Imagery intelligence (IMINT)
An ImageServer on the analyst’s desk.
Register a COG, NITF or SICD and the in-process server exposes it as a spec-conformant ArcGIS REST ImageServer with real per-band statistics, sensor profiles, server-side raster math, RPC mensuration with CE/LE90 reporting and zero-shot object detection. ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, the web viewer and the image-space window consume the same endpoint — no conversion pipeline, no cloud upload.
exportImage · identify · computeHistograms14 spectral indices22 rendering templatesRPC forward + inverseCE90 / LE90Height from shadowYOLO-E detectObjects
At a glance
- Endpoint
/arcgis/rest/services/{id}/ImageServer— exportImage, identify, computeHistograms, getSamples, detectObjects, createComposite, createDynamic - Raster mathNDVI, NDWI, MNDWI, NDMI, NBR, NDBI, GNDVI, NDSI, RENDVI, SAVI, EVI, MSAVI, BSI + generic formula; MinMax / StdDev / PercentClip / Log-dB stretches; Kuwahara, bilateral, Sobel, Gaussian filters
- Sensor profilesSentinel-2 (13 bands), Landsat 8/9 (11 bands incl. thermal), Landsat 7, MODIS, NAIP, Sentinel-1
- MensurationVincenty length, spherical-excess area, imageToGround / groundToImage (RPC iterative), height-from-shadow, CE90 / LE90 from RPC ERR_BIAS
- DetectionYOLO-E sidecar → georeferenced FeatureSet (f=json) or annotated PNG (f=image); degrades to available:false
- FormatsGeoTIFF / COG / JP2K in the box; NITF / NSIF, CADRG / CIB / RPF with a full GDAL drop-in; SICD two-tier reader
Capabilities
What the exploitation tier does
Server-side raster functions
renderingRule dispatches spectral indices, stretches with DRA and gamma, discrete-palette classification renders and spatial filters — computed in SkiaSharp-backed C#, returned to any ArcGIS client unchanged.
- 22 templates + 5 sensor profiles via
/renderingTemplatesand applyTemplate (ArcGIS Pro parity) - TemporalFunction Difference for dNBR-style two-date change
- createComposite VRT mosaics and time series; createDynamic watches a folder
Mensuration with confidence
RPC forward and iterative inverse projection, geodesic length and area, and height-from-shadow (h = shadowLength × tan(sunEl)) from NITF sun-angle metadata — with CE90 / LE90 confidence on every measurement.
/measure·/imageToGround·/groundToImage- Falls back to an affine, nadir-only model when no RPC is present, and says so
- Image-space viewer window posts pixel clicks straight to /measure
Object detection on collects
detectObjects renders a COG window, runs the optional YOLO-E sidecar and returns a georeferenced FeatureSet; the same detections feed CoT to TAK and the tip-and-cue loop.
- GET + POST, class labels on request
- Auto-detect on arrival for the headless server (opt-in)
- Detections → CoT events broadcast to TAK peers
Tradecraft formats
GeoTIFF, COG and JPEG 2000 ship with the minimal GDAL runtime. NITF / NSIF and CADRG / CIB / RPF light up when a full GDAL build is dropped into the runtime folder. Capella / ICEYE / Umbra SICD has a two-tier reader with a pure-C# NITF + XML fallback.
- GeoPDF → COG / MBTiles / GPKG
- DTED 0/1/2, SRTM .hgt, FLT, ASC terrain
- MrSID / ECW: unsupported (proprietary SDKs) — stated, not hidden
EO ordering, STAC and tip-and-cue
Search and order commercial EO under your own Planet, Sentinel Hub, Skywatch and SkyFi credentials; browse Earth Search and Planetary Computer; publish your own collects through an in-app STAC API 1.0.0 server.
- Delivered COGs land as ImageryTileLayers
- Tip-and-cue: FMV detection → rule match → human approval → re-image request over the detection footprint
- STAC ingest dispatches COG / PMTiles / 3D Tiles / FlatGeobuf / GeoParquet / COPC
GEOINT reporting
One route turns a captured view plus annotation graphics into PowerPoint, KMZ / KML, PDF, PNG or GeoTIFF with classification banner, title block and scale bar; a Document Composer handles narrative products with DOCX import and DOCX / PDF export.
