Welcome to GISWeekly! This Thursday and Friday (July 14th and 15th) the Laser-Scan User and Partner Conference 2005 is being held in Cambridge, UK . The conference offered a live feed of much of the conference, but for those of us living in the western U.S., it was difficult to “attend” virtually as the event essentially commenced at about 1 a.m. MDT. [Live keynotes can be viewed here] Earlier this week, I spoke with Laser-Scan CEO Mike Sanderson about the company's growth and development and PAI (which I wrote about in a recent issue), so I am able to bring you some of the news here.
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Industry News
Integrating Spatial Information Infrastructures and Other Herculean Tasks
By Susan Smith
This Thursday and Friday (July 14th and 15th) the Laser-Scan User and Partner Conference 2005 is being held in Cambridge, UK . The conference offered a live feed of much of the conference, but for those of us living in the western U.S., it was difficult to "attend" virtually as the event essentially commenced at about 1 a.m. MDT. [Live keynotes can be viewed here] Earlier this week, I spoke with Laser-Scan CEO Mike Sanderson about the company's growth and development and PAI (which I wrote about in a recent issue), so I am able to bring you some of the news here.
Laser-Scan has a long history of support for the National Mapping organizations of Europe. Two or three years ago, Laser-Scan had only one business partner because they were mostly selling a proprietary solution. Today their entire business model has changed: they have 28 business partners around the world. In terms of the PAI process, Laser-Scan offers it as a component part of the delivery of their solution, with partners involved. In the UK, ESRI, who do a large amount of their own work, and a whole series of smaller companies who base their solutions largely on MapInfo, are the major players in the local government marketplace. Many of the partners have rubbersheeting packages and packages that allow them to take the data from the Ordnance Survey and move it into MapInfo. In these cases, Laser-Scan is providing them with extra tools to solve data management problems.
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To most of us, the complexity of that task does not sound like “fun.” Sanderson, a geographer, admits that “geographers are not very good at managing data. We're not IT people. We basically deal in the visualization of the data, maps, etc. It came a bit of a shock to the GIS managers in the UK, that all of a sudden, the data they collected - their own layered data, no longer fit into the benchmark. None of these municipalities or central government agencies had ever thought these sorts of things would change. So, they got no idea when they collected the data in relation to what version of the data that the Survey had shipped them. PAI is just an example of something that suddenly became a major problem to them.”
Laser-Scan came to the rescue at that point. There were several ways to approach the problem: traditionally in the GIS industry, you can look at every occurrence on the screen and change it. The work could be sent to India or another country where it could be done manually. Mathematics can be used to solve some of the problems, as with the Laser-Scan tools. “We're pretty good at putting “flowlines” together in conjunction with other parties' software, which enables their customers to not have to go out and collect their data again,” said Sanderson.
The use of Oracle and Oracle Spatial as a spatial data management repository has definitely changed what Laser-Scan has to offer. Most GIS vendors can read/write Oracle Spatial type, as can the Ordnance Survey GB and some of the mapping agencies of Europe. “The spatial data they're supplying is not a map, it's a database,” Sanderson explained. “What they're supplying is a framework which helps organize the data and reference it so it can then be exchanged. A couple of years ago we put some of these mathematical tools into Oracle and that's our Radius Topology. This enables us to process vast quantities of data very rapidly. We can change and manipulate customers' data sets such that 95% of the data can be altered without manual intervention. We send them the 5% that we can't sort out so they can work it out.”
Most of the users in the UK and Europe use GIS and web based applications from U.S. companies such as ESRI, MapInfo, Autodesk and Intergraph. Laser-Scan has built components that will interoperate with all customers who are using those tools. The first step for data coming from the Ordnance Survey is to put the data into “something like Oracle.”
The value of data is of utmost importance, maintained Sanderson. In Europe just before the year 2000, an estimate was done on the cost of the spatial data collected up to 1999 by 12 European countries. The total cost was about $36 billion, after the investment in training people how to use various applications.
