PCI Geomatics, Feng Chia University and Lotus (H&R) Inc. Sign International Industry-Academia Cooperation Agreement

RICHMOND HILL, Ontario, Canada—November 13, 2013: PCI Geomatics, a world-leading developer of geoimaging software and systems, announced today that it has signed an Industry-Academia Cooperation Agreement with Feng Chia University (FCU), located in Taichung, Taiwan, and Lotus (H&R) Inc., exclusive reseller of PCI Geomatics technology in Taiwan.

In order to promote cooperation and knowledge exchange, PCI Geomatics has created the “PCI Geomatics Education Alliance Program” designed to create strong reciprocal relationships with select educational institutions. Under the terms of the Alliance Program, PCI Geomatics provides software licenses to support teaching and research activities in exchange for insights into the work being conducted at the University with PCI Geomatics software. The program fosters communication between the University and PCI Scientists as well as provides an outlet to the commercial world highlighting the work conducted at the University using PCI Geomatics software.

PCI Geomatics will be supporting the University through its exclusive distributor to Taiwan, Lotus (H&R) Inc. Lotus will deliver software support services for PCI software via onsite visits and through regular communications, as well as provide assistance with localized training and documentation material in Mandarin.

“PCI is pleased to sign this important agreement in person here in Taichung, as we greatly value the contributions of universities and other educational institutions to advance our collective knowledge of remote sensing science and applications,” said Terance M. Moloney, President and CEO of PCI Geomatics. “The purpose of the Education Alliance Program is to support the education sector, which acts as a beacon for teaching, research and innovation.”

“We are pleased to have been selected to participate in PCI’s Education Alliance Program,” said Dr. Lung-Shih Yang, Vice President of Feng Chia University. “Geomatica is an excellent teaching aid in conveying the fundamentals of Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing. In addition, it offers excellent tools for customization that are leveraged for research in directed studies.”

PCI Geomatics has implemented other Educational Alliance Agreements recently, and aims to have regional representation throughout the world. Follow the links below to access photos and a video of the signing ceremony.

Pictures of signing ceremony are available at: pci.gl/HRmpLc
Video of the signing ceremony is available at: pci.gl/17pKSO1
(Photos and Video – Copyright © 2013 FCU)

About PCI Geomatics

PCI Geomatics is a world-leading developer of software and systems for remote sensing, imagery processing, and photogrammetry.  With more than 30 years of experience in the geospatial industry, PCI is recognized globally for its excellence in providing software for accurately and rapidly processing satellite and aerial imagery.  There are more than 30,000 PCI licenses, in over 150 countries worldwide. Find out more about PCI Geomatics at www.pcigeomatics.com.

About Feng Chia University

Feng Chia University, located in Taichung, Taiwan, was initially established in 1961 as a College of Engineering and Business, and was granted University status in 1980. For over 50 years, FCU has steadily increased in size and scope. Currently, it is comprised of eight schools and colleges. Find out more about Feng Chia University at http://en.fcu.edu.tw/.

About Lotus (H&R) Inc.

Lotus (H&R) is a leading high-resolution optical and SAR satellite image distributor and geospatial

services provider in Taiwan. Lotus has decades of experience in sales of GIS products and services and

extensive business support networks in the marketplace. To contact Lotus (H&R) Inc:

Rubia Chen

T: +886 2 27226147

M : + 886 912596975

E : rubia.chen@gmail.com

Press Contact

Kevin R. Jones
Director, Marketing and Communications
T: 819-770-0022 x 214
E: jones@pcigeomatics.com
Web: www.pcigeomatics.com

Twitter: @pcigeomatics

Canadian Government Matching Donations to Typhoon Haiyan Relief Organizations

Typhoon Haiyan – locally known as Yolanda –is the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines in 2013. The storm has caused widespread damage, including landslides and flooding. Among the people affected are those who were left homeless by an earthquake in mid-October

The Canadian government has set up the Philippines crisis fund to address the needs of affected populations in the Philippines, and will match individual donations from Canadians to registered charities.

