Icaros to Demonstrate Measuring Tool for Oblique Imagery at InterGeo

Icaros Inc., a provider of advanced aerial remote sensing and 3D visualization solutions, will demonstrate the Icaros Measurement Tool (IMT) at the 2014 InterGeo Conference in Germany. Designed for use with oblique aerial imagery, IMT is a simple but powerful photogrammetric visualization application based on ArcGIS technologies, the company said.

To view a demonstration of the IMT, visit Icaros in stand #A4.009 Hall 4.1 at the InterGeo Conference and Trade Fair being held in Berlin on October 7-9.

The IMT is a universal oblique measurement tool. It enables customers working within Esri’s GIS environment to view and measure structures in oblique aerial imagery captured by any commercial oblique sensor system, including those from Pictometry, Vexcel/Microsoft, IGI, Leica, and Midas. IMT works equally well measuring images captured by oblique sensors mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

“Icaros is opening the oblique market to all GIS users by enabling them to purchase imagery from any of the growing number of aerial oblique data providers,” said Richard Baumgartner, vice president of Business Development at Icaros. “For too long, the purchase and use of oblique imagery have been limited by proprietary collection systems and metadata formats.”

Access to additional oblique vendors will reduce data costs in the long run, Icaros said. In addition, IMT lets users unlock the full potential of their imagery by combining 3D analysis capabilities with their GIS data. The tool is specifically designed to make highly accurate vertical and horizontal 3D measurements of structures and surfaces, including calculating distances, areas, slopes, and azimuths in complex 3D features.

Baumgartner explained that oblique imagery is already used extensively in tax assessment and public safety applications, but many other markets are waiting to be served by off-nadir image data. The Icaros vision is to expand the use, visualization and analysis of oblique aerial images into the entire spectrum of GIS markets. Oblique analysis of structures can be beneficial to a host of new applications such as facility management, pipeline corridor infrastructure monitoring, energy audits, economic development, and asset management.

“Asset and facility management are the next big applications for oblique imagery within the emerging 3D GIS market,” said Baumgartner.

As GIS users continue the move to 3D, oblique imagery will be critical for constructing accurate image-based realistic 3D models. IMT enables users to manipulate and view oblique imagery while leveraging other geospatial data layers within their GIS environment. This capability allows users to navigate multi-image scenes in three dimensions while zooming and panning.

The IMT software also provides an optional Icaros Digitizer Tool (IDT) for generating 3D models. “IDT provides additional tools to extract physical building structures and digitize them into open format models, such as Collada, Obj, and Ply, textured from the source imagery,” Baumgartner said. “Automated 3D model generation from oblique imagery is at the intersection between imagery and GIS.”