FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Anastasia Burton

March 6, 2002 (406) 444-5357

Award-winning GIS software subject of NRIS presentation

(HELENA)---Stuart Blundell, COO of Missoula-based Visual Learning Systems Inc., is scheduled to be the presenter at the next NRIS Seminar on Friday, March 22. The presentation is scheduled for 3:00 pm at the Montana State Library Conference Room at 1515 East 6^th Avenue in Helena.

The topic of the seminar is Visual Learning Systems’ Feature Analyst™ 2.1 extension for ESRI’s ArcView® GIS 3.2 and ArcGIS™ 8 geographic information systems (GIS) software. The Feature Analyst software provides the GIS community with feature extraction technology using spatial context and spectral signature to extract user-defined objects from aerial and satellite imagery.

Geographic features, such as streets, buildings, vegetation, etc. are used in a GIS to produce maps and perform spatial analyses for planning, transportation analyses, defense, telecommunications, and many other applications. The Feature Analyst is built on advanced machine learning technology capable of extracting features at a fraction of the labor cost of hand-classifying images.

NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense have awarded Visual Learning Systems over $850,000 in research grants to support the NASA Earth Science Enterprise and DoD National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) Program goals. The Feature Analyst 2.1 software recently was awarded the Most Innovative Solution Award at the 2002 ESRI Business Partner Conference in Palm Springs, California.

The Montana Natural Resource Information System (NRIS) was established seventeen years ago by the Legislature. NRIS, a division of the State Library, acts as a clearinghouse for natural resource information.

This seminar is free of charge; no registration required. For more information, call (406) 444-5357. Interested individuals are also encouraged to visit the NRIS website at http://nris.state.mt.us.

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