The Military Engineer L No. 66373 Maps for Non-Mappers By Ray Caputo AGC has developed a user- friendly format for relaying actionable geospatial intelligence data to end users who lack advanced training. Geospatial Intelligence O rganizations that utilize geo- spatial data possess extremely valuable information locked inside complex applications that only a small number of professionals under- stand and know how to use effectively. This poses a signi?cant challenge to those attempting to transfer this infor- mation to less-skilled end users. The U.S. Armys operational and humani- tarian missions rely heavily on such data; however, many soldiers lack the time, training, or resources to translate these data into actionable informa- tion. The U.S. Army Geospatial Center (AGC), formerly known as the Topo- graphic Engineering Center, discovered and embraced an innovative means of converting complex, intricate geo- graphic information systems (GIS) data provided by the National Geospatial-In- telligence Agency (NGA) and U.S. Geo- logical Survey (USGS) into a format that allows users without advanced training in GIS applications to understand and exploit the geospatial information. Based on Adobes Portable Docu- ment File (PDF) format, the Geo-Refer- enced PDF (GeoPDF) was developed by TerraGo Technologies and provides GIS professionals the ability to share geo- referenced maps and data with soldiers and others who may not be GIS applica- tion-savvy. Introduced to AGC by NGA, the GeoPDF can be sent to ?eld per- sonnel from engineers on the scene of natural disasters like hurricane Katrina, or to soldiers in the ?eld who can use Adobe Reader to manipulate maps. Most computers in the world are equipped with Adobe Reader as part of their baseline software, and each Army Geospatial Engineering Team has the full assortment of TerraGo tools required to produce mission-speci?c products in the GeoPDF format. A free, user-friendly plug-in from TerraGo, known as TerraGo Desktop, is the only requirement for command-chain us- ers to view GeoPDFs. This plug-in has been added to the Army Golden Master disk—the standard software load for Army desktops and servers. The ?les are small and nimble, yet are embedded with powerful capabilities that allow engineers to work in connected or dis- connected modes. Mapping the Globe There are two types of GeoPDF ?les: raster GeoPDF and vector GeoPDF. Both formats provide a scalable display of the digital map or image with crisp, clear delineation of roads, rivers, con- tour lines and other features as the user This 3D GeoPDF screenshot depicts a represen- tation of the U.S. Geological Surveys Tennessee River Valley map. The GeoPDF ?le format allows users without formal GIS training to access and act upon sophisticated geospatial intelligence. Images courtesy Army Geospatial Center
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