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WASHINGTON TECHNOLOGY NEW May 19, 1994
GeoResearch Looks to Skies for Latitude ,and Longil
Computer Mapping That Uses GPS, Digital Photography For a Sense of Where You Are- ____..
By Liz Skinner STAFF WRITER
Doug Richardson recently relocated his young family to Washington, D.C. from Billings, Mont., in hopes his small computer mapping company, GeoResearch Inc., will flourish in the federal marketplace. Richardson's expectations are riding on his GeoLink software, which he calls "a revolutionary way of making maps."
"If you can walk, drive, fly or take a boat - you can make a map using GeoLink," said GeoResearch's president.
Using the Pentagon's Global Positioning Satellites, or GPS, GeoLink collects continuous positioning data and creates an accurate digital map while you travel through or over the area of interest. Mapping that used to require weeks or months of exact field measurements can now be done in days, said Richardson.
exactly where he or she is. Since 1980, when he began GeoRe
search as a small environmental science ftnn, Richardson has transformed the company into a $4 million GPS/GIS computer mapping business. GeoLink was created to meet the needs of Richardson's fteld researchers who wanted to log descriptive data along with locational points.
Richardson said. International customers make up about
40 percent of GeoResearch' s business. In a joint venture with the Philippine government, GeoLink is being used to survey the former U.S. Navy base at Subic Bay and digitize the base for industrial and environmental management, said James Meenan, GeoResearch's international markets vice
the technology to where GPS is now practical for many different applications. Other large firms that have been pursuing the GPS commercial market include Magellan, Ashtech and Rockwell.
GPS has been available for commercial use since 1984, but it was not until January 1993 that the 21 st satellite reached orbit and provided a completely operational net
work for the ftrst time. In 1978, the Department of De
fense launched the fIrst of the $12 billion constellation of 21 satellites (plus three backups) known as GPS. Now a GPS receiver anywhere on Earth will be within the range of at least four satellites.
Using data received from the four satellites, GPS receivers calculate three-dimensional position - latitude, longitude and altitude - and inform the computer once every second of the exact location of the traveler.
T1-_ n __ ... _____ __ 40.-_ '1 _ ... \- _
GeoResearch recently received a patent for its space-age computer mapping system that integrates descriptive field data with the locational information it collects from the GPS. GeoLink is a hand-held unit that produces instant map coverages for Geographic Information Systems,- or GIS, which can be used to inventory and map features in the environment.
l11C rC11ll:lgon conrrOls me precIsion of commercial GPS systems by randomly scrambling the satellite data, limiting most civilian uses to 100 meters of accuracy . But by using differential correction tech-
... niques, computer systems can now ~ determine location within one to iii five meters accuracy, said Thad ~ Mauney, GeoResearch scientific ~ director.
The company offers an optional camera-like module called GeoPhoto, which allows users to
Jim Mcinerney, technical support manager for GeoResearch, tests his company's global positioning pack that gives a whole new meaning to the term "finding yourself."
l Scott Fifield of the U.S. Census Bureau said his agency is looking for a system that will allow it to link GPS with the electronic maps
create digital photographic images of items along the route. For example, when GeoLink was used by the Federal Emergency Management Administration to map the Mississippi Flood damage, the government captured photographs of thousands of damaged buildings. FEMA then used the pictures to evaluate and quantify the flood damage, said Richardson.
The digital photos are logged into the map as specific points that can be called up later using the software's menued interface, said Jim McInerney, GeoResearch's manager of technical support.
The metal rod sticking out of McInerney's pack is receiving the GPS signal, but there are smaller GPS receivers that can be hand-held - or head-held. A Velcro strip on the smaller unit can be attached to the inside of a hat, so that hands can be kept free for field work.
GeoLink users enter descriptive data for any point of interest via a computer keyboard, keypad, a barcode reader or voiceinput devices. The software automatically positions the attribute's georeferenced location and plots it on a map being created at the same time.
The evolving map can be viewed against an existing background map to show a user
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"If you can walk, drive, fly or take a boat - you can make a map using GeoUnk."
- Doug Richardson, President, GeoResearch Inc.
Earlier this year, Richardson moved GeoResearch's headquarters from Montana to Vienna, Va. "in order to be closer to the large federal market," he said. Using GeoLink, Richardson's firm recently completed two Environmental Impact Statements for the U.S. Forest Service worth $2 million. In addition to the $200,000 FEMA flood contract, the Department of Interior, the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers and the National Park Service have all used GeoLink for data collection.
There is a very broad market for GeoLink, said Richardson. GeoLink users include Florida Power & Light, AT&T, Southwestern Bell and the California Office of Emergency Services , which employed GeoLink to assess damage from the Los Angeles riots. Many companies and local governments also use it for environmental assessments and for natural resources and land management applications,
president. GeoResearch also has projects in Russia, Malaysia and Mexico.
GeoLink software costs about $2,500 for the base model. So far, GeoResearch has sold about 1,000 units. Along with the software, each customer is invited to a training program, and larger clients are given customized training. .
For the last four years, GeoResearch has sponsored an annual GPS/GIS conference and training program that offers participants a chance to study the growing market and learn about new technologies. This year's conference, held last week in Tysons Corner, Va., attracted about 100 people and many vendors.
There are other fIrmS that offer products similar to GeoLink. Sunnyvale, Calif.based Trimble Navigation was the first company to offer GPS for commercial, non-military use, and still leads the market. Trimble has helped bring down the cost of
the bureau has created for the country. The goal is to have census information collectors georeference each house they visit and be able to return to the homes later.
Using GeoLink, the census maps could be downloaded onto the system and would provide the backdrop for the GPS data as it is collected. GeoLink is one of the systems the bureau is considering. Currently, the agency is experimenting with Trimble units, Fifield said.
As an archeologist with Argonne National Labs, Konnie Moeller said she hopes to bring GeoLink along on future digs. "It is very important to be able to plot and describe sites and then have the ability to return to that exact location," she explained.
The GeoLink system runs on most Pes, laptops or notebook computers and works with most GPS receivers and GIS systems. Richardson says GeoLink makes mapping faster, easier and less expensive.
National Park Service's Mike Kunzmann, who has used GeoLink in the field, seems to agree. Kunzmann: "Using background display maps gives us a better orientation to the habitat we're in. The user interface is excellent. It's really friendly for non-technical people to use."