UAVs CommUNity Remote SeNSiNg 4D: time - Imaging Notes

E arth Remote Sensingfor Securit yE nergy andthe EnvironmentFall 2009Vol. 24 No. 4BuildingIraqiGEOINTUAVsCommunityRemoteSensing4D:Time

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y the Power of PartnershipNJVC’s commitment to the Intelligence Community, Departmentof Defense, and the geospatial intelligence community at-large isunwavering. As one of the top 20 IT contractors in DoD and thelargest information technology provider to the NSG community,NJVC is deeply engaged with the global GEOINT mission. Our servicesolutions are optimized to advance the GEOINT tradecraft. We areproud of our history of leadership to this community and the criticalmission that we support.Driven by Your Mission www.njvc.com

Fall 2009contents20> > Columns81214Secure WorldFoundation ForumCommunityRemote SensingBy Ray Williamson, PhD, EditorNext-Gen MappingThe 4th Dimension: TimeBy Natasha Léger andCraig BachmannEarth ScopeMulti-TemporalRemote SensingBy Tim Foresman, PhD> > Features16202736The Whole Worldin Your HandsESRI and ITT PartnershipBy Karen Richardson, ESRIBuilding Iraqi GEOINTNGA DeploymentBy Gregory M., NGA andPaul MacKenzie, Canadian ForcesRemote Sensing byRemote ControlUAVs BecomeInvaluable AssetsBy Matteo Luccio, WriterCRADA with NGAR&D PartnershipsBy Steve Panzer, ObjectFX162736imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com5

Baghdad,Iraqcover imageFall 2009 / Vol. 24 / No. 4Our MissionImaging Notes is the premier publication for commercial, government and academicremote sensing professionals around the world. It provides objective exclusive in-depthreporting that demonstrates how remote sensing technologies and spatial informationilluminate the urgent interrelated issues of the environment, energy and security.Imaging Notes has a partnershipwith Secure World Foundation(www.secureworldfoundation.org).Imaging Notes is affiliated with theAlliance for Earth Observations, aprogram of The Institute for GlobalEnvironmental Strategies(www.strategies.org).This satellite image ofBaghdad, Iraq, shows The InternationalZone (commonly called The Green Zone) and theTigris River. A newer image of Baghdad from a fewmonths ago from GeoEye-1 appears on page 20.The circle in the center left is the Tomb ofthe Unknown Soldier. (Another photo of thismonument appears on page 24.) Immediately tothe east (right) is the expressway. Following theexpressway south to the Tigris River is the July14th Bridge, which was named in honor of the July14, 1958 military coup that overthrew the IraqiHashemite monarchy, creating the Republic ofIraq. This bridge through The International Zone isclosed, and is scheduled to re-open soon.From the July 14th Bridge, following the TigrisRiver going west is a lake on the north side. Alongthe north shore of this lake is the location of thepalace pictured on page 23, said to be built forSaddam Hussein’s daughter. It appears at the veryleft edge of the cover image.Building the Iraqi Imagery and MappingDirectorate is the subject of the article that beginson page 20. It is written from the perspective ofan NGA Staff Officer and Canadian Army Lt. whovoluntarily deployed to support the Multi-NationalSecurity Transition Command-Iraq, and the IraqMinistry of Defense. More information about themonuments and photos is included in the article.This image of the Baghdad Green Zone wastaken Feb. 16, 2004, by the IKONOS satellite. It isshown courtesy of Space Imaging Middle East.Publisher/Managing editorMyrna James Yoomyrna@imagingnotes.comEditorRay A. Williamson, PhDray@imagingnotes.comCopy EditorBette MillesonAdvertising DirectorColleen GormleyCreative DirectorJürgen MantzkeEnfineitz LLCjurgen@enfineitz.comwww.enfineitz.comDeputy Art DirectorAndrew SternardEditorial ContributionsEditorial Advisory BoardMark E. Brender, GeoEyeNancy ColletonInstitute for GlobalEnvironmental StrategiesTimothy W. Foresman, PhDInternational Centre for RemoteSensing EducationWilliam B. Gail, PhDMicrosoft Virtual EarthAnne Hale MiglareseBooz Allen HamiltonKevin Pomfret, Esq.Cantor Arkema, P.C.Imaging Notes welcomes contributions for feature articles. We publish articles on the remotesensing industry, including applications, technology, and business. Please see Contributor’sGuidelines on www.imagingnotes.com, and email proposals to editor@imagingnotes.com.SubscriptionsTo subscribe or renew, please go to www.imagingnotes.com, and click on ‘subscribe.’If you are a current subscriber, renew by locating your accountnumber on your address label to enter the database and update your subscription.If you cannot go online, you may write to the address below.Imaging Notes (ISSN 0896-7091) Copyright © 2009Blueline Publishing LLCP.O. Box 11569, Denver, CO 80211303-477-5272All rights reserved. No material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any meanswithout written permission from the publisher. While every precaution is taken to ensureaccuracy, the publisher and the Alliance for Earth Observations cannot accept responsibilityfor the accuracy of information or for any opinions or views presented in Imaging Notes.Although trademark and copyright symbols are not used in this publication, they are honored.Imaging Notes is printed on 20% recycled (10% post-consumer waste) paper.All inks used contain a percentage of soy base. Our printer meets orexceeds all federal Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) Standards.6imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

Your team is here.Your objective is here.And theunexpected here.Lat: 33° 36’ 29’’ NLong: 7° 36’ 11’’ W01.01.09 Resolution: .50m UNCLASSIFIEDEverything you need to turn vision into action. Our expert geospatial intelligence servicescapture the decision-critical data you need. And when it matters most, GeoEye is committedto delivering high-resolution, map-accurate data to you on time, the first time. Whetheryou’re developing time-sensitive, special-operations or strategic plans, we help you assess theconditions on the ground for maximum insight when it really matters. Before you act.Image intelligence. Delivered intelligently.www.geoeye.com/def© 2009 GeoEye. All Rights Reserved.

Community Remote SensingIGARSS 2010 ThemeSecure World Foundation ForumFor nearly the first three decades of satellite remotesensing, the utility of the data was limited by the expert knowledge of complexsoftware required to make full use of the data’s capabilities. The software and trainingneeded conspired to make this difficult. Even governments and well-heeled companieswere slow to incorporate the benefits of this powerful space technology into theiroperations. However, over the past decade the proliferation of GPS applications andthe development of simpler geographic information systems (GIS) tools have broadenedthe attractiveness of satellite data.At the same time, in order to keep pace with the competition presented bythe digital format of satellite remote sensing, aircraft sensing has evolved to uselarge digital cameras and radar devices for specialized high-resolution informationproducts, adding new depth to the marketplace. Satellite and aerial remotely senseddata are now much easier to incorporate into business and government processesthan ever before.I would argue, however, that the really big breakthrough in market access to datacame with the advent of Google’s Google Earth Web application in 2005. Nearlyinstantaneously, Google Earth brought millions with access to the Internet a quickway to see what their neighborhood looked like from space, or to look back on theirchildhood home. It also allowed business people rapid access to information aboutpotential future business locations. Yet its real power is in the hundreds of applicationsthat individuals, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and businesses havedeveloped using the application. For example, the website, http://www.biblemap.orgRay A. Williamson, PhD, is editor ofImaging Notes and Executive Director of theSecure World Foundation, an organizationdevoted to the promotion of cooperativeapproaches to space security (http://www.SecureWorldFoundation.org).uses Google Earth to display the placesmentioned in the Bible. Also included isextensive information about the site andits relationship to the books of the Bible.What excites me about the ease ofuse that Google Earth and Microsoft’sBing Maps platforms provide is that theysupply the stage for involving ordinarycitizens in taking better control over theirown local environments by using remotesensing to influence policymakers. Forexample, Appalachian Voices, an environmentaladvocacy group in the EasternUnited States (www.appvoices.org)has used Google Earth and a plethoraof local data gathered by citizens toshow the sometimes disastrous effectsof mountaintop coal removal on localcommunities located down slope fromthe mining operations (Imaging Notes,June 2007).The key here is the incorporation oflocal data into the overall picture thatGoogle Earth provides. Ground leveldigital photographs (another form ofremote sensing) and videos (yet anotherform of remote sensing), and audioclips can be incorporated into the mixof information to provide a compellingand detailed story that policymakersrespond to.What now makes it easy to bring localdata into the picture to provide additionalgranularity to aircraft or satellite imagesare the many new digital applications,such as SmartPhones, netbooks, andother wi-fi and internet applications.Facebook, Twitter, and other citizennews feeds from the recent unrest inIran following the disputed presidentialelection provide ample proof of thepower of using these new tools to gatherinformation quickly and efficiently. Needto gather photo data quickly on a givenarea? Twitter your colleagues to pick uptheir GPS-capable digital cameras, orbetter yet their camera cell phones andsend you the pictures, with the GPSinformation built in.More sophisticated uses could includetemperature and pressure measurements,encoded with location and time coordinates,obtained from individual mobilephones, and sent to a central locationto contribute to the creation of highresolutionweather models of an area. Thiswould be the logical extension of applicationslike the well-known WeatherBugInternet that relies on weather observationsat small weather stations at schoolsaround the United States to provide localweather information.In another application, students atthe International Space University this8imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

