ERDAS®, Inc. will soon release IMAGINE NITF™ 2.1, a new product created in compliance with the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) National Imagery Transmission Format Standard (NITFS) MIL-STD-2500B. The Joint Interoperability Test Command at Fort Huachuca, Arizona certifies IMAGINE NITF to level 7, the highest rating currently available. Primarily the United States and NATO governments use the product, a data format for digital imagery and imagery-related products. The ISO/IEC Standard 12087-5 Basic Image Interchange Format (BIIF), which implemented NITFS, is an international standard developed to meet today's imagery management needs. While the United States intelligence community, and other U.S. agencies and departments largely use NITF, this format is also being adopted as a standard by civilian organizations (ISO/ANSI BIIF) and governments outside of the U.S. (e.g., NATO (using the NSIF 1.0 version)).
Visit:
www.erdas.com
Top Stories
Post-Strike commercial satellite image of Kandahar, Afghanistan Available
Space Imaging's first post-strike satellite image of Afghanistan is now available for sale to the media as a standard SpacePic product for $500. A 'before' image of Kandahar airfield will be provided at no charge when the post-strike image is purchased. This commercial one-meter resolution satellite image of the Kandahar airfield in Afghanistan was collected on Oct. 10, 2001 by Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite. The damage visible to the airfield's runway, taxiway and revetments is evidence of the precision delivery of the coalition ordinance. There is no visual evidence of damage to non-critical areas. Ordinance impacts are especially evident when compared to a 'before' image of the same airfield taken by the IKONOS satellite on April 23, 2001. The Kandahar airfield is located southeast of the city of Kandahar. For more details Visit:
http://www.spaceimaging.com/newsroom/war_gallery.htm
VARGIS receives "Top Performer" Award from USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has formally commended VARGIS of Texas' performance for outstanding quality and timely delivery of Digital Orthophotoquads (DOQs)
under the Michigan Innovative Partnership (MI-IP) Agreement. The VARGIS team includes Woolpert, LLC of Dayton, Ohio and EarthData International of Gaithersburg, MD. Recognition as a top performer was given in both an official letter and as a wall plaque. An agreement between the National Mapping Discipline of USGS and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MI-DNR) resulted in the selection of the VARGIS team under a contract awarded for the production of 207 Color Infrared DOQs of the northern peninsula of Michigan. VARGIS delivered all of the DOQs on time, and they were 100% accepted during the first review. Influenced by the high quality DOQ's delivered by VARGIS, a continuation modification was made to the IP cooperative agreement for the production of an additional 1,907 DOQs.
Visit:
http://www.vargis.com/
Maporama Joins SignalSoft's local.info™ Alliance to shape the future of LBS
2001 Maporama, the European leader in online cartography and geocentric information, has announced a technological alliance with SignalSoft Corporation, the developer of the Wireless Location Services® software suite. Through SignalSoft's local.info™ Alliance program, both companies will work together to market and sell location enabled wireless services to network operators worldwide. The integration of both companies' technology will enable mobile operators and other corporate customers, particularly retail networks, franchises, chains etc. to exploit the full power of geocentric information combined with automatic positioning systems. The solutions under development are automatic proximity searching with power itinerary functionalities. Maporama will provide companies with efficient means of addressing potential customers with detailed information on where their outlets are found in the surrounding area, how to get there, what promotions they can benefit from etc.
Visit:
www.maporama.com
DigitalGlobe successfully launches QuickBird imaging satellite
DigitalGlobe announced the successful launch and deployment of the QuickBird high-resolution remote sensing satellite. Once operational, QuickBird will provide the highest resolution, commercially available, satellite imagery and the foundation for a wide array of information products. After an on-orbit calibration and commissioning period of about 90 days, QuickBird will begin acquiring 61-centimeter (2-foot) resolution panchromatic (black and white) and 2.44-meter (8-foot) multispectral (color) imagery. At 61-centimeter resolution, buildings, roads, bridges and other detailed infrastructure become visible. The imagery will be used for a wide range of applications, focusing on the assessment and management of land, infrastructure, and natural resources. QuickBird will collect an industry-leading 16.5-kilometer (10.3-mile) swath of imagery that enables greater collection of large areas. QuickBird is the first in a constellation of remote sensing satellites DigitalGlobe will launch in the coming years.
