GIS Cloud is previewing Maplim, an application that allows for fast, intuitive real-time collaboration on a map using any device. GIS Cloud is offering sign-ups for free, early access to Maplim.
According to GIS Cloud, “The idea is to put a map in the context of an organization board where you created projects and cards while engaging with your colleagues in discussions, making drawings (redlining and annotations), attaching documents, or just leaving comments.
Features:
Organization. Create real-time collaboration streams as cards, to which you can add any content around a map and share it with your colleagues. Maplim adapts to your project, team, and workflow.
Redline and Comment. Seamlessly make drawings on a map, add notes, marks, and comments, and provide your team with everything they need to get things done in real time.
Sharing. Attach and access important media such as photos, videos, PDFs, and Excel and Word documents relevant to a card.
Sync. Maplim stays perfectly in sync across all your devices, wherever you are. Post comments for instant feedback, follow your team’s activity in real time, and share results with anyone, anywhere, and on any device.
GIS Cloud is offering a free webinar on Maplim on April 28.
GIS Research Methods provides a solid introduction to research methods using GIS.
Scientific data that’s spatially analyzed produces highly useful information for academics, scientists and other researchers, helping them answer questions and make well-informed decisions, according to a new book published by Esri.
Authors Sheila Lakshmi Steinberg and Steven J. Steinberg explain how to incorporate spatial thinking and GIS into research design and analysis. The book introduces readers to the value of thinking spatially, GIS basics, research design and ethics, data sampling and collection, volunteered geographic information, spatial analysis with Esri ArcGIS technology, and more. The authors are scientific researchers who have used GIS in their academic work.
“A unique aspect of this book is that we focus specifically on how to integrate GIS into both qualitative and quantitative research,” the Steinberg’s wrote in the book’s foreword. “Our objective in writing this book is to provide a foundation for GIS research methods and, more specifically, to integrate spatial thinking and spatial analysis into a research tool with clear methodological techniques.”
The book, which was written for social and physical science professionals and academics, provides an introduction to research methods using GIS. For example, readers will learn how to develop useful, spatial information-based interviews and surveys for collecting data in the field; select the right tools for spatial analysis; visualize spatial information; and communicate the results of analyses, Esri said.
The book also outlines what to consider — for example, geographic boundaries, the data, and a diverse group of stakeholders—when creating strong place-based policies. “Policy makers who consider space and place will be more likely to generate policy that is effective in the long run because it has a better opportunity to consider the concerns, needs, and perspectives that tie to data, people, and place,” said the Steinberg’s.
Sheila Lakshmi Steinberg is a professor of social sciences at Brandman University, based in Irvine, Calif. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara; her master of science degree from the University of California, Berkeley; and her doctorate from Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include environmental sociology, culture and GIS.
Steven J. Steinberg is a principal scientist at the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, a public environmental research agency based in Costa Mesa. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Kent State University, his Master of Science degree from the University of Michigan and his doctorate from the University of Minnesota.
Fugro has commissioned an additional airborne laser bathymetry system to underpin its position in the development and application of bathymetric LiDAR technology. The combined Fugro LADS Mk 3 and Riegl VQ-820-G systems provide seamless measurements and mapping of nearshore and shallow water environments. The increased capability will enable Fugro to deliver simultaneous topographic and bathymetric surveys in multiple geographical areas.
With high power and frequency, the combined systems achieve superior coverage that minimizes gaps and outperforms lower energy alternatives and single-sensor systems in all conditions, particularly in difficult environments, Fugro said. They are highly adaptable and small enough to be installed in a variety of light aircraft.
With continued operations across the Middle East during 2015, Fugro will also begin a South West Pacific ALB survey campaign following the award of projects in multiple locations to support nautical charting, coastal engineering, scientific assessments, coastal management, benthic habitat mapping and climate change initiatives.
