|
It can be a private pilot's worst nightmare:
flying in a small plane, lost and surrounded by unknown terrain.
Eliminating such a nail-biting worry is among the benefits offered
by software programs made possible by mixing the talents of entrepreneurs
and space scientists.
Dubbs & Severino, Inc., an Irvine, California-based firm,
has created a virtual window on the world through its Position
IntegrityTM product line that
includes TerrAvoid and Tactical Display. The products are the
result of the Technology Affiliates Program at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
Through this JPL activity, American industry gets a boost
from NASA experts and also facilitates business use of intellectual
property developed for the space program. Several years ago,
the Technology Affiliates Program introduced the start-up firm
to NASA's Dr. Nevin Bryant, who headed JPL's Cartographic Applications
Group.
The JPL group had developed GeoTIFF, an architecture standard
that provides geo-location tools for mapping applications. By
the early 1980s, NASA had begun exploring the capability for
precise positioning using the military's Global Positioning Satellites
(GPS). Applications were many, including orbit determination
for Earth-orbiting satellites and precise geodetic studies of
crustal motion and plate tectonics. GeoTIFF is now in the public
domain, and its use for commercial product development has evolved
into an industry standard.
 |
|
| Dubbs &
Severino, Inc.'s Position IntegrityTM software can
display maps and other imagery side by side. |
|
|
Under a licensing agreement from JPL, GeoTIFF proved an ideal
tool for Dubbs & Severino, allowing the firm to move forward
on plans to develop low-cost software packages. The JPL-designed
architecture was adapted by the private company, giving them
a jump-start on their products' specific attributes. "JPL
gave us a demonstration and opened up the red carpet. It was
a match made in heaven," says company president Bob Severino.
The idea for mapping software to help private airplane pilots
was spawned, in part, by tragedy. A fatal crash had taken the
life of a pilot friend of Severino, and technology, he believed,
could have helped avert the accident.
The software packages that resulted were designed primarily
for military sponsors and are now positioned for consumer market
placement. The software can be run on a battery-powered laptop.
TerrAvoid is a terrain avoidance system that graphically maps
out and highlights threatening conditions in a pilot's flight
area. A map scrolls along, as in a video game, presenting a sweeping
360-degrees of view. Red areas indicate the tallest mountains,
while safe sections are depicted in green. Proportions change
in real-time as the pilot moves through hilly terrain. The software
integrates GPS data with maps sourced from a CD-ROM.
The Tactical Display is computer software that also co-registers
real-time GPS data with local maps on CD-ROM. It is a moving
map that details the exact position of the pilot.
Incorporating the unique features of JPL's GeoTIFF, this software
can be adapted to operate with any map, chart, or photo image
in the world. Four windows can be displayed at once, a useful
function for an aviator who simultaneously can scan maps, charts,
photo images, and sketches at different scales and zoom levels.
These two Dubbs & Severino products bring the same features
available in military and commercial jets to general aviation
pilots, for one-twentieth the cost.
Position IntegrityTMis a trademark
of Dubbs & Severino, Inc.
|
