The British Cartographic Society (BCS) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Since 1963, the Society has been supporting individuals and organizations dedicated to exploring and developing the world of maps. Part of its celebration includes a special issue of The Cartographic Journal, which will bring together an interesting range of reflective and forward looking articles covering one simple question: “What does cartography mean to you?”
The Cartographic Journal’s 50 volumes have spanned 115 issues and over 1000 articles in its lifetime. The journal is edited by Kenneth Field, senior cartographer at Esri, Inc., and former principal lecturer in GIS at Kingston University, London. It is an established peer reviewed journal of record and comment containing authoritative articles and international papers on all aspects of cartography, the science and technology of presenting, communicating and analyzing spatial relationships by means of maps and other geographical representations of the Earth’s surface.
“This very special 50th anniversary issue brings together the leading lights in cartography today,” Field said. “Representing academia, commercial mapping, publishing and the so-called neo-cartographers, each contributor has fashioned a personal, reflective piece that will encourage thought and debate as we look to the future. There are some fascinating insights as well as key questions posed that will launch the Journal towards the next 50 years of publication.”
The society will also be hosting a 50th anniversary celebratory conference titled “Today, Tomorrow and Beyond” at the historic Hothorpe Hall, Leicestershire, September 3-6, to reflect on the society’s forward vision for the future of cartography.
The BCS aims to promote the art and science of cartography through publications, events, awards and educational workshops. Members include mapping companies, designers, academics, researchers, map curators, individual cartographers, GIS specialists and ordinary members of the public with an interest in maps.
GRW has purchased an Optech Gemini Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper (ALTM), adding to the company’s full realm of geospatial mapping solutions, including Digital Aerial Photography, Aerial LiDAR, ground-based Stationary Terrestrial Laser Scanning (STLS), and Mobile Terrestrial Laser Scanning (MTLS).
“The Optech Gemini will meet the increased demand for aerial acquisition, providing our clients with the latest advancements in LiDAR technology,” said Jeremy Mullins, CP, GRW’s LiDAR manager. “We have seen a substantial growth in the LiDAR market over the last several years.”
Ben Fister, PE, PLS, PSM, is principal‐in‐charge of the firm’s Geospatial Division. “GRW has always been committed to providing our clients with the best available solutions tailored to their project goals. After careful evaluation, we appreciate the technical advancements that the Optech Gemini has provided in the field of advanced aerial LiDAR solutions. It is a perfect addition to GRW’s arsenal of equipment,” Fister said.
The sensor will be utilized for a variety of projects and industries, including aviation, coal, forestry, transportation, 3D engineering design projects, and related federal, state, and municipal mapping projects.
INTRUSION SENSORS strive to have a high detection rate and low false alarm rate.
By Eric Olson and Steven Pisciotta
Ongoing threats from terrorist activities at critical facilities require early detection before the threats can reach their target and complete their mission. This has produced the need for advanced security systems to effectively detect terrorist activity, while reducing alarms caused by normal friendly activity. Automatic Threat Assessment, also referred to as Identify Friend or Foe (IFF), is the ability to automatically acknowledge alarms created by friendly assets. It can be achieved with a security system that uses GPS and geospatial data to go beyond the typical intrusion-sensor-only configuration.
The addition of a tracking system associated with friendly vehicles and personnel can provide the missing information necessary to tighten security and reduce the need to take action on alarms caused by friendly targets, and reduce the material and personnel cost of threat assessment. Tracking systems and intrusion sensors can worktogether to automatically classify an actual intruder with high confidence and without operator intervention.
The Verification Problem
Typical intrusion sensors include intelligent fences, ground proximity sensors, radar, LIDAR, and video analytics. The role of the intrusion sensor is to identify a breach and notify security personnel so they may perform verification. Table 1 shows the formal alarm types received from intrusion sensors, which strive for a high detection rate and a low false-alarm rate. For this reason, the nuisance alarm can be problematic as it reflects a real event for the intrusion sensor, but often a non-event for the security operator.
These typical sensors only provide a “suspected intruder” list. The follow-on task is to decide whether or not to reclassify a suspected intruder as an actual intruder. This process is typically a manual task and can be difficult, confusing, and time-consuming.
For instance, a landscape crew will trigger alarms. Even for very accurate systems that can uniquely track the object over a long period, it is highly likely that over the period of time the landscapers are in the area, the track will be lost, causing the system to re-alarm on the same person or vehicle, as it represents a potential intrusion.