Visit:
http://www.digitalglobe.com/index.jsp?goto=news/news_10_18_2001
manifold.de Goes Online!
manifold.net and StrateGIS today announced the launch of manifold.de, the first European portal for the Manifold System community. The principally German language portal provides information to people using or interested in Manifold System. English language pages provide translations for browser's worldwide.
Visit:
http://www.manifold.net/ &
http://www.manifold.de/
GPS Service Interruptions Notice to Airmen
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the U.S. Coast Guard periodically receive notices of potential GPS service interruptions that could affect GPS service availability in a localized geographic area. To ensure the public receives timely notification of such occurrences the NIS will post the applicable sections of the FAA's Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), and the Coast Guard's Broadcast Notice to Mariners (BNM) as they become available.
For more details Visit:
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/gpsnotices/whitesands.htm &
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/gpsnotices/chinalake2.htm
Open source GIS - GRASS users conference 2002
The Open source GIS - GRASS users conference will take place in Trento, Italy, 11-13 September 2002. This conference is the result of the joint effort of many GRASS developers and users all over the world to foster closer relations and provide opportunities for greater interactions among the open GIS and GRASS communities. The aim of the conference is twofold: the exchange of experiences between Open GIS and GRASS users and developers and the possibility for the potential users to access first-hand information and GRASS capability demonstration, especially for users from developing countries. The conference is organized by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Trento with the help of an Organizing Committee including some of the most prominent GIS/GRASS experts around the world.
Visit:
http://grass.itc.it/conferences/conf_trento2002.html
Asia News
Chinese & Japanese Experts Brought in to Stop Landslides
China and Japan launched technological cooperation to control and prevent landslides and debris flows, the worst geographic hazards threatening the two countries.
Their main priority is to offer week-long courses to Chinese erosion-control officials and technicians, starting from Tuesday.
Two experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency will give lectures for some 60 Chinese personnel on the counter-measures used by Japan to control sediment-related disasters and analyze case studies of such geographic hazards.
Chinese and Japanese experts will also hold a seminar on the preventive technologies of landslide and slope failure to develop a warning system to monitor landslides and mudslides along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River - a region plagued with geographical disasters.
"Such geographic hazards have become one of the worst factors affecting the region's economic development and social stability," Hu Jiajun, a water official warned. "It is time for China to mitigate such damages through adopting advanced technologies."
The training program is the first of its kind since last year's official launch of the Sino-Japanese training scheme during the 2000-05 period.
Visit:
http://www.china.org.cn/english/20682.htm
Newpalm Puts Directory in Chinese Hands
Beijing,October 17 (Xinhuanet)--One of China's Internet services providers announced last week that China's mobile phone customers will now have access to roughly 500 million international phone numbers and addresses via their handsets, according to Chinadaily.com.
Newpalm (China) Information Technology Co Ltd launched its new Sonera Finder directory service on October 11. The service enables Chinese mobile phone users to search for international telephone directory information from 11 countries.
John Xiao, Newpalm's CEO said: "Sonera Finder makes locating and communicating with people around the world easier and, thus, helps all people living and working in China."
Sonera Finder provides access to contact information in the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Belgium and Switzerland.
The service will initially be available to China Mobile users in Beijing but will not be limited to the capital as Newpalm plans to expand coverage to the whole of China.
The service is a result of collaberation between Newpalm and Finnish firm Sonera Info Communications Ltd. The two companies plan to expand distribution of the service to cover all of China and add access to local directories, said Sonera Senior Area Manager Petri Ojanen.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
