ENVI Services Engine from Exelis

Bill Okubo, Exelis enterprise product manager. spoke on the ENVI Services Engine from Exelis. Exelis Visual information Solutions developed an enterprise-enabled processing engine that provides remote users access to the power of ENVI image analysis and IDL applications from a web or mobile client interface. The working name for this capability is the ENVI and IDL Services Engine (ESE). This engine now enables the remote user to gain access to the same compiled ENVI and IDL functions and procedures that remote sensing scientists have utilized for decades at the desktop level.

GISCafe Voice: When you say this product is designed for a much more diverse user base, are you targeting a new user base or is it the same one?

Okubo: With ENVI Services Engine, we now provide ENVI image analysis for enterprise and cloud users of geospatial imagery. In the past, these capabilities were limited to those users with desktop ENVI software. The reality of desktop software is that any customer organization has a limit to the number of individual licenses they can afford. Centralized deployment with enterprise licensing allows any user in the organization to run ENVI geospatial processing from any device or browser that is connected to the enterprise network.

GISCafe Voice: Are these users currently using remote sensed data or will this be a first for them?

Okubo: Initially these users have some familiarity with remotely sensed imagery and a desired use scenario for the data. In the near future, the availability of remote sensed data and the geoprocessing web services to analyze imagery will grow rapidly through cloud hosted services like Esri’s ArcGIS Online. As imagery and geospatial analytics become available, new customers who traditionally have not used remotely sensed data will begin to use online, on-demand maps and imagery to make critical decisions for their organizations.
GISCafe Voice: Will users be able to use the product on tablets?

Okubo: Yes. ENVI Services Engine uses a standard HTTP protocol to pass requests from a client application on any device – mobile, laptop, desktop – to a server-based enterprise or cloud network where the image processing is executed as web services. The processed imagery can then be visualized in the application on the client device. Exelis VIS has a Professional Services Group that can deliver custom client web browser or native device applications tailored to individual customer requirements.
GISCafe Voice: What will the cost of the product be?

Okubo: In contrast to desktop software licensing, ENVI Services Engine is priced based on the size of the enterprise network and the amount of processing throughput required by the organization. Prices vary depending on the exact enterprise configuration.

GISCafe Voice: Is this data that can be shared across the enterprise and how will that be implemented?

Okubo: In the traditional desktop software model, the end-user retrieves the data for use with their desktop software. This can be time consuming and painful. Now ENVI Services Engine provides centralized deployment of the enterprise software for image processing. In this enterprise model, the data is typically provided by the enterprise organization as part of their network of server resources. Or the data may be provided by an online cloud hosted services provider such as Esri ArcGIS Online.

Tags: cloud, ENVI Services Engine, Exelis, Exelis Visual Information Solutions, geospatial, GIS, image analysis, mobile, web

Categories: remote sensing, satellite imagery

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