“Oracle is the most open form of database that we can use right now. The first thing we would do is to put the data into someone else's package, typically those that do rubber sheeting or do some more scientific approaches based on triangulation,” Sanderson said. “The data that has come in from the Ordnance Survey has what OS calls 'link files' that form a known position. It's a geometric shift point which shows how much they shifted the base map data. We can use that to transform the user's data.”
Sanderson noted that if the OS change it themselves, they are basically just emphasizing the errors that were in the data before. “We clean the data before they actually attempt to shift. Most of the heads-up digitizing that has been done in the last ten to fifteen years has been done with tools that fit the purpose at that point in time but aren't fit for the purpose now, because this is all about making data fit for exchange. For things like 9/11 and what happened in London last week, organizations must be able to respond very fast and you can't do that with the errors in the current data sets. We can take out using mathematical algorithms, using tolerances and priorities and we can remove the worst of the data errors that were in the original data.”
By building the National Framework, the local governments in the UK are able to exchange data. The National Framework is built on something called Basic Land and Property Units, which are geometric polygons. “Polygons have to be closed, if you look at some of the data sets that we've done over the last two or three years, they are closed and they don't match up to the Ordnance Survey data,” Sanderson said. “We are closing those polygons and then associating them with the new reference data. Then the shifting can take place and then we can come back and look at any other data errors that have crept in after the shifting process.”
Laser-Scan Conference Highlights
Duncan Guthrie, Managing Director for Laser-Scan, opened the conference with a discussion of how Laser-Scan has grown and interest has increased in the company since it was bought by its management team two years ago. Over the past year, he said, “we have signed agreements with a number of resellers and partners, taking forward our objective to deliver our new solutions to the market via a worldwide channel strategy.”
Peter Cappell, chairman of the Association of Geographic Information (AGI) spoke on the topic, “How communal is the spatial data community? Reflections from a Public Sector user perspective.” Prior to becoming chairman of the AGI, he had a long career in the Government Statistical service, working in a variety of Departments, producing, publishing and analyzing information on a wide range of economic and social subjects. Most recently he was Head of Profession for Statistics in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and, as Head of Planning and Land Use Statistics, was responsible for leading the ODPM work on Geographic Information.
From this perspective Cappell addressed the fact that public sector policies demand accurate, accessible information at a national, regional and local level. How has the public sector use of information evolved and how well is it making use of geographic information and the technological support which is now available? The UK should be proud of its young innovative companies but are they providing solutions looking for a problem? The GI vision needs the sectors to benefit from each other. How can this happen and how can the AGI help?
“Plug 'n' play geographic information: pipedream or realistic prospect?” The keynoters addressing this topic were as follows:
Keith Murray, Head of Geographic Information Strategy at the Ordnance Survey based in Southampton, most recently has developed the concept of DNF, the geographic information strategy for the Ordnance Survey and is involved in developing the European Spatial Data Infrastructure.
Trevor Steenson, Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland
Colin Bray has been working for Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Irish National Mapping Agency, since 1998, initial as Data Collection Manager and now as Senior Operations Manager, Data Strategy & Development. Colin is a Council Member of the Geomatics Division of the Society of Chartered Surveyors (SCS) and has been President of Commission 4 (Core Geospatial Databases) of EuroSDR (European Spatial Data Research) since the beginning of 2004.
These three speakers stressed that pressure is upon countries to provide interoperable geographic information, driven by European legislation and global economy, plus the need for application information to be integrated with many different types of geographic and other data.
The three Ordnance Surveys, Britain, Ireland and Northern Ireland have collaborated over the past years to work toward a common approach to data developments (2001, Murray, Bray and Steenson). In the beginning, they set up a user website and worked towards a scenario where users could access data from any of the three organizations without much reformatting. Currently more data and database development projects are underway.
