Leica Geosystems' Imaging Products Offer QuickBird Sensor Model

ATLANTA, GA, June 19, 2002 - Leica Geosystems' GIS & Mapping Division is pleased to announce that its primary geographic imaging products support QuickBird data, making it convenient for customers to purchase and use QuickBird imagery to create 'GIS Ready' geo-spatial data layers for GIS database revision and update.

"QuickBird sensor model integration in ERDAS products provide users with the ability to prepare and extract accurate geo-spatial content using high-resolution satellite imagery" said Mladen Stojic, Product Manager, Leica Geosystems, GIS & Mapping Division. Leica Geosystems' imaging products support QuickBird levels 1B and 2A. (Level 1B is provided with RPC (Rational Polynomial Coefficients) and with a physical ephemeris model. Level 2A is provided with a RPC model only.)

DigitalGlobe's QuickBird commercial imaging satellite provides high-quality 61-centimeter panchromatic and 2.4-meter multispectral Basic and Standard Imagery products. QuickBird imagery products are delivered in industry standard 8-bit and 16-bit formats with associated metadata supported by Leica Geosystems' software applications packages including IMAGINE Advantage®, IMAGINE OrthoBASE®, IMAGINE OrthoBASE Pro™, and Stereo Analyst®.

In addition to supporting QuickBird data in its imaging products, SOCET SET®, the foundation of the GIS & Mapping Division's airborne data acquisition products, will also support this technology. This added capability for SOCET SET is expected to be available in October.

The following describes capabilities extended to geographic imaging users with the QuickBird Sensor Model.

With IMAGINE Advantage (Warp Tool) Support of QuickBird Imagery, users have the ability to:

· Adjust sensor model information provided with the Basic and Standard Imagery products using ground control points (GCPs).
· Directly orthorectify a single 'Basic Imagery' or 'Standard Imagery' product using an elevation source.

IMAGINE OrthoBASE and OrthoBASE Pro users have the ability to:

· Add one or multiple 'Basic Imagery' or 'Standard Imagery' products to OrthoBASE, regardless of the data format.
· Adjust sensor model information provided with the Basic Imagery and Standard Imagery Products based on measured GCPs.
· Automatically extract Digital Terrain Models (DTMs)
· Orthorectify multiple QuickBird images using the adjusted sensor model for both Basic Imagery and Standard Imagery Products.
 
ERDAS Stereo Analyst users have the ability to:

· Open a block file created within OrthoBASE that contains QuickBird images that have or have not been adjusted.
· Directly add two overlapping 'Basic Imagery' products and create a block file for direct use with Stereo Analyst.
· Directly add two overlapping 'Standard Imagery' products and create a block file for direct use with Stereo Analyst.

QuickBird was successfully launched in October 2001, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. As a high-resolution commercial satellite in operation, QuickBird circles the Earth in a 450-km (280-mile), 98-degree sun-synchronous orbit, which provides consistent revisit times year-round. In addition to providing the high-resolution imagery, QuickBird also collects an industry leading 16.5-kilometer (10.3-mile) imagery swath.

For more information about Leica Geosystems GIS & Mapping Division or its products and services, contact: +1 404 248 9000, toll free: +1 877 463 7327, or visit us.

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A long-standing leader in the GIS market, Leica Geosystems is a dependable partner for 3D data acquisition, processing and visualization. With the recent integration of ERDAS and LH Systems, Leica Geosystems has expanded its product areas to offer four ranges of GIS and mapping solutions - airborne data acquisition, geographic imaging, GPS/GIS, and land information systems. Leica Geosystems' sensors, field data collectors, workstations and software allow users to create and update GIS databases rapidly, accurately and cost effectively.

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