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Y O U R G E O S P A T I A L I N D U S T R Y M A G A Z I N E
MAY 2015 VOLUME 05 ISSUE 10 | ISSN 22773134
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5May 2015 Geospatial World
INSIDE
CONTENTVOLUME : 5 ISSUE : 10
Data Talk and Geospatial CONVERGENCEP | 20 Prof. Arup Dasgupta,
Managing Editor, Geospatial World
ARTICLE
Understanding legalities and tech convergence Kevin Pomfret,
Editor Policy, on legal and policy challenges associated with tech
integration
Adapting to the New NormalSimon Thompson, Director of Commercial
Industry, Esri
INTERVIEW
Infrastructure>GDP>
Funding> InfrastructurePaul A McRoberts, Vice President
Infrastructure Modelling and Platform Product Group, Autodesk
Mapping the globe, 3mx3m at a timeSteven Ramage, Strategy
Director, What3Words
CASE STUDY
Tech alliance for greater opportunitiesRon Bisio, General
Manager, Surveying and Geospatial Division, Trimble
Sticking together: GIS and cement industryReliance Cement
Companys holistic technological roadmap
REGULAR FEATURES
7 Editorial
8 News
14 Vertical News
45 Product Watch
48 Picture This
16
32
24
36
28
40
DisclaimerGeospatial World does not necessarily subscribe to the
views expressed in the publication. All views expressed in this
issue are those of the contributors. Geospatial World is not
responsi-ble for any loss to anyone due to the information
provided.
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Geospatial World May 2015
6
CHAIRMAN M P Narayanan
Publisher Sanjay Kumar
Publications Team
Managing Editor Prof. Arup Dasgupta
Editor Building & Energy Geoff Zeiss
Editor Mining (Hon) Dr. Hrishikesh Samant
Editor Policy Kevin Pomfret
Editor Latin America Dr Tania Maria Sausen
Executive Editor Bhanu Rekha
Product Manager Harsha Vardhan Madiraju
Associate Editor Nitika Bajpayee Jha
Senior Assistant Editor Ishveena Singh
Sub Editor Sanskriti Shukla
Senior Graphic Designer Debjyoti Mukherjee
Circulation Manager Ashish Batra
Executive Posting Vijay Kumar Singh
Ahmad Fauzi Bin Nordin SrDirector General of Survey
and Mapping (JUPEM), Malaysia
Aida Opoku-MensahSpecial Advisor: Post 2015
Development Agenda, UN Economic Commission for Africa
Barbara RyanSecretariat Director, Group on Earth
Observations
Christopher W GibsonVice President & Executive
Committee Member, Trimble
Derek ClarkeChief Director-Survey and Mapping & National
Geospatial Information, Dept of Rural Development & Land
Reform, South Africa
Dorine BurmanjeChair-Executive Board, Cadastre, Land Registry
and
Mapping Agency (Kadaster), The Netherlands
Ed ParsonsGeospatial Technologist, Google
Greg BentleyCEO, Bentley Systems
Jay Freeland President & CEO, FARO
Prof. Josef Strobl Chair, Department of Geoinformatics,
University of Salzburg, Austria
Kamal K SinghChairman and CEO, Rolta Group
Kumar NavulurDirector, Next Generation Products,
DigitalGlobe
Mark ReichardtPresident and CEO,
Open Geospatial Consortium
Mladen StojicPresident, Hexagon Geospatial
Mohd Al RajhiAsst Deputy Minister for Land & Surveying,
Ministry of Municipal & Rural Affairs, Saudi Arabia
Sandeep SinghalGeneral Manager, Bing Maps and Geospatial,
Microsoft
Stephen LawlerVice-President, Direct Traffic,
Amazon
Vanessa LawrenceSecretary General,
Ordnance Survey International, UK
International
Advisory Board
The Team
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7May 2015 Geospatial World
Editorial
Technology: Converging together for a better future
The clich that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is
applicable to the geospatial world. Taken in isolation, various
geospatial technologies show limited versatility in their own
domains, but when used in an integrated manner, this versatility
improves by orders of magnitude. For example, a 3D cityscape
rendered using CAD, located on the earth in a GIS, on a background
of a remotely sensed imagery has a far greater impact than each of
the elements considered separately.
As technology progresses, users have found value in using it in
an integrated manner, such that the benefit of different
technologies to serve a common purpose is enhanced. Thus, in their
time, remote-sensing, GIS, GPS, EDM, Total Stations, LiDAR, Cloud
Computing and Big Data Analytics have all become a part of the
arsenal of spatial analysts. The recent earthquake in Nepal has
already spawned several studies using geo-spatial techniques, which
show the changes in the ge-ography of the area. Another study uses
the 3D models of the Durbar Square before and after the event, to
es-timate the damage. While these are preliminary stud-ies, they
will ultimately lead to a better understanding of the causes
leading to the quake and the associated damage estimation. More
importantly, it will also lead to the adoption of better building
technologies.
What has building technologies got to do with geospatial
systems? Consider the fact that in the Nepal quake, the major
damage has been caused to herit-age buildings made in the Newari
style, while modern buildings show less damage. The Newari method
of
building employed empirical methods to make them quake tolerant
by using sun-dried bricks, mud mor-tar and wooden supports. But,
they required constant maintenance, in the absence of which, they
degener-ated to a point where they became unstable. Modern
buildings, on the other hand, are designed to take into the quake
factors in a more systematic manner through intensity zoning and
appropriate building codes for each zone. We can say that geology
and geo-tectonics have converged with building technologies to
create safer buildings.
Convergence is happening in many other domains as well. More
efficient power distribution and asset management is the result of
the convergence of GIS and SCADA. Better services to communities
are provided by municipalities through the use of geospatial
technolo-gy to rationalise taxes and provide better maintenance of
roads, street lights, transport facilities, water and sewerage.
Municipalities are joining hands with the police to provide better
illumination in crime prone areas. These areas are being defined by
the police through spatial analysis of crimes.
Ultimately, such isolated examples of convergence will come
together to create smart cities and towns, which in turn, will be
stitched together with rural areas into a seamless fabric through
the Internet of Things (IOT). This convergence of technologies is
the key to Marshall McLuhans Global Village.
Better services are provided by municipalities through the use
of geospatial technology to rationalise taxes and provide better
maintenance of utilities.
Prof Arup DasguptaManaging Editor, [email protected]
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Geospatial World May 2015
NEWS8
AMERICAS
Dude Solutions acquire mobile mapping provider Mobile311Dude
Solutions has acquired Mobile311, a GIS and mobile mapping solution
provider. The acquisition will allow Dude Solutions to address the
growing requirements of state and local governments, particularly
those with public works needs, as well as universities and other
entities that manage spatial and distributed as-sets. Mobile311
clients will have access to Dude Solutions product delivery and
support.
US researchers test Smartphones for earthquake warning
A study, led by scientists at the USGS, has explored the
possibility of using sensors in Smartphones and simi-lar devices
for building earthquake warning systems. It is believed that GPS
receivers in a Smartphone can detect the permanent ground movement
(dis-placement) caused by fault motion in a large earthquake. Using
crowdsourced observations from participating users smartphones,
earthquakes could be detected and analysed, and custom-ised
earthquake warnings could be transmitted back to the users.
TerraGo unveils new version of OpenGeoPDF softwareTerraGo has
unveiled the latest version of OpenGeoPDF software that gives end
users new spatial database features, including the ability to
search and update feature attributes, and an interactive OpenGeoPDF
map accessible to the end user without requiring them to purchase
any software. Another benefit is that the GeoPDF maps with embedded
feature attributes can be accessed, searched, updated and extracted
as an Open Geospatial Consortium GeoPackage.
Geosystem ING to enhance field survey solution with
SuperSurvSupergeo Technologies SuperSurv GIS app for Android and
iOS handheld devices has assisted Geosystem ING, Colombia, in
expanding mobile GIS solutions. SuperSurv has been designed for
spatial information collection, and provides multiple functions,
such as data capture, map display, on-screen measurement, query,
and so on. The unique mapping app is also capable of online and
offline GIS editing, and supports users to apply OpenStreetMap as
free survey base map.
NASA, USGS begin work on Landsat 9NASA and the US Geological
Survey (USGS) have started work on Landsat 9, which will extend the
Earth-observing
programmes record of land images to half a century. The
satellite is sched-uled for a launch in 2023. With data from
Landsat satellites, ecologists have tracked deforestation in South
America, firefighters have assessed the severi-ty of wildfires and
scientists have mapped the retreat of mountain glaciers.
