Wikipedia
Nearmap ltd is an international provider of high resolution aerial imagery.
Nearmap currently operates a web portal which serves up its imagery and terrain ( DEM) tiles, along with Navteq map tiles. In November 2008, Ipernica acquired Nearmap and changed its name from Ipernica to Nearmap Ltd.
A unique exclusive process of imagery capturing, processing and publishing is used. Traditionally, high resolution aerial imagery has to be captured by a low altitude flying aircraft, then the data is manually processed and stitched together digitally to create a PhotoMap, a slow process which can take months to complete. Nearmap speeds up this process by using their own engineered camera capture equipment, named a 'HyperPod', which is attached to Cessna 210 light aircraft, which fly at a high altitude, enabling entire cities to be captured in a day or two. Once the imagery is captured, it is processed through super computers which run software known as 'HyperVision' which automatically processes and stitches together the many individual photographs captured into one virtually seamless PhotoMap. These PhotoMaps are then hosted on Nearmap's end user web portal, known as 'MapBrowser'. Along with traditional top-down photography, the HyperPod is also able to capture oblique aerial photographs from 4 different angles and digital elevation model data at the same time.
The provider currently covers 2.26 per cent of Australia's landmass, with coverage primarily for capital cities and major regional towns. Special imagery may be flown for events such as natural disasters, for example, 2 cm resolution coverage of Brisbane and Ipswich during the 2010–2011 Queensland floods. Imagery is normally updated for 60% of Australia's population regularly (6+ times per year for metropolitan ares) at a average resolution and an additional 15% every three months at a resolution.
On 21 November 2008, Ipernica acquired Nearmap for A$4 million plus shares and options along with A$1 million of investment.