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Geoinformatics_01-2009
article configurable so that customers can buy specific functionality to meet their requirements. while a particular organization may have several configurations or software bundles in place, all of the software functions with the same underlying architecture and user interface. the single user interface eliminates the problem encountered by customers today, who have to use several different software packages to accomplish their tasks. some of them use as many as six packages, often unrelated or loosely integrated, and cannot possibly be trained well enough on each one to take full advantage of its capabilities. by minimizing the number of software packages required, socet gxp users can streamline training, reduce integration and o&m costs, simplify licensing and customer support, and increase productivity. by minimizing the number of software packages required, socet gxp users can streamline training, reduce integration and o&m costs, simplify licensing and customer support, and increase productivity. and geospatial production application. socet set s photogrammetric strengths are being transferred to socet gxp and enhanced by socet gxp s fresh architecture and productive user interface. the combined strengths of vitec elt and socet set are the basis for extreme analysis. rigorous sensor modeling, a hallmark of the socet set application, is available in socet gxp, which makes it possible for users to combine imagery from several sensors — commercial, defense, airborne, and customer-defined plug-in sensor models — in one project for comprehensive analysis. with the implementation of a new graphical user interface, most tasks are initiated with a few mouse-clicks, and the workspace can be organized according to individual or organizational preferences for maximum ease of use. minute information to make critical decisions. real-time image analysis, automated geospatial production, mapping, and 3d visualization can be accomplished using socet gxp s pushbutton functionality. sophisticated new algorithms, developed by bae systems research and development teams, automate complex tasks. typically, these end-to-end workflows require several specialty packages and a series of manual operations. however, socet gxp manages tedious image processing steps automatically. the rigorous mathematical calculations are executed behind the scenes, freeing users to focus on other tasks. the transformation of an industry several years ago, bae systems observed a transformation in the geospatial-intelligence and gis disciplines. image analysts who traditionally used electronic light tables for analyzing satellite and aerial images needed a userfriendly software application for extracting accurate geospatial information, while photogrammetrists, cartographers, and geospatial production teams were looking for an imageanalysis tool to simplify rigorous processing tasks, and improve productivity. with successful software products in both markets, the company forged ahead to develop a comprehensive, scalable application to satisfy image analysis and geospatial production requirements. at that time, bae systems offered two distinct software products — the vitec electronic light table (vitec elt), a unix-based system for image viewing, analysis, and exploitation, and socet set, a versatile photogrammetry suite for precision 3d mapping, feature collection, and digital terrain generation. the close association bae systems had with vitec elt and socet set users was instrumental in understanding the needs of each audience. in 2004 the vision became a reality with the release of socet gxp, a next-generation image analysis socet gxp — a closer look socet gxp uses imagery from numerous image sources to identify and analyze ground features. analysts can automatically measure, annotate, store, and retrieve the features in a series of images to expedite geospatial production, image analysis, and map creation. the information is used to monitor changes over time, aid in disaster relief and recovery, develop transportation, utilities and communications networks, coordinate surveillance missions, and designate troop maneuvers. in field or crisis situations, first responders and deployed forces depend on up-to-the- user interface socet gxp v3.0 replaces a traditional menu and toolbar system with the ribbon, the main component of a new user interface that organizes tools by tabs that correspond to each task. the ribbon displays tools when needed, and hides them when not in use to avoid cluttering the desktop environment. it uses contextualization to simplify the number of choices available at any given time, the implementation of this flexible interface is based on the microsoft office fluent user interface, designed to save time, help individuals access all functionality available in an application, and provide a scalable platform to build on for the future. socet gxp v3.0 is the first commercial, endto-end geospatial information management application to implement the microsoft office fluent user interface. users who have tested the software like the increased flexibility, workspace customization, and accessibility to socet gxp s versatile toolset. microsoft invested more than three years of research and development and millions of dollars in the new user interface design. they analyzed over 3 billion data sessions collected from microsoft office software users; conducted surveys and usability studies; built hundreds of conceptual prototypes; and experimented with new designs through customer site deployments and beta programs. today, most of the software microsoft devel- socet gxp v3.0 features an updated interface designed to simplify workflows and make the software easy to use for every kind of task. some tabs are contextual and appear only when relevant to the current task. latest news? visit www.geoinformatics.com 45 jan./feb. 2009
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