News

In an article published in the August/September issue of Earth Observation Magazine (www.eomonline.com), TatukGIS customer Gary Ostroff describes a web based real estate data management application recently implemented for Dade Country, Florida. In the article Mr. Ostroff explains that this web based solution was developed using the TatukGIS Developer Kernel (VCL) and IntraWeb products in a Delphi development environment. The TatukGIS PixelStore format was used to seamlessly web-publish a 1-foot pixel aerial image layer covering all of Dade County. This data set, which the County had stored on dozens of CD ROMS in the TIFF format, totaled approximately 40 Gigabytes as uncompressed TIFF images but compressed into a 5 Gghb PixelStore image file loaded into the Firebird SQL relational database. The result is that this huge raster data set is now being served over the internet very effectively and for a very reasonable cost. The image server response time is very fast, even for users accessing the image server via slow dial-up modem internet access. No Java Plug-ins or other downloads are required.

The PixelStore image layer is georeferenced to the same geographic coordinate system as the vector polygon parcel map which is part of separate but linked solution so that the correct portion of the aerial image is automatically presented whenever a user zooms in to a selected area or to real estate parcel by querying its ID number

The PixelStore format aerial image mosaic of the entire area of Dade County, FL (and bordering areas) which was created from approximately 1,200 individual TIFF images. This aerial image coverage is a single PixelStore image file.

Appearance of the final web browser interface showing the result of a query for a real estate lot number. Aerial image is turned on.

The number and dimensions of the selected lot turned on. Aerial image is turned off.

Mr. Ostroff praises the simple elegance of the TatukGIS DK-VCL, IntraWeb, and Delphi combination. Other GIS development options to serve such a massive data set over the Internet would require a variety of much more expensive and complex software packages that would be substantially more difficult to integrate into the final solution. Furthermore, if not for the TatukGIS PixelStore format, the serving of such a large aerial image layer would have required the licensing of MrSID or ECW image format/compression technology. (TatukGIS does not charge for use of the PixelStore format.)

A similar web based real estate parcel information system, also based on the TatukGIS Developer Kernel, IntraWeb, and Delphi, is already up and running for the New York City area and another is presently being implemented for the West Palm Beach, Florida area. This solution is being marketed to other counties and municipalities in the United States.

The full article as published in EOM can be found at: http://www.eomonline.com/Common/Archives/2004augsep/04augsep_lowcost.html

For more information about this solution contact TatukGIS or Gary Ostroff (e-mail: gostroff@hydroqual.com).