MDA’s Information Systems group has signed a contract with Accent Micro Technologies Inc. (AMTI) to provide comprehensive 3-D terrain models for the territory of the Philippines in support of a national disaster management program. Under the contract, MDA will supply Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) using RADARSAT-2 for use by the University of the Philippines, in support of the Disaster Risk Exposure Assessment for Mitigation (DREAM) Project, which is a key component of the Department of Science and Technology’s Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH) Program. The digital elevation models will cover the entire 300,000 square kilometer territory of the Philippines and will be delivered within a six month period.
The RADARSAT-2 satellite’s unique combination of global coverage, high resolution, wide image swaths, and its ability to acquire imagery through clouds makes it the best choice for national scale mapping, monitoring, and disaster management programs. RADARSAT-2’s repeat coverage and ability to image very large areas means that access to accurate terrain information that spans a country the size of the Philippines can be provided to decision-makers within months of initiating, and enables a significant reduction in delivery time compared to traditional aerial or ground-based survey methods. This rapid delivery of DEMs based on new acquisition allows the Philippines’ disaster planning agencies to utilize the most up-to-date data possible.
To date, MDA has utilized RADARSAT-2 to produce millions of square kilometers of digital elevation models for customers around the world, including customers in the disaster management, mapping, exploration, and defence industries.
