Depiction, a new “what if” software program developed in Everett, hit the market Dec. 17 after nearly three years of development, market testing and third-party evaluations, primarily in Snohomish County.
It’s extremely low priced, extremely complex and versatile, yet extremely easy to learn and use. In fact, the only “problem” anyone has found is trying to list all of the possible uses for it.
“Even after our development and testing period, we’re still finding people coming up with new ways to use it,” said Mike Geertsen of Camano Island, founding president and CEO for Depiction Inc., 3305 Oakes Ave., Ste. 100, in Everett.
“We wanted it priced at $89 so more people, including nonprofit groups, could use it even though it does as much or more than many programs costing $1,000 or much more,” he said. “We’d rather have a lot of people using it for a lot of different things. That’s why it’s also an open platform that others can build on.”
People are enthused about Depiction, he said, because it enables people to create a simulated world using satellite photos, maps, downloaded public data such as emergency shelters and public safety facilities, utility maps and other data.
“You pick what data you want in the program, kind of like you’d put together a PowerPoint presentation. Except that Depiction shows dynamic information that can be changed to reflect new or different layers of data that can create an infinite number of ‘what if’ scenarios,” Geertsen said.
One illustration of how valuable the program can be was the workout it got from Capt. Dana Libby of the Salvation Army in Snohomish County. Deployed to the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, Libby used a test version of Depiction to plan and oversee the distribution and operation of feeding sites for the homeless.
“Depiction enabled us to upload information concerning command posts, field kitchens, fixed feeding sites and points of distribution,” he said. “We could easily update and track resources as frequently as necessary, uploading Excel tables into the program. This allowed highly flexible communication of detailed information to field commands and headquarters units.”
The program runs on laptops as easily as on office computers, Geertsen said, and the variety of information the program can accept and display makes a long list.
“We’ve worked with interested groups that include emergency management teams, the Red Cross, land use planning officials, and others,” he said. “We’ve gotten great support across Snohomish County, now we’re launching the program. There are so many ways to use it, including tracking birds in their migration flyway, planning where to put new parks, looking at the effect of traffic routing or just mapping local facilities.”
Carol Dunn, an American Red Cross CDE Program Manager in Snohomish County, said she was particularly impressed with how fast and easy she could learn it.
“Within moments, I realized that I can use the software for so many purposes: vulnerability analysis, disaster assessment, scenario testing, planning and education,” she said.
It’s no wonder that Geertsen’s Depiction program is fun to use as well as being sophisticated in its capabilities. He’s spent years in the high tech industry, including 12 years with Microsoft as the business development manager for new game simulations and markets for such programs as Microsoft Flight Simulator.
“We always got requests from the Department of Defense and Homeland Security officials asking if we could develop programs for them using the great simulation software Microsoft had developed,” he said. “When I left Microsoft in 2005 I began working on ideas to create a mapping program that could simulate the real world, along with the ability to make changes to see the effect of ‘what if’ scenarios, something low cost that a lot of individuals, organizations, government agencies and others could use. But it had to be inexpensive and able to run on a variety of computers, including low-end machines without expensive 3D video cards.”
Today the company has 15 people involved, including Microsoft alumni, active duty firefighters, computer science professors from the University of Washington, a world-class team of software developers and retired U.S. Navy Capt. Kim Buike, previously commander of Naval Station Everett, then director of the Port of Everett’s marina before joining Depiction.
“Kim’s the one who represents the company to our customers,” Geertsen said. “He has so much community involvement in Everett and Snohomish County, plus his military experience and work with the Red Cross. He’s close to many customer segments who would be interested in this technology.”
Geertsen, who lived in Redmond during his Microsoft years, said he chose Everett because he wanted to launch the program in a smaller, closer knit community than Seattle and because it was a people-oriented community with very active businesses, civic organizations and government agencies.
“People can map their own neighborhoods to become more familiar with them, engineering firms can make meeting presentations with an interactive mapping program instead of a PowerPoint presentation with fixed data. It allows users to set up simulations, then present ‘what if’ changes to see how things shift. It’s very creative and fun to use.”
For more information and to download a two-week trial copy of Depiction, go to www.depiction.com. To contact Mike Geertsen, call 425-297-1950.
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