The importance of such capabilities forenhancing human security cannot be understated.They contribute in two important ways: first,they enable the rapid collection of localinformation that can provide greater depth tothe interpretation and understanding of localand regional environmental and geographicalconditions; and second, they enable local peopleto engage directly with their communities andthereby take greater charge of their own destinysummer at the NASA Ames ResearchCenter in California developed aSmartPhone application designed toenable the quick and efficient collectionof data about urban buildings (numberof floors, age, type of construction). Thedata, which can be collected by a fewteams of university students in a relativelyshort time, would be added to the aerialand satellite data available for Belize.They are intended to be used to populatea World Bank-developed databasedesigned to assist the country of Belizein reducing its risk from natural disasters.The possible applications of such amash-up of distributed observations andremotely sensed data from aircraft orsatellites are limited only by the humanimagination. The importance of suchcapabilities for enhancing human securitycannot be understated. They contributein two important ways: first, they enablethe rapid collection of local informationthat can provide greater depth to the interpretationand understanding of local andregional environmental and geographicalconditions; and second, they enablelocal people to engage directly with theircommunities and thereby take greatercharge of their own destiny.Sensing severe weather from automobilesDistributed data collection uses the community to augmentcentralized remote sensing data sources. This figureillustrates how simple weather sensors on automobilescan greatly enhance our ability to detect severe weatherevents. The color scale represents the Doppler radar data ina portion of Texas and shows an area of severe weather thatcould be a forming tornado. The labeled items are currentweather data from fixed stations, while the non-labeleditems (in light blue) are weather obtained from a movingautomobile. A distinct change in wind direction is observedby the automobile as it approaches the storm center,indicating inflows at ground level characteristic of tornadoformation. This information is not available from either thefixed weather stations or the Doppler radar. Automobilesare already equipped with useful temperature and pressuresensors; simple rain and wind sensors could be readilyadded. Drawing data from the community of millions ofvehicles on the road would complement our centralizedsatellite and ground-based weather data sources, enablingus to forecast development of severe weather and microweatherwith unprecedented accuracy. Image courtesy ofScott Blair, National Weather Service.imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com9

Secure World Foundation ForumIn recognition of the growingimportance of community remotesensing through citizen science andsocial networking to communitiesaround the world, the 2010 annual IEEEInternational Geoscience and RemoteSensing Symposium (IGARSS 2010), tobe held July 26-30 in Honolulu, Hawaii,has adopted the conference theme of“Remote Sensing: Global Vision forLocal Action” (www.igarss2010.org).Indeed the conference will begin with aMore sophisticated uses could include temperatureand pressure measurements, encoded with locationand time coordinates, obtained from individualmobile phones, and sent to a central location tocontribute to the creation of high-resolutionweather models of an area.plenary session entirely devoted to thetopic of community remote sensing.IGARSS plenary organizers aresoliciting the participation of organizationsthat are pursuing projectsembodying the plenary theme. They willbe looking for projects that demonstratetheir promise to create either newknowledge or new technologies associatedwith community remote sensing.In light of the promise of communityremote sensing to improve the deliveryof the benefits of space technologies toordinary people, Secure World Foundationplans to sponsor the IGARSSplenary session.Virtual Disaster ViewerDistributed analysis uses the communityto rapidly extract knowledge from rawremote sensing data. This figure showsa software tool called Virtual DisasterViewer (VDV) developed by the companyImageCat. With VDV, imagery of disasterregions such as earthquakes can berapidly communicated via the internet toa large network of analysts. These mayinclude known experts, pre-qualifiedvolunteers, or perhaps even anyonewho is accessing the internet and isknowledgeable about the affectedarea. The tool segregates the analysisby grid area to distribute the taskand provides a variety of functions toassess the situation and rapidly informdecision-makers of needed actions. Theuse of community speeds up timecriticaltasks that might otherwise takecentralized organizations hours or daysto complete. Image courtesy of BeverleyAdams, ImageCat.10imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

The 4th Dimension: TimeNext-gen MappingTime and Space—the notion of not only mapping ourenvironment, but modeling our environment—is quickly becoming a reality beyondscientific initiatives and science fiction books. In fact, modeling the past, present, and futureis helping companies and industries that never considered GIS/Imagery as a source ofbusiness context to take a closer look at how location intelligence can make them morecompetitive, efficient, innovative, and sustainable. Time, in fact, is a hot topic in geo circles,not just from the perspective of integrating the 4th dimension into software applications, butfrom the perception that it seems to be “speeding up.” Globalization, Moore’s Law, andreal-time communications have all accelerated the pace of change in technology, and inparticular the pace of change in technology adoption. Since “time is money,” let’s look at theimpact of time on the I/RS (imaging/remote sensing) business. There are two areas of“time” to consider: Acceleration of Time and Applications Using Time.Acceleration of TimeIn imagery, we are constantly adaptinga five- to ten-year business plan for Earthobservation to Earth applications that arechanging every day. However, what has notnecessarily been contemplated is the speedat which business, consumer, and technologychanges would impact the suppliers ofgeospatial data, technology, and services.This is the entire premise of the geospatialindustry—to be able to track the changesTECHNOLOGY ADOPTION RATEon the planet and the changes in physicalresources. For example, the “business” andthe “business needs” of commercial climatechange businesses, green initiatives, carboncredits, hyper-global and hyper-local competition,and 24/7 transactions connecting B2B,B2C, and B2B2C2B market dynamics didnot make it into the design and launch plansof satellites, or project-based aerial imagerycollection. Five years ago, Google Earth,Bing, SmartPhones and Portable NavigationTime for technologies to reach 150 million users is exponentially decreasing2004-2006 Google Earth & Skype1994-1998 The Internet (WWW)2004-2009 FaceBook2 years4 years5 yearsDevices were not intended to be the mostsignificant distributors of satellite imagery onthe planet. The race is on between the Javadevelopers and the mapping professionals.How much faster will changing technologydrive new applications to which the industrymust adapt?The timeline of technology and changeis finding its way into many presentationslately. Recently we saw presentations byMichael T. Jones, now CTO of Google,and John Stutz of the Tellus Institute at theGeoWeb 2009 Conference noting theexponential pace of technology development,productization, and adoption. Bothillustrated how this pace of technologychange has significantly increased overthe last 10 years and is expected to keepincreasing. Figure 1 illustrates the time it hastaken for technologies to reach 150 millionusers. This increase in the rate of change isobviously more difficult to adapt to; in thepast, factories had decades to adapt to anew approach, but Google Earth releasesnew software every Tuesday that is likely tochange the way you do business.We have seen various descriptionsof this accelerated rate of change. Oneof the most interesting is the Mayancalendaring approach, developed approximately4000 years ago. The Mayansidentified a series of foundational layersor cycles that result in increasingly fastercycles of change, each cycle changing2001-2008 iPod1983-1997 Cell phone1928-1966 Television1876-1965 TelephoneSource: Portfolio Research, ITF Advisors7 years14 years38 years89 years1Craig Bachmann & Natasha LÉgerare partners in ITF Advisors, LLC, anindependent consulting firm with a focuson next-generation strategy and ontranslating the increasingly complex newmedia business environment’s impacton business models, markets and users.Natasha is also editor of the new spin-offpublication, LBx Journal.12imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

PACE OF CHANGEThe Mayan Calendar260 days Conscious co-creationWWFigure 1Technology Adoption RateWWFigure 2Pace of Change: The Mayan Calendar12.8 Years256 YearsEthics (We are Here!)Industrialism5,125 YearsWritten Language102,000 YearsSpoken Language2 million Years1 st Humans41 million Years1 st Primates820 million Years1 st Animals16.4 billion Years“Big Bang”Source: Carl Johan Calleman, The Mayan Calendar, (GAREV Publishing International, 2001).20 times faster than the previous cycle.See Figure 2 for the Mayan pyramid of thecycles of change. At present, accordingto the Mayan Calendar, we are in the 10thyear of a 12.8-year cycle of change, whichthe Mayans predicted as an incrediblepace of change that appears to beresulting in scenarios much like what weare experiencing today: product developmentcycles shrinking, technology adoptionincreasing, innovation everywhere,real-time communication through socialnetworks – all creating the impressionthat everything is moving at warp speed.While the classic Mayan culture maynot have had a chance to experiencethe pace of change they predicted, theyappear to have developed a model thatexplains why the acceleration occurs.The GeoWeb is at the center of thisaccelerated pace of change because it isthe “digital nervous system of the planet,”according to Ron Lake of Galdos Sytems,Inc. (Vancouver, B.C.). The GeoWebcontributes to this acceleration of changebecause it creates a transparent worldwhere disparate pieces of informationcan be aggregated to present a completepicture of the state of the world, of anindustry, or of a business. The integrationof time into GeoWeb applications is acritical component.Applications Using TimeIn today’s rapidly changing marketenvironment, businesses are looking foranswers to basic temporal questions:ºº What is the when and where context forevery transaction, location, and event?ºº When and where is value the greatest?ºº When and where does my competitorhave an advantage?ºº When and where do I respond torisks and opportunities?Integrating the 4th dimension has alwaysbeen a challenge, but several companies—Myriax, Oculus, Space Time Insight, AGI,and Trinnovations to name a few—appear tobe making great strides as they expand theclassic GIS “what if” modeling capability intoscenario development and forecast modelingtools that serve the needs of everyone fromthe military to desktop “business” users.These companies appear to be pioneeringnext-gen temporal GIS and I/RS capability fora wide variety of professional, pro-am (professional/amateurs),and non-technical users.An entire eco-system of technology formanaging libraries of time-sequenced data ismoving GIS and I/RS into a next-gen statusof providing tools that will help people betterunderstand the impact of technology, location,and behavior on the ever-accelerating2pace of change. Look for a detailed article onthe 4th Dimension in LBx Journal.The Industry DilemmaNow that I/RS is part of the digital mediadistribution ecosystem, as we discussedin our “Price of a Pixel” article in the Spring2009 issue of Imaging Notes, the industrycan look at other models for respondingto an “on demand” economy. The instinctof most companies during these times ofrapid change and uncertainty is to invest inkeeping up, or to look for the opportunistic“low-hanging fruit.” Keeping up is no longeran option. The issue is how to deploy those“keeping up” resources. Should allocation ofresources be in technology development orin how to apply the technology changes tocustomer needs?Focusing on the low-hanging fruit mayhelp in addressing quarterly sales quotas,but it is not a recipe for long term sustainability.I/RS technologies will continue tohave slower product development cyclesthan Web 3.0 companies; that is the natureof the I/RS technology. Instead, the focus ofI/RS companies should be on acceleratingthe pace of adapting to customer needs.This includes developing a strategic planand a set of business policies that enablenimble coordination among conventionalenterprise silos (in other words, breakdown the silos) so that marketing, sales,and product development can respond andadapt to customer needs.Editor’s NoteDigital Earth is another way to refer to theconcept of the “digital nervous system of theplanet.” Both the GeoWeb Conferences andSymposiums on Digital Earth discuss the manyways that we can benefit from informationthat is embedded into a model of the Earth.imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com13

