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February 2001
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Texas commits to SPOT statewide image mapping
Reston, Va., Feb. 7-- The University of Texas at Austin --Center for Space Research has purchased a statewide satellite image map produced by SPOT Image. Texas joins a growing list of states committed to this innovative commercial mapping program. UT-CSR has licensed the image map to be openly shared by state, county and local government agencies, and the state school system from kindergarten through university level. Federal government agencies, commercial companies and other organizations desiring access to these, or any other satellite image products should contact SPOT Image Corporation directly at theworld@spot.com.
"The entire Texas GIS/remote sensing community stands to benefit from the creative approach taken by SPOT in providing a recent orthoimage product for the state," said Dr. Gordon Wells, Texas State Technical Analyst. "The terms of our agreement permit public viewing of the full-resolution SPOT imagery
through an Internet Map Service (IMS). The geo-referenced imagery will be shared with our colleagues in agency and academic institutions."
The Texas statewide image map will be created from recent black and white 10-meter resolution SPOT satellite imagery processed to a high degree of map accuracy, and formatted for use in desktop mapping and geographic information systems (GIS).
The Texas image map is part of the new "SPOT USA Select" product series (www.spot.com/HOME/NEWS/spotusaselect.htm ) which offers nationwide coverage, and allows state governments to easily take advantage of imagery for planning and management activities. Previously, technical and commercial barriers inherent in government and other commercial satellite systems prevented such widespread use of imagery. These barriers include: high price, license restrictions, cumbersome file sizes, delivery delays, inconsistent quality and user-hostile product formats. Other states that have purchased SPOT statewide image maps include: California, Idaho, Kentucky, Pennsylvania,
Maine, Maryland, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia.
SPOT Image Corporation works with "modern geography" - creating geographic information, visualization and simulation databases of any location in the world using commercial and government satellite imagery, elevation models and other types of data. SPOT is the only U.S. company that can provide the image quality, processing, delivery, pricing and licensing flexibility to create products and services such as SPOT USA Select. For general information on SPOT see http://www.spot.com/spot-us.htm .
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