Google Earth Enterprise customer honored for government IT achievement

Editor’s note: From time to time, the Google Earth and Maps Enterprise Team likes to show off our users who have created useful and timely ...

Editor’s note: From time to time, the Google Earth and Maps Enterprise Team likes to show off our users who have created useful and timely applications with our products. Marty Kitrell, from the Information Technology Laboratory of the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, explains how many agencies organized to build the Google Earth Enterprise powered project called NIPRNet Globe Service (NGS), which is one of the 10 award winners for 2010 Outstanding Information Technology Achievement in Government by the Government Computer News.

Google Earth has revolutionized how people see the world. Through simple clicks of a button, a user can zoom to any part of the world and quickly access information about any place on earth. It’s technology that millions use to plan vacations and business trips, map routes from one place to another and learn about where they are going and what they will encounter along the way. It provides an effortless window to all parts of the globe.

How can those same capabilities be given to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers?

It hasn’t been possible — until now. The Information Technology Laboratory at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg, MS, and Program Director Transportation Information Systems (PD TIS) and Program Manager Joint-Automatic Identification Technology (PM-JAIT), have collaborated to combine Google Earth Technology and the Non-Classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet) Global Services (NGS) project. It solves the two main problems that have precluded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from using Google’s state-of-the-art technology — security and customization.

NIPRNet Globe Services is the result of three years of research and development in building and deploying a fully operational decision-support system based on Google Earth Enterprise technology. Through NGS, the Corps of Engineers can now quickly access customized globes containing detailed information of specific geographical areas following a natural or man-made disaster required for decision support, including satellite imagery, maps, terrain and made-to-order data fields. With customizable layers, the Corps can quickly access as much or as little information as needed for emergency planning and management. And, importantly, the data is secure. No commercial servers have to be accessed because NGS has custom-written geocodes and auto-update servers that run on NIPR behind the .mil firewall.


Because of its ground-breaking technology, NGS been named as one of 10 award winners for 2010 Outstanding Information Technology Achievement in Government by the Government Computer News. Team members of NGS were formally honored at the GCN Awards Gala on Oct. 27 at the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner in McLean, VA. If you want to know more about NGS, please contact NGS applications manager Robert Walker at robert.s.walker@usace.army.mil.

Posted by Natasha Wyatt, Product Marketing Manager, Google Earth and Maps Enterprise

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