Alexandria, VA – Innovation and expansion into new territories marks the direction the Geospatial profession is heading. Visual Intelligence pulled out ahead as a leader to win the Grand Award at the 8th annual MAPPS Geospatial Products and Services Excellence Awards ceremony with their patented new method for coupling sensors into a single housing. Visual Intelligence’s iOne SRK allows for reconfiguration of the sensors to meet the unique Geospatial demands of their clients.
"Versatility, ease of use and budget were key reasons Visual Intelligence won this year’s Grand
Award," said Robert "Bob" Burtch PS, CP, Professor Emeritus at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan, and chairman of the judges’ panel. "They created both software and sensors that can be reconfigured by the data collector. For example, cameras can be seamlessly combined into a single sensor to create a large format sensor for about half the price. The system is economical, simple, flexible, and provides the necessary accuracy for clients new and old."
MAPPS also awarded 2014 Winners for Excellence in six technical categories:
* Quantum Spatial (Lexington, KY) won the Airborne and Satellite Data Acquisition award for the work they did to provide crucial data on the full extent of the Oso Landslide in Washington state.
* Wilson & Company (Albuquerque, NM) won in the Photogrammetry/Elevation Data Generation category for their work on the "Cochiti Dam and Reservoir Sedimentation Study".
* Woolpert (Dayton, Ohio) took home the Remote Sensing award for their work with the State of Ohio to assess the viability of utilizing solar power to provide electric power.
* For their work on the first-floor elevations for flood impact studies, Michael Baker (Moon Township, PA) won for Surveying and Field Data Collection for the Pearl River, MS project.
* The Atlantic Group (Huntsville, AL) took the Small Projects award for their LiDAR data processing project "Helping Weakley County, Tennessee’s Tactical GIS Team Maximize Their LiDAR ROI".
* Visual Intelligence’s (Houston, TX) iOne SRK also took the Technology Innovation award.
"This year’s awards recognizes our member firms as leaders in cutting edge, innovative solutions that fit a plethora of needs and budgets," said MAPPS Executive Director John Palatiello. "Congratulations to all the firms who entered. The products and services demonstrate the enormous impact that private sector geospatial firms has on the community and throughout the world."
The awards were given at the 2014 Geospatial and Engineering International Marketing Conference in Alexandria, VA on September 25, 2014.
A panel of independent judges evaluated projects submitted by MAPPS members for the awards program. Joining Mr. Burtch on the panel was The Honorable Doug Domenech, former Secretary of Natural Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia; Leonard C. Gilroy, a Certified Planner and Director of Government Reform at Reason Foundation; Bruce MacLeod, Editor of POB magazine and website; and Neil Sandler, Publisher of xyHt.
About MAPPS
Formed in 1982, MAPPS is the only national association exclusively comprised of private firms in the remote sensing, spatial data and geographic information systems field in the United States. The MAPPS membership spans the entire spectrum of the geospatial community, including Member Firms engaged in satellite and airborne remote sensing, surveying, photogrammetry, aerial photography, LIDAR, hydrography, bathymetry, charting, aerial and satellite image processing, GPS, and GIS data collection and conversion services. MAPPS also includes Associate Member Firms, which are companies that provide hardware, software, products and services to the geospatial profession in the United States and other firms from around the world. Independent Consultant Members are sole proprietors engaged in consulting in or to the geospatial profession, or provides a consulting service of interest to the geospatial profession.
MAPPS provides its member firms opportunities for networking and developing business-to-business relationships, information sharing, education, public policy advocacy, market growth, and professional development and image enhancement.
For more information on MAPPS, please visitwww.mapps.org.