Since 2012, Fugro has operated simultaneous topographic and bathymetric LiDAR systems in France, Japan, New Zealand and the Middle East. Successful results from Japanese coastal areas include returns from the Fugro LADS Mk3 sensor to 50 meters while recent surveys in Saudi Arabia had even more impressive results, with 65-meter depth returns. The deep water returns combined with high-density shallow water and near coastal returns result in a seamless dataset from ridge to deep reef.
Topcon Positioning Group has added to its line of reflectorless total stations for the construction and mining market. The GPT-3500LNW total station has a measuring distance of 2,000 meters (6,560 ft.). It is designed to measure further than any non-prism instrument in its class. “Incorporating the Topcon advanced time-of-flight pulse technology, the EDM is fast and powerful,” said Ray Kerwin, director of global surveying products. “The Topcon algorithm filters signal noise to provide accurate measurements even on dark and wet surfaces, where other reflectorless technology might fail.”
The Topcon GPS-3500 total station.
Along with its onboard data collector, the GPT-3500 can connect to an external field controller via built-in Bluetooth technology, enabling field to office connectivity with the MAGNET suite of software solutions. The system can also be paired with a prism to allow for a measurement range of up to 3000 meters (9,842 ft.). Additional features include a rugged IP66 rated design, on-board TopField application software and battery life of up to five working hours.
NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey have started work on Landsat 9, an upgraded rebuild of the Landsat 8 spacecraft launched in 2013, to extend the Landsat program’s decades-long observations of Earth’s land cover. (Image Credit: NASA)
News from NASA.
NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have started work on Landsat 9, planned to launch in 2023, which will extend the Earth-observing program’s record of land images to half a century.
The Landsat program has provided accurate measurements of Earth’s land cover since 1972. With data from Landsat satellites, ecologists have tracked deforestation in South America, water managers have monitored irrigation of farmland in the American West, and researchers have watched the growth of cities worldwide. With the help of the program’s open archive, firefighters have assessed the severity of wildfires and scientists have mapped the retreat of mountain glaciers.
The president’s fiscal year 2016 budget calls for initiation of a Landsat 9 spacecraft as an upgraded rebuild of Landsat 8, as well as development of a low-cost thermal infrared (TIR) free-flying satellite for launch in 2019 to reduce the risk of a data gap in this important measurement. The TIR free flyer will ensure data continuity by flying in formation with Landsat 8. The budget also calls for the exploration of technology and systems innovations to provide more cost effective and advanced capabilities in future land-imaging missions beyond Landsat 9, such as finding ways to miniaturize instruments to be launched on smaller, less expensive satellites.
“Moving out on Landsat 9 is a high priority for NASA and USGS as part of a sustainable land imaging program that will serve the nation into the future as the current Landsat program has done for decades,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters, Washington. “Continuing the critical observations made by the Landsat satellites is important now and their value will only grow in the future, given the long term environmental changes we are seeing on planet Earth.”
Because an important part of the land imaging program is to provide consistent long-term observations, this mission will largely replicate its predecessor Landsat 8. The mission will carry two instruments, one that captures views of the planet in visible, near infrared and shortwave-infrared light, and another that measures the thermal infrared radiation, or heat, of Earth’s surfaces. These instruments have sensors with moderate resolution and the ability to detect more variation in intensity than the first seven satellites in the Landsat program.
The Landsat 9 mission is a partnership between NASA and the USGS. NASA will build, launch, perform the initial check-out and commissioning of the satellite; USGS will operate Landsat 9 and process, archive, and freely distribute the mission’s data.
“Landsat is a remarkably successful partnership,” said Sarah Ryker, USGS deputy associate director for climate and land use change, Reston, Virginia. “Last year the White House found that GPS, weather satellites, and Landsat are the three most critical types of Earth-orbiting assets for civil applications, because they’re used by many economic sectors and fields of research. Having Landsat 9 in progress, and a long-term commitment to sustainable land imaging, is great for natural resource science and for data-driven industries such as precision agriculture and insurance.”
