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This astronaut photograph shows the white, salt-covered floor in the northwest corner of the Etosha Pan, a great dry lake in northern Namibia, surrounded by multicolored water features. In a rare event shown in this image, rainwater has flowed down the Ekuma River—which appears as a blue line within the light gray-green floodplain—and fills a lobe of the lake with light green water.

Two rivers, the Ekuma and Oshigambo, transport water from the north down to the Pan. Other smaller lakes hold red and brown water, a result of the interplay of water depth and resident organisms such as algae. The algae color varies depending on water temperature and salinity. A similar process is observed in pink and red floodwaters when they pond in Lake Eyre, a mostly dry lake in Australia. In Lake Eyre, researchers know the color is indeed due to algae growth.

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This synthetic aperture radar image of Spain’s Canary Islands, acquired on April 8, 2012, is the last Envisat data transmitted via X-band before the satellite’s anomaly occurred.

After a month of attempting to regain control of Envisat, the European Space Agency has declared an end to the satellite’s mission, culminating 10 years of spectacular scientific discovery.

Although chances of recovering Envisat are extremely low, the investigation team will continue attempts to re-establish contact while considering failure scenarios for the next two months. The outstanding performance of Envisat during the last decade led many to believe that it would be active for years to come, at least until the launch of the follow-on Sentinel missions.

With 10 sophisticated sensors, Envisat has observed and monitored Earth’s land, atmosphere, oceans and ice caps during its 10-year lifetime, delivering more than 1,000 terabytes of data on which an estimated 2,500 scientific publications have been based.

Image courtesy of ESA/Edisoft.

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Grain crops in Spain are suffering after an unusually dry autumn and winter, during which rainfall amounts have been half of normal in key grain-producing regions.

Already struggling with sovereign debt issues and high unemployment, drought conditions could force Spain to import more than 11 million metric tons of grain.

This map, made with normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data from the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite, focuses on Andalucía, a region in southern Spain that produces almost all of the country’s durum wheat.

The map compares plant growth between April 6 and 21, 2012, with average growing conditions for the same period. Brown indicates areas where plants are growing less vigorously than usual for this time of year. Gray indicates areas where data weren’t available. Only about half the normal amount of rainfall fell in Andalucía between January and April.

In an analysis released on May 10, 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service projected Spain’s wheat production would drop by 20 percent, oats by 18 percent, and barley b

China’s newest Earth observation satellite was launched on a Long March 4B (Chang Zheng-4B) launch vehicle on May 10, 2012, from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

On May 10, 2012, China launched a new optical Earth observation satellite it says will be used for science applications, but western analysts say it’s designed for military purposes.

The official Chinese media refer to the new satellite as a new remote sensing bird that will be used for scientific experiments, land survey, crop yield assessment and disaster monitoring. As was the case in the previous launches of the Yaogan Weixing series, western analysts believe this class of satellites is being used for military purposes.

This was the 162nd successful Chinese orbital launch, the 162nd launch of a Chang Zheng launch vehicle, the 38th successful orbital launch from Taiyuan and the second from Taiyuan this year, becoming the seventh successful orbital Chinese launch in 2012.

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The butterfly drone can take color pictures and is managed remotely by an operator wearing a special control helmet.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is developing a new unmanned aerial system shaped like a tiny butterfly designed to gather information from remote locations.

The artificial butterfly weighs only 20 grams and is capable of a vertical takeoff. It can take color pictures and is managed remotely with a special helmet.

“When you put this on you are actually inside the butterfly’s cockpit,” said Dubi Binyamini, head of IAI’s mini-robotics department, according to Israel Hayom. “You see what the butterfly sees. You can fly at any altitude and distance and see everything in real time.”

He added, “The butterfly’s advantage is its ability to fly in an enclosed environment. There is no other aerial vehicle that can do that today.”

Potential locations ideal for the butterfly are forests and jungles, and even closed man-made spaces like airports terminals and train stations.

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As a special introductory offer to our most valuable customers, order any gap-free elevation dataset by June 30, 2012 for only $6.50/km².

 Elevation30 Gap-Free Elevation Data

• Available anywhere in the world, even in tropical regions
• Meets established Elevation30 specifications 
(DTED Level 2, up to 6m accuracy at 30m grid spacing)
• Delivered with corresponding orthoimagery and a set of quality masks
• Cost-efficient


Contact us today for details and a demo data set!

