Tag: GeoIntelligence Insider

IGI&S 2009: Getting Back to Basics and Our Roots

Earlier this month I attended the Defense Installation GeoSpatial Information and Services (IGI&S) conference in Dallas. Although not a large conference, it is tightly focused and aimed directly at the GIS community that supports military installations. The conferences were initially started by the Air Force, but attendance by other branches has grown since they all have common issues and many have joint chains of command. The first keynote speaker was Lora Muchmore, director of Business Enterprise Integration, Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Installations and Environment. She addressed the historic difficulty that DOD had keeping track of buildings, equipment, and personnel. The problem was exacerbated because each branch had their own inventory systems that were not interoperable with systems of other branches. Mrs. Muchmore concluded by emphasizing the increasingly important role that IGI&S is playing to improve the Department’s real property inventory, literally transforming the way resource and management decisions are made at the highest levels.

David LaBranche, the Defense Installation Spatial Data Infrastucture (DISDI) program manager, addressed how DISDI is working with the National GeoSpatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) to put IGI&S data and systems in place that are complimentary but of course different from intelligence community needs. They are working toward interoperability between the joint services and encouraging greater use of unclassified, shared, off-the-shelf products to build “installation situational awareness” without the expense of custom products and services.

The complexity of joint bases, base realignments and closures (BRAC), environmental issues, and interrelated activities with other federal agencies such as Department of Homeland Security (DHS), DEA, CDC and others highlighted the need for interoperability and shared spatial data. However, the opposite has occurred as systems grew in size and complexity. So the overarching theme of the conference was getting back to basics with standards and consistent base-to-base data and systems.

This concept of snapping back to where we started reminded me of a dysfunctional ship that I was assigned to early in my Navy career. The ship was a mess with poor morale, poor performance, and a very unhappy crew. A new CO arrived who made no immediate changes but instead carefully studied the ship for two months. He then called us officers together in the wardroom and gave us a very simple order. He told everyone to get a copy of the ship’s SORM, read it and put each division and department back in line with it. The SORM stands for Standard Organization and Regulations of the U.S. Navy. The long standing but continuously updated Navy manual is a guide that clearly identifies how a Navy ship should be organized and operated. It was created through decades of lessons learned and practical experience. Our new CO explained how any organization will morph over time away from it roots. Sometimes the changes grow out of operational necessity and some changes are driven by the personalities and talents of crew members. Regardless of the source, these changes can ultimately twist the organization into dysfunction.

As a junior officer, I was somewhat skeptical that this would have any major effect but I was wrong. Within three months the ship was functioning like a fine watch and there was actually harmony in the wardroom and among the crew. Of course this wasn’t the only change; the CO was a very gifted and uplifting leader with a superb memory. In that same three month period, through his “management by walking around” he learned the name, home town and family situation of every member of the 300 man crew. The CO became so respected and admired that eventually any crewmember would walk off a cliff for him. Getting back to the SORM roots certainly helped.

Many of the conference sessions addressed the same themes of interoperability and cleaning up the basics. The Marine Corps GeoFidelis program was highlighted by David LaBranche as a model, built with a focus on interoperability while also addressing the institutional issues of data handling and organization. Frances Railey, the GeoFidelis GIO, explained the details of the Marine Corps system and how it was designed to meet customer needs including a very detailed Data Access & Release Guide. Peter Len, the Gi&S manager for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific, explained the unique challenges he faces with facilities scattered across the Pacific including Guam and the Marianas. He discussed how GIS was used for encroachment planning and other base management issues.

The conference also included 22 vendors who demonstrated new products and services that also addressed the conference themes of interoperability. AutoDesk, which is one of the leaders in BIM modeling, had personnel demonstrating new tools that bridge the gap between CAD and GIS into the BIM environment. Bentley, another leader in BIM modeling, demonstrated BIM solutions that addressed life cycle facility management including energy and lighting. Their OGC compliant systems work with many different BIM model formats. NGA staffers demonstrated Palanterra, a Google-like online system used by emergency management people such as DHS for special event planning and response.

Woolpert demonstrated a new capability that can quickly create 3D building interior models from video clips taken from different view angles. I’ve seen this done with laser point clouds but this was the first time I saw video used to build 3D models. Kaya explained their GIS services including web engineering applications for facility and installation management as well as tools to build real property master plans. Pictometry demonstrated a new image service that will be launched this summer. Through the web service federal users will be able to view or download all Pictometry imagery, both ortho and oblique views, through secure portals. The service will be very affordable because imagery is accessed only when and where needed. This should be a boon for emergency responders.

ERDAS demonstrated web services that reduce a series of complex image/spatial analysis functions to simple and intuitive user tools and products. This screen capture below is an example intended for use by a tank commander. In one operation this service combines slope data, image analysis vegetation data, and feature data to build “drive/no drive” zones. This is very similar to work many of you have done using ESRI’s Model Builder with Spatial Analyst, but the ERDAS system is faster and takes full advantage of their 30 years experience in image analysis. “Wiping” the image shows the drive/no drive areas over a topo map.

ERDAS Apollo – WPS in Action.

The one nagging concern I had that seemed to need more attention was emergency preparedness. When I addressed the topic with attendees and presenters they talked about how their IT people had remote backup systems for installation data and how backups occurred regularly. I have this little gut twitch that occurs when I hear that IT people are backing up my data. Please take this first hand experience from someone who almost lost 10 years of GIS data because of an administrative error.

In a previous assignment our agency had a catastrophic server farm failure that resulted in the total loss of our entire SDE database. Backup? There was no backup. Some IT personnel view GIS data, especially imagery, as a huge data set that doesn’t need to be backed up often, if at all. They don’t see GIS data in the same light as financial data and may treat it differently so, through a misunderstanding, the IT people were not backing up the SDE database.

Luckily, a year before the loss, we placed all our GIS data and imagery on portable hard drives as part of our portable emergency GIS we set up in support of regional disaster preparedness and mutual aid. One set of those hard drives was in our emergency GIS locker in our office; the other set was 25 miles away in a secure location (see my January 2008 Geointelligence Insider column, What Can You Do for Your Country). At the risk of sounding like a broken record, or for those of you born in the post-vinyl period, “a continuously looping file,” I say what many others have said: “back up your data.”

Stepping down from my soap box, I can say that this conference was an exceptional conference that was rich in information and not overwhelming like some of our mega-conferences. For the vendors many good leads were generated and for the participants a lot of useful information was presented.

July 25, 2009
The Mortgage Crisis and GIS

Was the FGDC Mortgage Crisis Meeting a Silver Lining on a Huge Cloud?

By Art Kalinski, GISP

On May 7, I attended a special meeting addressing the mortgage crisis hosted by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO). The purpose of the day long meeting was to discuss the use of land parcel data in managing mortgage related issues. The meeting focused on how GIS can monitor and manage these issues and to get feedback from leaders on which specific data elements are important to the mortgage industry and its financial oversight. The meeting was held at the American Institute of Architects Building in Washington, D.C.

The participants included representatives from banking, finance, credit, and mortgage firms as well as members of federal regulatory agencies. Also present were GIS professionals, private sector solution providers, and land parcel data producers. The meeting was opened by Dr. David Moyer, the meeting facilitator; Mike Howell, OMB and vice chair of the FGDC Steering Committee; Bob Ader, co-chair of the FGDC Cadastral Committee; and Dr. Josephine Lim, president of the IAAO.

Key presenters in the morning sessions were Anne Hale Miglarese of Booz Allen Hamilton, the chair of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC); Dr. Dave Cowen, a leading GIS educator; and Dr. Nancy von Meyer who has worked on cadastral issues for over 20 years, including her current work for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

According to the presenters, some analysts and GIS professionals saw the mortgage crisis coming but there was also a lot of “whistling past the grave yard,” as people hoped that the trend would not turn into a crisis. The rise in distressed mortgages, foreclosures, and decreasing real estate values were visible long before the crisis became a crisis. Key to monitoring the issues was good parcel level data. Unfortunately, even though we have high tech tools such as GIS, there are institutional barriers that limited the effectiveness of those tools. There was a lack of consistency and interoperability of key datasets at a national level.

I personally experienced two such frustrations related to the post office and to the census. When I first joined the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) as the GIS Manager in 1993, I learned that ARC published zip code maps as a service to the regions’ economic development offices. My response was “why don’t they get them from the post office?” After all, during my graduate work at the University of North Carolina we constantly used zip code marketing data for site selection and trade area analysis. I assumed that the zip code polygons came from the source, the U.S. Postal Service. I was wrong.

In the pre-GIS age, when zip codes were created, the purpose was to build delivery routes not defined polygons. As a result, the zip code boundary files we use are very fuzzy and the polygons only approximate boundaries. I was so incredulous, that I personally drove up one major road in Cobb County to conduct my own survey. What I saw were businesses in one long block on the same side of the street that had alternating zip codes as one progressed up the street. I was told that this happened because the business where given a choice of having a Marietta city address or a Kennesaw city address. This, of course, is one example of one street in one county, but my understanding is that this is a system wide issue. Even today the Postal Service doesn’t publish zip code maps but instead refers users to commercial vendors who create zip code maps. Of course these commercial maps come with disclaimers regarding the validity and positional accuracy of the data.

The second frustration was helping with the U.S. Census 2000 Local Update of Street Addresses (LUCA). Under this census program, local talent was used to update TIGER street data and addresses. The key limitation was that we all had to sign confidentiality agreements that any data collected and any data sets that were enhanced with this collection effort would also be confidential. That meant that if I sent staff to a new neighborhood and identified new streets and news addresses, not even houses, just address locations, that information was confidential and if I used the information to update our massive ARC street centerline database that file also became confidential.

I could then send the same people out on a different day to the same location to collect the same data but if the data collection was not in the name of LUCA, it was not confidential and we could use it. Yes, I fully appreciate privacy but the mere existence of a street address tells you nothing about the parcel or the building, if there is one, or even the inhabitants, if there are any. In fact, most of this data in even greater detail is already available from commercial sources. These are just two examples that hurt data collection and interoperability, but there are more when it comes to parcel level data. Now I’m about as conservative as one gets, but this silliness in the name of privacy defies common sense and is an example of how we twist ourselves into knots to our own detriment.