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will lead development of the Landsat 9 flight segment. Goddard will also build the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), which will be similar to the TIRS that the center built for Landsat 8. The new improved TIRS will have a five-year design lifetime, compared to the three-year design lifetime of the sensor on Landsat 8.
“This is good news for Goddard, and it’s great news for the Landsat community to get the next mission going,” said Del Jenstrom, the Landsat 9 project manager at NASA Goddard. “It will provide data consistent with, or better than, Landsat 8.”
With decades of observations, scientists can tease out subtle changes in ecosystems, the effects of climate change on permafrost, changes in farming technologies, and many other activities that alter the landscape.
“With a launch in 2023, Landsat 9 would propel the program past 50 years of collecting global land cover data,” said Jeffrey Masek, Landsat 9 Project Scientist at Goddard. “That’s the hallmark of Landsat: the longer the satellites view the Earth, the more phenomena you can observe and understand. We see changing areas of irrigated agriculture worldwide, systemic conversion of forest to pasture — activities where either human pressures or natural environmental pressures are causing the shifts in land use over decades.”
“We have recognized for the first time that we’re not just going to do one more, then stop, but that Landsat is actually a long-term monitoring activity, like the weather satellites, that should go on in perpetuity,” Masek said.
NASA uses the vantage point of space to increase our understanding of our home planet, improve lives, and safeguard our future. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth’s interconnected natural systems with long-term data records. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is changing.
Editor’s Note: Learn more about how the TerraGo Edge replaces single-use GPS handheld devices and enables mobile workers and field crews to easily collect and share field data. Attend GPS World’s May webinar, Say Goodbye Proprietary GPS Devices, Hello TerraGo Edge.
TerraGo, a geospatial collaboration and enterprise mobility software company, is offering a new version of its OpenGeoPDF software, now available with TerraGo Publisher for ArcGIS, TerraGo Composer and TerraGo Toolbar. The latest release gives end users powerful new spatial database features, including the ability to search and update feature attributes, with an interactive OpenGeoPDF map accessible to any end user without requiring them to purchase any software.
“TerraGo’s OpenGeoPDF lets people turn static maps into interactive GIS-lite applications by letting ArcMap users share a free portable client application,” said Kevin Coles, manager of Enterprise GIS at Lumos Networks. “With OpenGeoPDF, end users can do more than view maps and imagery. They can interact with maps in ways previously only available with GIS software including the ability to control layers, measure distances, query, update and extract feature data in a universal format.”
OpenGeoPDF produces a measurable return on investment by enabling organizations to leverage their GIS investment to create free GIS-Lite solutions for non-GIS users. One of the many benefits of the OpenGeoPDF approach is that GeoPDF maps with embedded feature attributes can be accessed, searched, updated and extracted as an OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) GeoPackage.
“The incredible value of geospatial data and an organization’s investment in GIS should result in more than a paper map or flat image in a PowerPoint,” said TerraGo Chief Technology Officer George Demmy. “OpenGeoPDF offers limitless, new possibilities for geospatial data interchange and creates much richer analytical applications for end users.”
To start a trial of TerraGo Publisher for ArcGIS, download here.
To start a trial of TerraGo Toolbar for Adobe Reader, download here.
Data Reviewer for Electric Utilities provides more than 40 out-of-the-box checks that users can run individually, group into batch jobs (as .rbj files), or run as a scheduled service.
Esri has released a Data Reviewer for Electric Utilities. It provides the preconfigured ArcGIS Data Reviewer for Desktop to be used to validate, maintain and improve the integrity of electric distribution data.
Data Reviewer for Electric Utilities provides a set of tools to simplify many aspects of automated and visual data quality control. The solution provides more than 40 out-of-the-box checks that users can run individually, group into batch jobs (as .rbj files), or run as a scheduled service.
“As utilities continue to collect more information about their electric network, it’s imperative that this information be validated to ensure accuracy and completeness of the overall content,” Esri solutions team lead Patrick Dolan said. “The release of Data Reviewer for Electric Utilities allows utilities to automate the way they validate and measure the overall health of their electric distribution network, providing them with greater insurance that the electric network is accurate and complete.”
