GPS World

Tag: technology

  • Geospatial World Forum looks at Galileo, EGNOS for GIS

    Tim Reynolds
    Tim Reynolds

    By Tim Reynolds
    Contributing Editor for Europe

    The eighth edition of the Geospatial World Forum took place May 23–26 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, attracting professionals from the surveying and geospatial information system (GIS) sectors. I attended the event on May 24 and took part in a workshop that looked at the benefits of Galileo and EGNOS in geospatial applications in the context of the imminent launch of Galileo initial services.

    An industry survey undertaken by the GSA indicates that already more than 80 percent of GNSS receivers for surveying and mapping use are EGNOS-enabled, while 77 percent of geospatial reference network providers have enough information to upgrade Galileo and will be ready to provide a service by 2017. All good news. On the less positive side, more than 60% of professional surveyors did not know about EGNOS!

    The workshop also talked up the potential for synergies between Galileo GNSS and Copernicus Earth Observation (EO) systems — a topic of immense interest at the European Space Solutions as well. Hans Dufourmont from the European Environment Agency (EEA) highlighted the use of GNSS to track animal species and monitor migration paths when considering development opportunities. He saw a huge potential for synergies between geopositioning and surface imaging going forward.

    Maurice Barbieri, president of the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE), also saw a “clear role for Galileo” in the surveying community with its potential ability to meet centimeter accuracy requirements much more than for EGNOS.

    He also speculated about the value of establishing a European Geoinformatic Agency that might coordinate the provision of European GNSS and EO data. He felt the private business community would appreciate such simplification.

  • SAP debuts Geographical Enablement Framework at Esri UC

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    SAP SE unveiled its SAP Geographical Enablement Framework, powered by SAP HANA, at the 2016 Esri User Conference, which is being held June 27 to July 1 in San Diego, California. SAP Geographical Enablement Framework helps organizations enrich business applications with geographic data from geographic information systems (GIS), such as Esri ArcGIS.

    “In many asset-intensive industries such as energy, transportation and public sector, the ability to visualize business objects on maps is critical to improving efficiency and decision making,” says Irfan Khan, GM and global head, database and data management, SAP. “SAP Geographical Enablement Framework, powered by SAP HANA, can help organizations streamline the processing of both enterprise and spatial data for greater location awareness across business processes.”

    To develop spatially enabled business applications, organizations can use the framework to:

    • Enable smooth integration and bidirectional navigation between SAP applications and Esri ArcGIS. Developers can use application programming interfaces published by GIS to fetch geospatial data. Also, business data augmented with geometric attributes can be published as a service, so that GIS users can access SAP business data from within their GIS tools.
    • Embed a responsive map user interface in a business application to display both business and spatial data simultaneously to provide greater insight.
    • Store the geometry of any SAP business object in the SAP HANA platform and accelerate spatial data processing in memory to deliver real-time insights, enriched with spatial context, to improve decision making.
    • Visualize, filter and search for business objects — such as functional location, equipment, linear assets, notifications or work orders — on a map from within a spatially enabled application. From a desktop or a tablet, users can also drill down through multiple map layers to gain better insight.

    With continued collaboration between SAP and Esri, organizations can gain contextual insight from business and spatial data, enabling business and GIS users to work within the same multiuser access and editing environment, the company says.

    “At EDF Renewable Energy, we have built a truly innovative enterprise business intelligence and data warehouse platform that combines Esri geospatial data along with asset sensor data and ERP transactional data in SAP HANA,” says Devang Shah, manager of database and business intelligence, EDF Renewable Energy. “This provides us with near real-time insights to help us operate more efficiently.”

    As an open platform, SAP HANA is certified with the Open Geospatial Consortium, enabling organizations to easily consume spatial data from third-party spatial solutions that also adhere to the standard. SAP HANA also supports synchronous and asynchronous imports of data from any spatial reference system or coordinate reference system to ease access to local, regional or global geographic entities.

