email protected]
ERDAS Awarded GSA Contract
ERDAS Inc, announced that the United States' General Services Administration (GSA) has awarded the company a GSA-IT Schedule Contract that enables all federal customers to buy ERDAS IMAGINE software, software maintenance, training, and services, from a GSA-approved price list with agreed upon terms and conditions.
"We have been an established supplier to the federal government for many years," said ERDAS President Lawrie E. Jordan, III. "The GSA Contract is a natural step in the evolution of our role as a trusted vendor, and we are pleased that it will make purchasing ERDAS products and services, a quick and easy task for our customers. http://www.erdas.com
Through the GSA-IT Schedule, federal customers can procure ERDAS IMAGINE products and related services directly from ERDAS, with the assurance that their purchase is in compliance with all Federal Acquisition Regulations. The program is similar to a commercial catalog business operation, and offers federal customers shorter lead times, reduced costs, and simplified ordering and payment processes. The contract is for an initial five-year term, and allows ERDAS to add new products to the GSA-IT Schedule, at any time.
GSA Schedules provide a direct and effective procurement vehicle that satisfies the Government's extensive requirements with simple administrative processes that significantly reduce the time and expense of acquisition, for both the contractor and the federal customer. Once the GSA has determined pricing to be fair and reasonable, government customers can use their own discretion in selecting commercial-off-the-shelf supplies and services they need to accomplish their core mission.
For more information contact ERDAS: tel.: +1 404-248-9000, toll free: +1 877-GO ERDAS (463-7327), or visit www.erdas.com .
RADARSAT IMAGERY SUPPORTS ARGENTINE ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
RADARSAT International (RSI) of Richmond (British Columbia, Canada), a wholly-owned subsidiary of MacDonald Dettwiler announced that it has been awarded a three-year contract from the Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE) of Argentina to provide CONAE with RADARSAT-1 Earth-observation satellite imagery.
Under the terms of this contract, CONAE has extensive access to RADARSAT data, the ability to build an archive of RADARSAT satellite imagery over Argentina, as well as non-exclusive distribution rights of RADARSAT data in Argentina.
Mr. Roland Knight, RSI President, commented on the significance of the contract. "The Argentine nation now has access to a guaranteed source of satellite information for responding to ongoing environmental issues such as flooding in the Province of Buenos Aires or surveillance of environment-related maritime activities. We are pleased to be supporting CONAE's objectives of fulfilling Argentina's information requirements."
For more information, contact: RADARSAT International, www.rsi.ca
RADARSAT International MacDonald Dettwiler: 1-(604) 231-4916 www.mda.ca 1-(604) 808-7680 (cell) CONAE:[email protected] www.conae.gov.ar
ORBIMAGE ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF ORBVIEW CITIES PRODUCT LINE
Orbital Imaging Corporation (ORBIMAGE), a leading global provider of satellite-delivered Earth imagery products and services, announced the expansion of its OrbView Cities product line to include high-resolution imagery of up to 125 major U.S. and international metropolitan areas by the end of 2000. OrbView Cities, available online at www.orbimage.com, is one of the most comprehensive archives of up-to-date high-resolution imagery available on the Internet. OrbView Cities currently offers imagery of 20 North American cities.
ORBIMAGE is working with a select group of aerial imagery firms who are providing digital imagery, including ISTAR, Triathlon Inc., GlobeXplorer, VARGIS LLC and GeoInformation Group. Among the first new cities that will be added to the OrbView Cities catalog are Paris, Geneva, Buenos Aires, Miami, Detroit and Raleigh.
Mr. Gilbert D. Rye, President and CEO of ORBIMAGE, said, "We have chosen a select group of world-class mapping organizations to provide ORBIMAGE with high-resolution imagery for our OrbView Cities program. Our business strategy is to offer a comprehensive archive of high quality, up-to-date digital imagery of major U.S. and international metropolitan areas for distribution over the Internet for use in traditional GIS and Web-based applications. The imagery that we will be adding to OrbView Cities enables our value-added resellers and strategic partners to use imagery from around the world in innovative information solutions."
Pathfinder Logistics Solutions, Inc., Joins ESRI's Family of Resellers
ESRI announced that Pathfinder Logistics Solutions, Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has joined forces with ESRI as an official business partner and authorized ESRI business solutions reseller. The Pathfinder organization provides software and consulting services to the domestic surface transportation industry.
"Pathfinder brings an established customer base and expertise in logistics operations. Their knowledge and experience with both large-scale enterprise solutions and start-up operations add significant capacity to ESRI's growing logistics and transportation capabilities, says Don Weigel, ArcLogistics Route software manager, ESRI.
The ESRI business solutions software line includes ArcLogistics Route for optimizing vehicle routing; ArcView Business Analyst for target marketing; and RouteMAP IMS for Internet-based routing, location selection, and consumer-level driving directions. Also included is ESRI's world-class line of desktop GIS tools represented by ArcView GIS and its extensions including ArcView Network Analyst for shortest path vehicle routing and ArcView Tracking Analyst for global positioning system (GPS) visual display and playback.
For more information about Pathfinder Logistics Solutions, Inc., visit them on the Web at www.pathfinderlogistics.com or contact principals Don Kushto, Sean Carroll, and Christopher Fasy at tel.: 610-541-9811 or fax: 610-541-0812.
ArcLogistics Route is available for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT 4.0 operating systems. For more information, please visit ESRI on the Web at www.esri.com/arclogistics , contact your ESRI regional office, or call ESRI at 1-800-447-9778. Outside the United States, contact your local ESRI distributor (visit www.esri.com/international for a current distributor list).
