Trimble announced today comprehensive updates to its powerful suite of geospatial office software, including Trimble Business Center, RealWorks and Trident solutions. Together, these updates provide increased data interoperability between Trimble office software platforms, enabling users to easily combine data generated through traditional survey methods, laser scanning and mobile mapping workflows, to produce richer and more intuitive deliverables, the company said.
“Data interoperability across Trimble software platforms provide users with seamless and efficient workflows and the flexibility to focus first on the output needed for each job,” said Alain Samaha, business area director of GIS and software for Trimble’s Geospatial Division. “Whether it is a stakeout design or a precise as-built model, users can select the best software environment to get the job done right and deliver that information in the most useable format.”
The announcement was made at SPAR International 2014, a conference for 3D data capture, processing and delivery technologies.
Trimble Business Center Version 3.20. Geospatial professionals now have access to an improved processing and analysis experience. With an integrated and powerful new point cloud engine, users can visualize and edit large point clouds while simultaneously working with high- resolution imagery. Combining these rich data sets into a single workflow saves time and potential conversion errors.
Trimble RealWorks Version 8.1. The latest release of Trimble RealWorks provides surveyors and laser scanning professionals with enhanced tools that make it easier to visualize and interpret scan data. Point clouds can now be easily colorized using high-resolution and High Dynamic Range (HDR) images from professional grade external cameras, significantly reducing measurement and modeling times.
Trimble Trident Version 6.1. Mobile mapping professionals can now combine the rich datasets captured using spherical cameras with laser scanner and inertial measurements from the Trimble MX2, to easily determine the location of surveyed features and automatically classify imaged objects.
The new office software versions are expected to be available in April 2014 through Trimble’s worldwide Geospatial distribution network.
Supergeo Technologies, a global provider of GIS software and solutions, officially released SuperGIS Engine 3.2 to assists GIS developers in customizing GIS applications to meet diverse requirements of each project.
Developed by Supergeo through integrating mapping and GIS technologies, SuperGIS Engine 3.2, as the COM-structured development component, provides developers with complete GIS core components. The developed applications can be seamlessly embedded into programming language in Windows developing environment and integrated with other systems for strong system development, Supergeo said.
SuperGIS Engine 3.2 offers complete development resources. GIS programmers or developers are allowed to efficiently develop applications with GIS functionalities such as Display Layer, Edit, Query, Access Spatial Database, etc. Hundreds of GIS-related objects, diverse controls, comprehensive developing samples and object diagram are given to technical users, to effectively build programs and deploy to multiple end-users.
A variety of new components are contained in SuperGIS Engine 3.2. For example, “Internet Connection Component” for Proxy Server settings and “Data Exclusion” for excluding specified vector data for better map display are newly supported. In terms of mapping, point symbols can be rotated and resized according to their attributes for more flexible displaying effect.
Status map showing the location and density of volunteer submitted structure edits.
This April marks the one year anniversary of the transition of the USGS’s The National Map Corps (TNMCorps) from a small regional pilot project in the heart of Denver, Colorado, into a successful nationwide project. During the past year, civilian volunteers in every state have increasingly provided accurate mapping data to the National Geospatial Program’s publicly available application called The National Map.
Using crowdsourcing techniques, TNMCorps’ Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) project engages citizen scientists to collect man-made structures data including schools, hospitals, post offices, police stations and other important public buildings.
Over the past year TNMCorps has achieved the following significant milestones:
1,422 – volunteers
42,009 – contributions (counts each person’s edit per single point)
50,696 – total number of edits (the sum of all edits made by volunteers)
50 – number of states involved
18 – number of volunteers who have earned more than 500 points
4,691 – state with largest number of edited points; Colorado
“This project has proven that we can count on volunteers to provide quality information to be included in authoritative government databases,” said Kari Craun, director of the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center. “The people that have contributed their time are performing a community service by ensuring key structures data are available publicly.”
To volunteer, go to The National Map Corpsproject site. The project is seeking anyone with access to the Internet willing to dedicate some time editing map data. Participants can earn badges and public recognition by a series of points.
While some familiarity with the area that a volunteer chooses is helpful, volunteers don’t have to live near a particular place to contribute. The tools on TNMCorps website, along with ancillary information available on the Internet, are generally sufficient to edit a distant area.
Trimble has announced the latest version of its eCognition software for geospatial data analysis. Trimble eCognition software is a powerful solution for the analysis and extraction of information from geospatial data collected via aerial, satellite and mobile mapping platforms, the company said.
