Historic Project Will Provide Detailed Information to State, Local and Federal Officials for Inventory Management, Homeland Security, Public Safety and Other Key Initiatives
LONGMONT, Colo., August 10, 2004 – DigitalGlobe®, provider of the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite imagery and geospatial information products, today announced the inception of a historic project that helps in the creation of Hawaii’s first publicly available state-wide Digital Ortho Quarter Quadrangles (DOQQ) and updated public image base using QuickBird satellite data. The high-resolution images and DOQQs will assist state officials with more precise planning for property assets, roads, homeland security assets, public safety and accessibility to remote areas, Emergency 911 initiatives and environmental and agricultural monitoring, among other important applications.
Due to the rainy nature of the Hawaiian islands and the associated cloud cover, comprehensive, state-wide aerial data collection efforts have often failed and the state’s existing DOQQ has many gaps in its coverage. However, since early 2002, DigitalGlobe has been collecting QuickBird satellite imagery of the normally challenging terrain and topography of Hawaii. QuickBird’s ongoing rotation around the Earth allows DigitalGlobe to revisit areas frequently, successfully overcoming cloud cover issues.
According to Craig Tasaka, of the state of Hawaii’s Office of Planning, “Our state has always been challenging to map with aerial photography. Working with DigitalGlobe allows us to conveniently and easily update our land base maps with highly accurate, high-resolution QuickBird data. We’re finding that DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird imagery, and the resulting DOQQs, offer unparalleled image quality and feature recognition.”
Traditionally, many mapping experts have relied on U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) DOQQs for their mapping needs. The DigitalGlobe DOQQ product has a higher resolution (two-foot versus one-meter), more image options (black-and-white, natural color, color infrared, and 4-band multispectral), and multiple projection options when compared to the USGS product. Ordered in conjunction with the QuickBird Subscription Program, customers have access to regular imagery updates over their area of interest. The imagery products are shipped as DOQQ mapsheets cut to the predefined USGS DOQQ boundaries and formatted to two-foot resolution — rather than the standard one meter offered with traditional products. Another benefit is this QuickBird imagery conforms well to other widely-used and long-standing landbase and map layers.
The state of Hawaii acquired from DigitalGlobe a set of DOQQs with 4-band orthorectified data. This purchase enables different state users to gain access to both the color infrared imagery for environmental monitoring and vegetative management applications, and the more familiar natural-color imagery for visualization and analysis.
According to Tasaka, “In addition to supplying exceptionally high-resolution imagery in typically challenging terrain and collection conditions, DigitalGlobe’s resulting DOQQ data format and presentation are versatile enough to meet the needs of multiple state, local and federal agencies — all of which have extremely diverse projects and initiatives.”
According to Steve Jennings, DigitalGlobe’s vice president of marketing, that ease of use and integration into existing systems has been a key component of the company’s DOQQ success. “Our DOQQ product was designed for customers needing a new source for updating older, lower resolution USGS DOQQs. Since we follow the USGS tiling and naming conventions, our customers are easily able to ingest DigitalGlobe’s DOQQ into their existing software packages. Our DOQQ provides an exceptionally convenient source for change detection and land base updating.”
About DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe is the clear leader in the global commercial Earth imagery and geospatial information market. The company’s technical superiority and innovation, unparalleled commitment to customer service, extensive business partner network and open systems philosophy make DigitalGlobe the preferred supplier of satellite and aerial imagery and value-added products. In 2001, DigitalGlobe launched what remains the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite today, QuickBird. The company will launch its next-generation WorldView system no later than 2006, while the competition has no plans to launch a satellite comparable to either QuickBird or WorldView before 2008. QuickBird has collected and stored in its ImageLibrary hundreds of thousands of Earth image scenes covering over a hundred million square kilometers, and collects an additional one million square kilometers each week. These new and historical images are essential for customers who map and plan for change in our world. DigitalGlobe is based in Longmont, Colo., USA. For more information visit www.digitalglobe.com.