    Native geocoding delivered by SAP HANA smart data quality helps rapidly convert addresses to latitude and longitude within SAP HANA, the company says.

    “Munich Re is one of the leading reinsurance companies in the world,” says Andreas Siebert, head of geospatial solutions at Munich Re. “We use spatial data processing capabilities in SAP HANA, in conjunction with predictive analytics, to assess risk — such as to identify natural hazard profiles for millions of locations around the globe, to efficiently coordinate loss adjustors after a major catastrophe or to calculate how many hospitals, schools and roads may be impacted by an impending hurricane or flood.”

  • CoreLogic expands location-based intelligence with building footprints

    CoreLogic has expanded its location-based intelligence data with the addition of structure footprint information to its other parcel and property characteristics data offerings.

    CoreLogic is a global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider. The company made the announcement at the 2016 Esri User Conference, being held in San Diego, California, June 27-July 1.

    CoreLogic Structure Footprint enables accurate roof-top geocoding and identifies the location and outline of relevant structures on a parcel, including all known sub-addresses, to provide a more granular and precise property description.

    Street, parcel and structure geocoding appear on a single map. (IMAGE: CoreLogic)
    Street, parcel and structure geocoding appear on a single map. (IMAGE: CoreLogic)

    CoreLogic residential and commercial structure footprint data covers more than 35 million rural and urban parcels throughout the U.S, including two-thirds of the largest 50 metro areas. When combined with other CoreLogic proprietary property data, including business financial health, natural hazard risks, occupancy information and building characteristics, the added structure footprint data provides a more complete picture of a property than was previously available.

    Accurate location data is a critically important factor for planning and operations in oil and gas, insurance, geo-commerce and other industries that need to understand what type of structures and building characteristics are associated with property addresses.

    The addition of structure footprint data complements the existing CoreLogic property characteristic data, which details attributes in 150 distinct categories that provide location intelligence on everything from zoning and land use to details about roof type and number of bedrooms.

    “The addition of this property data layer, which identifies individual structures within a single parcel, can improve efficiencies and risk segmentation for everything from geo-commerce to insurance,” said Steve Brewer, senior vice president of Insurance and Spatial Solutions at CoreLogic. “It’s exciting to see this level of granularity added to location intelligence that was previously not available — granularity that can be used in a variety of decision-making situations including natural hazard risk assessment, marketing, asset management and claims processing.

  • Geospatial Solutions reports live from the 2016 Esri User Conference

    The 2016 Esri User Conference, the mecca of geographic information systems (GIS) in the U.S., takes place June 28 to July 1 in San Diego, California. The conference is designed to give attendees practical advice and hands-on experience with GIS tools from Esri and other companies, as well as share ideas and best practices for improving our world through maps.

    The event encompasses 16,000 GIS users, managers and developers; 300 moderated sessions; 450 hours of technical training; and 300 software vendors.

    GPS World/Geospatial Solutions staff is on site, and we will be posting news, photos and videos live from the show on this page. Also follow us on Twitter at @GSS_NCM and @GPSWorld.

    NEWS

    Spectra Precision MobileMapper 50 combines smartphone design with GNSS capabilities (6/29)

    Golden Software releases Strater 5 well log, borehole and cross-section plotting program (6/28)

    Trimble unveils TDC100 handheld data collector at Esri UC (6/28)

    SAP debuts Geographical Enablement Framework at Esri UC (6/28)

    ArcGIS apps for the field launched at Esri UC (6/27)

    3DR to integrate Site Scan with Esri Drone2Map (6/27)

    CoreLogic expands location-based intelligence with building footprints (6/27)

    Laser Technology shares new time-saving mapping tools at Esri UC (6/24)

    Septentrio to spotlight drone GNSS solutions at Esri UC (6/23)

    PHOTOS

    VIDEO PLAYLIST

    Navigate the Esri UC playlist.