LPS is a powerful photogrammetry system that delivers full analytical triangulation, the generation of digital terrain models, orthophoto production, mosaicking and 3D feature extraction in a user-friendly environment that guarantees results even for photogrammetry novices. With its tight integration with ERDAS IMAGINE®, LPS is the ideal photogrammetric package for projects involving varied types of data and further processing and analysis of airborne and satellite imagery.

Bill LaRocque, Global Product Line Executive – Photogrammetry, Intergraph, states, “The LPS 11.0.5 release represents a balanced combination of new innovations plus customer change requests, advancing our goals of ever-increasing productivity and return on investment.”

LPS 11.0.5 extends the product’s broad range of support for both orbital and airborne sensors by adding the Pleiades Rational Polynomial Coefficient (RPC) model, the DEIMOS RPC model and the VisionMap A3 Super Large Format (SLF) model. The ability to use these sensors provides unique advantages and capabilities for customers, and LPS’ support for them reiterates Intergraph’s commitment to keeping customers on the forefront of technology.

Pleiades-1 was launched on December 16, 2011, and can provide orthorectified color data at 0.5-meter resolution and revisit any point on Earth as it covers a total of one million square kilometers (approximately 386,102 square miles) daily. In addition, Pleiades-1 will be capable of acquiring high-resolution stereo imagery in just one pass, and can accommodate areas as large as 1,000 km x 1,000 km.

DEIMOS-1 is the first private satellite in Europe that carries a multichannel optical sensor, and was designed to obtain imagery for terrestrial vegetation cover analysis. It employs a 600-kilometer extent that allows repeated views of an area at a high temporal resolution and a reduced cost.

The VisionMap A3 digital aerial camera covers a larger area than most aerial cameras, with a footprint of 60,000 pixels across flight track. Its long focal length enables the capture of high-resolution imagery from higher altitudes, simplifying the flight planning and operations of survey projects. Additionally, the A3’s wide field-of-view (up to 109 degrees) allows it to collect multi-directional images of each point in both vertical and oblique angles.

LPS 11.0.5 also expands users’ choice of input devices. In addition to the existing support for the Leica Topomouse, LPS now also supports the Z/I Mouse, a high-precision, 3D mouse with an advanced ergonomic design that enables streamlined motion to accelerate data input and increase user productivity.

To learn more about LPS, ERDAS IMAGINE and the other products within the Intergraph geospatial portfolio, please visit www.intergraph.com/geospatial/products. 

About Intergraph

Intergraph is the leading global provider of engineering and geospatial software that enables customers to visualize complex data. Businesses and governments in more than 60 countries rely on Intergraph’s industry-specific software to organize vast amounts of data to make processes and infrastructure better, safer and smarter. The company’s software and services empower customers to build and operate more efficient plants and ships, create intelligent maps, and protect critical infrastructure and millions of people around the world.

Intergraph operates through two divisions: Process, Power & Marine (PP&M) and Security, Government & Infrastructure (SG&I).  Intergraph PP&M provides enterprise engineering software for the design, construction, operation and data management of plants, ships and offshore facilities. Intergraph SG&I provides geospatially powered solutions including ERDAS technologies to the public safety and security, defense and intelligence, government, transportation, photogrammetry, and utilities and communications industries. Intergraph Government Solutions (IGS) is an independent subsidiary for SG&I’s U.S. federal and classified business.

Intergraph is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hexagon AB (Nordic exchange: HEXA B). For more information, visit www.intergraph.com and www.hexagon.com.

In Part 1 of this two part series, Océ, a Canon Group company and an international leader in digital document management, will help you understand the first four considerations that are critical to making an informed decision when purchasing a large format printer.

Color and/or Black & White

It may seem like the most basic aspect to consider, but the choice between color and black & white (B/W) has consequences for how your users will actually use the printer. The type of print jobs that you do and how the printer is used will guide this decision.

• Output: Posters, photos, technical documents, rendering or presentations require color to achieve the highest quality output.
• Productivity: Keep in mind that a B/W printer generally performs faster, so if speed is an issue you might prefer B/W.
• Print Robustness: Consider where your prints are used. If you need prints that can stand up to outside weather conditions, B/W may be best. Some color printers that use color toner, pigment ink or can print on waterproof media can also be a good option.
• Print Costs: Know your print volumes and how you will manage print costs if users have a color printer at their disposal. Keep in mind that a color large format printer can print in B/W for approximately the same cost as a monochrome printer when your monthly print volume is low.