If the landscaping crew needs to open a gate, and that gate is integrated into the facility’s access control system via a dry contact or beam breaker device, it may continuously alarm while left open, or at a minimum, in the case of the beam, each time one of the workers or the vehicle passes through the entrance. In these situations, security will either need to validate each alarm by verifying it on a camera or having an officer follow the landscaping crew throughout their route.
The existence of a friendly alarm event that needs continual validation can lead to compacency of security personnel, either not verifying it, or not verifying it in a timely manner.
Table 1. Alarm types.
Combined Detection, Location
A GPS tracking system combined with the intrusion sensors can help identify friends. Tracking systems consist of two main types of locating devices: GPS-enabled devices and wireless transponders.
Modern, low-cost GPS receivers can achieve an accuracy rating of less than 3 meters, provide an update once per second, and do not require visibility to the open sky. Wireless communication transmits the GPS data to the C2 system. A typical data set includes time, date, latitude, longitude, altitude, heading, speed, and quality of GPS signal.
The combination of intrusion sensors and tracking systems can produce automatic threat assessment. Routine situations requiring significant security involvement, such as the landscaping scenario, can be automatically managed by the system. The command and control system has the ability to know friendly targets and their location.
Further, the system can perform a check before actually alarming. In the case of a perimeter alarm, it now has the intelligence to understand, within a level of confidence, that the object detected by the intrusion sensors is the same friendly item being tracking by the tracking system. If the system determines the targets to be the same object, the alarm can be suppressed, eliminating the need for security to verify the event.
THE COMBINATION of intrusion sensors and a tracking system allows for Automatic Threat Detection.
Common Operating Picture
The integration of these types of systems is not complex in terms of how to coordinate data. Interface documents exist for these types of integration and are done on a regular basis. Typical position and target information is communicated over XML in a standard format. However, to gain these benefits, the tracking systems and intrusion sensors must all work within a common geospatial operating picture.
Advantages of geospatial or geo-referenced systems systems include the ability to easily display and control data in a map-based format, allowing tracking systems and intrusion sensors to synergistically perform automatic verification. This combined knowledge of the target’s track also allows the fusing of the GPS data and the intrusion sensor data into a single object and path, aiding security by reducing target and track clutter on his command and control or PSIM (perimeter security information system).
Take for example a guard enabled with a tracking device, performing a tour around a fence protected by video analytics enabled cameras. On a typical PSIM, a normal guard tour would result in two icons on the display, one friendly from the tracking system and one unknown from the video analytics. This scenario would also result in two similar object tracks. Security would need to review the situation and understand that this symbology represents a single target and a single track.
Integrating the tracking system with the video analytics system allows for a fusing of this data, and the resulting command-and-control symbology is a single target and a single track.
Other considerations when combining a tracking system with intrusion sensors include update rate, time and location accuracies, and overlapping coverage.
Ideally, all sensors would be synchronized when it comes to timing aspects, but this is typically not the case. Different timing between data updates and time inaccuracies can result in the inability for the systems to confidently conclude that two tracks were created by the same target. Transport delay, the transmission of the GPS data through the satellite, can also be an issue. For tracking devices, it’s vital for the data to be received by the C2 system with a repeatable transport delay. Variability in the transport delay also decreases the ability to automatically verify the threat.
Geographic accuracy of both the GPS tracker and the intrusion sensor is another important factor in data fusion. Typical GPS trackers have an accuracy rating of 3–10 meters. Actual accuracy varies based upon the visible GPS satellites, tall buildings, body worn, and RF interference. Intrusion sensors also possess an inherent accuracy. Radar surveillance may have a resolution of 1 x 1 meter at close range, but it expands at far range to 1 x 20 meters.
Intelligent fence sensors and video analytic systems can have resolutions that vary from 1 to 25 meters, based on the type of sensor and the terrain. These geographic inaccuracies can be handled to some degree by considering other factors, including heading, speed, and previous track, but it’s important to understand where these inaccuracies can occur.
Overlapping coverage of surveillance sensors also affects data fusion. In the case of track fusion, this ability is only available is areas where both a geospatial intrusion sensor exists and a tracking system is operational. If there are gaps in overlapping coverage, or areas that do not include geospatial- based intrusion sensors, then fusion is not possible in those regions.
