Blue Marble's software libraries are embedded in leading industry products such as Autodesk Mapguide, Smallworld GIS and MapInfo Professional. It adjusts pictures for such factors as the curvature of the Earth and the tilt of the plane. It also recognizes patterns which can be translated into building volumes or other spatial data. The presence of these firms in Maine is no accident. Their growth has been supported by the availability of UMaine's graduates, faculty expertise and computer resources as well as the state's advanced communications infrastructure.
Some employees have feet in both the university and business.
Claire Kiedrowski has traveled the world over, from Colorado to China to Italy, installing Vision International's software and training people to use it. Meanwhile, she is pursuing a masters degree in the Institute for Quaternary Studies at UMaine. Her project uses aerial photography to analyze historic changes in a tidal marsh near Wells, Maine. The recent hiring of Peggy Agouris and Tony Stefanidis, UMaine faculty with expertise in digital photogrammetry, promises closer collaboration between the company and UMaine. In addition, Vision International has donated one of its Softplotter digital photogrammetric systems to the university for the use of Steve Shaler in the Department of Forest Management.