GPS World

Tag: GIS software

  • A look at LocationTech open source geospatial solutions

    LocationTech open source project provides core technology for geospatial big-data analytic solutions.

    LocationTech has released five open source projects that provide core technology used to build geospatial big data analytics solutions.

    A working group of the not-for-profit Eclipse Foundation, the LocationTech community builds software for geospatial technology. The Eclipse Foundation enables collaboration on open source software. Besides geospatial technology, the foundation’s 300-plus open source projects include tools for software developers, system engineers and scientific research.

    LocationTech provides technology for the $500 billion in worldwide geospatial industry. Its projects can be used to efficiently process satellite images, analyze maps for the agriculture industry, visualize smart-city sensor data, and in many other geospatial use cases.

    The LocationTech community has grown to include nine open source projects, 18 member organizations and more than 100 developers.Collaborating geospatial organizations include Boundless, Red Hat, Radiant Solutions, IBM and Oracle.

    “Geospatial big data analytics technology is becoming more and more important across all industries, such as agriculture, transportation, and government,” said Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation. “LocationTech is delivering on the promise of providing key technology for companies that enable large-scale analytics of geospatial data. Having an open source community, like LocationTech, that accelerates adoption and innovation of geospatial technology will have a significant impact on the entire industry.”

    The new project releases include the following:

    GeoWave is a software library that connects the scalability of distributed computing frameworks and key-value stores with modern geospatial software to store, retrieve, and analyze massive geospatial datasets. GeoWave takes multidimensional data, such as spatial or spatial-temporal, and indexes it into a key-value store such as Apache Accumulo or Apache HBase. These distributed storage technologies, in addition to complementary distributing processing frameworks such as Apache Hadoop and Apache Spark, have proven capabilities to unlock the potential of massive datasets across a variety of domains.

    GeoGig 1.2 is a tool for geospatial data versioning. It enables users to leverage versioning of their geospatial data and to enable replication and synchronization workflows, in addition to supporting end-to-end data management workflows. The new GeoGig 1.2 release improves the collaborative version workflow by improving cloning and push/pull performance and provides an updated Web API to align with the latest version of GeoServer.

    GeoGig-sample-W

    GeoTrellis 1.2 is a geographic data processing Scala library designed to work with large geospatial raster datasets. The tool provides developers with a set of utilities to help create useful, high performing web services that load and manipulate raster data (data normally used to represent satellite or aerial images). The new release includes a number of optimizations and new features including distributed computation support for viewshed and Euclidean distance through Apache Spark.

    GeoTrellis-example-W

    GeoMesa 1.3.5 is a distributed, spatio-temporal database built on a number of distributed cloud data storage systems, including Apache Accumulo, Apache HBase, Apache Cassandra, and Apache Kafka. The suite of tools brings spatial-temporal data, real-time IoT, and sensor workloads to the cloud. GeoMesa’s novel indexing schema enables efficient queries resulting in rapid access to large data stores for any client application.

    GeoMesa-taxi-casestudy

    Java Topology Suite (JTS) 1.15 is a Java library for vector geometry providing spatial data types, spatial relationships and spatial operations. JTS is an established open source project that recently moved to the LocationTech community. New technical features for JTS 1.15 include K-Nearest Neighbor search for STR-Tree, improved handling of Quadtree queries, support for GeometryCollection, and a new JTSTestRunner command-line application. This initial LocationTech release the project is changing from LGPL to a dual license of Eclipse Distribution License (EDL) / Eclipse Public License (EPL) . This license change opens up JTS to a wider range of organizations and applications.

    “LocationTech is becoming the critical nexus for organizations looking to develop and deploy geospatial Big Data solutions,” says Eddie Pickle, Managing Director of Open Source Programs at Radiant Solutions.

    “The latest release of GeoGig to LocationTech represents a huge leap forward. Not only does it support versioning workflows for traditional geospatial data, but it is now optimized for spatio-temporal analysis of big data and streaming datasets from IoT sensors,” says Anthony Calamito, Chief Geospatial Officer and Vice President of Products

    The LocationTech Working Group is also organizing the annual FOSS4G NA conference May 14-16, 2018, in St. Louis, Missouri, followed by a Community Day on May 17. Members of the LocationTech community will be speaking and showcasing their open source projects at this conference.