The development possibility of a European Spatial Data Infrastructure [ESDI] and in particular the acceleration in the use of geographic information across government, operate along the same lines as what the three Ordnance Surveys have accomplished. The goal is to integrate the spatial information infrastructures that exist today in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland so that they might become "plug n'play geographic information" served up through a new range of “geography enabled” services that will be able to be seamlessly linked in to or adapted to the future ESDI. Through all of this, we are reminded that the work must be user and needs generated.
Acquisitions/Alliances/Agreements
NAVTEQ, a global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has acquired PMI, a prominent South Korean digital map company, for $28.5 million. With the purchase, NAVTEQ now has a local presence in South Korea and a digital map product available to service the dynamic Korean market.
OneGIS is pleased to announce that it has expanded its GIS product and service offerings by inking an agreement with HNIT-Baltic GeoInfoServisas (HB-GIS). The agreement names OneGIS as a representative for its Cellular Expert line of telecommunications network planning and management software for the wireless industry in the United States, Bermuda and the Caribbean. Cellular Expert is designed for mobile network operators, companies or government agencies with their own radio networks or radio transmission links, armed forces and consultants providing services in these areas.
Announcements
Jon Stigant, Geodetic Operations Coordinator for Devon Energy Corporation, will present the Thursday luncheon address at the 18th Annual GIS in the Rockies Conference in September. Karen Brandt, Chair of the Planning Committee, said "We are very pleased that Mr. Stigant will address this year's conference. His approach is very down-to-earth. The lessons he learned the hard way will give our attendees practical information they can use immediately."
The luncheon address is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday September 22nd at INVESCO Field at Mile High.
Before joining Deven Energy in early 2004, Mr. Stigant consulted for Ocean Energy. He previously worked for Chevron Geosciences as a field positioning specialist supporting geophysical surveys and rig positioning worldwide, for Wimpol Inc. as Chief Surveyor, and for Racal Decca Survey, Inc in Houston. After obtaining a BS in Engineering Science (Durham, UK) Jon spent 11 years in the Royal Navy as a hydrographic surveyor.
The Conference will be 21-23 September 2005 in Denver, Colorado, at INVESCO Field at Mile High.
Geographic Technologies Group, Inc. (GTG), a provider of professional GIS services and software for local government, has announced the formal opening of its Bethlehem, Pennsylvania regional office.
The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) is now accepting applications for Geospatial Intelligence Achievement Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the tradecraft by an individual or team from each of four sectors: government, industry, military and academia. The deadline for award application is August 15, 2005. To apply for the USGIF awards, please click on the link below. Awards: http://www.usgif.org/events/awards.htm
West Parry Sound municipalities are slowly joining forces to officially form the West Parry Sound Geography Network in an effort to keep down expenses related to the geographic information system (GIS).
GIS can be used by all aspects of municipal government including the fire department, and can help to determine property boundaries.
ORBIMAGE Inc. announced the second anniversary of the launch of its OrbView-3 satellite, which remains the newest high-resolution imaging satellite among those commercially operated. Launched on June 26, 2003 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, OrbView-3 orbits 470 km above the Earth in a sun- synchronous polar orbit while collecting imagery of every continent of the Earth's surface at one-meter resolution in the Panchromatic (black and white) mode, or at four-meter resolution in the Multispectral (color) mode. OrbView-3 has made many important contributions in supporting the mapping and monitoring needs of the US Government and our commercial and international customers.
Appointments
Avineon, Inc., a technology services company with more than 13 years experience in providing information technology, geospatial, and engineering solutions to the federal government, is pleased to announce that Ms. Debra Wittmer has joined the company as Vice President - Defense Systems.
Multimap announced the promotion of Steve Frost, senior account manager, to Head of Sales for Europe. Heading up Multimap's multinational team of account managers, Steve is responsible for further strengthening the company's position as number one online mapping company of choice for businesses across Europe.
Definiens AG announced an agreement with Sinclair Knight Merz, an Australia-based professional services firm, to serve as a reseller of eCognition products for Australia and New Zealand.
