The new system was commissioned by the U.S. Navy.

Vexcel Corporation, a global market leader in precision urban mapping products and services, has been commissioned by the US Navy to design a system to provide fully automated extraction of 3D urban models from data collected by commercial satellites and other imaging devices. The models will highlight precise placement of cultural features such as buildings, streets, and terrain characteristics, and will collectively provide a database that the Navy can use for mission planning and training. Automating manual processes currently used to generate such models, will reduce the associated production time from several weeks or months to days or even just a few hours, depending on the detail of the image. Vexcel was chosen based on its significant experience in 3D models and cultural feature databases, its existing extraction technology, as well as its proven track record in system design and implementation of multi-million dollar government projects.

With the successful completion of the system design and possible ensuing prototype, Vexcel anticipates that the Navy and other branches of the Department of Defense will seek to leverage the new technology to expand detailed map coverage of strategically important international venues as well domestic urban environments to support Homeland Security efforts.