The afternoon sessions were facilitated by David Stage of the FGDC Cadastral Subcommittee, Susan Marlow of Smart Data Strategies, and Roger Clark of IAAO. The meeting focused on obtaining feedback from users in the mortgage industry as to specific data they need to do their job effectively. The list of data elements included factors that one would expect. There was a large list related to the property descriptions, such as lot and building size, construction — several attendees highlighted the need for street level or oblique imagery of each property, and annotation of the condition of improvements. George Donattelo of IAAO indicated that these were especially needed if IAAO AVM and Mass Appraisal Standards are used. Financial factors included the type of mortgage, equity, and terms of the mortgage. Geospatial factors such as nearness to water, flood plains, neighborhood comparable appraisals, demographics, and regional economic factors such as employment levels added even more complexity to the analysis.

The discussions all pointed to the need for timely analysis using comprehensive data. We know that spatial analysis of all factors, perhaps with regression analysis, could help with future forecasting, but analysts need data that is detailed, accurate, and most importantly, consistent. There was a general consensus that just a small portion of the rescue funds should be devoted to creation of comprehensive data collection efforts. All agreed that this should be the message from this meeting to our leaders.

I’m hoping that this economic crisis will open everyone’s eyes to the need for consistent and comprehensive data if government is going to insert itself into the market. Homer Simpson one stated: “Beer, the cause of and solution to life’s problems.” … Dare I substitute “government” for “beer?” Maybe with superb data and competent analysis we can look back on this crisis with open eyes and not repeat our mistakes. Perhaps the realization that we need good data and GIS analysis will be the silver lining.

For additional information, please contact Don Buhler, Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, [email protected], (202) 452-7781. The meeting details are posted on the Cadastral Subcommittee’s website at www.nationalcad.org.

May 28, 2009
Duty, Honor, Country — and GIS

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point was born of unique geography; more than 200 years later, it’s teaching modern mapping methods.

By Art Kalinksi, GISP

Last week, I had the privilege of meeting with members of the GIS Program of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The security guards at the gate greet visitors with the academy motto, “Duty, Honor, Country,” which permeates all endeavors at West Point. The Academy has produced distinguished graduates for more than 200 years, and is known for its extremely rigorous academic and military training program. The cadets may get a free education, but it requires dedication and a full-time commitment, as well as eight years of service as a commissioned Army officer upon graduation.

The oldest engineering school and military academy in the United States got its start during the Revolutionary War, thanks to the unique geography of West Point. General George Washington was concerned that the Hudson River could provide dangerously easy access to areas north of New York and New Jersey, where the British could group to split the colonies. However, a narrowing and S-curve in the Hudson at West Point made British ships vulnerable, forcing them to drop their sails as they slowly maneuvered the tight passage. Thus were born the fortifications at West Point, and ultimately, the U.S. Military Academy.

Today, West Point relies on GIS, which is focused in two Academy organizations: the Geospatial Information Science Program within the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, and the Geospatial and Environmental Services Division within the Department of Housing and Public Works. The operational GIS division is headed up by Kris Brown working through Essex, a Northrop Grumman business unit. Kris and his staff support significant public works projects, security, and emergency services. They also provide support for the military training ranges, as well as environmental and archeological efforts.

Tools and Training

The primary software environments used at the Academy include Autodesk CAD software and the ESRI suite of GIS applications. Pictometry oblique imagery and software seem to be the dominant choice for public works estimators, base police, and firefighters. The police frequently use of the oblique imagery for incident reporting, but only as simple annotated images. They don’t yet use the heads-up digitizing and shapefile creation ability, but are content to provide that information to the GIS staff for inclusion in the database.

The Geospatial Information Science Program uses many of the same GIS resources, but for a different goal — the education and training of Army officers and future leaders. The program is led by Dr. John Brockhaus, and includes Colonels Michael Hendricks and Steven Fleming, both of whom have earned their PhDs and have extensive field experience. In addition, the program includes three rotating military faculty members with master’s degrees, and this year includes Michael Tischler, who is on loan from the Army’s Topographic Engineering Center (TEC, recently renamed the Army Geospatial Center [AGC]). Michael also has an extensive education and strong hands-on experience.

All Academy attendees are exposed to GIS, but based on their major, some cadets expand their GIS education. Students learn GIS theory, but also have to complete hands-on projects that demonstrate their ability to accomplish tasks with the data and software. The program includes the traditional vector-based GIS of points, lines, and polygons, as well as grid/raster-based GIS with work in projections, topology, geodatabases, DEMs, LIDAR, and other topics. Since almost all graduates will be producers or consumers of intelligence products, there is a heavy emphasis on integration of remote sensing, CIR, radar, and imagery, both ortho and oblique. Although computer-based GIS forms the core of the program, cadets must also demonstrate the ability to use traditional paper maps, and even a compass.

The West Point GIS Lab.

The program includes training in GIS software and applications from vendors such as ESRI, ERDAS, TerraGo, Pictometry, LizardTech, Trimble, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, and many others. In addition, training in cartography and the use of experimental equipment is offered, including 360-degree video capture systems, LIDAR point cloud analysis systems, and integrative survey collection tools and techniques (such as ike-504 and NOMAD).

Efficiency in Education

To be selected for West Point, a cadet must be among the top one percent in terms of academics, drive, and motivation. But the clock and calendar are the real limiting factors of the program. Not only do cadets carry a very heavy academic load, they also have extensive military, sports, and leadership duties. The program is so tight that almost every hour is planned, with each minute important and accounted for. The bottom line is that no one can afford to waste time. Even the dining hall is an example of efficiency; 4,400 cadets are fed during one 30-minute seating.

This highly disciplined use of time is apparent in the classroom as well. I sat in on a class Colonel Hendricks was teaching — what an eye-opener! In just one class, he covered three topics normally covered in three or more sessions at other schools: Boolean logic related to intersections, joins, and unions; SQL database selections; and grid cell input/output layer selections (map algebra). Covering this much material in one class is a challenge, but the handouts and the clear progression of the classroom session showed a thoroughness and forethought that I have rarely seen.

Led by Colonel Hendricks, cadets learn about the details of GIS operations.

Most of us have suffered through classes taught by inexperienced graduate assistants, and many PhD college professors, although knowledgeable, are not very good instructors. That’s not good enough for the tight timelines at West Point — delivery of clear and concise classes that maximize learning is mandatory. It was evident that a lot of planning and thought went into each aspect of this robust GIS program.

Colonel Fleming explained unique training elements that are part of the West Point curriculum, but not found in typical GIS programs. They include exposure to services and resources available to the military from sources like NGA, USGS, ACE, TEC (AGC), including tools such as GeoPDFs, BAE Systems’ SOCET SET, and others.

GIS Enables Future Combat Systems

The Army has always relied heavily on maps, and that has not changed. What has changed is the form those maps are taking, and the speed of communication needed to coordinate modern operations. So where is all this heading? Future Combat Systems (FCS). (For those of you unfamiliar with FCS, there are several compelling YouTube videos that show the concept; search for the phrase “FCS Vanguards.”)

The impact of FCS is apparent in the curriculum. Just as the Navy moved to Aegis systems that link every ship, aircraft, sensor, and weapons system into an integrated fighting machine, the Army is making each piece of battlefield equipment — and every soldier — a data collector and data user. FCS ties everything together, and GIS is the spatial data integration environment. For you old Star Trek fans, think of the Borg. The big difference is that although cadets are taught to work as well-coordinated teams, they are also taught to think for themselves and show leadership.

For more than two centuries, West Point has trained our military leaders. During that time, mapping and other technologies have changed significantly, and they continue to evolve rapidly. What hasn’t changed is the West Point commitment to excellence, and to “Duty, Honor, Country.”

April 9, 2009
Touched by a Multi-Touch World

2009 ESRI Federal Users’ Conference – Washington DC

By Art Kalinski, GISP

The ESRI Federal User Conference, held February 18-20 this year, was a good forum for GIS practitioners and vendors to share new information — and to commiserate. Since the event took place in Washington, D.C., it was no surprise that the economy worked its way into most informal discussions.

Many attendees that I talked with indicated mixed experiences: although some budgets are shrinking, putting certain projects on hold, the proposed massive federal spending on infrastructure bodes well for GIS usage. Overall, the prognosis was positive; the current economic situation promises a slight silver lining for GIS. The example of hardware stores doing well in a good economy, and even better in a poor economy, seems an appropriate analogy.

Although there were no significant new “tools” in the “hardware store,” there were many refinements of existing software on display. ESRI and other spatial application builders continue the path toward integration, with GIS being a desktop, server, mobile device, or Web application.

Both Google and Microsoft had expo booths demonstrating applications that integrate with ESRI products, bringing the best of both worlds together. The ESRI/Microsoft Silverlight integration of Virtual Earth was especially compelling. The result is GIS functionality in a much more graphically engaging environment. The big release of this integration will take place later this month, at the ESRI Developer Summit.

What’s in Store for ArcGIS

Dangermond and his staff demonstrated some of the new features and performance improvements in ArcGIS 9.3.1, which is planned for the second quarter of this year. They also discussed version 9.4, scheduled for release within a year.

An especially interesting new capability that is currently available through the Web but will be part of version 9.4 is the Layer Package, which I’d describe as a GeoPDF “slice.” By that I mean that a user can create a map layer in ArcGIS and then export that layer as a complete package, including the data, the layer, and the symbology and cartography. So just as MAPublisher or GeoPDFs preserve the cartography, Layer Packages do the same, but for only one layer. This should be a great help to those that are cartographically challenged. Users will be able to e-mail the Layer Packages as well as publish them on CDs, or through ArcGIS Online for mash-up applications.

Other aspects of version 9.4 include cartographic templates (another crutch for the cartographically challenged), CAD integration, better image integration, and 3D analytics to compete in the BIM world. There’s also something called “sketching” — a geographic design tool to display not what is, but what could or should be.

