GPS World

Tag: GIS

  • Aqua Map app released for water navigation

    aquamap-wAqua Map is an iOS and Android app for GPS marine navigation, aimed at boaters and fishermen.

    The app integrates official nautical charts for many areas in the world, including the NOAA, CHS (Canadian Hydrographic Service), British Admiralty and Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie as well as S-57 and raster cartography.

    The app provides users with a clear chart using the full power of the Retina display, intuitive realistic symbols and colors. No experience in water navigation is needed.

    Most of the functions are accessible with simple gestures on the map, and all are clearly described in the Aqua Map Tutorial and Help.

  • SimActive enables processing in the cloud

    Correlator3D photogrammetry software is officially supporting processing in the cloud. Users can subscribe to an online computing service, such as Amazon EC2, and run Correlator3D on a virtual machine, according to developer SimActive Inc.

    The main advantage is the capability to use multiple licenses as required. It permits an on-demand deployment of the software on several processing machines, without any computer hardware.

    “The new option allows our customers to continuously adjust their processing power,” said Louis Simard, CTO of SimActive. “Combined with our monthly subscription plan, clients have the cloud’s flexibility, while maintaining full control of their production workflow.”

    SimActive is offering a free trial as well as a webinar on Correlator3D in the cloud, to be held Tuesday, Dec. 6, 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

  • What3words adopted by 6 national mapping agencies

    Six national mapping agencies have adopted what3words, a location reference system that uses three-word addresses. Used to input and share locations within national online geoportals, what3words is making it simpler for businesses, governments, and citizens to find, share and remember addresses, the company said.

    Based on a global grid of 57 trillion squares, what3words gives a unique three-word address to every 3 square meters in the world. Available in 13 languages, what3words is used by consumers, delivery companies, navigation tools, governments, logistics firms, travel guides and NGOs. Its creators say it’s more precise than traditional addresses, simpler than descriptions, and easier to communicate and remember than long strings of GPS coordinates.

    Geoportals are an integral part of any national, cadastral or commercial mapping agency’s offering, providing businesses and consumers with vital geographic information, the company said. The datasets range from information about land ownership, taxing of land parcels and defining borders, to providing population statistics, changes in land use and integration of transport networks.

    Whilst geoportals offer a wealth of detail, the user experience can be complicated and confusing. Integrating what3words into geoportals systems makes it easier for individuals and businesses to share precise locations with a simple three-word address, the company said.

    “Geoportals provide users with a huge amount of data that can sometimes alienate all but the mapping expert,” said Chris Sheldrick, CEO and co-founder of what3words. “What3words is making it simpler and easier for individuals and businesses to discover and share locations, helping unleash the power of geographic data.”

    What3words has been adopted by Switzerland’s Federal Office for Topography, the French Institut Géographique National International (IGN), the Norwegian Mapping Authority (Kartverket), Finland’s Maanmittauslaitos (the National Land Survey), Geo-System Poland and Suriname’s MI-GLIS.

    As three-word addresses are fixed and unique, meaning they can always be found. The system works offline, using GPS without needing mobile data, and has built-in error detection to ensure the user always selects the location they intended.

    Since its launch in 2013, what3words has experienced tremendous success and with over twenty major awards has become one of the most lauded UK startups in recent times. In 2015, the company was awarded the prestigious Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Innovation and was named in the Nominet 100 alongside the likes of Google’s Project Loon. Earlier this year the business was awarded an exclusive D&AD Black Pencil, two prestigious Webby Awards and CEO Chris Sheldrick was named EY’s British Accelerating Entrepreneur.

  • Boundless introduces open GIS enterprise platform

    desktop-boundlessBoundless has introduced an open GIS “ecosystem” to unlock the business intelligence of location-based data.

    In response to market demand for more open and scalable GIS solutions, the company extended its proven GIS platform with Boundless Connect, a subscription service to the most comprehensive repository of GIS data, and Boundless Desktop, a full-featured, professional desktop GIS, bringing a powerful ecosystem of geospatial knowledge, tools and resources to the enterprise.

    “With the launch of Boundless Connect and Boundless Desktop, we have taken a major step forward in delivering the most complete, commercially supported open GIS platform,” said Andy Dearing, CEO of Boundless. “As the need for an alternative to costly, closed GIS systems grows, Boundless is proud to partner with the open source community to provide new tools and open solutions that foster growth of the largest repository of the world’s geospatial knowledge and resources.”

