GPS World

Author: Tracy Cozzens

  • Trend- and Media-Forum at InterGeo Features Innovation, China

    The Trend- and Media-Forum at InterGeo 2014, held October 7-9 in Berlin, showcases international trends and visionary presentations. Highlights include the daily JobSHAKER career event and the first cooperation with Chinese media platform 3sNews.

    The InterGeo Trend- and Media-Forum works with renowned companies and publishing houses to explore interdisciplinary questions and initiate dialogue and debate. With a range of presentations, workshops, award ceremonies and panels, the forum is a catalyst for innovation and drives trends. The presentations focus on topics such as business processes involving geointelligence, UAVs, mobile solutions, cloud environments, 3D applications and e-government strategies.

    JobSHAKER. In 2014, the topics of careers and young professionals will once again be at the heart of the InterGeo Trend- and Media-Forum. The well-established JobSHAKER career event brings together InterGeo employers and jobseekers. Attractive employers such as Leica Geosystems, Trimble Germany, Riegl Laser Measurement Systems, ALLSAT and the German armed forces use the Trend- and Media-Forum to showcase job opportunities and career profiles in their particular field. Conversations and discussions are very much encouraged at this event. JobSHAKER will take place daily from 12:30 to 2 p.m. as part of the Trend- and Media-Forum at InterGeo.

    Dialogue with China. In a highlight of this year’s Trend- and Media-Forum, China will be entering into dialogue with the rest of the world. Gold media partner 3sNews, one of the largest media platforms for geoinformation in China, will be present. Sarah Long from 3sNews describes the significance of this cooperation with InterGeo: “We are looking forward to innovative, highly developed products and inspiring presentations, and plan to establish partnerships for the future. As the world’s largest and most influential exhibition for the geoinformation industry, InterGeo is an absolute must for us. It’s an opportunity for us to find out all the latest news and communicate it to China — our news about InterGeo will be broadcast throughout the world.”

    GSS at InterGeo. GPS World/GSS staff will be reporting from InterGeo October 7-9. The massive trade show, held this year in Berlin, is considered the world’s leading conference trade fair for geodesy, geoinformation and land management. With more than 16,000 visitors from 80 countries, it is one of the key platforms for industry dialogue. Staff members attending include GPS World Editor and Publisher Alan Cameron, Survey/GIS Editor Eric Gakstatter, and Digital Editor Joelle Harms. All three are accepting meeting invitations for companies interested in discussing their products and services. Contact [email protected].

  • InterGeo Event Considers Land Management Challenges

    Housing shortages and rising property prices in urban areas, depopulation and energy revolution in rural areas — the contrasts couldn’t be greater. On Thursday, October 9, land management experts will come together at InterGeo to discuss key issues and potential solutions.

    “The key to making rural areas viable in the long term is to work together. Citizen participation, shared usage strategies, cooperation between municipalities — boundaries are disappearing and it’s land development that makes this possible,” said Hartmut Alker, chair of the Federal and State Working Group on Sustainable Land Development.

    In this context, the conference at InterGeo focuses on four major themes:

    • Flood prevention using land management strategies.
    • Housing shortages in urban areas, taking into account socially progressive land use and forward-looking area management.
    • Competition for land during the energy revolution as a political issue and a challenge to engineers to find compatible and compensatory solutions.
    • The future of rural areas is a broad topic that examines the “successful shrinking” and successful development of villages and rural areas.

    “Developing strategies for the future of rural areas in the context of demographic change is of fundamental importance for Germany as a successful business hub. However, it is not yet given sufficient priority within society,” said Martina Klärle, executive director of FFin – Frankfurter Forschungsinstitut.

    At the event, exhibitors will showcase a broad portfolio of tools and solutions for land management. Planning software, 3D simulations and high-resolution remote sensing data are prime examples of geodetic services in this field.

    GSS at InterGeo. GPS World/GSS staff will be reporting from InterGeo October 7-9. The massive trade show, held this year in Berlin, is considered the world’s leading conference trade fair for geodesy, geoinformation and land management. With more than 16,000 visitors from 80 countries, it is one of the key platforms for industry dialogue. Staff members attending include GPS World Editor and Publisher Alan Cameron, Survey/GIS Editor Eric Gakstatter, and Digital Editor Joelle Harms. All three are accepting meeting invitations for companies interested in discussing their products and services. Contact [email protected].

