The RAC will serve as a regional distributor of NASA-licensed data and
software. Of particular interest is building a remote-sensing data system
to streamline the process from data receiving to data consuming. Data
will be received at the RAC directly through the installed satellite dish,
fused with other data, and stored in the underlying database. General tools
will be developed to facilitate publishing the data to the eligible public
and searching for the data of customized need. To avoid duplicate investment,
in-house developed software provided by NASA will be used whenever applicable.
Through this process, NASA's technologies will be tested and validated on
a mass-production level and practical basis.
FIU's location, in south Florida, is important as a center for hurricane
data. Weather forecasting is enhanced using satellite data. Storms and
hurricanes can be predicated more reliably and the data made available to
interested affiliates. Florida has several parks that are under
restoration and are environmentally sensitive. The use of spatial data
is important in the study of environmental monitoring. FIU is currently
working with Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park on several
research projects.
The RAC will render a wealth of information to a wide audience, previously inaccessible and/or difficult to
retrieve. The combination of NASA and local data in the RAC establishes
a unique repository of information directly benefiting a broad audience
consisting of the local community at large, schools,
educators, researchers, industry, and environmental groups.
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