I recently had the pleasure of attending an open house hosted by CloverPoint where the Victoria BC-based team showed off some impressive 3D visualization technology and their latest efforts being put forth in their spin off startup venture, Echosec. Local technologists, consultants, and press people were invited to see and listen to the team as they described a recent 3D visualization project completed for the Victoria International airport upgrade, showed off some cool Augmented Reality technology that they’ve integrated with their solutions, and a new effort called Echosec that involves some deep data mining of social media and crowd sourcing data from the web. The team was also showing off some cool integration of 3D visualization viewing technology via the cool Oculus rift AR glasses. Using the glasses we were invited to take a realistic 3D walk through of the YYJ airport upgrades as seen with data created by CloverPoint for a recent project – way cool!
Imagine viewing real-time data being shared by the crowd from sensitive areas in Afghanistan, North Korea and other "hot spots" around the Globe. Echosec can provide an immediate geointel solution that can provide immediate updates on activity any time or any place. The web service is ideally suited for military, police, local government, and other agencies with a need for real time situational awareness and geointel.
A quick look at a demo of the application can easily reveal photos, tweets and videos around the world that show such things as submarine and other military equipment and sensitive hardware. Military staffers are sharing information and providing location and identity information that could be easily used for activity that may not be desirable or in the best interest of national security. An interesting demo of the full capabilities of Echosec are seen in this video from the company and a brief demo video I captured at the open house is provided below – enjoy!
CloverPoint has been in the GIS/Geo tech business for more than 20 years in Victoria, with roots that run deep in the traditional GIS industry. The company has by no means abandoned their bread and butter, as evidence in their continued success in traditional GIS, mapping, and data visualization projects (See for example their recent work with B.C first nations groups in some high profile projects), however, the company is forging ahead into the future and staying ahead of the competition by using cutting edge technologies, 3D, augmented reality, new media, social media and other technologies that are high in demand by their clients.
For more about the company see http://cloverpoint.com follow along on Twitter @CloverPointVic and be sure to check out http://cloverpoint.com/