Eric Olson is vice president of Marketing at PureTech Systems.
Steven Pisciotta is president of Remote Tracking Systems.
“In an ever-changing environment, it would be ideal if the U.S Geological Survey had a presence in every corner of the nation. While we may not be able to cover every inch of the landscape, we can greatly enhance our scope with your help,” the USGS continues.
The USGS has a variety of citizen science efforts where people can report what’s happening in their own backyards. It’s seeking information on events such as earthquakes, landslides, new construction, and climate. “If you live in Alaska, we want you to tell us if you experience a volcanic ash fall and even collect a sample,” the USGS said.
The information gets aggregated and disseminated through a variety of tools geared toward making this information easily accessible so it can be put to use. Using , there are interactive online systems where people can report what it was like during an earthquake, and then see all the reports for that event mapped out for the affected area.
“Through your contribution, not only will your observations build a much larger and more complete database, but you will also become a virtual member of the USGS scientific team!” the USGS said.
Map of tweets containing the word “terremoto” (Italian for “earthquake”) collected in the two minutes following a magnitude 6.0 earthquake in Northern Italy on May 5, 2012. The red star shows the location of the earthquake. The tweets are concentrated in the epicentral area but discussion of the earthquake has already spread beyond the impacted region. This shows the speed that USGS Tweet Earthquake Dispatch (TED) collects tweets to provide insight into potential earthquake events. Image Credit: USGS.
The valuable role of crowd-sourcing data is outlined in a 2013 report by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, authored in collaboration with the USGS. The report highlights success stories from the USGS’ Tweet Earthquake Dispatch (@USGSted) program, Did You Feel It? and related USGS activities. For example, although there was an exceedingly swift international aid response to the massive 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan, China, the first reports of the event outside of the impacted area came from citizens, and information spread through the use of social networking tools such as Twitter. Similarly, 148,000 individuals used Did You Feel It? to describe their experience of a magnitude 5.8 earthquake that occurred in Virginia on August 23, 2011. Because large-magnitude earthquakes are fairly rare along the East Coast, there were only a handful of seismometers installed nearby to record the event. Thus, much of the preliminary data regarding this earthquake came from the DYFI? system.
These are the ways USGS gathers information from the public:
Improving Earthquake Monitoring
Did You Feel It? (DYFI?) is an online crowd-sourcing system developed by the USGS for the public to provide first-hand accounts of earthquakes they experience. As one of the longest standing and most successful examples of citizen-based science to date, it has garnered more than 2,790,000 total responses since its launch in 1997.
Through this program, users are able to document the shaking level they experienced and find out what was felt elsewhere. Specifically, USGS scientists aggregate results by zip code (domestically) and by city (globally) to show reported shaking intensity. Those reports also augment shaking data from sensors and are incorporated in ShakeMaps used for emergency response. To document a seismic encounter, visit the DYFI? home page and fill out a brief questionnaire.
Tweeting and Shaking
Many regions around the world have only a scant number of seismometers, complicating the rapid detection and characterization of earthquakes. To enhance earthquake monitoring, Twitter has proven to be an advantageous source for USGS scientists to receive rapid firsthand accounts of potential events.
The USGS Tweet Earthquake Dispatch (TED) program rapidly detects possible earthquakes when a large number of public tweets mention “earthquake” or its equivalent in several languages. These tweet-based detections often come prior to sensor alerts in sparsely instrumented regions. USGS analysts at the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) receive these indicators and then turn to more accurate earthquake sensors and instrumental data for confirmation and quantitative assessment. For earthquakes with a magnitude 5.5 or greater, the USGS sends out notifications via the Twitter account @USGSted to people around the world.
Did You See It? Watch Out for Landslides
In an average year, landslides can cost the United States up to $2 billion in damage. Now, scientists at the USGS are asking the public to help track landslides to better understand how to protect lives and property. This is being done through the system, Did You Feel It? This program allows respondents to report detailed accounts of observed landslides, including photographs. To make your contribution, visit the DYSI? webpage and click on the Report a Landslide tab.
Ascending eruption cloud from Redoubt Volcano as viewed to the west from the Kenai Peninsula. Photo Credit: R.J. Clucas, USGS.
