March 5, 2002, Tuesday

SECTION: TECHNOLOGY; Pg. 15

HEADLINE: US geological database

BYLINE: Beatrice Garcia in Miami

RESEARCHERS at Florida International University have unveiled TerraFly, a new software that gives users access to a database of satellite images of the entire United States via the Internet for the first time.

"TerraFly provides a new way to access US geological data," said Dr Naphtali Rishe, head researcher on the TerraFly project and director of High Performance Database Centre, a unit of the School of Computer Science. "The possible uses for this technology are endless."

FIU's researchers see broad commercial applications for TerraFly's technology, including use for real estate, urban development and tourism as well as use by state and local governments. Financial analysts working with the project estimate TerraFly technology could have an annual market of about $US1 billion ($A1.97 billion)

In a demonstration of a possible commercial use, one of the researchers showed how property information and photos of homes for sale in the university's West Dade neighbourhood could be combined with the aerial images available via TerraFly.

Deputy director of the United States Geological Service Kathryn Clement said TerraFly's technology could be used to protect property and save lives from natural disasters or could be used for environmental resource management.

Dr Rishe said he was in conversations with several venture capital firms to fund the development of commercial uses for the technology.

While the United States and other nations had huge databases, he said he believed TerraFly could be the largest such repository of information available to the public via the Internet.

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