|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 Company > Quarterly Newsletter - July 2009
LizardTales Newsletter - July 2009
In This Issue
From The Management Team We've been very busy out here in Seattle at LizardTech HQ: we've launched three different products this summer! If you follow the press and blogs for the GIS sector like we do, you'll have noticed that LiDAR is getting more and more attention. For a couple years now, in fact, our MrSID customers have been asking us if we knew of any way to compress LiDAR data, too. LiDAR data is fundamentally quite different from raster imagery, but over the past year our engineering team has been able to come up with some new compression algorithms that give the same sort of features that MrSID imagery users have been relying on for years. The result of this work is a new version of MrSID - which we're calling MrSID Generation 4 (MG4) - and it's supported by our new LiDAR Compressor application and our new MG4 Decode SDK. We also introduced GeoViewer 4.0, fast on the heels of the 3.0 release, to add in support for visualization of LiDAR and MG4 three-dimensional data sets. The compressor, SDK, and viewer were all launched at the ESRI User Conference in July. They generated a lot of buzz on the show floor, and our booth was busy all week with people asking questions about them and trying them out. For years now, LizardTech has partnered with GIS vendors to make sure that MrSID Generation 2 (MG2) and MrSID Generation 3 (MG3) would be supported in virtually every major GIS application out there. In the months ahead, you'll be seeing this same level of effort and commitment to make sure that MG4 is supported as well. And you'll also see new releases of our LiDAR tools as we work with our new customers to better understand their needs and workflows "in the Z space". Thanks for your continued support and patronage. -mpg
Michael P. Gerlek
Geospatial In the early 90's, LizardTech introduced the MrSID format that freed geospatial professionals from constraints that had until then made their large raster imagery difficult to handle in the best environments, and virtually impossible in others. True portability of large raster imagery had arrived. As the MrSID format evolved, LizardTech introduced GeoExpress, with tools for compression, reprojection, and color balancing of imagery. These days warfighters, field crews, and analysts all routinely work with gigabytes of raster imagery compressed via GeoExpress to MrSID or JPEG 2000 formats. At the ESRI International User Conference in July, we unveiled a new product, LiDAR Compressor, which does for LiDAR data what MrSID originally did for raster imagery. LizardTech LiDAR Compressor enables you to encode giant LiDARpoint clouds as efficient MrSID files that retain 100 percent of the raw data at just 25 percent of the file size. If workflows require even smaller files, LiDAR Compressor can reduce file sizes by 90 percent with no perceptible loss. Unlike raw LAS or ASCII data, LiDAR files compressed to MrSID are easily managed resources from which derivatives can be extracted over and over again. LiDAR Compressor, which sells for $2,995 USD, is simple and intuitive. Users load point cloud data in LAS or text format, preview, and compress to MrSID. Hundreds of LiDAR files can even be mosaicked together. With easy tools for zooming, panning, and rotation, users can take advantage of LiDAR Compressor's viewing tools to visualize their LiDAR data. You can download a free trial of LiDAR Compressor here. Coinciding with the launch of LiDAR Compressor, LizardTech unveiled a new and improved version of the MrSID format, called MrSID Generation 4 (MG4). As previous versions did, MG4 offers the most advanced compression technology available. In addition to LiDAR compression, this new version will offer new tools for working with raster data. Stay tuned in the coming months for more news on MG4! Jon Skiffington
Where Is LizardTech?
The 2009 GIS for Oil & Gas Conference Complete schedule of LizardTech Events.
Upcoming Webinars Every month we offer free informative Webinars covering our line of geospatial products. Register today so you can explore the powerful features in LizardTech's recently launched LiDAR Compressor. Find out how LiDAR Compressor enables users to turn giant point cloud data into efficient MrSID files that retain 100 percent of the raw data at just 25 percent of the file size. Unlike raw LAS or ASCII data, LiDAR files compressed to MrSID are easily managed resources from which derivatives can be extracted over and over again. So join us and learn how LiDAR Compressor can benefit your company! Following are the details for the upcoming webinars:
If you have questions about this seminar e-mail us at info@lizardtech.com.
Customer Wins Here is a partial list of recently added clients to our ever expanding customer base: NGA
Tips and Tricks
Tip 1
Decompress .SID files back to .LAS or plain text files: SID files compressed using LizardTech LiDAR Compressor can be decompressed at full quality to LAS or plain text (ASCII) using the lidardecode.exe tool included with LiDAR Compressor. If you're delivering LiDAR data in SID format and your end users will need to decode these files, you can include just the lidardecode.exe file and, if you'd like, a batch file to make it easy for the client to decode the files to LAS again. Here is a sample batch script that will decode all of the SID files in a directory to LAS 1.2 files: FOR %a IN (*.sid) DO lidardecode.exe -i %a -o %~dpa%~na.LAS -of las12 If you save the command above in a batch file (file.bat) then you can have the client click on the batch file to decode all MrSID files. To decode just one file, you might have the client drag and drop the MrSID file on a batch file with the following line: lidardecode.exe -i %1 -o %1.las -of las12
Tip 2
LiDAR Compressor supports batch processing of LAS and ASCII files, but if you want all of your files to output to a common directory you can save time by setting your global preferences (such as file output location) before loading the LiDAR data. You can do this by clicking the Set preferences button and modifying the "Default output file directory" field. Hot Tips? Do you have tips that you want to share? Send them to suggestions@lizardtech.com and we might publish your tip in the next issue of LizardTales.
Employment Opportunities |
| Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact |  |
|
Search LizardTech: |
|
RSS Feeds
