GeoVantage Inc was formed in to develop new methods for digital aerial imaging for commercial applications. The firm creates aerial imagery for several industries, including doing emergency response imagery for use on Google Maps and other general mapping services. The companys other main clients include the gas and oil industry, which uses the images to monitor miles of pipeline for safety reasons, and precision agriculture, which uses pictures of acres of farmland to decide where and when to apply fertilizer. GeoVantage Inc was acquired in 2005 by John Deere, who invested heavily in the digital imagery technology, camera manufacturing, and expanded the field operations to include a network of 80 operational digital camera systems. Primary operations were in the U.S. targeted towards agriculture crop management applications; however, a major thrust was also made to expand internationally. John Deere decided to downsize their services division in November 2007 and allowed GeoVantage to be acquired by a team that included the original founders. The firm is now focused on accelerating and scaling the business with a more broad-based penetration of the diverse imaging markets; with operation partners at various locations around the U.S. and the globe to enable flight operations. Cameras can either be pre-positioned at locations or mailed via overnight for rapid mission execution. GeoVantage has developed specialized and highly automated post-processing software to turn the raw imagery into georegistered mosaics. Data can be processed remotely from a central site or in the field by using the tablet PC used in flight for imagery capture. Operations in foreign countries can be processed or simply verified over the web for navigation data quality and sensor or pilot performance.
