Tuesday, Apr 20, 2004
Events in Iraq have taken a new turn and on the television screen the broadcaster is putting viewers in the picture with an animated map. It shows the spinning globe, then the Middle East before zooming in to focus on Iraq and then closes in on, say, Fallujah or Baghdad, before zooming in again, even closer, to a single city block. Further maps show in two and three dimensions the terrain of the local area, while text and video clips add more information.
Such fast animation and detail are possible thanks to London-based Curious Software Company, whose World Maps software is used by broadcasters and government agencies to create map-based animation. The screen can unfold the story of how forest fires are spreading across a region, or close in on the scene of a local incident. The eye-catching animations are presented in the broadcasterÆs house style, and in a fraction of the time previously possible. The company, set up in 1999, has won a QueenÆs Award for Innovation.
Curious SoftwareÆs founders were working in computer graphics and broadcasting when they identified a new application for existing technology. Curious World Maps "applies ideas from other industries, such as mapping-software for oil and logistics," explains Justin Wise, a co-founder and director. "They use the mapping-software to analyse information but do not present pictures to form a narrative."
Users do not have to be highly-trained graphics experts.
Queen's awards for enterprise 2004
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Turnover this year is expected to be around GBP2m and the company has spent heavily on product development in the past year. It is about to launch gFx, which can be integrated with World Maps or used in the movie industry for post-production special effects. The wires of a flying figure could be edited out, or a speed boat removed from a period drama.
Mr Wise says: "High-resolution satellite pictures are now available and being incorporated in animations. We are making the features faster and easier with a wider range of data."
Constant innovation will keep the company ahead of the competitors that are starting to appear. Curious Software has eight employees and a wholly-owned subsidiary in the US to facilitate sales. Customers include the BBC, CNN and a number of North American broadcasters, and National Geographic Channel-US. Customisation is vital: "The BBC wants to look like the BBC û and CNN wants to look like CNN," says Mr Wise.
The software can also be used for weather and holiday programmes. Swiss broadcaster TSR has used it to create map graphics for its weather forecasts.
"The Curious Software brand is now well-known among many broadcasters," says Mr Wise. "World Maps is a workhorse û now we will be able to introduce more challenging products to broadcasters."
Harriet Arnold
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