    Media: Geospatial Solutions / GPS World

  • Septentrio to spotlight drone solutions at Esri UC 

    Septentrio-PinPoint-GIS

    Septentrio will showcase its latest GNSS systems and software solutions for GIS professionals at the 2016 Esri User Conference in San Diego, June 28-30, with a special focus on the rapidly growing market for drone-based aerial survey.

    At center stage will be Septentrio’s suite of products designed specifically for aerial surveys. They include the compact AsteRx-m UAS onboard GNSS receiver and GeoTagZ high-accuracy drone positioning software, which is optimized for automatic interface with Esri ARCGis and Drone2Map platforms.

    “Demand for drone imagery is booming in the GIS marketplace as a fast and efficient alternative to ground-based surveys for applications such as mapping, photogrammetry, infrastructure inspection and natural disaster monitoring,” said Neil Vancans, vice president of Septentrio Americas. “To meet that demand, we are bringing to market a range of hardware and software solutions that will make it easier than ever for Esri users to capture, georeference, process and visualize drone-captured imagery.”

    Septentrio is also introducing new firmware for its versatile NR2 GNSS receivers and the PinPoint-GIS utility software for terrestrial applications. NR2 V1.2.0 offers a host of new connectivity features, including direct dial-up, dynamic DNS, base-rover Wi-Fi point-to-point connection and other new features that will streamline field work. PinPoint-GIS has also been enhanced to provide seamless integration with Esri’s Collector for ArcGIS.

    “Septentrio is pioneering the way by which Esri users collect data,” said Gustavo Lopez, product manager at Septentrio. “GeoTagZ and PinPoint-GIS bring more accuracy and flexibility into the field by combining the power of Septentrio’s GNSS products with the user-friendly interface of Collector for ArcGIS. From the air to your own device, you are guaranteed accuracy and reliability in your GNSS positioning by using GeoTagZ to georeference aerial photos and PinPoint-GIS to harness the power of GIS data.”

    Esri User Conference attendees are invited to visit Booth 2633 for a first-hand look at Septentrio’s solutions for the full range of aerial and ground-based GNSS solutions for GIS, including the new-generation APS-3G multi-constellation RTK receiver, which was just introduced to the market.

  • Septentrio to spotlight drone solutions at Esri UC 

    Septentrio-PinPoint-GIS

    Septentrio will showcase its latest GNSS systems and software solutions for GIS professionals at the 2016 Esri User Conference in San Diego, June 28-30, with a special focus on the rapidly growing market for drone-based aerial survey.

    At center stage will be Septentrio’s suite of products designed specifically for aerial surveys. They include the compact AsteRx-m UAS onboard GNSS receiver and GeoTagZ high-accuracy drone positioning software, which is optimized for automatic interface with Esri ARCGis and Drone2Map platforms.

    “Demand for drone imagery is booming in the GIS marketplace as a fast and efficient alternative to ground-based surveys for applications such as mapping, photogrammetry, infrastructure inspection and natural disaster monitoring,” said Neil Vancans, vice president of Septentrio Americas. “To meet that demand, we are bringing to market a range of hardware and software solutions that will make it easier than ever for Esri users to capture, georeference, process and visualize drone-captured imagery.”

    Septentrio is also introducing new firmware for its versatile NR2 GNSS receivers and the PinPoint-GIS utility software for terrestrial applications. NR2 V1.2.0 offers a host of new connectivity features, including direct dial-up, dynamic DNS, base-rover Wi-Fi point-to-point connection and other new features that will streamline field work. PinPoint-GIS has also been enhanced to provide seamless integration with Esri’s Collector for ArcGIS.

    “Septentrio is pioneering the way by which Esri users collect data,” said Gustavo Lopez, product manager at Septentrio. “GeoTagZ and PinPoint-GIS bring more accuracy and flexibility into the field by combining the power of Septentrio’s GNSS products with the user-friendly interface of Collector for ArcGIS. From the air to your own device, you are guaranteed accuracy and reliability in your GNSS positioning by using GeoTagZ to georeference aerial photos and PinPoint-GIS to harness the power of GIS data.”

