The latest product based on the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK has been released. It can be found on the ECW Plug-in Download page, http://erdas.com/products/ecw/ECWPlugins/Downloads.aspx.
The free plug-in enables high performance display and opacity support for ECW data within ArcGIS Desktop. This version of the plug-in adds supports discovery, access and visualization of data via WMS or ECWP from ERDAS APOLLO Essentials – Image Web Server or ERDAS APOLLO Advantage within ArcGIS Desktop.
Algorithm support allows the user to perform image processing while streaming from the ERDAS APOLLO suite into ArcGIS Desktop.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
LightSquared and GPS still in the news
Sanjiv Ahuja talked to C-SPAN on September 29, 2011 about LightSquared's work to build a $14 billion high-speed wireless network across the US, interfering with precision GPS use. It will be satellite based and will improve networking capacity across the USA, yet the network will interfere with some of the spectrum used by global positioning system (GPS) equipment.
LightSquared obtained the spectrum from their predecessor companies purchases, who purchased the spectrum decades ago. American Mobile Satellite Corporation, Mobile Satellite Ventures, and Skyterra preceded LightSquared.
I believe you can skip the first 5:29 to hear Sanjiv talk about the GPS conflict. Mr Ahuja has been well coached in presenting his case and staying on message. (I do not use the term 'coached' in a negative way. I believe all CEOs of large companies should be coached.)
Sanjiv is selling how LightSquared will help people, how LightSquared is the underdog, how LightSquared will bring new jobs, how LightSquared will save people money, how LightSquared will help the students. He even discusses how LightSquared will help the video gaming industry. Sounds like a political campaign strategy, get as many people to connect with your piont of view as possible. :)
Cecilia Kang (Washington Post, Technology Policy Reporter) starts QA at 13:30. She does a pretty good job. She asks him to discuss claims of competitors linking up with political powers to stop LightSquared starting at 47:00.
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/301812-1/
http://www.saveourgps.org/
Additional Field Guide Post:
http://field-guide.blogspot.com/2011/04/potential-gps-signal-reception-problems.html
LightSquared obtained the spectrum from their predecessor companies purchases, who purchased the spectrum decades ago. American Mobile Satellite Corporation, Mobile Satellite Ventures, and Skyterra preceded LightSquared.
I believe you can skip the first 5:29 to hear Sanjiv talk about the GPS conflict. Mr Ahuja has been well coached in presenting his case and staying on message. (I do not use the term 'coached' in a negative way. I believe all CEOs of large companies should be coached.)
Sanjiv is selling how LightSquared will help people, how LightSquared is the underdog, how LightSquared will bring new jobs, how LightSquared will save people money, how LightSquared will help the students. He even discusses how LightSquared will help the video gaming industry. Sounds like a political campaign strategy, get as many people to connect with your piont of view as possible. :)
Cecilia Kang (Washington Post, Technology Policy Reporter) starts QA at 13:30. She does a pretty good job. She asks him to discuss claims of competitors linking up with political powers to stop LightSquared starting at 47:00.
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/301812-1/
http://www.saveourgps.org/
Additional Field Guide Post:
http://field-guide.blogspot.com/2011/04/potential-gps-signal-reception-problems.html
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
ECW for ArcGIS Server, Version 11.0.2, released
Here is the latest from marketing on one product I manage:
ERDAS Releases ECW for ArcGIS Server, Version 11.0.2
September 28, 2011
Norcross, GA, USA — ERDAS proudly announces the release of ECW for ArcGIS Server, version 11.0.2. This product provides a means for ArcGIS Server to deliver data in the ERDAS-patented Enhanced Compression Wavelet (ECW) format to clients via OGC-compliant Web Coverage Service (WCS) and Web Map Service (WMS).
Based on technology originally provided in ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK version 4.2, ECW for ArcGIS Server enables ArcGIS Server to support ECW imagery, providing the fastest decompression available. Using minimal memory, ECW can quickly decompress and open massive files, in many cases faster than uncompressed imagery can be opened. Additionally, multi-resolution level of detail is built into the file, eliminating the need to generate or distribute pyramids or overviews. The ECW technique does not require the creation and storage of intermediate tiles (RRDs), as they are an inherent part of the ECW format. ECW also supports opacity channels, allowing images to overlay other imagery cleanly without showing compression artifacts around the edges.
Initially introduced in April 2011, ECW for ArcGIS Server was greeted enthusiastically by the market, prompting this new release which extends the original capabilities. A key enhancement in ECW for ArcGIS Server version 11.0.2 is backward compatibility with ArcGIS Server 9.3 and 9.3.1 in addition to the previously supported ArcGIS Server 10. ECW for ArcGIS Server version 11.0.2 also supports the use of European Petroleum Survey Group (EPSG) codes in ECWP.
ECW for ArcGIS Server expands the industry-wide level of support for the ECW format. ECW is already supported in traditional desktop GIS, CAD and remote sensing packages, including ERDAS’ portfolio of products, as well as Intergraph’s GeoMedia®. In addition, ECW is also supported in ArcGIS® for Desktop, AutoCAD®, Blue Marble Desktop®, ENVI®, Geomatica®, LizardTech®, GeoExpress®, FalconView™, Global Mapper, MapInfo®, Manifold® System, MicroStation®, and Smallworld™.
