GXP Mosaic

A new SOCET GXP v3.1.1 EXPORT patch has been added to myGXP, the BAE Systems GXP Customer Portal.

Click here to download.

The following list includes new items in the 201111 EXPORT patch:

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Brian Roberts

SOCET GXP comes with an auxiliary program, the API Tester, to help SOCET GXP API developers interface with other applications.

Developers use the powerful API Tester to experiment with different API commands and options to discover how they function prior to coding. In addition to testing commands, the API Tester monitors API events in real time. This capability can greatly reduce the time it takes to debug complex event handling errors in client applications.

The API tester can be launched by either adding the executable, gxpapitest.exe, to the Workspace Manager as a custom menu item or from the command line with the command:

start_gxp.bat –exename gxpapitest.exe

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The following list includes new items in the 201107.2 EXPORT patch:

• GXP00024890: Addressed stability and usability issues with the image and map background capability
• GXP00025013: Community servers – improved streaming robustness
• GXP00025794: Community servers – Improved smooth streaming play

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The following list highlights some important updates included in the 201103 EXPORT patch:

• Performance improvements, installation and licensing issues – General installation issues resolved. The patch installation now overwrites existing SOCET GXP v3.2 installations instead of uninstall/reinstall, thereby maintaining custom permission settings and faster installation of the SOCET GXP application. Licensing has been improved to fix an issue that caused pausing of the SOCET GXP application especially when using networked license servers. Fixed cursor roam performance, which was previously extremely choppy and tiled. Improved roam performance on JPEG 2000 data.
• Workspace save/restore – Fixed a bug restoring Xport configurations for MSI containers. Fixed problems with workspace restore. Resolves New Workspace crashes when save workspace is chosen on dialog box.
• Product generation – Several issues were resolved regarding text in the finishing tool and use of product templates.
• Google Earth – Fixed a crash exporting feature vectors to Google Earth.
• Video analysis – general improvements and bug fixes including memory leaks in streaming video.
• Spatially enabled exploitation and SOCET for ArcGIS – General stabilization fixes. Improvements to feature attribute editing and geodatabase transformation capabilities.

More info: http://www.socetgxp.com/content/category/support/software-patch-updates

SOCET GXP v3.2.0 is now available with groundbreaking updates to automate arduous photogrammetric routines and simplify image processing tasks. This release continues our fundamental goal of delivering ease-of-use, performance and accuracy in one product.

SOCET GXP v3.2 adds capabilities to transfer information from imagery into feature databases for convenient multi-user access, such as handling NULL values as attributes.

We are excited to move to a new level of support for SOCET SET workflows with the addition of Frame-Advanced sensor modeling, import and triangulation. SOCET GXP v3.2 also includes terrain registration, comparison and volumetrics that go well beyond the tools in SOCET SET. In addition, advanced hyperspectral and multispectral analytics build on v3.1.1 mid-range exploitation tools. New classification algorithms, spectral libraries and pixel thresholding offer real-time visualization and insight.

To complement SOCET GXP functionality, the video analysis tool has been redesigned, adopting the familiar look and feel of the Multiport Ribbon for improved usability. Video search and review controls provide slow-motion or frame-by-frame metadata analysis to track moving objects, and operators can log results from collaborative sessions for easy reference. Connectivity with SOCET GXP enables further analysis of video snapshots and advanced product generation.

To learn more, download the SOCET GXP v3.2 release enhancements brochure.

We have commenced SOCET GXP v3.2 product package shipments. Please be patient. We have implemented increased security measures for all software packages and shipments.

• SOCET GXP IA Bundle is now SOCET GXP GeoElement
• SOCET GXP IA Advanced Bundle is now SOCET GXP GeoAnalysis
• SOCET GXP Classified IA Advanced Targeting Bundle, which includes GeoAnalysis and CGS Interface (classified module) is now SOCET GXP GeoAnalysis Targeting Bundle

• GXP00024518: Applying Elevation Options from MSP Toolbox does not work the first time button is pushed
• GXP00024577: TNT crashes when drawing DTM graphics for stereo images
• GXP00024921: Geodatabase viewed in stereo in SEE
• GXP00024996: Wrong enhancement chain for FIA Imagery PEDF
• GXP00025187: Patch install is missing some files
• GXP00025189: EnhChains link points to incompatible location

More info: http://www.socetgxp.com/content/category/support/software-patch-updates

Working with multiple graphics in a SOCET GXP Multiport panel may require sorting through densely populated feature or annotation graphic data sets that may be cluttered after dense collects. Selecting individual nodes within these data sets can be tricky. The Flip Tool provides a quick visual way to browse through adjacent and overlapping graphics, eliminating the need to search, zoom and precisely click to select a graphic. The Flip Tool appears only when working with multiple graphics and displays a Selection mini bar and a Flip Tool viewer. The viewer displays with a green background and has no preferences. It is not an editing tool, but it helps identity graphics for future editing.

