 |
||
|
||
|
|
||
|
US SOCOM Grants Phase II Award for
GeoTIFF 2.0 to PI Team August
20, 1999 Summary Position Integrity LLC is please
to announce that the U.S. Special Operation Command has contracted with our team
for the follow on Phase II award to fully develop the GeoTIFF 2.0 architecture,
viewing applications and sample datasets which leverage the maximum advantages
of multi-scale, nested geographic information.
The specification for GeoTIFF 2.0 was written during the Phase I
contract. This current Phase II contract was awarded at $750,000. A major
subcontract from our prime contract was then issued to the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory for several of the critical design tasks. History
Through
Army STTR Phase I and Phase II efforts, a flexible image manipulation
architecture has been created and fielded based on the GeoTIFF version 1.0
format. This global commercial standard
allows the display of vector, raster and matrix datasets in both 2D moving map
systems and 3D real time perspective fly-through displays. The architecture is
currently fielded in a JSOC Phase III production contract called "Jagged Shadow
Digital Call for Fire System". While
any GIS dataset can be manipulated with version 1.0, a separate file is
required for each different data type and resolution. An OSD/SOCOM SBIR Phase I
created the GeoTIFF version 2.0 specification and architecture to
integrate multiple resolution raster images for the same geographic area, along
within any number of simultaneous vector overlays, into a single file. The
specific scientific advances transferred from JPL include their pioneering work
on variable resolution image manipulation.
The Position Integrity team has
already converted their GeoTIFF v 1.0 architecture into a portable workstation
which runs under Windows NT 4.0 on inexpensive Intel Pentium computers and this
effort will similarly maximize the use of these proven globally pervasive COTS
solutions. Work Plan
The overall work plan for this effort is as follows: 1)
Publish
the GeoTIFF 2.0 specification and incorporate peer review from the military,
scientific and commercial communities. 2)
Generate
the version 2.0 library of routines and begin format testing 3)
Incorporate
the version 2.0 library routines into the Position Integrity Application suite.
4)
Generate
prototype GeoTIFF 2.0 datasets. 5)
Apply
the integrated technology across a spectrum of customer needs. Commercial Benefits The commercial benefits are that GeoTIFF version 2.0 can be applied to any requirement
for real-time display of multi-window raster, vector and gridded datasets that
originate in different native formats, including search and rescue missions by
increasing pilot situational awareness during medivac operations. Military mission planners and
vehicle navigators who presently use our existing V1.0 system are the most
likely customers for an upgrade to GeoTIFF v 2.0. These include mission strategists, battlefield commanders, and
pilots. The military aviation community
has been especially receptive to our initial ideas about a multi-resolution
imagery tactical system. The
PI team will be supporting JPL processing of the 1998 Shuttle Radar Topography
Mission (SRTM), where a NASA orbiter will collect DTED level 2 data, land use/cover
imagery, obstacle data, and other Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar
(IFSAR) products over the globe on an eleven day mission. Our Phase II effort for this SBIR project
will coincide with the field and flight testing of SRTM data sets. GeoTIFF v 2.0 is designed with such space
missions in mind. Also,
the interest from the civil/medical search and rescue groups has been
profound. They are constantly
conducting SAR operations in unfamiliar surroundings, where helicopter pilots
quickly loose situation awareness. Lost
time equates to greater risk of saving a person in need of medical
attention. Our system would allow rapid
vectoring to mountainous regions with complete urban features mensurated with
cartographic maps. Another class of commercialization
avenues is in the general aviation arena.
Pilots with small planes could fly across the country with
high-resolution data for the connecting areas and lower resolution data for the
enroute geography. Position
Integrity LLC. is in a unique position to bring the technology to the
marketplace because we already have a working relationship with the NASA
JPL institution through the Technology
Affiliate Program (which we have been a member of for several years). In addition, we have production contracts in
place with the service commands that most benefit from using these advanced
data sets. Finally, we have a track
record of applying our multiple Phase III production contracts to a wide
spectrum of innovative products in the military, commercial and scientific
communities. For
more information contact Robert A. Severino at Position Integrity
or by email at
robert.severino@positionintegrity.com |
||
|
||