    Boundless offers an open GIS ecosystem through a combination of technology, products and experts that gives enterprises deeper intelligence and insights using location-based data. The Boundless platform is built upon open source technology and open APIs that generate actionable location intelligence across third-party apps, content services and plugins for enterprise applications.

    Eighty percent of today’s data includes a location component. Unlike proprietary, licensed solutions that are prohibitively expensive for the growing volume of geospatial data, Boundless wants to make the world of geospatial data available to any user. Boundless is open by design, immediately scalable and license-free, making it easy for developers, GIS and business analysts to access location-based data in a cloud-based GIS platform.

    Key features and benefits of the Boundless open GIS platform include:

    • The most comprehensive product line of commercially supported open GIS products including Desktop, Suite and Exchange.
    • Boundless Connect delivers an ecosystem of geospatial tools, content and services to the open source community.
    • Boundless combines 14 years of open source expertise with GIS resources including consulting, training and support.

    Boundless is operational in government and commercial environments, with customers including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Port of Seattle, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and TriMet, among others.

     

  • OGC invites participation in Electromagnetic Spectrum Working Group

    The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is calling for participation in its newly established Electromagnetic Spectrum Domain Working Group (EM Spectrum DWG). This group will review requirements for an international open standard data model and derived encoding(s) for data describing electromagnetic fields in real-world environments. After reviewing requirements, the group may charter an OGC Standards Working Group to develop the standard data model and encodings.

    Wireless signals, remote sensing radiation, and unintended emissions from artificial and natural sources all interact with both the material environment and the electromagnetic environment. Participants in the OGC EM Spectrum DWG represent the interests of multiple communities that would benefit from being able to easily publish, discover, assess, access, aggregate, disaggregate, and analyze spatial and temporal data describing all the properties of EMFs.

    These communities include the remote sensing, electromagnetic compatibility, and wireless communications communities as well as others. Participants anticipate that the proposed standard will be important in the radio-intense Internet of Things.

    These communities all have in common a set of EMF data definitions, structure and syntax that are almost universally accepted and that are based on well-known laws of physics. The communities also share a set of primary and derived SI units for communicating measurements of the various properties of EMF. In each community, rapidly evolving use cases present requirements to integrate data that includes the spatial properties and other properties of EMF sources and sensors along with data describing properties of environmental features and phenomena that impact, are impacted by, or interact with EMF.

    “On behalf of the Group on Earth Observations, I very much welcome the establishment of the proposed OGC Working Group focused on the Radio Frequency Spectrum with the intent of developing a common international standard data model,” said GEO Secretariat Director Barbara Ryan. “The OGC Electromagnetic Spectrum Domain Working Group will provide an important coordination and harmonization function for future studies of frequency interference. Protecting selected frequency bands for Earth observations is essential for public safety, and hence, of key importance to GEO.”

    The OGC EM Spectrum DWG provides an open forum for the discussion and presentation of electromagnetic spectrum data workflows, interoperability requirements, use cases, and non-OGC EMF standards. It is anticipated that current OGC standards and best practices and inclusion of EMF use cases in future OGC pilots, testbeds and other work will help resolve EMF data interoperability issues. See the OGC EM Spectrum DWG wiki. The wiki includes instructions for joining the EM Spectrum DWG’s public listserv. The DWG’s Charter describes the planned work of the DWG in greater detail.

    The initiators of the OGC EM Spectrum DWG encourage interested parties to learn more and become involved in this important standards activity. OGC members benefit in many ways from their participation in OGC’s standards activities. The first session of the newly formed working group will be held at the OGC Technical Committee meeting in Taichung from 10:15-12:00 CST Dec. 7. The public is invited to attend or call in. Click on the EM Spectrum DWG entry in the TC Agenda for details.

  • Collaborative project delivers glare-resistant augmented reality glasses

    pinnacle-ar-glasses-wHiScene, Inuitive and Heptagon have teamed up to take augmented reality (AR) another step forward with HiAR Glasses, HiScene’s next generation of AR glasses.

    The companies worked together to develop a complete solution for advanced 3D depth sensing and AR/VR applications that delivers excellent performance even in changing light conditions and outdoors.

    HiAR Glasses incorporate Inuitive’s NU3000 Computer Vision Processor and Heptagon’s advanced illumination. The combined technologies provide a superior and seamless user experience, marking a new standard in the current market.

    The glasses’ AR operating system provides stereoscopic interactivity, 3D gesture perception, intelligent speech recognition, natural image recognition and inertial measurement unit (IMU) displayed with an improved 3D graphical user interface.

