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ENEA Relies on ERDAS APOLLO to Ensure Sustainability

Norcross, Georgia (USA) —ERDAS and Planetek Italia announce that ERDAS APOLLO has been implemented by the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment (ENEA). ERDAS APOLLO is providing decision support to help define the optimal location of energy plants to produce biomasses. These biomasses are a renewable energy source, biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood, waste and alcohol fuels. Planetek Italia is ERDAS’ authorized distributor in Italy.

ENEA is a public agency supporting Italy’s sustainable development in energy, the environment and new technologies. ENEA is an existing Planetek Italia customer, already using several other ERDAS desktop authoring solutions.

In Italy, there have been a number of studies on how biomasses can be used for alternative energy. However, these studies often use different methodologies, lacking geocoding information, and are absent of digital maps. Thematic maps representing the availability of biomasses do not express an area’s full potential, often lacking adequate supporting aerial imagery.

ERDAS APOLLO is an out-of-the-box, standards-based Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) solution that efficiently manages and quickly serves massive amounts of geospatial data located and distributed across an organization. ERDAS APOLLO simplifies the utilization of vector, raster and terrain data, seamlessly integrating with existing GIS environments, leveraging business systems and supporting almost any kind of data input (including ArcSDE, PostGIS & Oracle).

For ENEA, the ERDAS APOLLO web client interface is a decision support tool for the installation and logistics of biomass facilities, as well as a tool for the planning and monitoring the national and European target for the energy policy. ERDAS APOLLO aggregates their different data sources, manages their raster and vector data and implements OCG Compliant Web Services to publish data maps. Ultimately, this enables the different offices of ENEA to consume information remotely. The availability of national Web Map Service (WMS) provided by the Italian National Cartographic Portal (http://www.pcn.minambiente.it), and the ImageConnect® catalogue from DigitalGlobe (http://www.digitalglobe.com/index.php/48/Products?product_id=19) also allows users to integrate several data sources, and compare thematic maps and the Italian VHR satellite coverage with biomass databases.

Vincenzo Motola, researcher and project manager, ENEA Trisaia, said, “ENEA can now update remotely from its local and central offices the contents of the geodatabase, and to add new WMS services. We can now observe the status of bioenergy supply chains and its availability in Italy, and we can verify the real-time achievement of climate objectives requested by the European Union.”

The Atlante delle Biomasse is available at http://atlantebiomasse.trisaia.enea.it/

“ENEA selected ERDAS APOLLO for its capability to catalog not only ERDAS APOLLO web services but also external web services, thus allowing the update of geospatial data to remote authorized workgroups,” said Thomas Bayer, Vice President, EMEA, ERDAS.

For more information about ERDAS or its products and services, please call +1 770 776 3400, toll free +1 877 GO ERDAS, or visit www.erdas.com

About ERDAS

ERDAS creates geospatial business systems that transform our earth’s data into business information, enabling individuals, businesses and public agencies to quickly access, manage, process, and share that information from anywhere.

Using secure geospatial information, ERDAS solutions improve employee, customer and partner visibility to information, enabling them to respond faster and collaborate better. It also means better decision-making, increased productivity and new revenue streams.

ERDAS is a part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden. For more information about ERDAS or its products and services, please call +1 770 776 3400, toll free +1 866 534 2286, or visit www.erdas.com

Media Contact:
Jason Sims
ERDAS, Inc.
Marketing Manager
5051 Peachtree Corners Circle, Suite 100
Norcross, GA 30092
Phone: +1 770 776 3400 or +1 866 534 2286
E-mail: Jason.Sims@erdas.com

…e-geos news…


19/09/2009: Special acquisition over Paris…

The musician Bob Sinclar requested e-GEOS, through ESA, to acquire an image during the recording of his video Peace Song, in a stadium at the base of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on the occasion of the United Nations International Day of Peace. After a week of cloudy weather, on Saturday, September 19 at 13:37 local time, with the help of our colleagues from Euromap, who operate the Neustrelitz facility on behalf of e-GEOS, the image was acquired by GeoEye-1 (at the extreme angle visible above) and processed by the IPF.

The e-GEOS GeoEye-1 Imaging and Processing Facility (IPF) in Neustrelitz (Germany), which is managed by Euromap, with the support of the DLR, has been fully operational since July 1st, 2009. The agreement with GeoEye allows e-GEOS to task the GeoEye-1 satellite.

