Blue Marble Geographics is a developer and provider of

geographic information system A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

products focused on data translation. They provide software products and services for working with GIS data in different formats. Blue Marble is a member of the

Open Geospatial Consortium The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), an international voluntary consensus standards organization for geospatial content and location-based services, sensor web and Internet of Things, GIS data processing and data sharing. It originated in 199 ...

Products

Geographic Calculator

Blue Marble's first software product, the Geographic Calculator, was developed in 1992 and released in 1993. The Geographic Calculator is a

coordinate In geometry, a coordinate system is a system that uses one or more numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely determine the position of the points or other geometric elements on a manifold such as Euclidean space. The order of the coordinates is sign ...

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

with a

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...

of coordinate mathematical objects including

projection Projection, projections or projective may refer to: Physics * Projection (physics), the action/process of light, heat, or sound reflecting from a surface to another in a different direction * The display of images by a projector Optics, graphic ...

s, coordinate systems, datums, ellipsoids, linear and angular units. The tool is primarily used to translate map coordinates from one system to another. In 2004, the underlying GeoCalc library was re-written and in 2007 a new version was released as the Blue Marble Desktop. 2013 saw a rebranding of the Blue Marble Desktop back to the Geographic Calculator. Blue Marble incorporated all of the functionality of the Blue Marble Desktop including the Geographic Transformer, Translator and Spatial Connect products into the new Geographic Calculator. This did away with the confusing versioning and introduced an easier-to-follow annual naming convention with one or two service pack updates between releases.

Global Mapper

Global Mapper Global Mapper is a geographic information system (GIS) software package currently developed by Blue Marble Geographics that runs on Microsoft Windows. The GIS software competes with ESRI, GeoMedia, Manifold System, and MapInfo GIS products. Globa ...

is a geographic information system software package currently developed by Blue Marble Geographics that runs on Microsoft Windows. Global Mapper handles both vector, raster, and elevation data, and provides viewing, conversion, and other general GIS features. In 1995 the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

was in need of a Windows viewer for their data products, so they developed the dlgv32 application for viewing their DLG (

Digital Line Graph A Digital Line Graph (DLG) is a cartographic map feature represented in digital vector form that is distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). DLGs are collected from USGS maps and are distributed in large, intermediate and small scale w ...

) vector data products. Between 1995 and 1998 the dlgv32 application was expanded to include support for viewing other

data products, including DRG (topographic maps) and DEM (

digital elevation model A digital elevation model (DEM) or digital surface model (DSM) is a 3D computer graphics representation of elevation data to represent terrain or overlaying objects, commonly of a planet, moon, or asteroid. A "global DEM" refers to a discrete gl ...

) and

SDTS Spatial Data Transfer Standard, or SDTS, is a standard used to describe earth-referenced spatial data. It was designed to easily transfer and use spatial data on different computer platforms. The FGDC has proposed to withdraw the standard. The ...

-DLG and

-DEM data products. The development process is described in detail in the

paper titled 'A Programming Exercise'. In 1998 the

released the source code for dlgv32 v3.7 to the public domain. In 2001, the source code for dlgv32 was further developed by a private individual into the commercial product dlgv32 Pro v4.0 and offered for sale via the internet. Later that same year the product was renamed to Global Mapper and become a commercial product of the company Global Mapper Software LLC. The

was distributing a version of the software under the name dlgv32 Pro (Global Mapper). Blue Marble acquired Global Mapper, LLC at the end of 2011. Mike Childs, the original developer of Global Mapper, continues to work for Blue Marble as a lead developer. In 2013, Blue Marble released a major version update to Global Mapper that also introduced the new Global Mapper LiDAR Module. The Global Mapper LiDAR Module offers optional enhancement to base Global Mapper application and provides numerous advanced

LiDAR Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

processing tools (e.g., automatic

point cloud Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Poin ...

classification, automatic extraction of buildings, trees, and powerlines, cross-sectional viewing and point editing, custom digitizing or extraction of 3D line and area features, etc.).

Company history

Blue Marble Geographics was established in 1993 and was originally located in

Gardiner, Maine Gardiner is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,961 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Popular with tourists, Gardiner is noted for its culture and old architecture. Gardiner ...

. The company founder, Jeffrey Bennett Cole, retired in 2003 and Patrick Cunningham took over as President, adding employees and re-focusing the product offering over the next few years. In 2008, they received the Governor’s Award for technology company of the year at the TechMaine technology awards showcase. Blue Marble is one of a handful of geospatial or GIS software companies to come out of Maine in the nineties. The company's founder studied at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

and like other well known GIS companies from Maine, its roots are tied to the surveying and forestry programs of the University of Maine. After years of growing, the company has moved its home office to

Hallowell, Maine Hallowell is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,570 at the 2020 census. Popular with tourists, Hallowell is noted for its culture and old architecture. Hallowell is included in the Augusta, Maine, micropolita ...

References

External links