Canadians wishing to help individuals affected by this storm are encouraged to make a financial donation online, at their local Red Cross office, or by calling 1-800-418-1111. Please earmark donations “Typhoon Haiyan.” Funds will be used to support Red Cross efforts in all countries affected by the storm.

To make a donation directly to the Canadian Red Cross to support efforts towards Typhoon Haiyan Relief, visit: http://www.redcross.ca/donate/donate-online/donate-to-the-typhoon-haiyan-fund.

To learn more about The Canadian Government's Response to Typhoon Haiyan, visit: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/acdi-cida.nsf/eng/HEL-111012596-P4H

PCI Geomatics Delivers Historical Airphoto Processing (HAP) System in Sabah, Malaysia

RICHMOND HILL, Ontario, Canada—November 7, 2013: PCI Geomatics, a world leading developer of geo-imaging software and systems, today announces that it has successfully delivered to the Sabah Lands and Surveys Department (SLSD) a Historical Airphoto Processing (HAP) system, a customized workflow developed by PCI Geomatics. Installation and training, which took place in September of this year, were included in the delivery of the system.

Sabah, one of 13 member states which comprise Malaysia, is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo, and has a total land area of 73,631 km². The Sabah Lands and Surveys Department has secured the use of a HAP system within its organization in order to produce seamless ortho mosaics for the over 40,000 historical images it possesses in its archive – dating from the 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s.

The Sabah Lands and Surveys Department received onsite training from PCI’s HAP experts who travelled to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, in order to install and provide training. Using an iterative approach and leveraging automated Ground Control Point collection techniques, large blocks of images from the archives were successfully orthorectified, and mosaicked.

Previously, historical images were made available to the public through the SLSD central office location in Kota Kinabalu, however this only provided limited use of the imagery. By proactively correcting all of the imagery from the various years, the SLSD will be significantly increasing transparency for key issues that deal with land ownership, natural resources, and change detection dating back to the 1970’s.

“Prior to implementing the Historical Airphoto Processing System, the distribution of imagery was limited to onsite consultation in our offices,” said Robert Cheng, Assistant Director of Survey & Mapping. “The HAP system will allow us to produce highly accurate, color-balanced orthorectified digital mosaics that can be consulted through our Sabah Land Information System (SALIS), through the Internet.”

“We are pleased to see that this valuable source of imagery will be preserved and will continue to provide value to its owners, and to the citizens of Sabah,” said Wong Tai Hong, General Manager at, Jurupro SND BHD, PCI’s Reseller in Malaysia. “The customer was impressed with the HAP system’s capability and immediately identified a need to use the system to process imagery in their archive in order to preserve its value,” he added.

PCI Geomatics recently introduced the Historical Airphoto Processing Workflow, which leverages the Geomatica platform to produce ortho-mosaics from difficult-to-process scanned historical imagery. The system is successfully being used in Canada, the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

About PCI Geomatics

PCI Geomatics is a world-leading developer of software and systems for remote sensing, imagery processing, and photogrammetry.  With more than 30 years of experience in the geospatial industry, PCI is recognized globally for its excellence in providing software for accurately and rapidly processing satellite and aerial imagery.  There are more than 30,000PCI licenses, in over 150 countries worldwide. Find out more about PCI Geomatics at www.pcigeomatics.com.

Press Contact

Kevin R. Jones
Director, Marketing and Communications
T: 819-770-0022 x 214
E: jones@pcigeomatics.com
Web: www.pcigeomatics.com

Twitter: @pcigeomatics

PCI Geomatics and Sysdeco Italia Announce Geomatica Day at the University of Rome

RICHMOND HILL, Ontario, Canada—October 8, 2013:  PCI Geomatics, a world leading developer of geo-imaging software and systems, today announces that, along with its Italian reseller, Sysdeco Italia, it will be holding Geomatica Day on the 14^th of October, 2013 at the historic Faculty of Engineering at the Sapienza University of Rome in Rome, Italy.

The one-day event will cover a range of topics relating to geospatial imagery and the use of Geomatica software. Participants will be shown the latest tools in Geomatica 2013, image processing examples using Pleiades data, and real-world case studies on how Geomatica software and solutions are being used by customers around the world.