Is Ash Falling? Helping Monitor Volcanic Eruptions
This tool will help AVO scientists build a more complete record of the amount, duration, and extent of ash fall. Getting first-hand accounts of ash fall will also help refine computer models of ash cloud movement and interpretation of satellite imagery. Citizens are also encouraged to collect ash samples and send them to AVO. With your help, volcano scientists can greatly expand their sampling of ash deposits.
The National Map Corps
Citizen volunteers are also making significant additions to The National Map (TNM), a web-based geospatial visualization platform. The public is encouraged to collect data on manmade structures such as schools, hospitals, post offices, police stations, and other buildings. The project started in 2012 in Colorado and has expanded to 35 states. A recognition program has also been created where badges can be earned based on the number of data points a volunteer contributes. This effort is through The National Map Corps (TNMCorps) Volunteered Geographic Information project, which partners with organizations such as 4-H and GISCorps.
Observing Nature’s Calendar
As the seasons come and go, temperatures fluctuate, leaves emerge and change colors, and animals migrate. The USA National Phenology Network gives you this opportunity through its program Nature’s Notebook. Volunteers are collecting observations of these seasonal changes—referred to as phenology—to help scientists better understand subjects including climate change, invasive species, agricultural production, impacts of frosts and freezes, and the timing of pests and diseases.
“In an ever-changing environment, it would be ideal if the U.S Geological Survey had a presence in every corner of the nation. While we may not be able to cover every inch of the landscape, we can greatly enhance our scope with your help,” the USGS continues.
The USGS has a variety of citizen science efforts where people can report what’s happening in their own backyards. It’s seeking information on events such as earthquakes, landslides, new construction, and climate. “If you live in Alaska, we want you to tell us if you experience a volcanic ash fall and even collect a sample,” the USGS said.
The information gets aggregated and disseminated through a variety of tools geared toward making this information easily accessible so it can be put to use. Using , there are interactive online systems where people can report what it was like during an earthquake, and then see all the reports for that event mapped out for the affected area.
“Through your contribution, not only will your observations build a much larger and more complete database, but you will also become a virtual member of the USGS scientific team!” the USGS said.
Map of tweets containing the word “terremoto” (Italian for “earthquake”) collected in the two minutes following a magnitude 6.0 earthquake in Northern Italy on May 5, 2012. The red star shows the location of the earthquake. The tweets are concentrated in the epicentral area but discussion of the earthquake has already spread beyond the impacted region. This shows the speed that USGS Tweet Earthquake Dispatch (TED) collects tweets to provide insight into potential earthquake events. Image Credit: USGS.
The valuable role of crowd-sourcing data is outlined in a 2013 report by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, authored in collaboration with the USGS. The report highlights success stories from the USGS’ Tweet Earthquake Dispatch (@USGSted) program, Did You Feel It? and related USGS activities. For example, although there was an exceedingly swift international aid response to the massive 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan, China, the first reports of the event outside of the impacted area came from citizens, and information spread through the use of social networking tools such as Twitter. Similarly, 148,000 individuals used Did You Feel It? to describe their experience of a magnitude 5.8 earthquake that occurred in Virginia on August 23, 2011. Because large-magnitude earthquakes are fairly rare along the East Coast, there were only a handful of seismometers installed nearby to record the event. Thus, much of the preliminary data regarding this earthquake came from the DYFI? system.
These are the ways USGS gathers information from the public:
Improving Earthquake Monitoring
Did You Feel It? (DYFI?) is an online crowd-sourcing system developed by the USGS for the public to provide first-hand accounts of earthquakes they experience. As one of the longest standing and most successful examples of citizen-based science to date, it has garnered more than 2,790,000 total responses since its launch in 1997.
Through this program, users are able to document the shaking level they experienced and find out what was felt elsewhere. Specifically, USGS scientists aggregate results by zip code (domestically) and by city (globally) to show reported shaking intensity. Those reports also augment shaking data from sensors and are incorporated in ShakeMaps used for emergency response. To document a seismic encounter, visit the DYFI? home page and fill out a brief questionnaire.
Tweeting and Shaking
Many regions around the world have only a scant number of seismometers, complicating the rapid detection and characterization of earthquakes. To enhance earthquake monitoring, Twitter has proven to be an advantageous source for USGS scientists to receive rapid firsthand accounts of potential events.
