KLT Associates Inc Information

KLT Associates has been developing mapping and photogrammetric software since 1973. In the early days, we wrote the firmware for the Automatic Table ("AT") developed by Data Technology, Inc. These "AT" tables replaced the old mechanical pantographs that were used to trace maps. The analog stereoplotters were fitted with "encoders" that turned the stereoplotter operator's tracing motion into electrical signals. These signals were then read by a microprocessor that controlled a large flat-bed, motor-driven drafting table with a pen fitted to the end of the arm. Yes, that's how maps were made 40 years ago. The early Plotter Control Processor ("PCP") could trace contours or draw point-to-point lines with a variety of solid/dashed/dotted line styles, as well as plot symbols and text at any desired scale. Eventually, the Intelligent Plotter Controller ("IPC") could also compute splined lines between digitized data points, and it could plot proportionally spaced "Leroy" lettering following straight or curved lines. As computer technology advanced, so did our software. KLT developed the software for the MAPS200 product offered by Kern Instruments. It included computer-assisted absolute orientation adjustment for those analog stereoplotters. It could automatically plot a base grid on the AT table. And MAPS200 could record a digital data file of the paper map the operator created. For MAPS200, this was a text file that could be edited and then played back to plot a final map product. When computer graphic terminals became available, we developed our first interactive data collection & editing product called MAPS300, which was also marketed exclusively by Kern Instruments. MAPS300 became the standard mapping software offered with Kern's DSR-1 analytical stereoplotter. As demand for our software grew, we incorporated in 1982 as KLT Associates, Inc. We renamed our interactive data collection & editing product to ATLAS, and expanded our marketing partnerships to include Wild and Zeiss, as well as Kern. ATLAS was sold as ...