LISTECH Neo 2015 launchedLISTECH has launched Neo, a
new-generation geospatial software that designs and tailors
attribute defi-nitions to suit client needs. Attributes can also be
set to automatically popu-late with default values and optionally
increment as objects are created. Neo seamlessly transfers
information to and from GIS, BIM, CAD, Google Earth, Leica DBX,
XML, LISCAD and many other systems, making it extremely versatile
for combining, manipulating and moving data between various office
systems and/or the field.
Website relaunch: Geospatial crop data for food policyThe
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) have
im-proved and relaunched an interac-tive website that delivers
essential components for ensuring adequate, sustainable food
production and food security through satellite-based maps. The
website, called Spatial Production Allocation Model (SPAM),
includes maps that were produced using satellite images and then
fine-tuned on the ground.
Smart can detect earthquakes before they even happen
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9NEWS
Congress members want NASA to fund the programme at the national
level, so the local facility can use its money on other projects to
benefit the community.
Navy awards $30m GIS surveying contractThe U.S. Navy has awarded
NAVGeo a $30 million contract to provide geographic information
systems, surveying and mapping services. NAVGeo is a joint venture
between national geospatial firms Woolpert, Magnolia River and
Quantum Spatial.
The work will be per-formed at Navy,
NOAA: Interactive storm surge map for flood risksThe National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is preparing an
application to help people determine at a street-level where water
could rise in a storm surge. This experimental storm surge
simulator will let people
get a look at what kind of storm surges can take place in their
surroundings and which can be the possible damages. The preliminary
model is based on Charleston, South Carolina.
surveying contract$30 mn
Hemisphere GNSS announces RTK-capable GNSS CompassHemisphere
GNSS has announced a top-of-the-line, RTK-enabled Vector V320 GNSS
Compass. The first of its kind, the Vector V320 smart antenna
supports multi-frequency GPS, GLONASS, Galileo (future firmware
upgrade required), and BeiDou. Designed for the professional marine
and marine survey markets, the Vector V320 is the only
multi-fre-quency, multi-GNSS smart antenna capable of both
RTK-level positioning accuracy and better than 0.2 head-ing
accuracy in a simple-to-install package.
Esri and Safe Software release CIM for data exchangeEsri and
Safe Software have come together to develop and openly share a
Common Information Model (CIM) template for data exchange. The
template supposedly demonstrates one approach to translating
network data from an Esri ArcGIS database into CIM XML format. The
XML can then be shared with other enterprise systems. The model
also promotes faster decision making internally when data can be
moved quickly from GIS technology to destination enterprise
systems.
Ohio asks NASA to fund algal bloom warning systemOhio Congress
members, whose districts abut Lake Erie, want the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration to keep funding a new
satellite-based system to track algal blooms that can contaminate
drinking water. Last summer, an algal bloom rendered Toledo-area
water undrinkable for several days. The
Marine Corps and other government facilities. The contract is
not to exceed 60 months, and the work is expected to be complete by
April 2020.
Honduras and Colombia share disaster risks knowledge Honduran
and Colombian authorities have participated in an exchange of
knowledge to reduce disaster risks. Representatives from both
countries met in Colombia for a study visit, preparatory sessions
and workshops to share their experience. The South-South exchange
provides a substantial increase in the knowl-edge and skills on how
to consolidate policy and institutional frameworks with an integral
emphasis on natural hazards.
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experimental Potential Storm Surge Inundation Map
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Geospatial World May 2015
NEWS10
Enhanced spill detection and SAR comes to UKA consortium of
three companies has joined forces to bring enhanced oil spill
detection, and search and rescue capability to the UK North Sea.
Using technology developed in Norway, and working with Aberdeens
Briggs Environmental Services, Aptomar has introduced an enhanced
TCMS (tactical collaboration management system) on an Atlantic
Offshore Rescue-operated emergency response and rescue vessel. The
system brings a high-capacity, motion stabilised IR camera together
with geo-referenc-ing technology using radar and AIS data with live
streaming capability.
EUROPE
INSPIRE GWF 2015 launches online networking platformWith less
than a month until the high-ly-anticipated geospatial gathering,
Geospatial Media and Communi-cations has launched the INSPIRE
Geospatial World Forum 2015 online networking platform. The
platform will allow delegates to initiate contact with other
registered delegates prior to the conference. It aims to build
mo-mentum towards the conference and maximise networking
opportunities for all delegates. Scheduled between May 25-29 in
Lisbon, the forum expects 2,000 delegates from 80+ countries around
the world. The online net-working platform can be accessed at
www.geospatialworldforum.org
Copernicus Master competition now accepting submissionsThe
European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that the Copernicus
Masters competition is now open to accept
submissions. Entrepreneurs can submit their ideas for services,
business con-cepts and applications based on satellite Earth
observation data. In addition to over 3,00,000 (over $3,21,000) in
cash prizes, the winner will get support in bringing the winning
idea to market, and the chance to enter the incubation programme of
one of Europes 11 ESA Business Incubation Centres (BICs).
Submissions will be accepted till July 13.
EuroGeographics announces new Chair for C&LR
KENEuroGeographics has named Cadastral Surveying expert Daniel
Steudler as the new Chair of its Cadastre and Land Registry
Knowledge Exchange Network (C&LR KEN). Dr Steudler, who holds a
PhD degree from the University of Melbourne, Australia, is a
scientific associate at the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, and
works for the Federal Directorate for Cadastral Surveying. He also
has extensive internation-al experience consulting for land
administration and cadastral projects in Saudi Arabia,
Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Kosovo.
Blueskys NTM helps London Council clear up fallen leaves
A detailed map of more than 280 million trees across England and
Wales is helping the London Borough of Bromley prioritise its
autumn street cleansing programme. The National Tree Map (NTM),
created from Blueskys high resolution aerial photography, colour
infrared data and detailed height datasets, helps the Council
locate trees with close proximi-ty to roads and pavements and
identify large leaf species that have a greater contribution to the
annual leaf fall.
Smart city mapping site launched in Luxembourg The Luxembourg
Institute for Science and Technology (LIST) has introduced Smart
City Logistics, a decision support mapping software to help
au-thorities tackle the complex challenge of urban freight
transportation. Using GIS technology, the tool provides online
information to help minimise congestion, CO2, and air and noise
pollution in the city when developing sustainable freight plans.
Currently, the tool gathers data across the whole of three European
capital cities: Lon-don, Brussels and Luxembourg.
The camera is part of Aptomars SECurus technology
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NEWS
in an M2M network using devices ranging from low data rate
light-weight M2M (LWM2M) systems to high-speed Very Small Aperture
Terminal (VSAT)-based IP terminals.
ASIA PACIFIC
UN-GGIM: Arab States inauguratedThe inaugural meeting of the
United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial
Information Management (UN-GGIM) Regional Committee for Arab States
has been held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Organised by the Secretariat
of UN-GGIM, in partnership with the Government of Saudi Arabia
represented by the General
Satellite boosts flood prediction in BangladeshBacked by a new
satellite observation system officials at Bangladeshs Flood
Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) are confident of staying
ahead of flood-related disasters in the country this summer.
Experimental trials con-ducted last year by FFWC using data from
the JASON-2 satellite that was developed by SERVIR and the
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development proved
that an eight-day advance warning of floods was possible against
the earlier three or four days.
Commission for Survey (GCS), the two day event attracted senior
delegations from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Tunisia, United Arab
Emirates and GCC-Stat.
Nepal raises awareness to fight fires through satellite
imageryThe SERVIR-Himalaya Initiative of the International Centre
for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), and Regional Support
Office of UN-SPIDER, in collaboration with the Department of
Forests (DoF) of Nepal, has conduct-ed an awareness campaign in the
most fire prone districts of Nepal the Terai region. The system
generates and disseminates three products: short
GSDI announces death of former President, Prof. Bas Kok
GSDI announced the recent death of former GSDI President, Prof.
Bas Kok. Bas, who died battling cancer, was known to many members
of GSDI for his long support for developing Spatial Data
Infrastructures both in Europe and globally. He helped to find the
initial GSDI Conference series, attending the very first conference
in Bonn, Germany, in 1996, and remained directly involved in the
global SDI initiatives up to his death this month.Prof. Kok was
GSDI Association President from February 2008 until June 2009 and
remained a member of the Board of Directors and the GSDI Executive
Committee for several years thereafter.