Multi-Temporal Remote SensingWorkshop Emphasizes Importance of Earth MonitoringEarth ScopeThe world took noticethis past July on the 40th anniversaryof the first moon walkers, Neil Armstrong andBuzz Aldrin. This was truly the biggest stepever recorded for human history. A milestoneof this magnitude certainly deserved themedia sunshine. Another major milestone forhumanity this past July did not receive mediaattention and clearly deserves to be pushedto the forefront of our civilized minds.Landsat, as a program of continuity formonitoring the whole Earth, is 37 years oldand more important than ever.Change on this planet is happeningfaster than governments can track and inways hardly imagined 40 years ago. Humanconsumerism, consumption, and resourceextraction are contributing to acceleratingclimate change, resulting in profoundchanges in the ability of nature to providelife-supporting ecological goods and in ourability to provide services.It was therefore a welcomed respitefrom the summer heat to attend The FifthInternational Workshop on the Analysis ofTim Foresman, PhD, is president ofthe International Center for RemoteSensing Education and can be reached atforesman@earthparty.org.Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing Images(MultiTemp 2009) in Groton, Connecticuton July 28-30. The University of Connecticut,under the guidance of Professor Dan Civco,was the host organization, along with NASA,EPA, USGS, IEEE, and CLEAR (http://clear.uconn.edu/multitemp09/). This gatheringof international scientists from over a dozennations targeted the advances and capacityof our technology to conduct change detectionand monitoring.MultiTemp began in September of 2001at the University of Trento, Italy under theleadership of Professor Lorenzo Bruzonne.At the time, the organizers recognized thatthe development of effective methodologiesfor the analysis of multi-temporal datarepresented one of the most important andchallenging issues that the remote sensingcommunity would face at the beginning ofthe 21st Century. It was surmised by theorganizers that relevance and timeliness forupgrading our community’s understandingof this issue were directly related to theever-increasing quantity of multi-temporaldata provided by the numerous remotesensing satellites that orbit our planet. Theyproposed that it would require the synergisticuse of multi-temporal remote sensingdata and advanced analysis methodologiesto address and solve complex problemsregarding monitoring of the Earth’s surfaceand atmosphere. MultiTemp has beenmeeting every two years since, with thesixth in the series, MultiTemp 2011, to beheld in the city of its inception, Trento, Italy.It was fitting that NASA’s Darryl Williamskicked off the workshop by looking at thecornucopia of imagery available to today’sEarth scientists and by challenging thecommunity to take stock of where we areand where we are going with this surfeit ofdata. NASA, along with the USGS, has hadthe longest track record with remote sensingchange detection, as used for a plethora ofclassic examples demonstrating fantasticchanges on the Earth’s surface. Williamspresented examples ranging from the depletionand fragmentation of tropic forest to thedesiccation of Lake Chad (Figure 1a,b,c),noting that the advent of the Landsat remotesensing data series has been instrumental inchronicling our dynamic Earth.A litany of high-resolution and hightemporaldata sets were presented over thethree-day workshop, from GeoEye-1 andIKONOS to WorldView-1, that fully demonstratedthe power of multi-temporal dataanalysis for defining key changes in our landscapeand environs. Land use and land coverchange detection led the program, whilevegetation dynamics opened new horizons for14imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com1a1b

XXFigure 2Images illustrate the virtues of multi-date C-and L-band SAR data in agricultural land coverclassification, courtesy of Dr. Henning Skriver,Technical University of Denmark.forest chemistry and other biomass indicatorscritical to our understanding of carbon.Radar, especially SAR data, is beingused more actively for multi-temporalanalysis with the advent of multiple platformsfor providing data. Scientific applicationsinclude monitoring of the cryosphere to helpquantify glacier melting around the globe.Significant results include land deformationand subsidence, which are practical problemsfor major cities depleting their aquifersfor an ever thirsty and growing populace.Danish scientists are applying multi-temporalradar for land use classification (Figure 2).Most of the major environmental and climaticchallenges were addressed in part by theexamples provided during the workshop.However elated I was with the cuttingedgeprowess and creativity of theseinternational scientists, I remain concernedregarding the impact of our community’swork. What, if any, international treaties arebeing invoked? How are governments andindustry using these data, and communicatingto the public and media? How is our37 years of experience in Earth monitoringchanging our K-12 educational settings toaddress several problems quickly? Whatexposure to the technology and researchfindings are university students gettingas part of their basic education? I amconcerned that we are remote sensingsavants with our heads in the clouds andnot in the halls of the decision makers or thepublic venues for the citizens who elect thedecision makers.I sometimes wonder if our situation isakin to looking into the mirror and discerningthe telltale signs of aging. As we watch theEarth with our increasing sophisticationof innovative analytical approaches, wesee Gaia aging and senescing in so manydirections. We see evidence of crow’s feetcreeping along areas of previously verdant,untouched biodiversity now exacerbatedby transportation networks fragmenting thelandscape, while weather patterns transitionto a new climate regime.We have no cosmetic palliatives toreverse these declines and no internationalor local consensus has been raised on whenwe should address this aging phenomena.Aging is, after all, a natural process. But theEarth is an ever-rejuvenating system that israpidly shifting to a new climate regime, theAnthropocene, a man-made epoch. Theapplication of remote sensing technologyand techniques to monitor our affairs andpotentially change our governance andcommerce patterns presents a very robustand rewarding calling to new and oldscientists on our dynamic Earth.WWFigure 1a1987 Landsat 5 MSS mosaic of Lake Chad, inwest-central Africa, courtesy of USGS.WWFigure 1b2001 MODIS mosaic of Lake Chad, courtesy ofNASA.WWFigure 1c2007 Landsat 7 ETM of Lake Chad, courtesy ofUSGS.2imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com151c

The WholeWorld inYour HandsPutting Fast, Dynamic Image Dissemination and Analysisinto the Hands of GIS Analystsmagery is a wise investment for any organization looking to usegeospatial data. The data can be used for everything from simplevisuals, such as ground truthing and change detection, to moresophisticated analyses, including feature extraction and land-useclassification. As imagery has become more accessible and moreaffordable in recent years, there is also a growing convergence ofimagery and geographic information systems (GIS) applications.To make the most of the investment in imagery, image scientistsand analysts need to be able to easily accessimagery and move seamlessly between GIS andimage processing applications to derive the mostinformation possible from the imagery and data.Karen RichardsonWriterESRI, Inc.Redlands, Calif.www.esri.com16imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

1SSFigure 1ENVI EX from ITT makes it easy for users to seamlessly integrate and analyze data from their GIS.Shown here is an ESRI ArcGIS layer in ENVI EX with all the symbology preserved. This layer can beused in any of the ENVI EX automated analysis workflows in the toolbox.Access and UseLarge Amounts of DataThe large volumes of high-resolutionimagery available today require organizationsto create a strategy for storageand use. ESRI’s ArcGIS suite of GIS softwareprovides a high-performance enterpriseplatform for integrating imagerywith other data, including vector mapsand georeferenced information.For data management, includingimagery, ArcGIS Server is able to storevast amounts of data in one commonlocation. Adding the ArcGIS ServerImage extension provides dynamicmosaicking and on-the-fly processing.By using both ArcGIS Server and the2SSFigure 2ENVI EX has a comprehensive array of image processing and exploitation capabilities. Shown hereis the beginning of the ENVI EX Feature Extraction workflow, an advanced object-based approachto automatically extract features of interest across an entire image. All feature extraction resultscan be exported directly into a geodatabase or into an ArcGIS project.imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com17