    “We are committed to providing the best possible user experience to our customers, and for this reason we have partnered with Inuitive and Heptagon to create the most intelligent AR glasses available on the market,” said Chris Liao, CEO of HiScene. “The technologies implemented provide a seamless experience in a robust and compact format, without compromising on battery life.”

    Inuitive’s NU3000 serves AR glasses by providing 3D depth sensing and computer vision capabilities. The solution acts also as a smart sensors hub to accurately time-stamp and synchronize multiple sensors in a manner that off-loads the application processor and shortens the development time.

    “Inuitive’s solution allows Hiscene to provide the reliability, latency and performance its customers expect,” said Shlomo Gadot, CEO of Inuitive. “With Inuitive technology, AR products and applications can now be used outdoors without the sunlight interfering or damaging their efficacy thanks to cameras featuring depth perception.”

    Heptagon provides infrared pattern illuminators, which were chosen to handle changing light conditions and plain surfaces. In addition, the range and field of illumination features of Heptagon’s LIMA stereo pattern projector ensure superior lighting and added texture for higher-quality images.

    “Our wide field of illumination provides better gesture recognition, and our miniaturization technologies enable ultra-small, high-performance, low-power components for 3D AR/VR applications,” said Erik H. Volkerink, Heptagon’s chief business officer.

  • OGC seeks public comment on Indexed 3D Scene Layers

    The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is considering start of a new work item for a Community Standard: Indexed 3D Scene Layers (I3S), and is seeking public comment on the work item proposal.

    The I3S delivery format is used to stream 3D geospatial content to mobile, web and desktop clients.

    I3S, initially designed by Esri, was publicly released in April 2015 as an open specification for streaming large, heterogeneous 3D geospatial data sets, including discrete 3D objects, large continuous meshes, 3D vector points, point clouds, and other content. I3S is designed from the ground up to be cloud, web and mobile friendly.

    The I3S conceptual model is implemented using JSON. There is also an I3S Scene Service REST API specification for accessing I3S resources as endpoints. I3S is designed to stream very large 3D datasets and is designed for performance and scalability.

    A document has been prepared that provides a justification to the OGC Technical Committee (TC) for consideration of I3S as a Community standard. This justification, along with the submitted candidate Community standard, will form the basis for TC review and vote to approve the start of the Community standard process.

    Comments should be submitted to [email protected] by December 16.

  • Open Earth observation data now more accessible

    At the 13th Group on Earth Observation (GEO) Plenary Meeting, representatives from GEO’s 103 member governments and 106 participating organizations convened to launch a new look for the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) Portal. The meeting was held Nov. 9-10 in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.

    Participants also addressed how best to advance GEO initiatives linked to its sustainable development goals and, for the first time, to engage with the commercial sector through a plenary panel session.

    “Open data not only maximizes tax payers’ money in government infrastructure, it promotes economic growth, education and capacity building.” said GEO Secretariat Director Barbara Ryan. “GEO brings all sides of the conversation together so that data is broadly and openly available, free to the user and can be used to create value-added products and services to benefit society.”

    The plenary meeting was held for the first time in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region. New member governments announced at the plenary were Uruguay, United Arab Emirates and Mongolia. Among the new participating organizations approved in 2016 are the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC); the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT); the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS); the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS); and the World Health Organization (WHO).

    The plenary opened with a message from the International Space Station. In the recorded video message, the cosmonauts observed it is easy to understand the interconnected nature of the planet. Space technologies help to understand Earth’s complicated processes and problems. Humankind is facing global challenges today, and international cooperation plays a crucial role in tackling these issues. The work of GEO makes Earth observations more widely available and meaningful, for the benefit of humanity.

    https://youtu.be/C7nmvNb1z14

    “We express our pleasure at the success of the GEO-XIII Plenary due to strong cooperation between the GEO community, Roshydromet and Roscosmos,” said co-host Alexander Frolov, head of Roshydromet. “Numerous side events organized by members and participating organizations clearly demonstrate the constantly evolving influence of GEO as an intergovernmental body.”

    “Coordination of activities, and the joint harvesting and usage the data of Earth Remote Sensing (ERS) that was organized at the GEO-XIII Plenary is very relevant for all of the GEO community,” said Mikhail Khailov, deputy director general for Automatic Space Complexes of the State Corporation Roscosmos. “We are developing the technologies of ERS data processing and thematic services to benefit the people of the Earth through improved coverage, increased volume, quality and promptness of acquired ERS data.”