Airbus Defence and Space unveils Proximity M2MAirbus Defence and
Space recently launched a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) management
solution called Proximity M2M, designed to simplify the integration
and management of satellite communication components within
standard M2M networks and applications. Proximity M2M helps
maintain real-time data delivery
The JASON-2 satellite is helping to predict floods in
Bangladesh. Courtesy: RadioHamProf. Bas Kok helped to find the
initial
GSDI Conference series.
Courtesy: Delta
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Geospatial World May 2015
Makani smartphone app. Google and HERE compatibility is expected
to be online by 2016. Around 125,000 buildings in Dubai will be
registered with Makani.
International Charter activated for flooding in northern
IndiaThe International Charter: Space and Major Disasters was
activated in April to support response efforts in Jammu and Kashmir
State with satellite-based maps. The region experienced flooding
and resulting landslides following several days of heavy rain. The
mechanism was triggered by the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO). The project management of the activation will be handled by
Indias National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).
Abu Dhabi showcases interactive GeoDecisions map The Abu Dhabi
Housing Authority
NEWS12
(ADHA) in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), demonstrates geospatial innovation to UAE and international
dignitaries through a new map-centric portal called Complete
Emirati Communities (CEC). GeoDecisions, an IT company specialising
in geospatial solutions, developed CEC in conjunction with its
business partner, GeoLinks, to aggregate Abu Dhabi GIS data at the
community, district, municipal, and Emirate level. Built on the
Esri ArcGIS platform, CEC illustrates pie charts and gauges that
integrate Abu Dhabi loan, housing, land, infrastructure, and
utility data in an easy-to-understand spatial display.
Smart maps necessary for smart citiesAs India gets on course to
develop 100 smart cities, a report titled Smart Maps for Smart
Cities claims that smart maps can save $1.6 billion in productive
time and fuel
Indonesia: Fujitsu announces app-based disaster
information-sharing toolFujitsu and PT. Fujitsu Indonesia have
announced the completion of a partic-ipatory disaster
informa-tion-sharing system, cre-ated for Jakartas Regional
Disaster Management Agency, BPBD DKI. The smartphone application
receives real time information from individuals as well as from
BPBD DKI. People can upload pictures and comments, which the app
will assign to their locations, using the associated GPS data. In
case of a disaster, it also sends out warnings to all smartphones
that have the app installed.
message system (SMS) alerts, email notifications, and a web
application for visualising the latest fire data as well as
historical data.
New countries line up to India for satellite launchesWhile ISRO
has put India in global limelight because of its low-cost mission
to Mars, its commercial wing, Antrix, has started witnessing a
robust growth with more countries approaching it with offers to
launch their satellites. One such proposal is due for June, in
which three DMC-3 earth observation satellites along with one micro
and one nano satellite built by UKs Surrey Satellite Technology
(SSTL) will be launched into space. There is also a plan to launch
a US satellite in 2016.
Makani to be compatible with Google and HERE mapsDubais
satellite location address
and navigation system, Makani, will soon be compatible with
Google and HERE maps, as revealed by an official. Dubai
Municipalitys Makani (My Location) assigns a 10-digit number to
every building in Dubai on a digital map and helps users find the
desired location using the free
Makani assigns a 10-digit number to every building in Dubai
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newspaper. In doing so, South Africa would like to have their
own data readily available instead of relying on international
satellites. The new satel-lite, EO-Sat1, will be part of the
African Resource Management Constellation, a network of African
nations that plan on launching a common Earth observation satellite
system.
Ghana Parliament approves $43 million for ECG projectsIn spite
of the numerous challenges facing the energy sector and the slide
in crude oil, Ghanas main power distributor, the Electricity
Company of Ghana (ECG) will benefit from a $42.9 million loan
facility from government to support the electricity distribution
system, reinforcement and extension
pro-ject. The project com-prises
of three main components, such as the distribution system
reinforcement and extension under component A, which will see the
construction of a new 161/33kV, 4x50/66 MVA Bulk Supply Point (BSP)
Substation.
South Sudan goes live with new Mining Cadastre SystemThe
Minister of Petroleum and Mining in South Sudan, Stephen Dhieu Dau
Ayik, launched South Sudans new Mining Cadastre System at an
external stakeholders workshop held in Juba on April 28. The
project included the implementation of FlexiCadastre to meet the
requirements of the Mining Act of 2012 and the Mining Regulations
of 2015 as well as the launch of a view only map portal.
in commuting, save 13,000 lives by helping ambulances locate
callers better, and increase revenues to local retailers by $2.2
billion. Released by strategy and policy consulting firm, Dalbert
Global Development Advisors, in partnership with CII, the report is
based on detailed analyses of nine high potential uses of maps.
India, France sign remote sensing MoU India and France have
signed 17 agreements, including on the stalled nuclear project in
Jaitapur in 5, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held
wide-ranging talks with French President Francois Hollande. An MoU
was also signed between ISRO and French National Centre for Space
Stud-ies (CNES) on the Indo-French Megha-Tropiques satellite which
was launched on board the Indian launch vehicle PSLV on October 12,
2011.
New Delhi begins 3D mapping in preparation for smart cityThe New
Delhi Municipal Council has approved a project to start
three-dimensional mapping as a precursor to planning for their
Smart City initiative. The work will include the mapping of
buildings, streets, trees and water and sewer lines. The
agency will hire a private firm to conduct the project. New
Delhis Smart City efforts include WiFi connectivity, intelligent
parking systems and energy conversion.
AFRICA
Tanzania: New agency for disaster risk reductionTanzania will
create a new agency for emergency response and disaster risk
reduction, both for man-made disasters and disasters triggered by
natural hazards. The Tanzanian Parliament has passed an accord-ing
law establishing the agency. The Disaster Management Agency (DMA)
will oversee efforts to prevent damage, and deal with the impacts
of floods, drought, hail, storms and hunger, as well as manage the
stock of supplies to aid effective response.
GLTN promotes GeoInformation for mapping land rights GLTN and
Nairobis Regional Center for Mapping Resources for Development
(RCMRD) have co-facilitated a training workshop on Social Tenure
Domain Model (STDM) and Quantum Geographical Information System
(QGIS) for three IFAD supported projects in Mozambique, PRODIRPA,
PROSUR and PROMER. The orientation aims at creating awareness of
STDM and QGIS, including its principles, practice, use and
application to mitigate conflicts.
South Africa plans to launch EO satellite in 2019South Africa
will launch an Earth observation satellite in 2019, as the head of
the South African National Space Agency, Sansa, announced to a
NEWS
loan facility$43 mn
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President
Francois Hollande.
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Geospatial World May 2015
VERTICAL NEWS14
AGRI
INFRA
AgWorks Software partners with CDMSAgWorks Software has
announced a new partnership with CDMS Inc. to provide crop
protection compliance infor-mation within AgWorks new unified
agronomy software. The partnership will allow AgWorks to better
serve their customers by providing the most accurate and current
product information.
Topcon acquires Digi-StarIn a huge expansion of their precision
agriculture presence, Topcon has acquired Digi-Star, a global
leader in agricultural solutions involving weight sensors and
control systems for feeding, planting, fertiliser, and harvest
equipment manufacturers. Digi-Star supplies electronics, sensors,
displays, position verification, and software for data analysis and
measurement for use in both the livestock and grain markets.
Lehmann Aviation unveils LA300 UAV system Lehmann Aviation has
launched an aerial system for precision agriculture: LA300 drone
coming with the MicaSense RedEdge multispectral camera. To get
multispectral images of the crops, the user just has to set
way-points on the touchscreen map of the area, and Lehmann
OperationCenter software will automatically calculate all mission
parameters.
UAVs help combat poppy mildew in TasmaniaAgricultural UAVs could
help Tasmanias poppy industry fight mildew that has wiped hundreds
of thousands of dollars from the 2015 harvest. Poppy grower and
co-owner of Drone Ag, Will Bignell, flew drones over poppy crops
last season and saw the extent of the damage on his own crops and
others. He is investing in a $20,000 custom-built drone camera and
will map the disease this coming season.
Indias first smart city under construction in Gujarat Even as
India awaits the guidelines on what constitutes a smart city, the
countrys first-ever meticulously planned metropolis is in the
making in Gujarat. The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City
(GIFT), as it is called, is being constructed in collaboration with
IL&FS Engineering and Construction. The Indian prime minister
has declared that 500 Indian cities will be revamped, heritage
cities will be restored and refurbished, and 100 smart cities will
be built in the country by 2022.