“We are honored to be presenting at such a historic place in the world,” said Steven Corr, European Business Manager at PCI Geomatics. “I am personally looking forward to what promises to be a day filled with informative and insightful discussions about geospatial imagery.”

In addition to Geomatica, demonstrations of new products including Discover and 3D FeatureXtract will be provided. Hands-on training sessions focusing on atmospheric correction, haze removal, and change detection will be included, providing practical examples of image processing workflows. Event participants will also receive 30-day trial licenses of the latest release of Geomatica.

Space for this event is limited. Interested parties can register by contacting sales@sysdecoitalia.com.

About PCI Geomatics

PCI Geomatics is a world-leading developer of software and systems for remote sensing, imagery processing, and photogrammetry.  With more than 30 years of experience in the geospatial industry, PCI is recognized globally for its excellence in providing software for accurately and rapidly processing satellite and aerial imagery.  There are more than 30,000 PCI licenses, in over 150 countries worldwide. Find out more about PCI Geomatics at www.pcigeomatics.com.

Press Contact

Kevin R. Jones
Director, Marketing and Communications
T: 819-770-0022 x 214
E: jones@pcigeomatics.com
Web: www.pcigeomatics.com

Twitter: @pcigeomatics

2013 PCI Reseller Meeting - Summary

2013 PCI Reseller Meeting Summary
"Leveraging the Geomatica Platform"

September 27th, 2013

As the week winds to a close, I thought I would take a few moments and provide a summary of a very exciting week for PCI Geomatics - the 2013 Annual Reseller Meeting was held here in Ottawa from September 23rd to 26th at the Lord Elgin Hotel.

2013 PCI Reseller Meeting - Countries represented in the meeting

PCI was pleased to have the opportunity to host its International Resellers and Partners over the past week for a very fruitful meeting which included a full three-day program of presentations, discussions and training centred on PCI Technology.

Our first day started with an opening address by PCI Geomatics President and CEO, Terry Moloney who welcomed our international guests and outlined the vision for PCI Geomatics over the coming years. 

PCI's President and CEO, Terry Moloney
addressing 2013 Reseller Meeting Attendees

A key theme included PCI's continued technological innovations that has fueled customer success, including performance (GPU), flexibility (Cloud implementations) and functionality (new innovative DEM editing tools). Additional presentations from Mr. Moloney as well as Mr. Arnold Hougham, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, positioned Geomatica as a powerful platform that has been leveraged by customers and partners around the world to address complex geospatial challenges. Mr. Moloney and Mr. Hougham presented on the future trends in the geospatial industry and how PCI Geomatics is poised to respond by providing its flexible and powerful Geomatica platform to develop innovative software solutions in response to customer requirements. 

Presentations were provided by PCI's Product Management team on new items for Geomatica, including true ortho and the added availability of 2.5D DEM Editing, which are already available within GXL. Presentations were also provided by key partners including IAVO, Rolta, Digital Globe, the Satrec Initiative and Forest Sense - who presented case studies on how their respective companies use the Geomatica platform on a daily basis. In addition, presentations on upcoming earth observation technology that will be deployed in the short, medium and longer term were presented.

Geoff Zeiss, keynote speaker, "Between the Poles"

The day concluded with a fantastic evening at a local eatery in downtown Ottawa. Digital Globe graciously sponsored the evening dinner which included a keynote address by a geospatial thought leader, Mr. Geoff Zeiss from Between the Poles. His address was enthusiastically received by the audience who learned about the growing need for "real time big data processing", and how PCI and its partners are well positioned to answer to growing customer needs for innovative solutions to upcoming big data challenges. 

The second day of the Reseller meeting featured additional presentations by PCI staff on GXL technology, a high-volume image processing system powered by the Geomatica platform. One of the most exciting presentations was that of Beijing Space Eye Innovations (BSEI) President and CEO, Mr. Xiaoyang Cheng, who summarized short, medium and long term Chinese goals for Earth Observation - which include plans to launch over 20 new earth observation satellites in the coming years. 

