Aechelon Technology's C-GenesisTM family of COTS PC-based tools comprise the database generation system (DBGS) for the pC-NOVATM and C-NOVATM Image Generator Products. C- Genesis enables fast and efficient creation, editing, and management of geospecific databases for the pC-NOVA Image Generator platform. Tools allow the user to import and modify elevation, georeferenced texture, and model data, in addition to precisely controlling their integration into the runtime database.
The C-Genesis DBGS has four primary components:
- The Feature Planting Tool, used to interactively position stock or user imported models into a runtime database
- The Terrain Imagery Processor, used to create geospecific terrain textures
- The Terrain Elevation Processor, use to create a multi-LOD runtime terrain surface
- The Portable Source Publishing Tool, used to automatically publish Naval Simulation Master Plan Portable Source Initiative datasets from XML metadata.
The C-Genesis toolset is structured so that layered databases can be managed at all levels. Categorical or spatial data layers can be managed separately as needed due to security restrictions or collaboration in database creation.
Optional third party tools include 1) Research Systems ENVI for general geographic image processing tasks, 2) Carbon Graphics Geo for modeling and OpenFlight conversion, and 3) Adobe Photoshop for generally aesthetic image manipulation and editing.
The C-Genesis Feature Planting Tool supports rapid, interactive population of a runtime database with both generic and geospecific feature models. Feature models are planted directly in the pC-NOVA image generator environment, allowing for runtime preview prior to IG update.
Supported features include:
- Multi-user support through definition of independent spatial 'playground' areas. Any number of users can distribute the work of populating a single database through the use of user playgrounds. Playgrounds can be merged and redundant features eliminated automatically.
- An intuitive, straightforward user interface, leveraging standard Microsoft Windows hot key and mouse conventions, with extensive control of all interface settings. Mastery of hot key/mouse combinations can lead to extremely quick population of a runtime database by a skilled user.
- Interactive feature placement within the runtime environment. The C-Genesis Feature Planting Tool is actually a separate mode of the pC-NOVA runtime image generator software, therefore allowing users all of the functionality of the pC-NOVA runtime environment while interactively planting feature models
- Extensive library of high quality, stock Aechelon Technology models provided for use with the tool.
- Support for planting of OpenFlight models (after conversion to HIE format with Carbon Graphics Geo, third party component to the C-Genesis DBGS toolset).
The C-Genesis Terrain Imagery Processor (TIP) processes raster imagery into the pC-NOVA runtime geotexture format, supporting Out-The-Window (OTW), generalized Sensor, and Radar geotexture formats.
The geotexture format generated by the TIP supports varying degrees of fidelity across the database, dependent upon source data inputs. Imagery may be supplied at differing resolutions, allowing areas of interest to exist at higher resolution than lower resolution base imagery. The created geotexture only stores high-resolution texels for a given resolution level as necessary where data is available, optimizing the amount of storage used. Submeter data is supported by the tool and the pC-NOVA runtime IG.
Supported features include:
- Various blending methods including user created matte image masks for maximum flexibility in creating 'real world' aesthetic transitions between varying data sources.
- Unified processing framework for fully correlated Out-The-Window, Generalized Sensor and Radar database creation from the same project file.
- High speed rendering, enabling very large area databases to be rendered in hours or days rather than weeks.
- High-speed data insertion, allowing for very rapid incremental database updates. The tool automatically determines extents of insertion based on activated image insets, thus significantly reducing the amount of rendering time required for geotexture additions to the database.
- Direct support for GeoTIFF imagery data.
The Terrain Elevation Processor (TEP) generates pC-NOVA's adaptively sampled, multiple level-of-detail (LOD) terrain runtime format from GeoTIFF or generic binary mosaiced elevation data.
Supported features include:
- Support for flattening of elevation data with custom mask or blend radius methods, allowing for simple elevation modification as necessary for the runtime database (flattening of water bodies, airfields, targets, etc).
- High-speed rendering, allowing for runtime terrain generation for a 10x10 geocell database is just under one hour.
- Direct support for GeoTIFF and generic binary elevation data.
The C-Genesis Portable Source Publishing Tool manages publishing of Naval Simulation Master Plan Portable Source datasets. Feature Vector Shapefiles and OpenFlight User Models are published directly to the pC-NOVA runtime format, while digital elevation data and geospecific texture conversion are managed with the C-Genesis Terrain Elevation Processor and Terrain Imagery Processor, respectively.
Supported features include:
- Interactive and non-interactive publishing supported. PSI datasets can be published in an interactive, step-by-step fashion, monitoring the published output of each feature category separately, or the entire dataset can be loaded from a single XML file and all published iteratively with a single click.
- Fast, efficient conversion of PSI source data into runtime format. Vector and model features are converted to runtime format within a matter of minutes.
- Full support for both reading and writing of PSI-compliant XML. A single XML file defines all database components and is used as the primary configuration file for the Portable Source Publishing Tool.
- Automatic runtime optimizations incorporated into the publishing process, ensuring that the pC-NOVA published runtime version will be as high performance as possible.
Aechelon Technology, C-Genesis, C-Nova and pC-Nova are trademarks of Aechelon Technology, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned in this press release are the property of their respective owners.