BOZEMAN, Mont. - Agri ImaGIS of Maddock, North Dakota, has licensed patented U.S. Navy technology that will enable the company to deliver high-resolution satellite imagery to agricultural users by wireless methods. This new technology will boost the ease of use of satellite imagery for farmers, stockgrowers, soil scientists, plant pathologists, weed researchers, conservationists, and other stewards of the land.

The Montana State University TechLink center, located in Bozeman, and the Navy Office of Technology Transfer, jointly assisted Agri ImaGIS in the process of locating and licensing the technology from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), Newport, Rhode Island.

The NUWC developed the compression technology for use with sonar data. Agri ImaGIS found that the software also compresses satellite data so that it can be more easily delivered via Internet, while still maintaining the integrity and usefulness of the imagery for the viewer. "The data compression software will increase the scope of our Internet delivery system and improve its usefulness for our customers," said Lanny Faleide, president of Agri ImaGIS.

Agri ImaGIS has developed a successful business delivering satellite imagery over the Internet. The Navy technology will allow it to adapt to the changing marketplace in two ways, says Faleide. First, with this technology, Agri ImaGIS will be able to moreÝefficiently deliver data over the Internet from new satellites providing much higher resolution imagery, which is difficult to deliver by narrow band methods. Second, Agri ImaGIS' customersÝwill be able to receive imagery over theirÝwireless CE devices, allowing them to troubleshoot problems while actually in their fields. Agri ImagGIS decided to license the NUWC software following a successful trial for the companyís application under a joint research and development partnership with the NUWC brokered by TechLink.

TechLink has extensive experience in brokering partnerships between private industry in the northwestern United States and federal laboratories for the purpose of technology licensing, research and development, and commercialization. TechLink is funded by the Department of Defense and NASA, and also serves as Montana State Universityís main outreach arm to high-tech companies in the state and region.

CONTACTS:
Lanny Faleide
Agri ImaGIS
(701) 438-2242

Will Swearingen
TechLink
(406) 994-7704
wds@montana.edu

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