“ERDAS created ECW for ArcGIS Server in response to overwhelming user demand. For any geospatial organization requiring an accelerated workflow and reduction of hardware costs, ECW is the compression format of choice,” said Paul Beaty, Technical Product Manager, ERDAS. “Its popularity stems from the fact that it doesn’t merely compress files; it simplifies their handling by making them faster to decompress and transfer. ERDAS is committed to providing rapid geospatial data delivery for organizations using any software platform."
ECW Page
ECW for ArcGIS Server Page
ERDAS Releases ECW for ArcGIS Server, Version 11.0.2
September 28, 2011
Norcross, GA, USA — ERDAS proudly announces the release of ECW for ArcGIS Server, version 11.0.2. This product provides a means for ArcGIS Server to deliver data in the ERDAS-patented Enhanced Compression Wavelet (ECW) format to clients via OGC-compliant Web Coverage Service (WCS) and Web Map Service (WMS).
Based on technology originally provided in ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK version 4.2, ECW for ArcGIS Server enables ArcGIS Server to support ECW imagery, providing the fastest decompression available. Using minimal memory, ECW can quickly decompress and open massive files, in many cases faster than uncompressed imagery can be opened. Additionally, multi-resolution level of detail is built into the file, eliminating the need to generate or distribute pyramids or overviews. The ECW technique does not require the creation and storage of intermediate tiles (RRDs), as they are an inherent part of the ECW format. ECW also supports opacity channels, allowing images to overlay other imagery cleanly without showing compression artifacts around the edges.
Initially introduced in April 2011, ECW for ArcGIS Server was greeted enthusiastically by the market, prompting this new release which extends the original capabilities. A key enhancement in ECW for ArcGIS Server version 11.0.2 is backward compatibility with ArcGIS Server 9.3 and 9.3.1 in addition to the previously supported ArcGIS Server 10. ECW for ArcGIS Server version 11.0.2 also supports the use of European Petroleum Survey Group (EPSG) codes in ECWP.
ECW for ArcGIS Server expands the industry-wide level of support for the ECW format. ECW is already supported in traditional desktop GIS, CAD and remote sensing packages, including ERDAS’ portfolio of products, as well as Intergraph’s GeoMedia®. In addition, ECW is also supported in ArcGIS® for Desktop, AutoCAD®, Blue Marble Desktop®, ENVI®, Geomatica®, LizardTech®, GeoExpress®, FalconView™, Global Mapper, MapInfo®, Manifold® System, MicroStation®, and Smallworld™.
“ERDAS created ECW for ArcGIS Server in response to overwhelming user demand. For any geospatial organization requiring an accelerated workflow and reduction of hardware costs, ECW is the compression format of choice,” said Paul Beaty, Technical Product Manager, ERDAS. “Its popularity stems from the fact that it doesn’t merely compress files; it simplifies their handling by making them faster to decompress and transfer. ERDAS is committed to providing rapid geospatial data delivery for organizations using any software platform."
ECW Page
ECW for ArcGIS Server Page
Thursday, September 8, 2011
ECW for ArcGIS Server soon to add support for 9.3 and 9.3.1
Within the next few weeks, ERDAS will release an update to ECW for ArcGIS Server. The new version will add support for ArcGIS Server 9.3, and 9.3.1 to the present support for ArcGIS Server 10. The initial product offering has been very well received and customer demand for support of 9.3 and 9.3.1 will soon be addressed.
Keep a watchful eye for the official announcement.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
The True Storage Cost of Uncompressed Imagery
In the past, we have used 0-level (full resolution) image data and compared its file size to compressed files to determine disk space savings. This approach works when comparing uncompressed data to JPEG, LZW and other non-wavelet compressed images. This approach does not work when comparing full resolution image data to wavelet compressed (e.g. ECW) data formats.
To get good display performance when using large images, reduced resolution datasets (also known as RRDs, OVR, subsample images, pyramid layers) must be pre-calculated and stored with the full resolution data. There are several RRD storage methods, but the most popular is a progressive 4x reduction from the full resolution layer down through each RRD layer, usually down to a size close to 64x64 pixels. The 4x reduction scheme will deliver RRDs which adds 33% to the disk storage requirement already needed by the full resolution data.
Wavelet based formats such as ECW natively contain a full suite of internal RRDs within its file structure. The correct way to compare disk space savings between non-wavelet image formats and wavelet image formats is to compare the non-wavelet image plus its required RRDs disk storage requirement to the wavelet data disk storage requirement.
For example, take an 750GB of image and add 33% for the needed RRDs (assuming using a 4x scheme); the disk space needed for good performance and daily use is 998GB. That’s a lot of space.
If I achieve a 25:1 ECW compression, my ECW file requires 4% of the disk space needed for the full resolution data, and 3% of the total disk space needed (full resolution plus RRDs). The 998GB needed for full resolution imagery plus its RRDS shrank down to 30GB when ECW compressed.
