Auto Update 2.0.2 Released

We released a small auto update to the ERDAS TITAN Client last week for the sole purpose of resolving connectivity issues that some users were experiencing...And from reports we've received we're happy to say it did it's job!

The update happened automatically and your TITAN Client version should now be 2.0.2.

Happy 30th Birthday ERDAS!

ERDAS Inc. celebrated its 30th birthday today with cake, presentations and nearby friends...

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, ERDAS began in 1978 as a small start up on the Georgia Tech campus, and quickly grew to become the industry leader of geospatial imagery and processing software. ERDAS recently rebranded itself and included the tagline the 'Earth to Business Company,' signifying that it now provides a suite of comprehensive, geospatial solutions for transforming geospatial data into useful information.

Nearly 100 folks came from Georgia and beyond to meet and reconnect with geospatial colleagues at ERDAS, and learn about solutions that support the concept of a geospatial business system.

Besides presentations from product management, attendees also heard from our customers themselves:

Ted Macy, President of MapShots spoke about using ERDAS Image Web Server as the solution for delivering vast amounts of imagery for crop management applications.

NVision Solutions (our first GeoHub customer!) has a GeoHub ready for any next disaster on the Gulf Coast (let's hope that doesn't happen). They are also building some really cool applications incorporating TITAN technology.

Here is the schedule from today:

Do I need a 'Master Server'?

An ERDAS TITAN Master Server is the core registry service for all the GeoHubs and individual users on the ERDAS TITAN Network. The Master Server handles all GeoHub and individual registrations and takes login requests for the entire network. The Master Server also manages all user profile and subscription data, and enables all communication between GeoHubs and individual users for an entire network.

Some organizations require their own isolated, autonomous solar system of GeoHubs and users, with no connection to the ERDAS TITAN Network, so we also sell an ‘ERDAS TITAN Master Server.’ Organizations require their own autonomous network typically for one of two reasons:

1. the customer participates on an isolated network (no internet = they cannot connect to the TITAN Network anyway)

2. the customer has ultra-high security needs/deals with classified data/has regulations about participating in a public network.

Usually these are defense clients.

Being the Admin of a GeoHub is EASY!

How easy is it? Well, just watch the 5 minute video.

It only takes five minutes to show how to be the Admin of a GeoHub??
...Yep.

Make a MyWorld!

In TITAN, users can amass geospatial data and location-based content in the TITAN Viewer and publish a MyWorld. Other users on the TITAN Network can ‘Switch Worlds’ and interact in your MyWorld.

Switch to see another user's MyWorld!

If you're a TITAN user already, you can access some demo MyWorlds we’ve set up in TITAN: In the TITAN Viewer, select ‘Switch Worlds’and double-click on the user CapeTown. The Viewer will rotate (it looks like a picture cube turning) and then you’ll be inside CapeTown’s MyWorld. Here you can look at data and location-based content being shared by this user. Click on any screenshots in the 'Photo Ribbon' and info dialog boxes will pop up and you’ll be flown to a georeferenced location. Add your own local data and content to the scene. When you’re done, click the button 'Restore MyWorld' to go back to your own MyWorld.

Here are those icons you'll use in the TITAN Viewer:

Switch Worlds

Photo Ribbon

Restore MyWorld

Data you save in your MyWorld is listed in the Geospatial Instant Messenger (GeoIM). Note: In order for others to see any data in your MyWorld, you must give them permission to do so in the GeoIM.

If you’d like to see how to do any of these things I’ve mentioned above, just look over on the right here on this blog, and check out two 5-minute Product Demonstration Videos: 'Create and Share a MyWorld' and 'Publish Local Geospatial Data.'

E-Planet

Ryan has been experimenting with Yahoo Pipes and has combined multiple feeds for blogs maintained by some of us ERDAS folks.

It is (appropriately) called e-planet. Thanks Ryan!

Raster and Vector Format Support

Currently TITAN supports raster and vector formats via GDAL/OGR by default. With an ERDAS IMAGINE plugin due out August 2008 TITAN will to tie into IMAGINE libraries, greatly extending TITAN raster format support. A user must have ERDAS IMAGINE installed for this plugin to work.

IMAGINE libraries support some of the same formats as GDAL. IMAGINE libraries can override format support by GDAL, meaning, if IMAGINE is installed then it can be used for all formats it recognizes with exception of ECW/ECWP. If IMAGINE is not there then TITAN falls back on GDAL. This will be a preference setting.

For ECW/ECWP, we have written our own fast implementation available as part of the TITAN Client download August 2008.

Formats supported by GDAL/OGR: These formats are supported to the extent which the open source GDAL/OGR libraries are capable of loading. If you would like to add your own formats or require support for trouble with an existing format, please visit the Open Source Geospatial Foundation page for GDAL/OGR.

Local Raster Support

• MS Windows Device Independent Bitmap
• First Generation USGS DOQ (.doq,.doq1)(old style)
• New Labeled USGS DOQ (.doq,doq2)(new style)
• Military Elevation Data(.dt1)
• ERMapper Compressed Wavelets(.ecw)
• ENVI .hrd Labeled Raster
• Envisat Image Product (.n1)
• EOSAT FAST Format (FAST)
• TIFF with a world file
• MrSid with world file
• GeoTIFF
• Hierarchical Data Format Release 4 (HDF4)
• Hierarchical Data Format Release 5 (HDF5)
• ERDAS Imagine (.img)
• JPEG JFIF
• JPEG2000 (.jp2,j2k)jp2ecw
• JPEG2000 (.jp2,j2k)jp2MrSID
• Multi-resolution Seamless Image Database (MrSID - 2000)
• National Imagery Transmission Format (NITF 2.1)
• USGS SDTS DEM(*CATD.DDF)
• AVHRR
• USGS Optional ASCII DEM (and CDED)
• Portable Network Graphics (.png)
• Graphics Interchange Format (.gif)
• FIT Image

Local Vector Support

• ESRI Shapefile
• Mapinfo File
• Microstation DGN
• TIGER

Formats supported via IMAGINE plugin (August)

• SPOT DIMAP
• DTED
• ERDAS 7.5 LAN
• ERDAS 7.5 GIS
• ENVI
• EROS-A1 Level 1A
• RPF Frame
• RPF Overview
• RPF TOC
• ER Mapper
• EOSAT FAST (FAST)
• TIFF
• GeoTIFF
• HDF
• IMG
• JPG
• MrSID
• NITF 2.0/2.1 (classified data)

Formats supported via Defense Productivity Module extension to ERDAS IMAGINE (August)

• TFRD (.tfrd) (classified data)