    The vision of the LocationTech community is to be the leading provider of core technology for geospatial big data analytics. The five projects being released reflect the growing investment towards achieving this vision.

  • SimActive introduces new technology for true orthophotos

    SimActive Inc., a developer of photogrammetry software, has released Correlator3D version 7.1 with new technology for true orthophotos.

    Users can now automatically generate enhanced true orthomosaics through a technological breakthrough that significantly minimizes artifacts, the company said.

    This major release successfully addresses the industry-wide challenges of generating true orthophotos without artifacts, such as distortions around buildings and vertical structures. Along with the enhanced output quality, the overall mosaicking speed of the software has increased five-fold, furthering the gap with competing tools.

    “While DTM-based orthophoto generation has been the norm for decades, we observe a shift toward true orthos,” said Louis Simard, CTO of SimActive. “The advancement provides consistent quality of results without any manual intervention.”

    For a live demonstration at the Geospatial World Forum (Jan. 17-19, Hyderabad, India), send an email to [email protected].

    To register for an online training session on how to generate high-quality orthomosaics with Correlator3D (Nov. 30, 10 a.m. Eastern Time, sign up at the website.

  • OGC seeks participants for 'interoperability plugfest'

    Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is calling for interested participants in its Geospatial to the Edge Interoperability Plugfest.

    OGC Plugfests, initiatives of the OGC Innovation Program, provide a venue for sponsors and technology implementers to come together to solve geospatial interoperability challenges in a collaborative, agile process.

    A plugfest is organized around scenarios and a testing environment to advance the implementation of OGC standards and profiles of OGC standards in commercial and open source software products. A plugfest allows organizations to test and validate implementations of OGC standards in their software products, verifying that they can interoperate with other products implementing the same standards.

    The Geospatial to the Edge Interoperability Plugfest is co-sponsored by Army Geospatial Center and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA/CIO&T). The Plugfest will assist tool enhancement and provide guidance to improve the delivery of enterprise geospatial data to end users. The Plugfest will test profiles and extended capabilities of the GeoPackage, WMS, WMTS, and WFS standards for the end user.

    Examples of end user communities that will benefit include:

    • first responders, relief workers, and firefighters preparing for and operating in limited network environments;
    • emergency planners and managers in their efforts to support hurricane, wildfire, and earthquake preparedness, relief/response activities, and damage assessment;
    • soldiers/warfighters planning and executing operations, specifically in disconnected, intermittent, and limited network environments.

    What is an OGC profile?

    An OGC profile is a subset of a standard that helps better share information within a community of interest. A profile is a specification that imposes additional constraints on an existing standard to make that standard more focused to the needs of the user community. A profile can also be extended to offer specialized functionality, for example, make previously optional capabilities mandatory, or define extensions where permitted by the base standard.

    The profiles that are planned to be used in the Plugfest include: raster and vector NSG GeoPackages, NSG WMTS, NSG WMS, and NSG WFS.

    Interested parties can respond to the Call for Participation by filling in the web form  (due Jan 8).

    For more information on the Plugfest, visit  the websitte, or contact Luis Bermudez, executive director, Innovation Program.

  • Launchpad: The latest in GNSS, survey and UAV products

    OEM

    GPS Firewall

    Protects critical infrastructure from spoofing and jamming

    The BlueSky GPS Firewall is designed to provide security protection for GPS-delivered position, navigation and timing (PNT) data. It can be deployed in-line between any standard GPS antenna and stationary GPS receiver to provide protection against GPS signal incidents, both intentional or accidental, before they enter a GPS receiver system. BlueSky GPS Firewall filters the GPS signal in real time, removing anomalies before the signal is consumed by the downstream GPS receiver. This creates an intelligent and secure barrier against jamming and spoofing, and prevents the GPS receiver from being impacted by such incidents. It incorporates an Ethernet interface for remote management and monitoring and includes a secure web interface for configuration and set-up. Evaluation kits are available in advance of full production release, both in response to the growing number of GPS incidents and their potential threat to critical infrastructure.

