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Greetings!
Welcome to the latest issue of Footsteps and Futures, the PCI Geomatics newsletter containing our latest developments.
Monitoring natural and anthropogenic activities on earth through the analysis of remotely sensed satellite and aerial images is vital to a deeper understanding of our planet. PCI Geomatics remains committed to developing technology that will enable this comprehension.
We are seeing customers using imagery to monitor and report on environmental impacts, agriculture, public safety and security and more. And as the use of geospatial data and imagery increases, so does the need for an effective approach to transform this data into spatial information.
Many organizations require a cost-effective and time efficient strategy for their geospatial production workflows. As an industry leader, PCI’s strength lies in the provision of advanced satellite image processing tools and services in addition to providing fully scalable, high volume data processing solutions – from the desktop, to rack mounted server based systems.
As we approach 2010, we continue to advocate our “think bigger” mantra as we expand and invest in our future. Wishing you a healthy and prosperous year ahead!
Dr. Robert Moses
President and CEO, PCI Geomatics
Footsteps & Futures is now available in English, French(Français), Chinese(中文) and Russian(Русский). Visit the "Quick Links" section at the bottom of our newsletter.
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Company News |
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ESRI Business Partner - Integration of Imagery and GIS
PCI Geomatics is pleased to be a member of the ESRI Business Partner Program. Together with ESRI®, PCI will provide users with optimized desktop and server based workflows for correcting commercial satellite imagery along with tools for processing and analyzing radar imagery.
Geomatica 10.3 is available now and includes:
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Geomatica as client to ArcGIS® Server Image Extension
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Geomatica Save as RPDef
View our free webinar on Geomatica 10.3 to see demos:
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ArcGIS Server Image Extension web services – use within Geomatica workflow
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Use Geomatica to correct 50+ satellite sensors at any processing level
PCI Geomatics Wins Geospatial Leadership Award from
GeoTec Media
Announced at the GeoTec Event in Vancouver, BC, GeoTec Media awarded the Geospatial Innovator Award to PCI Geomatics for the GeoImaging Accelerator (GXL).
 The category of the Geospatial Innovator Award recognizes geospatial tool developers that have created new software or hardware that expands the possibilities of the geospatial industry. Final nominees were selected from a large pool of applicants nominated by the GeoTec media audience including GeoWorld Magazine, GeoPlace.com and the GeoReport e-newsletter. With a record breaking voting response from around the globe, PCI Geomatics was ahead of its closest competitor by more than 6 percentage points!
The GXL reduces bottlenecks for image pre-processing by encompassing modern computer hardware with programming techniques. The system combines the power and precision of Graphical Processing Units (GPU) with the accuracy and expertise of PCI’s automated workflows - ProLines. The benefits of ProLines include: the automation of repetitive and time consuming tasks, consistent results, operational efficiency, reduced labor costs and shorter delivery cycles.
Multinational Geospatial Co-production Program (MGCP)
PCI Geomatics has delivered an operational automated system for the orthorectification, pansharpening and mosaicking of large volumes of satellite imagery to COTESA, a privately held GIS company based in Valladolid, Spain.
The Spanish Government is working with COTESA to fulfill its requirements under the Multinational Geospatial Co-production Program (MGCP), undertaken by 28 NATO nations participating in the production of global high-resolution vector geospatial data.
By employing PCI Geomatics’ advanced component architecture GeomaticaX, the automated system is used to operationally process high resolution satellite imagery from QuickBird, IKONOS and SPOT-5. The volume of data to be processed with ProLines is estimated at 10,000 images over a three year period. Since ProLines are highly modular, it will provide COTESA the ability to easily add additional processing capabilities, thus increasing throughput and performance.
PCI Geomatics Receives Investment From
The Fonds régional de solidarité FTQ Outaouais
The Fonds régional de solidarité FTQ Outaouais finalized a $1,500,000 investment in PCI Geomatics to aid in fostering our international growth and presence.