    Esri User Conference attendees are invited to visit Booth 2633 for a first-hand look at Septentrio’s solutions for the full range of aerial and ground-based GNSS solutions for GIS, including the new-generation APS-3G multi-constellation RTK receiver, which was just introduced to the market.

  • Icaros releases update of OneButton UAS image processing software

    Icaros-merge-W

    Icaros Inc., a provider of aerial imaging software, has released version 4.2.2 of OneButton. The release contains new features and improvements as well as a new flight planning software module. Here are the highlights:

    • Additional parameters have been added to enable users to create enhanced quality output products.
    • Users can now create their own parameter templates to run similar projects repeatedly with the same parameter set.
    • The image stitching algorithm has been enhanced to generate higher quality outputs for projects with high overlap.
    • Projects covering smaller areas can now be solved more accurately by utilizing a higher resolution terrain model of the area.
    • UgCS flight planning software is included free of charge with each installation.

    Current users of OneButton software can download and install the latest version.

    Those new to OneButton software can download a free copy to use until Oct. 31.

    Icaros developed the OneButton family for geospatial end users to easily and automatically generate precise, fully orthorectified 2D maps and 3D models from frame-based aerial imaging systems. Originally engineered for manned aircraft sensors, the OneButton software has been modified to accommodate the unique collection conditions of unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

    OneButton creates a complete image processing workflow for aerial image data and can front-end both GIS and analytics workflows to enable customers to solve challenging problems related to everything from agriculture and forestry to utilities and city planning. It is highly customizable to meet the needs of specific vertical market applications.

    OneButton automatically processes raw raster imagery with onboard GPS/IMU data to stich the individual scenes together into a seamless, color-balanced orthomosaic meeting photogrammetric standards. Outputs include digital elevation models (DEMs), true color 3D point clouds, and multispectral mosaics – all ready for ingest directly into GIS and analytics software environments.

    OneButton is application platform and sensor agnostic, and processes raster image data from small-, medium-, and large-format frame sensors capable of capturing visible RBG, multispectral, near-infrared, and thermal infrared data.

    “This version of OneButton comes with significant improvements, from a more intuitive user interface, to more robust processing and output options. I am very pleased with the update,” said Eric Andelin, president of VERTX.

  • myWorld Inspection & Survey v2 supports iOS, Android and Windows

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    Ubisense Group plc, an enterprise location-intelligence solution company, has released version 2 of myWorld Inspection & Survey. Version 2 of the software offers a host of new features to transform the way utility and telecommunications teams conduct inspections and surveys.

    myWorld Inspection & Survey enables field workers to collect inspection data on any mobile device, eliminating paper-based processes and is a dramatic improvement on first-generation software solutions, Ubisense said. Users now have the flexibility to run the system on iOS, Android or Windows and dynamically push both data and application code updates, significantly reducing IT management costs, UbiSense said.

    Based on discussions with existing customers, Ubisense has also incorporated a range of new workflow and data capture features to make day to day inspections and management even easier.  Users of myWorld Inspection & Survey are now able to:

    • Carry out multiple surveys concurrently, significantly improving productivity.
    • Assign multiple crews or surveyors to a single survey or inspection order, enabling support of a wider range of existing business processes without requiring any product customization.
    • Support for “dual pass” surveys, in which each survey item needs to be visited twice in order for the survey to be regarded as complete.
    • Enhanced map filtering, to allow users to only display items relevant to the survey(s) that they are currently working on.
    • Process checks to automatically turn off surveying when the vehicle speed exceeds a specified value, avoiding accidentally marking something as surveyed incorrectly.

    “We know that our customers want the flexibility to use any device in the field,” said Peter Batty, Geospatial CTO at Ubisense. “We allow them to run iOS, Android or Windows with a single application giving them more flexibility in device selection and future proofing their hardware decisions.”