    Microsemi, www.microsemi.com

    Low-noise amplifiers

    LNA upgrades enable expanded GNSS reception

    Four new models of high-performing wideband low noise amplifiers (LNAs) are now available for choke-ring antennas, with options of 35-dB and 50-dB gain. The LNAs are designed for upgrading existing choke-ring antennas with Dorne Margolin/EDO elements to receive new and expanding GNSS signals. The LNAs provide consistent gain across the full bandwidth and include filters for suppression of out-of-band interfering signals, such as cellular LTE and Iridium signals, while maintaining a low noise figure, high third-order intercept point, small group delay and low power consumption. The enclosure is designed to fit a wide variety of currently deployed choke-ring antennas.

    Tallysman, www.tallysman.com

    GNSS-inertial boards

    OEM boards for high-precision guidance and control

    The BD GNSS family of boards includes the BD940 GNSS and GNSS-inertial boards and new BD990 GNSS, GNSS-heading and GNSS-inertial boards. The BX940 and BX992 models are available in a rugged enclosure (pictured) for applications in harsh environments. The BD GNSS boards offer simple connectivity and configuration, allowing system integrators and OEMs to easily add GNSS positioning and orientation — with the ability to upgrade its capabilities — using the same board footprint, connectors and software interface for specialized and custom hardware solutions. The compact boards include a broad range of receiver capabilities, from high-accuracy GNSS-only to full GNSS-inertial features for positioning and 3D orientation. Firmware options are upgradeable, allowing functionality to be added as requirements change. The boards are designed for UAVs, autonomous vehicles, fleet management and aviation.

    Trimble, www.trimble.com

    GNSS RTK board

    Upgraded with improved functionality

    The Precis-BX306 RTK board (pictured: Precis-BX306 board easy kit) has been upgraded with new and improved GPS and GLONASS functionality. The new version supports up to 20-Hz real-time kinematic (RTK) solution and raw measurement output, which can be integrated with autopilots and inertial navigation units. With improved algorithms, the new Precis-BX306 demonstrates an ability to quickly fix a 30-km baseline. Stable fix rate is achieved when under tree canopy, in urban canyons and other challenging environments. This latest version of Precis-BX306 is pin-to-pin compatible with major GNSS boards in the market, offering a flexible interface. Event mark and PPS are supported as always.

    Tersus GNSS, www.tersus-gnss.com

    SURVEY & MAPPING

    Radio modem

    Offers advanced radio connectivity with GNSS receivers

    The R4S-BT UHF radio provides an external option for use with the Sokkia GCX receiver line. The UHF multichannel radio modem has a tuning range of up to 70 MHz. It features an IP67 certified housing with internal batteries designed to be easy to carry with versatile mounting options. The radio modem makes the GCX GNSS receiver a more scalable and modular solution for situations without a network connection or when long-range Bluetooth technology is not enough on its own. Survey and mapping professionals can add the radio modem to extend the range between the base and rover. Connectivity options include wireless data transfer and USB connections.

    Sokkia, sokkia.com

    Survey UAV

    Programmable via computer

    The Triumph-F1 Survey UAV and Receiver is based around a geodetic GNSS receiver with 864 channels. When used on the ground, the receiver can function as base or rover. It includes eight propeller motors, a sim card slot, two micro SD card slots, USB connector, satellite tracking and communications indicators, flight and gyro status indicators, storage and selector for saved flight patterns, up to four antennas including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, four angled cameras and a downward-facing high-precision camera for photogrammetry.

    JAVAD GNSS, www.javad.com

    GNSS smart antennas

    Next-generation multi-frequency

    The S321+ and C321+ smart antennas are upgrades to the previous versions S321 and C321 and offer added benefits. Powered by the Eclipse P326 OEM board, the smart antennas support 394 channels and can simultaneously track all satellite signals including GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo and QZSS. The boards come with two hot-swappable lithium batteries providing up to 12 hours of operation. The S321+ and C321+ combine Hemisphere’s Athena GNSS engine and Atlas L-band correction technologies with a new customer-friendly web user interface. Both antennas meet IP67-standard requirements. The S321+ and C321+ come in two versions, with 4G LTE optimized for either North American or international locations. The S321+ is designed for use in land or marine survey, GIS, mapping and construction. With the SureFix advanced processor, the S321+ delivers high-fidelity RTK-quality information. The C321+ is designed for construction environments, and can be paired with Hemisphere’s SiteMetrix software that helps manage construction jobsite activities.

