Saab aerospace 3D-mapping technology coming to iPad

Swedish-based C3 Technologies elicited quite a reaction at CES when it showed off its stunning 3D-mapping technology. Originally developed for military markets, the recently declassified missile targeting technology was developed by Swedish aerospace powerhouse Saab AB.

At CES the C3 Technologies 3D mapping tech was shown on an iPad running around the city of San Francisco. The company was showing a new SDK (software developer kit) which comes with both San Francisco and London 3D city maps. Maps for other cities are available from C3 and this group is expanding. C3 also has a companion product similar to Google’s Street View.

01 - Swedish-based C3 Technologies' new 3D mapping application was developed by Saab Aerospace for military markets and the new recently declassified missile targeting tech has found its way into the iPad.

C3 Technologies’ advanced 3D mapping technologies is ultra precise. C3 has three product lines: Realistic 3D City Models, 3D Streets and Interior. C3’s technology takes high-resolution panoramic images where each pixel is calculated in 3D. This enables the user to double-click and jump to that spot in the image.

C3 Technologies offers developers API technologies to integrate their products into unique offerings. Flash, Java and ActiveX are all capable API for the viewer. The C3 SDK provides all of the essential tools for building and deploying desktop and mobile 3D map-based applications for Android, iPhone and iPad, and a JavaScript API for web development including plug-ins for Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Explorer browsers.

The Realistic 3D City Models product is an actual 3D rendered model and is processed 100 percent from images only. There is a particular strength on realistic detail, color and geometric quality. The City models feature real time 3D streaming capabilities with exceptional 3D performance, as can be witnessed in the iPad demo movie linked here.

C3 Technologies would make an interest acquisition for Apple if they ever wanted to compete directly with Google’s mapping and Google Earth technologies. In 2007 C3 was spun out of Saab AB and has become venture backed basing its key strengths on previously classified image processing technology. To learn more about C3 Technologies click here.