The Bob Sinclar video can be seen here

01/07/2009: Capital increase for e-GEOS: company created by ASI and Telespazio (a Finmeccanica/Thales company) fully operational from today

e-GEOS, the company created by the Italian Space Agency and Telespazio is fully operational from today. The shareholders’ meeting of the company approved the capital increase of e-GEOS via the transfer of the earth observation division from Telespazio and the rights to the commercial distribution of COSMO-SkyMed data from ASI. >>

Press release

SOURCE

Starlab…Space…Smart new concepts for Remote Sensing applications

About Starlab

Starlab converts science into technologies with a profound positive impact on society and the planet. Our vision is to make science more useful, alive, vibrant, faster. With impact.

Customer oriented scientists:Scientific excellence and business discipline to transform science into solutions

New sensor, mission concepts and applications for Global Monitoring, Environment and Security

Starlab Space develops new and alternative methods for Remote Sensing applications.

On the technology side, we are working today on new space sensors and mission concepts for environmental monitoring, including remote sensing applications of GPS an Galileo, as well as new radar concepts.

On the application side, we have developed and continue to improve operational information services using space data for oil spill monitoring and water quality.

Our research includes the development of new sensor, concepts and efficient algorithms to extract maximal information from data, identification of platform/deployment opportunities, as well as development of know-how on the best use of data products for scientific and operational applications.

The Space Team has a strong expertise in radar altimetry, optical imaging, Synthetic Aperture Radar image processing and the use of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals. Several members of the department have been working with the European Space Agency before joining the company and some of them are pioneers in GNSS Reflections analysis.

Examples of our capacity include:

  • Feasibility studies and development of algorithms (GNSS-Reflections, Wide Swath Ocean Altimeter, Wavemill Concept)
  • Implementation of algorithms (DARWIN, space interferometry for exo-planet observation)
  • Mission analysis (SMOS collocation studies, GNSS-R mission strategies for mesoscale altimetry and tsunami detection)
  • Development of instrument prototypes (PARIS PAD, GNSS-R altimetry airborne demonstrator)
  • Data processing (GPS Reflections, scatterometry, altimetry, ice, soil moisture applications)
  • The implementation of operational services (GMES MARCOAST, oil spill detection and water quality services using space and in situ data as well as MERCATOR models)

Our clients in the space sector include the European Space Agency, EADS, Ifremer, Alcatel, Telespazio, MERCATOR, and CNES.

Earth Observation Services

Satellites offer the capability to observe the Earth in a powerful, global way for improved management and sustainability

Earth Observation images show the world through a wide-enough frame so that complete large-scale phenomena can be observed to an accuracy and entirety it would take an army of ground-level observers to match. A single satellite image has the potential to show the spread of air pollution across a continent, the precise damage done in a region struck by an earthquake or forest fires, or the entire span of a 500-km hurricane from the calmness of its eye to its outermost storm fronts.

Earth Observation images can access remote areas where ground-based data acquisition is not possible. Since they remain in place for long periods of time, satellites can provide us a lot of interesting archived data and shows environmental changes occuring gradually.

Starlab provides services based in Earth Observation data (usually integrated with other in-situ data) to support clients working in:

  • Renewal energy: wind mapping and wave mapping service for site selection or management of renewable energy plants.
  • Environment monitoring: oil spill detection and water quality service to support our clients in regular monitoring in their countries/regions
  • Water resources management: snow cover and soil moisture service to manage water in a more efficient way

Starlab is able to provide customised services for our client. Integrating EO data with in-situ available data. Our strong R&D capability can also help to solve the challenges of our clients by providing enhanced services in support of critical decision making.

SOURCE

…SPOT-2 archive, spor magazine 46…

30/09/2009
KOMPSAT-2: See how a mosaic of Barcelona is produced

28/09/2009
3 month special offer: Get 50% discount on all SPOT-2 archive

31/08/2009
Spot Magazine 46

24/08/2009
The Colorado River is no longer reaching its delta. The story behind SPOT 2’s last image

31/07/2009
Spot Infoterra Group to supply Serbia with a national spatial data infrastructure

Company Recognized at the 6th Annual Awards for Excellence in Satellite Management in Paris

Longmont, Colo., September 17, 2009 – DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI), a leading global provider of commercial high-resolution, world-imagery products and services for defense and intelligence, government, and commercial clients, today announced that it has been named Earth Observation Operator of the Year by Euroconsult.