Demand of BIM for quantity surveyors on rise in Middle EastBIM
adoption is gaining immense traction for large projects in the UAE.
Quantity surveyors are increasing-ly depending on BIM to prepare
scheme designs with
detailed specifications and costing, which helps them to
formulate competitive bids and tenders. BIM 5D also allows
extraction of the most accurate quantities to be used for cost
estimation. Aided with BIM capabilities, quantity surveyors produce
work of higher and accurate standards.
New Zealands Christchurch Hospital being rebuilt in 3DSome of
the biggest buildings of the new-look Christchurch Hospital in New
Zealand are being put together virtual piece by virtual piece,
courtesy remarkable 3D technology. More than a decade after BIM
made its debut in the construction industry, a team at
architectural firm Warren and Mahoney is using the technology to
tackle several large-scale operations, including three buildings of
40,000sq m, covering a city block.
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15VERTICAL NEWS
May 2015 Geospatial World
ENERGY
LAND
EnWin Utilities to use GIS to improve operational
efficiencyEnWin Utilities has received an Award of Excellence from
Esri Canada for its adoption of GIS technology to drive operational
efficiency throughout the organisation. Embracing GIS as a key
business system, EnWin has transformed the manage-ment of its hydro
and water network assets by consolidating data from numerous
systems into the GIS. This has signifi-cantly improved the
visibility and quality of data across the utility and enabled them
to better understand where to focus maintenance and capital
expenditures.
Big data tech helps finding river locations to generate
hydro-powerA technology being developed in the United Kingdom has
the potential to revolutionise the sourcing of renewable energy
from rivers. A software app, developed collaboratively by the
University of Leicester and High Efficiency Heating,
automat-ically selects appropriate locations in Britains rivers to
identify a large range of micro renewable hydro-power turbines and
determines the environmental sensitivity of the location. This
innovative prototype software saves a lot of money in initial
survey costs. Smart metering: Ikeja Electric begins consumers
enumerationTo address customer complaints over outrageous billing,
the management of Ikeja Electricity Distribution, in conjunction
with its technical partner, Korean Electricity Company, has
concluded plans to carry out enumeration of customers to drive
efficiency and effective metering within its network. The project
would involve mapping the location coordinate of each of the
electrical network entities from 132KV/33KV System, 11KV system,
distribution transformers and poles.
The Netherlands assists Colombia to register properties on
landTogether with ITC (University of Twente), The Netherlands land
registry and mapping agency, Kadaster, plans to assist Colombia to
formally register their land rights. The assistance consists of
providing a method that measures parcel boundaries and registers
the properties much faster. The method uses aerial photos and
pop-ulation surveys. Furthermore, a mobile phone app will help
owners to track the boundaries of their land parcel themselves.
New sourcebook on Water-Smart Agriculture in East AfricaThe
sourcebook is the result of a collaboration between the Global
Water Initiative East Africa (GWI-EA), the
International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the CGIAR
Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). The
collection of case studies from soil conservation to building
resilience including farmers own innovative practices aims at
helping development managers, educators, local administrators and
policy makers.
The fight over Indias land laws continuesThe Indian government
is trying to pass amendments to a 2013 land-acquisition bill
through its Parliaments upper house, where it lacks a majority.
Under the existing bill, any forced sale of land requires the
consent of at least 70 per cent of affected owners and must also
pass a social-impact test. Compensation is set at double the market
value for urban plots and quadruple for rural land.
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ARTICLE16
Geospatial World May 2015
Kevin Pomfret, Editor Policy, Geospatial World, highlights the
legal and policy challenges associated with technology convergence
in the geospatial industry
The geospatial industry has undergone a series of sig-nificant
transformations since its evolution. Initial-ly, only the
government agencies and large industrial sectors such as utility
and telecommunication were the primary customers. But, over the
past decade, the customer base has shifted to include a much
broader set of industries as well as the consumer market.
However, for the most part, geospatial technology has tended to
exist as its own silo within a ser-vice or solution. This is
beginning to change as geospatial technol-ogy and geoinformation
are be-ing integrated into and with other technologies.
A practical requirementThis integration allows companies to
provide a more complete solution to end users and further
expands
the power of where. Unfortunately, such convergence of
technologies also raises a number of new legal and policy
challenges that the geospatial community needs to address.
Though the geospatial industry is facing numerous challenges,
one such challenge is that the commu-nity will have to deal with
additional legal and regulatory bodies. A simple example is the
migration of geo-spatial sensors to unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs), commonly known as drones. While sensors have been deployed
on satellites, manned air-craft, and ground-based geospatial
technology for years, their deploy-ment on drones has caused a
great deal of concern around the world. As a result, traditional
geospatial pro-viders and users like engineers and surveyors are
now forced to consider decisions being made by the regula-tory
bodies that regulate the nation-al airspace. The primary concern
of
The integration of geospatial technology and geoinformation with
other technologies opens up a number of business opportunities
Legalities and Tech
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17ARTICLE
May 2015 Geospatial World
these regulatory bodies is safety, and therefore, the importance
of geoin-formation to a society is often not un-derstood. In
addition, due to privacy and homeland concerns associated with
drones, geospatial professionals will soon have to deal with
agencies that address these issues too. Many of these see the
collection and the use of geoinformation more like a threat, than a
value, to the society.
Legalities involve understandingAnother issue that is likely to
arise is that many of these new legal
and regulatory bodies often do not have an understanding of
geospatial technology or the value of geoinformation. As a result,
they are more likely to introduce laws, policies and regulations
that are overly restrictive or have unintend-ed negative
consequences for the broader geospatial community. For example,
companies such as Uber and Lyft are capturing and using
geoinformation in innovative ways. Their Smartphone apps allow
users to locate, order and follow private drivers to take them to
their desti-nation. Such business models are
proving to be quite disruptive to the traditional taxi industry.
At the same time, lawmakers and regula-tors are struggling to adapt
the ex-isting laws and regulations pertain-ing to taxis to Uber and
Lyft drivers. As a result, some regulators have suggested
prohibiting Uber and Lyft from including maps on their Smartphone
apps, thereby making it difficult for a user to know when a private
driver is nearby. While such an approach might limit Uber and Lyfts
competitive advantage over the traditional taxi, it would be a
misguided fix to the larger prob-
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Geospatial World May 2015
ARTICLE18
lem, that the legal and policy com-munities have been unable to
keep up with technology.
Taking the legal routeMoreover, when lawmakers do try to address
a legal or a policy issue involving geoinformation, the trend has
been to introduce new laws and policies rather than adapt ex-isting
laws or policies. This trend is the result of several factors.
First, lawmakers often receive more pub-licity from stakeholders
and their constituents by creating new leg-islation rather than
amending or broadening existing legislation. Also, regulatory
bodies tend to fo-cus on particular industry segments or
technologies, such as energy, transportation, telecommunica-tions,
etc. These bodies have limited ability to change laws and policies
subject to other bodies. And often such issues cut across a number
of
legal and policy disciplines, such as privacy, intellectual
property rights, homeland security, data quality, and technology
domains. As a re-sult, it is sometimes easier to create something
new rather than modi-fy a variety of otherwise unrelated laws and
regulations. For instance, members of the International Bar
Association proposed a conven-tion to address a variety of le-gal
and policy issues associated with the collection and use of
geoinformation concerns.
An associated risk is that these new bodies will develop new
laws and policies that are difficult for the industry to conform.
Numerous lawmakers and regulators have al-ready expressed their
concerns over the privacy issues associated with the collection,
use and distribution of geoinformation. However, in many cases,
each legal and regu-latory body has developed its own
definition of what geoinformation should be protected and
how.
In many countries, different reg-ulatory bodies are responsible
for mobile devices that collect geoinfor-mation, smart grids and
intelligent transportation systems. Each is de-veloping their own
definition of pro-tected geoinformation. In many cas-es, these
definitions do not conform. Requirements also differ as to how long
the information can be stored and whether it can be distributed to
third parties. These differences, however, will not have a greater
im-pact on companies that work in one industry sector. They will,
though, become increasingly difficult for ge-ospatial companies
that are trying to develop products and services to be used across
industry sectors. The companies will need to spend time and money,
making sure they iden-tify and comply with diverse and, in some
cases, divergent regulations. Geospatial companies that wish to
integrate geoinformation from dif-ferent industry groups also need
to identify, understand and comply with each set of applicable
regula-tions or laws.