If I achieve a 15:1 ECW compression, my ECW file requires 6.7% f the disk space needed for the full resolution data, and 5% of the total disk space needed for full resolution plus RRDs.
That's a lot of disk space recovered with a just few minutes of compression. Plus, the display time of the ECW is often faster than the display of the uncompressed data. Sometimes much faster.
To get good display performance when using large images, reduced resolution datasets (also known as RRDs, OVR, subsample images, pyramid layers) must be pre-calculated and stored with the full resolution data. There are several RRD storage methods, but the most popular is a progressive 4x reduction from the full resolution layer down through each RRD layer, usually down to a size close to 64x64 pixels. The 4x reduction scheme will deliver RRDs which adds 33% to the disk storage requirement already needed by the full resolution data.
Wavelet based formats such as ECW natively contain a full suite of internal RRDs within its file structure. The correct way to compare disk space savings between non-wavelet image formats and wavelet image formats is to compare the non-wavelet image plus its required RRDs disk storage requirement to the wavelet data disk storage requirement.
For example, take an 750GB of image and add 33% for the needed RRDs (assuming using a 4x scheme); the disk space needed for good performance and daily use is 998GB. That’s a lot of space.
If I achieve a 25:1 ECW compression, my ECW file requires 4% of the disk space needed for the full resolution data, and 3% of the total disk space needed (full resolution plus RRDs). The 998GB needed for full resolution imagery plus its RRDS shrank down to 30GB when ECW compressed.
If I achieve a 15:1 ECW compression, my ECW file requires 6.7% f the disk space needed for the full resolution data, and 5% of the total disk space needed for full resolution plus RRDs.
That's a lot of disk space recovered with a just few minutes of compression. Plus, the display time of the ECW is often faster than the display of the uncompressed data. Sometimes much faster.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK for Linux
The long awaited port of ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK to Linux is well underway. Indeed, we expect the Perth, Western Australia development team to reach the performance tuning stage of the port in the next few months. The Linux ECW SDK port must be tuned-up to match the Ferrari-like performance our customers expect and have on the Windows platforms. If we did not tune it up, it would not be an ECW SDK.
ERDAS will use the Linux ECW SDK internally in ERDAS 2012 server products. Once the ERDAS 2012 Linux products are ready to release, commercialization work (preparing for public release) on the Linux ECW SDK will begin. I cannot provide the time-frame for availability at this time.
Please expect more information on the Linux version of ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK before the northern hemisphere winter solstice.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Which image file formats do you use in your geospatial work?
Over a year ago I put out a poll on this blog to measure what image file format people who frequent this blog use. At that time, I put the following in the poll: GeoTIFF, IMG, ECW, MrSID, JPEG, NITF, TIFF World and JPEG2000. These are the order in which the poll defined their popularity.For this poll I combined TIFF World and GeoTIFF together and added PNG. I have noticed a dramatic down-tick in NITF votes. I believe this is likely to defense people not frequenting my blog as much as others more than what are really in the marketplace. Or, it could be the defense people voting against NITF as it is cumbersome and they want issues in the format addressed. Or... something else?
PNG is use in mobile devices and has a very solid showing.
JPEG2000 popularity has improved. You might think that JPEG2000 would hurt the ECW and MrSID formats, but the image format hurt appears to be IMG.
I did not post the final percentages from the last poll, but have posted the 2011 poll here.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
ERDAS Desktop 2011 Version 11.0.3 is Available
ERDAS has released ERDAS Desktop 2011 Version 11.0.3. This version is available to customers with current desktop software maintenance (SWM) and contains all issues from 11.0.1 and 11.0.2. There are quite a few customer requested enhancements as well as customer reported bugs addressed in this version.
A very brief list of what ERDAS IMAGINE customers can now expect:
Use Spectral Angle Mapper and Spectral Correlation Mapper classifiers in Supervised Classification
Distribute MosaicPro image tile creation to internal Cores or to external CPUs on their network
Rescale data from 16-bit down to 8-bit in MosaicPro and in LPS ortho processes
Expect higher performance from the Mosaicpro Preview
Improved performance on MosaicPro histogram matching
And more…
There are LPS and ERDAS ER Mapper issues addressed in Version 11.0.3 as well.
This version does not include any server enhancements and fixes. (Hence the use of the word Desktop).
See for yourself at http://www.erdas.com/service/support/fixes_enhancements/ERDASIMAGINE2011.aspx
After looking at what is in Version 11.0.3, if you want the version, you must log-in with your current SWM account to download the version. If you have current SWM, go here and log-in:
A very brief list of what ERDAS IMAGINE customers can now expect:
Use Spectral Angle Mapper and Spectral Correlation Mapper classifiers in Supervised Classification
Distribute MosaicPro image tile creation to internal Cores or to external CPUs on their network
Rescale data from 16-bit down to 8-bit in MosaicPro and in LPS ortho processes
Expect higher performance from the Mosaicpro Preview
Improved performance on MosaicPro histogram matching
And more…
There are LPS and ERDAS ER Mapper issues addressed in Version 11.0.3 as well.
This version does not include any server enhancements and fixes. (Hence the use of the word Desktop).