How to use the Flip Tool

1. Display imagery in a Multiport panel.
2. Connect to a feature database or display annotations over the same geographic location.
3. Click a point that multiple graphics share. The Selection mini bar appears next to the system cursor. Use one of the following options to toggle through the graphics:
   1. Click the Flip Tool arrow buttons. The arrows cycle through the previous or next graphic. The graphics available for selection are all of the features or annotations that the mouse-click touches (within a threshold).
   2. Click the Flip Tool button to see all graphics that share the same point. The Flip Tool viewer displays the graphics.
4. Sort through the graphics in the Flip Tool. Choose one of the following options:
   1. Rotate the middle mouse wheel. The graphic in the viewer and the graphic selected in the Multiport stay in sync during the rotation.
   2. Rotate the middle mouse wheel with either the Previous Graphic or Next Graphic arrow on the Selection mini bar.
5. Click inside the Multiport panel to exit the Flip Tool. The graphic selected is ready for editing.

The Flip Tool also can be used to select multiple graphics:

1. Sort through graphics using the Flip Tool. Press and hold the SHIFT key (always additive) or the CONTROL key
   (toggles selection).
2. Click in the Multiport panel to select a graphic. Selected graphics are identified with a blue border. Continue to select additional graphics for editing.
   
   
3. Release the SHIFT or CONTROL key and click inside the Multiport panel to exit the Flip Tool. The graphics displayed in the Flip Tool Viewer are ready for editing.
   

SOCET GXP v3.2 is scheduled for release later this month. Software shipments commence in January 2011.

In addition to an enhanced user experience, new features and time-saving performance improvements for image loading, the Video Analysis tool has been significantly enhanced to mimic the look and feel of the Multiport Ribbon interface. 3-D flythrough capabilities are more robust with the addition of a gaming engine, and flythrough annotations are now easier to apply with a simple button click. Additional highlights of the new release include:

• Easy-to-use frame import process
• Redesigned video dashboard and new video collaboration capabilities
• New Video Editor tool for more complex video product creation
• Live previews and galleries added to the Multiport
• Improved terrain analysis for improved situational awareness and change detection
• Results from raster analysis can be converted to vector products with automatic attribution in shapefile or feature database format
• 3-D height tool improves visualization and reduces the need to use stereo, Ruler and MSP for simple monoscopic image measurement
• Grid reference graphic tool creates customized grids for mission planning; create products with overprinted grid
• New hyperspectral and multispectral image processing tools for increased image classification capabilities
• Up-to-three times performance improvement for RSET generation
• Support for SAR analysis and the new SICD format for complex data processing

SOCET GXP v3.2 Video Editor

• GXP00021734: Fixed Find In Scene sample selection for various zoom levels
• GXP00022307: Fixed aborting edit of tree node text in Panel Data Manager window
• GXP00022578: Fixed crash retrieving auto attributes that are not available from image
• GXP00022642: Corrected NGATE post issue with a good FOM and a bad precision value
• GXP00022767: Fixed crash removing grouped graphic from Panel Data Manager
• GXP00021365: Fixed NGATE crash when generating bare-earth DEM with large dataset
• GXP00021473: Fixed memory error with DPPDB SMF control
• GXP00021683: Set the blunders to be measured in the Image Table of the IPM window
• GXP00021721: Fixed crash when roaming, zooming or launching Flythrough on pan-sharpened image
• GXP00021726: Fixed crash when loading images in stereo with NITF CCS Mosaic preference

FTP site access

To ensure that all software transactions are secure, BAE Systems has implemented a new system for accessing SOCET GXP software and patches. A username and password are now required. For a comprehensive list of all patch line items and instructions on how to access the patches from the GXP FTP site, visit our Web site:
http://www.socetgxp.com/content/category/support/software-patch-updates

• GXP00018723 – Fixed intermittent crash when applying Band Math
• GXP00018841 – Fixed master and active image settings on workspace restore
• GXP00019002 GXP00020537 – Expanded chain config file to identify additional QuickBird and WorldView-2 cases
• GXP00019351 – SEE: added custom auto attribution for ONI and ArcGIS 10.0 support
• GXP00019847 GXP00019842 – The application no longer crashes when converting graphics to ESRI features
• GXP00020240 – Fixed a bug in Bare-earth Profile tool
• GXP00021086 – Clear undo redo history when a graphic file is unloaded to release memory

FTP site access

To ensure that all software transactions are secure, BAE Systems has implemented a new system for accessing SOCET GXP software and patches. A username and password are now required. For a comprehensive list of all patch line items and instructions on how to access the patches from the GXP FTP site, visit our Web site:

http://www.socetgxp.com/content/category/support/software-patch-updates

June 2010 patch highlights for SOCET GXP v3.1.1 Export

• GXP00018980 – Fix identification of WorldView-2 images
• GXP00019078 – Fix NCRD sensor model for WorldView-2 images
• GXP00018981 – Fix MAPLOB problem
• GXP00019152 – Added config file option to restrict DQR usage to Profile 1 J2K codestreams
• GXP00019168 – Fix patch installation issues on Windows 7