  • Orbit GT Showcases UAS Mapping Pro at InterGeo

    Orbit GT_AS-MappingPro11

    Orbit GeoSpatial Technologies will showcase Orbit UAS Mapping Pro, version 11.0, at InterGeo, October 7-9 in Berlin.

    “Orbit’s UAS Mapping Pro 11.0 is an impressive product for all professional UAV systems engaged in mapping,” said Peter Bonne, CEO at Orbit GT. “Based on our seven-year experience in high-precision UAS mapping, this software covers the complete UAS workflow for mapping purposes.”

    Orbit UAS Mapping Pro includes preflight setup, post-processing, orthocreation, dense DEM creation, creation of contour lines, extraction of profiles, calculation of volumes and stereo-viewing. It also includes digitizing tools to convert raw data to 3D vector data ready for GIS or CAD.

    Orbit’s approach to continue support for photogrammetric techniques joins with detailed user control over processing tools. Reports list the results in high detail for professional use.

    Orbit GeoSpatial will exhibit in booth E2-038 in Hall 2.1.

  • Avenza Releases Geographic Imager 4.5 for Adobe Photoshop

    Avenza Systems, producers of MAPublisher cartographic software for Adobe Illustrator and the PDF Maps mobile app, has released Geographic Imager 4.5 for Adobe Photoshop. The latest update is compatible with Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 2014 for both Windows and Mac. Also, the Geographic Imager panel has been refreshed to provide easier access to tools, image information and features.

    “We’ve been working diligently on this release of Geographic Imager to allow users to work with their spatial imagery and data in Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 2014,” said Ted Florence, president of Avenza. “Geographic Imager is an excellent add-on to Photoshop and proves to be a competitive geospatial image editing platform for many GIS professionals in the industry. We’re looking forward to continuing to develop new tools for the Creative Cloud platform to improve productivity and to streamline workflows.”

    Additional Geographic Imager 4.5 features

    • Compatible with Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 2014
    • Refreshed Geographic Imager panel for easier access to tools, image information and features
    • Various bug fixes and user experience enhancements

    Geographic Imager is software for Adobe Photoshop that leverages its image editing capabilities and transforms it into a powerful geospatial production tool. Users can work with satellite imagery, aerial photography, orthophotos, and DEMs in GeoTIFF and other major GIS image formats using Adobe Photoshop features such as transparencies, filters, and image adjustments while maintaining georeferencing and support for hundreds of coordinate systems and projections.

    Geographic Imager 4.5 is immediately available and free of charge to all Geographic Imager Maintenance Program members and at US$319 for non-maintenance upgrades. New fixed licenses start at US$699. Geographic Imager Basic licenses start at US$199. Academic, floating and volume license pricing are also available. Geographic Imager 4.5 is compatible with Adobe Photoshop CS5, CS5.1, CS6, CC and CC 2014.

  • MAPPS Chosen for FAA Working Group on UAS

    MAPPS, the national association of private sector geospatial firms, has been selected as a member of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) working group on unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). MAPPS is the only representative of the geospatial, aerial survey, and remote-sensing community on the committee.

    “As an association representing the many private sector businesses that are anxious to use unmanned aerial systems for commercial geospatial applications, we are honored to participate on this important committee,” said John Palatiello, MAPPS Executive Director, who will sit on the committee. “The geospatial community has been safely flying aircraft for decades and understands the safety implications of introducing a new technology in the national airspace. Our members see a great opportunity to utilize UAS to provide new geospatial data and applications benefiting the citizens of the United States.”

    The Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) user working group will hold its first meeting today. FAA has tasked the committee to provide input from users or potential users of UAS on immediate, near, and long-term issues for integrating UAS into the national airspace system.

    The committee is co-chaired by Michael Toscano, Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), Melissa Rudinger, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), and Mark Reed, Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).  According to Jim Williams, Manager of the UAS Integration Office in FAA, the associations represent “a diverse group of potential UAS users in certain key industries, such as agriculture, mapping, photography, energy, public safety, cargo, communications, and others.