“The Awards for Excellence in Satellite Management recognize companies who have made a particularly strong impact on the satellite industry through their vision, growth, profit or innovation,” said Pac�me Revillon, CEO of Euroconsult. “This annual tradition at the World Satellite Business Week allows the industry to celebrate their accomplishment, and the overall success of the industry.”

Euroconsult is the leading global research and analyst firm specializing in the satellite sector. Its annual awards for Excellence in Satellite Management are considered the highest tribute in the satellite sector, awarded to companies for outstanding achievement in important categories that include Earth Observation Operator of the Year. Awards are presented each September in Paris at World Satellite Business Week, now in its 13th year. A jury of industry experts applies rigorous quantitative and qualitative standards to determine award winners.

“I am pleased to see DigitalGlobe recognized as the best-in-class global provider of commercial high resolution earth imagery products and services,” said Jill Smith, chairman and CEO of DigitalGlobe. “The addition of this award category is a nod to the growing importance of commercial earth observation, and validation of DigitalGlobe’s success in expanding and shaping this market.”

About DigitalGlobe

DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI) is a leading global provider of commercial, high-resolution, world-imagery products and services for defense and intelligence, government, and commercial clients. Sourced from its own advanced satellite constellation, DigitalGlobe’s imagery solutions support a wide variety of uses for government agencies, civil agencies, mapping and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure management, Internet portals, and navigation technology. With advanced collection sources and a comprehensive ImageLibrary containing more than 730 million square kilometers of imagery and imagery products, DigitalGlobe offers a range of on- and off-line products and services designed to enable clients to access and integrate imagery seamlessly into business operations and applications. For more information, please visit www.digitalglobe.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. We generally identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or other similar words, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Any forward-looking statements contained in this release are based upon our historical performance and on our current plans, estimates and expectations. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual financial and operational results may vary materially from those indicated in these statements. Additional information regarding risk factors, uncertainties and assumption concerning our business is described more fully in documents filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Written by DigitalGlobe. 17 September 2009
Source GISUSER

Related info SYS

…Fastest Image Server on the Planet…

ERDAS Image Web Server’s optimized tile delivery enables you to quickly deliver massive amounts of raster and vector data. With optimized tile delivery, all of your data (not just a subset) is always served faster than you ever thought possible. This ERDAS solution is ideal for government organizations with geospatial data to share with the public. If your organization is interested in creating a public access website, IWS can show you how easy and inexpensive a powerful geospatial serving engine can be implemented. Solving the infrastructure congestion problems traditionally associated with deploying large amounts of image data, users quickly access the information they need. With ERDAS Image Web Server, individuals may access imagery using CAD, GIS, mobile, web and desktop applications.

Robust architecture ensures maximum availability and complete scalability to your your organization needs: – Windows, Linux, Solaris versions available, – Easy ArcIMS integration, ECW Layer I-Wizard for ArcIMS 3.x/4.x/9.x 7.01 and free ECW JPEG2000 Plug-in for ArcGIS® Desktop Products available, – Seamless integration of AutoDesk’s MapGuide Enterprise 2008 Platform , – ECW and JPEG 2000 plug-in for AutoCAD 2007 / 2008 / 2009.

Further information on product:

- NEW! Link to IWS websiteERDAS Image Web Server product site

Source

DigitalGlobe today announced that it has received October 8, 2009, as the new scheduled launch date for its WorldView-2 high-resolution remote-sensing satellite.

WorldView-2 will launch on a Boeing Delta II launch vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. DigitalGlobe expects images and products from WorldView-2 to be commercially available approximately 90 days after a successful launch.

WorldView-2: Deeper analysis. Faster insight

When WorldView-2 launches, it will be launching more than a new satellite. The satellte is introducing a truer view of the world. It will be the first commercial satellite to offer 8-band capability with unsurpassed accuracy, agility, capacity and spectral diversity expected. Along with the four typical multispectral bands – Blue (450-510), Green (510-580), Red (630-690) and NearIR (770-895) – WorldView-2 is introducing a Coastal Band (400 – 450 nm), a Yellow Band (585 – 625 nm), a Red Edge Band (705 – 745 nm) and a second Near Infrared 2 Band (860 – 1040 nm). So you’ll have a better visual understanding of the world.

