Hot tech startup: Earthmine

Founded: 2006

Tech breakthrough: By using eight cameras that are calibrated in pairs, and processing the images with an algorithm developed by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Earthmine produces a dataset with many times the information contained in images produced by competitors.

Business problem addressed: How to create street-level, photographic maps containing information that is rich enough to accurately convey the actual spatial relationships between objects on the image.

What the technology does: Earthmine builds photographic images of urban environments. But these aren't ordinary images. Because they contain so much data, the images can be used to accurately locate any point in the image in relation to any other point in the image.

A microwave network provider, for example, used Earthmine to determine exact lines of sight between towers. "Every square inch of the city is designed, built, maintained, and destroyed every 50 years on average. And for every step of this process, people need information to help guide them when making expensive decisions -- such as why should I build a residential unit here, or turn this hotel into a parking lot there," says Anthony Fassero, founder and co-CEO of the startup.

How the technology works: Like Google Earth, Earthmine mounts cameras on cars and takes pictures of every street and alley in an urban environment. But the Earthmine cars sport eight cameras, synched in pairs, to Google's one, snapping pictures every 10 meters. Earthmine collects a base layer of 3D panoramic images and builds libraries of the area. Behind each pixel is data that precisely describes latitude, longitude, and elevation. Because the dataset contains information in three dimensions, everything within an image can be accurately located, measured, or modeled using points, lines, or polygons. This data mine can be accessed by users through a Web-based interface that lets them identify, view, and extract geospatial data. The data can be integrated into other applications, such as a GIS (geospatial information system) program, or combined with objects such as an architectural drawing or a map of pipelines in a refinery.

Forward Spin: Earthmine hasn't mapped much of the world yet, but it hopes to venture further from home. The more cars it uses, the faster the images are captured and processed. One car can map about 90 miles of streets in one day. The company expects to license data and share APIs with customers who will then write their own applications.