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Vancouver, British Columbia – April 18, 2007 – GEOSYS Technology Solutions Ltd., a Vancouver based company working on a groundbreaking project to develop intelligent systems that will improve national security and safety has received funding to accelerate their work in disaster and emergency management. The project is funded by Ottawa-based Precarn Incorporated – a not-for-profit company representing a national network of corporations, universities, colleges, research institutes and government partners engaged in the development of intelligent information and communications technology (iICT).

GEOSYS Technology Solutions is collaborating with Vancouver-based Universal Wing Geophysics, and Victoria-based BC Provincial Emergency Program and BC Base Mapping and Geomatic Services. Other project partners are York University Geospatial Technology and Hazard Mitigation Group, and University of Calgary Positioning and Mobile Information Systems Group.

“The funding for this project was awarded as part of the Precarn Small Company Program,” said Paul Johnston, President and CEO of Precarn Incorporated. “This project represents a major breakthrough in the development of iICT technologies (technologies that perform human functions such as perceiving, reasoning and action) for Canada on an international scale”.

The project, UAV borne Geo-Intelligent Collaborative Decision Support System for Real-Time Disaster and Emergency Management (GIDE), includes the development of a system that provides timely, critical information to disaster management professionals. Expected to radically advance Canadian emergency response capabilities and help save lives, the system combines machine vision and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)  technologies, to capture and process imagery from a disaster area in real-time. Using telecommunications and Internet technologies, it then instantaneously transmits the data to disaster management agencies, whose experts can then collaborate to provide the most effective joint emergency response.

“Emergency management agencies and decision makers need up-to-the-minute information to develop optimal responses in the form of warnings, evacuations, rescue or damage control,” said Babak Ameri, President of GEOSYS Technology Solutions. “Despite modern technological improvements, up until now, the biggest impediment to delivering effective disaster management solutions has been the inability to provide the right people with the right information at the right time.”

“Safety and security issues are top of mind among Canadians and we’re confident that this extra financial support will translate into increased commercialization of leading-edge technologies that will benefit the Canadian public, and establish Canada as a world-leader in the industry,” said Precarn’s Johnston. “We’re particularly pleased to award the funding to a Canadian firm for whom these resources will go a long way in helping them to bring their products to market faster, both in Canada and internationally.”

About GEOSYS Technology Solutions Ltd.
GEOSYS Technology Solutions Ltd. is a “next-generation” remote sensing company in the business of delivering geospatial information products, value-added services and systems. It provides large volume, fast-turn-around data processing capacity to the remote sensing industry. The company specializes in digital processing of acquired images using air/space-borne platforms. GEOSYS provides a complete range of Geomatics services for clients around the world. From end-to-end map products generation to project management and modular services that allow clients the flexibility of selecting specific tasks. Data for a wide variety of applications will be delivered in a timely, and accurate fashion.

About Precarn
Precarn is an independent not-for-profit company that supports the pre-commercial development of leading-edge technologies. Precarn works with Canadian companies who are seeking to commercialize their new ideas to get an edge in global markets. Unlike other research funding programs, Precarn uses a collaborative model that includes a developer, a customer and an academic research partner in every project. This collaboration accelerates development, reduces risk and shares the cost of the R&D. Precarn provides access to an extensive national network of world-class researchers, innovative companies and sources of funding. Precarn receives support from Industry Canada, other federal departments and provincial government agencies, as well as private sources.

For further information, please contact:
Babak Ameri
GEOSYS Technology Solutions Ltd.
Tel: (604) 687-8885

Email: bameri@geosys.ca
www.geosys.ca

Gail Bergman
Precarn Incorporated
Tel: (905) 886-1340
Email: gbergman@gailbergmanpr.com
www.precarn.ca/news/newsNvPUwiDHTn.html