    Palatiello has been MAPPS Executive Director since 1987.  He was an original member of the federal government’s National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) and currently serves on the Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) Advisory Board.  He is president of John M. Palatiello & Associates, Inc., an association management and public affairs consulting firm, where he is a national government affairs consultant to the National Society of Professional Surveyors, Executive Director of the Maryland Society of Surveyors, and Administrator of the Council on Federal Procurement of Architectural & Engineering Services (COFPAES). Palatiello was named one of the ten most influential people in the geospatial community by Directions Magazine.

  • Bentley Systems Acquires SITEOPS for Site Engineering

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    Bentley Systems, Inc., a company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, has acquired Blueridge Analytics, provider of SITEOPS – a site design optimization “software at your service.” SITEOPS uses cloud-based computing techniques to empower site development professionals to move beyond engineering to “optioneering,” which enables the exploration of engineering alternatives and their costs. This substantially improves the choices considered for any site development, including commercial, industrial, institutional, campus, and residential projects.

    Blueridge Analytics is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

    SITEOPS enables civil engineering professionals, real estate developers, and land planners to:

    • perform site configuration simulations that fully assess millions of layout, parking, grading, and drainage options for a site within hours instead of spending months evaluating a handful of options,
    • produce preliminary cost estimates and conceptual designs faster,
    • optimize site designs through advanced optioneering, and
    • minimize overall costs while ensuring engineering quality.

    Users of SITEOPS include Stantec, Horrocks Engineers, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Timmons Group, and WSP.

    “During the past few years we’ve been tracking SITEOPS technology and its performance in order to authoritatively validate its breakthrough capabilities,” Bentley Systems CEO Greg Bentley said. “Feedback we’ve received from engineering teams and owners has substantiated SITEOPS’ tremendous potential in enabling site development teams to deliver new value to owners. Through the power of site optioneering, owners can be confident that their engineers have considered the best choices and arrived at the most cost-effective solutions for the constraints of their respective sites. Hence, I’ve become convinced that site engineering should no longer be done any other way.”

    “To date, the development of SITEOPS technology has focused on continuous improvement to conceptual designs,” said Mike Detwiler, formerly president and CEO of BLUERIDGE Analytics and now Bentley vice president of SITEOPS product development. “Now, within Bentley’s comprehensive portfolio, SITEOPS’ BIM advancement can contribute throughout project delivery. Accordingly, an initial priority will be to complete the end-to-end workflows that Bentley is uniquely able to offer — from site development through detailed design and construction modeling.”

  • Interactive Esri Maps Explore U.S., Global Poverty

    Esri has created two maps that explain how poverty affects billions of people around the world.

    Poverty in America

    More than 50 million people in the United States live in poverty. Explore the Poverty in America maps to learn more about the levels of poverty in your state and city.

    USA_poverty

    Global Poverty Map

    Through the use of storytelling, videos, and interactive maps, Esri’s map provides a look at one method of measuring global poverty. This measure, called the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), addresses poverty through an integrative approach.

    Global_poverty

  • Icaros to Demonstrate Measuring Tool for Oblique Imagery at InterGeo

    Icaros_Intergeo

    Icaros Inc., a provider of advanced aerial remote sensing and 3D visualization solutions, will demonstrate the Icaros Measurement Tool (IMT) at the 2014 InterGeo Conference in Germany. Designed for use with oblique aerial imagery, IMT is a simple but powerful photogrammetric visualization application based on ArcGIS technologies, the company said.

    To view a demonstration of the IMT, visit Icaros in stand #A4.009 Hall 4.1 at the InterGeo Conference and Trade Fair being held in Berlin on October 7-9.

    The IMT is a universal oblique measurement tool. It enables customers working within Esri’s GIS environment to view and measure structures in oblique aerial imagery captured by any commercial oblique sensor system, including those from Pictometry, Vexcel/Microsoft, IGI, Leica, and Midas. IMT works equally well measuring images captured by oblique sensors mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

    “Icaros is opening the oblique market to all GIS users by enabling them to purchase imagery from any of the growing number of aerial oblique data providers,” said Richard Baumgartner, vice president of Business Development at Icaros. “For too long, the purchase and use of oblique imagery have been limited by proprietary collection systems and metadata formats.”

    Access to additional oblique vendors will reduce data costs in the long run, Icaros said. In addition, IMT lets users unlock the full potential of their imagery by combining 3D analysis capabilities with their GIS data. The tool is specifically designed to make highly accurate vertical and horizontal 3D measurements of structures and surfaces, including calculating distances, areas, slopes, and azimuths in complex 3D features.