WorldView-2 Spectral Response Overview

The Power of the Constellation

With the launch of WorldView-2, DigitalGlobe will have the most powerful constellation of commercial high resolution satellites around the globe. For customers, this means intra-day revisit to any place on Earth and easy access to the broadest range of geospatial information products possible from a single source. Resolution: 50 cm; Swath Width: 16.4 kilometers at nadir

Higher Capacity/Faster Revisit

With its improved agility, WorldView-2 will be able to act like a paintbrush, sweeping back and forth to collect very large areas of multispectral imagery in a single pass. WorldView-2 alone will be able to collect nearly 1 million sq km every day, doubling the collection capacity of our constellation to nearly 2 million sq km per day. And the combination of WorldView-2’s increased agility and high altitude enables it to typically revisit any place on earth in 1.1 days.

WorldView- 2 Documents:

WorldView-2 Datasheet
Constellation Guide
Overview Presentation
Spectral Response Overview
Bathymetry Datasheet
Vegetative Analysis Datasheet
Feature Classification Datasheet
8-Band Applications Whitepaper

Webinars:

DigitalGlobe founder on WorldView-2
New Spectral Band Applications

The launch of WorldView-2 will make DigitalGlobe the only commercial world-imagery provider with high-resolution, eight-band multispectral capability. The additional multispectral band capability of WorldView-2 is expected to enable higher levels of feature identification and extraction and more accurately reflect the world’s natural color, with the potential to benefit many applications, including environmental monitoring, change detection, and defense and intelligence.

About DigitalGlobe

DigitalGlobe is a leading global provider of commercial, high-resolution, world-imagery products and services for defense and intelligence, civil government, and commercial clients. Sourced from its own advanced satellite constellation, DigitalGlobe’s imagery solutions support a wide variety of uses for government agencies, civil agencies, mapping and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure management, Internet portals, and navigation technology. With advanced collection sources and a comprehensive ImageLibrary containing more than 730 million square kilometers of imagery and imagery products, DigitalGlobe offers a range of on- and off-line products and services designed to enable clients to access and integrate imagery seamlessly into business operations and applications. For more information, please visit www.digitalglobe.com.

More info
Directionsmag

… news on MEOS™ Control…

KSPT MEOS™ Polar installed in Khabarovsk, Russia

Kongsberg Spacetec has successfully installed two MEOS™ POLAR systems at the Far-Eastern center of ROSHYDROMET, in Khabarovsk, Russia.

The MEOS™ POLAR systems will be part of the EUMETSAT EARS network and support MODIS/ SEASTAR/ FY1/ NOAA/ NPOESS receipt and processing using two 3 m L/X antennas with 4.5 m radomes.

These two systems are the first in a series of five systems to be delivered to ROSHYDROMET during 2009.

The next two systems are delivered to the ROSHYDROMET Western-Siberian center in Novosibirsk. The last system is delivered to the ROSHYDROMET European center in Moscow-Dolgoprudny.

For more information about the customer: ROSHYDROMET – Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring

KSPT MEOS™ Control to Kongsberg Satellite Services, Norway

Kongsberg Spacetec has signed a contract with Kongsberg Satellite Services to deliver a MEOS™ Control system to support operations of one of KSATs antenna systems.

MEOS™ Control is Kongsberg Spacetec’s product for Ground Station monitoring and control. A Ground Station often consists of a number of specialized units, e.g. demodulators, modulators, antenna control units (ACU), converters, switch matrices, etc. Instead of handling these units as stand alone units, MEOS™ Control integrates them into one overall system, with a common GUI and a common API for remote operations.

For more information about the customer: Kongsberg Satellite Services

Office address: Kongsberg Spacetec AS
Prestvannveien 38, P.O.Box 6244
NO-9292 Tromsø, Norway
Phone: +47 77 66 08 00 // Fax: +47 77 65 58 59
Email: marketing@spacetec.no

…news on VTracker, Autodesk LandXplorer Studio, 3D city mapping tool…

24 September 2009: Infoterra launches VTracker a visual resource tracking system

VTracker, part of the Imass product suite, enables mobile resources to be tracked and locations viewed in real-time on aerial photography or maps.
This system is ideal for many police, fire & rescue, security and transportation operations where the management of multiple resources which could be located in different places across a broad geographical area is required.

Read press release in english

17 September 2009: Infoterra Ltd signs agreement to sell Autodesk LandXplorer Studio

Infoterra Ltd has extended its portfolio of end-to-end geospatial products and services through an agreement with Autodesk Inc to resell LandXplorer Studio in the UK.

Read press release in english

16 September 2009: Infoterra prepares launch of cutting edge 3D city mapping tool – Skape

Infoterra Ltd is to launch in the United Kingdom a brand new 3D city mapping service later this year which it says “will have to be seen to be believed”.