The new version 9.0 release simplifies and reduces the time taken to classify objects in imagery data sets using the new template matching function. With eCognition 9, users can define objects graphically to streamline the template creation process. These templates are used to automatically identify objects of interest in imagery.
In addition, Remote Sensing and GIS professionals can now integrate data layers more efficiently through improved GIS tools within eCognition 9. These capabilities provide a framework for advanced analysis that allows professionals to use eCognition to resolve a larger range of geospatial queries and obtain more accurate results.
“With the fast growth of imaging and remote sensing data collection, geospatial professionals need faster and simpler methods to analyze and extract meaningful information from the data,” said Alain Samaha, business area director of Trimble’s Geospatial Software Solutions Division. “eCognition 9 takes simplification and integration to a new level while augmenting the precision and accuracy of results. This opens the door to a wider range of applications across multiple industries.”
In addition to the Suites enhancements, the Autodesk InfraWorks 360 family of offerings now includes enhanced roads and highways capabilities and new features to help civil engineers to model and visualize more realistic bridge design concepts.
“The architects, engineers, and contractors who use our products told us that they needed solutions to meet their real-world challenges, and we are responding. The 2015 Suites meet requests for greater productivity, improved collaboration, and more complete, better integrated BIM workflows,” said Amar Hanspal, senior vice president, IPG Product Group, Autodesk. “We also continue to offer more flexible ways to license our software, as well as more cloud services to improve customer collaboration and efficiency. Together with our customers, we are transforming the way buildings and infrastructure will be designed and built going forward.”
Here are the new features available in all of the 2015 Design Suites.
Productivity and design improvements including:
An updated, modern interface for Autodesk AutoCAD 2015 and AutoCAD 2015-based products: Helps building designers and civil engineers quickly open new and existing drawings with New Tab, visually access drawing content with Ribbon Galleries, and easily find tool locations with new Help Window functionality
Better integration with the cloud: New one-button access to Autodesk BIM 360 from Autodesk Navisworks Manage 2015, Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2015, Autodesk Revit 2015, and Autodesk AutoCAD 2015 helps customers collaborate and manage their BIM project workflow and data
Enhanced point cloud capabilities include improved control over point cloud datasets and enhanced display settings in AutoCAD 2015-based products, as well as Autodesk Navisworks Manage 2015, Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2015, Autodesk Revit 2015, Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2015, and Autodesk InfraWorks 2015, provide more realistic visualizations and walk-throughs
Building Design
Autodesk Revit 2015 software offers customer requested improvements to help make it easier for architects, and engineers to:
Apply a hand-sketched, graphic style to models, using the sketchy lines feature.
Include imagery in schedules to better convey graphical information.
Create and manage changes with improved tools to sketch and control revision cloud shapes.
Create more accurate documentation in 3D views using enhanced hidden lines capability.
New sketchy lines feature for Autodesk Revit 2015 software enables designers to apply a hand-sketched graphic style to views of a model to encourage client feedback and input when reviewing a design. Image courtesy of Autodesk.
A full rundown of additional 2015 enhancements for the Autodesk Building Design Suite can be found here.
“As we’ve grown, we’ve committed more and more to Autodesk Building Design Suite because it gives us the complete digital toolbox we need not just to complete projects, but to innovate as well. While Revit is our design workhorse, and we use Navisworks to coordinate building systems, we also use many other tools in the Suite as well as Autodesk 360 cloud services,” said Andrew Watkins, Associate Principal, Ayers Saint Gross, a top 300 global design firm according to ENR Magazine.
Civil Engineering
Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D 2015 software (included in various editions of the Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2015) includes these improvements:
Greater flexibility for designing and displaying corridor models.
More efficient creation of profile layouts.
Better production drafting to create deliverables more efficiently.
More consistency between the AutoCAD Civil 3D and AutoCAD ribbon/command set.
Simpler ways to create custom subassemblies.
Streamlined geographic location functionality includes ability to capture and embed Online Map Data (such as aerial map information) for offline viewing and plotting.
Better interoperability and data exchange functionality for DWG and DGN files.
AutoCAD Civil 3D 2015 corridor modeling enhancements provide greater flexibility when designing and displaying corridor models.
Autodesk InfraWorks 2015 (which is included in various editions of the Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2015 and Ultimate edition of the Autodesk Building Design Suite 2015) and Autodesk InfraWorks 360 (which offers additional cloud services that add collaboration and analysis for large-scale preliminary designs) offer new features and capabilities including:
An updated user interface for quicker access to the tool you need.