SSFigure 3ENVI EX includes automated workflows for detecting change over time usingimagery taken at different times or with different sensors. In this case, ENVI EXis able to easily identify and export areas with significant changes in vegetationboth from manmade features (the road in the lower right) and natural activity(the tsunuami destruction of shoreline). These results can easily be exported toa geodatabase for further analysis and map composition.ArcGIS Server Image extension, datamanagers are able to create multipleproducts quickly from a single source.Imagery can be optimized for analysisand made available quickly after acquisition,all without data duplication.The extensive storage overhead andprocessing delays previously requiredwhen working with imagery are significantlyreduced, since only the originalset of source imagery is maintained.How imagery is used in conjunctionwith other geographic data depends onthe problem to be solved. Many differentFast, dynamicimage disseminationand analysis havecome of age.clients can use imagery from3ArcGIS Server, includingESRI’s ArcGIS software (awealth of desktop, Web, andmobile applications), as wellas products built for specifictasks. For image and geospatialanalysts, ENVI softwarefrom ITT Visual InformationSolutions (ITT VIS) allowstraditional image analysis in aGIS workflow. It extends ArcGIS users’capabilities to analyze imagery in bothtraditional and GIS environments.Sophisticated ImageAnalysis for GISIn the past, image analysis has beenperceived to be complicated and generallyused by those who are well-versed inthe latest spectral image processing andanalysis technology. Many image analysistools have been available for the visualizationand analysis of spectral imageryfor some time, but the learning curve hasoften been too steep formany professionals.GIS analysts are traditionallywell versed inthe analysis of geospatialinformation buthave often used imageryonly as a backdrop orfor hand-digitizationpurposes to update datalayers in a GIS.Recently, there has been a move in theremote sensing software world to providetools and workflows that are beneficial toGIS analysts who are looking to imageryfor new ways to add timely, meaningfulinformation to projects. In light of thisgrowing trend, ESRI and ITT VIS haveworked together to integrate their respectivesoftware technologies, ArcGISand ENVI, to meet the need for addingimagery to GIS workflows.This ArcGIS and ENVI integrationopens up the world of image analysis.“The relationship between ITT andESRI is making it much easier for usersto combine GIS and imagery in orderto make authoritative decisions,” saysLawrie Jordan, director of enterpriseimage solutions, ESRI. The integrationof the ITT and ESRI technologies isnow available in ENVI 4.7 and a newproduct from ITT designed specificallyfor GIS professionals called ENVI EX.The new integration allows users toexchange data and files from ArcGISto ENVI easily with simple drag-anddropmethods that preserve the style,symbology, vectors, and layer informationfrom one interface to another.ArcGIS workflow integration and mapgeneration capabilities are now alsoavailable from within ENVI products.In addition to the integration withArcGIS, ENVI EX also provides new userswith access to the methods and algorithmsthat image scientists have been using for18imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

ENVI EX provides automated workflows forsolving problems that are common in GIS applicationsacross a variety of industries, including theextraction of features or objects from image data,detection of change over time, and classification andmapping of image data.years in automated workflows that don’trequire the traditional steep learning curve.The ENVI EX interface is easy to use andguides users through the analysis of satelliteand airborne imagery in a step-by-stepmanner. ENVI EX provides automatedworkflows for solving problems that arecommon in GIS applications across avariety of industries, including the extractionof features or objects from image data,detection of change over time, and classificationand mapping of image data.Increased Productivityand Accuracy“Our development of ENVI EX andthe integration with the ESRI platform hasallowed us to simplify imagery analysiswithout compromising the accuracy of theresults,” says Richard Cooke, president,ITT VIS. “And, the ability to find andidentify features in imagery allows usersto get meaningful and timely informationfrom imagery quickly and easily.”To save valuable time processing andreprocessing entire image scenes, interimresults in ENVI EX workflows can be finetuned with the help of a preview windowthat gives on-the-fly results during eachstage of the workflow before processingeven begins. The workflows also allowthe user to move back and forth betweeneach step, allowing modifications toprevious steps that may not have beenapparent at first.Tools and workflows are also availableto simplify the visualization and interpretationof image data. For example, theGeoLink to ArcMap feature in ENVIEX allows users to simultaneously panand zoom around an image with side-bysidewindows of ArcGIS and ENVI EX,making image analysis more efficient andproductive, particularly when trying toverify the accuracy of information of acertain location between applications.Integrated workflows that focus onease of use save organizations time andmoney by allowing users to get up andrunning quickly and by providing accurateresults. Image analysis workflowsare available in application areas that areimportant to GIS professionals and canbe used to solve common problems acrossgovernment, mapping organizations, oiland gas, agriculture, asset management,and many other industries.Data Support and InteroperabilityData support is key for image analysis,as there are many different types ofdata available from satellite and airbornesensors, including panchromatic, multispectral,hyperspectral, radar, thermal,lidar, and more. It is important thatimage analysis applications support thewide variety of data types available sothat the user has access to the imagerysources possible for a particular project.ENVI EX supports ArcGIS imageservices, as well as more than 70 dataformats including J2K, GeoTIFF, andESRIand ITTPartnerITT VIS and ESRI have created atransactional platform that allowsusers to fully exploit imagery. Theability to apply complex imageanalysis to the vast amounts ofimagery available makes imageryapplicable to any geospatialworkflow. ArcGIS and ENVI EXbring the image management,processing, and analysisnecessary to handle complexmodeling and to incorporate hardscience into everyday tasks. Fast,dynamic image disseminationand analysis have come of age.For more information, visitwww.esri.com/imagery orwww.ittvis.com/envi.optional JITC-compliant NITF data.Image services incorporated in ArcGISServer also support a large range of Webstandards including WMS, WCS, KML,SOAP, and REST. These types of datasupport and interoperability allow users tobe more efficient and effective when incorporatingimagery into their workflows.imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com19

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NGA DeploymentImaging Notes interviewed an NGA Staff Officer and aCanadian Army Lt. who voluntarily deployed to Iraq insupport of the creation of their Imagery and MappingDirectorate. We asked about their mission, their use ofimagery, and their deployment.1Imaging Notes Please describe your mission and your rolefor this deployment.Greg I was a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)employee augmented as an Advisor to the Multi-NationalSecurity Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I). Our missionwas building, equipping and training the Iraqi Security Forces(ISF) for the security and sustainment of Iraq. My role, alongwith the others on my team, was to provide support to MNSTC-Iand to the Iraq Ministry of Defense (MoD) by supporting theIraqi Imagery and Mapping Directorate (IMD). While living andworking in the International, or “Green” Zone in Baghdad, Iraq,I saw first-hand the sacrifices that the men and women of ourArmed Services are making to accomplish their missions.Paul I was onexchange with theGregory M.National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyU.S. Department of Defensewww.nga.milLt. Paul MacKenzieCanadian ForcesDepartment Of National DefenceGovernment of Canadawww.forces.gc.caWWFigure 1This satellite image of Baghdad was takenby GeoEye-1 on Aug. 30, 2009, just a fewmonths ago, and is courtesy of GeoEye. TheTomb of the Unknown Soldier is in the lowerright of the image.U.S. Army 18thAirborne Corpsfor three years anddeployed to Iraq withthem. About half-waythrough my tour, anopportunity arose toassist Imagery andMapping Directorate(IMD). I was theGeospatial OperationsOfficer for 18thAirborne Corps in theEngineer shop (C7) atimaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com21

the time. I saw the level of products theywere producing and wanted to help reinforcetheir success. I visited IMD to seewhere they were and was very impressedat how far they had come in so little time.I immediately petitioned my supervisor toallow me to help out.Imaging Notes With whom did youwork, and at what level?Greg I reported to my NGA CountryLead in Iraq and the MNSTC-I Leadership.On a daily basis I worked withall the United States and Coalition MilitaryServices to the rank of BrigadierGeneral, Senior Executive Service Level1 (Brigadier General equivalent) andother government agencies’ civilian andcontract employees. I also worked dailywith Iraqi civilians and Iraqi Armysoldiers and officers to the rank ofMajor General at IMD and the MoD.Paul I was embedded with an NGAteam. My primary focus was consolidatingthe data and encouraging the networkingof systems — the technical aspects.Imaging Notes What was it likeworking directly with the Iraqis?Greg In a word, rewarding. Workingdirectly with the Iraqis was quitehonestly a pleasure. I found them tobe diligent workers for the success ofthe Government of Iraq. They hadpassions for life, food and family.Business meetings generally beganwith drinking chai and catching upon family and life matters. It was anadjustment because, as Americans,when on the job we feel that we haveto be productive every moment. Withthe Iraqis, first building the relationshipsand trust would lead to greaterfuture success with the mission.Paul Working directly with theIraqis was a very rewarding experience.They were very friendly andquickly warmed to you. Every day wewould have some chai and get to knowthem a little bit more. There was greatimportance placed on learning andthey had pride in their work.Imaging Notes What sort of trainingdo the Iraqis get in geospatial matters?Greg Several of the Iraqis were inthe former regime’s Military Surveysection. At that time they were usingaerial photographs collected by theiraircraft to build topographic linemaps, so those who had served inthe former regime’s Military Surveysection had a strong background ingeospatial and photo interpretation.The others at IMD had varied educationalbackgrounds, such as ComputerScience, Engineering and even Arabiclanguage. These employees receivedtraining in vendor software packages,such as ESRI’s ArcInfo and BAESystems’ SOCET Set, and GEOINTtraining that was provided by NGA.In addition, with the assistance ofthe coalition, the Iraqis established theIntelligence and Military Service School,which was responsible for training theISF with more in-depth tiered trainingin particular disciplines. NGA assistedwith a “train the trainer” concept todevelop and teach Advanced Geospatialand Imagery Analysis courses.Paul The U.S. Engineers and IntelligenceTransition Team providedexcellent training. Many of the seniorstaff of IMD were former army engineerswho had survey and geospatialtraining. The 100th Engineer Companyset up training in Belad from scratch toinstruct the Iraqi Army as well.Imaging Notes Do their ministriescooperate in using remotely senseddata?Greg Yes, the ministries wereusing commercial imagery acquiredthrough NGA by IMD. IMD was thecentral repository for the imagery,and the other ministries, such as theMinistry for Water Resources and theCommittee of the Census under theMinistry of Planning, were using thedata for civil purposes. IMD supportedboth the military and the civil ministries;they were the GEOINT providerfor Iraq. In addition, the Iraqis hadorganic airborne collection platformsthat were being tasked by theIraqi Army, Air Force and IMD, toname a few.The Iraqis wanted to establish aGIS “Center.” We had this discussiononly conceptually and onlywithin the MoD, but the intent wasto have a ministry responsible forhousing all geospatial data. Thefocus would be to have a standardand updated dataset available to allusers. IMD should be the owner ofthe dataset and be responsible formanaging the data, with updatescoming from all ministries, servicesand GIS professionals.Paul There was a lot of cooperationbetween the ministries, andIMD supported everyone theycould. In fact, seeing the successof interagency cooperation as wellas interoffice harmony was oneof the reasons I wanted to helpout. I knew there were Arabs andKurds as well as Shias, Sunnis, andChristians all working together —women and men worked alongside.With a few exceptions, it was anaverage multicultural office youmight expect to see in Toronto.TTFigure 2This palace in Baghdad’s InternationalZone was reportedly built for SaddamHussein’s daughter.22imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

