Satellite imaging centre gets $2.7M funding

Lethbridge, AB – The Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Centre (ATIC) at the University of Lethbridge is receiving $2.7 million in funding from the federal government.

The funding, to be allocated in two stages, will allow the centre to research the potential uses of satellite images and to purchase satellite imagery equipment to further development of commercial applications. The centre will research the uses of satellite images in areas such as agriculture, resource management, water resources, energy, emergency response and the environment.

One of the greatest challenges of the 21st Century is the integrated management of the earths resources in a sustainable and economically viable way, says Richard Davidson, chancellor of the University of Lethbridge. The continued success of our society will depend on developing new tools and related applications to manage this balance. ATIC will help build those tools.

The centre was jointly created as a non-profit entity by the University of Lethbridge and Iunctus Geomatics, a private firm based in Lethbridge. Iunctus is providing ATIC with an unlimited research license to an archive of approximately 500,000 images, and an additional 1,200 new images per year for research purposes.

This centre is poised to develop new applications in information technology and data management, said Ryan Johnson, president of Iunctus Geomatics. These are new tools to manage natural resources, water and the environment – tools to manage growth. All of this is possible because of the partnership between government, industry and academia.