Support for additional data formats including AutoCAD 3D DWG, AutoCAD Civil 3D DWG, 3D DGN, IFC, and Sketchup (SKP).
CityGML import now supports schema location, building asset mapping, and self-intersecting geometry.
Autodesk InfraWorks 2015 and Autodesk InfraWorks 360 now offer a new, more intuitive user interface to help speed workflows.
Key updates for Roadway Design for InfraWorks 360 include style zones within road sections and fixed width parametric grading for roads with discrete control over grading, cut slope, and fill slope.
The new Bridge Design for InfraWorks 360 helps civil engineers explore preliminary bridge design options more effectively by modeling and visualizing realistic civil structures in the context of the surrounding proposed site. This new application helps simplify, accelerate, and focus the layout of girder bridge design concepts, and maintain consistent data and context.
Autodesk also released previews today for upcoming industry-specific applications for InfraWorks 360 including Drainage Design for InfraWorks 360 and cloud services including Model Builder for InfraWorks 360 and Corridor Optimization for InfraWorks 360.
Oil & GAS: Plant Design
Key customer requested enhancements to the Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2015 include:
Center of Gravity (COG) functionality to identify and edit COG for piping models, spools or components and produce COG reports.
Fixed-length pipe modeling capability helps route fixed-length piping more easily.
Bill of Materials capability to create tables and linked annotation when composing orthographic drawings.
New Center of Gravity functionality for AutoCAD Plant 3D 2015 software provides the ability to identify and edit center of gravity for piping models, spools or components.
Autodesk Building Design Suite 2015, Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2015, Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2015 and Autodesk InfraWorks 360 availability and related cloud services vary by country. Details and purchasing options are available at www.autodesk.com/purchaseoptions, with subscription options outlined at www.autodesk.com/subscription/overview.
As the tragedy of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 riveted our attention, many sprang into action. More than two million volunteers scoured online satellite images for signs of the plane via Tomnod, a crowdsourcing project of DigitalGlobe.
Volunteers like Robert Wilkinson are asked to view satellite photos and tag any signs of wreckage, rafts, oil spills and other objects that may be of interest. “It took me the first hour to understand that I was looking at waves or tidal pools rather than debris or anything useful to the search,” said Wilkinson. “After that, I might have seen one or two things that I couldn’t explain, but I tagged them appropriately.”
All images that are tagged are reviewed by special algorithms before being viewed by experts. Tomnod reported that more than 650,000 objects had been tagged, and the maps had been viewed more than 98 million times.
Calls on Flight 370. This month, the Internet was full of questions about mobile communications and the missing Malaysia airplane. People didn’t understand why passengers on board the flight hadn’t made mobile emergency calls. On September 11, 2001, it was widely recalled, some passengers were able to make phone calls from the hijacked planes. Flight 370 was likely too high or going too fast to enable phones to register with cell towers. Experts say that planes flying above 5-10,000 feet would have difficulty making connections. Radar analysis estimated that the plane may have been flying as low as 12,000 feet or as high as 45,000 feet. On 9/11, passengers made calls when the plane was low or used satellite air phones available in business class.
GPS and Football. Security at places where large crowds congregate is always a concern. At last month’s Super Bowl, GPS devices tracked and monitored the team vehicles. To protect the GPS, a product from Exelis was used to detect and locate GPS interference sources to protect critical GPS signal-dependent infrastructure. Eight sensors were positioned in an array pattern to detect and locate any jamming sources.
Lost in Space. Google’s Project Tango is showcasing a prototype phone brimming with software and sensors that creates a 3D map of the environment. A select group of developers has been given the device and are expected to create innovative applications, including navigation by sight. We do know that one of these devices will be heading to the International Space Station and will be part of a project to enable robots to explore the inside and outside of the craft. The terrestrial uses of the device will include being able to map the interior of a house (the sofa goes where?), navigate through complicated buildings, provide accessibility for those with impaired vision, and emergency response. Project Tango may find interesting uses with 3D printing, which is riding a wave of interest.
GPS and LED Lights. Philips has been demonstrating an indoor location-based shopping service based on location positioning from LED lighting infrastructure. The system works by using lighting fixtures that form a dense network that not only provides light, but also acts as a positioning grid. Each fixture is identifiable and able to communicate its position to an app on a shopper’s smart device. ByteLight is another company with LED indoor location technology. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) beacons are more established for indoor positioning.