Costs

Although tempting, basing your decision solely on the purchase price of the printer is not wise. You must weigh the true return on your investment and all related costs.

There are three cost areas to consider – the initial investment, running costs and hidden costs. The initial investment includes the cost of the printer, delivery, supply inventory for the old printer that may not be usable in the new printer and installation of new drivers.  Running costs include the cost of all consumables, media and service. Remember not to overlook your hidden costs – there can be a hefty price behind wasted resources and lost time, for example printing multiple times to either get optimum print quality or because it is unclear if the printer is processing the file you sent to it.  Often a system that is more automated will help lower such hidden costs.  Finally, keep in mind that leasing may be a cost effective alternative to buying, especially if your preferred large format printer has a high initial price and you lack available funds.

Performance and Speed

The performance of a large format printer is more than just speed; it includes everything from the time you send a job to the printer to actually holding the print in your hand. When evaluating performance and speed, look at how you use your current system – a continuous flow of documents requires high throughput speed, while a short first print out time is more important for intermittent printing.

Processing time (how long the printer takes to process files), warm-up time (does the printer start printing right away out of sleep-mode), speed vs. print quality mode (what is the print speed for different quality color documents), and throughput (can the printer process new files while printing previous ones) combine to give you a complete picture of the printer’s performance.

For a true evaluation, look beyond the technical specifications.  Take your own print files to a demonstration to measure the performance of the printer.

Image Quality

The first thing that you may think about with regard to image quality is resolution, expressed in dots per inch (dpi). However, high resolution does not necessarily guarantee the best quality. Image quality is critical to ensuring important information is not lost and it can influence the bid process (e.g. insufficient quality may result in the loss of a bid). 

Because of its importance, consider the following when looking at image quality.

• Resolution vs. Image Processing: The way the printer interprets data is just as important as resolution and especially critical when working with fine or dotted lines and detailed prints.
• Quality and Media Dependency: Depending on the media used, quality can vary tremendously when using a color inkjet printer (print quality is generally the same on B/W printers). Differences can occur in color output and quality of thin and fine lines.
• Scan Technologies: There are distinct differences in quality for scan technologies by different printer manufacturers. Evaluate if the printer is able to suppress wrinkles and folds in original drawings, while maintaining weak information such as pencil lines.

These four considerations are the most important areas to evaluate when investigating your options for a large format printer. Should you wish to go one level deeper, Part 2 of this series will address the final five considerations. 

For a step-by-step guide to selecting the best quality large format printer that your work deserves, download the whitepaper Nine Consideration When Buying a Large Format Printer at www.oceusa.com/9considerationsNBhttp://www.oceusa.com/9considerationsNB.

About Océ

Océ is one of the leading providers of document management and printing for professionals. The Océ offering includes office printing and copying systems, high speed digital production printers and wide format printing systems for both technical documentation and color display graphics. Océ is also a foremost supplier of document management outsourcing. Many of the Fortune Global 500 companies and leading commercial printers are Océ customers. The company was founded in 1877. With headquarters in Venlo, The Netherlands, Océ is active in over 100 countries and employs more than 20,000 people worldwide. Océ North America is headquartered in Trumbull, CT, with additional business units in Chicago, IL and Boca Raton, FL.   For more information, visit www.oce.com.

Océ and Canon: Stronger together

In 2010 Océ joined the Canon Group of companies with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, to create the global leader in the printing industry. Canon develops, manufactures and markets a growing line-up of copying machines, printers, cameras, optical and other products that meet a diverse range of customer needs. The Canon Group comprises over 198,000 people worldwide. Global net sales in 2011 totaled USD 45.6 billion. For more information, visit www.canon.com.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions. With more than $45 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), ranks fourth overall in patent holdings in the U.S. in 2010* and is one of Fortune Magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies in 2011. Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based consumer service and support for all of the products it distributes. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company’s RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss. 