The USGS Tweet Earthquake Dispatch (TED) program rapidly detects possible earthquakes when a large number of public tweets mention “earthquake” or its equivalent in several languages. These tweet-based detections often come prior to sensor alerts in sparsely instrumented regions. USGS analysts at the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) receive these indicators and then turn to more accurate earthquake sensors and instrumental data for confirmation and quantitative assessment. For earthquakes with a magnitude 5.5 or greater, the USGS sends out notifications via the Twitter account @USGSted to people around the world.
Did You See It? Watch Out for Landslides
In an average year, landslides can cost the United States up to $2 billion in damage. Now, scientists at the USGS are asking the public to help track landslides to better understand how to protect lives and property. This is being done through the system, Did You Feel It? This program allows respondents to report detailed accounts of observed landslides, including photographs. To make your contribution, visit the DYSI? webpage and click on the Report a Landslide tab.
Ascending eruption cloud from Redoubt Volcano as viewed to the west from the Kenai Peninsula. Photo Credit: R.J. Clucas, USGS.
Is Ash Falling? Helping Monitor Volcanic Eruptions
This tool will help AVO scientists build a more complete record of the amount, duration, and extent of ash fall. Getting first-hand accounts of ash fall will also help refine computer models of ash cloud movement and interpretation of satellite imagery. Citizens are also encouraged to collect ash samples and send them to AVO. With your help, volcano scientists can greatly expand their sampling of ash deposits.
The National Map Corps
Citizen volunteers are also making significant additions to The National Map (TNM), a web-based geospatial visualization platform. The public is encouraged to collect data on manmade structures such as schools, hospitals, post offices, police stations, and other buildings. The project started in 2012 in Colorado and has expanded to 35 states. A recognition program has also been created where badges can be earned based on the number of data points a volunteer contributes. This effort is through The National Map Corps (TNMCorps) Volunteered Geographic Information project, which partners with organizations such as 4-H and GISCorps.
Observing Nature’s Calendar
As the seasons come and go, temperatures fluctuate, leaves emerge and change colors, and animals migrate. The USA National Phenology Network gives you this opportunity through its program Nature’s Notebook. Volunteers are collecting observations of these seasonal changes—referred to as phenology—to help scientists better understand subjects including climate change, invasive species, agricultural production, impacts of frosts and freezes, and the timing of pests and diseases.
SAP AG today announced it has joined forces with Esri to more deeply integrate Esri’s geographic information system (GIS) solutions with platforms and enterprise applications from SAP. The move is expected to improve business efficiency and decision-making for SAP customers. The announcement was made at the 2013 Esri International User Conference, being held July 8-12 in San Diego.
enrich SAP Business Suite applications with geographic content.
rapidly process spatial, location and enterprise data using SAP HANA in real time.
visualize geographic information in maps, graphs and charts using tools from the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio.
deliver applications to field workers that effectively process geospatial and business data using SAP Mobile Platform.
“SAP plans to provide real-time high-performance processing of spatial data with SAP HANA, a single platform for transactions, analytics and big data,” said Steve Lucas, executive vice president and general manager, Analytics, Database and Platform, SAP. “By integrating with the Esri ArcGIS platform across SAP HANA, SAP BusinessObjects BI platform and SAP Mobile Platform, and by enriching SAP Business Suite applications with spatial content, we want to enable customers to combine the added dimension of location information with enterprise data, in real time. This will give businesses a new level of immediacy in their decision-making capabilities and will increase their competitive advantage.”
SAP plans to expand the SAP HANA platform with the introduction of spatial data processing capabilities that combine location data with enterprise data to enrich and enhance real-time business applications. Furthermore, Esri and SAP intend to optimize connectivity between Esri ArcGIS and SAP HANA via Query Layers, which will allow Esri ArcGIS users to push spatial processing into SAP HANA, unleashing high-performing and real-time capabilities.
SAP plans to enable customers and independent software vendors (ISVs) to consume, process and analyze spatial, transactional and text data within one unified platform for predictive, location-based solutions based on big data. In addition, the company intends to offer SAP HANA customers a native application development platform, including geo-content and location services, to quickly develop and deploy spatially-based solutions. SAP HANA is an open platform allowing BI tools, as well as customer, partner and SAP applications, to leverage the breadth and depth of real-time, spatial processing capabilities.
The SAP BusinessObjects BI suite and SAP applications share a common HTML5 visualization platform and software development kit (SDK). The SDK is planned to enable organizations to extend their visualizations with 50 pre-built chart types, geographic maps and advanced visualizations. SAP is enhancing the SDK to include the Esri API for Javascript. SAP aims to help customers leverage existing Esri ArcGIS server and licensed online Esri maps inside BI tools from the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio. SAP Lumira™ software is planned to be the first SAP product to offer the embedded Esri API.