June 2010 patch highlights for SOCET GXP v3.0.2 Export

• GXP00019213 – Update quality when roaming speed is reduced for visible and off-screen tiles
• GXP00019213 – DQR updates on screen tiles when roaming is slowed
• GXP00019152 – Added DQR config file option to allow DQR on non Profile 1 J2K codestreams

Fix from Patch v302.201005

• GXP00018958 – DQR only enabled for JPEG2000 codestreams that are ISO IEC Profile 1 compliant

For a comprehensive list of all patch line items and instructions on how to access the patches from the GXP FTP site, visit our Web site:
http://www.socetgxp.com/content/category/support/software-patch-updates

SOCET GXP v3.1.1, scheduled for release in April, adds performance improvements to amend the v3.1.0 release, and integration with the Mensuration Services Program (MSP) for classified customers. Users have the option to use either MSP or RULER for mensuration.

SOCET GXP® v3.1.1 product shipments will commence following the 2010 BAE Systems GXP International User Conference and Professional Exchange. Product packages will automatically be shipped to all customers with up-to-date upgrade entitlement.

SOCET GXP v3.1 highlights include:

• Hyperspectral and multispectral (HSI and MSI) image processing
• Terrain analysis
• Video analysis
• Feature analysis
• Web services
• Job creation

HSI and MSI image processing with the new Xport™ tool

SOCET GXP v3.1 has a new, user-friendly image-viewing tool for HSI and MSI image analysis called the Xport™. The Xport window displays a palette of up to 16 preview panels with different image-processing algorithms, applied based on the original image. Xport panels are linked to each other and to the main viewing window. As the operator roams in the primary window, updates are shown dynamically in each of the multiple preview panels. The Xport is ideal for quick comparison. HSI and MSI images contain multiple image bands, each offering valuable data for detailed analysis such as terrain categorization and identifying known and unknown targets. The new HSI and MSI tools for SOCET GXP v3.1 offer a range of functionality for image preprocessing, principal components analysis, unsupervised classification, supervised classification, change detection, and anomaly detection.

Terrain analysis tools

In response to image analysts’ requests for additional workflows for elevation data, SOCET GXP v3.1 has new slope and aspect terrain analysis tools to aid visualization for terrain-shaded relief displays. Optimized terrain analysis results are generated on the fly, and displayed graphically. Results can be displayed in stereo, superimposed on stereo imagery. The terrain analysis results can be converted to a georeferenced raster image product such as a GeoTIFF. In addition, the Line-of-Sight tool has been restructured to display as a range fan or 360-degree view, which also can be converted to a georeferenced raster image product.

Video analysis tool

New video analysis capabilities for SOCET GXP v3.1 give analysts a convenient way to work with video, and transmit critical data and reports to decision-makers. The Video Analysis tool reads and displays live video feeds or saved video files from airborne sensors. It is geospatially enabled to provide a highly accurate resource for analyzing video and uses the real-world geographic information embedded in many unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) streams, such as country, region, city, postal code, latitude, longitude, and time zone, providing up-to-date intelligence data. The Video Analysis tool is integrated with Google Earth™ to provide sensor position, field of view, and situational awareness for video footprints.

BAE Systems’ MANTIS UAV is now flying, and will use SOCET GXP in its ground station for exploiting still-imagery and full-motion video data sets. With a single click, users can capture still frames into the SOCET GXP Multiport™ analysis window. BAE Systems’ High Endurance Rapid Technology Insertion (HERTI) UAV team also is using SOCET GXP. The HERTI system captures, processes, and disseminates high-quality imagery.

The SOCET GXP Video Analysis tool complements BAE Systems’ UAS global offering — a full-service solution integrating the air vehicle system, mission control system, and controlled infrastructure, focused on reducing cost and operator risk.

The new Gallery feature for SOCET GXP v3.2 offers dynamic, interactive, and customizable menus with options to preview tool operations and processes prior to implementing results.

Many current SOCET GXP® and SOCET SET® users are anticipating the release of SOCET GXP v3.2, scheduled for October. Significant new features include:

• Video analysis and editing improvements
• Advanced Frame sensor model including a new graphical block setup tool
• Satellite sensor models: ALOS, COSMO-SkyMed, ASTER, Kompsat-2
• Hyperspectral and multispectral analysis (HSI and MSI) and synthetic aperture radar
  • New HSI and MSI algorithms
  • Spectral libraries
  • Colorized results such as K-Means clustering
  • Native support for complex imagery types for SAR data
• Rigorous Virtual Mosaic™ display using 3-D affine projection
• Terrain analysis enhancements
  • Terrain registration and comparison
  • Volumetric calculation tool
  • Enhancements to correlation for low-contrast imagery in the Next-Generation Automatic Terrain Extraction module
  • Terrain properties window improvements
• Flythrough performance enhancements
• Multiport™ Ribbon and toolbars: Gallery and live preview features
• Performance up to three times faster for RSET generation
• Progressive display for JPEG2000 files
• New Open and Save dialog boxes for opening and saving specific data
• Filtering added to file system view
• Job services enhancement
  • Tabbed job queue in the Workspace Manager
  • Functionality for creating a command line interface application to submit jobs
• New rastor-to-vector algorithm to handle multiple data types, including vector conversion for image, terrain, and line-of-sight analysis
• Usability and consistency improvements
  • Redesigned point file loader
  • Improvements to coordinate systems displays and interaction
• API enhancement to resolve ambiguous image types on image load

