For over 40 years, the Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Image Generation (DIRSIG) software—developed at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)—has been a trusted platform for research, development, and operational success in academia, industry, and government. Thousands of users have benefited from its capabilities, at no cost beyond a one-time training fee.
Today, the funding model that has sustained DIRSIG is under pressure due to shifts in government and corporate spending. Although the DIRSIG team works at RIT, our salaries are funded entirely by external projects. To keep DIRSIG advancing, we must adapt.
Our Solution: The DIRSIG Alliance
We are launching the DIRSIG Alliance — a membership-based community dedicated to sustaining and growing the DIRSIG ecosystem.
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A version of DIRSIG will remain free for eligible users who complete training, but with annual releases and minimal updates.
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Alliance Members will receive frequent releases, enhanced support, and opportunities to shape DIRSIG’s direction.
Why Join the DIRSIG Alliance?
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Stay Ahead: Access quarterly or weekly releases, new features, and developer tools.
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Get Support: Connect with the DIRSIG team via dedicated channels, training, and community forums.
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Shape the Future: Leadership Partners gain a seat on the Advisory Board.
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Build Together: Collaborate on integrations, receive technical assistance, and showcase your work.
We will also continue conventional collaborative contract work — with an Alliance membership credit as an incentive for our partners.
Your membership ensures that DIRSIG remains a powerful, evolving tool for the global remote sensing community. We invite you to be part of this next chapter. Please visit our list of supporting partners.
To learn more about membership levels and enroll, read the membership agreement.
Moving Forward
Any users that were trained in 2025, will get one free year of the Individual Alliance Membership that begins January 1, 2026.
Starting January 1, 2026, the free version of DIRSIG (for users not enrolled in the Alliance) will be rebranded as "DIRSIG: Cornerstone Edition", with the annual updates delivered every January.
Alliance members will have access to the enhanced version of DIRSIG, which will be branded as "DIRSIG: Alliance Edition". Updates to this version will be provided on a weekly or quarterly basis, depending on your membership level.
Frequently Asked Questions
When I attended training, I was told DIRSIG updates were going to be free?
Updates to the free "Cornerstone Edition" will be still be provided on an annual basis.
What happens when my organization drops to a lower tier in the Alliance?
You only have access to features and support for whatever tier you are currently enrolled in, and you will loose benefits and privileges from higher membership tiers. For example, if your organization creates a product that integrates DIRSIG via our Integration Partner membership tier, your organization must maintain that membership level to continue to offer that integrated product.
What happens when I (or my organization) is no longer enrolled in the Alliance?
You will no longer have access to the enhanced "Alliance Edition" releases of the software (and its more frequent updates) nor any of the benefits provided by specific membership levels. For example, the license to integrate DIRSIG into a public facing product will be revoked. However, you will have access to the free "Cornerstone Edition", which is updated on an annual basis.
Does this mean traditional contracts are a thing of the past?
The Alliance does not replace the collaborative contracts where specific milestones, deliverables and support can be defined. Instead, the Alliance was created to supplement this contract work so that other community members can contribute to the overall mission. Furthermore, our Alliance tier credit for contract work was created as a bonus benefit to incentivize these traditional contract partnerships. We look forward to collaborating with anyone on open BAA’s, SBIRs and IR&D projects via traditional sponsored research (research contracts) or though our DIRS Enterprise Center (service contracts).
Still have questions? Contact us at email.
Alliance Partners
Stay tuned here are we start to introduce our valuable Alliance Partners.