Since their establishment in 1996, the 16 Fonds régional FTQ have participated actively in the economic development of each region in Quebec. Ms. Édith Gaudet, Director of the Fonds régional de solidarité FTQ Outaouais supports PCI by saying, "The team at PCI Geomatics has shown great dynamism and understanding of sector issues which has allowed them to rank among the world leaders in the industry."
PCI Geomatics looks forward to expanding our relationship with the Fonds; the proceeds will be used to accelerate our growth world-wide.
PCI Geomatics Receives Investment Funding From Industry Canada
In a press conference held in Toronto on September 9th, 2009, Industry Canada confirmed $200 million in funding for the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative (SADI) and announced a $7.6-million repayable investment in support of a research and development (R&D) project being undertaken by PCI Geomatics to develop next-generation earth observation technologies.
The R&D project at PCI Geomatics involves the development of a high-speed computing framework and software suite that will make it possible to process large amounts of raw satellite image data faster and more cost-effectively, while increasing the automation of image processing. The resulting data are essential for decision making in many fields, including environmental monitoring, agriculture, security and intelligence, aerospace and defense, and wide-area surveillance.
China and ISDE6
PCI Geomatics was pleased to take part as a silver sponsor at the 6th International Symposium on Digital Earth (ISDE6) in Beijing, China from September 9th-12th, 2009. Popular demonstrations within the tradeshow booth included our high performance automated image processing and image analysis technology. PCI also unveiled to the Asian market our GeoConference software – a live geospatial web conferencing technology that enables groups to share and view maps and images interactively over the web in real-time.
In addition to being an exhibitor and sponsor at the event, PCI also hosted several meetings to showcase our latest technology. Our September 8th session, "GeoImaging Solutions Seminar", was standing room only and featured the latest developments in the processing and managing of satellite imagery.
To learn more about PCI Geomatics Beijing, please contact Yubin Xin (xin@pcigeomatics.com).
GeoConference in Scandinavia
PCI Geomatics has assisted the National Survey and Cadastre in Denmark (KMS) with its GeoConference software for the planning, monitoring and coordination of land security and environmental activities. KMS has used and evaluated GeoConference for exercises related to oil spills at sea as well as security events that involved multiple agencies within Denmark.
The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB – Myndigheten för Samhällsskydd och Beredskap) has also selected GeoConference to assist with emergency preparation and disaster management planning by facilitating the cooperation and communication between government and various vital agencies.
GeoConference is a live geospatial meeting system that operates via the internet, and allows users to share maps, imagery and data simultaneously and interactively in real-time.
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Products & Solutions |
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GeoImaging Accelerator
 GeoImaging Accelerator* combines high-performance computing with PCI Geomatics expertise to provide significant improvements in speed and efficiency. By optimizing the automated ProLines workflows, traditional image-processing is elevated to industrial-strength production.
Performance enhancements are the result of improved data handling, distributed multi-threaded processing and optimized processors. The result is a cost-effective image processing system that completes work in a fraction of the time.
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4tb to 10tb per day of processing
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Flexible GPU-based architecture
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GPU orthorectification and pansharpening with hybrid mosaicking
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Job processing system
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Average time per job: orthorectify spot 5 in 38 seconds!
*Geospatial Innovator Award Winner 2009 (GeoTec Media)
ProLines
ProLines are workflows that automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks to produce consistent results, gain operating efficiencies, reduce labor costs, and shorten throughput times for delivery cycles.
Available workflows:
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Orthorectification (satellite and airphoto)
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Automated mosaicking
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Automated pansharpening
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Coming soon: AutoGCP and Additional Sensor Support
Geomatica 10.3
 Geomatica 10.3 is now available and includes imaging tools for GIS. Geomatica is a complete set of software for remote sensing, digital photogrammetry, raster spatial analysis, mosaicking and automated workflows. Geomatica also offers the most extensive suite of tools for advanced SAR analysis with support for the most current satellite platforms.
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Support for ESRI® ArcGIS Server Image Extension.
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Multi-sensor support through OrthoEngine for ArcGIS users. PCI's OrthoEngine technology can accurately and efficiently correct raw satellite imagery, opening new doors for the integration of remotely sensed imagery into GIS workflows.
