GOING SPATIAL: Compusult owner Paul Mitten talks with
NEIA about the company’s global specialty in geospatial data discovery, access
and delivery.
Established in 1985, Compusult’s primary focus is on
location-based information and geospatial data management products and
services. Recently back from a trip to
Japan and soon to head off to
Germany for a
NATO CWIX conference, owner Paul Mitten took some time to speak with NEIA about
Compusult, its markets and new directions.
NEIA: Your website states that Compusult is a global
leader in geospatial Interoperability. What GI is exactly?
PM: Geospatial refers to
anything that has a location attached to it – that could be a latitude and
longitude, or it could be a place name, like
St. John’s, Newfoundland.
And interoperability simply means that systems can talk with each other, and
work with each other’s services and data.
Basically, there are a number
of international and other standards for sharing data and services between
different types of systems. For example, different systems may use a common
method for providing a service, such as a web-based service for accessing
geospatial information. By adhering to a specific standard, they can make those
services available between themselves.
NEIA: Okay, so let’s
get more specific. Compusult markets solutions for geospatial data discovery,
access and delivery. Can you give examples of product and service applications?
PM: A lot of our clients tend to be in the aerospace and defense
sectors. A typical solution we provide is for clients that have either very
large collections of information – let’s say millions of satellite images,
aerial reconnaissance photos, maps, or location-related documents for a
specific time and area. For example, our clients may have data holdings spread
across numerous different systems, for instance, Natural Resources Canada,
Environment Canada and various provincial governments. Based on the parameters one
provides, our Web Enterprise Suite (WES) software can simultaneously search for
information from all these systems, organize the results, and provide all
available data – across geographic areas and time frames of interest.
NEIA:
So you’re taking all this information and standardizing
it?
PM: WES provides a single point of access through a Web portal
to large amounts and even broadly disparate sources of information. Our system
has a standard way of talking to and interpreting information from these
systems to say: tell me what you have that matches these criteria. It brings it
back and shows the user what’s available on these different systems. It can
also help the user combine information they want in a map environment and overlay
different information from disparate sources. For example, they might overlay
satellite imagery from Natural Resources Canada with a map of forestry related
information to gain a combined picture in a single view.
NEIA: Where and who are your main markets?
PM: Our number one geographical market is the
U.S. and our
primary client is the U.S. Dept. of Defense (DoD). Other clients include the
U.S. Geological Survey, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), and NASA. In terms of
sectors, Defense is our primary market, followed by Aerospace, Natural
Resources and Environment, and universities and research labs.
NEIA: Can you tell us about a recent success story?
PM: We’ve been doing contracts for DoD continuously for over
10 years, so I’d consider that in itself a long-term success story. Also, a few
years ago, our technology was chosen by NRCan to replace their existing
geospatial portal technology (
see:
geodiscover.cgdi.ca) and we’re still maintaining it. It’s the largest
geospatial portal operated by the Government of Canada.
NEIA: And what markets are you currently pursuing?PM: We have a number of current
opportunities with, and have made a number of presentations to, potential new
clients in
South America, Japan,
Central
America, and
Australia.
We’re also working on additional new opportunities in
Canada in the
Defense, Natural Resources, and Oil & Gas sectors.
NEIA: As well these potential
new markets, what next are you working on?
PM: Well, we’ve recently moved into mobile device solutions
that tie into these systems with two new products: GoMobile and GeoPad.
NEIA: Can you give an
example of their application?
PM: So, if you’re a first responder on the ground in an
earthquake, for example, you can get mapping and imagery data for that area to
help you understand the location you’re working in and any related resource
information to do your job. Similarly, on-site data from multiple sources can
be sent in from people on the ground to a central location to assist those in a
coordinating role with analysis and decision-making regarding a particular
situation.
NEIA: That sounds
really exciting. And finally, how do you see Compusult as a good fit with the
environmental industry?
PM: It’s a good fit in that our systems are used for natural
resources and environmental management monitoring purposes - not solely for
aerospace and defense – whether that is species
at risk or forestry, agriculture, oceanographic conditions. And another capability
of WES is providing access to sensors and sensor platforms in a standardized
way. That means one can access sensor information and incorporate that into an
overview of what is going on in the surrounding environment. It could be sensor
data from weather stations, water quality and flow data, ocean observation
data, soil temperatures, air quality – whatever sensors can measure in the
environment, we can provide both the software and electronics to interface to sensors
and provide a standardized way of accessing, receiving, storing and retrieving
sensor-related environmental information.
For further information, see
www.compusult.net.
