ESA Selects ERDAS for HMA-T Phase 2

Organisations monitoring environmental changes, accidents or disasters at various levels need access to EO data from multiple providers. Current estimates show that more than 60% of the efforts of the service providers are consumed just for the access to EO data. With HMA, ESA aims to define the interoperability standards for harmonised access to ESA, national, Eumetsat and other third parties satellite missions. HMA will enable across-missions standardised data access, including collection and service discovery, catalog search and data programming and order.

ERDAS has contributed to the HMA project since its beginning. In 2005 HMA began its first stage, defining interoperability standards, where ERDAS focused on cataloguing requirements. This led to extensions of OGC's CS-W standard. In 2007, HMA began validating the proposed standard specifications into real implementations. In 2008, HMA launched its testbed stage, continuing specification improvements and supporting the operational implementations initiated by ESA.

The appointed participants in HMA-T phase 2 recently met to launch the project on 4th July 2008 at the ESA premises in Frascati, Italy. Under the coordination of Spacebel, HMA-T phase 2 brings together European earth observation specialists, including Spot Image, IGN France, Deimos, VITO, GIM and Infoterra UK.