/api/annotations/render— mission-brief and INTREP layouts- Production cartography: INTREP / IPB / AGM map-sheet seeds, 1°–1′ neatline graticules, atlas orchestrator to PDF / PNG / GeoTIFF at 300 dpi
- Insert Current Map and saved reports into the composer
Analyst workflow
From collect to product
Every stage is a REST call the web viewer, ArcGIS Pro and scripts share; nothing is locked in a desktop-only dialog.
- RegisterPoint at a local or remote COG, NITF or SICD; the server builds real per-band statistics and, on the headless host, auto-indexes and STAC-registers every arrival.
- RenderPick a sensor profile and template — NDVI, NBR, false colour, dB — or write a raster-function chain; the ImageServer renders it on demand for any client.
- MeasureClick two points for geodesic distance, a shadow for height, a footprint for area; every result carries CE90 / LE90.
- Detect and cueRun YOLO-E over the window, publish detections to TAK, and let tip-and-cue file a re-image request for a human to approve.
- ReportRender the annotated view to PPTX, KMZ or GeoTIFF, or drop it into a doctrinal map sheet or a composed intelligence report.
Specifications
Routes, formats, math
ImageServer routes
- RenderexportImage · identify · computeHistograms · getSamples
- Templates
/renderingTemplates· applyTemplate ·/dlModels - Mensuration
/measure·/imageToGround·/groundToImage - Detection
/detectObjects(GET + POST) - CompositescreateComposite (VRT) · createDynamic (folder watch)
Formats
- In the boxGeoTIFF · COG · JP2K · GeoPDF · DTED · SRTM · SICD (two-tier)
- Full-GDAL drop-inNITF / NSIF · CADRG · CIB · RPF
- UnsupportedMrSID · ECW
- Remote/vsicurl and /vsis3 range reads — no full download
- ServingCOG HTTP range streaming to any ImageryTileLayer
Math & accuracy
- Sensor modelRPC when present; affine GeoTransform nadir-only fallback
- InverseIterative 2×2 Jacobian
- GeodesyVincenty length, spherical-excess area
- Shadowh = shadowLength × tan(sunEl) from NITF sun angles
- ConfidenceCE90 / LE90 from RPC ERR_BIAS propagation, else 1×GSD floor
Honest scope
What ships, what is optional, what is next
Defense buyers get burned by overclaims. This is the plain-language scope for this capability, drawn from the product’s own documentation.
- Shipped ImageServer, raster functions, mensuration, reporting — All pure C# in the engine core; runs identically on the Windows workstation and the headless Linux server.
- Optional sidecar / gated YOLO-E detection sidecar — Zero-shot detection needs the optional sidecar (GPU recommended); the API reports available:false when it is down.
- Optional sidecar / gated NITF / CADRG / CIB — Require a full GDAL build in runtimes/win-x64/gdal — capability-gated; on Linux they return a documented 503.
- Optional sidecar / gated WhiteboxTools — The 400+ terrain and hydrology tools run through a binary sidecar.
- Roadmap EO tasking (new capture) — Planet Tasking, Sentinel Hub Batch and provider webhooks are Phase 2; archive search and ordering ship today. Commercial SAR tasking clients are built but not validated against live accounts — demo with archive data.
- Roadmap MGRS graticule on map sheets — Server-side MGRS cell labels for production cartography are a later phase; lat/lon neatlines ship.
GeoTactical Insights · powered by 3D Map Explorer
See it on a disconnected machine.
A 30-minute guided demo on your own data: ingest, exploit, fuse, share to TAK and export — with the network cable out. We will also tell you exactly what is a sidecar, what is gated and what is still roadmap.
GeoTactical Insights
GEOINT and defense workflows powered by 3D Map Explorer, the air-gapped geospatial intelligence platform from Tech Maven Geospatial.