See for yourself at http://www.erdas.com/service/support/fixes_enhancements/ERDASIMAGINE2011.aspx
After looking at what is in Version 11.0.3, if you want the version, you must log-in with your current SWM account to download the version. If you have current SWM, go here and log-in:
http://www.erdas.com/service/support/fixes_enhancements/details/ERDAS_Desktop_2011_Version_11_0_3.aspx
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
ECW Plugin for ArcGIS Desktop Available
The latest release of the free ECW Plugin for ArcGIS Desktop is now available on the ECW Plugin Download site, http://www.erdas.com/products/ECWPlugins/Downloads.aspx.
The ECW Plugin for ArcGIS Desktop 2011 is built with the ERDAS ECW/JP2 Desktop SDK version 4.2 and offers many advantages over the previous versions of ECW Plugin for ArcGIS that were built with the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK 3.x. These advantages are increased performance, additional capabilities and numerous fixes.
ECW Plugin for ArcGIS Desktop 2011:
Is compatible with ArcGIS Desktop 9.3, and 9.3.1 SP1 or higher, and ArcGIS Desktop 10 SP1 or higher
Decodes local ECW and JP2 data faster and more efficiently
Has a wider projection system support for ECW and JP2 than earlier plugin versions and native ArcGIS ECW support
Supports GML in JP2 data
Streams ECW and JP2 data via ECWP from ERDAS APOLLO Essentials IWS or ERDAS APOLLO Advantage
Uses dynamic progressive rendering of ECWP layers
Provides opacity channel support, not available in native ArcGIS ECW support
Provides a configurable persistent local disk cache of ECWP blocks
Provides an ECWP selection capability for discovery of ECWP streams on an ERDAS APOLLO Essentials IWS 2010 and 2011
Is compatible with foreign language versions of Windows (GUI not localized)
Re-projects ECWP streams on-the-fly
Supports multi-band ECWP streams
Supports 16-bit ECWP streams using min-max calculation
Improved printing support for large scale ECWP plots (tested up to A0)
ECW for ArcGIS Desktop will not:
Encode (compress) any data
Enable ArcGIS Desktop to serve ECW or JP2 data
Query the ERDAS APOLLO Advantage Catalog
Read ERDAS ER Mapper ALG or ERS files
The ECW Plugin for ArcGIS Desktop 2011 is built with the ERDAS ECW/JP2 Desktop SDK version 4.2 and offers many advantages over the previous versions of ECW Plugin for ArcGIS that were built with the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK 3.x. These advantages are increased performance, additional capabilities and numerous fixes.
ECW Plugin for ArcGIS Desktop 2011:
Is compatible with ArcGIS Desktop 9.3, and 9.3.1 SP1 or higher, and ArcGIS Desktop 10 SP1 or higher
Decodes local ECW and JP2 data faster and more efficiently
Has a wider projection system support for ECW and JP2 than earlier plugin versions and native ArcGIS ECW support
Supports GML in JP2 data
Streams ECW and JP2 data via ECWP from ERDAS APOLLO Essentials IWS or ERDAS APOLLO Advantage
Uses dynamic progressive rendering of ECWP layers
Provides opacity channel support, not available in native ArcGIS ECW support
Provides a configurable persistent local disk cache of ECWP blocks
Provides an ECWP selection capability for discovery of ECWP streams on an ERDAS APOLLO Essentials IWS 2010 and 2011
Is compatible with foreign language versions of Windows (GUI not localized)
Re-projects ECWP streams on-the-fly
Supports multi-band ECWP streams
Supports 16-bit ECWP streams using min-max calculation
Improved printing support for large scale ECWP plots (tested up to A0)
ECW for ArcGIS Desktop will not:
Encode (compress) any data
Enable ArcGIS Desktop to serve ECW or JP2 data
Query the ERDAS APOLLO Advantage Catalog
Read ERDAS ER Mapper ALG or ERS files
ERDAS Press Relase: http://erdas.com/company/news/newsreleases/11-06-28/ERDAS_Extends_ArcGIS_Support_with_New_Version_of_ECW_Plug-in.aspx
Blog Post on Release of ECW for ArcGIS Server product
See info on the latest ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Hexagon 2011 CEO Keynote: Turning The Pace of Change into the World's Advantage
Here is the complete version of Ola Rollén's opening session keynote address from Hexagon 2011. It is 51.42 minutes long.
http://www.hexagonmetrology.us/news-and-events/talking-points-blog/entry/hexagon-2011-ceo-keynote-turning-the-pace-of-change-into-the-worlds-advantage
For you ERDASians.... rememeber ERDAS was transfered from Leica Geosystems to Intergraph SGI in a technology swap. Intergraph Security, Government & Infrastructure (SG&I) received software (ERDAS) and Leica Geosystems received sensors (DMC). When Ola mentions Intergraph SG&I, he means Intergraph and ERDAS technologies together.
http://www.hexagonmetrology.us/news-and-events/talking-points-blog/entry/hexagon-2011-ceo-keynote-turning-the-pace-of-change-into-the-worlds-advantage
For you ERDASians.... rememeber ERDAS was transfered from Leica Geosystems to Intergraph SGI in a technology swap. Intergraph Security, Government & Infrastructure (SG&I) received software (ERDAS) and Leica Geosystems received sensors (DMC). When Ola mentions Intergraph SG&I, he means Intergraph and ERDAS technologies together.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Frank Warmerdam (Mr GDAL) Joining Google
Mr. GDAL himself is joining Google in Mountain View, California. See: http://fwarmerdam.blogspot.com/2011/06/joining-google.html.
