DigitalGlobe new agreement with Microsoft

29 October 2009, 2:03pm

Longmont, Colo., October 29, 2009 – DigitalGlobe, a leading global provider of commercial high-resolution world-imagery products and services for defense and intelligence, civil government, and commercial customers, today announced it has signed an agreement with Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) to launch the Clear30 program, an initiative to distribute high-resolution, 30-cm aerial imagery of contiguous landscapes, initially in the U.S. and Western Europe. These orthophoto mosaics will be available through Bing Maps and through DigitalGlobe channels.

The Clear30 initiative is a new agreement that expands the current relationship between Microsoft and DigitalGlobe and reflects a commitment to increase accessibility and use of high-resolution digital imagery. To collect the first ever multicontinental aerial imagery from 30 cm, the companies will use the UltraCamG, a large format digital aerial camera manufactured by Vexcel Imaging GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft, which is based on Vexcel’s UltraCam large format camera systems, the top selling large format aerial sensors internationally.

“We’re excited about the launch of the Clear30 program and our continued relationship with DigitalGlobe,” said Steve Stanzel, general manager of Bing Maps at Microsoft Corp. “By providing DigitalGlobe exclusive access to our advanced UltraCamG imagery, we can provide our mutual customers easy access and integration of high-resolution digital aerial orthophotos for vast landscapes around the world.”

“We are very pleased to be expanding our relationship with Microsoft and look forward to introducing the UltraCamG imagery into our world imagery solutions,” said Jill Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of DigitalGlobe. “The addition of large quantities of very high-resolution digital aerial imagery, collected quickly and published on a consistent update schedule, will further enhance our ability to distribute a comprehensive digitized globe to our customers.”

The companies did not provide financial details concerning the agreement.

Imagery from the UltraCamG will further expand DigitalGlobe’s industry leading ImageLibrary and will complement the satellite imagery products available from the DigitalGlobe high-resolution satellite constellation, including the recently launched WorldView-2 satellite. Current collection areas for the UltraCamG program include the contiguous United States and Western Europe.

To learn more about advanced DigitalGlobe’s constellation of sub-meter satellites, please visit the web site below.

DigitalGlobe

Geo: International