    Hemisphere GNSS, hemispheregnss.com

    Topography software

    Integrates data from a variety of sensors in one platform

    X-PAD Office Fusion is an all-in-one office software combining data from multiple sensors into a single interface. It manages, combines and processes data from GNSS receivers, total stations, laser scanners and other sensors, whether from GeoMax or another provider. There is no need to export the data from one program to another, and X-PAD also offers all CAD features. The program handles a multitude of different types of data: measurements, coordinates, drawings and point clouds. Large quantities of data can be managed in the fastest way with maximum accuracy. The software automatically detects the common points between the point clouds and performs a first rough alignment. The Bundle Adjustment feature performs the final and accurate alignment in order to reduce errors. Personalized reports are then created with little effort.

    GeoMax Positioning, www.geomax-positioning.com

    TRANSPORTATION

    Public transportation

    Insight for agencies and passengers

    The TSO Public Tracker provides public transportation riders with a variety of GPS-based monitoring capabilities. Riders can view exact locations and information on a variety of public vehicles. Passengers can view on a single screen the whereabouts of connected-fleet vehicles in real time. The tracker can be used by agencies of all sizes and in different geographical locations. The related TSO Mobile App provides route information, current and historical location updates in different map views through Google Maps, and more. TSO Mobile’s transportation solutions also provide agencies with driver reports based on customized behavior metrics to improve driver behavior.

    TSO Mobile, www.tsomobile.com

    Freight tracking

    Location of cargo in transit

    Omnitracs Virtual Load View (VLV) provides brokers, shippers and carriers with direct access to the position data of assets carrying their freight, allowing them to easily track loads. Position data about the load is either shared from the Omnitracs Intelligent Vehicle Gateway (IVG) or Mobile Computing Platform (MCP) unit, or if no Omnitracs unit is available, through the VLV Mobile smartphone application, which the driver can download from the iOS and Android app stores. VLV can also be directly integrated into a company’s back office system, so employees are not required to learn and access a new platform. Brokers and shippers can identify loads that are behind schedule so they can make the proper adjustments in a timely manner.

    Omnitracs, www.omnitracs.com

    UAV

    Mapping drone

    For survey-grade photogrammetry

    The lightweight fixed-wing UX11 UAV combines a powerful integrated onboard system, industry-grade sensors, limitless communication range and PPK centimeter-level positioning. It carries enough onboard computing power to access and process pictures, then send them to the operator in real-time. It will run automated quality checks on the images (such as blur detection or overlap checks) to help ensure the operator is acquiring quality data. Its redundant communications system includes a proprietary line-of-sight radio and 3G/4G connectivity between the ground-control station and the UAV using a worldwide machine-to-machine pre-paid plan. The UX11 is ready for beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) flights with unlimited range and adds a new level of safety with this communication link.

    DelAir, delair.aero

    Super digital camera

    Super 35 Camera for Professional Aerial Cinematography

    The Zenmuse X7 UAV camera features superior image quality, interchangeable lenses and a new post-production color system. The Super 35 digital film camera is designed to work with the DJI Inspire 2 drone. The Zenmuse X7 features 14 stops of dynamic range for more detail in low-light conditions. Its low-noise image capture enhances grading flexibility by preserving details in both highlight and dark areas while enabling a shallow cinematic depth of field. It is capable of shooting 6K CinemaDNG RAW or 5.2K Apple ProRes at up to 30 frames per second (FPS), as well as 3.9K CinemaDNG RAW or 2.7K ProRes at up to 59.94 FPS to integrate into industry-standard post-production workflows.

    DJI, dji.com

    Charging Station

    For remote BVLOS missions

    The Atlas NEST smart protective charging station is designed for autonomous beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) operation of the Atlas Pro drone platform. The Atlas NEST is a landing, protective charging station that extends flight range and provides constant drone readiness in remote locations. When the Atlas Pro UAV requires new batteries, it can autonomously land in a NEST charging station where a robotic arm changes the drone’s batteries, allowing the Atlas Pro to continue flying to mission completion. The Atlas NEST can be stationary or motorized.

