LONGMONT, Colo. and WALNUT CREEK, Calif., April 12, 2004 - DigitalGlobe® and GlobeXplorer® LLC, a subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp. (NYSE-STC), have joined forces to make QuickBird high-resolution satellite imagery available to customers through GlobeXplorer’s Internet server technology. The addition of QuickBird imagery to GlobeXplorer’s existing database of aerial and satellite products gives customers instant, online access to the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite imagery, and takes advantage of standards-based Web Mapping Services technology.
DigitalGlobe and GlobeXplorer are offering cloud-free QuickBird satellite imagery of U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), and most international cities. To populate the database, DigitalGlobe is harvesting its extensive image library for the best imagery collected over the past two years.
Before delivering imagery products to GlobeXplorer for integration into the Web distribution infrastructure, DigitalGlobe georeferences and color balances the products, then compresses them into high quality JPEG2000 format. By creating and hosting a product library with user-ready products and applications, GlobeXplorer offers customers the ability to retrieve imagery on an “as-needed” basis, and to quickly integrate it into Internet applications, mapping and geographic information systems (GIS), or internal business processes.
“By accessing our products over the Web, customers benefit from immediate delivery without having to wait for customized product processing time,” said Steve Jennings, vice president of marketing for DigitalGlobe. “We anticipate that this will also open up the market for high-resolution imaging products in markets that, until now, have been largely underserved. Real estate agents, insurance professionals, and Web portal application users that already rely on GIS and mapping software packages can more easily browse imagery in user-friendly file formats and sizes, prior to purchasing products,” he added.
“Whether it’s through a standard Web browser, our Internet extensions for GIS software, or custom web-based business applications, users of earth imagery will now have instant access to DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird imagery library,” said Paul Smith, chief operating officer for GlobeXplorer. “We are enthusiastic about leveraging our market-proven technologies to support the growth of the satellite image industry,” Smith said.
About GlobeXplorer
GlobeXplorer LLC is a leading geographic data integration and publishing company providing online access to the world's largest commercial library of georeferenced digital aerial imagery. The company's image library is distributed over the Internet using a proprietary platform that dynamically searches, retrieves, compacts, and delivers high-quality images from an online database within seconds. Using this technology, GlobeXplorer provides fast and affordable access to aerial images and associated database content to thousands of businesses and consumers on a daily basis. Through dynamic Web applications, Web services, Internet portals, and Internet-aware devices, GlobeXplorer distributes interactive maps and aerial imagery via flexible subscription services. The company is headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., and its products are available worldwide. For further information, contact GlobeXplorer at info@globexplorer.com or visit www.globexplorer.com.
About Stewart Information Services Corp.
Stewart Information Services Corp. (NYSE-STC) is a technology driven, strategically competitive, global real estate information company. Stewart provides title insurance and related information services through more than 7,300 issuing locations in the United States and several international markets. Stewart meets the needs of the real estate and mortgage industries through the delivery of information services required for settlement using e-commerce. These services include title reports, flood determinations, document preparation, property reports and background checks. Stewart also supplies post-closing services to lenders, automated county clerk land records, property ownership mapping and GIS for governmental entities. Stewart provides expertise in tax-deferred exchanges. More information about Stewart can be found at www.stewart.com.
About DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe is an Earth imagery and information company in Longmont, Colo., USA. With the 2001 launch of its QuickBird satellite, DigitalGlobe has established a market leadership position. The company offers the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite imagery, the largest image size and the greatest on-board storage capacity of any satellite imagery provider. DigitalGlobe’s ImageLibrary houses the most comprehensive, up-to-date images available. Since January 2002, QuickBird has collected and stored in its ImageLibrary more than 300,000 scenes of imagery covering more than 90 million square kilometers of the Earth, and collects an additional one million square kilometers each week. The competition has no plans to launch a comparable commercial satellite until at least 2007. The superior technical capabilities of DigitalGlobe’s WorldView system, scheduled for launch no later than 2006, will lead the industry into the next generation of commercial imaging. DigitalGlobe distinguishes itself through its commitment to excellent customer service, relationships with business partners and open-systems philosophy. More information can be found at www.digitalglobe.com.
