On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, just before 5:00 pm local time, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti just south of Port-au-Prince. The impact was disastrous: 220,000 dead, 1.5 million people left homeless.
Within minutes, reports began flashing across the blogosphere. Humanitarian aid totalling more than $1 billion was quickly pledged from all over the world. Within 36 hours, Google Earth had acquired, prepared, and distributed satellite imagery of Port-au-Prince that helped rescue organizations target relief programs and save lives.
The growth of satellite imaging has transformed how we see, understand and interact with the world. Scientists use it to monitor climate change in remote areas, urban planners use it to understand traffic patterns, armies use it for security and tourists use it to plan their vacations.
Behind the scenes of high profile services like Google Earth and Microsoft’s Bing Maps is the geo-spatial imaging industry where business is booming.
One of the world leaders in geo-imaging technology and systems is Toronto-based PCI Geomatics. Founded in 1982, PCI Geomatics today provides cutting-edge imaging processing tools to the geomatics community in over 135 countries and has more than 21,000 licences distributed worldwide.
Mumbai-based multinational Rolta is one of those licensees. In 2010, Rolta acquired exclusive rights for India and is incorporating PCI’s technologies with existing Rolta applications to offer advanced satellite imagery for use in environmental modelling, emergency planning, agriculture and defence.
The demand for geo-imaging data is set to explode in India and Rolta knows that market extremely well,” says PCI Geomatics’ director of Business Development Trevor Taylor. It’s a partnership that’s good for Rolta and good for us.”
What’s driving the growth of satellite imagery are advances in the quality and quantity of the available images, as well as the speed at which they can be turned into useful tools for scientists, planners and aid workers.
Commercially available satellite images now offer image resolution down to 25 centimetres, which creates a challenge for data storage and manipulation due to large data volumes, explains Taylor.
Today’s imagery contains more information than ever before and increasingly intelligent algorithms are required to make this information useful,” says Taylor. We can generate high resolution geo-images of entire countries and regions in one day.”
PCI is part of Ontario’s thriving ICT industry that has strengths in subsectors ranging from wireless technologies to enterprise software to digital animation.
With 16,000+ firms and revenues of $75 billion+ annually, Ontario has one of North America`s largest concentrations of ICT leaders. It includes home-grown high performers Research In Motion, Celestica, Mitel Networks, Open Text and global giants such as Accenture, Apple, Cisco Systems, IBM, McAfee and Microsoft. Supporting this is a broad base of sub-suppliers from packaging companies to legal advisors that understand ICT industry needs.
In Ontario, the roots of geo-spatial imaging reach back to the early 1960s when Dr. Roger Tomlinson conceived and developed the Canada Geographic Information System, the first computerized GIS systems in the world. In recognition of his pioneering work, he is generally recognized as the -father of GIS.’
It was a natural fit with Ontario’s burgeoning satellite industry, a strength that continues today. Cambridge, Ontario-based COM DEV, for example, has supplied technology for 80 per cent of all commercial communications satellites ever launched.
The combination expertise in GIS and satellite technologies has made Ontario a natural home for geospatial imaging. Not surprisingly, that cluster strength has caught the attention of international companies wanting to expand their footprint in the sector. In 2007, Rolta acquired Orion Technologies of Markham, Ontario which enabled them to offer a new suite of web-based GIS products to global clients.
These GIS business links between Indian and Ontario companies are part of the global nature of the rapidly expanding geospatial imaging industry.
They are also part of a broader and growing economic relationship between the two jurisdictions. During the past five years, trade delegations have increased in frequency and broadened in scope. The efforts are producing results. Two-way trade between India and Ontario reached $1.6 billion in 2010, a 35 per cent growth in five years.
On March 4, 2011, the High Commission of India in Ottawa launched the Year of India in Canada” which aims to further strengthen those economic links as well as showcase.
India’s culture through numerous events and celebrate the contributions of the Indian Diaspora to Canadian society.
All indications are that the ties between the two jurisdictions will continue to expand and, as the GIS partnerships suggest, the sky’s the limit on how fast it could grow.
By Aaron Rosland, counsellor (Commercial-ONTARIO)
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