Montana Innovators – Visual Learning Systems, Inc.

Fast and Accurate Interpretation of Satellite Images Aids U.S. Military

Satellite imagery has transformed numerous markets, but human analysis of raw data captured by satellites located 150 to 500 miles above the earth’s surface is inherently slow and not always accurate. Those limitations can be challenging to say the least. For the U.S. military, they can be deadly.

(From the Sept. Issue of Montana SBIR News)

Given the high stakes, the Department of Defense—the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), in particular—was more than a little interested to learn about Feature Analyst, the mapping software developed by Visual Learning Systems (VLS) of Missoula. Both NIMA and the U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center have awarded VLS SBIR funding to enhance the software within the past few years. And both have purchased license agreements, as have various other intelligence agencies, to use in defense operations.

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Visual Learning Systems, Inc.

Location: Missoula

Incorporated: 1999

Owners: David Opitz, CEO, and Stuart Blundell, COO

Employees: 13

SBIR Awards: 4 Phase I Awards, 2 Phase II Awards

Web Site: http://www.vls-inc.com

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Feature Analyst’s competitive edge is its “smart technology,” meaning that it improves its rate of accuracy over time by learning from its mistakes. For instance, if it misinterprets the characteristics of a building as a hill, its proprietary learning algorithms will adapt when the user inputs the correct information, improving the software’s overall performance. Combine that adaptability with the speed of automation, and U.S. military campaigns become more effective and safer. “The military can map an area and feed it into a simulator so that the soldiers can see an accurate simulation of what they will be experiencing,” says David Opitz, CEO, VLS. “Often, they might have only a few days or even just 24 hours to prepare, so rapid construction of the mapping features is very important.”

SBIR Funds Nourish Company Growth

Fast, accurate and easy-to-use—Opitz’s and COO Stuart Blundell’s shared vision of mapping software was well articulated when they incorporated VSL in 1999. The two first tried to get their company off the ground with an SBIR Phase I proposal to NASA in 1998. They were turned down, but they tried again the next year and succeeded. When they received Phase II funding from NASA in 2001, they hired their first employee. “We wouldn’t be here without the SBIR program,” Opitz says.

Since then, VLS has received three more SBIR Phase I awards. One was subsequently denied Phase II funding, two received Phase II funding and the fourth Phase II proposal is now under consideration. Opitz views this funding as “seed” money and an opportunity to build credibility that can be leverage for additional revenue. In fact, VLS has already received more than $1 million in other funding from federal agencies.

Over time, the company will continue to look to the SBIR program for research and development opportunities. “We plan to continually enhance our product line,” explains Opitz. “For instance, we’re looking at surveillance imagery to detect smoke and fire, which would be a much quicker method than the traditional smoke detector. That’s the type of spin-off project that might fit with SBIR funding.”

Clear Market Identification the First Step to Growth

In addition to the DoD, VLS identified forestry; state and local governments; and education as its primary vertical markets. The opportunities are vast. In the forests, the software can be used to map fuel loads, diseased trees, particular species, land cover classifications, trails and more. Local governments can use the software to meet federally mandated inventory regulations that required them to document everything they own, from trees to stop signs to sidewalks. And within the education market, nearly 75 universities have already purchase licenses for use in the classroom and with research. Other VLS customers range from Ducks Unlimited, which uses Feature Analyst to map wildlife habitat, to the U.S. Border Patrol, which uses it to map trails.

The company’s markets offer three different revenue streams: research contracts, software sales and direct services. VLS is already very much a research and development company earning numerous contracts including those from SBIR. Opitz speculates that software sales, support and training will ultimately be the company’s largest revenue source, but he also sees great potential in using the software in-house to provide customers with fast and accurate image interpretations. “It might be that in the particular niche we are in right now, the service market is larger than the software sales market, and that’s where the growth of our company will be. With our software, we can be very competitive when it comes to bidding out projects,” he says.

Target Markets

Defense industry

Education

Federal, state and local governments

Forestry

Natural Resources

http://sbir.state.mt.us/BRD_SBIR_News1.0.asp