* Based on weekly patent counts issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Optech CZMIL is an innovative airborne coastal zone mapping system that produces simultaneous high-resolution 3D data and imagery of the beach and shallow water seafloor, including coastal topography, benthic classification and water column characterization. CZMIL performs particularly well in shallow, turbid waters. Its bathymetric lidar is integrated with a hyperspectral imaging system and digital metric camera. Optech’s highly automated workflow includes a powerful integrated end-to-end software suite, Optech HydroFusion, that handles all three sensors simultaneously—from mission planning to the production of fused lidar and imagery data sets.

Optech CZMIL was designed by Optech for the U.S. Government under the auspices of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX). It was built and tested by Optech with the assistance of the University of Southern Mississippi (USM).

“I am very excited to be fielding CZMIL in support of the USACE National Coastal Mapping Program and the NAVOCEANO Airborne Hydrography Program,” said Jennifer Wozencraft, Director, Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise, and Program Manager for the CZMIL development. “We’ll be able to get our work done faster due to improved operational efficiency and sensor ruggedness and work in more areas because of improved system sensitivity for turbid water and breaking wave environments. We look forward to delivering more accurate, higher-resolution elevation data and products to our customers and expanding our product offering into coastal environmental characterization through fusion processing of

the lidar and hyperspectral imagery. We have an exhilarating year ahead of us working with Optech to transition the system from a development program to an operational capability.”

“Optech is proud to introduce our latest full environmental bathymetric system in support of our government and commercial customer needs. The initial results from flight testing are truly outstanding and provide resolution and depth penetration in shallow turbid waters never achieved before. With CZMIL, Optech builds on its long tradition and heritage of introducing gamechanging systems in support of our customers’ requirements,” said Maxime Elbaz, President of Optech, Inc. “Optech CZMIL is the culmination of the transition from lidar instruments to sensor fusion—lidar, camera and hyperspectral sensor—coupled with

a highly integrated single workflow from flight planning to the output of fused data sets. We already have a solid backlog of orders and expect Optech CZMIL to make a significant impact in the coastal surveying market.”

Optech CZMIL systems are being delivered to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in May 2012 and to the U.S. Navy in July 2012.

About Optech

Optech is the world leader in the development, manufacture and support of advanced lidar and camera survey instruments. With operations and staff worldwide, Optech offers both standalone and fully integrated lidar and camera solutions in airborne terrestrial mapping, airborne laser bathymetry, mobile mapping, terrestrial laser scanning, mine cavity monitoring, and industrial process control, as well as space-proven sensors.

“This release further cements our position as the leading provider of tools that can be used to add location intelligence across the enterprise quickly and easily,” said Jeff Fiore, director, sales engineering and product management, Telogis. “This next generation of Telogis GeoBase continues our focus on reducing development time for our customers and offering advanced features that can’t be found in competitive offerings.”

Speed, scalability and ease-of-use remain the top design goals of the Telogis GeoBase platform as Telogis adds exciting new features and support for the newest programming standards. Version 3.8 includes a new WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) map control and improvements to the JavaScript API that take advantage of powerful HTML5 features.

Telogis has taken note of an increasing trend among enterprise developers who want to integrate geospatial data stored in legacy databases or in the cloud and has responded by providing tools that enable them to leverage that data from within their Telogis GeoBase applications.  Examples of this include an elegant and fast way to spatially index and query data in third-party relational databases, such as Oracle, and support for WMS (Web Map Service) map layers. Developers can now easily add WMS layers to their application from a wide range of providers including NASA, TerraServer and OpenStreetMap.

“Telogis GeoBase is being rapidly adopted among the world’s largest supply chain management and courier service companies. Telogis Geobase 3.8 meets the needs of this demanding class of customers with new and specialized features that help to accelerate global deployments as well as provide even faster speeds and more flexibility,” says Fiore.

Additional advancements include an improved map style, smarter reverse geocoding, numerous navigation-related enhancements and simpler access for proxy connections. Telogis GeoBase 3.8 is now available for download fromdev.telogis.com.

About Telogis
Telogis, Inc., the platform for location intelligence, is dedicated to enhancing the value of its customers’ businesses through intelligent integration of location technology, information and services. Telogis was established in 2001 and is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., with offices in Europe and Latin America as well as development centers in Austin, Texas; Toronto; and Christchurch, New Zealand. Telogis’ products and services are used and distributed in more than 100 countries worldwide. To learn more about Telogis, visit http://www.telogis.com/ or call toll free at 866-TELOGIS (866-835-6447).