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Improved manual mosaicking.
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New algorithms to create full AirPhoto orthorectification workflows within the Visual Modeler environment.
GeoConference
GeoConference is a simple to use geographic information-based conferencing systems.
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View and share maps with distant colleagues across the globe in real-time.
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Save time and reduce travel costs by coming together in a virtual, interactive environment.
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Connect to multiple GIS database systems simultaneously – your data security is never compromised.
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Facilitate critical decision making for fast, accurate assessments.
Web Store
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Buy Geomatica online!
Check out the PCI Geomatics web store available to customers in Canada.
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Technology Highlights |
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Our dedicated development team is continually looking to improve performance and add new functionality to our suite of software, with a view to implement scalable, and high performance tools and solutions. The following are some key areas where we are investing research and development funding:
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Changes to our software’s underlying spatial framework to make it possible to implement parallel processing as well as more efficient input/output (I/O) – we are already seeing great improvements in performance as a result of these changes
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We continue to re-factor our code base and implement efficient and GPU accelerated versions of our PCI Pluggable Functions (PPFs); this will allow us to implement scalable functionality in a variety of environments such as ESRI’s ArcGIS Geoprocessing Framework, as well as grid computing environments, with a view towards private and public cloud computing in the not too distant future
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Implementation of native 64 bit processing, as well as support of for 64 bit operating systems – resulting in stability and better performance
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Optimization of hardware configurations for the GeoImaging Accelerator (GXL), using Solid State Drives (SSDs) to optimize processing by reducing I/O bottlenecks
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Development of accelerated true ortho algorithms for high resolution images, making it possible to generate stunning results in challenging urban environments
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Global Developments |
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PCI Geomatics Corporation (USA) is dedicated to providing new and innovative solutions for the Defense and Security markets. For more information, please contact Clark C. Selby.
PCI Geomatics participated in Ontario’s Trade Mission to India with Premier Dalton McGuinty to promote Ontario’s innovative companies, attract investment and turn bright ideas into new green jobs. The delegation included representatives from Ontario's leading clean tech companies and focused on how the province's green solutions can help India grow sustainably. The week-long mission included stops in New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. During this time, PCI formally launched the release of GeoConference, as well as announced an agreement with Rolta India Limited to develop and market cutting-edge Earth Science solutions. Click here to see full media coverage.
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News & Events |
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Visit the links below to learn about the latest PCI news, download FREE product webinars, see how PCI is actively involved in the GIS community, and to find out more about our education, global events, and more.
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What People are Saying |
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"And not only is PCI Geomatics doing well for itself, it’s doing good for the world. By helping the world to measure carbon emissions and the effectiveness of plans to reduce those emissions, you’re helping us to win the fight against climate change." Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty
"COTESA has considered the wide spectrum of image processing products in the marketplace and has chosen PCI Geomatics due to the high quality of the results provided by Geomatica's algorithms and the substantial increase in processing capability acquired with the solution implemented." Dr. Francisca Gómez, head of COTESA’s Environment Department
"Traditional methods for correcting SPOT images were simply too expensive and time-intensive to meet the needs of our client, the Government of Canada. The scalability of a PCI Geomatics automated orthorectification system will allow for the rapid and cost-effective production of accurate images with little user intervention." Brett Michelson, Vice President of Business Development at Iunctus Geomatics
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Survey |
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Enter to Win a Copy of Geomatica Core
Take our quick 10 question survey and be entered into a draw for a free copy of Geomatica Core. Deadline closes January 8, 2010.
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Locations |
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About PCI Geomatics
PCI Geomatics is a world leading developer of software and systems for geo-imaging solutions. Since 1982, we have specialized in remote sensing, digital photogrammetry, spatial analysis, cartographic production, automated production systems, image management and on demand mapping solutions. PCI Geomatics’ advanced software systems address a wide variety of industry applications including the environment, agriculture, security and intelligence, aerospace & defense, and satellite receiving stations. We have the expertise and know-how to turn images into useful information.
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