Truck Market on the Move. Market demand remains strong for mobile resource management (MRM) devices, particularly among local fleets, reports C.J. Driscoll & Associates. “Manufacturers of light and heavy commercial vehicles are becoming increasing involved with telematics,” says Clem Driscoll. “Heavy truck manufacturers are primarily focused on enabling remote vehicle diagnostics.” Many of the large MRM companies are establishing added offices around the world.
Awkward Timing. INRIX is launching Russia’s first comprehensive traffic information and driver services platform. Russia has many challenges including difficult traffic conditions. The service, available on Audi cars, was developed through an exclusive partnership with Russia’s navigation services provider cdcom. INRIX XD Traffic in Russia provides real-time traffic and incident information covering more than 236,000 kilometers of roadways across 55 cities.
Google has been collaborating with universities, research labs, and industrial partners in nine countries, to concentrate the past 10 years of research in robotics and computer vision into a mobile phone.
Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP) heads the project, which aims to make it possible to create a 3D model of the space around a smartphone. For instance, a user can map an area, such as a home, by walking around with the phone.
Google’s 3D mapping project, Project Tango, is putting prototypes into developers’ hands.
Google has been collaborating with universities, research labs, and industrial partners in nine countries, to concentrate the past 10 years of research in robotics and computer vision into a mobile phone. “We now have prototypes ready to put into the hands of eager development partners that can help us imagine the possibilities and to transform those ideas into reality,” Google said on its Project Tango website.
Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP) heads the project, which aims to make it possible to create a 3D model of the space around a smartphone. For instance, a user can map an area, such as a home, by walking around with the phone.
Creation of 3D maps in this way would make it easy to navigate through buildings such as offices and supermarkets. Maps of a user’s home could also be used in games. As Google said on its website, “Imagine playing hide-and-seek in your house with your favorite game character, or transforming the hallways into a tree-lined path. Imagine competing against a friend for control over territories in your home with your own miniature army, or hiding secret virtual treasures in physical places around the world.”
The current prototype is a 5-inch Android phone containing highly customized hardware and software designed to track the full 3D motion of the device as a user holds it, while simultaneously creating a map of the environment. These sensors allow the phone to make more than a quarter million 3D measurements every second, updating its position and orientation in real time, combining that data into a single 3D model of the space. The mapped space is matched to the phone’s internal gyroscopic systems and more general location data from GPS.
Trimble has introduced the InSphere platform for geospatial information management, a cloud-based software platform for central management of geospatial applications, data and services. Trimble says InSphere offers an innovative approach for central management of geospatial operations to improve workflow, maximize efficiency and transform the way geospatial professionals work and access critical operational information.
The framework provides access to multiple applications, including three productivity apps: Trimble InSphere Data Manager, Trimble InSphere Equipment Manager and Trimble TerraFlex to simplify field data collection. In addition, Trimble Access Services provide a seamless data connection between surveyors in the field and managers in the office, the company said. InSphere allows organizations to manage everything in one place, accessible anytime and virtually anywhere.
Geospatial customers in a range of industries — including surveying and engineering, natural resources management and mapping — now have easy access to productivity-enhancing applications. The secure, cloud-based system is easy to deploy and configure to meet the needs of any organization, Trimble said.
“The centralized management, streamlined access and tailored toolsets of Trimble InSphere are designed to boost overall operating efficiency,” said Alain Samaha, business area director of software for Trimble’s Geospatial Division. “Because geospatial information has the potential to transform organizations, we are simplifying access so the benefits of this information can be shared more readily with those who need it.”
InSphere Data Manager. The Trimble InSphere Data Manager application improves access to geospatial information for the whole organization. Accessible anytime and anywhere through a desktop or mobile device, Data Manager allows organizations to manage geospatial data in one place, for easy access to previous project information and time saved in project management.
The Trimble InSphere Data Manager can be used on a desktop, laptop, or mobile device.
InSphere Equipment Manager. The Trimble InSphere Equipment Manager application allows organizations to centrally manage their field devices. At a glance, surveying and mapping companies, can track equipment location, and view the current status of warranty, firmware and software for their fleet of field equipment.
Trimble TerraFlex. Trimble TerraFlex is a scalable cloud-based solution for everyday mobile field data collection. TerraFlex addresses a wide variety of field requirements including attribute-rich GIS data collection on a variety of common field devices. With an online data repository and streamlined toolset for creating custom digital form templates, TerraFlex keeps the data flow standardized and streamlined for effective project organization.