    Philemon Mjwara, director-general, Department of Science and Technology, Republic of South Africa, reiterated the benefits of having access to EO data as an “enabling resource that allows us to begin addressing the Water-Food-Energy nexus, and other nexus, as a stepping stone to clearly understanding how the Earth’s systems work, and ultimately realizing GEOSS.”

    “Downscaling implementation of GEOSS at national and regional levels has become extremely important to ensure broad engagement and sufficient resources to realize our ambitious vision,” said Pengde Li, deputy director general, National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation of China. “Fortunately, we see more and more members start establishing national inter-ministerial coordination and using regional initiatives as a vehicle for broad engagement.”

    The Group on Earth Observations (GEO). The intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is comprised of 103 Member governments, and 106 Participating Organizations. Established in 2005, GEO strives to improve the world’s observation systems and provide policy makers and scientists with accurate and useful data that can be used to make informed decisions on issues affecting the planet. GEO’s primary focus is to develop a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) to enhance the ability of end-users to discover and access Earth observation data and convert it to useable and useful information. GEO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

  • Avenza Maps Pro now available to industry professionals

    Avenza Systems has announced that its mobile mapping app, Avenza Maps, will now come in a Pro version. Avenza Maps Pro is an annual subscription designed to meet the needs of professionals of businesses, government agencies and educational institutions.

    Avenza Maps Pro is the most powerful version to date of the application. It benefits from years of development and commitment to the mapping community, Avenza said.

    Features of the Pro subscription include commercial, government and other professional use rights (not available with other versions), allowing an unlimited number of maps to be imported, Shapefile import and export, data collection and management and enhanced support.

    The subscription also allows for enterprise-level management of the Avenza Maps app across mobile devices for organizations of any size using a new subscription management system.

    “We have plans to build out additional professional features to increase the value proposition of Avenza Maps to the professional community,” said Doug Smith, sales director of Avenza Systems.

    The Avenza Maps app is an all-inclusive mapping platform for iOS, Android, and Windows mobile devices. Consumers can download the app for free, get georeferenced maps from the Avenza Map Store, and use them completely offline with a variety of tools. Map publishers can register as a vendor in the Avenza Map Store and generate revenue by pricing their maps and making them available for purchase. Businesses and organizations can upgrade to a cost-effective Avenza Maps Pro subscription which allows for commercial use, includes enhanced tools and features, and enhanced support.

  • Trimble offers TX6 and improved TX8 for 3D laser scanning

    Trimble’s TX6 and improved TX8 high-performance 3D laser scanning solutions offer a fully integrated high-dynamic range (HDR) camera and Wi-Fi remote control. The high-speed 3D laser scanners provide increased productivity and versatility for users.

    The TX6 and the TX8 leverage Trimble’s patented technology, combining microsecond time-of-flight distance measurement with advanced on-board signal and 3D data processing, designed to provide the best combination of productivity, range and accuracy in all conditions.

    TX8 3D laster scannr by Trimble.
    TX8 3D laster scannr by Trimble.

    Integration with Trimble RealWorks allows geospatial professionals to produce high-quality deliverables to pair with CAD software or Trimble SketchUp and EdgeWise for advanced point cloud modeling solutions.

    The Trimble TX6 is a medium-range 3D scanning solution designed to quickly capture detail in applications such as public safety, forensics, building for as-builts, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), Building Information Modeling (BIM) and quality control during construction.

    The Trimble TX8 is designed best-in-class for geospatial professionals that require enhanced versatility and longer ranges to effectively support a variety of applications in urban environments, civil infrastructures and challenging terrains.

    “The new TX6 and improved TX8 3D laser scanners provide our customers with a range of options to fit their application needs without compromising data quality, accuracy or efficiency,” said Ron Bisio, vice president of Trimble’s Geospatial Division. “The power and versatility of Trimble’s scanning solutions allow construction, surveying and geospatial professionals to meet the needs of even their most demanding clients.”

  • Trimble unveils software GNSS receiver for high-accuracy in mobile devices

    Trimble has introduced Catalyst, a software-defined GNSS receiver that works with select Android mobile handhelds, smartphones and tablets. When combined with a small, lightweight, plug-and-play digital antenna and subscription to the Catalyst service, the receiver provides on-demand GNSS, geo-location capabilities to transform consumer devices into high-accuracy mobile data collection systems.

    The announcement of the new product, designed for GIS professionals, was made at Trimble Dimensions.

