September 5, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PEGASUS TECHNOLOGIES SELECTS PV-WAVE AS DATA VISUALIZATION ENGINE FOR NeuSIGHT OS

BOULDER, Colo. -- Visual Numerics, Inc., a developer of data visualization, numerical analysis and enterprise software solutions, today announced that Pegasus Technologies, Inc., has selected PV-WAVE as the data visualization engine of its combustion optimization system for the electric power generation industry.

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Based in Mentor, Ohio, Pegasus Technologies, Inc. is a 30-person subsidiary of KFx Inc. (Amex:KFX). Pegasus has developed a product called the NeuSIGHT Optimization Suite (OS). NeuSIGHT OS helps electric power generation companies improve boiler efficiency and operational performance, thereby improving safety and widening profit margins. First released in December 2000, NeuSIGHT OS is the first online, real-time, closed-loop process optimization solution. By employing proven neural network technology for optimization and self-tuning, NeuSIGHT OS continuously adjusts boiler operation to simultaneously provide improved efficiency and environmental performance. The product monitors and measures up to 1,500 input variables, models current operations, and then makes the adjustments necessary to achieve an ideal balance between efficiency and performance.

NeuSIGHT OS is installed as a complete solution, with hardware and software included for seamless integration with each customer’s specific control system and legacy information technology environment.

Of key importance to NeuSIGHT OS users is the ability to apply advanced data visualization and analysis techniques to the input data, allowing them to verify models and present clear interrelationships of current operating conditions. According to Ken Zakrajsek, a systems administrator at Pegasus, users want to explore potential solutions in a visual display to accurately and easily assess relationships between variables.

As such, Pegasus developed a sub-product called NeuWAVE. Using PV-WAVE as its data visualization engine, NeuWAVE is a point-and-click environment for visualizing actual plant data in several different modes, including 3D, 4D, and time-series and correlation plots. NeuWAVE is included with the NeuSIGHT Optimization Suite software. Although NeuWAVE has several pre-existing display formats, the flexible PV-WAVE engine allows for the customization of additional displays, depending on individual site requirements.

According to Dave Klender, a software engineer at Pegasus, PV-WAVE was chosen as NeuWAVE’s data visualization engine for three primary reasons. "First, PV-WAVE has very clear, detailed and multiple plotting options, which was a requirement for any visualization technology that we considered as the embedded engine of NeuWAVE," he said. "Second, PV WAVE’s ability to handle large amounts of data is especially important, considering the huge datasets associated with typical boiler operations. And lastly, PV-WAVE’s function library allowed us to easily customize it to our exact specifications."

PV-WAVE is an open environment for developing and deploying Visual Data Analysis (VDA) applications that help customers turn raw data into meaningful information. These VDA applications let users visualize and manipulate complex or extremely large data sets to detect and display patterns, trends, anomalies, and other vital information.

PV-WAVE includes hundreds of mathematical and statistical analysis routines from Visual Numerics’ IMSL Numerical Libraries, as well as image processing, signal processing, mapping, and general data manipulation features. Engineers, scientists, business analysts, and software developers access this robust and extensive set of functions through an array-oriented programming language. PV-WAVE also includes advanced graphical user interface development tools that facilitate the construction of intuitive front-ends, making the product’s functionality easily accessible to others in an organization.

Prior to PV-WAVE, then-available computer-based charting software was being used, but it became too limiting as NeuSIGHT OS evolved in sophistication and complexity. “PV-WAVE is powerful and flexible, just like our NeuSIGHT Optimization Suite. It was important to find a product that could grow with us,” Zakrajsek said.

Availability & Pricing

PV-WAVE is available for many popular operating systems: Windows 98, Windows 2000/NT, Unix (Sun, HP, SGI, Compaq & IBM), and Linux.

Windows and Linux pricing starts at $1,795*.

Unix pricing starts at $3,995*.

About Visual Numerics

Privately held Visual Numerics has provided technical software solutions for more than 30 years. The company’s software products help users understand complex data from a wide variety of data sources. Visual Numerics provides its data visualization and numerical analysis software tools to major corporations, academic institutions, and research laboratories worldwide. Typical users include scientists, researchers, engineers, and financial analysts at organizations such as Bear, Stearns & Company; Sandia National Laboratories; American Association of Railroads; Boeing Company; and Coleman Research Corp. This large and diverse customer base is supported through a direct sales force, wholly-owned international subsidiaries, and international distributors.

Visual Numerics' product line includes the IMSL Libraries for mathematical and statistical analysis; the PV-WAVE Development Environment for desktop visual data analysis applications; the PV-WAVE Web Development Environment for network-based visual data analysis applications; and PV-WAVE Applications and Toolkits for time-series data analysis, image processing, and signal processing.

Editor’s Notes:
*All pricing is for the United States.
PV-WAVE and IMSL are registered trademarks and JWAVE is a trademark of Visual Numerics.
All other company, product or brand names are the property of their respective owners.