The way forwardThe convergence of geospatial technology and
geoinformation with other technologies opens up a number of
different business opportunities. However, it will also result in a
number of new chal-lenges. Some of the most difficult challenges
will deal with address-ing new legal and regulatory bod-ies and
regimes. Companies that understand and prepare for these challenges
will have a significant advantage over those that wait.
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Geospatial World May 2015
COVER STORY20
GeospatialData Talk
and
Convergence
Integration and convergence are two very important processes for
the successful implementation of geospatial systems, suggests Prof.
Arup Dasgupta, Managing Editor, Geospatial World. Read on to gather
more
Geospatial technology, as we know today, has evolved from many
dif-ferent sources. Surveying is the core activity in geospatial
data acquisition, which has been augmented by many new technol-
ogies as they have evolved. Simple levels have given way to
theodo-lites to EDMs and Total Stations to Differential GPS.
Geographical In-formation Systems, GIS, grew out of the efforts of
the Harvard Labora-tory for Computer Graphics which
sought to apply digital techniques to the analogue art of
cartography.
Initially, the efforts were to just automate cartography, but
soon, it became apparent that a digital map and database make a
versatile combination for city planning, and
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21COVER STORY
May 2015 Geospatial World
thus was born Automated Mapping and Facilities Management or
AM/FM. Landscape architects moved this a step forward and added
ana-lytics to find spatial patterns, bring-ing GIS to life.
Evolving furtherThe addition of analytical capability took GIS
to a new level where it could be used in many fields from simple
mapping and decision support sys-tems to modelling and prediction.
In this journey, GIS integrated with many systems, such as
statistics, remotely sensed data, GPS location data, 3D data from
stereoscopic imagery and LiDAR point clouds. Today, any GIS worth
its salt must seamlessly use data from a wide va-riety of sources
and provide analyt-ical tools which can make best use of such data,
and derive meaningful spatial patterns to aid decision mak-ers and
planners. Standards and interoperability considerations have
helped to provide strength to inte-gration of data sources and
services. This is not only the biggest opportu-nity for geospatial
systems, but also, its biggest threat.
A versatile GIS can be used not only in surveying and mapping,
but also in many fields, as diverse as anthropology, business,
climate change, finance and political science to name a few. If
there is a spatial pattern, then it is amena-ble to GIS analysis.
Integration with the Web has made GIS ac-cessible to the common
person. One of the new application areas is the
use of GIS to harvest information from social media in order to
ana-lyse the human situation in events such as epidemics, disasters
and other major events that impact communities and nations.
Challenges and moreThe main weakness is the silos that each
technology seems to operate in. For long, remote sensing scientists
considered GIS to be something else. Only in
An example of 3D point cloud
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Geospatial World May 2015
COVER STORY22
2014 did the International Soci-ety for Photogrammetry and
Re-mote Sensing recognise Spatial Information Science as worthy of
a Commission! Please note the marked avoidance of terms like GIS or
geospatial. Surveyors swore by aerial photography for stereo
imag-ing and consigned satellite stereos-copy to small-scale
mapping. These silos become more pronounced when one leaves the
traditional arena of mapping. For example, Business Intelligence
(BI) may use maps, but does not consider it to be a geospatial
application. The matter is not helped by geospa-tial professionals
themselves who
tend to think in terms of geospatial and domains such as
agriculture, defence, etc., rather than a con-verged solution for
an application like infrastructure planning or smart cities. For
example, there is much talk about e-Governance and g-Governance
where the e prefix indicates the use of IT and g indi-cates the use
of geospatial tech-nology. In reality, these prefixes draw
attention away from the main task of governance and focus on the
enabling technologies. Those on whom the task of governance falls,
tend to consider them as ex-ternal impositions rather than the
facilitating technologies that they
really are, thereby losing out on the advantages to be
gained.
Opportunities galoreHerein lies the opportunity. The Smartphone
is perhaps the best example of the kind of opportu-nities that
exist, some apparent, some dormant and many undis-covered. Using a
Smartphone, a person can navigate to a point of interest using a
digital map and GPS, take a picture, geotag it and share it with
friends and perhaps even link it to the digital map for public
viewing. The Smartphone is not called a GIS phone or a GPS phone,
though it uses GIS and GPS
Googles aerial photography for London
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23COVER STORY
May 2015 Geospatial World
for navigation and geotagging. It is called smart because it
adds on features and widens the range of communications
possibilities from just a voice call, which is what a phone is
supposed to do, to a multimedia message while using GIS and GPS as
facilitating technologies for information lo-cation, acquisition
and dissemina-tion. A Smartphone is the epitome of Information and
Communica-tions Technologies in action as an integrated service.
The I in ICT stands for multimedia informa-tion encompassing voice,
text, im-age and spatial data.
Anne Kemp in her article on Geospatial and BIM, (Geospatial
World, February 2015) puts it neatly when she writes, The
convergence of the various methodologies and technologies for
managing data, taking the best of each, and boldly ditching the
worst or superfluous of the rest, must surely be for the common
good of developing and managing a better planet. So, lets
The addition of analytical capability took GIS to a new level
where it could be used in many fields from simple mapping and
decision support systems to modelling and prediction
put aside the hang-ups of what is and is not GIS and BIM, and
discov-er what really deserves our focus.
What really deserves our focus are end goals like smart cities,
sustaina-ble development, climate change management, to name a few,
which ultimately have a positive impact on human existence. Some
domains are already picking up convergence of technologies; for
example GIS and SCADA for better power distribution management; BIM
and GIS for better decisions in infrastructure manage-ment; and BI
and GIS for business ef-ficiency. This is not the end. Any and
every domain can benefit, provided we leave our silos and start
thinking out-of-the-box.
Channelising the opportunitiesSince we have covered strengths,
weaknesses and opportunities, let me conclude with threats. Apart
from the silos, the biggest threat is slow and restrictive
regulatory environment. There are regula-tions that pose challenges
to the
Assessing damage from fire and pollution using UAVs
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applications of technology, which can upset the best of
applications. UAVs are being used to survey the earthquake-hit
areas of Nepal where access is difficult at normal times and has
become well nigh impossible with landslides.
Yet, UAV usage is not allowed in most countries in the light of
perceived dangers to aviation, secrecy and privacy. The rapid
growth of technology has outpaced regulations and this sometimes
restricts meaningful applications.
Given the level of integration achieved within the geospatial
ecosystem and the convergence with many applications, geospatial
systems should become a major component of the Internet of Things
(IOT). Let it remain IOT and not g-IOT.
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Geospatial World May 2015
INTERVIEW24
In conversation with Paul A McRoberts, Vice President
Infrastructure Modelling and Platform Product Group, Autodesk Inc.,
Geospatial Worlds Executive Editor, Bhanu Rekha, understands why an
agnostic approach to data is healthy for the industry...
What according to you are the technology trends in the
infrastructure space?Its the access to information that is held in
silos. The files, formats and setups, have all been availa-ble in
spaces such as GIS, BIM, CAD, aerial imagery, LiDAR and so on. They
have all been disparately available, but the aggregation of
information together was not possi-ble. Now, newer ways of
collecting and aggregating in-formation are coming up, and these
are a lot cheaper too. Technologies are blending together in GIS,
BIM and CAD environment to utilise the already available
information.
Infrastructure
GDPFunding
INFRASTRUCTURE
How important do you think BIM is for the entire infrastructure
life cycle?The building space is evolving and BIM for
infrastructure is catching up. BIM for infrastructure started doing
the rounds at Autodesk three or four years ago. BIM, in the context
of infrastructure design, is about an aggregate of fetching the
information and understanding its context in the real world
scenario. By aggregating all the information, we can generate a 3D
view of what an entire city might look like each and every aspect
of the city is noted fundamentally, and the existing information is
aggregated further. Through
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25INTERVIEW
May 2015 Geospatial World
a BIM process, and todays BIM cloud, desktop and mobile
solu-tions, you can actually make better decisions early on about
what the future might look like and how we can enhance it in a
constructive way. The BIM environment allows you to rapidly
prototype options for future and run analytics against those
options to see if they actually are viable and make any sense. And
equally important, it enables you to visually communicate design
in-tent to technical and non-technical project stakeholders.
Could you please cite an example?Lets talk about the Carbon
Disclosure Project, wherein 40 cities around the world got together
to measure carbon footprints. In a span of few years, about 280
countries joined in. To understand what carbon disclosure is, and
to find ways to reduce it, you ought to start using the information
and make sustainable decisions. There is a need to identify where a
city is going, how it is doing currently in terms of its dynamics
and what is its vision for the future. We check with the city
authorities about their mission and vision about the future of
their respective cities and explain to them what GIS is and how it
can contribute to the overall well-being of the infrastructure
space.