To celebrate the fifth anniversary of Let’s Move!, First Lady Michelle Obama and The Partnership for a Healthier America have launched the Let’s Move! interactive map to encourage healthier lifestyles for children. Available to the public online, the map showcases the impact of these programs across the nation and makes it easier to get involved in local efforts.
Built on Esri’s ArcGIS Online platform, the map allows users to search for their location by city or ZIP code to see what schools, localities or organizations near them are participating in a Let’s Move! program. Users can also view a full-screen app to explore each program individually.
The Coperinicus Masters Cup Photo: Anwendungszentrum GmbH
Copernicus Masters submissions of ideas, applications or business concepts involving innovative uses of Earth observation data are due by July 13. Along with cash prizes, the winners will gain access to an international network, corresponding data, start-up funding and other support valued at more than €300,000 ($322,444) total.
The amount of data produced by Copernicus, the European Earth observation program, and its Sentinel satellites opens the door to products and applications in a wide array of business sectors. The European Space Agency (ESA) and Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) have thus initiated the Copernicus Masters competition to aid visionary entrepreneurs in bringing their innovations to market.
“Start-ups and SMEs in particular stand to benefit from the virtually limitless scope of the data Copernicus provides,” said Prof Dr Volker Liebig, director of Earth observation programs and head of the European Space Research Institute (ESRIN), ESA. “The ideas submitted to previous editions of the Copernicus Masters have already demonstrated this to impressive effect, as has the constantly growing number of companies that are developing products and services based on Earth observation data in ESA’s business incubation program.”
These companies operate in a diverse range of fields, where they address subjects such as resource efficiency in agriculture, construction and renewable energy. The Copernicus Masters also is looking for new services and products in forward-thinking segments such as big data, cloud computing, crowdsourcing, data visualisation and mobile applications, to name a few.
In this year’s edition, prizes will be awarded in topic-specific challenges sponsored by partners, including: ESA, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), T-Systems International GmbH, Satellite Applications Catapult Ltd., Greece’s National Cadastre and Mapping Agency (NCMA), CloudEO AG and European Space Imaging GmbH. The new University Challenge specifically addresses students and research assistants around the world.
“We and our partners are offering the participants space for innovation in areas that are already shaping the future — the Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, smart cities and renewable energy, for example,” said Thorsten Rudolph, AZO managing director. “We want to support them in realising their creative solutions to these global challenges.”
Research and industry experts will select the winner of each challenge. The overall winner and 2015 Copernicus Master will receive, along with their challenge prize, €20,000 ($21,478) in cash and a satellite data package worth a further €60,000 ($64,434), which is being provided with the financial support of the European Commission.
“Taking part in the Copernicus Masters gave us the chance to make some key contacts and gather valuable feedback,” said John Smedegaard, a co-founder of Ceptu, which won the CloudEO Farming Challenge in 2014. “The whole process was a huge help in advancing our idea and developing it into a commercial product through our new start-up.”
All of the winners will be announced this fall and recognized at an awards ceremony.
For details on this year’s prizes, partners and terms of participation, view the event website.
Airbus Defence and Space has launched its WorldDEM Digital Terrain Model (DTM), a highly accurate standardized representation of bare Earth elevation that can be made available for any point on the globe. This addition completes the WorldDEM portfolio, enabling Airbus Defence and Space to provide both surface and terrain elevation information in support of global customer projects.
WorldDEM DTM can be delivered for more than 90 Million km² of the Earth’s landmass.
The WorldDEM DTM is derived from the WorldDEM product (Digital Surface Model) by removing all man-made features and vegetation. The quality of the original WorldDEM product combined with a sophisticated editing process guarantees highly precise and consistent terrain information, Airbus said. While surface features (such as built-up areas and vegetation) are reliably removed, characteristic terrain features such as ridge lines or mountain crests are preserved.