Google is likely to allow Frank to remain active in GDAL/OGR and in OSGeo (on the board and other committees) while in their employment. So, it looks like GDAL will still be mentored by Mr GDAL (some Google time or Frank's personal time), which is good news indeed.
Read Frank's blog for detailed information.
Also, Frank worked quite a bit over the last 6-months to solidify IMG and ECW support in GDAL. In the past some applications using GDAL created some non-standard IMG and AUX files, and most of these issues have been corrected in GDAL. Now it is up to the applications to make their corrections.
The ECW in GDAL work added support for ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK 4.1 and 4.2 and added further control to end-users.
Google is likely to allow Frank to remain active in GDAL/OGR and in OSGeo (on the board and other committees) while in their employment. So, it looks like GDAL will still be mentored by Mr GDAL (some Google time or Frank's personal time), which is good news indeed.
Read Frank's blog for detailed information.
Also, Frank worked quite a bit over the last 6-months to solidify IMG and ECW support in GDAL. In the past some applications using GDAL created some non-standard IMG and AUX files, and most of these issues have been corrected in GDAL. Now it is up to the applications to make their corrections.
The ECW in GDAL work added support for ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK 4.1 and 4.2 and added further control to end-users.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Joel Campbell GIS Cafe Interview at Hexagon 2011
Did you miss Hexagon 2011? Make sure you plan on Hexagon 2012 June 4 - 7 in Las Vegas, NV, USA!
Here are some links to help you get an idea of what happened at Hexagon 2011 in Orlando.
GISCafe posted and interview with Joel Campbell, ERDAS' President, and Sanjay at Hexagon 2011. As a post conference note, in my opinion, ERDAS received a boost from meeting ERDAS customers, distributors and partners. Also, the interest in ERDAS technology from all the other Hexagon companies was also tremendous.
http://www10.giscafe.com/video/ERDAS-Joel-Campbell-President/35179/media.html
Watch Joel's interview read the other links on "The Field Guide" concerning Hexagon 2011, what is coming with the ERDAS - Intergraph synergy effort, and what is coming in ERDAS 2012 when I return from vacation.
Mladen Stojic discusses the synergy efforts and the new development projects ERDAS is currently working on, and showed at Hexagon 2011: http://www10.giscafe.com/video/ERDAS-Mladen-Stojic/35210/media.html
Ryan Hughes of Skygone has some interesting thoughts on how he believes Hexagon should approach addressing the software product (ERDAS-Intergraph) synergy effort in this article: http://cloudcomputing.sys-con.com/node/1860109%20. His interview at Hexagon 2011 is found here: http://www10.giscafe.com/video/Skygone-Ryan-Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif-COO/35180/media.html.
Other Hexagon 2011 links:
Movie showing ERDAS IMAGINE Live Link with GeoMedia narrated by Paul.
3D the Way Forward for GIS Industry
The Future of Spatial Analysis Through Intergraph and ERDAS
Hexagon 2011 international Conference Attracts 2,500+ Attendees From 65 Countries
Hexagon 2011 Kicks Off with Game-Changing Vision for the Future
Field Report: Hexagon 2011 International Conference
Hexagon 2011 Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.206253446083641.50370.169045849804401&l=de2f88525b
Here are some links to help you get an idea of what happened at Hexagon 2011 in Orlando.
GISCafe posted and interview with Joel Campbell, ERDAS' President, and Sanjay at Hexagon 2011. As a post conference note, in my opinion, ERDAS received a boost from meeting ERDAS customers, distributors and partners. Also, the interest in ERDAS technology from all the other Hexagon companies was also tremendous.
http://www10.giscafe.com/video/ERDAS-Joel-Campbell-President/35179/media.html
Watch Joel's interview read the other links on "The Field Guide" concerning Hexagon 2011, what is coming with the ERDAS - Intergraph synergy effort, and what is coming in ERDAS 2012 when I return from vacation.
Mladen Stojic discusses the synergy efforts and the new development projects ERDAS is currently working on, and showed at Hexagon 2011: http://www10.giscafe.com/video/ERDAS-Mladen-Stojic/35210/media.html
Ryan Hughes of Skygone has some interesting thoughts on how he believes Hexagon should approach addressing the software product (ERDAS-Intergraph) synergy effort in this article: http://cloudcomputing.sys-con.com/node/1860109%20. His interview at Hexagon 2011 is found here: http://www10.giscafe.com/video/Skygone-Ryan-Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif-COO/35180/media.html.
Other Hexagon 2011 links:
Movie showing ERDAS IMAGINE Live Link with GeoMedia narrated by Paul.