    Atlas Dynamics, www.atlasdynamics.eu

    UAV for heavy payloads

    VTOL lift-off followed by tilt to fixed wing in flight

    The WingtraOne vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV bridges the gap between traditional multi-rotors and fixed-wing drones. It takes off and lands vertically like conventional multirotors, but once in flight, the drone tilts forward to fly like a fixed-wing aircraft. Being able to carry a heavy payload such as the Sony RX1RII, the drone offers high mapping accuracy, while covering an area of 980 acres (400 Ha) at 3 cm/px (1.2 in/px) GSD or the equivalent of 570 football fields. The WingtraOne is available in use in Europe, China, the United States and Australia for applications ranging from surveying and precision agriculture to glacier monitoring.

    Wingtra, wingtra.com

  • Carlson Survey 2018 has AutoCAD engine built in

    The recently released Carlson Survey 2018 OEM comes with the AutoCAD 2018 OEM engine built in. In this latest OEM version, Carlson Survey users gain the ability to directly read and write the AutoCAD DWG-drawing file format.

    Carlson Survey 2018 OEM contains most all of the same improvements found in Carlson Survey for AutoCAD and IntelliCAD.

    “We listen to our customers and work all year to develop their requested tools,” said Doug Aaberg, survey product manager for Carlson Software.

    Field to finish plan generation with Carlson Survey 2018 OEM.

    In the LotNetwork routines of Carlson Survey 2018, users now have the ability to setup multiple building footprints with their individual dimensions and setback requirements and designate the order of placement priority. Each lot is then automatically drawn with the building footprint as designated. There are also new options to leave empty lots and to draw driveways.

    Legacy users will see some traditional AutoCAD commands included in 2018, such as AutoCAD line and Polyline.

    Improvements to Carlson Survey 2018 OEM include:

    • COGO distance input – Added method to input distances by point numbers using # as the delimiter.
    • Edit process raw file – Added support for processing offset records (OF) for in/out, left/right and depth. Added display option to only show the traverse point records. Added search and replace function by point number.
    • Geoid utilities – New command to report geoid values, apply geoid values or switch the geoid for points.
    • Field to finish – several new special codes for controlling labels, non-surface points, GIS attributes, 3D entities and labeling offset line elevations.
    • Points – Added options to mask point labels, compare points in drawing on startup, more control over merge, export and the Point Group Manager and a new command to store points to an on-line database publicly or privately

    All versions of Carlson Survey, which benefit from more than 30 years of continued improvement, are designed for use for land surveying, providing a full toolkit for surveyors with everything from network least squares to surface modeling.

    Users get the ability to work seamlessly between the office and the field and they can establish company-wide design styles to ease and speed their work.

    A full list of the Carlson Survey 2018 OEM new features can be found on the Carlson Software webpage.For more information about the 2018 versions of Carlson Survey or Carlson Survey OEM, visit your local dealer or www.carlsonsw.com or call Carlson at 800-989- 5028 or 606-564-5028.

  • SimActive automates direct georeferencing

    SimActive-drone-image-O

    SimActive Inc., a developer of photogrammetry software, has launched an automated solution for direct georeferencing from real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning.

    Within the new workflow feature, users can achieve get high accuracy in projects without the use of ground control points (GCP), saving time in collecting and processing data.

    Martin Instrument, a reseller of SimActive and surveying equipment, is benefitting from the automation. “Direct georeferencing greatly helps reducing cost for applications like corridor mapping,” said Mike Minick, vice president of sales at Martin Instrument. “The new automated option within SimActive software for direct georeferencing greatly facilitates the user workflow.”

    “With RTK GPS available on drones, the use of direct georeferencing is growing within the industry,” said Louis Simard, CTO of SimActive. “Correlator3D allows users to maximize their hardware and software investment.”

    For a live demonstration at the Commercial UAV Show (Nov. 15-16, London, United Kingdom), visit SimActive’s booth or send an email to [email protected].