  • LandWorks introduces spatial alignment tool at Esri UC

    LandWorks Inc., developer of land management software, has advanced its integration with Esri technology by creating a new Spatial Alignment Tool that runs as an ArcGIS Desktop extension and automates polygon editing tasks for land mapping professionals and land asset managers.

    LandWorks will demonstrate the product at booth #2404 at the 2016 Esri User Conference, June 27-July 1, at the San Diego Convention Center.

    The new software can be used in any country and in any industry that maps land boundary polygons using Esri’s ArcGIS Platform.

    Previously, when a more accurate version of land grid (Public Land Survey sections, Texas abstracts, etc.) or tax parcel data was made available by a data vendor, any polygons in an updated area of the grid had to be manually realigned to snap to the more accurate grid. With LandWorks’ Spatial Alignment Tool, manual realignment is no longer necessary.

    “Land grid and parcel data providers typically deliver quarterly updates to customers. The labor intensive task of realigning mapped land polygons to the updated version has been a long-term challenge that many companies choose to forgo rather than implementing the more accurate version of the land grid or parcel data,” said Jerry Bramwell, President and CEO of LandWorks. “With our new Spatial Alignment Tool, what once required months to complete now takes hours, resulting in more accurate land agreement polygon boundaries without the high cost of manually snapping them to the updated grid or parcel data.”


    The Spatial Alignment Tool works with any vector land grid or parcel data. Users need an original source land/parcel grid and an updated source land/parcel grid. The tool detects vertex movements between the original land/parcel grid and the corresponding updated layers, then automatically aligns the selected polygons based on those detected changes.

    Users can easily adjust the tolerance and alignment settings if not satisfied with the results. Once the alignment process is complete, users can review the aligned polygons before committing them to the enterprise geodatabase.

    In addition to easily maintaining the accuracy of GIS data for better analysis, the new software also saves companies significant time and money if they choose to switch land grid or parcel data suppliers for quality, supply or budgetary reasons.

    “Traditionally, companies have been hesitant to change land grid or parcel data vendors because of the seemingly Herculean task of transferring the polygons from one land grid or parcel layer to another,” said Bramwell. “Automating this task using the Spatial Alignment Tool now makes switching suppliers a viable option.”

  • Esri and Hexagon promote joint collaboration at HxGN LIVE

    In 2015, Esri and Hexagon jointly announced a series of ready-to-use imagery services to Esri users through ArcGIS Marketplace. ArcGIS Marketplace delivers high-resolution aerial multispectral and basemap imagery services as a subscription through ArcGIS Online. In light of the collaboration, Esri will be participating in HxGN Live June 14-16 in Anaheim, California.

    Another collaboration with Leica Geosystems, a brand within Hexagon Geosystems, addressed the market for high-accuracy mobile field collection, which was released this year. It integrates Esri’s Collector for ArcGIS, a configurable mobile app for collecting and editing data in the field, with the high-accuracy Leica Zeno 20 from Leica Geosystems.

    “We’re excited to raise mobile data collection solutions to the next level of precision and interoperability through rigorous connectivity between our survey-grade Leica Zeno series and Esri’s GIS solutions,” says Hexagon Geosystems president Juergen Dold. “This industry collaboration between Leica Geosystems and Esri is another joint commitment to make it easier for professionals around the world to capture, manage, and share their data, regardless if they’re in the office or the field, without sacrificing precision or interoperability.”

    The new solution, ZenoCollector, is an Android-based, professional-grade handheld. ZenoCollector connects to ArcGIS Online, automatically synching high-precision field changes to enterprise information and giving everyone access to the latest data gathered on the project sites, as well as access to high-resolution basemap services and Hexagon imagery services through ArcGIS Marketplace. This innovation of online content connected to mobile field tools and back-office systems now provides rapid synchronization to streamline field job planning, collection, and postprocessing of data.

    Esri For more information and demonstrations of these new offerings, visit Esri at booth No. 506 at HxGN LIVE.