How do you think public perception of infrastructure has evolved
over the years?People are socially active and social media is
impacting all as-pects of modern life, including the civil
infrastructure world. When
a project is taking shape initially, there is a strong design
for bet-ter systems, better utilisation of limited resources and
better live-ability. When it comes to public infrastructure, most
people had no way to participate in design de-cisions, but with
social media, all that has changed, giving even the general public
an outlook to share opinions via social media. Today,
forward-thinking government and civil infrastructure professionals
are offering their project stakehold-ers such things as drone-based
fly overs, animations, photo realistic 3D images, you name it.
Users can go to websites, click a picture and tweet it for others
to see. Since the
industry involves spending of a lot of money, it becomes
instrumental for the public to participate and see where their
money, that they pay as taxes, is going.
There is always a need for solutions as far as efficiency of
systems is concerned. How is Autodesk gearing up to provide
solutions, especially in the urban framework of city planning?
While developing the latest tech-nology, we created a really strong
Application Programme Interface (API) for being able to connect.
Definitely, there is a lot of informa-tion out there and we, of
course, dont own it. Our objective is to
Paul A McRoberts
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Geospatial World May 2015
INTERVIEW26
re-represent the data. Bringing in the CAD, BIM, GIS, federated
and non-federated data together in context of the real world
scenario gives us an advantage to explain it to people who are not
necessarily from this segment of the world.
To assimilate the data and re-represent it within a BIM
workflow, how is it done? As far as the big information (or big
data) piece is concerned, we try remaining as agnostic as
possi-ble, both in what we aggregate and what we create. We dont
necessar-ily have to own the data; we only need to make it possible
for our us-ers to be able to re-represent data they collect from
public records or capture in the field. We are help-ing to move
away from a data silo environment to a data aggregation translation
approach for being able to re-represent the information quickly,
and use that information to expedite the decisions. I strongly
believe that the agnostic approach to data is healthy for the
industry.
Do you think it is absolutely important for BIM and GIS to come
together and synergise the data? How is the trend catching up to
use both BIM and GIS capabilities together?We are putting it in
under the whole BIM for Infrastructure concept. If it
is GIS information, we represent it, and if it is an
architectural building coming in, and we have the infor-mation, we
re-represent that as well. In both cases, its about information,
and what we are doing is breaking down the barriers between
them.
But is such trend not opening up in most emerging markets? In
the future of the smart city sce-nario, having access to data is
es-sential since it leads to generating a model and do creative
things. All data is created equal. Most coun-tries wouldnt put
sensitive data on their websites, but there is still a lot of data
that they do. For example, through our Model Builder solu-tion via
Autodesk InfraWorks 360, we can pick a location anywhere in the
world and generate a pretty de-cent representation of what exists
there today, just from the GIS in-formation that is available
through the Web. Then additional informa-tion can be layered in to
improve accuracy. Talking about the emerg-ing markets, China has
really good building and GIS information. In-dia, however, has the
ability to scan through LiDAR or a UAV, etc. The processing cost
and manageability of it is cost-effective.
How do you see BIM being used effectively in the operations and
the maintenance of the large
infrastructure, especially in utility networks?Utilities and the
public go hand in hand. In an emergency situation, or when a
natural disaster strikes, public support becomes apparent. In such
a situation, people can snap pictures of the location and tie it to
a model based on location and then enter the information. They are
not relying on hand notes being put in around the particular GIS
ob-ject. Instead, they can capture infor-mation at the location
with mobile devices and submit directly to the model. This way, I
can have the in-formation directly fed in to my BIM infrastructure
model and send it out or have people on the field look at the heat
map and understand where the problems are and go di-rectly to
access that information.
What is the roadmap of Autodesk to address the massive business
opportunity available? I believe infrastructure improves GDP and
GDP improves funding. Increased funding automatically leads to
improved infrastructure. So, the best thing we can do is to
actual-ly help improve the economy to im-prove the infrastructure.
Take China for instance their GDP growth has less to do with export
and more to do with fetching raw material from the rural
environment and bringing it to the cities, manufac-turing the
complete product and trading it off to some other country. If you
look at their transportation plans, the amount of roads and rail
and everything else, you feel the growth of the country. Getting
into the macro and micro dynamics of the economy is the key.
We are helping to move away from a data silo environment to a
data aggregation translation approach to re-represent the
information
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Asia Pacific
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Latin America
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Amsterdam, The Netherlands
ConneCting geospatial Communities aCross the globe
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Geospatial World May 2015
CASE STUDY28
Working day and night, a group of machines races to harvest a
farms crops, before an approaching storm damages the plants. In
precise formation, the automated harvesters steer themselves,
freeing the opera-tor to monitor the onboard systems that gather
the crop and record the yield. The yield data, combined with
location, soil conditions and other information, is wirelessly
delivered into a software that the farm oper-ators use to create
detailed plans for seeding, fertilisation and water needs for
future crops. The plans then support automated machine guidance and
control for plant-
Tech allianceTech alliancegreatergreaterforfor
opportunitiesopportunities
The demand for information is increasing constantly. Through the
use of innovative tech combinations, geospatial professionals can
now support their clients increasingly complex needs and
processes
ing, spraying, monitoring and completing the circle
harvesting.
Tech convergenceThis scenario is not an imaginary or futuristic
view. Rather, it describes the functions of precision agri-culture
very much in use today across the world. It is just one of the many
examples of how multi-ple technologies work together to collect,
process and utilise geospa-tial information. Certainly, a new
technology can be exciting and can even open doors to
applications far beyond its developers original vision. Only
rarely, however, does a single technology address a com-plex need
or a problem.
Todays most successful solu-tions are the products of carefully
crafted combinations of multiple sometimes disparate tech-nologies.
Some problems can be straightforward, such as the need to reduce
the time required to
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29CASE STUDY
May 2015 Geospatial World
collect survey data and compute earthwork volumes on a road
con-struction project. Other solutions, such as precision
agriculture, often involve many people performing different tasks
at different times and locations.
In either case, the solutions re-quire thorough design, which
can come only from deep knowledge of a clients needs. To put it
sim-ply, technology is the means to the end. If you dont understand
the problem at hand, then, even the newest, shiniest technology may
be of little help. Conversely, by working closely with clients and
customers, technology companies can create streamlined solutions
for some very difficult challenges.
Simplifying workflowDrawing on its long history of work-ing
relationships with numerous transportation agencies and
con-tractors, Trimble has developed a deep understanding of their
pro-cesses, needs and challenges. For example, road and highway
depart-ments conduct regular inspections of their bridges and other
infrastruc-ture. A thorough bridge inspection might require several
hours of field work by engineers, surveyors and technicians. During
the inspection, the teams conduct measurements, take photographs
and make writ-ten notes. The inspection may entail closing traffic
lanes and accessing difficult or hazardous areas on and around the
bridge structure, add-ing time and cost to the job. After the field
work, the data and notes are compiled and entered into the
appropriate logs and databases. Managers and engineers need to
sift
through the data to extract the in-formation needed to determine
and prioritise maintenance and repairs.
While several stages of the in-spection process can be improved,
lets focus on how blended technol-ogies can simplify the field
work. By using an imaging rover such as the Trimble V10, field
crews can cap-ture georeferenced, high-resolution panoramic images
of the bridge. In-dividual points can be collected with survey
accuracy and tied to forms to capture detailed data on a feature or
object. To eliminate clipboards and handwritten notes, additional
infor-mation, including photographs, can be collected using
interactive cus-tomised forms on tablet or hand-held computers with
built-in digital cameras. When highly detailed in-formation is
needed, teams can use 3D scanning to capture dense point clouds in
minutes. They can also use imagery data captured with the V10 to
reconstruct point clouds in the office. Data from the field systems
can be uploaded to the cloud to be accessed and shared with
down-stream users including engineering, management and finance
teams.