    Baumgartner explained that oblique imagery is already used extensively in tax assessment and public safety applications, but many other markets are waiting to be served by off-nadir image data. The Icaros vision is to expand the use, visualization and analysis of oblique aerial images into the entire spectrum of GIS markets. Oblique analysis of structures can be beneficial to a host of new applications such as facility management, pipeline corridor infrastructure monitoring, energy audits, economic development, and asset management.

    “Asset and facility management are the next big applications for oblique imagery within the emerging 3D GIS market,” said Baumgartner.

    As GIS users continue the move to 3D, oblique imagery will be critical for constructing accurate image-based realistic 3D models. IMT enables users to manipulate and view oblique imagery while leveraging other geospatial data layers within their GIS environment. This capability allows users to navigate multi-image scenes in three dimensions while zooming and panning.

    The IMT software also provides an optional Icaros Digitizer Tool (IDT) for generating 3D models. “IDT provides additional tools to extract physical building structures and digitize them into open format models, such as Collada, Obj, and Ply, textured from the source imagery,” Baumgartner said. “Automated 3D model generation from oblique imagery is at the intersection between imagery and GIS.”

  • Handheld Group Launches Nautiz X8 Device for GIS

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    Handheld Group, a manufacturer of rugged mobile computers, has launched the Nautiz X8 rugged PDA. The Nautiz X8 is a handheld computer with superior processing power, screen performance and battery life, the company said. It is built for tough field conditions primarily in GIS, land surveying, public safety, forestry and the military.

    The Nautiz X8 is built to enable efficient and reliable data collection in tough environments. It has an IP67 ingress protection rating, which means it offers complete protection against dust and sand and can withstand immersion in water. It also meets stringent MIL-STD-810G military test standards for overall durability and resistance to humidity, shock, vibration, drops, salt and extreme temperatures.

    nautiz-x8-rugged-ip67-outdoor-mil-std-810g-WThe Nautiz X8 features a high-performance Texas Instruments 4470 dual-core 1.5 GHz processor. It has 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of iNAND Flash and a 5200 mAh Li-ion battery that lasts up to 12 hours on a single charge. It comes with a choice of operating systems — Android 4.2.2 or Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5.3.

    The device has a large 4.7-inch ultra-bright capacitive multi-touch screen with chemically strengthened Asahi Dragontrail glass, offering users brightness and protection in any field condition. The unit has an ergonomic design and weighs 490 grams (17.3 ounces).

    The Nautiz X8 has a dedicated u-blox GPS receiver, Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11b/g/n WLAN functionality, as well as connectivity through GSM/UMTS or CDMA phone data transmission. A built-in 8-megapixel camera with autofocus and an LED flash lets users capture visual data quickly and easily. This handheld also features an open architecture and an extension cap system that allows for additional hardware connections such as sensors, radios and other add-ons.

    Orders for the new Nautiz X8 can be placed immediately. First deliveries will begin in November.

    The Nautiz X8 rugged handheld will be shown first at WEFTEC in New Orleans, followed by InterGeo in Berlin.

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  • Digital Coast Act Introduced in U.S. Senate

    A bill to establish a “Digital Coast” program whereby the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) develops a coordinated and comprehensive national mapping effort for coastal, state and territorial waters of the United States, has been introduced in the U.S. Senate, earning praise from MAPPS (the national association of private sector geospatial firms).

    More than half of all Americans, 153 million people, live on or near a coast, and an additional 12 million are expected to move to the coasts over the next decade. Yet, despite this population density and economic development, much of the 95,000 miles of U.S. shoreline does not have current, accurate maps and geospatial information; moreover, much of what does exist pre-dates the 1970s.

    “The Digital Coast Act is needed to realize the concept of a Digital Coast as recommended by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS),” said MAPPS Executive Director John Palatiello. “The Digital Coast Act provides an opportunity to help America’s ocean, coastal and shoreline areas by addressing issues raised by the U.S. Oceans Commission, the Pew Commission, as well as several NAS reports, all of which have highlighted the need for surveying, charting, remote sensing, and geospatial data of America’s coasts, harbors, ports, shorelines and ocean resources critical to the nation’s most basic economic and recreational activities, to smartly conserve a fragile environment.”