Imaging Notes Do you think thatyou got proper training for yourdeployment?Greg Yes, NGA prepared me quitewell for my deployment. Because thiswas such a unique role, I suggested additionaltraining, such as working with aninterpreter, and a cross-cultural communicationscourse. The organization thatI came from here at NGA allowed me totake several courses that prepared me forthis role. We received GEOINT trainingon products and software, customerrelations, first aid, weapons qualificationsand driving skills.However, the biggest preparationfor all deployers is from a personalperspective — that is, to have a positiveattitude and realistic expectationswhile being in a war zone. It’s veryimportant to listen, observe and adaptwhen you first meet your counterparts,and use a phrase or greeting in Arabic.Paul My pre-deployment trainingwas comprehensive, and includedcombat-focused training.Imaging Notes How often and forwhat purposes would you leave theGreen Zone and travel into the RedZone? What was that like?Greg We travelled daily around theGreen Zone in an armored vehicle toan Iraqi Camp, the MoD, other FOBs(forward operating bases), and often tothe U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. We werepermitted to travel into the Red Zoneonly with a convoy, and I did so to travelto the Victory Base Compound near theBaghdad International Airport (BIAP).When travelling in the Red Zone,we were required to wear our Kevlar(Helmets) and IBA (Individual BodyArmor). It was interesting to see thebeautiful architecture, the Mosques,and the Iraqis going about theirdaily business. We also traveled viahelicopter to other locations flyingrelatively low so we gained a greatperspective of the landscape.Paul My primary place of work wason Camp Victory located near BIAP.When I started to work with IMD, Iwould commute every Sunday morningthrough the Red Zone to work in theInternational Zone (Green Zone). At theend of the Iraqi work week on Thursdayevening I would commute back to BIAP.After the first few times it was likeany other commute on the Rhino orMRAP. Truth be told, I’d rather drivethrough the Red Zone from BIAP tothe Green Zone than have to suffer theWashington D.C. beltway.Imaging Notes How important is itthat those who are deployed understandtheir culture?Greg It varies. In my role, it was moreimportant than in other roles. However,the leadership and employees at IMDwere very receptive to the advisors sentby NGA. The deployers who precededand followed me were high caliberGEOINT professionals with years ofexperience. To IMD, the consistencythat NGA provided in GEOINT professionalswas very welcomed and moreimportant than understanding theirculture. I did, however, make everyeffort I could to learn from the Iraqisand participate in their customs to makethe relationship and trust much stronger.Paul It is extremely important tounderstand a culture if you want tomake any lasting change or to identifywhat needs changing. It’s easy toshow up in any organization and offeradvice on how things should be done.It’s much more challenging to understandwhy things were done. Trying tounderstand a culture is also a simpleand effective way to show respect.imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com23

WWFigure 3The Tomb of the UnknownSoldier is in the InternationalZone (Green Zone). Itsrestoration was unveiled inJanuary 2006. The monumentwas originally built by SaddamHussein’s regime. It is saidto have been inspired by theglorification of a martyr fromthe Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988).3TTFigure 4This monument, calledCrossed Swords, is atriumphal arch built tocelebrate “victory” over Iranin 1988. It was made from theguns of dead Iraqi soldiersthat were melted and recastas the 24-ton blades of theswords. This area of Baghdad,with the Crossed Swords andTomb of the Unknown Solder,was a military exercisearea where Saddam Husseinreviewed his troops.4Imaging Notes Which aspects of theirculture did you most appreciate and enjoy?Greg I enjoyed starting business withchai or Arabic coffee and conversationabout family and friends. At IMD theleadership had a good sense of humor.A joke or amusing anecdote was alwayswelcome, especially when we were havinga difficult or stressful week. I also enjoyedbeing called into one of the offices wherea group would be gathered to share a dishthat one of their family had prepared.Paul The food, personal warmth andthe language! We had several opportunitiesto eat local food with IMD staff. Istarted to learn Arabic, as well.Imaging Notes What was the bestthing about your deployment?Greg From a professional perspective,the best thing was supporting the warfighterand our partners, and assisting inbuilding the ISF. When I first arrived atMNSTC-I, the Army Colonel to whomI reported would tell us, “You’re makinghistory.” I pondered that for awhile, andone day when a significant IMD initiativecame to fruition, I believed it!From a personal perspective and as ageographer, I was excited about learningthe Iraqi and Arab culture. As I was told,an Arab tradition is providing a guestwith more food than you could possiblyeat. As I was preparing to leave Iraq, thishonor was bestowed upon me, and as Ilooked out over a table filled with traditionalArab fare, I looked around at thefaces in the room, and I felt truly honoredto be in their company, in their country.Paul The best thing about mydeployment was being able to workwith this NGA team. We have NGAreps in Canada, but I’ve never workedwith them before. Since I became the24imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

ecipient of NGA support from Ft.Bragg to Baghdad, my respect for themhas grown. I was lucky enough to bethe first foreigner in a GST (geospatialsupport team). I really grew to admireNGA as an organization, seeing howfocused they are on serving the peoplethey consider partners.Imaging Notes What was the mostchallenging thing?Greg The living quarters and conditionsof living on an FOB was challenging— not that they were bad, but the closeproximity was challenging. I put it allin perspective, though, when I’d see thesoldiers return to the base after a patrol.They were dirty and tired and wouldremove their Kevlar and IBA and catch aquick nap in the shade of their Humveeor MRAP (mine-resistant ambushprotected)vehicles. I really couldn’t (anddidn’t) complain!Paul The most challenging thingwas being away from my wife for 13months. She’s the better part of me.Strangely, the next most challengingthing had to be going back home beforethings were complete. I tried unsuccessfullyto stay in Iraq for an additional sixmonths. It was with great sadness that Ileft my friends in the IMD. I fell into abit of a slump after I came back.Imaging Notes Do you think thatyou are changed from this experience,and if so, how?Greg Of course. To be immersed in thisculture where my only previous imageswere through the media brought to me abetter understanding of the Iraqi’s dailystruggles, their religion, family values andperseverance. To hear their perspective ofhow they felt the government was operating,something unheard of until recently,the harsh stories of the Saddam regimeand how this war had affected thempersonally, all widened my perspective.Paul I grew from the experience bybeing one of a handful of Canadians.There were other Canadian officersthere (general staff planners, squadroncommanders, JAG advisors and a pilotwith the Marines) but for the majority ofthe time we did not interact. So you haveto grow and learn more about yourself.Imaging Notes Will you be deployedagain, and if so, why?Greg Yes, I will re-deploy. I’d alwaysbeen in the rear supporting the warfighterand humanitarian operationsat NGA. However, to be up front andreally feel like I was making an immediatedifference was very rewarding andpersonal for me. Hearing the servicemembers and Iraqis say, “thank youfor your support” made it all worthwhilefor me!Paul I will be deployed again. There’sno question about that, although nexttime it will probably be to Kandahar,Afghanistan. Canada has approximatelyone-third of its combat forcesdeployed there and we as GEOINTAnalysts are always in high demand.As a soldier I’m looking forward to anopportunity to work alongside NGAand the U.S. Army again.Editor’s NoteAll photos are courtesy of Gregory M. of NGA.No sample product imagery was available dueto the sensitive nature of the missions.... When Free Just Isn’t Good EnoughIntermap’s uniformly accurateand reliable NEXTMap® USA3D digital elevation modelsand images:• Coast-to-coast coveragein early 2010• Precision data for majorityof states and countiesavailable TODAY!USGS 10-meter DTMNEXTMap ® 5-meter DTMShaded relief models comparing a free USGS DTM and a NEXTMap ® USA DTM.Visit intermap.com/nextmap-usa to learn moreabout NEXTMap ® USA and download sample data.0909IN

Imagine what you could do if adding information from geospatial imagery to your GIS waseasy and convenient. Now it is. Introducing ENVI EX, software developed specifically to helpyou unlock the information in geospatial imagery to enrich your GIS. ENVI EX is seamlesslyintegrated with ArcGIS® to fit easily into your existing workflow. And, revolutionary step-by-stepprocesses guide you through advanced image processing tasks, so you can achieve the expertlevel results ENVI is known for. ENVI EX – accurate geospatial information for your GIS, now made easy.Easily unlock the information in your imagery – ENVI EX.Communications • Sensing & Surveillance • Space • Advanced Engineering & Integrated ServicesITT, the Engineered Blocks, and “Engineered for life” are registered trademarks of ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc., and are used under license. ©2009, ITT Visual Information Solutions

