Last July we unveiled the MrSID® Generation 4 Decode SDK to coincide with our release of the first groundbreaking version of LiDAR Compressor™ software. The new version of the MrSID format (MG4) supports LiDAR compression. We released a plug-in for using MG4 in ArcGIS 3D Analyst last October and unveiled our own MG4 Decode tool for decoding MG4 back out to LAS or ASCII text format earlier this year, but we’ve obviously been just as eager to see third parties use the SDK to integrate MG4 support into their own products.

Late last year, Merrick & Company and Global Mapper Software announced support for MG4 in their products, MARS® (Merrick Advanced Remote Sensing) software and Global Mapper 11.01. We were very excited about those early integrations.

Last week another important integration of the MG4 technology was announced, this time by Overwatch, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a provider of imagery and geospatial solutions to Homeland Security, the Department of Defense and the intelligence and forestry communities. Overwatch is the maker of LIDAR Analyst, a plug-in for ArcGIS and ERDAS IMAGINE that provides tools for automatically extracting bare earth terrain, 3D buildings, trees and forests, contour lines, and terrain characteristics.

LIDAR Analyst is used for feature extraction by user groups requiring high-resolution terrain information. With the release of version 5.0, LIDAR Analyst customers will be able to process LiDAR data that has been compressed using LizardTech’s LiDAR Compressor.

We’re excited because, as our director of marketing Jon notes, our customers in the Department of Defense and elsewhere have frequently requested MG4 support in LIDAR Analyst, and this integration will provide them with the ability to efficiently compress their LiDAR files and use them in one of their most commonly used applications.

Overwatch is excited because, according to LIDAR Analyst’s product manager Matt Morris, “The MrSID format is best in class for raster imagery compression and we are quite pleased with LizardTech’s specific innovations in point cloud compression.”

We’re blushing, but it’s true.

Tags: LiDAR, MG4 support, Overwatch