    “Greater emphasis has been paid to monitoring sea-level rise, coastal conservation and emergency preparedness and response in the wake of natural and manmade disasters,” MAPPS President Jeff Lower, said. “This Digital Coast Act will coordinate the pooling of resources from multiple agencies (federal, state, and local) and other stakeholders to map the various needs once, and then utilize and apply the high-quality data and products numerous times, thus reducing taxpayer waste while maximizing the return on investment for all stakeholders.” 
    The Digital Coast is a geospatially enabled program to improve coordination and support work with stakeholders to identify geospatial priorities; improve coordination of coastal mapping and management activities; use standards and standardized methods for data acquisition, processing, and distribution to ensure broadest utility of data; promote best practices when applying geospatial data for coastal decision making; and contract for the collection and creation of quality non-navigation feature data sets to include: shoreline change, satellite and aerial imagery, land use and land cover maps, benthic habitat mapping, terrestrial topography, shallow water bathymetry, and submerged aquatic vegetation.

    U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin introduced the Digital Coast Act of 2014 on September 18. The bill compliments a bipartisan effort in the U.S. House of Representatives by C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (D-MD) and Don Young (R-AK), cosponsors of Digital Coast Act, H.R 1382.

  • Esri User Conference Seeks Papers, Presenters

    The Esri User Conference has issued a call for papers for its 2015 event, scheduled for July 20-24 at the San Diego Convention Center. “Every year, ArcGIS users tell stories of inspired solutions, insightful best practices, time-saving apps, and game-changing maps,” conference organizers said in a statement. “The most innovative and influential GIS work comes into focus at the Esri User Conference. You could tell your GIS story at the 2015 Esri UC. This is a chance to show your peers what you can do.”

    The 2015 call for papers covers 90+ session topics highlighting GIS solutions today and in the future. The user sessions combined with the UC plenary and lightning talk presentations will bring more than 900 speakers together covering more than 260 sessions dedicated to the success and advancement of geospatial technology.

    Paper sessions help attract peer recognition and provide valuable feedback, organizers said. “As an Esri UC presenter, you will gain recognition and exposure to over 16,000 Esri users who represent over 26 unique and diverse fields, coming together with the common goal of answering today’s challenges with tomorrow’s GIS to create a better world.”

    Deadline for submitting papers is October 31. Full details are on the Esri UC website.

  • Proteus Discusses Satellite-Derived Forest Inventory in Webinar

    Proteus FZC, a provider of satellite-derived mapping and classification services, will discuss its use of high-resolution WorldView-2 imagery to derive accurate forest inventory and tree classification maps in Abu Dhabi during a free webinar with DigitalGlobe.

    “Vegetation Analysis in the Desert Using Satellite Imagery,” part of the ongoing DigitalGlobe LEAD Webinar Series, will be held September 24 at 12:30 p.m. BST (7:30 a.m. U.S. EDT). Register by clicking here.

    The webinar is aimed at managers and technical analysts from forestry, agriculture, remote sensing and GIS organizations in private and public sectors. The webinar will cover:

    • How very high-resolution satellite remote sensing technology is being deployed commercially for tree inventory and condition analysis.
    • Tools that are available now to help agriculture, forestry and environmental decision makers in areas with sparse water resources.
    • How to use satellite data in support of environmental planning and policy creation.

    Richard Flemmings, Proteus project manager, will offer insight into a recent 20-million tree mapping and classification project performed by Proteus FZC in Abu Dhabi. As an extension to an Emirate-wide habitat and land use/land cover project, Proteus applied advanced processing algorithms to the multispectral and panchromatic WorldView-2 image data to differentiate many tree species and assess the condition of individual trees, critical for irrigation management.

    “This project demonstrates the viability of using very high-resolution satellite imagery to quickly and cost effectively create baseline vegetative inventories within diverse land-use areas,” said Flemmings. “The mapping technique used in Abu Dhabi can be applied to create forest and vegetation inventories of other species anywhere in the world.”

    Since 2011, Proteus has been delivering solutions for mapping and classification projects using multispectral satellite imagery. These mapping projects have been delivered for environmental, oil & gas, engineering and other coastal zone applications in Europe, USA, the Middle East and Caribbean.

    For more information on Proteus products, see www.proteusgeo.com  or email [email protected] for further details or to discuss individual requirements.