SAP plans to add new integration using the SDK for SAP Mobile Platform to extend companies’ geospatial data from ESRI ArcGIS systems to mobile field employees. Similar to desktop systems, SAP Mobile Platform is planned to enable application users to manipulate interactive maps and to obtain extremely detailed information on the geographic region in question. By tying into SAP Business Suite, mobile apps like SAP Work Manager and SAP CRM Service Manager are intended to effectively combine business process information like work orders, parts inventory levels and historical asset information with geospatial data to give mobile users an extremely rich, multi-system work environment. For instance, SAP plans to enable mobile users to efficiently find jobs and assets nearby, filter for equipment by location and view work orders from a map. Such use cases can serve to completely eliminate paper data entry and the hunt for the right information.
“Esri ArcGIS is the leading platform for organizations implementing a location analytics strategy through the geo-enablement of their enterprise business systems,” said Chris Cappelli, director, Sales, Esri. “By working with SAP to integrate ArcGIS across SAP HANA, analytic solutions and SAP Mobile Platform, intends that customers can easily leverage Esri within their SAP landscape.”
LizardTech, a provider of software solutions for managing and distributing geospatial content, announced the launch of GeoExpress9 at this week’s Esri International User Conference in San Diego, California, where the company is also a Platinum Imagery Sponsor and exhibitor in booth number 1704.
GeoExpress enables geospatial professionals to compress and manipulate satellite and aerial imagery and the latest version features a significant performance improvement from previous versions, LizardTech said. The latest version is four times faster than before with support for spanning multiple jobs across multiple cores. This increase in speed enables users to complete projects faster than ever before within the application.
This release also introduces Intelligent Encoding, with the software automatically reconfiguring itself for optimal performance. GeoExpress 9 automatically chooses to Encode, Optimize or Update based on the encoding operations that the user chooses, which results in high performance with minimal training, LizardTech said.
In addition, Jon Skiffington, LizardTech’s director of product management, will introduce GeoExpress 9 to the Esri attendees by giving a Demo Theater presentation titled “LizardTech – What’s New with MrSID and GeoExpress” on Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. at the Imagery Island Exhibit in Exhibit Hall C.
“This is going to be an exciting week for LizardTech,” said Skiffington. “We’re launching the latest version of our flagship product, GeoExpress with its new features, faster performance and updated user interface. We look forward to showing our customers the new features and receiving feedback from our users and partners.”
LizardTech will also host product demonstrations in its booth to showcase the new features of GeoExpress 9. These presentations will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., with a final presentation held on Thursday at 10 a.m. Product demonstrations of Express Server software for high-performance delivery and publication and LiDAR Compressor software, which turns giant point cloud datasets into efficient MrSID files will also be available.
Predicting where a dangerous wildfire is going to start can be very difficult, but geographic information systems (GIS) can quickly analyze geographic data about fire-contributing conditions to aid in effective wildfire planning and prevention.
“GIS is an ideal technology to predict the characteristics of a wildfire because it excels at analyzing multiple data layers,” said Gabe Schmidbauer, GIS professor at American Sentinel University. “The complex nature of wildfire dynamics requires the analysis of multiple disparate datasets such as housing, vegetation and weather for wildfire planning and prevention and can help predict when the current conditions are right for a wildfire.”
That’s been the situation recently in Colorado as more than a dozen large fires burn in four national forests and eight other areas.
GIS Impacts Communities
Recently, a major online GIS mapping system was created to show the precise extent of the burning by GIS software vendor Esri to help residents, firefighters, emergency response workers, officials and others interested in the situation on the ground. It demonstrates how GIS experts can have a major impact on their communities.
“As GIS analysts model their prediction of wildfire behavior, they simulate changes in fire direction, intensity and geographical extent of a burned area over time to help predict where a potential fire will occur, as well as where a current fire will spread. This gives officials a leg up in fire prevention prediction analysis,” said Schmidbauer.
Esri’s map system scrolls in or out to cover the area the user wants to see. Pull back and you notice that not only are there the well-publicized problems in Colorado, but large fires in California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Idaho.
Social network hotspots are also included on the map. Click and you can see relevant data pulled in, including a list of items needed in a particular area.