The Magic Touch

It looks like the multi-touch-screen environment will become commonplace, especially with the upcoming release of Windows 7. ESRI already has preliminary applications being tested for that environment. Is multi-touch just gee-whiz technology, or will it actually help people “raise the bar”? I don’t know; the jury is still out. I had the same uncertainty about oblique imagery, until I saw the significant positive impact it had on non-GIS professionals.

DiamondTouch Table being operated by two users.

One impressive device I saw in the expo that fits this new multi-touch environment was the DiamondTouch table from Circle Twelve. I’ve seen many similar devices, including the first-generation touch tables from Northrop Grumman, numerous other tables, touch-screen computers, a huge touch wall from Lockheed Martin, and even the iPhone. What separated the DiamondTouch table from most others was its price — it was in the $10,000 range, compared to the six-figure prices of earlier tables — and that it’s very intuitive.

The DiamondTouch is able to keep track not only of multiple touches, but also multiple users. The upshot of that is that a group of people can gather around the table to collaborate on a project. Each member of the group can work on the table, which is able to distinguish the different users. But it doesn’t end there; these tables can be networked so the collaboration and identification of users can be maintained in remote locations. This would be a tremendous tool for emergency command centers, and since the operation is so intuitive, the technology could improve communication rather than interfere with it.

Annotations are shown in different colors, depending on which user made them.

Adam Bogue, the president of Circle Twelve, explained that the table was successful because of the ability to accommodate multiple users and because users had very fine and precise control when working on the table. The touch can be as precise as a mouse-click. Note the data in the picture below, which is normally not visible to the table’s users. It shows how precisely the table “sees” each user and interprets their inputs. Perception of the touches is very sensitive: a fine finger movement is interpreted differently from a fist or palm swipe.

Touch, as the table sees it. Note the fine increments that define the touch.

Bogue explained how a command center set up two tables, one horizontal and one vertical, as a visualization and collaboration tool. Ortho imagery was placed on the horizontal table, while oblique imagery was placed on the vertical. The ability to look down on the ortho and then up at the oblique felt very natural and speeded the perception of the common operational picture. Bogue also indicated that Circle Twelve’s software is designed to integrate with ArcGIS so multiple users could each create annotations, which are automatically saved as separate Shapefiles. He also indicated how useful the tables are for WebEx conferences. This is one of those technologies that is really quite helpful when done right, and Circle Twelve nailed it.

Looking Forward — and Back

Although there were more presentations than any one individual could attend due to the multiple tracks, this conference still seemed more digestible than ESRI’s annual mega-event: the International User Conference. There were only 3,000 attendees in D.C., compared to the 13,000 who will be in San Diego this summer. Despite the crowds, I will be there, and I’ll be sure to report on what I learn.

One note from last month’s column on voxels: I was properly taken to the woodshed (or Bosun’s Locker, for us Navy people) by one of my readers last month regarding voxels. Robert Meyer of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, pointed my attention to a 1995 paper by Alvy Ray Smith titled, “A Pixel Is Not a Little Square! (And a Voxel Is Not a Little Cube)” The full screed can be downloaded from ftp://ftp.alvyray.com/Acrobat/6_Pixel.pdf.

In his paper, Smith correctly states that although we display our data as little grid squares or phosphorous rectangles, these are representations of a sample point — and a point, as any GISP should know, is not a polygon. And by extension, a point is also not a cube. I feel chastised, but somewhat honored and relieved that I was corrected by no one less than a rocket scientist. Thank you, Robert — the beers are on me next time I’m in Southern California.

March 10, 2009
Voxels: Not Your Daddy’s GIS

Can statistics and GIS build a more accurate geospatial picture?

By Art Kalinski, GISP

I’m a little late with this month’s column, but it was for a good reason: I had the responsibility (and honor) of swearing in my daughter at her Navy Officer Candidate School graduation in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a bizarre feeling seeing her stand on the same drill deck where I stood 37 years ago.

Seeing all those fine young men and women at the ceremony reminded me what a privilege it was to serve. I may not have thought so at the time, but now, years later, I know it was. Since you won’t hear it enough, to all of you who are or were on active duty: Thank you for serving your country.

Of course, there are other ways to serve as well, such as creating technologies that can support our first responders and military personnel. A few months ago, I learned about one that was new to me: voxels. With computers growing in power and speed, and richer, more complex datasets being developed, it will surely become more commonplace.

The term “voxel” grew from the words “volumetric” and “pixel”; it describes resolution in volumetric 3D space, not camera or flat-screen resolution. Think of it as the difference between a checkerboard and the construction toy Legos. Voxels are spatial data structures that not only describe 3D space, but can also display statistically fuzzy data.

3D Models: Simulation vs. Reality

For those of you not familiar with voxels, let’s start with GRID or Spatial Analyst, which is a grid cell-based GIS. (If you need a refresher, see my column in the June 2008 edition of GeoIntelligence Insider.) Spatial Analyst is similar to a checkerboard: a 2D space consisting of square cells with values defined in the cells by the checkers. You can even show 3D-like effects by raising or extruding each cell based on elevation data, and then draping an ortho image over the resultant surface.

People call this 3D, but it really isn’t; no matter which way you look at the model, the draped image is still a 2D photo. The other limitation is that, for the most part, all the elevation starts from a theoretical ground plane. There is no easy way to show holes in the space such as overhanging cliffs, caves, bridge underpasses, etc. (Yes, I know there are ways to get around this limitation, but not elegantly.)

There have been efforts to create 3D models of buildings using ortho imagery by extruding the buildings from their footprints, but since the side views of the buildings are limited, the quality is poor and limited to one side, if any. This is where geo-referenced oblique imagery has benefited 3D model creation. Since the geo-referenced oblique images show each side of a building in very high resolution and contain the data needed to automatically generate the 3D wireframes, the resultant models are very easy to create and are not only photo-realistic, but photo-accurate.

Although the application is still in its infancy, 3D models are also where voxels show the greatest potential. Since each volumetric cell is a 3D object in 3D space, complex 3D objects are easy to define. Just like the Legos example, you can build almost any 3D object with voxels. But Legos are solid little cubes, whose presence and location are not ambiguous; they can be there, or not there, period. They are never “maybe there” or fuzzy in their location.

Voxels have another key benefit: they can be statistically defined. By that I mean that each voxel can display the probability that it exists. If you have data that clearly defines a particular area, that region will have a very solid and unambiguous appearance. But if the data is missing, weak, or sparse, the area will appear porous instead. This is where the human observer’s mind can — and does — fill in the voids. The observer automatically understands that there is incomplete data in those places.

Building Body Models

Voxels have been around for a while in the video gaming industry, for the very reason that caves and overhangs can be displayed. Their most serious use, however, has been in building the images created from MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). There they have been a boon to physicians, who can manipulate the 3D images, viewing them from any direction. Additionally, each voxel can have varying degrees of transparency, aiding the physician in comprehending the objects he or she is reviewing.

This is an ideal environment for voxels, since the MRI scan creates very complete datasets to populate the voxel space. Each MRI scan, like the one shown at left, is a 2D “slice” of the 3D object. Assembling all the slices creates an almost perfect 3D model.

Image courtesy of Lockheed Martin.

Voxels and Imagery

There are many more ways of building 3D models that are not as easy as assembling finite, regular slices of a 3D object, and this is where things get complicated and messy. Kirk Smedley and Mark Pritt of Lockheed Martin are leading a team of researchers exploring ways to apply voxel technology to transform the traditional “TCPED” imagery chain. (For more information on this subject, you can contact Smedley at [email protected].) TCPED (short for tasking, collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination) is shorthand for the well-established life cycle of imagery, from capture all the way to desktop application.

Lockheed’s work is based on the groundbreaking research of Dr. Joseph Mundy at Brown University, who continues to work very closely with Lockheed. The Lockheed/Brown team is performing some very sophisticated investigations into 3D voxel model creation using multiple imagery and data sources. None are as clean as the regular slices of an MRI, but instead are statistical products that generate probability distributions. Think principal component analysis, factor analysis, and Eigen value decomposition.

Yes, it hurts my brain to even think about those long-forgotten statistical methods, but for the brave few who are comfortable in those environments, the voxel is ideal — it can display very complex and imperfect data sets. Not only complex in size, shape, and location, but complex as temporal values and abstract probability distributions.

This ability to display incomplete or imperfect data accurately in a 3D model is important to Lockheed’s clients. There are many video games or training simulators that provide photo-realistic environments; much of the imagery they use is simulated by cloning or modifying textures or images from real life. However, this technique is unacceptable for use by mission planners or first responders in combat or tactical situations. With lives at stake, they need to know exactly what they will face. The 3D model has to show true reality, and display unknown areas as “unknown” or “no data.” For example, in the 3D models that are created by Pictometry and PLW, if there is no satisfactory imagery available for part of a building, that part is shown as a plain, black surface. One can’t add in a fake window or door that has no counterpart in the real world. It’s much better to show the unknown as such.

Voxels are especially well suited to show fuzziness or incomplete data not just as black, no-data representations, but as probability displays that can show fuzzy data as incomplete or semi-transparent voxels.

The varying transparency of voxels can indicate the relative completeness of data. Image courtesy of Lockheed Martin.

Voxels are also ideally suited to create temporal models (which some prefer to call 4D models). Here again, the ability of voxels to display data as probability distributions is even more important for temporal data, which may be fuzzy in some locations and vary in fuzziness over time. Researchers are now looking at the possibility of populating voxel space with multiple images (ground stills, oblique aerial images, video, LIDAR, interior stills, CAD, GIS) in a kind of 3D statistical summary version of Microsoft PhotoSynth.

We may eventually see a seamless environment, inside and out, with accurately represented data that was statistically assembled. This is not your father’s “points, lines, and polygons” GIS. Are you imagining the potential for the GIS community? I see this as yet another example of the CAD, GIS, imagery, and BIM worlds coming together for the benefit of first responders and the military.