3D the Way Forward for GIS Industry
The Future of Spatial Analysis Through Intergraph and ERDAS
Hexagon 2011 international Conference Attracts 2,500+ Attendees From 65 Countries
Hexagon 2011 Kicks Off with Game-Changing Vision for the Future
Field Report: Hexagon 2011 International Conference
Hexagon 2011 Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.206253446083641.50370.169045849804401&l=de2f88525b
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Hexagon 2011; the razing of the wall
The ERDAS portion of the Hexagon conference began on June 5, 2011 with customer training and ERDAS Ignite 2011. I arrived Sunday evening the 5th and on Monday morning attended the ERDAS International Distributors Meeting. In this meeting, ERDAS outlined what we are developing for the 2012 release, due in the next service packs and the development synergies we are working on with Intergraph GeoMedia and ERDAS IMAGINE. Our distribution partners are as excited as ERDAS employees about where ERDAS is going, and that ERDAS is aggressive in our plans and execution strategies.
As for me, I may be more excited about a different theme than others. Yes, the new modeling environment is exciting. Yes, the viewing environment moving to a more advanced form of the ER Mapper dynamic processing viewer is powerful. Yes, faster data processing is always enticing. And yes, LiDAR is needed by the mapping market and I love we are moving to deliver solutions there. And yes, Hexagon renting out Universal Studios, including Harry Potter World, for all conference attendees Tuesday evening was great too!
But, the theme of my excitement dates back to conversations I had with the ERDAS management in 1991 and have continued until today; saying ERDAS should be the one to tear down the wall between raster (remote sensing and raster GIS) and vector; by putting a powerful vector processing and database capabilities into ERDAS IMAGINE.
I have long believed this artificial segregation of data formats and processing techniques hurt the greater geospatial community, and ERDAS should raze the wall. Other than a purely academic or research exercise; remote sensing without significant vector capabilities limits what the customer can accomplish. Soon, for the first time ERDAS will have an arsenal of vector processing capabilities and significant database access.
The restrictions are being removed, the raster/vector barrier will be removed at the dawn of the point cloud data processing era. This time next year, you will see a very different ERDAS IMAGINE product. A product that makes the best remote sensing product in the world better, faster, uses dynamic processing, has new photogrammetry tools, new LiDAR tools, has many vector and database tools, and offers more than these to the GIS world.
This is not a token move, this is real. This is the path customers have asked ERDAS to take for 30 years; tearing down the raster – vector wall. The wall will be down before the Hexagon 2012 meeting.
Thank you Mladen Stojic, Joel Campbell, John Graham, Jürgen Dold, and Ola Rollén for giving the GIS community what they have long requested.
As for me, I may be more excited about a different theme than others. Yes, the new modeling environment is exciting. Yes, the viewing environment moving to a more advanced form of the ER Mapper dynamic processing viewer is powerful. Yes, faster data processing is always enticing. And yes, LiDAR is needed by the mapping market and I love we are moving to deliver solutions there. And yes, Hexagon renting out Universal Studios, including Harry Potter World, for all conference attendees Tuesday evening was great too!
But, the theme of my excitement dates back to conversations I had with the ERDAS management in 1991 and have continued until today; saying ERDAS should be the one to tear down the wall between raster (remote sensing and raster GIS) and vector; by putting a powerful vector processing and database capabilities into ERDAS IMAGINE.
I have long believed this artificial segregation of data formats and processing techniques hurt the greater geospatial community, and ERDAS should raze the wall. Other than a purely academic or research exercise; remote sensing without significant vector capabilities limits what the customer can accomplish. Soon, for the first time ERDAS will have an arsenal of vector processing capabilities and significant database access.
The restrictions are being removed, the raster/vector barrier will be removed at the dawn of the point cloud data processing era. This time next year, you will see a very different ERDAS IMAGINE product. A product that makes the best remote sensing product in the world better, faster, uses dynamic processing, has new photogrammetry tools, new LiDAR tools, has many vector and database tools, and offers more than these to the GIS world.
This is not a token move, this is real. This is the path customers have asked ERDAS to take for 30 years; tearing down the raster – vector wall. The wall will be down before the Hexagon 2012 meeting.
Thank you Mladen Stojic, Joel Campbell, John Graham, Jürgen Dold, and Ola Rollén for giving the GIS community what they have long requested.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
ESRI Adding for ECWP in ArcGIS 10
When ESRI released ArcGIS 10, they added support for reading ECW files from the free ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK, v3.3. Now ESRI is working on support for the ECW Protocol for streaming ECW and JP2 data from an ERDAS APOLLO IWS server into ArcGIS products. This link provides information from ESRI’s support site concerning the matter. It is great to see ESRI support ECWP!
ERDAS continues development of our latest version of the ECW Plugin for ArcGIS. We expect to deliver the product to the market soon. I will give more detailed information on the ArcGIS Plugin around the time of the Hexagon 2011 Conference. ERDAS' goal is to add support for these capabilities to this version of the plugin:- ArcGIS 9.3.1, 9.3.1 SP2, and 10.0
- New dynamic progressive rendering of ECWP layers
- ECWP local caching (persistent and configurable)
- Opacity channels
- Faster progressive display
- Support for foreign language versions of Windows (GUI not localized)
- Re-projection of the ECWP streams on-the-fly
ERDAS is working with Autodesk on a new ECW Plugin for AutoCAD 2010/2011 as well. I will provide more information on that topic after Autodesk and ERDAS work through some bumps in the road.