Find-in-scene algorithm, one of several new algorithms added to SOCET GXP v3.1 for hyperspectral and multispectral image processing

SOCET GXP v3.1 continues focusing on full integration of image analysis and geospatial analysis in one versatile product. Core functionality has been refined to improve the overall user experience and boost production. New high-performance image-analysis and geospatial production features are more efficient and intuitive.

In response to customer requests for fusing multiple data types, SOCET GXP v3.1 offers new on-the-fly terrain analysis capabilities. Additional image exploitation enhancements are included for video analysis, hyperspectral and multispectral image analysis, and the new Xport™ — a specialized Multiport™ that displays an image with up to 16 linked panels to give users a new way to create multiple image processing configurations for in-depth analysis.

To accommodate the expanding SOCET GXP user base, BAE Systems has opened free hands-on training centers in Reston, Virginia; Tampa, Florida; St. Louis; Denver; and San Diego. A new training facility is scheduled to open in Cambridge, U.K., in 2010. Analysts everywhere are experiencing the power of eXtreme Analysis™ with SOCET GXP, adopting it as their tool of choice for advanced geospatial intelligence reporting.

SOCET GXP v3.1 is scheduled for release on December 18, 2009, and is available upon request. Please contact a sales or customer support representative for details.

SOCET GXP® v3.1 usability enhancements at a glance

SOCET GXP v3.1 flip tool

SOCET GXP® is designed to simplify workflows and make the software easy to use for every kind of task. When merging photogrammetry into mainstream image analysis, ease of use is particularly important. Many intuitive features are added to SOCET GXP v3.1 to aid analysis. A new flip tool enables quick browsing through stacked graphics, eliminating the need to hunt, zoom, and precisely click on a graphic for editing; cursor enhancements designate roaming direction; and the void pixel removal process deletes black edges that appear with non-square imagery when using Ortho On-the-Fly™ or Virtual Mosaic tools for mosaicking.

Reference imagery and maps such as DPPDB, CIB®, and CADRG can be automatically loaded into a Multiport for greater situational awareness when working with data sets that cover a small field of view. This imagery can be used as a control source for glove align, registration, or triangulation processes. Other enhancements include double-click to center and zoom; auto annotation improvements; enhanced image display, and reduced load, zoom, and pan times. In addition, speed and quality for RSET generation are substantially improved.

• Flip tool: offers a quick visual way to access data and select feature graphics that may be cluttered after dense collects.
• Interactive range and bearing tool: creates, measures, and labels lines drawn on an image to indicate length and direction.
• Bracket tool: automatically measures and annotates features when selecting end points that define the feature.
• Zoom tool: zooms an image to a map scale (such as 1:100 or 1:2000) and computes the equivalent screen zoom level (for example 30 percent).
• Auto load map and image background: opens map and image backgrounds that correspond to data loaded in the Multiport for greater situational awareness.
• Roam cursors: compass rose cursor specifies the four standard geographic directions and directional cursor designates 16 standard geographic directions, plus the digital roam direction.
• Ground cursors: distance rings and compass rose cursors provide geographic direction and proximity information.
• Hide void pixels: removes unwanted edge pixels for Ortho On-the-Fly™ and Virtual Mosaic processes.
• Jump-to-point coordinates: recognizes common coordinate formats from third-party applications.
• Graphic annotation: generates map labels based on system information and image metadata.
• Text annotation: adds options for defining text styles (such as font, color, and size) for individual characters.

The SOCET GXP release enhancements document will be available soon on the GXP Web site.

SOCET GXP v3.1 includes enhancements for image quality.

Core SOCET GXP^® v3.1 features are refined to improve the user experience and boost production. New high-performance image-analysis and geospatial-production tools are more efficient and intuitive. In response to customer requests for fusing multiple data types, SOCET GXP v3.1 offers on-the-fly terrain analysis capabilities. Additional image exploitation enhancements are included for video analysis, and the Xport^™ — a specialized Multiport^™ — displays an image with up to 16 different linked panels to give users a new way to create multiple image-processing configurations for detailed analysis.

Other highlights are a high-definition Video Analysis tool, algorithms for processing hyperspectral and multispectral imagery, optimized terrain-analysis tools, and support for new sensor models.

Tracking a vehicle using the new Video Analysis tool.