  • USGS tool allows users to explore mountains worldwide

    The Global Mountain Explorer. (USGS)
    The Global Mountain Explorer. (USGS)

    A new tool that gives users a detailed view of the world’s mountains is now available from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

    The Global Mountain Explorer can help users ranging from hikers to scientists, resource managers and policy makers seeking information on these prominent yet often understudied landscapes.

    Mountains occupy from 12 to 31 percent of the land surface of the Earth, but despite their importance, few attempts have been made to scientifically define and map these regions worldwide with detail, the USGS said.

    The Global Mountain Explorer “allows anyone with access to the Internet to explore where mountains are, whether they are low or high, scattered or continuous, snowy or snow-free,” said USGS ecosystems geographer Roger Sayre, who led the project.

    Mountain Explorer provides information from global scales down to specific mountains, such as Borah Peak, Idaho, pictured here. (Public domain)
    Mountain Explorer provides information from global scales down to specific mountains, such as Borah Peak, Idaho, pictured here. (Public domain)

    “Mountain Explorer users can visualize and compare in one place and for the first time the three major global mountain maps that have been produced,” he said.

    Mountains provide significant water, timber and mineral resources, and food, fiber and fuel products. They are home to diverse ecosystems and wildlife and are valued for their esthetic beauty and recreational offerings.

    Mountain areas are also prone to natural hazards. But despite their importance, surprisingly few attempts have been made to scientifically define and map these regions worldwide with detail.

    The USGS developed the Global Mountain Explorer, in partnership with Esri, and three organizations at the University of Bern in Switzerland — the Center for Development and Environment, the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment and the Mountain Research Initiative.

    Twilight image of snow-covered Mount Shasta with city lights visible at its base. The Global Mountain Explorer allows users to view mountains and surrounding terrain. (Public domain)
    Twilight image of snow-covered Mount Shasta with city lights visible at its base. The Global Mountain Explorer allows users to view mountains and surrounding terrain. (Public domain)

    The tool was developed as part of a Group on Earth Observations initiative to accurately delineate mountain regions using best available data. It is intended to provide information on the global distribution and a variety of mountain data with a resolution 16 times more detailed than previous mapping efforts.

    Users can select an area by zooming in or by typing a place name like Mt. Kilimanjaro to view its elevation and type. They can also select from a number of backdrops — satellite images, topographic maps or political boundary maps— on which to display the different types of mountain classes. A tutorial showing the full features for the Global Map Explorer is shown below.

  • Esri ArcGIS helps firefighters with mutual response

    The International Association of Fire Chiefs, Intermedix and Esri have signed an agreement to build the National Mutual Aid System or NMAS.

    The NMAS will be the next-generation version of the IAFC’s Mutual Aid Net tool built in 2008. The NMAS will use Esri ArcGIS and Intermedix’s WebEOC, a crisis information management software, to manage and track emergency services resources during mutual-aid responses.

    During large-scale emergencies and disasters, it is critical for response personnel to have easy access to a mutual-aid system for managing their resources. WebEOC will allow IAFC to manage information sharing, event reporting and task management in a central, web-based environment that allows IAFC to connect to partner agencies and organizations during response efforts.

    The use of spatial data to identify and respond quickly and effectively is also paramount. Esri’s ArcGIS platform brings mutual aid management data into a location context, integrating that information into spatial analysis technology that emergency responders around the world use every day.

    The IAFC has long been the leader in supporting state and local fire and emergency management communities in disaster management. The current Mutual Aid Net is used to identify, request and deploy resources for mutual aid support.

    The NMAS will use the latest technology to help decision makers accomplish these tasks faster, easier and more accurately.

    The use of Intermedix’s WebEOC and Esri’s ArcGIS platforms provides information sharing, decision support and situational awareness capabilities to jurisdictions, regions and countries around the globe.

    The foundation of NMAS will be on the WebEOC platform which through the ArcGIS Extension for WebEOC will provide access and integration to Esri online tools and dashboards.

    The result of this integration is the near real-time data availability of WebEOC information within ArcGIS Online applications, without the need for any development, middleware or technical expertise.