    Through smartphone and tablet developments accelerated by the bring your own device (BYOD) to work movement, field workers and consumers increasingly have access to positioning technologies for geospatial data use and collection. The Catalyst software receiver collects data and inspects or manages assets using smart devices. The software-defined GNSS receiver is designed to be integrated into a wide range of applications—providing a dual-frequency, multi-constellation receiver. The mobile device receives dual-frequency signals from the plug-and-play Trimble DA1 digital antenna. The small size and light weight of the antenna makes it possible to store in a car glove box or backpack, available for use on demand. By adding a Trimble Catalyst subscription, users can choose the level of accuracy to suit their application needs from meter level to centimeters.

    Trimble calls its Catalyst service Positioning-as-a-Service. It is available on-demand. Users download applications to suit their business needs, purchase the low-cost DA1 digital antenna and subscribe to the level of service required for the application. For GNSS corrections, the solution automatically selects the best available correction service based on the user’s location and subscription level. Corrections powered by Trimble RTX technology and the Trimble VRS Now networks are supported. Trimble RTX corrections can be received either via IP/cellular connection or L-band satellite. The subscription cost is based on usage, allowing users to scale up/down for projects with minimal capital expense.

    “The addition of Trimble Catalyst expands our portfolio to address the needs of organizations that have adopted a workplace Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy for their businesses and individuals who periodically need accurate positioning to support various work activities,” said Ron Bisio, vice president of Trimble’s Geospatial Division.

    TerraFlex Geospatial Data Collection. The first available application for the Trimble Catalyst service is the Trimble TerraFlex cloud-based mapping and GIS field software, enabling users to achieve up to centimeter-level accuracy. TerraFlex is a scalable cloud-based solution addressing a  variety of field requirements including attribute-rich GIS data collection on consumer devices. With an intuitive interface and streamlined toolset for creating custom digital form templates, TerraFlex keeps the data flow standardized and streamlined from the field to the office.

    TerraFlex provides a common interface for users across a range of common mobile and smart devices to provide robust, high-accuracy GNSS positioning and detailed asset attribution collection. The Catalyst service for TerraFlex provides a new option for a higher level of accuracy for users’ workflows without the upfront investment of traditional hardware GNSS receivers. It enables scaling up to meet specific project demands and allows a workforce to collect high-accuracy location in conjunction with other work tasks.

    Availability. Catalyst service subscriptions and Catalyst DA1 antenna are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2017. In addition, a Software Development Kit (SDK) is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2016 for developers who are interested in developing new applications that use the Trimble Catalyst positioning on-demand service. Information and updates.

    TerraFlex is available now.

  • Trimble to acquire Building Data company for BIM, construction

    Trimble has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Building Data based in Rocklin, California. Building Data’s managed content and software solutions enable mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contractors and engineers to produce intelligent, constructible models by including manufacturing-specific content from a proprietary database of more than 6 million 3D data components.

    The combination of Building Data’s experience in Building Information Modeling (BIM) content paired with Trimble’s leadership in providing software and hardware solutions for building construction will empower contractors and engineers to gain efficiencies throughout the building lifecycle. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016.

    The announcement was made at Trimble Dimensions.

    MEP contractors face an enormous challenge to develop and maintain the data needed to design, estimate, build and manage projects. Trimble’s pricing and content services, combined with Building Data’s 3D solutions, will fill the need for timely, accurate and structured information to drive the key processes of design and construction. Building Data’s managed content and its SysQue software extend the capabilities of existing 3D CAD platforms to enable MEP contractors and engineers to increase productivity by developing constructible models that enable accurate pre-fabrication and field layout.

    “With the addition of Building Data, Trimble continues to reinforce its commitment to providing data and analytics solutions to the construction industry. Building Data’s strength lies in its ability to provide structured and highly accurate 3D content that will be connected to Trimble’s existing product and pricing services,” said Pat Bohle, general manager of Trimble’s MEP Division. “This wealth of content will enable MEP contractors and engineers to use their models to improve estimating, detailing, fabrication, purchasing, manufacturing and installation processes.”

    “Building Data’s solutions are dedicated to improving the productivity of the building contractor and engineer,” said Jim Reis, chief operating officer of Building Data. “We are already integrated with several of Trimble’s industry-leading software solutions including their fabrication software, field layout solutions and pricing services. We are excited to provide an even greater integrated office workflow for the building contractor and engineer by joining with Trimble.”

    The Building Data business will be reported as part of the Engineering and Construction Segment. Financial terms were not disclosed.