RemoteSensingbyRemoteControl UAVs Become Invaluable AssetsSSFigure 10Electrical tower nest shown with MicroPilot’sCropCam.Matteo LuccioWriterPortland, Oregonwww.palebluedotllc.comWhen Somali pirates hijacked the U.S.freighter Maersk Alabama and took Capt.Richard Phillips hostage in April, a U.S.Navy ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) built by Boeing’s Insitu unit took videofootage of the developing situation. Predatorand Reaper UAVs have been in the newsrecently because the U.S. military has usedthem to launch missile strikes, such as theone that reportedly killed Osama Bin Laden’sson, against Al-Qaeda and Taliban targets inAfghanistan and Pakistan.imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com27

Less publicized is the extensive useof UAVs by the U.S. military for “dull,dirty, or dangerous” surveillance tasksfor which they are better suited thanpiloted aircraft. Real-time images andvideos are increasingly used for remotesurveillance, intelligence gathering,situational awareness, and decisionmaking.“At the receiving end, theamount of data available is increasingexponentially,” says Kevin Kelleher,airborne integration lead for theNational System for Geospatial Intelligence(NSG) at the National Geospatial-IntelligenceAgency (NGA).By associating geospatial informationwith imagery intelligence, thisairborne video surveillance (AVS)technology allows decision makersto view developing situations in theirgeographic context, track and visualizeevents as they unfold, and predictpossible outcomes.“The MQ-1 Predator, armedwith the AGM-114 Hellfiremissile, continues to beone of the military’s mostrequested systems.”What UAVs Are and What They DoAlso known as remotely pilotedaircraft (RPA), unmanned aerial systems(UAS), and simply drones, these remotelypiloted fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft andlighter-than-air and near-space systemsare both armed and unarmed. Theyrange in size from hand-launched modelsthat look like toy planes and can weighas little as 12 pounds to the jet-poweredRQ-4 Global Hawk, built by NorthropGrumman Aerospace Systems, which hasa 3,000-mile range and operates at about60,000 feet, and the MQ-1 Predator andMQ-9 Reaper, both built by GeneralAtomics Aeronautical Systems.The Predator, which can fly at altitudesof up to 25,000 feet, performssurveillance and reconnaissance missionsand carries two laser-guided anti-tankHellfire missiles; it can stay in the air forabout 40 hours. The Reaper is a largerand more capable aircraft that can fly at50,000 feet, carrying up to 14 Hellfiremissiles, and using infrared sensors todistinguish the heat signatures of rocketlaunchers, anti-aircraft guns, and otherfirepower on the ground.Today, the U.S. military deploysmore than 5,000 UAVs, and daily UAVmissions in Iraq and Afghanistan havenearly tripled in the past two years.Military applications include peeringover hills or buildings, monitoring theseas, eavesdropping from high altitudes,and assisting in special operations. TheU.S. military also uses UAVs to transmitlive video from Iraq, Afghanistan, andPakistan. Traditional roles for militaryairborne geo-intelligence, Kellehersays, include operational support, battledamage assessment, treaty/inspectionmonitoring, non-combatant evacuationoperations, forensic analysis, and coalitionoperations; new roles include disasterrelief, counter-terrorism/narcotics, andhomeland defense.Direct connection between UAVs andoperators on the ground or on aircraft islimited to line-of-sight communication;however, communication relay nodes andsatellites enable operators to control UAVsand download data from anywhere.History of Military UAVsThe first operationally significantU.S. Air Force UAV program was theLightning Bug, which was routinelyused for tactical reconnaissance duringthe Vietnam War. Israel developedvarious UAVs in the 1970s, successfullydeployed them in the early 1980s, andthen began selling them to the UnitedStates, which also began to developnew systems such as the Predator.The United States used UAVs forreconnaissance during the Gulf War,but it was particularly in the skiesover the Balkans, Afghanistan, andIraq that they proved their worth as anintelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance(ISR) platform. In Kosovo,commanders deployed the Global Hawkin combat, where they were reluctant torisk piloted U-2 spy planes. Accordingto a U.S. Air Force report, “The MQ-1Predator, armed with the AGM-114Hellfire missile, continues to be one ofthe military’s most requested systems.”In Afghanistan and Iraq, smallman-portable, low-altitude, shortrangeUAVs—including the RQ-11Raven (weighing only 4.2 pounds),the Pointer, and the Force ProtectionAerial Surveillance System (FPASS)—have also played important roles byassisting in providing base security,force protection, reconnaissance, andtargeting. Recent advances in sensorminiaturization, electro-mechanicalcontrol, aerospace design, and wirelessvideo communication have enabled theproduction of these micro-UAVs, whichare much cheaper and quicker to deploythan traditional ones.Advantages of Using UAVs forRemote SensingFor both civil and military missions,UAVs have two key advantages overpiloted aircraft. First, they are moreefficient because they can be designedwithout regard to human-factor limitations.Second, while they cost aboutas much per pound as piloted aircraft,they have much lower life-cycle operatingand maintenance costs.From a military perspective, UAVs are“just another source of geo-intelligencedata,” says Kelleher. However, fouradvantages have made UAVs more feasibleand attractive to military planners.First, technological advances havemade sensor and weapon payloadssmaller, lighter, and more capable andhave greatly increased the bandwidthconnectivity of the data links used forvehicle command and control, payloadcommand and control, and data transfer.Advances in microprocessor technologyand software development have enabledonboard processing of sensor data, whileadvances in inertial and GPS navigation28imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

“Today, the U.S. military deploys more than5,000 UAVs, and daily UAV missions in Iraq andAfghanistan have nearly tripled in the pasttwo years.”1have enabled robust autonomous flightcontrol systems. New composite materialsand improved propulsion systemshave resulted in lighter, smaller, andmore stealthy airframes.Second, UAVs are particularly appropriateto the challenges of “asymmetricwarfare” against non-state actors. Theycan operate in “dirty” environments,such as those contaminated by chemical,biological, or radioactive agents.The endurance of large UAVs providessustained support for “dull” missionsrequiring greater persistence than thatprovided by manned aircraft, suchas monitoring conditions that rarelychange and reporting only items thatneed attention. Small, quiet UAVs canget close to a target and provide a bird’seye view.Third, UAVs with endurance thatexceeds human limitations allowcommanders to reduce the numberof sorties, which translates into fewerflight hours lost due to transit time,less wear and tear on the vehicles,and a sharp drop in the number ofaccidents. Remote control of UAVsalso allows crews to fly operationalmissions without deploying forward.This reduces support costs and forceprotectionrequirements.Andrew Carryer, a systems engineerat MDA Corporation (Richmond,B.C., Canada), with the UAV Heron(see Figure 1), points out that the keyadvantages of UAVs for remote sensingare the time on target, for the military,or the ability to dwell over an area ofinterest, for civil applications; the abilityto quickly re-task the asset to capturefleeting events; and the ability to providea real-time data feed. Additionally,unlike satellites, piloted aircraft andUAVs can tailor their approach to eachtarget, in terms of altitude, angle, etc.Fourth, UAVs are much quieterthan piloted aircraft, according toSSFigure 1MDA Corporation’s Heron UAV is a Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance System.Vern Rummel, a UAV expert with BAESystems’ Unmanned Aircraft Programs(formerly Advanced Ceramics Research).“Targets have no idea that they arebeing tracked or imaged,” he says. Inaddition, Carryer points out that UAVimage interpreters and analysts can beanywhere in the world.UAVs are not an alternative topiloted aircraft and satellites forreconnaissance but a complementarytool, according to Carryer. “Each onebrings unique capabilities,” he says.“Cross-cueing allows you to bring afull complement to bear.” The trade-offbetween satellites and aircraft, whetherpiloted or not, is coverage versus resolution.Satellites provide greater coverage,while aircraft collections provide higherresolution.imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com29

