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Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd
- The world's highest 61 cm resolution, pricing seen as competitive -
Orders for high-resolution satellite image data captured by the commercial high-performance observation satellite QuickBird launched by U.S. DigitalGlobe (Longmont, Colorado) have been escalating in Asian countries since Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd., (President: Hiroyuki Kanekiyo, headquartered in Yokohama Naka-ku, abbr.: Hitachi Software) began marketing it on a full scale.
This image data features:
(2) Wide imaging width of 16.5 km, offering the largest scene size for high-resolution imaging
(3) Short revisit intervals (1 to 3 days) and mass-storage memory to meet efficient, bulk imaging needs
(4) Stereographic imaging to collect height information vital to mapping
As an exclusive distributor in Japan and Asia of the high-resolution satellite image data captured by U.S. DigitalGlobe (EarthWatch Incorporated), Hitachi Software has begun selling the image data, and has also concluded sales outlet contracts in key Asian countries, including China, Indonesia, and Malaysia, to promote image data-based system implementations. Recently, the company has been awarded orders for high-resolution satellite image data by Malaysia and Mongolia. A summary description of these orders is as follows:
| Country | Use | Order status |
| China | Environment and flood surveillance system. China plans to build an environment resources database from satellite imaging and GIS to aid in decision-making, such as that on investment, and on issues of environmental protection. The development of floods in progress will be predicted by way of simulations through real-time surveillance of the floods from satellite imaging. | Orders totaling JPY10 million are expected from Chinese institutes |
| Country | Application | Order status |
| Malaysia | Used for forest management purposes in forest conservation districts such as measuring forest areas, to simplify and economize on the tasks previously carried out by aerial photography. | JPY500,000 worth order received from the Tenmangan Forest Conservation District Management Corporation |
| Mongol | Beginning this fiscal year, a five-year national project has set into motion to seek "tougher land utilization policies," encouraging the preparation of land ledgers and leases, and the constructing of the infrastructures needed to issue these documents. Used for surveying and preparing cadastral maps. | JPY200,000 order received from a firm of remote sensing surveyors |
Awarding of these orders to Hitachi Software reflects the employers' high appraisal of the 61 cm high resolution of QuickBird satellite images and their competitive pricing. Demand for and interest in satellite imaging mounts in Asian countries.
| Country | Need |
| China | With emphasis on urban planning in the principal cities and on mapping the entire land of China, the country is on the move to convert maps to data at the national level under the banner of "Digital Mapping." The country appears to use satellite imaging for creating basic mapping data. |
| Indonesia | The country wishes to use satellite imaging for purposes like mapping remote locations (isolated islands), checking on the damages from natural disasters, such as the recent floods in Jakarta, and working out disaster preparedness measures. |
| Philippines | The country intends to use satellite imaging in place of aerial photography to assure more precise, yet less costly mapping. |
| Southeast Asian countries | Cross-border illegal harvesting remains a serious concern. High-resolution, broad-area satellite imaging could offer a very powerful tool for surveying illegal harvesting. Other needs for satellite imaging include surveying coastal pearl farming zones and reclaiming pearl beds. |
The Asian countries thus promise a further leap in orders.
High-resolution image data could stir a huge market, mainly in environmental protection and disaster preparedness sectors, in the Asian countries. In addition to creating and updating maps, high-resolution image data might also be used in broad applications, including agriculture and public works. Hitachi Software will begin by offering satellite images as finished products, but expects to identify soon the kinds of applications sought in these countries and develop, release, and provide consultation services on these applications on the basis of its expertise in GIS collected from its history of customer support experience at home and abroad. Initial emphasis in marketing will be on China, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia for their geographical coverage and thus for their huge demand potentials.
Sales from the Asian market, including Japan, are estimated to total JPY1.5 billion for fiscal 2002 and are expected to advance to JPY5 billion in three years, in the March period of fiscal 2005.
Note:
DigitalGlobe™ is a trademark of EarthWatch Incorporated.
EarthWatch Incorporated
Location: Longmont, Colorado, U.S.A.
Founded: 1995
Website: www.digitalglobe.com