    “The IAFC is extremely pleased to partner with Intermedix and Esri to build the next generation of the National Mutual Aid System,” said Tommy Hicks, IAFC’s Chief Programs & Technology Officer and Assistant Executive Director. “Ensuring that emergency managers and responders have real-time information and resources at their fingertips is an essential to protecting their communities from harm.”

    “Identifying the status and availability of resources for mutual aid support has always been challenging,” said Russ Johnson, Esri global director, emergency response. “In today’s environment with increasingly complex multi-jurisdictional incidents, this need is greater than ever. Through the leadership of IAFC and the partnership between Esri and Intermedix, the ability to know the availability of required mutual aid resources and immediately request them will be realized. This will be a major step forward in supporting public safety agencies throughout the country.”

    “Intermedix looks forward to our partnership with IAFC and an expansion of our partnership with Esri,” said Bob Watson, Intermedix president of preparedness solutions. “Our mission is to serve those who save lives, and the National Mutual Aid Net project is perfectly aligned with that mission. The only effective way to respond to emergencies is through collaborations and partnerships between public and private organizations. The National Mutual Aid Net takes that principle and puts it into practice. We are honored to be a part of this undertaking.”

  • Topcon announces connectivity enhancements with Bentley Systems

    Topcon Positioning Group announces advances in its direct communication between the Bentley Systems design applications and the Topcon suite of software solutions with the release of MAGNET 4.3.1.

    The MAGNET Enterprise Data Manager is designed to allow operators to directly access Bentley ProjectWise data with MAGNET Field, MAGNET Office or MAGNET Enterprise applications.

    “The updates are part of our commitment to working with third-party software applications, such as the Bentley offering, to provide efficient data exchange and a seamless workflow environment,” said Jason Hallett, Topcon vice president of global product management. “When connected to MAGNET Enterprise from MAGNET Field, you can directly upload and download data from ProjectWise, allowing surveyors or machine control model-builders upload or download iModels or other project file types.”

    The integration is designed to simplify data transfer from design to field, with the unique ability to read and import only the data users need for their projects.

    “It builds upon our industry-first ability to offer ‘round trip’ iModels — sending them directly to field operators who can use and update them directly on the jobs site, and then send the updated iModels from the field back to Bentley ProjectWise,” Hallett said.

  • Kenya maps mines with Correlator3D

    The Kenyan government will be using SimActive’s Correlator3D to map mining activities. The software will be used to generate orthomosaics, contour lines and digital terrain models of fluorspar mines in the Kerio valley in Kenya.

    The Directorate of Resource Surveys & Remote Sensing (DRSRS) under the Ministry of Mining in Kenya chose the software.

    “The DRSRS provides the Ministry of Mining with spatial information, processing hundreds of images to visualize settlements affected by mining activities to advise the Government of Kenya on compensation plans,” said Charles Situma, deputy director of the project. “SimActive’s availability of experts internally allows us to receive tailored solutions to our requests, further expediting our processing.”

    “We are proud to have Kenya as another of our many government users,” said Dr Philippe Simard, President of SimActive. “Correlator3D provides the diverse tools and processing power required for intensive mining applications.”

  • Trimble announces new geospatial solutions at Intergeo

    Trimble made several product announcements at Intergeo 2017, the world’s largest conference on geodesy, geoinformatics and land management.

    The new solutions include:

    Trimble C5 and C3 mechanical total stations

    The Trimble C5 and Trimble C3 mechanical total stations are the only mechanical total stations in the industry to come standard with autofocus technology. With premium-quality Nikon optics, the new C-Series reduces time in the field with improved measuring speed and the longest EDM range of any Trimble conventional instrument.

    Trimble T10
    Trimble T10

    Trimble T10 10-inch tablet

    The T10 is a high-performance, large-screen device suitable for a variety of survey and GIS applications that provides the processing power of a laptop computer in tablet form to enhance efficiencies for geospatial users in the field. (Now you only need one device for collecting and processing data while out on the job.)

    Trimble Business Center and Trimble Clarity

    The newest version of Trimble Business Center introduces enhancements and new capabilities to process high-accuracy GNSS data, create CAD deliverables, and leverage full data traceability through the project lifecycle.

