Area is considered Fertile Ground for "Remote Sensing"

Source: Businesswire (04/08/07)

Rochester, N.Y. (Business Wire) ---April 08, 2007---Somewhere in the world, as you read this, a soldier is likely to be monitoring an intrusion alarm outside a base. A camera is detecting natural gas leaking from a pipeline and a municipal official might be looking at an aerial picture to measure the size of a building for tax purposes.

Chances are, all will be using technologies developed in Rochester.

The technologies all rely on remote sensing, a field where the Rochester region is becoming a recognized leader. The region's history in optics and its strong educational institutions are driving the growth of the sector and the birth of new companies.

"The Rochester region really lends itself to imaging science and sensing," said Paul Simpson, director of government systems at PL-E Communications LLC, a local company that makes smart-surveillance software that can filter out background distractions and identify threats for improved perimeter surveillance.

According to him, today's camera sensors are not only telling someone that an alarm has been tripped, they're helping determine whether that alarm was tripped by an enemy soldier or a grazing deer.