BSEI President and CEO, Mr. Xioayang Cheng, 
presenting at the 2013 PCI Reseller Meeting

BSEI, as PCI's exclusive Reseller in China looks forward to providing innovative solutions to process high volumes of imagery for customers by offering the GXL capability to the Chinese market. In addition to BSEI, Christopher Patterson from Esri Canada provided a case study on Esri's use of the Geomatica platform to map over 50 million square kilometers of 1 m imagery through the use of the GXL, which was deployed on the Amazon Cloud. Mr. Patterson discussed the wealth of imagery and other types of geospatial content available on ArcGIS.com.

Ms. Minnyo Hong, Satrec Initiative

Dinner Sponsor

Additional presentations were provided, including a presentation by PCI SAR expert, Ms. Sandra Bolanos, who provided an overview of the capability within the Geomatica Platform to work with SAR imagery. Key innovations and additions for upcoming compact polarimetry satellite missions were presented along with many application examples using Geomatica and SAR imagery. A second dinner was held at the end of the second day, which was sponsored by the Satrec Initiative.

The dinner also provided an opportunity to recognize the excellent efforts made by PCI's Resellers - in recognition of their contributions to PCI technology and to celebrate their success. The following Resellers received awards:
BSEI (China) , CGI (Germany), Jurupro (Malaysia) and Rolta (India).

2013 PCI Reseller Award Recipients

The third day of the PCI Reseller Meeting included more in-depth training and discussion on PCI Technology, including Geomatica, Synthetic Aperture Radar, Historical Airphoto Processing, and 3D FeatureXtract. One of the main highlights on the final day of the meeting was a presentation by Mr. Nils Erik Jorgensen from Terranor, who presented a very innovative project where underwater imagery was automatically corrected and mosaicked into a continuous data layer using Geomatica.
The solution included taking raw imagery from an Underwater Unmanned Vehicle (UUV) and processing it within the Geomatica platform to automatically correct and color balance the imagery. This innovative technique promises to offer other companies who capture underwater imagery of their infrastructure a solution that allows them to visually inspect and detect problem areas underwater, without the expense and risk associated with sending highly trained underwater divers.

2013 PCI Reseller Meeting - Group Photo

If you are interested in joining our growing network of International Resellers, or would like to partner with us, please contact us to discuss the benefits of working with PCI Geomatics.
Email us at marketing@pcigeomatics.com or head to www.pcigeomatics.com.

In closing, we would like to thank all PCI resellers, partners, and all of the PCI Staff who supported the 2013 Annual Reseller Meeting, which was indeed very successful.

To view a complete Picture Gallery captured throughout the week, click on this link:
2013 PCI Reseller Meeting Picture Gallery

Kevin Jones
Director, Marketing and Communications
jones@pcigeomatics.com

PCI Geomatics to provide SAR imagery analysis training for Esri and PCI Natural Resources Imagery Grant Program

RICHMOND HILL, Ontario, Canada—August 20, 2013: PCI Geomatics, a world-leading developer of remote sensing and photogrammetric software and systems, announces the availability of its Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image analysis in Geomatica online training sessions. 

Participants in the course will explore data-processing techniques in Focus, a module of Geomatica. The course will take participants through basic techniques in ingesting, calibrating, and displaying SAR data. The course will also cover more advanced techniques, such as applying radiometric enhancements, processing detected data (single or dual polarization), performing unsupervised coherent and incoherent polarimetric decomposition, analyzing polarimetric discriminators, and performing coherent change detection with polarimetric data.

The first session of this online course is being delivered in support of The Esri and PCI Natural Resources Imagery Grant Program. Program participants will be developing projects that increase efficiency, productivity, and accuracy in the use of SAR and optical imagery for detecting and analyzing land-cover change.

“There is strong interest in using SAR data in GIS workflows,” said Punarvasu Pillalamarri, Product Manager at PCI Geomatics. “This advanced course exploring data preparation, processing, and analysis techniques for working with SAR data is an excellent opportunity for GIS professionals to use SAR imagery in new ways.”