Video analysis at a glance

BAE Systems developed the Video Analysis tool to give analysts a convenient way to work with video and transmit critical data and reports to decision-makers. The latest innovations in video compression provide remarkable quality from the smallest amount of video data. Analysts see crisp, clear, high-definition video in much smaller files, saving bandwidth and storage costs. The user-friendly interface has a customizable toolbar with standard video controls for play, pause, stop, fast-forward, reverse and frame-by-frame.

Advanced controls are provided for slow-motion or frame-by-frame metadata search and review and video bookmarks are used for playback and analysis. Image enhancements can be applied on-the-fly for brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, sharpness, smoothing, and edge-detection. Additional object-tracking tools manage real-time coordinates, speed, and bearing.

Video metadata can be viewed graphically or in text format, with a head-up display (HUD) superimposed on the video. With a single click, users capture still frames into the SOCET GXP Multiport analysis window. SOCET GXP provides geopositioning to allow fusion with other geospatial data types such as terrain, features, and other images. All functionality available for images can be applied to video still frames in SOCET GXP.

Learn more about the SOCET GXP Video Analysis capability >>

SOCET GXP^® v3.1 continues on the path to full integration of image analysis and geospatial analysis in one software application. Terrain, imagery, and image enhancements account for 42 percent of the updates. This version incorporates additional photogrammetric processes — a majority of SOCET SET’s functionality.

The new SOCET GXP Xport features up to 16 linked preview panels.

The Xport™, a specialized Multiport that provides a palette of up to 16 preview panels, is among many compelling new features planned for SOCET GXP v3.1. This viewing and exploitation window is designed for advanced image analysis using multiple image enhancements in real time, with a focus on efficiency. Each of the panels is linked; views change as the user roams in the main viewer, and multiple enhancements are shown on the same image simultaneously. Additional Xport highlights:

• Each preview panel shows a duplicate of the image in the parent reference Multiport panel with a different custom processing chain applied.
• Processing chains include different band selections, band math, enhancements, analysis algorithms, or derived products.
• Each panel is dynamically linked for panning, zooming, and rotation with other panels and the parent reference panel.
• Users can create multiple configurations for the Xport and select the appropriate configuration for the data in the parent Multiport panel.

The Xport and other new SOCET GXP v3.1 features such as the flip tool, auto annotation, slope aspect, and Web services tools will be demonstrated throughout the year at industry tradeshows and events. The software is scheduled for release in late 2009.

A SOCET GXP^® software update is scheduled for late 2009. SOCET GXP v3.1 offers enhanced graphic performance for easier point measurement, graphic and image display enhancements, hyperspectral and multispectral (HSI and MSI) processing, new terrain analysis tools, and video analysis capabilities. The video component includes image metadata to provide feedback on georeferencing for precise geographic orientation.

SOCET GXP v3.1 HSI and MSI processing.

SOCET GXP v3.1: HSI and MSI

• Reflectance calibration
• Supervised classification algorithms
• Anomaly detector
• Spectral change detector
• K-means clustering
• Dark current removal
• Destriping
• Pan sharpening
• PCA algorithm
• ISODATA clustering algorithm
• Spectral unmixing
• GMAD: Google^™ Maps application programming interface for digitizing

SOCET GXP v3.1 video analysis.

SOCET GXP v3.1: video analysis

• Live video mosaicking and stabilization
• Real-time geo-registration
• Resolution enhancement
• Video storage and dissemination with synchronized metadata
• Dissemination and reporting
• Simultaneous multi-platform and heterogeneous exploitation
• Video displayed over a map with overlays
• Platform agnostic playback
• Extensive image and video format import and export
• Measurement and annotation tools

SOCET GXP establishes the union of image analysis and geospatial production in one software package.

BAE Systems released SOCET GXP^® v3.0 in October 2008. The update provides new functionality that allows users to reduce the dependency on multiple tools to record and analyze ground features. Today, image analysis (IA) and geospatial analysis (GA) production, which include second-phase product generation, are becoming integrated. SOCET GXP v3.0 combines image analysis and geospatial analysis in one software package for eXtreme Analysis™ (XA™). With SOCET GXP, the XA is empowered to complete IA and GA tasks using a single application. Accurate products can be created quickly with automated tools.

What is SOCET GXP?

SOCET GXP is a versatile geospatial-intelligence (GEOINT) tool that uses imagery from commercial, satellite, and tactical sources to identify and analyze ground features. With SOCET GXP, users can automatically measure, annotate, store, and retrieve ground features in a series of images to expedite geospatial production, image analysis, and map creation. The data can be used to monitor changes over time, manage utilities and communications networks, facilitate infrastructure design and development, and coordinate operational missions.

“First responders and deployed forces generally have about 30 minutes to build detailed GEOINT products such as topographic image maps and target charts,” said Rob Stout, geospatial exploitation product manager for BAE Systems in San Diego. “Integrating image and geospatial analysis into one comprehensive system reduces equipment, training, operating, and maintenance costs, making SOCET GXP extremely user-friendly.”