23456WWFigure 2Basic interface of BAE Systems’ SOCET GXPVideo Analysis software (shown in Figures 2-6).WWFigure 3Selected regions for editing in the VideoAnalysis software.WWFigure 4This image shows the active film roll window.WWFigure 5This shows enhancements applied.WWFigure 6Video Analysis software allows tracking a vehicle.Challenges of Using UAVs forRemote SensingMilitary UAV operators, accordingto Carryer, face two major challenges:adequate access to air space and toradio frequencies. These, of course,are political, legal, and administrativeissues, not technical ones. “Frequencyallocation in a congested area is a bigdeal,” says Carryer. “Typically, thepeople who manage frequencies are notassociated with aviation safety. Now aUAV is connected to the ground via adata link, and there are safety issues.”While stabilization is a trivial issuefor large UAVs, which use the same gyrostabilizedturrets that are mounted onairplanes and helicopters, it is a majorchallenge for micro-UAVs. These arebounced around by wind and turbulencemuch more than larger or faster aircraft,Carryer says. Paul Moller, president ofMoller International, Inc. (Davis, Calif.),agrees. The key, he says, is to minimize thevehicle’s attitude, rate of angular velocity,and angular acceleration — whichrequires “very sophisticated power controland millisecond reactions.” Turbulenceis more related to the design of a vehiclethan to its flight speed, points out ScottNewbern, Raven project manager at Aero-Vironment, Inc. (Monrovia, Calif.). “Oursmall vehicles tend to operate at 500 feetabove the ground, so they encounter moreturbulence and changes in the wind thanUAVs flying at much higher altitudes,” hesays. “We can get around the shaky videoproblem through digital stabilization,gimbals, and software tools to stabilizeimages.” As for the ability to track movingobjects, according to Carryer, the onlychallenge is clouds.Trade-Offs Between Largeand Small UAVsLarge UAVs can fly much faster and formuch greater distances than small onesand can carry weapons. However, theycompete for transport space with otherassets, such as tanks, forcing plannersto make difficult choices, says Rummel.Small UAVs, he points out, can easily beloaded into the back of a light armoredvehicle (LAV) and can be launched offthe ground or from a weapons mount.Designed exclusively to provide aerialreconnaissance for situational awareness,small UAVs enable companies andplatoons, for example, to look over a hillfor ambushes or IEDs without having tocall for a higher level asset, such as a Predator,according to Newbern. They are aforce multiplier, he explains, that allowsthem to perform missions that otherwisewould take a much larger force.The Role of the NGAWhile the NGA does have a significantrole in exploiting geo-intelligencedata, most of the first level of exploitationis done by the military in thefield, Kelleher explains. However, theservices expect the NGA to store thedata and to make it available for futureuse. (“You guys are storing all thisstuff, right?”) UAVs are in part responsiblefor the huge growth in the amountof geo-intelligence data collected. Thedirector of NGA sees these data as soimportant that he appointed a DeputyCIO for Data, Jack Hill. “The analyticresources are limited and the sourcedata is exploding much faster thanour ability to exploit it,” says Kelleher.“That is why it is important for us tocontinue to promulgate standards.”30imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

Data StandardsIn order to plug into the existingcommunications architecture whereverthey operate, UAVs must use datastandards. NATO, for example, hasstandards for the formats of still images(STANAG4545, similar to JPEG) andof video streams (STANAG4609), aswell as for communications and datalinks. Within NGA, there are currentlythree major working groups in place toaddress standards: the Geospatial IntelligenceStandards Working Group, theNGA Interoperability Action Team,and the NGA Standards Board. Thereare also four chartered focus groupsmade up of subject matter experts: theNational Imagery Transmission FormatStandards Technical Board, the MotionImagery Standards Board, the CommunitySensor Model Standards WorkingGroup, and the Metadata Focus Group.Last summer, President Bush revisedExecutive Order 12333, which regulatesU.S. intelligence activities, to makethe director of the NGA the functionalmanager for geo-intelligence. The NGAdoes not own or operate any aerial intelligencecollection platform,Kelleher says. The agency’srole “is not as much aboutcontrolling the activitiesas about leading them andproviding oversight,” he says.The NGA director is alsoresponsible for defining geointelligencedata standardsand tweaking them as thetechnology advances.Video Analysis SoftwareOne of the most valuableproducts that UAVscan provide is streamingvideo, in real time or nearreal time. This product alsoposes one of the greatest challenges. “Tobe useful, this massive amount of datamust be analyzed in near real time,” saysMatt Bower, of BAE Systems (Rockville,Md. with headquarters in San Diego,Calif.), a subject-matter expert for the7company’s SOCET GXP Video Analysissoftware tool. The very flexible anddynamic re-tasking of UAVs, he pointsout, requires analysts to quickly analyzethe data stream, which can be part oflive operations.8WWFigures 7-8MicroPilot images for farming from the UAVCropCam include this stitched image of BritishColumbia (above), taken from an elevation of2,100 feet, and the NW Quarter of a zero-tillfarm (left).SOCET GXP, he explains, can takein video from UAVs—plus a stream ofsupport data that includes such variablesas the platform’s location, itslook angle, the temperature, and thewind speed—and display the footprintof the camera’s field of vision ona map. The user can then move theframes of interest into SOCET GXP tocreate annotations, mark-ups, briefingproducts, terrain extraction, buildingextraction, and so on. “You now haveall the SOCET GXP functionality in thevideo,” says Bower, “and can push thedata through. You can fuse the videowith other reference sources you mightimaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com31

WWFigure 9Beaver dam shown with MicroPilot’s CropCam.Sources1. “The Rise of the Pilotless Planes: AreRemote-controlled Drones—Used inIraq and Increasingly in Pakistan andAfghanistan—the Future of Warfare?” TheWeek, April 9, 2009, www.theweek.com/article/index/95250/The_rise_of_the_pilotless_planes.2. Andrea Shalal-Esa, “Firms Vie forShare of Growing Unmanned PlaneMarket,” Reuters, Aug. 11, 2009, viawww.washingtonpost.com.3. J. Everaerts, “The Use of Unmanned AerialVehicles (UAVs) For Remote Sensing andMapping,” The International Archives ofthe Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing andSpatial Information Sciences. Vol. XXXVII.Part B1. Beijing 2008 www.isprs.org/congresses/beijing2008/proceedings/1_pdf/203.pdf.4. James Risen and Mark Mazzetti,“C.I.A. Said to Use Outsiders to PutBombs on Drones,” The New York Times,Aug. 20, 2009.5. The U.S. Air Force Remotely PilotedAircraft and Unmanned Aerial VehicleStrategic Vision (2005), www.uavforum.com/library/usaf_uav_strategic_vision.pdf.6. Turner Brinton, “New Aerial Dronesto Be Compatible with WGS SatelliteConstellation,” Space News BusinessReport, www.space.com, July 31, 2009.have and use it to drive other geospatialsoftware, such as Google Earth.”The latest version of SOCET GXPenables users to track moving objectsthey select on screen, as well as to pushthe video’s telemetery data into a sensormodel and use it to extract the coordinatesof the moving object and monitorits speed and heading. See Figures 2-6.These data streams raise concernsabout processing power, says Bower.“If you have a video at 30 frames persecond, any advanced computationon those frames—even something assimple as sharpening and dynamic rangeadjustment—could incur a very big CPUprocessing cost, because you have to re-dothe operation for every new frame.”UAVs can employ various methodsto reduce the amount of bandwidthneeded to transmit video streams byseveral orders of magnitude. First, theiron-board computers can disseminateonly the most pertinent data. Second,they can recognize targets and transmittheir coordinates rather than largeimagery files. Finally, when they doneed to transmit large volumes of data,they can use advanced data compressionto reduce bandwidth requirements.9Civilian ApplicationsCivilian applications of UAVs rangefrom monitoring crops, weather, coastlines, and borders to surveying crimescenes, assisting in search and rescue operations,and exploring for minerals. Somecompanies specialize in the productionof relatively cheap UAVs for these civilianapplications. MicroPilot (Stony Mountain,Manitoba, Canada), builds UAVs thatcost less than $7,000 and do not requiretrained pilots to fly them. According toPierre Pepin, the company’s vice presidentof sales and marketing, components forhis company’s UAVs “are available onlineor wherever you have a hobby shop.” Themain reason that people buy UAVs, hepoints out, is that they are cheaper to buyand operate than aircraft, especially inThird World economies.MicroPilot began to build UAVs forfarmers and scientists but now buildsthem for all kinds of clients. See Figures7-10 on pages 27 and 31. “One shot somefootage with a digital video camera thatended up in a one hour BBC presentation;another one wants to fly over the GalapagosIslands to map invasive species; oneuses it to map land mines,” says Pepin.One limitation of these low-end UAVsis that they cannot fly when winds are over30 miles per hour or very gusty, says Pepin.Furthermore, the FAA has banned mostUAV flights over the continental UnitedStates because, unlike human pilots, UAVscannot “sense and avoid” other aircraft.However, the University of North Dakotahas bought a couple of MicroPilot’s cropcameras and is working with the FAA todevelop standards for UAVs.UAVs as remote sensing platforms havegiven many research groups the opportunityto acquire data at sufficiently lowcost to justify the use of remote sensingin the first place. Once airspace regulationshave been adapted to accept themas regular aircraft, these platforms maytherefore become the catalyst for manynew users and uses of remote sensing.32imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

Save the Date for GEOINT 2009!GEOINT Returns to San Antoniofor the Sixth Annual Symposium!CONFIRMED KEYNOTE SPEAKERSThe Honorable Dennis C. BlairDirector of National IntelligenceGEOINT 2009 promises to bring together anexciting line-up of speakers building on thedialogue from the past five years’ highly acclaimedevents. Attendees will have the unique opportunityto hear advice from leading experts, share bestpractices and uncover the latest developmentsfrom government, military and industry leadersthrough an exhibit hall of morethan 100,000 square feet.Registration& HousingOpens July 15!The Honorable James R. Clapper Jr.Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence,Office of the Secretary of DefenseVice Adm. Robert B. Murrett, U.S. NavyDirector, National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyLt. Gen. David A. Deptula, U.S. Air ForceDeputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence,Surveillance and ReconnaissanceWhere Our National Security Begins…www.geoint2009.com