Solutions that address just this one example represent a blend
of many technologies. The imaging rover combines digital
photogra-phy with positioning via total station or RTK GNSS (each a
re-markable blend of technologies on their own). WiFi, Bluetooth
and cellular communications enable rapid movement of information,
instructions and inspection re-sults. Rugged, high-performance
field computers control the field sensors, store data and provide
the platforms for additional notes
working closely with clients & customers, tech companies can
create streamlined solutions for difficult challenges
Guided by GNSS, an automated sprayer applies pre-determined
amounts of fertiliser. Precision farming combines multiple
technologies in positioning, machine control, communications and
data management
and photos. In the office, blended solutions combine
software-based technologies ranging from 3D po-
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Geospatial World May 2015
CASE STUDY30
sitioning and adjustment, image processing and photogrammetry to
point cloud management and 3D modelling. Software, like field
hard-ware, is evolving to blend more func-tionality into single
packages. For example, Trimble Business Center software (TBC)
handles traditional survey measurements via GNSS and optical
instruments. The software also performs image processing and
photogrammetry (including dense point cloud reconstruction) using
photos from a total station, imaging rover or airborne solutions,
such as the Trimble UX5 aerial imaging rov-er. In addition to
providing a stand-ard user interface and workflows, multifunctional
software, like TBC, reduces time and data loss when transferring
data between special-ised software programs.
In applications for infrastructure inspection and asset
management, combined technologies do more than save time in the
field and of-fice. The blended solutions can also improve safety,
reduce the need for lane closures and help to prevent
costly return visits. And by moving inspection results into
downstream applications for design, planning and economic analysis,
the inte-grated solution enables manage-ment teams to make timely,
in-formed decisions.
Technological blending and evolution is not limited to the
sys-tems that gather and process geo-spatial information. In recent
years, the approaches used to move and share information has
advanced as well. Like hardware and software, the most effective
new solutions are designed to address the needs of geospatial
professionals and the clients they serve. Many of these approaches
leverage the power and flexibility of the Internet.
Cloud-based productivityWhen the first cellular phones came to
the market, many com-panies recognised the potential of wireless
technologies and used SMS (text messaging) to communi-cate among
field and office teams. As wireless Internet connectivity emerged
and the volume of data grew, organisations began to in-corporate
cloud solutions into their enterprises. In addition to provid-ing
communications among stake-holders, Internet technologies offer
tremendous power and flexibility in data processing, information
management and enterprise op-erations. The result? The lines
be-tween field and office have blurred.
Cloud technologies can play a key role in fulfilling the needs
of an enterprise or organisation. In addition to data transfer and
stor-age, cloud services can provide streamlined access to
geospatial
databases and enterprise man-agement tools. By using Web
in-terfaces, stakeholders in multiple disciplines and locations can
access project data and collaborate on de-sign and project
decisions. With cloud-based tools and services, changing field
conditions are visi-ble to design teams, and field crews are
confident that they are working with up-to-date project data. This
smooth movement of information is a large step in the effort to
create streamlined processes and repre-sents a major advantage of
blend-ed technologies.
There are other benefits as well.Some of the most difficult
problems an organisation faces stem from long, complicated
workflows. By blending technologies, solutions can combine multiple
steps in a workflow or value chain, saving time and eliminating
potential sources of error. For exam-ple, wireless Internet
technologies can automate the seemingly simple step of transferring
geospatial data
Software like field hardware is evolving to blend more
functionality into single packages, leading to reduced transfer
time and data loss
An in-vehicle display for precision farming provides position
and operator guidance together with data from yield monitors
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31CASE STUDY
May 2015 Geospatial World
from the field to an office system. Not only can the data be put
to work almost immediately, automated transfer reduces and
simplifies the work of the field crew. Rather than spending time to
upload their data, the field crews time and energy can move to
their next task.
Blended systems for complex operationsAs the complexity of work
process-es increases, so does the value of blended technologies.
Because complex processes offer greater op-portunities for savings
and efficien-cy, companies with complicated op-erations stand to
gain the most from blended systems. To illustrate this, consider
the operation of an open
pit mine, where frequent meas-urements are needed to produce
data on production volumes, mine planning, reclamation and other
operations. The solution is to com-bine ground positioning and
aerial or terrestrial photography with soft-ware for image
processing, feature extraction, change detection and 3D modelling.
This blended approach produces more accurate data cap-tured at
shorter intervals, with lower cost and less disruption to mine
op-erations. As a result, mine engineers and management are able to
make timely, informed decisions.
In creating blended solutions, developers must be able to take
ad-vantage of a broad range of technol-ogies. The work to design a
complete
solution begins by understanding the decisions and processes
fuelled by the information from the work-site. From there, the
equipment, software, workflows and interac-tions are defined to
optimise the efficiency and accuracy in collecting and utilising
data. These solutions can cross or eliminate tradi-tional
technological boundaries. For example, automated earthwork
construction calls on geospatial technologies for positioning and
terrain modelling. It also uses wire-less communications,
high-speed field computing and direct control of a machines
mechanical and hy-draulic systems. Similarly, enterprise solutions
for water utilities combine GNSS field positioning and data
collection with technologies for GIS, asset maintenance and
customer call management. Technicians may access information via
specialised field computers, tablets or even their personal
Smartphones.
Many geospatial professionals enjoy talking about their
technology. But, its critical to remember that the value of
information does not come from the technologies that produce and
deliver it. As long as information is complete, accurate and
usable, the people using the information have little interest in
how it got to them. A successful blend of technologies will deliver
information in such a way that the underlying effort and complexity
is unseen. Like the auto-mated farm, organisations that em-brace
these solutions will reap new benefits in efficiency and
profits.
Ron Bisio, General Manager, Surveying and Geospatial Division,
Trimble
combined technologies improve safety, reduce the need for
lane
closures and help to prevent costly return visits
Using images captured from aerial or land-based cameras, Trimble
Inpho software produces data on structures, vegetation, change
detection and more. The information can be shared for use by public
and private agencies
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Geospatial World May 2015
ARTICLE32
Adapting to the New NormalClimate change is here. Simon
Thompson, Director of Commercial Industry, Esri, shares how
geospatial tools are helping us adapt to the new normal
It is hard to believe that this year, as the Polar Vortex
returned to North America, bringing snow and sub-zero temperatures,
meteorological offices in the UK, Australia and other countries
around the world an-nounced that 2014 was the hottest year on
record. Re-cords dating back to 1659 tell us that eight of the UKs
top 10 warmest years have occurred after 2002.
Soaring temperatures and high winds in Australia last year
fuelled some of the worst bushfires in more than 30 years.
According to a recent report by Climate Council, a climate change
research group based in Australia, changing weather, a growing
popula-tion, and the proximity of vulnerable assets in
bush-fire-prone areas have increased the risks to lives and
property. The cost of these bushfires is estimated to run into
hundreds of millions of dollars each year. It is ex-pected that
Australia needs to double up the number of firefighters by 2030 to
cope with this threat. Ironi-cally, record warm weather like
Australias dry spells
and the recent drought in California are mirrored with
increasingly severe wet weather, including cyclones in the Pacific
and Atlantic hurricanes. The tropical storm - Jangmi - led to
flooding and landslides in the Philip-pines and more than 50 people
lost their lives. Jangmi comes fast on the heels of Malaysias worst
flooding in decades, which killed 21 people and destroyed about two
hundred thousand homes. It seems that lately, weather is getting
more extreme.
The role of GISAs climate change brings in stability to
short-term weather patterns, weather events are becoming more
severe. This is challenging our understanding and the ability to
respond. Given this new normal, how can we best protect lives and
better prepare for future events?
Many reports make recommendations on how coun-tries and
communities can become more resilient to extreme events. Important
decisions about adaptation
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33ARTICLE
May 2015 Geospatial World
Adapting to the New Normaland risk reduction need to be made at
all levels: global, national and lo-cal. To do this, we need a
framework that can provide consistent, aligned information for
better understand-ing. Concepts like geodesign designing with
nature in mind are already in place to help forge consensus and
negotiate the path to implementing action. GIS and spa-tial
analytics can help.
GIS is the most powerful and intuitive tool for making
reasona-ble, informed and congruent de-cisions that balance the
needs of all individuals and actors from the wealthiest nations to
the poorest, and those most likely to be impact-ed as booming
populations flock to coastal cities.
At its core, GIS helps people to discover, make, use, and share
ge-ographic knowledge. Esris ArcGIS platform lets people connect
with anyone, anywhere, and on any de-vice. It provides
sophisticated, high-ly accurate and scientifically robust tools
which precisely quantify and categorise risk, yet, are intuitive
and provide easy-to-author templates to communicate and inform.
If we are to protect our lives and livelihoods, our
infrastructure and financial assets, we need a tool like this to
test, compare, and evaluate all available options. Better account
for risks in financial systems can be taken into consideration
through such tools. We can make informa-tion about extreme weather
more usable and suitable for users needs.