February 9, 2009
A Clear Presentation Danger

Will Pecha Kucha Rescue Us?

By Art Kalinski, GISP

Over the past year I’ve attended over a dozen GIS related conferences and sat through over a hundred presentations, most of them PowerPoint. Just like the Dilbert cartoon below I’ve reached my limit of poor PowerPoint presentations and I feel compelled to get on my soap box.

It’s been years since PowerPoint made its entrance but over the past year I still found myself suffering through absolutely horrible presentations. Several years ago there was a Dilbert cartoon in which Dilbert was explaining his side number 397. An audience member, who was actually paying attention, could take it no more and with a scream passed out. Wally, who had been sleeping, examined him and declared “PowerPoint Poisoning!” This may be funny but it strikes too close to reality.

Over the past year, I’ve attended more than a dozen GIS-related conferences and watched at least a hundred presentations, most of which were conducted in Microsoft PowerPoint. It’s been years since this now-ubiquitous software made its entrance, yet I still find myself suffering through absolutely horrible presentations. PowerPoint has made slide creation so easy that neurotic presenters with no skills, no taste, and no judgment are free to make us squirm in our seats. I’ve finally reached my limit, and I feel compelled to get on my soapbox.

First, a little history from an old guy who did presentations in the early eighties the hard way: with a grease pencil on overhead projector glass. In the late eighties I was lucky enough to be at a command where the graphics department could create professional-looking transparencies or 35-millimeter slides. The slides looked good, but because of the cost and hassle involved, presenters thought through their points carefully and used the slides sparingly.

In the early nineties, Harvard Graphics and PowerPoint hit the streets along with LCD projectors, and what should have been a wonderful tool quickly became a curse to many. Edward Tufte, the well-known author and Yale professor of information design, railed against PowerPoint. He used the famous 1869 graphic by Charles Joseph Minard of Napoleon’s march to Moscow as a superb example of the right way to communicate data graphically. This graph is still considered the single best example of elegant simplicity in using a map to display spatial and temporal data.

Charles Joseph Minard created this “figurative map” of Napoleon’s march to Moscow. The image shows the route of the army’s march, the temperature, and personnel attrition over time. The brown band represents the men who enter into Russia, and the black band represents those who leave it.

That’s how it was done in olden times: slow, deliberate, and thoroughly thought out. PowerPoint has facilitated the exact opposite behavior, with legions of presenters using the high-tech tool as a toy. I remember sitting thorough a presentation given by a senior executive of a major power company in Georgia. It was about a year after Microsoft added sound effects and the bullet fly-in feature to PowerPoint, and this presenter had each bullet fly in with a unique animation and sound effect. After a few minutes, no one was paying attention to the content; the audience chuckled and murmured, trying to predict which effect would come next. The only thing that presenter was missing was a big red nose and floppy shoes.

Worth a Thousand Words

In the GIS community, we are especially lucky, because most of our content is a graphic representation of spatial data. I think that’s what attracted me to GIS — its graphic visual nature. In GIS classes I’ve taught, I frequently pointed to a universal human characteristic: our learning, memory, and perception are very much graphically oriented. As an example, I cited the work of scientists who determined that the average person has almost 200,000 discrete human faces in their mental database. That’s pretty amazing, considering the relatively minor differences between faces; we have such discerning powers of observation that even Hollywood impersonators can’t fool most viewers. Of the thousands of Elvis impersonators, many come close to the real thing, but I have yet to see one that’s spot-on.

So I encourage people to take advantage of that human trait and use graphs, maps, imagery, and photos — not text — as visuals in their communication. Most PowerPoint trainers recommend using very little text, and limiting a presentation to no more than 35 slides and no more that 25 words on any given slide. They also caution to never, ever read the slides aloud. The slides are supposed to enhance the presenter’s presentation, not replace the presenter. My feeling about any presenter that reads his slides aloud is: Save yourself the trip! Stay home and just e-mail me your PowerPoint.

Good Tools, Bad Results

One problem with computers is that anyone can produce content that is technically perfect, such as documents, maps, or slides. But technically nice lines and fonts don’t guarantee a good-looking or effective end result. I learned that when I was the GIS Manager for the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). In the mid-nineties we started publishing our GIS data on CD so our ARC users could create their own maps. The results were some of the worst maps I’ve ever seen. We quickly learned that when wielded by someone with no cartographic or artistic skills, even sophisticated GIS tools could result in horrid presentations.

The same held true for Internet projects. In the early years of the Web, the new technology was difficult to master quickly, so we hired a computer firm specializing in Web site creation. I remember asking the company owner about the challenge of finding good HTML programmers. He surprised me with his answer: it was relatively easy to find programmers, but he couldn’t teach them how to be artists and create content that looked good. He said it was easier to start by hiring good artists, and then teach them the programming skills needed to create Web sites.

And that’s the problem with PowerPoint: Learning the software doesn’t guarantee good presentations. In addition to knowledge of the software, good presentations require artistic talent, a command of the material, and exceptionally good judgment as to how to communicate with your audience.

I think that many people who overdo PowerPoint do it out of insecurity; they want to show everyone how complicated their job is, and how much stuff they handle. While I was at ARC, I tried countless times to convince our planners that more is less. Frequently they would conduct slide shows containing 80 to 90 slides, with many slides containing more than 100 words each. When these “planning shows” were scheduled, you could see the look of dread on the faces of our board members. The old “I just got a silent-ring cell phone call and I have to leave the room” trick was used frequently.

Trimming the Fat

Thankfully, some of these problems have been partially addressed. Good-looking, interactive GIS maps can now be created using ESRI’s MapPublisher, TerraGo’s GeoPDF, or some of the Adobe PDF map formats. All permit the preservation of color schemes, fonts, line widths, symbology, and other cartographic elements in the interactive environments.

Many companies and conference organizers try to improve the artistic aspect of PowerPoint presentations by requiring presenters to use a standard conference template. But that only standardizes the look, without affecting the content or the way it’s delivered. Now, there’s finally hope that tediously long presentations may get reined in as well.

There is a relatively new trend you’ve probably heard of called Pecha Kucha (Japanese for “chitchat”). Many pronounce it the way it looks, although the proper pronunciation is “peh chach ka.” This patented presentation method was started by architects Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein. While working in Japan, they would hold shows for young designers. Since they wanted to give many designers the opportunity to show their work, they developed a fast-paced format that limited each presenter to 20 slides and only 20 seconds per slide. The end result was a short presentation: just six minutes and forty seconds.

Think about the ramifications of this. Just like a “thirty-second elevator pitch,” presenters had to really think through their presentations and distill their material down to only the key points. Currently, most conferences give presenters twenty minutes, plus another five to ten minutes for questions. With a seven-minute limit per session, there can be more time for questions, or for more presentations. The trend is spreading like wildfire: Autodesk is hosting Pecha Kucha nights during conferences, and Bentley and some universities are doing the same. ESRI has tested the format at some local conferences, and the 2009 Annual URISA Conference will have a Pecha Kucha night that I’m looking forward to participating in. My current PowerPoints have fewer than thirty-five slides, and fewer than forty words total, but I’m working to whittle that number down to twenty.

If you want to learn more, check Google or YouTube, which have many examples to choose from. I promised myself that every time I’m subjected to a poor PowerPoint presentation, I’m going to give the presenter a copy of this article. Maybe you could do the same, and we can collectively raise the bar and see fewer bad presentations in the coming year.

Well, it’s time to get off the soapbox. So, if you aren’t neurotic, and you’re confident with your knowledge and position, try giving your audience more by giving them less — adopt Pecha Kucha and help cure PowerPoint Poisoning.

January 28, 2009
GIS Gives Simulators More Realism

IITSEC 2008.

What is a GIS guy doing at a training simulation conference? Having a lot of fun — and learning that GIS makes everything better.

By Art Kalinski, GISP

Last week I attended the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando, Florida. It was an international gathering of more than 16,000 attendees, both military and civilian, that featured some 550 exhibits focusing primarily on military-related training and simulation. I know that Geospatial Solutions is a GIS-focused publication and that most of you are GIS professionals, but this conference clearly demonstrated the merging of many disciplines in formerly unrelated communities, including GIS.

When we hear the word “simulators,” we generally think of flight simulators — and there were many of those on display — but the exhibits also included ground combat, medical, logistic, and cultural immersion simulators. This conference demonstrated the most realistic and up-to-date training and simulation tools available in the world today, and GIS played a fundamental role as the underpinning of many applications. Autodesk, ESRI, and 3D model builders Precision Lightworks all had booths at the four-day event.

One interesting terminology quirk that I noticed is the difference in usage of the term “database.” We GIS folk generally use the word to describe our vector data and attributes, with imagery as separate layer. But in the training environment, the term is used to describe all the datasets that feed the simulators, including maps, imagery, GIS data, DEMs, CAD drawings, photos, objects, characters, TINS, wireframes, draping textures, skins, etc. The overlap with the video gaming community is significant, but GIS is growing in importance as many applications strive for real-world connectivity.

Experiencing the Exhibit Hall

Some of the exhibits showed a significant investment, not just in the technology but in the displays themselves. It was apparent that training and simulation is a big business, with lots of dollars at stake. One exhibitor summed it up this way: “With aircraft and ships costing tens and hundreds of millions each, simulators are a low-cost way of building competence without risking expensive equipment.” The same holds true for soldiers in the field. Actual combat is not the place to conduct training, and everyone is striving to create training that is so realistic that it is indiscernible from actual combat.

Many exhibitors showcased new display technology, such as very high-resolution projectors from Sony. Most simulators used large flat screens, tripled in some cases to provide panoramic views. One flight simulator used nine separate screens, but even more impressive were large concave screens similar to IMAX. that provided realistic and seamless images, even in 3D.

Big screen display technology.

Some trainers used head-mounted displays (HMDs) for combat action scenarios, but an unusual addition was a 10-foot spherical cage for humans that resembled a giant hamster ball. The subject enters the cage wearing a wireless HMD, and can move in any direction responding to the HMD display and program. The cage was so well designed that it moved with just light finger pressure. Users indicated that getting used to walking or even running in the cage became natural quite rapidly.

