Graz, Austria — June 27, 2013 — Chuo-Kogyo Co., Ltd., a Japanese engineering and surveying firm, has contracted with Microsoft’s UltraCam business unit to purchase the UltraMap DenseMatcher, Ortho Pipeline and Aerial Triangulation software modules. Chuo-Kogyo is already an established Microsoft customer, having purchased an UltraCamX digital camera system four years ago.
“Demand for aerial mapping services is increasing in Japan, so we felt that it was the right time to purchase the UltraMap workflow software,” said Morifumi Koike, CEO of Chuo-Kogyo. ”The aerial triangulation, dense matching and ortho mosaicing capabilities will allow us to meet requirements for new types of projects, and gain efficiencies in our data processing.”
UltraMap is the first fully integrated end-to-end photogrammetric workflow system for UltraCam images. Using the new UltraMap modules released in November 2012, UltraCam users can rapidly generate quality data products, from ingest of raw data to delivery of high-density point clouds, DSMs and ortho imagery.
“Microsoft is pleased that our long-term customer Chuo-Kogyo has purchased three modules of our most recent software release,” said Alexander Wiechert, Microsoft Business Director. “Since first made available to the public in 2009, the UltraMap system has continuously evolved to meet the needs of the mapping community.”
About UltraMap
UltraMap, a workflow software developed to enable managing and processing vast amounts of digital aerial data, is in its third release and includes new functionality for the automated processing of 3D point clouds, digital surface models (DSM) and ortho mosaics. The Aerial Triangulation (AT) module provides an interactive workflow while calculating image correspondences in order to generate a precise exterior orientation for an entire image block. The Dense Matching module creates high-density point clouds, a DSM and an internally used DTM from Level-2 images, extrapolating precise exterior orientation data to generate per-pixel height values. The Ortho Pipeline module generates the final ortho mosaic from all available inputs such as Level-2 imagery, AT results, radiometric settings, and the DSM/DTM.
About Microsoft’s UltraCam Business Unit
With its operations based in Graz, Austria, and sales and support teams in North America, Microsoft’s UltraCam business unit brings more than two decades of photogrammetry expertise to Microsoft’s Bing Maps business unit. The division is responsible for the highly successful line of UltraCam digital aerial mapping systems that today include the UltraCamLp, UltraCam Falcon, and UltraCam Eagle digital photogrammetric sensors, and the UltraCam Osprey nadir/oblique photogrammetric digital aerial sensor. Rounding out the UltraCam offerings is the fully integrated UltraMap workflow software system, with features that include high-density 3D point cloud creation, highly accurate and detailed digital surface model (DSM) generation, and ortho mosaicing capabilities based on an automatically generated DSM or traditional DSM.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
About Chuo-Kogyo Co., Ltd.
From its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, Chuo-Kogyo Co. provides a broad range of engineering and surveying services. With its selection of scanners, digital and analog cameras, and a remote-controlled helicopter, the firm handles mobile mapping of roadways, large-scale topographic mapping projects and large-scale aerial photography, as well as specialized services related to soil pollution, environmental protection, and GIS. For more information go to http://www.chuo-as.co.jp/ or contact Morifumi Koike at koike@chuo-as.co.jp.