For more in ECW support in ArcGIS 10, see: http://field-guide.blogspot.com/2011/05/esri-adding-for-ecwp-in-arcgis.html
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Virtual Mosaics using images from multiple directories
Many ERDAS IMAGINE customers think of Virtual Mosaic as a Viewer capability. ERDAS added ‘Virtual Mosaic’, along with ‘Virtual Layer Stack’ and ‘Virtual Independent Files’ into ERDAS IMAGINE 8.6, which was released in 2002.
The .vmc file is created using the Multiple option when multi-selecting images in the File Chooser, for most any process (Multiple tab pops up on the file chooser when shift-selecting images). Because the File Chooser does not support the ability to select across multiple directories at the same time, a .vmc file containing files from multiple different folders cannot be created with the file chooser.
Because the .vmc is a ASCII text file, the customer can easily create a file containing images from a multiplicity of file folders.
Below is an example of a .vmc file containing MrSID images from multiple different folders. Started the creation with windows command as follows: dir *.sid /b /s > glenville_virtual-mosaic.vmc. I then had to do some editing of the file to make sure the slashes ‘/’ were in the right direction, add VMC at the topeof the file and so forth…..
This is what glenville_virtual-mosaic.vmc looked like when I was finished with my text-smithing.
VMC
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville/glennville_ne.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville/glennville_nw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville/glennville_se.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville/glennville_sw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_ne/glennville_ne_ne.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_ne/glennville_ne_nw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_ne/glennville_ne_se.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_ne/glennville_ne_sw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_se/glennville_se_ne.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_se/glennville_se_nw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_se/glennville_se_se.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_se/glennville_se_sw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_sw/glennville_sw_ne.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_sw/glennville_sw_nw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_sw/glennville_sw_se.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_sw/glennville_sw_sw.sid
The .vmc file is created using the Multiple option when multi-selecting images in the File Chooser, for most any process (Multiple tab pops up on the file chooser when shift-selecting images). Because the File Chooser does not support the ability to select across multiple directories at the same time, a .vmc file containing files from multiple different folders cannot be created with the file chooser.
Because the .vmc is a ASCII text file, the customer can easily create a file containing images from a multiplicity of file folders.
Below is an example of a .vmc file containing MrSID images from multiple different folders. Started the creation with windows command as follows: dir *.sid /b /s > glenville_virtual-mosaic.vmc. I then had to do some editing of the file to make sure the slashes ‘/’ were in the right direction, add VMC at the topeof the file and so forth…..
This is what glenville_virtual-mosaic.vmc looked like when I was finished with my text-smithing.
VMC
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville/glennville_ne.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville/glennville_nw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville/glennville_se.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville/glennville_sw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_ne/glennville_ne_ne.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_ne/glennville_ne_nw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_ne/glennville_ne_se.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_ne/glennville_ne_sw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_se/glennville_se_ne.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_se/glennville_se_nw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_se/glennville_se_se.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_se/glennville_se_sw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_sw/glennville_sw_ne.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_sw/glennville_sw_nw.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_sw/glennville_sw_se.sid
//atlbck1/data/georgia/georgia-99doqq-mrsid/g_quads/glennville_sw/glennville_sw_sw.sid
Monday, May 2, 2011
ERDAS IMAGINE and GeoMedia, where are they going?
Over the last few months people have asked me what is going to happen with ERDAS IMAGINE and Intergraph's GeoMedia, two leading geospatial products under one roof. Ola Rollѐn sat down with Joe Francica this past January and at the end of the interview discussed this very point.
Basically Ola says, both products have been around a long time and have their own audiences and customers. He states Hexagon must be respectful of the two markets the products are serving. Longer-term, the GeoMedia and ERDAS IMAGINE products need to be able to speak and communicate one to another.
Here is the Joe Francica / Ola Rollѐn interview.
As the GIS market grows, there is a lot of room for growth for the old pioneers and the new arrivals. This because, the GIS pie is still growing. I believe the market is about positioned for a very big surge in growth. GIS companies can fight over the same piece of the pie, or companies can position themselves by improving and innovating, and grow as the whole GIS market pie grows.
Basically Ola says, both products have been around a long time and have their own audiences and customers. He states Hexagon must be respectful of the two markets the products are serving. Longer-term, the GeoMedia and ERDAS IMAGINE products need to be able to speak and communicate one to another.
Here is the Joe Francica / Ola Rollѐn interview.
As the GIS market grows, there is a lot of room for growth for the old pioneers and the new arrivals. This because, the GIS pie is still growing. I believe the market is about positioned for a very big surge in growth. GIS companies can fight over the same piece of the pie, or companies can position themselves by improving and innovating, and grow as the whole GIS market pie grows.
Monday, April 11, 2011
News Release: ERDAS Releases New Product, ECW for ArcGIS Server
The following news has just been distributed to the press....
