The Qt Company and ESA to develop 3D mapping and visualization software to support the Rosetta science operations

December 18, 2014 — Helsinki, Finland — The Qt Company has announced it is working with ESA (European Space Agency) to develop a 3D rendering software module that will be used in the ESA MAPPS planning and analyzing tool. The rendering algorithms that can deal with irregular bodies in addition to normal spheroid shaped planets are first needed in the survey mission currently studying comet 67P by the Rosetta spacecraft.

The ESA MAPPS planning tool is based entirely on Qt (since Qt 2.x) and it is not only used for the Rosetta science operations, but also for other previous and upcoming planetary science missions.

The goal of the Rosetta mission is to seek the origin of comets and create a portrait of the comet’s nucleus, its makeup and how that changes as it orbits the sun. A key challenge of developing mapping and visualization software to support these aims is that comets are expected to be irregular and therefore unsuitable for modeling as (flattened) spheres – the approach taken with planetary missions.

In order to render the visualization elements on the 3D model of the comet in the planning tool, a two-step approach will be put in place. First, all elements will need to be rendered on a texture map that represents the surface of the comet and takes into account its irregular shape. This texture is then provided to the MAPPS tool that then applies it to the surface of the model allowing planning and data analytics to be performed in 3D.

The Qt Company was chosen as the partner with ESA for this project as the Qt cross-platform development framework enables rapid software development and supports the GPU hardware acceleration required for complex 3D rendering software.

Work has just started on developing the software at a facility in Oulu, Finland.

About The Qt Company

The Qt Company, a subsidiary of Digia Plc. (NASDAQ OMX Helsinki exchange -DIG1V) is responsible for Qt product development, commercialization and licensing under commercial and open-source licenses. Used by over 800,000 developers worldwide, Qt is a C++ based framework of libraries and tools that enables the development of powerful, interactive and cross-platform applications and devices. Qt’s support for multiple desktop, embedded and mobile operating systems allows developers to save significant time related to application and device development by simply reusing one code. Industry leaders such as Navico, ABB, Pitney Bowes, Thales, Michelin, Magneti Marelli and Sennheiser power their products with Qt for their in-vehicle devices, industrial automation applications and mission-critical systems. The Qt Company operates in China, Finland, Germany, Norway, Russia, Sweden and USA. Code less. Create more. Deploy everywhere. To learn more visit http://qt.io.

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DISCLAIMER: The view expressed can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency.

Contacts for Editorial Enquiries:

The Qt Company
Katherine Barrios +47 95 14 64 14 katherine.barrios@theqtcompany.com

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