Graz, Austria — July 28, 2014 — Imagemaps Pte. Ltd., based in Singapore, is the first non-Microsoft calibration and support center in the global UltraCam service network. With the addition of a Singapore calibration lab and service center, Microsoft’s UltraCam business unit is able to field calls for support 24/7 from anywhere in the world.
In the global support network, Microsoft and Imagemaps team members work together to provide a comprehensive knowledge bank and optimum response time to customers who often operate far from their home base. Depending on the time of day, customers needing support are connected to a team in Graz, Austria; Boulder, Colorado; or Singapore.
Since opening its support center in mid-2012, Imagemaps has completed 14 camera calibrations and a full range of services for customers all over the Asia Pacific region, including Japan, Australia, Vietnam and the Philippines. In addition, personnel have traveled to India, China, Australia and Myanmar to provide onsite support.
“We get pleasure in helping our customers get back to work,” says Tan Tong Gee, Chief Engineer at the Imagemaps service center. “Time is of the essence from the moment the camera is dispatched to the calibration lab to the time it arrives back in the country of origin ready again for service.”
The business profile of customers range from those with a single camera to large multinational survey companies who have invested millions of dollars in camera systems. “We are very excited to serve such a diverse range of customers and very proud of the trust they have placed in us,” says Bill Love, Director, Imagemaps.
The Imagemaps high precision calibration lab is located in the company’s Singapore Science Park facility. Its unique 10-meter-wide calibration frame is particularly useful for working on the new UltraCam Osprey nadir/oblique camera.
Imagemaps has developed a highly efficient process to manage airfreight, import/export, service scheduling and spares inventory so that the cameras are returned in prime condition and with minimum downtime for the owners. “The whole process involves up to six staff members across the organization from administration, contracts, sales and support departments,” says Lee Hon Chuan, Service Center Manager, Imagemaps. “Everyone involved has been with the company since the 1990’s. We have vast experience and are able to work together seamlessly to turn cameras around as quickly as possible.”
“Imagemaps invested heavily in support infrastructure and certification to attain the high standards required to be part of the global UltraCam support network, including the establishment of a precision large format camera calibration and service center,” says Alexander Wiechert, Microsoft Business Director. “The team has received intense training on everything related to the UltraCam product line, such as software, camera service and calibration, installation and general user support matters, so they are well prepared to handle anything that comes along.”
About Microsoft’s UltraCam Business Unit
With its operations based in Graz, Austria, and sales and support teams in North America, Microsoft’s UltraCam business unit brings more than two decades of photogrammetry expertise to Microsoft’s Bing Maps business unit. The division is responsible for the highly successful line of UltraCam digital aerial mapping systems that today include the UltraCamHawk, UltraCam Falcon, andUltraCam Eagle digital photogrammetric sensors, and the UltraCam Osprey nadir/oblique photogrammetric digital aerial sensor. Also offered is the UltraNav Flight Management and Direct Georeferencing system, designed to maximize the efficiency of UltraCam aerial mapping. Rounding out the UltraCam offerings is the fully integrated UltraMap workflow software system, with features that include high-density 3D point cloud creation, highly accurate and detailed digital surface model (DSM) generation, and ortho mosaicing capabilities based on an automatically generated DSM or traditional DSM.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
About Imagemaps Pte. Ltd.
Imagemaps Pte. Ltd. is a leading sensor solutions provider in the Asia Pacific region with extensive experience in aerial sensing technologies and geospatial solutions. Its airborne sensor solutions include digital mapping cameras, lidar systems, inertial measurement and positional systems, digital photogrammetry and imaging technology, lidar data processing and workflow management of large multimedia spatial databases. Imagemaps is Microsoft’s master sales and support partner responsible for distribution of its aerial mapping products throughout the Asian Pacific, Australasian, and Indian regions. For more information, please go to www.imagemaps.com.or.