ERDAS Releases New Product, ECW for ArcGIS Server Norcross, GA — ERDAS proudly announces the introduction of the all-new ECW for ArcGIS Server, which provides a means for ArcGIS Server 10 to deliver Enhanced Compression Wavelet (ECW) data to clients via OGC-compliant Web Coverage Service (WCS) and Web Map Service (WMS).
Using components of the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK version 4.2, ECW for ArcGIS Server enables ArcGIS Server to support ECW imagery, providing the fastest decompression available. Using minimal memory, ECW can quickly decompress and open massive files, in many cases faster than uncompressed imagery can be opened. Additionally, multi-resolution level of detail is built into the file, eliminating the need to generate or distribute pyramids or overviews. The ECW technique does not require that immediate tiles (RRDs) be calculated and stored on disk; they are an inherent part of ECW’s Discrete Wavelet Transformations (DWT). ECW also supports opacity channels, allowing images to overlay other imagery cleanly without showing compression artifacts around the edges.
The ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK technology was developed by ER Mapper Ltd beginning in 1998 and is governed by three patents (US6201897, US6442298, and US6633688).
ECW for ArcGIS Server may be installed on a single ArcGIS Server, with or without other ERDAS software installed. However, ECW for ArcGIS Server does require a FlexNet license file from ERDAS.
This new product expands the industry-wide level of support for the ECW format. ECW is already supported in traditional desktop GIS, CAD and remote sensing packages such as ArcGIS®, AutoCAD®, ERDAS IMAGINE®, ERDAS ER Mapper, FalconView™, Bentley Microstation®, ENVI® and PCI Geomatica®.
"ERDAS created ECW for ArcGIS Server in response to overwhelming user demand. For any geospatial organization requiring an accelerated workflow and reduction of hardware costs, ECW is the compression format of choice," said Paul Beaty, Technical Product Manager, ERDAS. "Its popularity stems from the fact that it doesn’t merely compress files; it simplifies their handling by making them faster to decompress and transfer. ERDAS is committed to providing rapid geospatial data delivery for organizations using any software platform."
To learn more about ECW for ArcGIS Server, please visit the official product page or attend a free webinar on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 11 am or 7 pm (GMT -4).
For more information about ERDAS or its products and services, please call +1 770 776 3400, toll free +1 877 GO ERDAS, or visit http://www.erdas.com/.
This means the two articles 32824 and 36261 posted on ESRI's Support website concerning ECW in ArcGIS Server 10 are now out-of-date. Just get ECW for ArcGIS Server from ERDAS, and you are off to the races.
ERDAS Releases New Product, ECW for ArcGIS Server Norcross, GA — ERDAS proudly announces the introduction of the all-new ECW for ArcGIS Server, which provides a means for ArcGIS Server 10 to deliver Enhanced Compression Wavelet (ECW) data to clients via OGC-compliant Web Coverage Service (WCS) and Web Map Service (WMS).
Using components of the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK version 4.2, ECW for ArcGIS Server enables ArcGIS Server to support ECW imagery, providing the fastest decompression available. Using minimal memory, ECW can quickly decompress and open massive files, in many cases faster than uncompressed imagery can be opened. Additionally, multi-resolution level of detail is built into the file, eliminating the need to generate or distribute pyramids or overviews. The ECW technique does not require that immediate tiles (RRDs) be calculated and stored on disk; they are an inherent part of ECW’s Discrete Wavelet Transformations (DWT). ECW also supports opacity channels, allowing images to overlay other imagery cleanly without showing compression artifacts around the edges.
The ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK technology was developed by ER Mapper Ltd beginning in 1998 and is governed by three patents (US6201897, US6442298, and US6633688).
ECW for ArcGIS Server may be installed on a single ArcGIS Server, with or without other ERDAS software installed. However, ECW for ArcGIS Server does require a FlexNet license file from ERDAS.
This new product expands the industry-wide level of support for the ECW format. ECW is already supported in traditional desktop GIS, CAD and remote sensing packages such as ArcGIS®, AutoCAD®, ERDAS IMAGINE®, ERDAS ER Mapper, FalconView™, Bentley Microstation®, ENVI® and PCI Geomatica®.
"ERDAS created ECW for ArcGIS Server in response to overwhelming user demand. For any geospatial organization requiring an accelerated workflow and reduction of hardware costs, ECW is the compression format of choice," said Paul Beaty, Technical Product Manager, ERDAS. "Its popularity stems from the fact that it doesn’t merely compress files; it simplifies their handling by making them faster to decompress and transfer. ERDAS is committed to providing rapid geospatial data delivery for organizations using any software platform."
To learn more about ECW for ArcGIS Server, please visit the official product page or attend a free webinar on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 11 am or 7 pm (GMT -4).
For more information about ERDAS or its products and services, please call +1 770 776 3400, toll free +1 877 GO ERDAS, or visit http://www.erdas.com/.
This means the two articles 32824 and 36261 posted on ESRI's Support website concerning ECW in ArcGIS Server 10 are now out-of-date. Just get ECW for ArcGIS Server from ERDAS, and you are off to the races.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)