SBIR-STTR Award

TerraMetrics, Inc., proposes an SBIR Phase I R/R&D program to investigate and develop a key web services architecture that provides data processing, storage and delivery capabilities and enables successful deployment, display and visual interaction of diverse, massive, multi-dimensional science datasets within popular web-based geospatial platforms like Google Earth, Google Maps, NASA's World Wind and others. The proposed innovation exploits the use of a wired and wireless, network-friendly, wavelet-compressed data format and server architecture that extracts and delivers appropriately-sized blocks of multi-resolution geospatial data to client applications on demand and in real time. The resulting format and architecture intelligently delivers client-required data from a server, or multiple distributed servers, to a wide range of networked client applications that can build a composite, user-interactive 3D visualization of fused, disparate, geospatial datasets. The proposed innovation provides a highly scalable approach to data storage and management while offering geospatial data services to client science applications and a wide range of client and connection types from broadband-connected desktop computers to wireless cell phones. TerraMetrics offers to research the feasibility of the proposed innovation and demonstrate it within the context of a live, server-supported, Google Earth-compatible client application with high-density, multi-dimensional NASA science data.

Potential NASA Commercial Applications:
( Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) 1) Dissemination of large Earth science datasets into publicly-available, geospatial web applications including imagery (e.g., multi-band, hyperspectral) and other 2D datasets, and 3D volumetric datasets (e.g., real-world and modeling origins)

Potential NON-NASA Commercial Applications:
( Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) 1) Military/Intelligence provisioning of immediate access to time- and quality-critical imagery and terrain data assets to battlefield/mobile clients2) Commercial television map and weather applications; next-generation GIS and scientific data analysis simulation/modeling applications NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.

Technology Taxonomy Mapping:
Computer System Architectures General Public Outreach Human-Computer Interfaces Software Tools for Distributed Analysis and Simulation

TerraMetrics, Inc., proposes a Phase II R/R&D program to implement the TerraBlocksTM Server architecture that provides geospatial data authoring, storage and delivery capabilities. TerraBlocks enables successful deployment, display and visual interaction of diverse, massive, multi-dimensional science datasets within popular web-based geospatial platforms like Google Earth and NASA World Wind. TerraBlocks is a wavelet-encoded data storage technology and server architecture for NASA science data deployment into widely available web-based geospatial applications. The TerraBlocks approach provides dynamic geospatial data services with an emphasis on 1) server and data storage efficiency, 2) maintaining server-to-client science data integrity and 3) offering client-specific delivery of large Earth science geospatial datasets. The TerraBlocks approach bridges the gap between inflexible, but fast, pre-computed tile delivery approaches and highly flexible, but slower, map services approaches. The pursued technology exploits the use of a network-friendly, wavelet-compressed data format and server architecture that extracts and delivers appropriately-sized blocks of multi-resolution geospatial data to geospatial client applications on demand and in interactive real time. The Phase II project objective is to provide a complete and fully-functional prototype TerraBlocks data authoring and server software package delivery to NASA and simultaneously set the stage for commercial availability. The Phase III objective is to commercially deploy the TerraBlocks technology, with the collaboration of our commercial and government partners, to provide the enabling basis for widely available third-party data authoring and web-based geospatial application data services.

Potential NASA Commercial Applications:
(Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) 1) Government DoD/Intelligence data provisioning and delivery, science/research labs, mapping 2) Commercial web-based geospatial platforms 3) Broadcast television map and weather applications 4) Next-generation interactive GIS



Potential NON-NASA Commercial Applications:
:
(Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) 1) Dissemination of large Earth science datasets into widely-available, geospatial web applications including imagery (e.g., multi-band, hyperspectral) and other 2D datasets, and 3D volumetric datasets 2) NASA World Wind 3) NASA's visualization labs NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.

Technology Taxonomy Mapping:
Computer System Architectures Data Acquisition and End-to-End-Management General Public Outreach Human-Computer Interfaces K-12 Outreach Mission Training Sensor Webs/Distributed Sensors Software Tools for Distributed Analysis and Simulation