ASPRS and ERDAS UGM Review

I’ve just recently returned from ASPRS 2008 in Portland, Oregon, overall a good show. I was generally busy presenting ERDAS TITAN: at the UGM, in the booth, and in my own session presentation... but I did get a chance to catch part of the panel on ‘Airborne Digital Mapping Camera Systems: Manufacturers' Perspective.” When all of the major aerial camera makers are in one room at ASPRS discussing current systems and future developments, you can imagine it is standing room only.

Our UGM was a great success. I grade success by the following factors:

1. audience interest (based on general responsiveness and thoughtful questions)
2. very positive commentary
3. seeing over 90% of the same people that came in before 8 am staying til the end after noon, after eight sessions and with only one break.

Our president Bob Morris gave the opening presentation entitled ‘We are ERDAS.' In case you have not yet heard, Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging division recently rebranded itself as ERDAS Inc. ERDAS is a name that carries weight in the geospatial industry and has deep roots in data authoring tools, specifically those for the analysis, processing and visualization of geospatial imagery. Yet, this name-resurrection signifies not only a revival but also a great renaissance and transition for ERDAS. ERDAS now provides solutions that encompass the entire ‘geospatial business system.’ Tools in the ERDAS product portfolio now include those for authoring data, managing that data within the enterprise, connecting users inside and outside of an organization and enabling rapid data sharing, and ultimately delivering value-added content to a variety of business applications, via a variety of services.

A hot product in the ERDAS booth was IMAGINE Objective, providing a robust set of tools for feature extraction, update and change detection. IMAGINE Objective is brand new and is detailed within this white paper covering feature extraction solutions from ERDAS. ERDAS will shortly be launching a Beta program for IMAGINE Objective which will be open to anyone under a SWM contract. Please visit this web site to apply in a few weeks: http://objective.erdas.com .

On a touristy note, this was my first time in Portland and I’d like to recommend two great places:

1. Powell’s Books: the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world
2. Jakes Famous Crawfish Restaurant: a historically-significant bar and restaurant a block from Powells. I recommend Jake’s Live Crawfish Boil.