The WorldDEM DTM provides an excellent foundation layer for a wide range of applications such as civil engineering (road design, earthwork calculation), the management of natural resources (such as flood modeling), mapping (such as derivation of contour lines) as well as military mission planning (vehicle trafficability analysis, 3D terrain visualization).
WorldDEM is based on data acquired by the high-resolution radar satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X, which started synchronous data acquisition in December 2010 and completed coverage of the Earth’s entire landmass twice over in mid-2013. The satellites covered more complex terrain areas with a third and fourth acquisition campaign to ensure consistent high quality and accuracy of the final product. WorldDEM provides the first global, single-source, high-precision Digital Surface Model and has established a new standard of global elevation models.
Esri and Safe Software have paired to develop and openly share a Common Information Model (CIM) template for data exchange. The template demonstrates one approach to translating network data from an Esri ArcGIS database into CIM XML format. The XML can then be shared with other enterprise systems.
“The power behind a CIM is to provide a common language to share messaging among an electric utility’s information systems,” said Bill Meehan, Esri director of utility solutions.
The CIM comes in the wake of power industry deregulation and smart grid emergence. Utilities now share core network data more frequently than ever, and a CIM facilitates this. With a common format, a utility can share information internally across its enterprise systems, externally with other utilities, and externally with organizations such as regulators and independent system and regional transmission operators.
A CIM is based on the International Electrotechnical Technical Commission (IEC) family of standards, IEC 61970.
The Esri-Safe Software model also promotes faster decision making internally when data can be moved quickly from geographic information system (GIS) technology — the system of record for network data at many utilities — to destination enterprise systems, such as DMS, AMI, SCADA, OMS, and WMS, the companies said.
Users can download the template and test CIM XML data structures with their own data or a sample dataset that Esri and Safe Software provide. “With this template, we are providing another way for electric utilities to leverage their investment in Esri technology,” Meehan said.
The template works off of Esri’s ArcGIS (version 10.1 service pack 1 [SP1] or higher) and Safe Software’s FME software (version 2013 or higher). The sample template consists of an FME workspace; an ArcGIS Data Interoperability extract, transform and load (ETL) tool; and a sample dataset to guide users through testing how the translation process works. All the tools are provided as open source so users can adapt them to their needs.
“Utilities can use the template as a starting point for understanding how to translate data from an Esri database to the CIM XML structure to share with other enterprise systems,” Meehan said.
After exploring the sample dataset, users can also work to configure the template to work with their own network data.
Screenshot of the Tennessee Law Enforcement Facility Mapping Challenge showing the more than 440 edited points (green dots). At this scale, many dots contain more than one edited or verified structure.
Volunteer mappers continue to make contributions to ability of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide accurate mapping information to the public. Recently, volunteers were asked to update all of the law enforcement structure points in Tennessee. The volunteers answered the call and added, verified, edited or deleted 440 points.
All of the points were quality checked by either a peer reviewer or an advanced editor, so the data was ready to go into the National Geospatial Program’s web-based The National Map at the conclusion of the USGS Mapping Challenge.
The volunteer additions and edits will be symbolized on US Topo maps during the next production cycle for Tennessee, slated for 2016.
Mapping Challenges, conducted by the National Map Corps, ask volunteers to concentrate on specific areas and structure types that need updating. They encourage volunteers to remain engaged and incentivize participation. Once a need is determined, a call to action goes out to the volunteer corps with information on the geographic location and the type of structures that need updating. Volunteers who participate can earn a series of virtual recognition badges and are recognized on social media and the Map Corps project site.
Using crowd-sourcing techniques, the National Map Corps encourages volunteers to collect manmade structures data in an effort to provide accurate and authoritative spatial map data for The National Map. Structures being updated include schools, hospitals, post offices, police stations and other important public buildings.
“At times, locating structures seems similar to solving puzzles or detective work,” commented fconely, a Challenge veteran and one of the project’s more active participants.