Trimble Access Services. The perfect complement to Trimble Access field software and Trimble Business Center desktop software, Trimble Access services assist users with day-to-day workflows. Users can wirelessly transfer survey files between the field and office to ensure access to the most up-to-date data.
TomTom has begun a strategic partnership with indoor-mapping company Micello Inc., extending its range of mapping products to include indoor venues.
Integrating Micello’s maps and venue content gives TomTom’s business customers access to accurate pedestrian friendly indoor maps with points of interest data in venues worldwide.
“The indoor mapping functionality means that step-by-step guidance can be integrated into daily life for a wide variety of venues, including shopping malls, airports and retail stores,” said Charles Cautley, managing director, TomTom Maps. “By partnering with Micello our customers can now develop smarter apps and locations-based services helping users navigate with ease in and out of the car.”
“We’re excited to be partnering with TomTom, the global leader in navigation.” added Ankit Agarwal, CEO of Micello. “Our agreement means that TomTom’s business customers can use our indoor venue maps and incorporate the content into their automotive, online, or mobile solutions.”
March 7, 2014 Update: WASHINGTON, D.C.–The Federal Aviation Administration today issued a notice appealing a decision by an NTSB Administrative Law Judge in the civil penalty case, Huerta v. Pirker. “The FAA is appealing the decision of an NTSB Administrative Law Judge to the full National Transportation Safety Board, which has the effect of staying the decision until the Board rules. The agency is concerned that this decision could impact the safe operation of the national airspace system and the safety of people and property on the ground.”
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On March 6, 2014, Federal Judge Patrick Geraghty dismissed a case the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) brought against Raphael Pirker, accusing Pirker of illegally using a drone to make a video of the University of Virginia. The FAA attempted to levy a fine of $10,000 against Pirker, described in an article published in Geospatial Solutions in December 2013.
Brendan Schulman, Pirker’s attorney, told Geospatial Solutions, “The FAA’s position on this is based on a policy statement, not an enforceable regulation.”
1. Neither the Part 1, Section 1.1, or the 49 U.S.C. Section 40102(a)(6) definitions of “aircraft” are applicable to, or include a model aircraft within their respective definition.
2. Model aircraft operation by Respondent was subject only to the FAA’s requested voluntary compliance with the Safety Guidelines stated in AC 91-57.
3. As Policy Notices 05-01 and 08-01 were issued and intended for internal guidance for FAA personnel, they are not a jurisdictional basis for asserting Part 91 FAR enforcement authority on model aircraft operations.
4. Policy Notice 07-01 does not establish a jurisdictional basis for asserting Part 91, Section 91.13(a) enforcement to Respondent’s model aircraft operation, as the Notice is either (a) as it states, a Policy Notice/Statement and hence non-binding, or (b) an invalid attempt of legislative rulemaking, which fails for non-compliance with the requirement of 5 U.S.C. Section 533, Rulemaking.
5. Specifically, that at the time of Respondent’s model aircraft operation, as alleged herein, there was no enforceable FAA rule or FAR Regulation applicable to model aircraft or for classifying model aircraft as an UAS.
Upon the findings and conclusions reached, I hold that Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss must be AFFIRMED.
IT IS ORDERED THAT:
1. Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss be, and hereby is: GRANTED
2. Complainant’s Order of Assessment be, and hereby is: VACATED AND SET ASIDE
3. This proceeding be, and is: TERMINATED WITH PREJUDICE.
ENTERED this 6th day of March, 2014, at Denver, Colorado.
During this year, National Atlas of the United States and The National Map will transition into a combined single source for geospatial and cartographic information. This transformation is projected to streamline access to maps, data and information from the USGS National Geospatial Program (NGP). The move will prioritize the the agency’s civilian mapping role and consolidate core investments, the agency said.
The USGS will continue its long history of providing topographic maps, geospatial data and other geographic information by offering a range of scales and layers of geospatial information on The National Map Viewer and through US Topo maps. As a result of the conversion to an integrated single source for geospatial and cartographic information, nationalatlas.gov will be removed from service on September 30, 2014.
“We recognize how important it is for citizens to have access to the cartographic and geographic information of our nation. We are committed to providing that access through nationalmap.gov,” said Mark DeMulder, NGP director.
“We value the National Atlas customers and stakeholders and want to make this transition as easy as possible,” explained Jay Donnelly, the National Atlas Program Manager. “We will post updates to The National Map and National Atlas Websites as this transition unfolds, including information on the future availability of the products and services currently delivered by nationalatlas.gov.”
