U.S. Army to use Vizseek technology to locate critical data in engineering drawings

This image is a blueprint photo from a 1968 commercial aircraft. (Image provided)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The VizSeek search technology from a Purdue University-affiliated company will play a significant role in helping the Department of Defense manage its digital assets to protect the United States.

Imaginestics LLC, a software company headquartered in the Purdue Research Park West Lafayette, has received a one-year contract from the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, to make its engineering data instantly accessible for part identification, maintenance and repairs. The precise value of the six-figure contract was not disclosed.

The Army base currently has tens of thousands of paper blueprints for legacy parts, created before the era of digital design. Working in partnership with the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), the Redstone Arsenal is now scanning these physical documents, saving them as PDF files.

The data management team subsequently will engage the VizSeek visual search engine from Imaginestics. VizSeek will scan each PDF and extract data from the engineering drawing, creating a database that can be searched by text, attribute, geometry or a combination of these. Army personnel can then instantly locate the data by searching the database.

“We are very pleased to be working on this project,” said Jamie Tan, CEO of Imaginestics. “When there is a critical need to identify a replacement part, this can now be done in seconds instead of hours. The benefit to military personnel at the base and in the field is very significant.”

About Imaginestics LLC

Imaginestics is the creator of VizSeek, a visual search solution that is shaping the way the world searches. Imaginestics is a privately held company headquartered in West Lafayette, Indiana, with clients worldwide. More information on Imaginestics and its products is available at vizseek.com.

About Purdue Research Foundation

The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in 1930, the foundation accepts gifts; administers trusts; funds scholarships and grants; acquires property; protects Purdue's intellectual property; and promotes entrepreneurial activities on behalf of Purdue. The foundation manages the Purdue Foundry, Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue Research Park, Purdue Technology Centers and University Development Office. In 2020, the IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creation and in the top 20 for patents. The foundation received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.

Writer: Chris Adam, cladam@prf.org
Imaginestics contact: Matt Judge, matt.judge@vizseek.com