This encourages collaboration and ongoing dialogue between
pro-ducers and users of knowledge.
Improved risk understanding provides more accurately modelled
impacts and provides relevant in-formation for decision-makers,
particularly at regional and local levels. As a result, we can
inform valuations and investment deci-sions, as well as incentivise
organ-isations to reduce their exposure.
Leading the chargeA number of organisations around the world are
already using these tools to make better decisions in the face of
changing climate. Only six years ago, the idea of mapping sea-level
rise based on emission scenarios was novel in the US, and proposing
to combine these with storm surge models was consid-ered absurd.
Despite awareness
Improved risk understanding provides more accurately modelled
impacts and relevant information for decision-makers, particularly
at regional and local levels
Web-mapping services from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, USGS, and NOAA were integrated with Coastal Resilience data
to help users assess risk and vulnerability to flooding across the
eastern seaboard of the US
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Geospatial World May 2015
ARTICLE34
of growing coastal hazards, local governments and decision
makers do not have the capacity to map and plan for future climate
pro-jections, let alone identify coastal management scenarios to
address these threats. Today, decision makers often have only
limited access to the critical information necessary to support
choices for managing social and economic vulnerability, and
specifically, to understanding the role natural habitat can play in
reducing risk. As a consequence, they are una-ble to
comprehensively integrate coastal hazard risk and sea-level rise
into their decision-making in order to increase the resilience of
human and natural communities.
Enter Coastal Resilience, an approach led by The Nature
Conservancy to assess risk and vulnerability while identifying
restoration and adaptation choices. The backbone of this approach
is an online mapping decision support tool, based on the ArcGIS
platform.
The Coastal Resilience decision sup-port tool is well-positioned
to sup-port a vast array of local and regional governments and
institutions that are either responding to disasters, or preparing
and planning for current and future climate conditions.
Coastal Resilience helps users assess risk and vulnerability to
storm surges and erosion along the coastlines of the United States,
Mexico, and Central America and in the Caribbean. It also gives
them ways to identify how to restore damaged or eroded land and
adopt new techniques to protect vulnerable communities. Local and
regional government offi-cials, as well as the general public, can
use Coastal Resilience to re-spond to and prepare and plan for
changing climate conditions and coming disasters.
Insurers are on the GIS bandwag-on as well. Aon eSolutions uses
GIS to help companies take steps to mit-igate loss and develop
contingency plans. Aon eSolutions is the client
technology arm of Aon, a leading global provider of risk
management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human
resource consulting and outsourcing. Aon eS-olutions provides
cloud-based and on-premises business solutions the specific needs
of this community.
Aon staff integrated GIS into the companys RiskConsole solution,
a global risk management infor-mation system used by many of the
worlds leading corporations. Organisations can show a compar-ison
of business measures, such as counts of reported claims by
organisational unit, visually on a map. Displaying these measures
on maps allows users to interactively validate locations, visualise
loss patterns, and identify hot-spots. Adding natural-hazard data,
such as weather, earthquake, and fire, helps customers view
properties likely to be impacted by an event so they can take steps
to mitigate loss and develop contingency plans.
And this scenario is being played out in thousands of locations
all over the world. There are many tough decisions to make on fire,
drought, heatwaves, landslides, and severe storm risk; GIS is
making this pro-cess easier with purpose-driven tools and templates
that are readily customisable and easily adaptable to users
needs.
GIS helps us in easily sharing and coordinating information, so
we can make more prudent decisions on the risk and returns on
investment of development. Together, we can leverage these tools to
build better long-term re-silience to extreme weather and climate
change.
Visualising models with apps based on ArcGIS, like WSNs
XtremeGIS, gives risk managers a better idea of what may happen
during and after a storm
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IGF_report_ mar2015_revised.indd 6 23-02-2015 14:41:05
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Geospatial World May 2015
INTERVIEW36
Mapping the globe, 3mx3m at a timeMapping the globe, 3mx3m at a
time
Steven Ramage, Strategy Director, What3Words, shares how his
start-up has simplified the worlds addressing system by splitting
the globe into titled squares.
Hi! Id like to get this package delivered to purely.dips.dent,
please.Now, that may have sounded
unintelligent. But, what if we were to tell you that it was just
a request made at a courier company, asking for a parcel to be
delivered to Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York, US?
A new global addressing system, called What3Words (w3w), has
divided the world into 57 trillion
3mx3m squares, and given each one a three-word address. So,
while Paris Champs-lyses becomes gushes.cracker.fronted, Londons
Oxford Street boils down to tube.gates.leave under this novel
system.
And while you may find yourself searching for what your address
is called under what3words umbrel-la for fun, lets not forget that
we still dont have unique addresses for a major chunk of planet
Earth. Its these four billion unaddressed people
around the world, what3words really wants to focus on.
The companys motto is addressing the world. Is the global
addressing problem something we really need to worry about?Around
75% of the world suf-fers from inadequate addressing systems. In
the remaining 25%, a large number of national addressing systems
are plagued with problems,
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37INTERVIEW
May 2015 Geospatial World
causing widespread inefficiency. And while poor addressing is
costly and annoying for some developed countries, in developing
nations around the world, it is responsible for hampered growth and
progress.
How can a unique address change the world?A unique address means
that the four billion unaddressed people of this planet can now be
visible. They are able to get deliveries and receive aid, report
diseases and exercise their rights as citizens, because they have a
simple way to communi-cate where they live or work. It also means
that in remote locations, water facilities can be found, mon-itored
and fixed; and schools, hos-pitals, refugee camps and informal
settlements can be managed. It means that microfinance can scale
up, and local businesses and e-com-merce can grow. On the other
hand, in countries with advanced systems, a precise and simple
address means that people dont get lost, packages are delivered
efficiently, utilities are managed and businesses get found by
customers. This can add billions to the economies.
How successful have you been in trying to allocate three words
to any and every location in the world?Since what3words is based on
a grid of 57 trillion 3mx3m squares, we have been able to give
everyone a unique, fixed, three-word long, simple and usable
address. Anyone, including countries that have poor or inadequate
addressing, can get started immediately, quickly and cost
effectively.
But, why are you working against the coordinate system?Latitude
and longitude continue to be the basis for our system. And while
they are brilliant for computers and trained profession-als,
three-word addresses are more human-friendly in everyday use. There
are a few alphanumeric ad-dressing systems out there, but they are
all hard to memorise. The use of words means that non-technical
people can find any location accu-rately, and communicate it more
quickly, more easily and with less ambiguity than any other system.
Words can easily be remembered, written, said, printed or shared
digitally. And lets not forget that three-word addresses are
available
Steven Ramage, Strategy Director, What3Words
A unique address means that the 4 billion unaddressed people of
this planet can now be visible
in multiple languages, including English, Russian, French,
Portu-guese, Spanish, Turkish, Swahili and Arabic. And more
languages are on the way.
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Geospatial World May 2015
INTERVIEW38
Table.chair.lamps, curiosity.peach.deconstructs arent these sets
of words quite strange in a world which relies on latitude and
longitude?Each of our wordlist is curated to ensure that the words
are mean-ingful and used daily in local language. There are,
occasionally, some odd combinations, but we believe the benefits of
a precise and simple address outweighs these.
Can you tell us about the technology and related infra-structure
behind w3w? An algorithm and wordlist un-derpin our service. The
system is not a database, but an algorithm of less than 10Mb in
size, so it fits on any device. The wordlists have 25,000 words in
each language, and 40,000 in English. We have covered the sea, as
well as the land. The lists go through multiple auto-mated and
human review process-es to remove homophones (like
sale and sail) and offensive words. The words are then sorted by
the algorithm, taking into account the word length,
distinctiveness, fre-quency, and ease of spelling and
pronunciation.
Simpler, more common words are allocated to more populated areas
that speak that language, and the longest words are used in
unpopulated areas. The algorithm also shuffles similar-sounding
three-word combinations around the world to make it obvious if you
have made an error in typing. For example, table.chair.lamp and
table.chair.lamps are purposely on different continents.
We have an error detection system that makes intelligent
suggestions on where it thinks you mean as you type, even if you
make typos. We are currently working on a voice recognition
system.
How do navigation devices comprehend w3w? Can I type
in an address and navigate to it easily in an app, like Google
Maps or Apple Maps?Currently, we have in excess of 25 partner
integrations from organisati