The software currently is used on the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan, and systems integrators
working on National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency programs are using it to produce GEOINT products. The U.S. Army has procured SOCET GXP for Army-wide implementation into its Imagery Workstation baseline for operational units, establishing the software as its primary GEOINT exploitation tool.

SOCET GXP v3.0 is available on Microsoft Windows and UNIX^® Solaris™ 8, 9, and 10 operating systems.

SOCET GXP at a glance

SOCET GXP is the next generation of true geospatial-intelligence production technology, enabling interoperability among users and decision-makers at all levels. Its intuitive, customizable interface provides a suite of automated analysis and production tools, and direct access to shared databases and extended capabilities within the software. Information generated from SOCET GXP can be used to satisfy long-term operating and maintenance requirements. By providing all of this rich functionality in one intuitive product, BAE Systems empowers organizations and commands to consolidate resources, increase productivity, and save money.

SOCET GXP eXtreme Analysis™ capabilities:

• Access Google Earth™ for dynamic viewing and 3-D color visualization.
• Connect to the ESRI^® geodatabases to create, store, and share geographic information.
• Use common databases to query previously exploited information.
• Complete complex workflows with automated geospatial production tools for orthorectification, triangulation, and digital terrain model creation.
• Create finished map products and output results to PowerPoint^® or GeoPDF^® formats.

More information on SOCET GXP v3.0:
www.socetgxp.com/content_products/socetgxp/index.htm

The SOCET GXP v3.0 Multiport image viewing and exploitation window, shown with the new Ribbon user interface.

SOCET GXP v3.0 features new design

SOCET GXP^® v3.0 features a brand new look and feel based on the Microsoft^® Office Fluent™ user interface. The new user interface — the way it looks, the way it’s organized, and the way users interact with it — is designed to simplify workflows and make the software easier to use for every kind of task.

Before reviewing the details of the new SOCET GXP v3.0 user interface, it is important to understand why it has changed, and the goals for adopting the new user interface. The main reason for changing the user interface is that SOCET GXP had outgrown the traditional menu and toolbar system. With each release, as new features were added, the software was becoming progressively more difficult to navigate. The SOCET GXP v2.3.1 Multiport had more than 1,000 commands on nearly 40 toolbars, menus, and submenus that were four-to-five levels deep. To keep the software from overwhelming the user, less frequently used toolbars and individual tools had to be turned off as part of the default toolbar configuration. As a result, users did not recognize many advanced features and customers were asking BAE Systems to add features that the software already had.

Furthermore, it was becoming more challenging to add new functionality to SOCET GXP. Each new release added additional menus and toolbars to the clutter. As SOCET SET^® functionality was transferred to SOCET GXP v3.0, the engineering team noticed that there was no room to accommodate the functionality. The menu and toolbar system was full.

Fortunately, Microsoft had identified similar problems with Microsoft Office and was working on a solution — a new user interface for robust applications. The Microsoft Office Fluent user interface introduces a new way of working with large-scale applications. It organizes tools and uses contextualization to simplify the number of choices available at any given time, and provides a scalable platform to build on for the future.

A tour of the new SOCET GXP^® user interface

The main component of the new user interface is called the Ribbon. The Ribbon organizes tools in tabs that correspond to each task. The tools on each tab are grouped by function, and many of the tools are labeled to make them easy to identify.

Ribbon components include: (1) SOCET GXP button, (2) tabs, (3) groups, (4) commands, and (5) Quick Access Toolbar.

The Ribbon

The main component of the new user interface is called the Ribbon. The Ribbon user interface organizes tools by tabs that correspond to each task. The tools on each tab are grouped by function, and many of the tools are labeled to make them easy to identify.

Ribbon components include: (1) SOCET GXP Button, (2) tabs, (3) groups, (4) commands, and (5) Quick Access Toolbar.

The Ribbon stretches across the top of the Multiport viewing window and includes the following components:

1. The SOCET GXP Button is the round button with the SOCET GXP logo on it, located in the upper-left corner of the Ribbon. It replaces the File menu. All workflows begin and end here.
2. Tabs are designed to be task-oriented. The Home tab contains basic commands for using the application. Other tabs are organized by task.
3. Groups within each tab break tasks into subtasks. Each group contains a set of related commands that support the selected tab and tasks.
4. Commands within each group are represented by controls like buttons, sliders, and combo boxes. The controls work the same as they did in earlier versions of SOCET GXP.
5. The Quick Access Toolbar is the only customizable portion of the Ribbon. It is used to display the commands used most often in a particular workflow. The user can add any command on the Ribbon to the Quick Access Toolbar by right-clicking on it and selecting the Add to Quick Access Toolbar option.