“SAR imagery provides a unique layer of information that is captured from active sensors, such as RADARSAT-2, TerraSAR-X, and other commercial space-borne SAR sensors,” said John Wessels, Senior SAR Scientist at PCI Geomatics. “New sources of SAR imagery are becoming available over the coming years, and PCI continues to lead the way in developing sensor-agnostic, powerful tools to extract information from SAR imagery,” he added.

This course also covers the SAR Polarimetry Target Analysis (SPTA) tool. Participants will use the tool to define a series of targets and perform an in-depth analysis of their polarimetric properties. They will learn how to generate and analyze numerical and graphical outputs, including customized histogram and polarimetric response plots.

The SAR Image Analysis in Geomatica training program is the latest in a series of instructor-led online training programs delivered by PCI Geomatics throughout the year. For a complete listing of course descriptions, dates, and times, visit www.pcigeomatics.com/training. 

About PCI Geomatics

PCI Geomatics is a world-leading developer of software and systems for remote sensing, imagery processing, and photogrammetry. With more than 30 years of experience in the geospatial industry, PCI is recognized globally for its excellence in providing software that accurately and rapidly processes satellite and aerial imagery. There are more than 30,000 PCI licenses in over 150 countries worldwide. Find out more about PCI Geomatics at www.pcigeomatics.com.

Media Contact

Kevin R. Jones
Director, Marketing and Communications
T: 819-770-0022 x 214
E: jones@pcigeomatics.com
Web: www.pcigeomatics.com

Twitter: @pcigeomatics

PCI Geomatics and IAVO-RS Announce the Release of 3D FeatureXtract Software

-- Users can perform 3D modeling with existing hardware --

RICHMOND HILL, Ontario, Canada—August 07, 2013: PCI Geomatics, a world-leading developer of remote sensing and photogrammetric software and systems, announces with is partner IAVO, the release of 3D FeatureXtract (3DFE).

By calculating feature heights and outlines of overlapping satellite or aerial imagery, 3DFE can model 3D features in a 2D environment, and it does this without any need for specialized hardware.  The software was developed by leading scientists at IAVO, a research and development company based in Durham, North Carolina.

“3D FeatureXtract will allow customers to easily derive building footprints, a key requirement for producing true ortho image products from satellite or aerial imagery,” said Peter Hazlett, Desktop Product Manager at PCI Geomatics. “3DFE is easy to use and requires no special hardware – anyone with basic computer skills can learn how to model in 3DFE in a matter of minutes.”

“We believe 3DFE offers capabilities aligned tightly with emerging trends in 3D geospatial and feature modeling, and we anticipate the software being enthusiastically embraced by PCI’s various user communities,” added Dr. Matthew Heric, Chief Executive Officer at IAVO.

PCI Geomatics continues to provide leading-edge tools to correct satellite and aerial imagery, having recently released its GXL 2013 software, which includes innovative 2.5D hybrid DSM-to-DTM editing tools. With 3DFE, customers perform true ortho processing, delineate building footprints, and create fully textured 3D building models.

“Building models are expensive to generate or purchase from traditional sources,” said David Piekny, Solutions Product Manager at PCI Geomatics. “Using 3DFE, our customers can easily produce building footprints, extrude 3D buildings, and also derive building texture information, all through the use of their existing stereo data collections. The software provides highly accurate results, is intuitive and simple to use, and will provide increased production speeds for true ortho projects.”

PCI Geomatics is the global distributor for the software, with additional distribution through its international reseller network. To find out more, and to download an evaluation version of the software, visit:

www.pcigeomatics.com/3DFE.

About PCI Geomatics

PCI Geomatics is a world-leading developer of software and systems for remote sensing, imagery processing, and photogrammetry. With more than 30 years of experience in the geospatial industry, PCI is recognized globally for its excellence in providing software that accurately and rapidly processes satellite and aerial imagery. There are more than 30,000 PCI licenses in over 150 countries worldwide. Find out more about PCI Geomatics at www.pcigeomatics.com.

Press Contact

Kevin R. Jones
Director, Marketing and Communications
T: 819-770-0022 x 214
E: jones@pcigeomatics.com
Web: www.pcigeomatics.com

Twitter: @pcigeomatics