Users indicated that walking in the cage — or even running — became natural quite rapidly.

Some of the exhibits showed significant expense, not just the technology but the displays themselves. The Augusta Westland helo trainer was one example.

The Augusta Westland helo trainer.

It was apparent that training and simulation is a big business with lots of dollars at stake. One exhibitor summed it up stating, “With aircraft and ships costing tens and hundreds of millions each, simulators are a low cost way of building competence without risking expensive equipment.” The same holds true for soldiers in the field. Actual combat is not the place to conduct training and everyone is striving to create training that is so realistic that it is indiscernible from actual combat

I expected to see more simulators that imitated the movement of flight, but as one of the exhibitors told me, the motion and G forces of jet fighters are so great that simulators can’t even come close — so they replicate other aspects of the experience instead. Two motion simulators that were effective included a helicopter flight and gunner simulator, and a Hummer simulator that recreated the motion of a vehicle struck by an improvised explosive device (IED). The shock and rollover over of the vehicle trained soldiers how exit a turned over vehicle while under fire, the goal being to simulate and practice what could happen so there were no surprise situations.

Vehicle rollover trainer.

Lockheed Martin featured a shipboard engine-room simulator that enabled the training of engineering personnel by simulating various casualties and damage control actions, without risk to people or equipment. The operation was very similar to a video game, with realistic characters responding to the commands of the trainee. As a former Navy Surface Warfare Officer I had to try my hand at the Kongsberg ship bridge simulator. I can attest that not only did the simulator look good, the physics, behavior and reaction of the ship was dead on accurate.

As a former U.S. Navy surface warfare officer, I had to try my hand at the Kongsberg ship bridge simulator. I can attest that not only did the simulator look good, but the physics, behavior, and reaction of the ship were dead-on.

There were numerous small arms trainers and ranges on display that were capable of training individuals, multiple trainees, and even groups acting as teams within a combat environment. I also saw countless examples of wearable gear that permitted simulation of small arms combat using of laser weapons to simulate hits. Numerous urban building mock-up trainers incorporated video displays, realistic sounds, and even explosions and smoke.

Weapons team training.

Medical simulation included traumatic injuries and triage scenarios played via video screens. Sickeningly realistic moulage kits imitated all types of injuries, complete with exposed bones and spurting blood. There were many exhibits of peripheral equipment and supplies such a carrying cases, communication gear and even very high quality surface coated mirrors for projectors and displays. One little gem that I hands-on tested at the ESRI booth was a 3D mouse by 3D Connexion. The “Space Navigator” was the smoothest, most intuitive, most precise, quality feeling mouse I’ve ever used. I’m getting one.

3D mouse.

An area I found fascinating — because I didn’t expect to see it — featured exhibitors that focused on human simulation and cultural immersion. DI-Guy and MetaVR were displaying human simulations of crowds that looked realistic and could be programmed to behave in various ways, with each character acting as both an individual and part of the group. The photo shows a Mideast group walking toward an infantry squad while hiding two terrorists in their midst. Some of the video characters are a little blocky, but new techniques derived from the video gaming industry include draping “skins” on mesh frames instead of boxes or tins. The end result is smoother-looking characters and objects, such as flowing robes.

Computer generated crowd.

One exhibitor that displayed human motion capture tools used by Hollywood to create animations. They had a young dancer wearing a capture suit whose motion was transferred to a character on a video display. She won the unofficial endurance record since she danced continuously during the four-day exhibit hall operation.

Human movement capture.

Another exhibitor, the Tatitlek Corporation, takes cultural immersion to the extreme with live, culturally correct role players that recreate Middle Eastern environments. The live players create the look, sounds, and feel of being in the region, so that it’s not a shock for our troops when they arrive in-theater. Tatitlek displayed one example of their cultural simulations: a sheik’s tent complete with rugs, seating, accessories, and even staged arguments and police intervention.

Live cultural immersion.

Enhancing Reality with GIS and Imagery

So how does GIS fit into this community? As I learned from people that have been in this business for years, training simulation first evolved from physical mock-ups to computer-based, CAD-like “cartoon” environments that were only loosely tied to reality. It was considered a challenge to get an image up on the screen that represented reality and make it move around in response to the trainee, but that’s no longer good enough. Now imagery and GIS-referenced data is enhancing the entire environment.

Lockheed Martin was a big presence at the conference, and created a buzz with flight simulation systems that incorporated photo-realistic and photo-accurate oblique imagery and 3D models into geo-referenced applications that simulate weather conditions and even provide night-time views. This kind of accurate simulation achieves realism not previously seen, and now has captured the attention of mission planners, who have significantly different needs from trainers. The mission planners, as their title implies, plan real missions just before actual execution. For their work they need up-to-date information that is accurate, geo-referenced, and measurable. They cannot tolerate made-up data or imagery — it may be perfectly fine for training, but could be disastrous if relied upon for real execution. The bar has been raised.

Attending I/ITSEC, I could see the growing convergence of GIS, CAD, BIM models (see my August column for the BIM – GIS convergence), computer display technology, and the training/simulation applications. It’s amazing to watch how everything is coming together. An especially interesting system displayed by the Navy was a flight simulator that collected brain wave data and recorded images of the pilot’s eyeball movements.

Human factors flight simulator.

As I viewed this rig I couldn’t help but recall a photo I saw at Moody Air Force Base of an early flight trainer crafted from plywood and broom handles. Imagine how alien this new Navy system would look to the designer of that plywood trainer. I wonder where we will be in 20 more years.

December 9, 2008
Right Oblique . . . March!

A complex base-mapping project spawns new techniques — and brings the power of oblique imagery to the military.

By Art Kalinski, GISP

When I started basic training and learned the marching command “right oblique march,” little did I know that the term “oblique” would become a capstone of my GIS career. As most readers know, I was a career naval officer who set up the Navy’s first GIS in the mid-eighties. After military retirement and graduate work at the University of North Carolina, I served as the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) GIS Manager until I retired early to join Pictometry last year.

I did so because, much to my surprise, oblique imagery was not being used by the military. In Atlanta, we saw such a dramatic improvement in the effectiveness of first responders using oblique imagery that I felt compelled to help bring this technology to our troops in the field. The first major oblique imagery project that I managed was imaging all Marine Corps Bases in the continental United States.

The United States Marine Corps contracted Pictometry International and the engineering firm PBS&J to image every USMC base in the continental U.S. with high-resolution ortho and oblique imagery. The imagery was captured from late 2007 through early 2008 and delivered to Marine Corps headquarters for installation in the East and West Coast GeoFidelis GIS systems. Capturing the imagery was uneventful, except for scheduling flights around base exercises and a solving a technical issue that was keeping us from shooting the high-altitude Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California.

We assisted with the installation of the imagery and software at the East and West GeoFidelis computer centers in a CITRIX environment. After the installation, eighteen user-training classes were held at ten Marine Corps bases.

Students in the USMC user-training classes learned about oblique imagery, the viewing software, and ESRI ArcGIS integration.

The contract also called for a Public Works Implementation Plan and a Fire Protection Implementation Plan. Several other projects — including a 3D interactive model for security use, an oblique mosaic of a base to replace a large wall photograph lost in a major fire, and a proof of concept demonstrating the integration of oblique imagery with TerraGo GeoPDFs — were also completed.

Quality Control

I personally reviewed all the imagery for completeness of coverage, and individual images were spot-checked for image quality. The initial Quantico imagery had too much snow cover to be useful; it was reshot later in the season when the snow had melted. Snow obscures ground details, and the white reflections create excessive contrast that diminishes the visibility of adjoining features.

All imagery from five directions — north, south, east, west, and ortho — had complete coverage, with the exception of the west view imagery of Miramar. Heavy winds had caused the aircraft to drift off course, resulting in a gap in the oblique imagery from the west view. The other views fully cover the two-square-mile area, and although this falls within quality standards, it will be reshot later this year. This is an error rate of only .02 percent.

Technical Difficulties

Oblique imagery had never been collected at the high altitudes needed to photograph the Mountain Warfare Training Center, located about 30 miles east of Yosemite Park. The problem was that the hard drives used to record the imagery couldn’t operate above 10,000 feet. Hard-disk magnetic recorders require a minimal air density in order to separate the record heads from the magnetic media with a microscopic air layer. Low air pressures at 14,000 feet cause the record heads to “crash,” or come in contact with the magnetic surface of the record media. Significant engineering time and experimentation ultimately solved the problem.

The initial solution was to use pressurized rotating media with high-altitude specifications. This solution functions at up to approximately 16,000 feet above mean sea level, but is not fully reliable. The drives also have slower transfer rates, so more drives were needed in the aircraft for efficient capture. There are other limitations of the rotating technology that are not desirable for a long-term solution, but the capture was accomplished. Engineers are currently testing a more promising technology for high-altitude capture using high-speed, solid-state drive technology. Early examples of this technology proved to be too slow for efficient capture, but new versions of the equipment are showing more promise.

There were concerns that a CITRIX deployment of the imagery and viewing software could have speed problems. Additionally, the Marine Corps is moving to ArcServer technology, so engineering time was devoted to alternative solutions. Engineers developed thin-client viewing software that could be used if needed.

Something New: An Oblique Mosaic

During the course of the contract, a feasibility question was raised: Was it possible to merge individual oblique images to create a base-wide oblique image? This idea was prompted by the loss, during a building fire, of a large traditional aerial photograph. Engineers developed a technique to tile and seamlessly merge multiple oblique photographs to form what looks like a single high-altitude — yet high-resolution — oblique image. This was especially challenging since oblique images don’t edge-match easily; each image has a different perspective, with each pixel being a different size and not rectangular in shape. Those challenges were overcome, and a single base-wide oblique image was created to replace the destroyed aerial photograph. Since the large mosaic was created from many low-altitude, high-resolution obliques, the final large oblique image had very fine resolution throughout.