    Trimble Business Center version 4.0 introduced new capabilities to process high-accuracy GNSS data with confidence, create CAD deliverables and leverage full data traceability throughout the project lifecycle. Surveyors can obtain greater field flexibility without compromising quality via the addition of a new GNSS processing engine that increases solution reliability for baselines exceeding several hundred kilometers/miles.

    Version 4.0 also extends the survey CAD capabilities including text editing, ortho drafting and coordinate geometry (COGO) tools that provide a comprehensive set of tools for rapidly producing end-client deliverables. A new History Log feature captures all data changes throughout the project, from GNSS processing to CAD deliverable, providing greater workflow transparency, data traceability and ultimate confidence.

    Clarity by Trimble.
    Clarity by Trimble.

    Trimble Clarity is a new cloud-based application within the Trimble Connect collaboration platform that enables surveyors to easily share rich project data and imagery, allowing clients — even those who have no experience with engineering software — to view and use data in a web browser.

    The result is improved workflow efficiencies and greater situational awareness that enable more informed decision-making.

    Users can perform 3D measurements, annotate objects and quickly collaborate with project stakeholders. Multidiscipline teams now have access to a single source of geospatial data that enables more accurate and informed decisions, increases productivity, minimizes rework and reduces project delays.

    Trimble Clarity reduces the time required for large file transfers and eliminates the need for specialized software knowledge to get value from laser scanning deliverables.

    Trimble eCognition.
    Trimble eCognition.

    Trimble eCognition

    The latest version of eCognition adds 3D point cloud analytics and deep learning technology so you can perform a broader range of geospatial analysis with a greater level of control.

    Trimble GEDO IMS System

    This new addition to Trimble’s track survey and scanning rail portfolio is lightweight, flexible and fast, combining an inertial measurement unit (IMU) with scanning and geodetic sensors for surveying railway lines and documenting assets along the track.

    The trolley system is lightweight, flexible and fast. It combines an IMU with scanning and geodetic sensors for surveying railway lines and documenting assets along the track.

    The GEDO IMS System provides highly accurate as-built survey documentation of the track and 3D point clouds for asset data collection along the track. The trolley system’s lightweight design is ideal for single-crew operation and on projects near active railway lines. GEDO IMS Field Software and the GEDO Office Software Suite enable smooth data flow between the field and the office. GEDO Scan Office provides enhanced processing for asset data collection and clearance applications.

    The basic Trimble GEDO IMS System consists of the Trimble GEDO CE 2.0 Trolley System, Trimble GEDO IMU Unit, Trimble Tablet PC and the Trimble GEDO IMS Field and GEDO Office Software. For mapping applications it can be combined with the Trimble TX6 and TX8 laser scanners.

  • GeoMax releases office software for topographical data

    GeoMax, professional surveying and construction product provider, has announced the X-PAD Office Fusion, the all-in-one office software combining data from multiple sensors into one easy-to-use interface.

    X-PAD Office Fusion software manages, combines and processes data from GNSS receivers, total stations, laser scanners and other sensors in one single environment whether from GeoMax or any other provider in the market. There is no need to export the data from one program to another, and X-PAD also offers all CAD features.

    The new software handles a multitude of different types of data: measurements, coordinates, drawings and point clouds. Large quantities of data can be managed in the fastest way with maximum accuracy. The software automatically detects the common points between the point clouds and performs a first rough alignment.

    The Bundle Adjustment feature performs the final and accurate alignment in order to reduce errors. Personalized reports are then created with little effort.

    “The choice to use X-PAD Office Fusion is due precisely to its ability to handle different data and process: traditional topographic data with both GPS and laser scanners processes,” said Federico Ferrari, Department of Architecture, University of Ferrara. “X-PAD Office Fusion has made it easy to integrate captured data with GeoMax Zoom 300 and those acquired through photo modeling to get a complete 3D model of inaccessible areas, including surveys with traditional laser scanners.

    “The ability to extract drawings directly from X-Fusion PAD without using other CAD products, including through the bubble view, makes it an extremely fast and practical product, even for those who do not have specific surveying skills, such as archaeologists like us. A simple and intelligent interface and a great 3D data management engine make X-PAD Office Fusion a truly unique product and easy-to-use and easy-to-teach, enabling us to give more time for critical analysis than using the software itself.”