Named Skape, its applications are diverse, providing B2B professionals with presentational 3D city and mapping data, as well as high accuracy building information of the UK’s major cities.

Read press release in english

25 August 2009: Space technology used to fight forest fires in Greece

SAFER, coordinated by Infoterra France, is an emergency service that produces maps from satellite images, as part of the GMES programme.

On Sunday 23 August, at 20:15, the Hellenic General Secretariat for Civil Protection requested that the European Services and Applications for Emergency Response (SAFER) be put in to effect to help fight the fires raging around Athens.
Developed as part of the European Commission’s Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security (GMES) programme, SAFER is an emergency service that produces maps from satellite images to help the work of disaster and emergency services. The European Space Agency will ask several satellite operators, including Spot Image, to supply images of the Athens area. The Greek Civil Protection teams will then receive a series of maps showing how the situation is developing on the ground. The maps will also allow Greek authorities to accurately measure the extent of the damage caused by the fires.

View website
Read press release in english

SOURCE

September 28, 2009, Cambridge, United Kingdom – The United Nations Environment Programme‘s World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) today announced that they have invited Safe Software into their Proteus Partnership, a collaboration of progressive corporate business leaders and the UNEP-WCMC.

The goal of Proteus is to provide industry decision makers with access to the best possible data on location and distribution of biodiversity to support risk management and safeguard the Earth’s biodiversity and ecosystems.

The UNEP-WCMC helps decision-makers to protect conservation areas and therefore ensure that future generations can enjoy the benefits of biodiversity. To accomplish this, the Centre provides critical information to aid biodiversity assessments and policy support for decision making by compiling data from governments and other sectors around the world and making it globally available.

The challenge in achieving this objective is that data is created and stored in a wide variety of formats, models and coordinate systems by providers from all over the world. To overcome these barriers, the UNEP-WCMC turned to Safe Software’s leading spatial ETL platform FME. When Safe Software learned of this situation in 2007, they donated FME to the Centre to help their critical global initiative. The Centre is now able to translate, transform and integrate source datasets as required, to make necessary information accessible and as current and accurate as possible.

“Safe Software has proven to be a valuable partner for the Centre in helping us meet our global mandate,” says Mônica Barcellos Harris, Head of Programme – Business, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services at UNEP-WCMC. “Their solution makes it possible for us to compile and deliver the data stakeholders need to make better informed decisions that safeguard biodiversity on our planet for future generations.”

Previously, bringing biodiversity information together from all over the world was challenging, requiring manual comparisons of existing maps with new data, which required assumptions that could risk data integrity. Today using FME, the UNEP-WCMC is able to provide this information directly to the decision makers in much less time and with greater accuracy. Additionally, FME has enabled the integration of data from areas of the globe which the Centre previously could not translate, ensuring that the World Database of Protected Areas (WDPA), the only global dataset of protected areas, delivers the world-wide data needed to power conservation efforts.

“We’re honoured to be invited into the Proteus Partnership,” says Don Murray, President of Safe Software. “At Safe, we fully support the vital work that the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre is doing to help our world. Being able to assist critical initiatives like theirs is what makes our daily work so rewarding.”
Moving forward, Safe Software will continue to support the UNEP-WCMC by providing training and sharing their data conversion knowledge to enable further, more efficient data access for biodiversity conservation.

About Safe Software and FME

Safe Software powers the flow of spatial data with its software platform, FME. The recognized standard in spatial ETL (extract, transform and load), FME is the only complete solution for data conversion. It delivers the most extensive format support for data translation and integration, and provides unlimited flexibility in data model transformation and distribution.

FME is used by thousands of customers worldwide in a variety of industries including government, utilities, and petroleum. Its powerful data access technology also makes FME the choice of leading GIS, CAD, and database vendors for integration into their own solutions. Designed for true data interoperability, FME unleashes spatial data so people can use it where, when, and how they want to. For more information, visit www.safe.com.

About UNEP-WCMC

The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre is is the biodiversity assessment and biodiversity policy support arm of the United Nations Environment Programme, the world’s foremost intergovernmental environmental organization. The Centre has been in operation for over 25 years, providing objective, scientifically rigorous products and services to help decision makers recognize the value of biodiversity and apply this knowledge to all that they do. The Centre’s core business is locating data about biodiversity and its conservation, interpreting and analysing that data to provide assessments and policy analysis, and making the results available to both national and international decision makers and businesses.

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