3D Models

One of the deliverables requested under this contract was an interactive 3D model of a high-visibility location in the Washington D.C. area. The location presents security and logistics challenges, so an interactive 3D model will be very useful. The “wire frame” model was created from multiple oblique images by Precision Light Works (PLW) with a semi-automated process similar to stereo pair analysis.

Once the wire frame is created, the same imagery is automatically draped on the 3D model to create not only a photo-realistic model, but a photo-accurate model — meaning that features are accurately located on the models. The 3D model created by PLW can be used in various software viewers, including Google Earth. Some 3D viewers can also do measurements within the 3D model.

Public Works Report

PBS&J worked with Pictometry engineers to develop an implementation plan using oblique imagery for public works applications. One public works application surfaced because there was a need to conduct a survey of runway approaches to determine whether trees had grown into the glide paths or if unauthorized construction had occurred within the glide paths.

The traditional method to accomplish this task was with survey crews sighting and measuring objects on site — a time-consuming task. The ability to measure heights of vertical features made oblique imagery a natural choice for this application. PBS&J tested the concept and demonstrated the feasibility of doing surveys with the imagery, but more work will be needed to test the accuracy of this method and ultimately receive certification.

Fire Protection and Emergency Response Report

Another use of oblique imagery, which received significant publicity, is its use as a planning tool for firefighters en route to a fire. The imagery permits the firefighters to get the lay of the land, measure distances to fire hydrants, and view accessibility.
Many counties using the oblique imagery have statistically measured a reduction in fire attack time of 60 to 90 seconds.

This is a significant improvement, and the Marine Corps wanted to provide this advantage to their firefighters. The contract called for a firefighting implementation plan, and we had veteran Battalion Fire Chief Wayne Harper on our team to develop one. Paper reports have always left me cold, so I asked Harper, Why not deliver a functioning laptop, similar to those used by other firefighters, as a deliverable with the plan? We did exactly that, and delivered a fully functional Toughbook laptop configured with oblique imagery, GIS data, and software that could be used in fire trucks for tactical planning. This hands-on working example went further than just a paper report, and should facilitate the installation of similar capabilities on all USMC fire trucks.

Taking the Lead

Usually the Marine Corps is at the “tip of the spear” in world conflicts and combat situations, but rarely are they in the lead when it comes to technology. With this oblique imagery project, the USMC has certainly moved to the forefront with oblique imagery technology.

Although not part of the Marine Corps contract, the development work done to complete the contract underpinned potential war fighter applications. The research and testing clearly points the way to make this technology available to deployed combat units in-theater in an operational mode that could provide near-real-time imagery to ground troops. To this end, Pictometry recently signed an alliance partnership with a leading defense contractor to work on a number of related military projects.

Photos: Art Kalinski

November 11, 2008
GEOINT Transitions to the Future

By Art Kalinski, GISP

Attending the GEOINT 2008 conference was like drinking from a fire hose: too many superb sessions by top leaders in the field, and more than 120 exhibitors on the show floor. In a short amount of time, this community has transformed itself. Just three years ago there were many contractors offering data and imagery, but very little in the way of integration and analysis tools. This year almost all efforts were pointed toward integration, with fast evaluation and response.

Keynote speaker Retired Air Force Lt .Gen. James R. Clapper, Jr.

The opening session keynote speaker was the current Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, retired Air Force Lt .Gen. James R. Clapper, Jr. He addressed the need for integration of intel sources and explained how difficult it is to achieve, because of security concerns about sharing data among agencies and coalition forces. He expressed apprehension about managing the flood of data — how will we sort out meaningful information from the torrent? Clapper discussed the growing uneasiness over our vulnerability to cyber attacks, and noted that new developments in biometrics make identification of terrorists easier, but complicate the ability of our forces to infiltrate hostile groups.

General Clapper then compared the Cold War, which presented us with an enemy that was static and predictable, with the irregular warfare of today. Gone is the old environment that permitted the intel community to take days to identify and evaluate threats; now we must identify threats in mere hours by observing patterns of life and individual behavior. Clapper stated that we have become very good at precise attacks, but we still have a long way to go to prevent attacks.

Integration on Display

In the exhibit hall there were countless examples of improvements to existing technology, with many efforts toward data integration. There were also a few new developments on display.

BAE Systems created a significant buzz — including strong mention by another keynote speaker, Maj. Gen. John M. Custer — with its new SOCET GXP system. The system grew out of SOCET SET and breaks down the wall between image analysis and geospatial analysis to an environment that the company calls Extreme Analysis. It combines imagery, geo data, metadata, attributes, and analysis tools into one unified package.

Lockheed Martin demonstrated a very interesting capability. Starting with 3D models created by PLW with Pictometry imagery, Lockheed transforms the models with complex algorithms to reflect night-time views or varying weather conditions, with very realistic results.

Speaking of Lockheed, the aerospace company used the conference to announce that it has signed an agreement to collaborate with Pictometry. The two companies will develop next-generation visualization tools for both domestic applications and in-theater, near-real time oblique imaging and 3D model creation using manned and unmanned aircraft.

FortiusOne demonstrated its Web-based service that bridges GIS and GeoWeb services with very user-friendly tools that access a huge global database of coverage designed for non-GIS-trained users. The Web service not only permits the viewing of maps and data, it also allows viewers to add their own data. One example was flood maps that could be enhanced with local data and then saved as printed documents or PDFs.

I also saw a demonstration of Zebra Technologies’ holographic video table, which displays full-motion video as a 3D hologram similar to the still holograms that Zebra has previously developed. While viewing the holodeck-style platform, I half-expected to see Princess Leia appear and ask for help. The technology is still a long way from prime time, but it was amazing to see full-motion video as a hologram.

Getting Results

The most impressive keynote session was given by Maj. Gen. John M. Custer, Commander of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center at Ft. Huachuca. He was probably the most passionate speaker, and clearly had a sense of urgency about his mission. He heads the intel training efforts for the U.S. Army, and described how they transformed training of intel people to be as realistic as possible so that soldiers leaving the training can hit the ground running.

General Custer addresses the crowd during his keynote speech.

That’s one thing about military training that impressed me early in my career: they have to get results. You can’t pretend to get a ship under way, you have to actually do it on schedule. You can’t philosophize about getting rounds on target, you have to actually do it. Having an education background, I was completely dumbfounded when I joined the Navy and saw 19-year-old kids do more effective teaching than I had experienced in high school and college. There is no better example than the work done at Ft. Huachuca.

General Custer played a very fast-paced video showing the results; it depicted intel specialists in the field supporting their own unit under fire. They were receiving intel from many sources — satellite imagery, database from interrogations, intercepted communications, aerial imagery, down-linked video, and video from field robots in hostile fire locations — all of which were integrated and analyzed into actionable intelligence that saves lives and accomplishes the mission.

Getting there was not easy, and the General had to overcome many hurdles, including getting live data feeds so the soldiers could train on current, real-life data. Custer’s goal was to have a training environment that was absolutely indistinguishable from the actual combat environment. He indicated that all tools are moving from thick clients to thin clients and that UAVs are playing and increasing roll in the battlefield. Brigades will be working with up to 32 UAVs, with 18 of them in the air. As a result, their data centers will be dealing with petabytes of data. Custer cited an interesting statistic he developed. He observed that in each war cycle since WWII the number of troops was only 10 percent of the previous war, but the needed data bandwidth increased 100-fold.

The video was powerful, and Custer shared how he had personally presented the flag at over 25 military funerals to grieving widows and parents — a life-changing event. I can tell you from personal experience that he is absolutely correct. It’s one thing to attend a funeral of someone that has lived a long and fulfilling life. It’s totally different to see very young children standing in front of the boots and helmet, knowing that they will never know their dad who died for his brothers and to keep the rest of us safe. General Custer received the longest, strongest standing ovation that I’ve seen in years.

As I looked around at the crowd I reminded myself that these are the people that have been instrumental in preventing another major attack on this county. I was reminded of the Irish Republican Army after a thwarted bombing of 10 Downing Street. The spokesman was quoted saying that Scotland Yard was lucky this time, but the Yard will have to be lucky every time — and the IRA will only have to be lucky once. I’m hoping that with everyone’s hard work we will make our own luck.

October 31, 2008
Puzzling Over PDFs
By Art Kalinski, GISP

GeoPDFs have become a very valuable tool for the GIS community, but it has been a slow evolution. My first exposure to GeoPDFs came about five years ago, when I saw a new GIS map-publishing medium offered by Layton Graphics. The local Atlanta firm started out as a microfilm copy specialist, then slowly moved into digital media. While I was in the GIS shop at the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), I would occasionally get a visit from one of their salespeople, but they really didn’t have anything we needed.

As time progressed, Layton Graphics evolved further into digital publishing, and eventually into the Adobe Acrobat format. I continued to get an occasional visit, and I always gave them 10 minutes of my time. As the years progressed, however, I grew in age and my patience shrunk proportionately, so when I received a visit from them again in 2003 I barely gave them three minutes.

But to quote my uncle, “Eventually even a blind pig will find an acorn.” The sales rep showed me a new Layton Graphics product based on Adobe technology — and it fit a real need perfectly. For the first time, my perfunctory meeting grew into two hours as I invited more and more ARC staff members to sit in on this new product demo.

What Layton Graphics — now known as TerraGo Technologies — had created was the GeoPDF format, plus tools that manipulated the files in Adobe Reader. It was a brilliant new geospatial publishing medium. For those of you who are not familiar with TerraGo, let me explain the features that caught my attention.

For years, we published our ARC GIS data on CDs (primarily as Shapefiles) and included a copy of ArcExplorer for those users who didn’t have a GIS. The problem with providing raw GIS data to inexperienced users is that it typically resulted in cartographically poor maps, many of which were truly terrible.

ESRI’s Map Publisher partially solved that problem by permitting the creation of a GIS-based map as an MDF, which retained the original cartography of the publisher. The only problem was that the user had to download Map Reader, the MDF, and all the GIS data layers. Additionally, if there was a problem with Map Reader pointing to any of the data, the map would not print. Some of those problems were solved in later versions, but it is still not as elegant a solution as TerraGo’s: a single file viewable in Adobe Reader.