There are also other helpful annotations. For example, the map shows current wind patterns, color-coded to show strength. Wind is an important factor in how fires develop. The information can help predict how they might spread, which will affect firefighting efforts and the decisions made by officials and residents of the potentially affected areas.
Schmidbauer says this analysis is important to help let people answer important questions, such as: Should you head for safer ground? Is it too soon to pull out and possibly leave property, pets and belongings without supervision?
Users can choose to see which layers of information appear on the map, including U.S. Geological Survey wildfire activity, topographic maps and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration red flag warnings.
There is also a choice of base maps, over which other data is displayed. They include street, topographic, and terrain maps. In addition, users can separately display sources of images from Flickr or YouTube videos as well as messages from Twitter to develop the real time development of the wildfire.
“All this information can be invaluable when you’re trying to save someone else’s life or your own,” said Schmidbauer. “And it is all made possible through the power of knowing how to apply GIS to problems in society, non-profits, or business.”
A new office software program, Leica Infinity, has been launched by Leica Geosystems for easy management, visualization, processing and georeferencing of combined total station, imaging and scanning data from the Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation. Part of an extensive portfolio of software that completes the Leica Nova solution, Leica Infinity provides users with custom deliverables and helps them make informed decisions, Leica said.
With a simple user interface, optimized data organization and dynamic data visualization, Leica Infinity gives a project overview and ensures streamlined workflows, Leica said, Scan data can be inspected, cleaned up automatically to remove outliers and re-calculated together with the total station setups. Multiple scans can be combined for the creation of information-rich surfaces.
The instant access to raw data at all times allows users to combine and cross-check scans against processed or archived data and survey results with only a couple of clicks in order to make the right decisions. Leica Infinity offers all the tools to document and report on individual steps and final results before data can be exported for further processing to a broad choice of CAD software packages.
Newly released Leica GeoMoS 6.0 software includes automatic scanning and deformation analysis integrating the new Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation to scan areas of inaccessible manmade and natural structures. The monitoring data is also processed automatically with the new n.Vec technology implemented by Leica Geosystems. Color-coded, visualized 3D deformation clouds enable easy analysis and interpretation of movements so users can make the right decisions to rectify static problems or protect peoples’ lives.
Leica Geosystems announced version 6.0 at a media event held during the HXGN Live conference in Las Vegas today.
Leica GeoMoS Scanning is an automatic scanning solution fully integrated into Leica GeoMoS Monitoring Solution. This ensures fast integration with existing Leica GeoMoS projects and an easy start for new users, Leica said. In addition to total stations, GNSS, tilt and geotechnical sensors, highly detailed scanning can now be added to the automated measurement cycle. The new scanning module is easy to configure and provides the complete workflow for automatic acquisition and processing of the data to visualize deformations and to notify key personnel in the case of an event. With Leica GeoMoS Web, the data can be accessed anywhere at any time. Leica GeoMoS 6.0 enhances conventional monitoring methods with automatic scanning of surfaces with the Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation. Used for inaccessible places or locations where prisms cannot be installed, e.g. a road cover, a roof, a pipeline or a natural structure, Leica GeoMoS real-time scanning solution monitors any deformation and makes sure that no movement is undetected. The big advantage of using the Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation is that it combines laser scanning and prism monitoring, and therefore the measurements to stable control points guarantee highly accurate setup corrections, including orientation and translations. Additional imaging functionality complements the set by providing yet another information source for better deformation analysis. The implemented scan wizard allows the image-assisted definition of scan areas using different parameter settings and different scan result types. Once defined, the scan area can be scanned manually and via the automatic measurement cycle.
Leica GeoMoS 6.0 enhances conventional monitoring methods with automatic scanning of surfaces with the Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation.
The new scanning feature uses all current automatic functionalities such as automatic measurement cycle scheduling, real-time notification via e.g. SMS/email, automatic limit level check, etc. In addition, the embedded point cloud and image viewer assures powerful 3D visualization of all results using color-coded deformation clouds with a fully traceable history of deformations of the scanned area.
