Quantum3D Selects TerraMetrics 3D Terrain-rendering Engine and Global Satellite Imagery

PRLog (Press Release) - Oct 08, 2009 -
Littleton, Colorado-based TerraMetrics, Inc., a leading developer of high-precision terrain-rendering technologies and global satellite imagery for aviation, simulation and geospatial markets, announced today that Quantum3D has licensed its TerraBlocks 3D terrain-rendering engine, TruEarth global imagery and terrain data to bring a new global 3D rendering capability to IData, Quantum’s Human Machine Interface toolkit. The newest IData release includes the TerraMetrics terrain-rendering plug-in, the first DO-178B-certified widget library for avionics applications and ARINC 661 capabilities. IData is widely used by developers to create applications for unmanned vehicles, first responders, helicopters, in-flight entertainment, synthetic vision and other uses.

Developed to meet the rigorous performance requirements of the embedded flight environment, the TerraBlocks 3D terrain-rendering engine delivers accurate, deterministic rendering and uses a proprietary file compression format, which substantially reduces data size. The rendering engine’s ability to support high-definition displays and high-resolution imagery insets, such as airport runway features, make it especially suitable for simulation and in-flight entertainment applications. The TerraBlocks 3D terrain-rendering engine runs on a lightweight CPU/GPU platform with Windows and Linux operating systems.  

“The flexibility and portability features of IData, IData3D and IDataMap combined with the TerraMetrics TerraBlocks and TruEarth plug-ins bring an exceptionally powerful, cost-effective development and deployment solution to market,” said Mike Gyde, Quantum3D Embedded Business Development Manager. “The merging of these technologies has produced a state-of-the-art solution for many segments in today’s market and exceeded the expectations of our current customer base.”

“Our 3D terrain-rendering engine paired with our TruEarth 15-meter imagery and terrain data provides a robust, efficient solution for many applications that require global rendering,” stated TerraMetrics president Greg Baxes. “Quantum3D’s selection speaks to the quality and performance of our products because IData is on the safety-critical flight deck and in cabin-based in-flight entertainment applications.”  


About TerraMetrics
Founded in 1998, TerraMetrics, Inc., develops high-precision terrain-rendering technologies for aviation, simulation and geospatial markets.  TerraMetrics was one of the first to produce and market natural-color global satellite imagery and is forging new ground in interactive 3D terrain rendering and display. As a government contractor, TerraMetrics is currently researching and developing synthetic vision systems for the Air Force that provide helicopter pilots with a continuously updated 3D terrain model of their physical landing location during zero-visibility conditions. The company is also investigating and developing a web service architecture for NASA that stores, processes and delivers massive, multi-dimensional science data sets to web-based geospatial browsers such as Google Earth.  For more information, visit www.terrametrics.com.

About Quantum3D
Quantum3D, Inc., is the leading developer and manufacturer of Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS), open-architecture, real-time visual computing solutions.  Quantum3D combines the most advanced hardware and software systems for graphics simulation in a variety of markets and implementations—image generation; tactical computing for avionics, vehicle, and manwearable applications; synthetic environments; graphics subsystems; and other COTS solutions. Quantum3D is a privately held company headquartered in San Jose, CA.  For more information, visit www.Quantum3D.com.