Weekly GEOINT Community News

NGA Releases First Responder Mobile App; IARPA Announces 3D Mapping Challenge; Lockheed Martin SBIRS Data to be More Widely Available

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NGA Releases First Responder Mobile App

In an effort to support first responders deployed in the event of a natural disaster, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) made another mobile app publically available on iTunes and Google Play. The Mobile Awareness GEOINT Environment (MAGE) allows users to create geo-tagged field reports and record and share observations containing photos, videos, and voice recordings with team members. According to the NGA press release, the app was made publicly available to offer better support for non-Department of Defense users. 

IARPA Announces 3D Mapping Challenge

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) launched its Multi-View Stereo 3D Mapping Challenge, in which participants will generate a solution to accurately produce 3D mapping from satellite photos. Challengers are tasked to generate an algorithm that converts high-resolution satellite images to 3D point clouds. Throughout the challenge, an online leaderboard will display participants’ rankings and accomplishments, giving them opportunities to have their work viewed by industry, government, and academic stakeholders. The challenge runs through September 2016.

Lockheed Martin SBIRS Data to be More Widely Available

Infrared data from Lockheed Martin’s Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) will be made available for the first time for new military and civilian uses at the Air Force’s recently opened data utilization lab in Boulder, Colo. While SBIRS’ primary mission is strategic missile warning, the system can support a wide range of research and development projects across the field of remote sensing, which is the monitoring, observing and gathering of information on the Earth and atmosphere from space.

Additionally, Lockheed Martin and geospatial solutions company Neos are building a unique sensor to detect natural resources buried up to 1 kilometer below the earth’s surface, reports World Oil. Named Full Tensor Gradiometry Plus, the technology has 20 times the sensitivity and 10 times greater bandwidth than current gravity gradiometers. Lockheed Martin is building the prototype specifically to detect resources from aircraft owned and operated by Neos.

Korea’s SI Imaging Selling 50-cm Imagery

South Korea’s SI Imaging Services (SIIS) has begun commercial sales of imagery from its Kompsat-3A optical Earth observation satellite, making Korea the second nation—after the U.S.—to put 50-centimeter-class pictures on the open market, reports SpaceNews. Launched in March 2015, Kompsat-3A offers imagery with a ground sampling distance of less than 50 centimeters, making it the sharpest imagery available commercially with the exception of DigitalGlobe, which currently distributes imagery as sharp as 30 centimeters.

$22 Billion Market Value for Small Sats in Next 10 Years

Euroconsult’s latest report “Prospects for the Small Satellite Market” posits more than 3,600 small sats are expected to launch in the next decade. Additionally, the total market value of these satellites is anticipated to reach $22 billion, a 76 percent increase over the 2006-2015 timeframe. According to the press release, this rate of growth is unprecedented for the space sector and will bring fundamental changes as both new and established industry players expand capabilities to gain market share.

Skyline Software Releases TerraExplorer for Web

Skyline Software Systems announced the release of its TerraExplorer for Web, a plug-in free, 3D GIS viewer that enables the viewing of high-resolution SkylineGlobe 3D content in a web browser, reports GIScafe. The latest addition complements Skyline’s 3D GIS desktop and mobile applications, offering a no-download, no-installation solution for online viewing and analysis of 3D environments.

Peer Intel

John Goolgasian, former NGA source operations and management director, joined OGSystems as an associate partner. Goolgasian will assist in furthering the company’s geospatial analytics offerings.

Altamira Technologies Corporation appointed Jeremy Koczan chief financial officer. Koczan joins Altamira from Raytheon, where he held various finance leadership positions.

Photo Credit: SIIS

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