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SpatialNews.com Press Release
ABC NEWS USES DIGITALGLOBE IMAGERY AND STATE-OF-THE-ART
3D TECHNOLOGY TO COVER WAR IN IRAQ
Longmont, Colo., April 23, 2003 - DigitalGlobe announced that its QuickBird(tm) imagery, with 3D visualization technology from Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation (NASDAQ: ESCC) (E&S), is being used in new and innovative ways by ABC News during the broadcast network's coverage of the war in Iraq. The combination of DigitalGlobe satellite imagery and E&S's Environment Processor (EP) technology, gives viewers a realistic, current perspective of Iraq's geography.
Using QuickBird imagery in combination with state-of-the-art processing techniques, E&S developed a 3D database for ABC News that depicts Iraq and surrounding areas as well as other key locations in the Middle East. Modeling techniques were utilized to extract specific features in specified areas of interest. The database shows the aircraft, land vehicles, ships, and infantry involved in the operations and depicts several possible scenarios for the U.S. operations. The staff at ABC News has integrated the database into their news creation process for viewing and can create new scenarios to reflect actual events as they receive information from the Pentagon and other sources.
QuickBird satellite imagery has the highest resolution of any commercial satellite imagery in the world, showing details on the ground as small as 60 centimeters in diameter. By using these highly accurate photos with E&S's EP, ABC News is able to represent real-world events in a 3D perspective. The 3D simulations, many of which depict actual events within hours of their occurrence in Iraq, will be featured in ABC News reports depicting the progress of the war.
"This new technology will give our viewers a heightened understanding of the geography of this region," said Jeffrey W. Schneider, ABC News vice president. "It has been and continues to be a terrific tool for ABC News to use in order to convey important information to the American people."
"E&S EP technology creates whole new possibilities for a variety of visualization applications," said Gene Frazier, E&S strategic visualization vice president. "Until now, the time required to create visualization databases made their use impractical for anything that required rapid creation or quick changes. With EP, we have reduced the time required to create a realistic 3D database from months to weeks and days with updates performed within hours."
"The news media has rarely had the opportunity to show the public realistic, current views of a restricted location during a time of breaking news," said Herb Satterlee, CEO and chairman of DigitalGlobe. "Providing satellite imagery of Iraq and presenting it in a 3D view enables the public to make assessments about the geography and facilities in an area to which we would otherwise have no visual access."
E&S worked with GIS Xpress, an imagery service provider for Photon Research Associates (PRA) of San Diego, Calif., to obtain the QuickBird imagery from DigitalGlobe.
About Evans & Sutherland
Evans & Sutherland produces professional hardware and software to create highly realistic visual images for simulation, training, engineering, and other applications throughout the world. E&S visual systems are used in both military and commercial systems, as well as planetariums and interactive theaters. Visit the E&S Web site at http://www.es.com.
About DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe is an Earth imagery and information company in Longmont, Colorado, USA. With the 2001 launch of its QuickBird satellite, DigitalGlobe has established a market leadership position. The company provides the world's highest resolution commercial satellite imagery, the greatest collection capacity, the most up-to-date archive and the largest image size of any other satellite imagery provider. The competition has no plans to launch a comparable commercial satellite until at least 2006. In addition to offering technical superiority, DigitalGlobe distinguishes itself in the market through its commitment to excellent customer service, relationships with business partners and open-systems philosophy. More information can be found at www.digitalglobe.com
Related Weblinks:
www.es.com
www.digitalglobe.com
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