Intergraph Government Solutions (IGS) has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) U.S. Forest Service to provide image processing software across the U.S. Forest Service enterprise. IGS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intergraph Corporation, a Hexagon company serving the U.S. federal market.
IGS will provide capabilities for core image processing and photogrammetry through Hexagon Geospatial’s Power Portfolio, including ERDAS IMAGINE for remote sensing and IMAGINE Photogrammetry. Integration of these products into the organization allows the U.S. Forest Service to perform mission-critical image processing and analysis on nearly 200 million acres of land for objectives such as forest restoration and emergency response to wildfires.
“The U.S. Forest Service is a long-standing customer of IGS and Hexagon software. This purchase provides the agency with the most advanced geospatial technology for monitoring and managing national forest resources,” said Joe Fehrenbach, CEO and president of IGS.
The result of a competitive best-value procurement, the award includes a base contract period of one year and an additional four option years. As part of the selection process, the U.S. Forest Service required live demonstrations of the proposed workflow technologies with government-provided datasets and rigorous requirements related to multiple areas of need in their business mission.
Trimble debuted its new R2 GNSS receiver at INTERGEO 2015, held this week in Stuttgart, Germany.
The R2 GNSS receiver is a receiver that works with Trimble handheld devices and iOS, Android or Window mobile handhelds, smartphones and tablets using Bluetooth or USB connectivity. When paired with a mobile device, the receiver adds professional-grade GNSS capabilities for better accuracy. The rugged Trimble R2 provides GIS and survey professionals the flexibility to choose the mobile device, workflows and accuracy they need based on applications.
Trimble R2 GNSS Receiver for Mobile Devices
The Trimble R2 GNSS receiver is compact and portable, weighing 2.4 pounds. With one button operation and field swappable battery, the receiver can be pole or vehicle mounted or carried on a backpack. The R2 is a multi-constellation receiver that supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS satellite signals as well as SBAS.
With a variety of standard and optional correction capabilities, the Trimble R2 can achieve sub-meter to centimeter positioning for a broad range of accuracy requirements. The receiver is an option for the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy.
“Today’s geospatial professionals require flexible solutions which allow for configuration to meet their specific job requirements,” said Ron Bisio, general manager of Trimble’s Surveying and Geospatial Division. “The Trimble R2’s versatility to support GIS and survey workflows as well as BYOD deployment enables geospatial professionals to collect data using the mobile device, workflow and accuracy they choose.”
Workflows – GIS and Survey Field Software
Designed for both GIS field data collection and survey workflows, the Trimble R2 receiver integrates with Trimble TerraFlex mapping and GIS field software and Trimble Access survey field software.
TerraFlex software is a scalable cloud-based solution for geospatial data collection. By pairing the R2 with a smart device or Trimble handheld running TerraFlex, the solution addresses a wide variety of field requirements, including attribute-rich GIS data collection on consumer and professional devices.
Trimble Access software supports the workflows of everyday surveying tasks such as topographic and control surveys and specialized surveying tasks such as roads, monitoring, tunnels and mines. By pairing the receiver with a Trimble handheld running Trimble Access or TerraFlex field software, the Trimble R2 is a versatile solution that supports the full range of geospatial data collection workflows for both GIS and survey applications.
Flexible Accuracy
It us capable of receiving a broad range of corrections from traditional RTK, VRS networks and SBAS to Trimble RTX correction services via cellular/IP connections or satellite (L-band), the Trimble R2 provides high-accuracy data worldwide.
The R2 GNSS receiver can leverage the entire portfolio of subscription-based Trimble RTX correction services to accommodate a wide range of applications and accuracy requirements. This includes CenterPoint RTX (less than 4 centimeters), RangePoint RTX (less than 50 centimeters), and ViewPoint RTX (less than 1 meter) correction services.
Topcon Positioning Group is releasing three new models to the GLS line of laser scanners — the GLS-2000S, GLS-2000M and GLS-2000L. The scanners are designed to capture data based on the measurement range needs of specific applications.
“These new GLS-2000 scanners offer purposeful solutions and versatility that comes from the multiple measurement modes with each model,” said Charles Rihner, vice president for the Topcon GeoPositioning Solutions Group. “The S model is optimized for short-range applications, while the M and L models are perfect for medium and long-range measurement fields, respectively.”
Using Topcon Precise Scan Technology II, the GLS-2000 models are designed to emit pulse signals three times faster than earlier GLS systems. “Using faster pulse signals enables timing to be detected more precisely, which results in reduced noise and higher-accuracy data,” Rihner said.
Additionally, the systems feature dual 5MP cameras, including one with a 170-degree wide-angle lens for high-speed imaging, as well as an 8.9-degree telephoto camera that is coaxial with the measuring axis.
When paired with Topcon ScanMaster software, the models provide complete systems for capturing and processing 3D point cloud data.
Topcon is exhibiting this week at the INTERGEO trade show, in Hall 6, Booth A6.002.
Advanced control for multiple rod heights and prism offsets.