Awards
John Copple, CEO of Sanborn, a geographic information system (GIS) and photogrammetric services industry leader, announced that the company has been selected, for the second year, by the United States Department of Agriculture to provide aerial photography and imagery acquisition services in accordance with USDA-NAIP-03-05.
CH2M Hill, an employee-owned, multinational firm providing engineering, construction, operations, communications, security, environmental, and related services, has won a 2005 BE Award for its Marquette Interchange Design Automation project in Milwaukee, Wis. The award category was “Civil: New Technology Adoption.”
Wins
The state of Mississippi recently approved a Master Purchase Agreement (MPA) that places ESRI's ArcGIS on the state's direct purchase list. The MPA establishes an approved price schedule for ESRI software purchases, allowing offices to save time when budgeting and purchasing. Currently, 28 other U.S. states maintain similar types of purchase instruments to expedite acquisition of ESRI geographic information system (GIS) software widely used by state and local offices.
New Products
Graphic Technologies, Inc. announced that GTViewer has been added to the set of formats supported by FME Suite 2005 from Safe Software Inc. This addition enables GTViewer users to gain access to spatial data in more than 150 different formats, including ArcSDE, Geodatabase, PostGIS, IBM DB2, MapInfo, AutoCAD, and many others. By providing low-cost and intuitive access to geospatial data, GTViewer expands the number of people who can make use of that data and thereby grows its value in accordance with Metcalfe's Law.
BlueSphere Technologies (BST) announced the development of a connector built on .NET framework that unlocks the power of ESRI's ArcIMS. An advanced classification algorithm for thematic mapping, an important new feature not currently available in ArcIMS, is also included.
BlueSphere Technologies made a decisive choice to build tools to enhance web-based GIS solutions using ArcIMS and .NET technologies.
Synergos Technologies, Inc., a technology and data products provider, announced the updated quarterly release of STI: Workplace, the retail industry's first and only quarterly workplace population estimates. This is the fifth release of the product, which launched in April 2004 as a powerful complement to Synergos Technologies' flagship quarterly population estimate product, STI: PopStats.
The Asset Management Division of Enghouse Systems Limited announced the release of NetWORKS 4.0. The NetWORKS product portfolio continues to meet the Outside Plant and Inside Plant network design and network management requirements of Utility Telecoms, Municipal Telecoms, Independent Telecoms, and Cable TV companies.
Matrox Graphics Inc., manufacturer of graphics solutions for professionals, announced Millennium G550 PCIe, the world's first PCI Express x1 graphics card. The x1 design allows this card to be compatible with any compliant PCI Express slot. The card is based on Matrox G550 technology and has DualHead(R) support for using 2 digital or analog monitors at a time. This announcement follows other recent Matrox releases for PCI Express, including Matrox QID LP PCIe, Millennium P650 PCIe 128, and Millennium P650 LP PCIe 64.
Jena-Optronik GmbH announced the new affordable Jena Airborne Scanner JAS 150, a second generation digital sensor with enhanced flexibility and reliability. Developed for photogrammetry, mapping and remote sensing of medium and large areas, the device represents a new generation of digital aerial cameras.
Autodesk, Inc. announced the release of AutoCAD® 2006 and the latest release of AutoCAD LT®software, with features that advance core drafting functions for more intuitive and faster design and drafting capability than before.
With the latest releases of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, design professionals can create, manage and share design information more efficiently to increase productivity and achieve their design and business goals simultaneously.
DigitalGlobe® has introduced DigitalGlobe CitySphere(TM), a product aimed at helping mappers, planners and geographic information systems (GIS) specialists to improve all geospatial applications with the rapid delivery of current, repeatable, high-resolution satellite imagery data.
DigitalGlobe CitySphere is the first off-the-shelf collection of QuickBird satellite imagery covering 200 international urban centers. Offered as 60-centimeter (two-foot) resolution, color orthomosaics with 1:4,800 scale map accuracy, CitySphere products featuring these 200 urban centers will be updated on an annual basis. The updated imagery is guaranteed to be newer than 24 months. DigitalGlobe will release new worldwide cities monthly over the next 12 months.
