Huntsville, AL September 14, 2001 IntelliWhere, a division of Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions, has announced it is partnering with Compaq Computer Corp. and Navigation Technologies to participate in the Open GIS Consortium (OGC) Open Location Services (OpenLS) Testbed initiative. The OpenLS testbed is designed to foster collaboration for creating software interface specifications that support interoperability. The defined specifications will encourage compatibility between industry-standard computing products and services such as software, handheld PCs, servers, and global information systems to fuel the growth of location-based services and mobile e-commerce in the broader marketplace.
With location-based services (LBS) being rapidly adopted in areas such as telecommunications, public safety, and transportation fleet management, these industry providers are bringing a total solutions approach to the OpenLS testbed to demonstrate the advantages of LBS for both business and consumers. Powered by the open architecture of Intergraph's GeoMedia technology, IntelliWhere offers device-independent and data-format-independent solutions. IntelliWhere's location server software will be used in the testbed implementation and in interoperability demonstrations. Compaq will provide its iPAQ Pocket PC and ProLiant servers to power the software and demonstrations provided by IntelliWhere. Navigation Technologies will provide their Navtech NAVSTREETS map and feature datasets for demonstration and non-commercial use in the testbed.
Preetha Pulusani, a member of the OGC Board of Directors and executive vice president of Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions, comments, "We're witnessing the logical convergence of technologies that will enable location-aware enterprises. Our participation with Compaq and Navigation Technologies in the OpenLS initiative reaffirms our vision that LBS and mobile e-commerce will forever change the landscape of traditional GIS. This vision cannot be achieved without community emphasis on interoperability."