In ESRI’s ArcGIS, users create maps using the data layers, colors, and symbology of their choice. When the GeoPDF is created using TerraGo Publisher (previously known as Map2PDF), the desired “look” will be maintained, but it won’t be a dumb map; the file is actually a self-contained GIS viewing environment. Users can zoom in and out, pan, and — using the table of contents to the left of the map view — turn layers on and off. There is even a query tool that permits the display of attributes as users click on the geographic features. The map layers can be GIS vector data or background ortho imagery. All these manipulations can be performed using the ubiquitous, free Acrobat Reader from Adobe.

The thing that makes the GeoPDF so remarkable is that the GIS map layout, and all GIS data, travels as one single file: no lost or mis-pointed data! It’s foolproof for the receiver, and is very intuitive even for users not trained in GIS.

But it doesn’t end there if the receiver is willing to download TerraGo Desktop, a free collection of even more sophisticated tools. The solution, which until recently was known as the GeoPDF Toolbar, offers users the ability to publish and collaborate on the same GeoPDF file via the Internet (annotations created on the map are viewable by all linked viewers). They can also measure distance, area, and direction, and view vehicle locations if GPS tracking data is available.

This interactive collaboration capability really got my attention for homeland security and first-responder applications, especially in mutual aid situations. Just imagine creating a compact GIS project of a disaster location, then quickly sending the single GeoPDF to anyone responding, even those who are unfamiliar with the area or with GIS software. The annotations can be saved as Shapefiles, which makes the GeoPDF an ideal data collection environment.

TerraGo designed the GeoPDF format with an extensive capability to store and catalog large and complex datasets. That’s one reason why the Army Corps of Engineers has published its entire collection of world maps as GeoPDF files. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is another federal user taking advantage of the format.

Discerning Differences

There has been a Kabuki dance going on between TerraGo, ESRI, and Adobe as they try not to step on each other’s intellectual-property toes. TerraGo and Adobe worked together to get GeoPDF support in Adobe Reader. Adobe and ESRI partnered to extend the ISO 3200 specifications for PDFs to include geospatial. In the meantime, TerraGo is creating GeoPDFs from ArcMap and ESRI is creating PDFs with the proposed geospatial extension to ISO 32000.

Now that TerraGo isn’t the only option anymore, the question for many of us is, What’s the difference between TerraGo’s GeoPDFs and geospatial PDFs created by ESRI software? For simple map creation, the answer is: not much. The Adobe solution and the TerraGo solution are very similar now that TerraGo has signed an alliance agreement with Adobe.

By opening the door, TerraGo hopes to reach many more users to promote the added functionality of their Desktop tools. Specifically, the added functionality enables users to perform the following tasks:
- Use drawing tools to mark up maps and collaborate between users in remote locations. The remote users don’t need GIS software or special training.
- Convert the mark-up graphics to GIS data. This makes a GeoPDF a very simple, low-cost field GIS data collection tool. There’s no need for additional GIS licenses to do simple field data collection. This same capability permits the export of the data as Shapefiles or KML files.
- Create complex linked collections of maps as map books, or combine many maps into a large mosaic.
- Retain and enable hyperlinks to other documents, files, and HTML sites.
- Display AVL (automatic vehicle locator) GPS data to show the movement of vehicles on the GeoPDF map.
In addition, according to users of both types of files, many of the common capabilities seem to be more robust and work better in the TerraGo environment. For example, there are more problems selecting attributes in an Acrobat map than in a TerraGo GeoPDF. TerraGo has had years of experience to refine its solution and create more robust, reliable tools.

The simple conclusion is that both options perform the key job of creating cartographically sound maps in a GIS viewing environment. Both are georeferenced. Both provide attribute query. Both provide the ability to turn layers on and off, pan, zoom, measure distances, and obtain coordinates. The subtle differences only become noticeable as you use both solutions. Whether you require the additional capabilities of a TerraGo GeoPDF — such as the collaboration and Shapefile creation — will ultimately depend on your needs.
October 15, 2008
Seeking Synergy

By Art Kalinksi, GISP

Three weeks ago, I attended the Second Annual Synergy Conference and Expo in southern Florida. The operations and intelligence conference was organized by Nancy Wheeler and Brigadier General Billy Bingham, USAF (Ret). Although both are retired from intel, they continue to work in the community through their support of the Government Emerging Technology Alliance and the conference co-sponsor, the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM).

The conference was very well organized and was a superb opportunity for civilians, contractors, and all ranks of military personnel to interact freely. Junior enlisted personnel, such as Air Force Sergeant Barrett and Senior Airman Roach, who had hands-on Predator image analysis experience, were given as much attention as their senior counterparts.

I’m writing this column not as a knowledgeable intel guy, but rather as an intel outsider with a GIS focus. Although I served 20 years in the Navy, my experience with the Navy intel community was very limited. The “spooks,” as we called them, were usually cloistered behind cipher-lock security doors in rooms that were impervious to electronic spying, where disruptive background music thwarted any eavesdropping. Occasionally, someone reminiscent of the Wizard of Oz door guard would open a security window and pass us a scrap of classified paper telling us to do something or sharing some very limited information. We “ops pukes” would then act on the intelligence, sometimes blindly depending on the source. At the time, that was the model common to all branches of the military, with its origins going back to Napoleon’s army.

At Synergy, I learned that the old Napoleonic model is changing dramatically; the conference title confirmed the evolution in thinking and action. Synergy refers to the merging of Operations and Intelligence divisions, and is spurred by changing operational needs — specifically, the increasing need for speed. According to General Bingham, gone is the time when operational forces reacted to intelligence within days. Now, even a reaction time of hours is not good enough; instead, it must be measured in minutes. Additionally, many of the operational forces are also major intelligence collectors.

In the old days, the need for security trumped the need for fast response. Information was secured through multiple layers of security and compartmentalization. Even if there was a bad apple who leaked information, very few individuals possessed enough information to cause serious damage.

Today, that model is changing because of the rapid changes to the operational situation. However, much of our satellite imagery, sources, and methods are still carefully protected, with limited access by our operational forces. That’s the key reason I joined my current employer: to get very high-resolution, but unclassified, oblique imagery into the hands of our operational ground troops quickly. (In fact, I attended the conference because Pictometry will be an exhibitor next year, partnering with Lockheed Martin to install oblique imagery cameras on the Predator and perhaps the Osprey.)

The keynote speaker, Lt. General Mark Owen of USSTRATCOM, discussed the evolution of the command’s mission. Historically, USSTRATCOM was primarily involved in strategic nuclear deterrence, but its mission has been extended to cover all WMDs, space warfare, and cyberspace.

Colonel Stuart Maberry, USAF, addressed the problems associated with irregular warfare. His presentation reminded me of a visionary Naval War College Review article written back in 1989 by CDR Steven Rose that described the array of threats we would face, including chemical weapons, biological attacks, and even nano-technology. Rose mused that one day we might long for the “good old days” when all we had to worry about were nuclear weapons. I can relate to that, having served in sensitive weapons assignments. Nuclear weapons require significant technical skill and ongoing maintenance if one hopes to achieve nuclear yields, as opposed to just a dirty bomb. The other dubious upside of a nuclear attack is that you know that you’ve been attacked, as well as when and where. This information may then point to the attacker.

That may not be the case with cyber, chemical, and biological attacks that could seem like accidents or natural outbreaks. Add to that the relative simplicity of creation and delivery, and the fact that some of our enemies have no concern for collateral damage — or even their own lives — and the problem gets very serious. The only effective defense seems to be very good intelligence and constant vigilance.

Major General Michael Ennis USMC of the CIA discussed current intelligence efforts, with a focus on human intelligence collection. It was interesting to note how valuable he considered open-source information as a way of confirming intel collected from other sources. He indicated that Internet blogs and Web sites, because of their numbers, are sometimes a superior source of information. He also expressed concern over the chasm between the ops and intel groups, and the walls that still exist between domestic and overseas collection, as well as the cultural differences between military and homeland agencies (such as the ATF and FBI).

The vendor expo section had a strong focus on data management and data mining; countless products addressed the complexity of managing a flood of data. I observed numerous products and services that were not easily understandable. In many cases I couldn’t tell if I was looking at vaporware or I just wasn’t smart enough to understand that I was looking at a marvelous new development. After talking to some attendees, I suspect that it was a little of both.

Of course homeland security agencies, all the military branches, and the intelligence community are big users of GIS technology, so one would expect ESRI to be an exhibitor. Indeed, ESRI had a booth demonstrating ArcGIS and ArcGIS-related products, including custom applications, but I didn’t see anything new other than some statistical analysis packages and discussions about Image Server. Spatial Analyst seems to be more important to the intel community than to most other GIS users I’ve seen, who are more involved in cataloging than analysis.

ERDAS demonstrated its wide array of GIS data and image processing software, including the universal data translator TITAN. Adobe demonstrated its geo-referenced PDF maps, as well as publishing and collaboration tools. In the coming weeks I’m going to learn about (and report on) the differences between PDFs and the capabilities of TerraGo Technologies’ GeoPDFs.

Zebra Imaging showed examples of its 3D holograms of buildings and neighborhoods. Although they looked very impressive, it was difficult to assess the benefit holograms offer over other visualization tools. I believe that we are still early in the life cycle of this promising technology, and I look forward to seeing how it will evolve.

In one of the closing plenary sessions, LTC Casey Carey discussed the Sons of Iraq program, which (along with the surge) changed the entire dynamic in that country. By enhancing community relations and bringing Iraqis into the fold, intelligence gathering and the effectiveness of all coalition forces was greatly improved. This was a complex effort that required imaginative thinking. Life was simple when all we asked the military to do was kill people and break stuff. Now they also have to be military tacticians, spies, intelligence analysts, public works engineers, economic developers, diplomats, and even social workers. As if that isn’t enough, most of them are very young, without the benefit of college degrees or years of experience.

