Geographical engineering specialist Fleximage, a subsidiary of French aerospace company Aerospatiale SA, and object database company O2 Technology SA, are to launch what they claim is the first geographical Object Database Management System, O2Geo. The product, a geographical extension of the O2’s object database, was built on an object-oriented kernel and developed from Fleximage’s Geographical Query Language program. O2 says it has been designed to enable existing Geographical Information System users to develop client/server applications for geographical analysis and spatial data management. Geographical Information Systems are used to collect, store, manipulate and reconstruct multimedia geo-referenced information and have military and civilian applications in ground development supervision and support for tactical operations. The companies have identified applications for the new tool in town planning and communications enabling companies, for example, to identify the best sites to lay cables. The latest offering includes a set of modules to model and manipulate complex geo-referenced objects. The complete system is said to enable geomaticians to acquire, edit, store and manage topographic information extracted from imagery and cartography. O2Geo, available now, costs around $5,000.
