TNT MIPS
The Map and Image Processing System
TNTmips is MicroImages' flagship product for geospatial analysis. TNTmips is used in more than 150 nations around the world for geographic information analysis (GIS), advanced image processing, CAD, desktop cartography, electronic atlas preparation, and other spatial database management and visualization applications. TNTmips offers a level of data and process integration that is unmatched in any other professional system. TNTmips has a long release history and is the most technically advanced and easy to use professional system on the market.
TNT MIPS and LiDAR
Terranean Mapping Technologies is collaborating with MicroImages to enhance TNTmips’ LiDAR capabilities. At present, TNTmips does not have the functionality of a professional LiDAR software package, but the generic geospatial capabilities in TNTmips provide an extremely powerful environment for analysing and adding value to LiDAR compared to specialised software.
TNTmips interactive LiDAR classification
The approach taken by MicroImages in the first instance was to implement the LAS file structure and provide access to this via SML. A profile tool has been added to the standard view windows for viewing LiDAR point clouds in profile as an aid to interpreting and classifying LiDAR point clouds. It is now possible to build powerful LiDAR processing and analysis tools using SML scripting and utilise LiDAR as another, information rich, form of geospatial data. Terranean has developed SML tools for generating surfaces, filtering out non-ground data to produce DEMs and classifying LiDAR into ground and non-ground points. We have also developed tools for analysing vegetation, exacting powerlines etc.
Terranean is pleased to share these scripts to encourage other TNTusers to utilise the new LiDAR capabilities. We have also created a pdf document (1.4mb) to illustrate some of the exiting possibilities of analysing LiDAR in TNTmips. The scripts are a work in progress but should provide a useful starting point for anyone who is interested in exploring this new type of geospatial data.
Terranean is also pleased to provide a sample LiDAR dataset (110Mb) of a forest plantation. The sample data includes an SML script for generating 1) DEM, 2) Canopy Surface and 3) Foliage Density in Arc ASCII format from a set of LAS tiles. The script not only illustrates the use of TNTmips for LiDAR analysis but also the power of SML scripting to automate workflows by stringing a complex sequence of tasks into a single operation. The workflows may include non-native input and output formats - Arc ASCII and AutoCAD dwg in this example.
High performance – Simple, Low Pricing
Technical and scientific applications require precise treatment of numeric source data. When you need to apply advanced concepts for specialized remote sensing and GIS work, the TNT products are your best choice. For example, if you not only know what "64-bit floating point" data is, but also know that you need it for your work, then you will be pleased to know that the TNT products have been designed for the most rigorous and demanding projects.
Low Cost, High Performance
TNTmips systems are priced at one low cost for computer platforms from PCs to workstations. You do not have to worry whether or not you qualify for some special discount category or spend time negotiating a complex deal. You pay the lowest cost in the professional market for the best commercial product. It is that simple.
TNTmips is ready for You
Try TNTmips yourself for a hands-on experience with the most technically advanced and easy-to-use professional system available. When you compare TNTmips to other systems, you will see that you would need several different high-priced products to match the features in TNTmips. Consider too, that any aggregation of other products would begin to duplicate the features of TNTmips only after you struggle through complex issues of integration, separate options, interfaces, learning curves, equipment requirements, support procedures, update schedules, and associated costs.
System Characteristics
Any Computer Platform
TNTmips will probably run on your computer no matter what kind of computer you have. The software engineers at MicroImages have crafted a single sophisticated system in one set of source code that is compiled without modification for each platform. The competitive computer market and its advancing hardware technology mean you can have robust computing power, even on a laptop, at a low price. TNT Project Files require no conversion or translation to be used on different platforms, so even if you have a network of different types of computers, you can easily access your project materials from any machine. Thus you could use a less expensive computer with TNTmips to run a color scanner or X-Y digitizer, and move to a faster computer for computationally intense processes.
Virtual Desktop Graphics and Overlay
TNTmips displays objects of any size in every process that displays project materials. Any combination of raster, vector, and CAD objects can be layered for display. For these complex displays, a selection of simple controls scroll your view in any direction. Of course, you can zoom out so that the largest objects in the composite display automatically fit within the display window, or you can zoom in for close inspection. A unique raster pyramiding technology provides fast redisplays of large raster objects at any zoom level. For example, a 6000 x 6000 SPOT satellite image can be displayed at Full View in about 3 seconds - the display process does not bog down with time-consuming resampling operations.
You can easily import materials into Project Files, and export Project File objects to external data formats. TNTmips supports more import and export formats than any other professional system on the market. Just a sampling of the raster, vector, CAD, and database formats include: TARGA, TIFF, PCX, SPOT, LANDSAT, ARC/Info, DXF, MOSS, DLG, DGN, DEM, GRASS, TIGER, GSMAP, ERDAS, ERmapper, Mapinfo, MacPaint, IDIMS/IDIPS, TERRA-MAR, EPPL-7, PCIPS, TYDAC, DTM, GIF, VPF, EOSAT, CCRS, CAT scans, MRI scans, World Data Bank II, Digital Chart of the World, dBaseIII, dBase IV, R:Base, Info, ASCII, and user-defined formats.