  • Topcon, Bentley Systems integrate Magnet 4.0 and ProjectWise

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    Topcon Positioning Group and Bentley Systems have announced a new level of direct communication between Bentley’s design applications and Topcon mobile work force products with the upcoming Magnet 4.0 release.

    With the direct communication from Magnet Enterprise to Bentley’s ProjectWise, users of Topcon’s family of Magnet and 3D-MC software solutions can, while working in the field, access or receive i-models created by Bentley’s OpenRoads design modeling technology.

    Furthermore, the survey data and as-built conditions captured by Topcon’s field devices can be brought back into Bentley’s design applications using the same Magnet to ProjectWise direct connection.

    Topcon_Bentley_man-at-desk-W“The direct connection to Bentley’s ProjectWise in Magnet Enterprise allows project managers to distribute i-models directly to their Topcon field devices,” said Jason Hallett, Topcon vice president of global product management. “With this drag and drop functionality, i-models from ProjectWise easily move from the Magnet Enterprise Data Manager to your mobile work force.”

    The integration will allow for direct import and export of i-models in Magnet Field and Magnet Office products.

    “With the simplified workflow from ProjectWise to machines with a Sitelink3D connection from Magnet Office or Enterprise, updated models can be quickly sent to a machine, reducing the chance of rework and ensuring the most current data can be sent to project teams,” Hallett said.

    With the upcoming release, users will be able to deliver any Magnet project files as i-models into ProjectWise for the purpose of capturing “as constructed” conditions of infrastructure projects.

    Dustin Parkman, Bentley vice president of product development, said, “We are excited to offer the industry-first ability to ‘round trip’ i-models. Soon operators will be able to send i-models directly to their mobile work force, who can consume the models, update them directly on the job site, and then send the updated i-models from the field back to ProjectWise with selected data (points, point lists, layers library) directly to an i-model.

    “The integration between ProjectWise and Magnet Enterprise has opened up endless new possibilities for construction-driven engineering workflows using OpenRoads and Magnet Office,” Parkman said.

    Magnet 4.0 is expected to be available in late June with additional upgrades and functionality for users.

  • Mapping ‘Hell on Earth’

    A mapping feature from GPS World magazine’s June issue.

    STILL BURNING: This false-color image shows burned areas in yellow and healthy vegetation in purple. The bright spots are where the fire was actively burning when the image was taken.
    STILL BURNING: This false-color image shows burned areas in yellow and healthy vegetation in purple. The bright spots are where the fire was actively burning when the image was taken. (Image courtesy of DigitalGlobe, © 2016)
    On May 1, a wildfire ignited southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. At first, wildfire MWF-009 seemed like others residents had experienced — smoke and haze, but no real danger. Two days later, the winds shifted.

    The fire swept through Fort McMurray, destroying more than 1,600 homes and buildings and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta’s history.

    People described it as hell on Earth, comparing the disaster to movies, war, and the apocalypse. By the end of the week, the fire had grown to more than 101,000 hectares, significantly larger than the city of Calgary.

    BURN SCAR: On May 4, the Landsat 7 satellite’s Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus acquired this false-color image combining shortwave infrared, near infrared and green light (bands 5-4-2). Near- and short-wave infrared help penetrate clouds and smoke to reveal hot spots of fire (red), smoke (white) and burned areas (brown).
    BURN SCAR: On May 4, the Landsat 7 satellite’s Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus acquired this false-color image combining shortwave infrared, near infrared and green light (bands 5-4-2). Near- and short-wave infrared help penetrate clouds and smoke to reveal hot spots of fire (red), smoke (white) and burned areas (brown).

    The entire city population of 88,000 evacuated in a rush, many through falling embers from wildfires beside roadways.

    On May 5, DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-3 satellite (WV-3) peered through smoke using shortwave infrared to take the image on the left. GIS analysts can also measure the intensity of the fire using the image.

    As of press time, the fires continue to spread across northeast Alberta, impacting Canada’s oil sand operations, and into the neighboring province of Saskatchewan.

    The wildfire may become the most costly disaster in Canadian history.