3D Database

GCS is currently leading the Systems Development Life Cycle Engineering and Integration and the operations and maintenance efforts in support of the largest repository of three-dimensional (3D) data and associated two-dimensional (2D) geospatial products for the DoD/IC communities.

This system’s capabilities include data organization, storage, processing, visualization, and dissemination to users throughout the National Systems for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) and civil support programs.

GCS has been instrumental in the research, engineering, and deployment of advanced geospatial data repositories responsible for disseminating the largest collection of elevation data to include point clouds from multiple phenomenologies and digital surface and terrain models on behalf of the NSG programs. It is the recognized Enterprise solution for Elevation data storage and dissemination supporting the NSG.

Research and Development (R&D) Technology Assessments

GCS performs objective, quantitative evaluations of current and emerging geospatial technologies, tools, data, and products across government, academia, and industry in support of our customers. GCS has provided regular assessments of technology and the potential impacts on our customers, the NSG, and the broader DoD/IC communities.

GCS Performs Evaluations that Consider the Following Key Criteria:

• Technology– Assess hardware, software, data, and products for functionality, relevance, and sustainability
• Cost–The initial investment in the technology as well as the operations and sustainment cost and value relative to other options
• Scalability– The customer must have confidence that the technology can scale to support DoD/IC as required from small teams to the Enterprise, as appropriate
• Standards and Interoperability– Standards and Interoperability support reuse, low-risk integration, and information sharing
• Viability– Likelihood that the technology will succeed in its intended function

Technology Transitions

GCS has successfully transitioned R&D program technology into real-world operations. GCS has a successful history with various remote sensing programs, including JAUDIT, ALIRT, HALOE, TACOP, and Machete, from inception to transition into operations and maintenance.

GCS has provided technical and programmatic support ranging from requirements development, data management, and systems IV&V. GCS is a highly-regarded and valued member of the LiDAR, 3DPoint Cloud, and terrain elevation data communities within the Federal DoD/IC/Civil agencies and the GEOINT community in general.

The team leads the engineering of the evolution and advancement of the Enterprise repository and discovery mechanism for all elevation data for the community. This work has been done on behalf of the NSG and serves the Federal/DoD/IC/Civil communities. GCS has been there from the beginning and has guided the program from research to enterprise operations.

We have been instrumental in the operationalization of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) remote sensing capabilities. Our team has been responsible for key aspects of government-owned collection airborne and terrestrial LIDARs.

Systems Cloud Deployment

GCS successfully deployed one of the first GEOINT capabilities (software and content) into the AWS government cloud environment and continues to do so across multiple security domains. The GCS team persisted through nascent and immature policies to ensure thousands of operational users worldwide access to vital content during and after the migration. We understand the operational realities of defense and intelligence systems and the potential challenges of Government programs.

Along the way, we learned to address the challenges of certification and accreditation, data management in the cloud, the open data store and content IDs, and cloud optimization.