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Government uses R & D partnerships to solve real challengesMany government organizations are tapping theprivate sector for technology and expertise to meet their missionsmore effectively. Leveraging resources, strengths andspecialized skills to meet the unique needs of individual agencies,public-private partnerships can bring together the bestof both worlds when implemented well. A Cooperative Researchand Development Agreement (CRADA) is a uniquepartnership providing innovative technology solutions to the public sector. Thispartnership leverages private sector resources and knowledge, while providingagency-specific guidance and insight into its unique needs and challenges at no financialcost to the government.A mutually beneficial public-privatepartnership, the CRADA offers bothparties the opportunity to share technicalexpertise, ideas and information in aprotected environment. Originally authorizedin 1986 as a means of expandingtechnology transfer between the privatesector and federal laboratories, anddeemed a major factor contributing to theeconomic strength of the United States, aCRADA agreement ultimately strives toadvance science and technology that notonly meets government objectives but alsohas viability in other potential commercialapplications. The candid interactions thatare nurtured through a CRADA bringpublic enterprises and private companiescloser together for a mutual goal – deliveringstate-of-the-art technology solutionsthat solve real mission-critical problems.As our country continues to faceeconomic challenges, partnerships thatleverage resources and stretch researchbudgets are increasingly critical to thegovernment in meeting the needs of itscitizens and in securing public confidence.Now more than ever, the government isexpected to do more with less, and to getit right the first time. When establishinga CRADA, government works closelywith the private sector to ensure that thecustom developments and unique challengesof individual government agenciesare built into the resulting products, moreefficiently meeting the needs of the partnergovernment agency while reducing costsand maximizing resources.Steve PanzerVice President, Government DivisionObjectFXColumbia, Md.www.objectfx.com36imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

Solutions that solveagency-specific challengesAgencies within the IntelligenceCommunity, like all government agencies,face unique challenges that can besolved by leveraging private sector technologyand expertise. Some of the keyproblems faced within the IntelligenceCommunity include the constantlyincreasing need for skilled analysts, anever-expanding amount of intelligencedata to sift through, and the urgencyto sift through these mounds of data toquickly locate actionable intelligence.As senior analysts retire, there arefewer seasoned analysts to make sense ofthe deluge of information, so importantdata might be lost or overlooked, andcritical trends are not identified. As junioranalysts continually take the reins fromsenior analysts, it becomes even morecrucial that procedures are captured andstandardized, condensing manual intellectuallabor so that more time can bespent identifying actionable intelligence.Through a CRADA with geospatialsolutions provider ObjectFX, the NationalGeospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) ismoving quickly and efficiently to addressthese types of challenges by enhancingObjectFX’s offerings and by definingand fine-tuning the features requiredfor its newest product, a spatiotemporalrules engine (see Figure 1), designed withinput through the CRADA specifically toaddress real-world Intelligence Communityuse cases and scenarios.Working with NGA via a CRADAinitially signed in 1999, ObjectFX hasbeen providing its Java-based geospatialsoftware platform, which enables theintegration into enterprise applicationsof location-based services, like vehiclerouting (see Figure 2) and address geocoding,for organizations throughoutcivilian, intelligence and defense communities.In response to its customers’requests and needs, ObjectFX addedsupport for geospatial data types, likeraster/vector maps and high-resolutionimagery specific to the intelligencecommunity, as well as military standardTTFigure 1A spatiotemporal rules engine filters a stream of real-time sensor-based data, identifyingactionable intelligence.GPSRFIDAISSensorNetworksandCollectionSystemsHumanIntelligenceGatheringActivityTTFigure 205:0005:55REAL-TIMELOCATIONDATA“tracks” are within2 miles of each other05:102525B symbology, to its suite of geospatialsolutions.When the intelligence communityexpressed the need for a spatiotemporalrules capability about three years ago, thefocus shifted to developing and enhancingthe SpatialRules functionality, andapplying it towards multi-intelligence usecases within advanced geospatial intelligence.The initial major deployment ofSpatialRules went live with another intelligencecommunity mission partner inApril, 2009.SpatialRules is a spatiotemporal rulesSPATIAL INTERACTION RULESInside? Outside?Exit? Entry?Cluster? Interacts?Distance?Other Properties?SPATIO-TEMPORALRULES ENGINEBusiness andMission DataSpatialData05:4505:35EVENTSANDNOTIFICATIONS05:5006:0005:25HumanDecision-MakersSoftwareSystemsA spatiotemporal rules engine can track vehicle routing information, determining when two vehiclesare within a given proximity of each other within a specified amount of time. Utilizing a “breadcrumbtrail,” two vehicles need not be in the same place at the same time to alert security officials.05:1505:00engine that manages a flood of real-timesensor-based information, enablinganalysts to make better use of their timeby more quickly and efficiently identifyingactionable intelligence – getting the rightinformation to the right people at the righttime. A spatiotemporal rules engine is asoftware component for analyzing spatialand temporal conditions against a set ofrules, in this instance scanning specificareas of interest for suspicious activitybased on proximity, density, and routingand tracking information (see Figure 3).Before implementing this rules engine,12imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com37

intelligence analysts spent a significantamount of time retrieving data, studyingmovement patterns on a geospatialdisplay, and manually detecting eventsfor further investigation. A spatiotemporalrules engine significantly reducesthe manual labor by automating the monitoringprocess, enabling geospatial eventprocessing in real-time. Increased accuracyand efficiency of monitoring providemore time for analysis of high-interestobjects or events, exponentially increasingthe probability that critical informationwill reach its destination in time to impacta critical decision.Through this ongoing partnership,NGA and the rest of the intelligencecommunity benefit from direct, handsonaccess to leading commercial, offthe-shelftools and technologies that canbe modified or created to meet customintelligence needs and requirements.Infinitely renewable, these collaborative,cooperative, and mutually beneficialpartnerships utilize known governmentproviders with forwardthinkingand innovativetechnologies to solvegovernment problemsat minimal cost. Bycombining resourceslike facilities, equipment,expertise andpersonnel, the governmentcan meet their ultimategoal of doing morewith less – stretchingresearch budgets while consuming fewerresources.A win-win situation for allThe CRADA provides equal opportunityto all private sector companies,enabling any qualified company withcommon research and developmentgoals to enter into a CRADA agreementwith a government agency. As therelationship is mutually beneficial, boththe government agency and the privatecompany meet specific organizationalgoals through the agreement. There isno monetary exchange in a CRADA,SSFigure 3This image of aircraft on the East Cost demonstrates the benefits of data reduction. Throughcustomizable rule layers, a spatiotemporal rules engine enables users to sift through the deluge ofreal-time sensor-based information, locating the actionable intelligence. In this example, rule layershave been customized to pinpoint commercial aircraft that are too close together, those that haveentered a “no-fly” zone, or any plane that is close to or has entered a severe weather zone.A spatiotemporal rulesengine significantly reducesthe manual labor by automatingthe monitoring process,enabling geospatial eventprocessing in real-time.satisfying a goal for the governmentagency, as there is no direct budgetimpact. Although the private companydoes not receive financial compensation,the agreement provides distinctadvantages for the private company.The CRADA provides companieswith direct insight into specificneeds of government agencies (withindefined security clearance boundaries,of course). Companies are also able toaccess agency data, data standards andprocesses within the designated facility,running it through their technology toenable a better understanding of specificuse cases and scenarios.Companies gain an added benefitof acquiring more depth of knowledgeregarding the government agencies theyserve, expanding that company’s expertiseand value with other governmentagencies moving forward. Proprietaryrights and ideas of the private companyare also protected. In signing this agreement,all parties agree to keep researchresults confidential until published orcommercialized, and the private sectorresearch partner typically takes title toany new inventions.In order to meet the needs of governmentagencies and their customerbases most efficiently, public-privatepartnerships are gaining momentum.The government’s demands for moreadvanced technological innovationswhile balancing smaller budgets can bemet through the CRADA, truly a mutuallybeneficial relationship between afederal agency and a private company.While our country continues to faceeconomic hardship, partnering with theprivate sector not only provides morequickly commercialized technology thatdirectly addresses the needs of individualgovernment agencies, but by optimizingresources, it stretches the research anddevelopment budget, enabling taxpayerdollars to travel further in support ofour nation’s missions.Editor’s NoteMore information on the NGA CRADA programis available on the web at www.nga.mil/crada. The NGA CRADA team is available tofield questions on the program and can bereached via email at crada@nga.mil.338imaging notes // Fall 2009 // www.imagingnotes.com

Maximize the Value of Your ImageryQuickly get imagery to people who need it with the ArcGIS ®Server Image extension.“When we tested ArcGIS ServerImage extension, we found designers,technicians, and digitizers were all verypleased with the processingtime. It was twice as fast, insome cases even faster,than previous systems.”The ArcGIS ® Server Image extension helps organizations managelarge catalogs of rasters and imagery to make imagery available tomore people in less time. Dynamic mosaicking and on-the-fly imageprocessing allow users to quickly serve multiple imagery productsfrom one set of source imagery, reducing data redundancy andstorage requirements.Cindi SalasGIS ManagerCenterPoint EnergyFor more information, visit www.esri.com/imageor call 1-888-373-1353.For ESRI locations worldwide, visitwww.esri.com/distributors.Copyright © 2008 ESRI. All rights reserved. The ESRI globe logo, ESRI, ArcGIS, ESRI—The GIS Company, www.esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in theUnited States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

SOCET GXP ® SOFTWARE.TMEXPERIENCE THE POWER OF EXTREME ANALYSIS.Experience the power of real-time imageanalysis, automated geospatial production,mapping, and 3-D visualization — all in asingle application. SOCET GXP®enablesinteroperability and collaboration amongusers and decision-makers at all levels, andits intuitive, customizable interface providesdirect access to shared databases andextended capabilities. Image and geospatialanalysis — together for the first time in onepowerful tool. This is just one of the waysBAE Systems delivers real advantage.www.baesystems.com/gxp