Interactive Radar Information System (IRIS™) overview

More than just a pretty picture

Sigmet has been producing weather radar data processing systems for operational and research applications since 1981 - longer than any other company. Because we have the largest installed base worldwide, we've learned that data processing for weather radar is more than just pretty pictures of radar echoes. Every time that we provide a product, the most important echoes we receive are from our customers. What makes our company different is that over the years we have really listened and put your ideas to work.

System application experts wanted our IRIS™ software to have algorithms similar to the US NEXRAD, Profiler and TDWR. Since 85% of our business is international we learned how to apply these algorithms in different parts of the world. 

System maintenance/test personnel helped us design the IRIS Utilities™ for radar installation, alignment, calibration and testing. Government agencies trust the Utilities as the primary basis for new radar acceptance testing.

System operators showed us that IRIS™ should have a logical user interface which simplifies even complex scanning requirements. We even made the scanning and data acquisition change automatically in response to changing weather.

Radar system engineers have made it very clear that our RVP8™ signal processor must offer a choice of advanced signal processing algorithms including DFT/FFT, dual polarization, dual PRF, Random or phase coded second trip echo filtering and recovery and the new GMAP™ algorithm.

Forecasters did not hesitate to tell us that they already have too many pictures to look at, especially when the weather situation "gets hot". They wanted IRIS™ to provide automatic warnings and forecasts of significant weather such as mesocyclones, microbursts, flash floods, hail or severe storms. They also wanted our forecaster's Quick Look Window™ to provide loop, cursor, cross-section, track and zoom/pan features without requiring days of user training.

We do make pretty pictures, but it's the system behind the picture that really counts.

IRIS™ for PC/Linux systems

Linux is one of the fastest growing operating systems in the world. Why? Because it is free and runs UNIX applications on low-cost PC's that rival or exceed the performance of UNIX workstations costing 10 times as much.

IRIS™ software runs on traditional HP UNIX platforms, and is now ported to PC's running Linux. In several benchmark tests conducted at Sigmet, the performance on a 450 MHz Pentium II was better than any of our in-house UNIX workstations.

Same look and feel

What does IRIS™ look like on a PC as compared to a traditional UNIX workstation? It is no different. The look and feel are identical since Linux supports X-Windows and Motif. Customers can even mix Linux systems with traditional UNIX workstations. The IRIS™ networking and communication software take care of the issue of byte-swapping so that it is transparent to the user.

Big savings with Linux systems

The availability of low-cost PC platforms for the IRIS™ software means that customers can now purchase the hardware for an IRIS™ system at a price that is much less than a traditional UNIX workstation. This will allow customers to purchase more seats for the same cost, which allows Sigmet to provide customers with larger volume discounts on IRIS™ software. This is a win-win situation for everyone.

Send email to: support@sigmet.com.