Contextual tabs

To maintain an organized workspace, some tabs are contextual and are displayed only when relevant to the current task. For example, the Graphic Tools tab, which contains commands for changing a graphic’s color, line style, or fill pattern, appears when a graphic is selected. Therefore, if a graphic is not selected, these commands are not shown on the Ribbon. Contextual tabs bring functionality to the user’s attention at the most appropriate time, and keep functionality out of the way when it is not needed.

Contextual tabs are a different color to make them easy to identify when they appear. The top screen features regular tabs, the bottom screen highlights contextual tabs.

Dialog Launchers

Some groups on the Ribbon include a small icon in the bottom right corner called a Dialog Launcher. A Dialog Launcher provides additional options or advanced functionality related to a group of commands.

Dialog Launcher icon.

For example, to draw a graphic, the user refers to the Shapes group on the Draw tab. All graphics associated with drawing shapes are located here. If the desired shape is not displayed, the user can click the Dialog Launcher to see the full set of shapes available in the Drawing Toolbox.

Scalability

SOCET GXP v3.0 operates on many different systems, from laptops with small screens to desktop systems with multiple 30-inch monitors. Therefore, the Ribbon is designed to be scalable. It can automatically scale up or down depending on the size of the Multiport window. If the window is wide, the Ribbon makes use of the extra space by labeling commands and replacing small icons with large icons to eliminate excessive mouse clicks. If the window is smaller, the Ribbon packs more information into less space by dropping labels, replacing large icons with small icons, and ultimately collapsing groups into a single drop-down button.

Unlike the former toolbar configuration, no matter how large or small the Multiport window is, the Ribbon height never varies. Previously, when a user resized the window, toolbars would often wrap to the next line, which shifted the tools. When a user resizes a window that has a Ribbon, all of the commands remain in the same relative position. This makes it easy to find and select commands, no matter what size the window is.

Minimizing the Ribbon

For people who use SOCET GXP v3.0 on a computer with a small screen, such as a compact laptop, the Ribbon can take up valuable screen space. In previous versions of SOCET GXP, you could turn off most or all of the toolbars to minimize the footprint of the user interface and maximize the viewing area. In SOCET GXP v3.0, this can be accomplished by minimizing the Ribbon.

Conclusion

One of the goals of SOCET GXP v3.0 is to help users do their jobs more efficiently. The new user interface achieves this by organizing the tools in a way that makes sense to users. The Ribbon gives users the tools they need when they need them, and hides tools that are not relevant to the task at hand. There are many other new tools that help users navigate the SOCET GXP v3.0 application. For example, the Quick Access Toolbar and Mini Toolbars make command access quick and efficient for mouse users, while KeyTips allow keyboard users to access commands with a minimum of keystrokes. As a result, users will find it much easier to do their jobs with SOCET GXP v3.0.

Are you ready to become an eXtreme Analyst^™ (XA)?

SOCET GXP v3.0, scheduled for release in August 2008, fuses image analysis and geospatial analysis into one flexible software package designed for ease of use, enhanced performance, and unprecedented accuracy. All of the functionality you need for comprehensive analysis, geospatial production, and mapping is available in one complete package. Notable additions in SOCET GXP v3.0 include photogrammetric functionality, the intuitive Microsoft^® Office 2007 Ribbon user interface, and workflows designed to maximize productivity. Enhancements range from simple tools such as the drag-and-drop glove cursor, which aligns images and features, to more complex tools for fully automated triangulation (image registration). The new Ortho On-the-Fly orthorectification and mosaic process allows imagery to be corrected for accurate exploitation of registered imagery, terrain, and vector data.

Enhance your performance and become an XA with SOCET GXP v3.0 — the ultimate software for rapid mapping, visualization, and analysis.

SOCET GXP customers will be pleased to learn that we have developed a new, four-tiered system to simplify licensing. We understand that the methodology currently used for licensing is confusing — not only to customers, but for GXP Sales and Support teams as well. With as many as 70 modules to account for, the current system for managing licenses is not ideal.

Therefore, starting with SOCET GXP v3.0, we are introducing a new license schema, with add-on modules at the top two tiers. In this new scenario, licenses will be issued with or without dongles. SOCET SET v5.4.1 licenses are compatible with SOCET GXP v3.0.

The four license tiers are as follows:

• SOCET GXP GeoFoundation^™
  Advanced; replaces SOCET GXP v2.3.1 Base and Core
  Advanced viewer with linked panels, area of interest, basic analysis, annotation, auto roam, chipping, clipboard, load, print, SEE Basic Extraction, pan-sharpening, terrain loading/display, histogram, advanced/classified sensor models, Ruler, Control point editor, advanced query and attribution for feature extraction, GeoPDF^®*, and Metadata Editor.
  * Requires a license from TerraGo
• SOCET GXP GeoFusion^™
  Replaces SOCET GXP IA Bundle and SOCET SET Core
  Visual Coverage Tool (VCT), Image Comparison, Registration, Video Play and Capture.
• SOCET GXP GeoAnalysis^™
  Replaces SOCET GXP v2.3.1 IA Advanced
  Stereo, HSI/MSI, Map Finishing, Flythrough, and Ortho On-the-Fly.
• SOCET GXP eXtreme Analysis^™
  Includes all GeoFusion / GeoAnalysis functionality, click here for more information.