As part of a panel discussion on mega-trends, Bob Gourley of Crucial Point, LLC, talked about the convergence of PCs and cell phones; there will be more than 6 billion G3-type phones in use worldwide by 2014. Add to that the changing rules governing domestic origins of calls, and we have a very daunting surveillance task. The panel also discussed In-Q-Tel, the nonprofit incubator for CIA support companies. One of In-Q-Tel’s success stories was the creation of Keyhole, which was later acquired by Google as Google Earth.

There are three themes of the conference that I can’t overemphasize. First of all, GIS and related image processing software, along with data mining software, are growing in importance as the environment of the intelligence community grows increasingly sophisticated and complex. Second, there are many more people, military and civilian, involved in this work than the average person would imagine. Third, if you know any new graduates with GIS or computer science backgrounds, let them know that there are some very interesting career opportunities in the intel communities — the work is serious and significantly more interesting than printing road maps or maintaining a parcel tax map.

My hat is off to the legions of military and civilian workers that are currently operating to keep us safe. They need all the support we can provide, and I hope our leaders keep politics out of these profoundly important issues. My overarching impression is that we have a lot of very smart military and civilian people spending countless hours to protect our interests. It’s very hard work in a constantly changing environment of one-upmanship. The classic Mad Magazine Spy vs. Spy cartoon serves as a good analogy, and I saw the cartoon included in several presentations. The difference is that the stakes are very high, and the results of failure not funny.

September 9, 2008
BIM, Son of CAD and GIS

By Art Kalinski, GISP

For those of you who haven’t been looking over the cubicle wall, there is a quiet revolution occurring in the CAD world that is affecting the GIS community. That revolution is BIM (building information modeling). BIM was developed in the mid-90s by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to bring building design into the 21st century, but BIM is much more than just a building design model. Very simply put, it combines the best capabilities of CAD software with the best capabilities of GIS in a 3D environment.

For years, many designers understood that the primary limitation of CAD software is that CAD drawings consist of points, lines, and polygons, with no topology and no link to a database — just object ID numbers. CAD traditionally focused on the quality and detail of the drawing, with a strong focus on 3D visualizations.

Conversely, GIS is a topological model of points, lines, and polygons that’s linked to a database. Because of topology, a GIS understands relationships and can perform analyses such as what object is next to another, what object is within another, and what object intersects another, and display the results graphically or within the linked database.

CAD drawings can look very good, because the software was designed to that end. GIS also draws points, lines, and polygons, but the tools were not designed to do sophisticated renderings. The best analogy I can think of is Microsoft Office. You could draft a letter in Excel, but it would be awkward and probably not look as good as one prepared in Word. Likewise, you could create a spreadsheet-style document in Word, but it wouldn’t have all the mathematical functionality of an Excel spreadsheet.

Family Factions

The CAD and GIS communities have, for the most part, lived separate lives, even in my own family. For years, while I was the GIS manager of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), I taught ArcView classes. I offered to teach my son and daughter this entry-level GIS so they would have one more tool to put on their resume, but neither was interested in “that GIS stuff.” My son Alex was an electrical engineering major, and he learned CAD software as part of his program. Two years ago he received an internship with CH2MHILL doing CAD work. After he graduated, CH2MHILL grabbed him full-time, and he continued working on electrical design projects.

Six months ago I was chatting with Alex about his new job and budding career. He was excited, explaining that he was now doing much more sophisticated work. He described a new software program that permitted him to link the elements of CAD drawings with a database that could then be searched spatially or through the database. With a tilt of my head I asked, “Do you realize that you’ve just perfectly described a GIS?” He said, with a look of revelation, “Is that what you’ve been doing all these years!” We both laughed, realizing that — unknowingly — the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.

My son “gets it” and understands the broad capability of BIM, but he’s in the minority. If you read some of the CAD blogs regarding BIM, most CAD people don’t get it yet. Many still view BIM as just a new kind of 3D model and miss the entire concept of topology and linked databases. This presents a huge opportunity for GIS professionals, since you already understand and have been performing spatial analysis in this topological environment.

BIM of a Pantex Plant during initial design phase. Note building components, conduit, piping. Image courtesy of CH2MHILL.

Images courtesy of CH2MHILL.

BIM showing complex system of piping, ventilation, electrical and other building and equipment components. Courtesy of CH2MHILL, Atlanta, GA.

John Przybyla of Woolpert, who has worked in both disciplines for years, cautions us GIS people not to underestimate or downplay CAD projects. He used a simple wall as an example. In a GIS a wall may be represented as one or two lines, but the detailed CAD drawing could contain more than six layers of data: paint, drywall, framing, blocking, fire stops, insulation, etc. So there will be a learning process on both sides as we evolve. On the other hand, Przybyla wishes that GIS had more robust 3D modeling.

Putting BIM to Work

The 500-pound gorilla in BIM software is Autodesk’s Revit. Bentley BIM and Oracle are big players, and ESRI is working hard to be a contender in the BIM environment too. At the ESRI International User Conference, the plenary session included a demo of work being done at M.I.T. Michael Parkin demonstrated a 3D GIS model of the Cambridge campus that he created. Using the model, he was able to spatially identify by horizontal and vertical location each laboratory that was sensitive to noise and vibration. Parkin then created an intersecting 3D sphere of influence that would result from a planned construction project. This would help campus officials minimize the interference by changing schedules, or even moving some labs.

Parkin also mapped, in 3D space, the location of campus parking spots and of the offices of assigned users. This helped the school assign spots closer to the users’ workplaces — something of a 3D trade area analysis for parking garage customers. Also at the conference were numerous presentations on building models and facility management (FM), even though most were not using the term BIM. ESRI has a team of people dedicated to all aspects of BIM, headed by Matt Davis of the Boston regional office and John Young of the Charlotte office. Both are good points of contact regarding BIM and GIS.

We must all understand that BIM is much bigger than just building models. The AIA designed BIM as a full life cycle management tool that captures and uses the continuous stream of data, from construction to day-to-day operations to ultimate demolition. It’s the in-between area that will affect so many more users than just architects and builders. That wealth of data will be a boon to new users who will also add to the database.

David Fouche of CH2MHILL worked on the development of early BIM software such as Bentley MicroStation and TriForma, as well as the more current Bentley BIM. He indicated that there is still much confusion and jockeying for position. He stated that use of BIM in design work is a given, but there is still much discussion as to where BIM will fit into the big picture of building life cycle management. Fouche indicated that when one considers the total cost of a facility, roughly 0.5 percent goes into design, 10 percent goes into construction, and the remaining cost is in life cycle management. Obviously there is a huge potential for efficiency and savings with the proper application of BIM tools.

Fouche also mentioned that complex facilities such as oil refineries and other processing plants have been using BIM-like models for years, combining CAD and GIS tools to manage the facilities in a 3D model. GIS software such as Network Analyst is a natural for this kind of work. I remember seeing a poster at an ESRI User Conference years ago that showed the human circulatory system built with ArcView and Network Analyst. This was an eye opener, and I thought to myself, “Of course — a network is a network whether it’s a highway, oil pipes, or the blood supply system.”

I remember that when ARC moved into a new facility in 2000, we took the building CAD drawings and brought them into ArcView 3.3. We then attached attributes to each room, including the occupant, furniture, computers, phone/data ports, etc. We then used ArcView to manage our facility, including the allocation of square footage to each department.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Large FM companies like ARCHIBUS, Woolpert, and Penobscot Bay Media “get it,” and have a foot in both the CAD and GIS communities. All were exhibitors and heavy participants at the ESRI User Conference this year. They see where the world is evolving and plan on being there.

But all is not rosy. On the federal side, the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) is involved with BIM in a big way, but has changed the name of its CADD/GIS Technology Center to the CAD/BIM Technology Center. (Some of us GIS people look at that as one step forward and two steps back.) Looking at the ACE CAD/BIM Web site, I was surprised by how little attention is devoted to GIS and spatial analysis tools. The majority of material seems focused on BIM and CAD drawings, with little or no mention of GIS and spatial analysis. (We GISPs have a lot of educating to do.)

ACE is working with all DOD agencies to establish standards and common data formats for BIM. A recent posting by ACE staff indicates that many military construction projects will require BIM models as a project deliverable. Most believe that BIM will become a nationwide federal requirement soon.

Keep in mind that BIM models are spatially searchable or database-searchable 3D models, not just pretty 3D renderings. Again, think of CAD drawings combined with GIS spatial capability in a 3D model. As one considers the potential uses, including links to traditional GIS tasks and even temporal models, the list grows significantly. Some are already using BIM models with traditional GIS for energy management based on interior usage and building loading, measurement of water runoff and impermeable surfaces, and even links to transportation demand models and visualizations.

An example of lifecycle management using GIS and BIMs. This shows Carbon Monoxide concentrations in one floor of a building. Courtesy of Penobscot Bay Media, New York.

The application of BIM models that could be especially critical is their potential use by first responders. Currently most fire departments maintain pre-plan data in the form of building blueprints and large paper ledgers that list hazardous materials, fire hose connections, etc. Imagine firefighters accessing BIM models that were created when a building was designed and updated throughout the life of a building. Additionally, picture how quickly they could view the complex systems as interactive 3D models, especially if they were presented as oblique views.

A map of hazardous materials inside a building, including both location and description for emergency responders. Image courtesy of George MacBeth and Brad Peterson of ARCHIBUS, Inc.

It was interesting to note that CH2MHILL also used 3D PDFs as a quick way of sharing the models with many staff members. This proved to be a valuable collaboration tool and way to get input from many designers involved in the project. Some users are even enhancing the BIM models with photo-accurate surfaces or photo-accurate 3D models.

A photo-accurate Precision Light Works 3D model using Pictometry oblique imagery. Image courtesy of Precision Light Works and Pictometry International.

The playing field is still very unsettled, with many groups pushing their own data standards, approaches, and naming conventions. The names BIM, CAD, and GIS could evolve, but the basic functionality will still be there and smell just as sweet. BIM is here to stay, along with its parents CAD and GIS. Look for BIM to become a requirement — and a huge opportunity — in your future work.

August 12, 2008