The new n.Vec technology in Leica GeoMoS 6.0 provides automatic scan cloud processing to deliver the real-time information about deformations. The data can quickly and easily be interpreted for informed decisions. Leica Geosystems’ unique n.Vec processing technology uses normal vectors to determine movements in man-made and natural structures through color-coded deformation maps. The deformation maps are created by comparing normal vectors from a reference epoch and the current epoch. To ensure maximum deformation interpretation quality, in an iterative and fully automatic procedure, n.Vec removes non-surface related scan artifacts to ensure uncontaminated surfaces and hence correct normal vectors.
1Spatial has launched 1Edit, a touchscreen compatible solution that offers fast and intuitive data-editing in the field or office, 1Spatial said.
Trialed by Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi), 1Edit incorporates a touchscreen for capture and editing of real-world data, making it a breakthrough for data collection in the field via touchscreen, stylus and survey devices, 1Spatial said. It can also be used in an office environment with mouse and keyboard. 1Edit’s “in the field” capabilities will benefit spatial data providers and industries such as utilities, transport, environment and government, the company said.
“Ordnance Survey Ireland has been trialling 1Edit as a tool for maintenance of our PRIME2 product database,” said Lorraine McNerney, Spatial Data and Infrastructure Manager, Ordnance Survey Ireland. “PRIME2 is the OSi real-world feature database that ensures Ireland has accurate and up-to-date spatial datasets supporting improved government service delivery and economic development in Ireland. The facility for users to interact with 1Edit using a portable device touch screen with a stylus or as a desktop with a mouse, and the integration it provides with our existing survey equipment means that our surveyors out in the field and staff who are office based can utilise the same innovative tool for optimal efficiency. This means that we will be able to provide more accurate and up-to-date data to our customers more frequently.”
1Edit provides fast and accurate topological editing to keep data connected, 1Spatial said. It allows change-only saving of data and supports rich real-world hierarchical data models, as well as intelligent management of inter-feature references. 1Edit is currently available on Windows 8 with other operating systems to follow.
“We are delighted to launch 1Edit, which offers a powerful, fast and accurate tool to effectively manage real-world data,” said Marcus Hanke, CEO, 1Spatial. “1Edit maximises data output, because the touch screen capability means that whether organisations are using 1Edit on location or in the office, they will be able to use the same tool to edit information quickly and easily, saving them time and money on data capture. Organizations can also use aerial imagery or survey devices to ensure the quality and accuracy of the data they create and manage.”
Avenza Systems Inc., producers of MAPublisher cartographic software for Adobe Illustrator and the PDF Maps mobile app, announces the release of Geographic Imager 4.2 for Adobe Photoshop. New formats are supported, including writing to the DEM TIFF format which saves raw DEM values and exporting web tiles to Google Maps or Microsoft Bing Maps format.
This release is available at the Geographic Imager Basic license level which provides support for the geospatial framework in Adobe Photoshop as well as limited import and export abilities at an introductory price level. Also new in this release is the addition of the Georeference feature with the Geographic Imager Basic license.
“We’ve been working on some very innovative features lately, one of them being the ability to export web tiles using Geographic Imager from Adobe Photoshop,” said Ted Florence, President of Avenza. “The web tiles are compatible with several online map services which allows our users to spend less time worrying about image referencing and more time creating online mapping solutions,“ he added. “Another great feature in this release is the new ability to save to the DEM TIFF format, which is interoperable and can be reopened in Geographic Imager or in other geospatial software packages. There has been a demand for extended format support and we’re continuing to listen to our users’ needs.”
Features:
Available Geographic Imager Basic license
DEM TIFF write support, format saves raw DEM values
Ability to Export Web Tiles to Google Maps or Microsoft Bing Maps format
Geographic Imager panel improvements, including new Survey and Ruler tabs
Crop by Vector File Extents, use the geographic extents of a vector file to crop an image
Streamlined user interactions with command boxes and simpler messages
Various bug fixes and user experience enhancements.
Geographic Imager is software for Adobe Photoshop that leverages the superior image editing capabilities of raster-based image editing software and transforms it into a powerful geospatial imagery editing tool, Avenza said. 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 4.2 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 and volume license pricing are also available. Geographic Imager 4.2 is compatible with Adobe Photoshop CS5, CS5.1 and CS6. Visit www.avenza.com/geographic-imager for more information.
The British Cartographic Society (BCS) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Since 1963, the Society has been supporting individuals and organizations dedicated to exploring and developing the world of maps. Part of its celebration includes a special issue of The Cartographic Journal, which will bring together an interesting range of reflective and forward looking articles covering one simple question: “What does cartography mean to you?”