New Visual Software Easily Controls A Complex World
With the release of the new, low-cost, multi-platform, spatial display software called EDGE Viewer, users of geospatial data are now able to more easily manipulate the chaos we live inÑat least on screen. The maker of this software, Autometric, Incorporated is a Geospatial Information Technology company known for its successful commercial spatial display and visualization software, the EDGE Product Family™.
"In one low-cost product, we provide users with a powerful tool to import, display, and manipulate the most commonly available geospatial products," said Dan Gordon, Autometric's president. "It doesn't matter if you are on a specialized high performance UNIX system or an entry level Windows™ NT system. Now you can have access to spatial data for your applications and multi-source data visualization at your fingertips."
A key feature of the EDGE Viewer is the Application Programmer Interface (API) through which software developers can create interfaces to other software systems and data sources. "We see the EDGE Viewer as the basic building block for the creation of visual scenes based on real terrain and imagery data allowing easy analysis of complex geospatial data. It should be easy to use standard remote sensing products in creative ways on computer displays to easily visualize the world as it really is. Now it is," said Gordon.
The EDGE Viewer is an EDGE Whole Earth(R) solution capable of importing and viewing imagery, digital maps, vector products, and elevation data models from the US Government and from commercial sources. The EDGE Viewer displays these data products on SGI IRIX and SUN Solaris Unix workstations and on Windows NT PCs. The viewer's 3D Earth display capability provides a global view of the world with the geospatial products draped over the interactive display globe. The 2D display provides a flat map of the world view with latitude and longitude used as a simple rectangular coordinate system.
EDGE Viewer or general inquiries can be directed to [email protected]. , http://www.autometric.com
ESRI Leads the Way in the Growing GIS Software Market
ESRI announced the results of a recent study, titled Geographic Information Systems Markets and Opportunities, that highlighted ESRI as the world's leading geographic information system (GIS) software company.
The annual study is published by Daratech, Inc., a market research firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
ESRI commanded 35.1 percent of the total worldwide GIS software market in 1999 with nearly 300 million dollars in software revenues. For the GIS market as a whole, the total revenues generated in GIS software sales rose to 845 million dollars in 1999, a healthy 12.8 percent increase over the previous year.
To obtain a copy of the survey, contact Daratech, Inc., at 617-354-2339. .
ESRI and TrafficStation Establish Joint Development Initiative
ESRI and TrafficStation, Inc., a leading provider of interactive traffic and transportation information services spanning the Internet and wireless, and Telematics markets, announced a broad reaching technical relationship to develop alternate routing, true time-to-destination, and traffic forecasting services. The companies will also collaborate to integrate ESRI's mapping, data visualization, and routing capabilities into TrafficStation's proactive services delivered across an array of platforms. This announcement builds on and expands the existing alliance between the companies, which involves cooperative marketing programs to develop and offer integrated traffic and GIS services to government and Fortune 1000 business clients with transportation challenges.
Utilizing ESRI's scalable ArcIMS and ArcSDE software, TrafficStation will deliver real-time traffic information and alerts on detailed, multitiered area maps. ESRI's developers' toolkit, NetEngine, will provide dynamic intelligent routing services to the mobile user via voice recognition and wireless application protocol (WAP) browser interfaces.
Initial application of the ESRI and TrafficStation collaboration will be implemented in the upcoming Trips 123 federal model deployment initiative (MDI). The largest and most ambitious of the four federally funded MDIs, Trips 123 will provide real-time traffic and public transportation information as well as intelligent route planning services to more than 18 million people in the Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York areas. ESRI will integrate traffic data from TrafficStation with other spatial data, such as street maps and railway data, and serve this information to the areas' commuters via the Trips 123.com Web site and wireless devices. ArcIMS features direct "data streaming" between the server and a Web browser or other clients, and its unique architecture provides an open and flexible platform.
ArcIMS easily scales from the smallest Intranet installation to the most demanding Internet site. Ernie Ott, ESRI transportation industry manager, said, "Our newest Internet Map Server product, ArcIMS, enables large cities and metropolitan areas to take full advantage of Internet mapping technology for advanced traveler information systems without the previous concerns associated with scalability and performance." With little software customization involved, the mapping service is slated for a speedy deployment. Ott said the Trips 123 project development and initial implementation phase are scheduled for completion by midsummer.
This union of companies is another leap toward the development and deployment of TrafficStation 3.0 and 4.0 product releases. Product features will include dynamic congestion mapping, comprehensive speed and flow information, intelligent routing services, true time-to-destination calculations, integrated voice recognition, and graphic WAP mapping interfaces on metropolitan and interstate roadways. About TrafficStation
TrafficStation (www.trafficstation.com) is North America's leading provider of personalized traffic and traveler information via the Internet, telecommunications, and mobile wireless devices. Services are currently offered in twenty-seven major metropolitan areas in the United States and Canada with a rapid North American rollout continuing through 2000.
Current clients and partners include Microsoft, Zip2/Alta Vista, Vicinity MapBlast!, MyWay.com, the New York Times, AvantGo, Phone.com, and U.S. Wireless Corporation.
TrafficStation leadership has been recognized through its selection as partner in the AZTech and Trips123 federal model deployment initiatives in Arizona and New York. TrafficStation is also working with Microsoft to deliver its traffic solutions to Windows CE devices, with PalmComputing for popular palm devices and with Phone.com to deliver solutions through wireless application protocol and wireless mark-up language. About ESRI
For more than thirty years, ESRI has been the leading developer of geographic information system (GIS) software with more than 220,000 clients worldwide. ESRI also provides consulting, implementation, and technical support services. In addition to its headquarters in California, ESRI has regional offices throughout the United States, international distributors in more than ninety countries, and more than 900 resellers and developers. ESRI's goal is to provide users with comprehensive tools to help them quickly and efficiently manage and use geographic information to make a real difference in the world around them. ESRI can be found on the Web at www.esri.com.
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