Matra Cap’s Eagle takes off
The Eagle Vision system for receiving and interpreting SPOT satellite image data, which the US Air Force has contracted Matra CAP Systemes SA to develop (CI No 2,202), is a mobile version of a similar system that was used during the Gulf War. The idea was to get a mobile system that would be able to provide broad area, multispectral imagery pictures in a shorter time, said Matra Cap. The main difference is that we’ve put it into a portable shelter, says Philippe Gerard, Eagle Vision project software manager, Matra Cap Systemes. The only other difference is that the portable version of uses a miniature 11.8 antenna compared with the original 40 version. In the Gulf War, the US Army had to buy images from SPOT Image, the organisation that controls the SPOT 1 to 3 civil satellites, and the Americans wanted to be able to [get photos from SPOT] by themselves.
More powerful than Landsat
They already have a means of getting images from Landsat, but SPOT is a little more powerful than Landsat, particularly for images, he said. Operation of SPOT satellites is overseen by the CNES National Centre of Space Studies and Matra, which owns them. The image receiving station is in Toulouse. The antenna is linked by cable to a 64 square foot container, which is like a camping car, Gerard said. The shelter contains several computing stations, including two Compaqs, a MicroVAX 3400 and Macintosh IIFX. To get the desired images, the satellite has first to be programmed, so the MicroVAX sends the request to the CNES command station via an X25 network. CNES transmits the request to the satellite. Once it arrives above the Eagle Vision location, the Compaq directs the antenna toward the satellite’s co-ordinates and the image signals are transmitted. The image signals are downloaded at 50MHz to a special magnetic video recorder, at which point they can also be viewed in a moving widow display of a 19 monitor attached to the other Compaq. An Inmos Transputer network then processes the images, restoring missing pixels and correcting forms. The MicroVAX acts as a server for that 2Gb database; Gerard says the VAX handles only medium performance functions, not the high-performance ones. Matra Cap used the MicroVAX for the $5m Air Force contract, he said, because the Americans wanted technology that was already widely used. For the SPOT-4 satellite, however, the company is already using Digital Equipment Corp’s Alpha. SPOT-4 goes up next month to replace SPOT 1. Once the images have been touched up, the Mac, with a 19 monitor and 300Mb disk enables you to consult the image on a big screen and verify that the image on the tape is good, he said. The images can then be printed out on a Seiko colour copier. Most recently, Matra Cap has built other Eagle Vision systems for Bangkok, Korea and Pakistan.
Matra-Northern Telecom PABX tie keeps France happy
The positioning outlined by Northern Telecom Ltd and Matra Communication SA for their joint venture in PABX marketing appears to have been accepted by French telecommunications managers despite a significant overlap in their switching portfolios. The users also believe the joint venture has boosted Northern’s presence in the French market with a wider distribution network, while giving Matra easier access to international markets. Under the deal, Matra absorbed the PABX marketing activity of NT Meridian France, selling the MC6500 and Meridian, while Northern Telecom sells them both in North America. At a progress report on the joint venture in February, the pair acknowledged that the two product lines – the Matracom 6500 and Meridian – remain competitors. Matra added, however, that in some areas, such as automatic call distribution or international switching, it would recommend Meridian because it is the world leader. Telecommunications industry analyst Terry Wright of Dataquest Europe Ltd, Denham, UK says the distinction is not so clear-cut. Although Northern has ACD and voice mail applications experience, if you do a head-on comparison of the switching
portfolios, Matra and Northern compete head-on. The Matracom 6500 corresponds to the Meridian 1, while the Matra 4500 hybrid switch is a replica of Northern’s Northstar, he said. Matra has the same switches ranging from small to large, although the Matracom 6500 has a distributed architecture that Northern doesn’t have, because the 6500 came out of a local network device, while Northern’s originated in voice technology, he added. Seemingly oblivious of any duplication, French telecommunications managers assume Northern to be more adapted for automatic call distribution or international switching projects and Matra to be suited for local and national switching and mobile communications (for which it also has a joint venture with Northern). Said one banking user who has an installed PABX base of Matra for the Paris region and of Northern for international networks, The product lines remain the same, but complement each other in that Matra is strong in telephone terminals and mobile communications, NT is strong in PABX connections to the public network, ACD and voice mail applications. Another user in the information technology services sector said, I believe Northern has brought to Matra a lot in terms of private networks expertise. Northern can construct networks with absolutely any PABX. We wouldn’t buy from Northern Telecom for internal use, because we need only a small switch, said the service supplier, which is considering Matra for the low-capacity switch. Jacques Payer, Matra chief executive, said the companies are neutral about the user’s choice, since both benefit from the sale of either line. The two forecast that combined global sales of products and services for private corporate networks should grow 20% in 1993 to $300m as a result of the alliance. At any rate, says Dataquest’s Wright, there should be no big migration from Matracom 6500 PABX products to Northern’s Meridian 1, since the Matracom 6500 is a fairly new product, which has increased Matra’s market share year-on-year. Wright notes that Alcatel now has the same argument, of confusion in the product line, to make with customers against Matra-Northern Telecom that Matra used for a long time against Alcatel, when it was in the process of changing over from its Telic to Opus switch line, he said. Whatever the ultimate result, the alliance itself has given Northern more credibility in France. Before the venture, Matra held 19% of the total French switching market, the Canadian had less than 2.5%.
Distribution is key
Says Wright, In France, distribution is key. Channels are usually tied to manufacturers, so unless you’re going to throw lots of money into distribution, your only option is to buy it. AT&T bought Barphone for the same reasons. The banking customer saw big benefits for Matra. The strength and span of Northern Telecom gives the user more of a guarantee than Matra could, since it’s a small company from an international point of view. It’s a psychological comfort; before, we did ask ourselves if Matra would be around at the end of the century, he admitted.