TatukGIS announces the release of the TatukGIS Developer Kernel (VCL) v. 8.1 with final support for Delphi 2005, including native/manageable .NET under Delphi 2005. An updated DK-VCL 8.1 trial version is also available for download from the TatukGIS web site along with 45 updated samples in Delphi and C++Builder. The DK-VCL 8.1 supports Borland(R) Delphi versions 5, 6, 7 and 2005 and C++ Builder versions 5 and 6.
TatukGIS will soon also release the DK-ActiveX 8.1 upgrade with new trial version which will be followed by a native/manageable DK.NET 8.1 version for Windows forms.
Around the Web
Will RFID guided robots rule the world? by Alorie Gilbert, July 8, 2005, CNET News.com--The idea of a robotic bodyguard for schoolchildren may strike some people as brilliant and others as absurd, but Robot X is noteworthy for reasons other than playground safety.
NASA Satellites Measure and Monitor Sea Level AOL Business News, July 7, 2005 --For the first time, NASA has the tools and expertise to understand the rate at which sea level is changing, some of the mechanisms that drive those changes and the effects that sea level change may have worldwide.
Autodesk CEO Looks for Growth Opportunities, San Jose Mercury News, July 10, 2005 Autodesk, based in San Rafael, is the leader in computer-aided design (CAD) software, which revolutionized drafting in the 1980s by bringing it inexpensively onto a personal computer. Along the way, [CEO Carol] Bartz has transformed Autodesk from a single-product firm serving architects to one that now offers an array of products at the heart of many things that are designed , from dams to buildings to Hollywood special effects.
Upcoming Events
GML Days 2005
Date: July 18 - 22, 2005
Place: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
GML Days 2005 will be the fourth annual conference on the OGC Geography Mark-up Language (GML) and Web Services for GIS. GML is rapidly emerging as the world standard for the XML encoding of geographic information and is the foundation for the Geo-Web. GML is being applied to a wide range of geographic applications including homeland security & critical infrastructure protection, integrated land and resource management, location-based services, telematics and intelligent transportation systems, and oceanography.
CoastGIS 2005
Date: July 21 - 23, 2005
Place: AECC Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom
6th International Symposium Computer Mapping and GIS for Coastal Zone Management Defining and Building a Marine and Coastal Spatial Data Infrastructure As a major event, the CoastGIS series of conferences attracts an international audience of coastal researchers, managers and practitioners who use one or more of the geospatial technologies. CoastGIS 2005 will be held in Aberdeen, Scotland at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC).
CoastGIS 2005
Date: July 21 - 23, 2005
Place: Aberdeen, Scotland,, United Kingdom
CoastGIS 2005 is the sixth International Symposium on GIS and Computer Cartography for Coastal Zone Management. It is also the second CoastGIS Symposium to be offered in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. In association with the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) we are now pleased to invite you to visit Aberdeen once again and to participate in CoastGIS 2005: 21st-23rd July 2005. As a major event, the CoastGIS series attracts an international audience of coastal researchers, managers, practitioners who use one or more of the geospatial technologies. CoastGIS 2005 will be held in Aberdeen Scotland at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC).
25th Annual ESRI User Conference
Date: July 25 - 29, 2005
Place: San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA USA
Discover a community of peers eager to share their ideas, expertise, and practical applications of GIS in their organizations at the largest GIS event of the year.
Eighth Annual Society for Conservation GIS
Date: July 31 - August 2, 2005
Place: Asilomar Conference Grounds Pacific Grove, CA USA
The conference will discuss and promote the use of geospatial technologies for the conservation of natural resources and cultural heritage throughout the world. Technical applications of GIS in conservation, as well as recurring philosophical and ethical issues faced by conservationists, will be explored.