Look for more information on new licensing in the coming months.

  

Sample images from WorldView-1 satellite. SOCET SET and SOCET GXP are capable of ingesting and exploiting DigitalGlobe’s satellite data for analysis and feature extraction, triangulation, terrain extraction, orthophoto generation and other image and mapping products.

Sample images from WorldView-1 satellite. SOCET SET and SOCET GXP are capable of ingesting and exploiting DigitalGlobe’s satellite data for analysis and feature extraction, triangulation, terrain extraction, orthophoto generation and other image and mapping products.

DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-1 satellite, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on September 18, 2007, operates at an altitude of 496 kilometers, with an average revisit time of 1.7 days. It is capable of collecting up to 750,000 square kilometers (290,000 square miles) per day of half-meter imagery. The satellite is also equipped with state-of-the-art geolocation accuracy capabilities, 6.5 m (21 ft) CE 90%, and exhibits stunning agility with rapid targeting and efficient in-track stereo collection.

WorldView-1′s 50-centimeter panchromatic imagery is designed to support applications ranging from map publishing and land management to asset monitoring and emergency response planning. Because DigitalGlobe’s system features allow it to efficiently collect over 475 million square kilometers of imagery data annually, DigitalGlobe populates and updates its image library with impressive speed. Stereo data collected from WorldView-1 will be available soon.

GXP products, SOCET SET and SOCET GXP, are capable of ingesting and exploiting DigitalGlobe’s satellite data for analysis and feature extraction, triangulation, terrain extraction, orthophoto generation and other image and mapping products. The imagery from DigitalGlobe is provided to GXP users in Standard and Basic product formats as well as NCDRD (RPC or Rigorous).

For more information about WorldView-1:
www.digitalglobe.com/index.php/86/WorldView-1

For more information about DigitalGlobe imagery:
www.digitalglobe.com/index.php/48/Products?product_category_id=9

Synchronized viewing with SOCET GXP and Google Earth

SOCET GXP v2.3.1 features all of the functionality required to satisfy typical image analysis production workflows. This release adds seamless integration and synchronized viewing with Google Earth, and introduces a direct, bidirectional link to the ESRI geodatabase or SOCET SET feature database for dynamic viewing and editing of feature data. New in SOCET GXP v2.3.1 is Spatially Enabled Exploitation (SEE), designed to enhance image exploitation by creating attributed ground space graphics in a connected enterprise geodatabase environment. SEE allows the analyst to answer critical questions using spatial, attribute, and temporal queries. In addition, smart vector attribution supports external ESRI multi-user/personal databases, shapefiles, and SOCET SET feature databases. AutoSOCET adds an autonomous geospatial analysis workflow: automated triangulation, terrain data generation, orthorectification, and mosaicking.

SOCET GXP’s fundamental photogrammetric architecture is complete, and we are well on the way to full integration, moving the remainder of SOCET SET’s functionality into SOCET GXP, which has the same rigorous sensor models as SOCET SET, for highly accurate georeferencing.

SOCET GXP v2.3 features all of the functionality required to satisfy typical image analysis production workflows. This release adds seamless integration and synchronized viewing with Google Earth, and introduces a direct, bidirectional link to the ESRI geodatabase or SOCET SET feature database for dynamic viewing and editing of feature data. Also new in SOCET GXP v2.3 is Spatially Enabled Exploitation (SEE), the NGA initiative designed to enhance image exploitation by creating attributed ground space graphics in a connected enterprise geodatabase environment. SEE allows the analyst to answer critical questions using spatial, attribute, and temporal queries. In addition, smart vector attribution supports external ESRI multi-user/personal databases, shapefiles, and SOCET SET feature databases.

AutoSOCET adds an autonomous geospatial analysis workflow: automated triangulation, terrain data generation, orthorectification, and mosaicking.

Other notable features include:

• Graphical situational display (GSD) capabilities and import, editing, and export for Graphrep/IRR MIL STD 2525 symbols
• NITF image ingest and NITF format file save with SPIA tags; image products can be ingested by the NGA Image Product Library (IPL)
• Auto-populated templates, Ruler, CGS and stereo mensuration, and image chipping
• Multispectral imagery (MSI) container creation in combination with custom per band or per image LUT application offers additional flexibility for image analysis
• New terrain visualization tools for thorough image analysis

SOCET GXP’s fundamental photogrammetric architecture is complete, and we are well on the way to full integration, moving the remainder of SOCET SET’s full functionality into SOCET GXP, which has the same rigorous sensor models as SOCET SET for highly accurate georeferencing.

Click here for a comprehensive summary of SOCET GXP v2.3 release enhancements, as well as those planned for SOCET GXP v2.3.1.