Carlson Software experts will be demonstrating the newest abilities of the 5.0 version of SurvCE, its data-collection software, at INTERGEO, being held in Stuttgart, Germany, Sept. 15-17. Carlson will have two stands: indoors at C8.017 (Hall 8) and outdoors at FG.004.
SurvCE v. 5.0 software is scheduled to be officially released and available for download following extensive testing and after final enhancements are completed in October. Those buying a new license of SurvCE 4.0 software between now and the release of SurvCE 5.0 will receive an automatic upgrade to 5.0.
SurvCE 5.0 focuses on speed and power. A new memory allocator empowers users to do more, faster, opening large drawing and coordinate files with ease.
Mission Planning user-defined list for obstruction masking.
Other top new improvements include the following:
Enhanced GNSS tilt sensor (IMU) for confirmation of level and the taking of measurements with tilted GPS/GNSS poles (works with selected GNSS such as Stonex and CHC in addition to Carlson);
All-new GNSS Mission Planning, which will include GLONASS mission planning;
Newly designed two-step stakeout procedure now intuitively and accurately guides the user to his point, delivering easy to follow navigation that shifts to proximity information as he gets close to target;
And map-picked, cursor-displayed stakeout and one-pick measurement options.
Featuring hundreds of additions and improvements, Carlson SurvCE 5.0 continues to support the widest range of popular and new release RTK GPS and conventional/robotic total stations of any other data collection software on the market.
“SurvCE 5.0 is incorporating new emerging technologies like IMU support, while still providing its renowned friendly user environment,” says Jesus Latova, SurvCE product director. “Simplicity and safety are our main focus in developing these new features, together with continuing the extensive instrument support capacity of SurvCE.”
Carlson SurvCE is both powerful and easy to use, providing users with the options to collect data as they prefer. SurvCE 5.0 will be available in nearly two dozen languages. These include: English, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swediish, Tagalog, and Turkish.
Hardware from Carlson SoftwareAlso visit the Carlson outside stand (F.004, outside Hall 8) at Intergeo to see and sample its hardware options, produced to work specifically with its popular software. These will include the rugged, fast, and popular Surveyor2 data collector, the BRx5 GNSS receiver, and other equipment recommended by Carlson.
For more information about SurvCE 5.0 and additional Carlson Software offerings, call 606-564-5028 (U.S.) or +31 36 750 1781 in the Netherlands and ask for your local Carlson representative.
CoreLogic, a residential property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released an expanded version of its natural catastrophe risk management solution, which features a new comprehensive probabilistic flood model that analyzes the potential damage and financial impact at the property-level from flood events in the continental United States.
This probabilistic flood model is unique to the industry because its riverine and flash flood risk components provide better risk estimation for areas outside the 100-year flood zones–areas responsible for 20 percent of historic flood losses but which represent only 1 percent of the flood insurance policies in force.
Measuring both severity and frequency of flood events, the probabilistic flood model loss calculations offer property, contents and business interruption analysis. The model also incorporates historical flood event footprints from the last 50 years and the accompanying property damage.
Additionally, the model incorporates detailed user-provided building information to derive vulnerability assessments driven by both water depth and water velocity. These building characteristics include construction type, occupancy, floor elevation, basements and elevated building configurations. The new CoreLogic flood model provides insurers with an unprecedented tool to more accurately underwrite the risk associated with this complex peril, especially the proprietary flash flood component.
With granular 10-meter elevation data, the catastrophe risk management solution incorporates the Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs) provided by the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA). It uses more than 80 different occupancy classes covering topography, land-use, stream coverage and inundation. In order to more accurately measure a property’s flood risk, more than 50 data layers ranging from elevation, hydrologic and catchment information are included, as well as data for over 6 million miles of streams and 20,000 stream flow gauges.
“The release of the U.S. Inland Flood Model means insurers can now use this advanced probabilistic tool to help them determine a property’s potential for flood damage,” said Tom Larsen, CoreLogic product architect. “The model’s unique ability to provide granularity down to the property level will offer insurers a complete view of flood risk, including contents and business interruption, for all types of properties.”
The catastrophe risk management solution contains parcel-level geocoding through PxPoint from CoreLogic, which can convert physical addresses or locations into precise geographic coordinates for over 142 million parcel boundaries. A new visualization feature identifies details in the data as well as exceptions via easy-to-use charts and graphics. Other new components include updates to three risk assessment models including Italy Earthquake, the North Atlantic Hurricane Risk and U.S. Offshore Energy.
Highlights include:
The Italy Earthquake Model now incorporates an updated seismic source model based on the Seismic Hazard Harmonization in Europe (SHARE) to provide a current and more accurate view of seismic hazard in Italy. Increased maximum magnitudes, an updated magnitude-frequency distribution and a new ground motion model are part of the enhancements.
The North Atlantic Hurricane Risk Model update includes a high-resolution storm surge model and enhanced hazard risk assessment to more accurately capture the damage from storm surge as the surge attenuates inland (outside of the high velocity zones). It uses storm intensities from historical events based on the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Additionally, the North Atlantic Hurricane Risk Model includes a full set of default secondary structural modifiers by vintage and location for all hurricane states, which are based on the International Building Code as well as state-specific building codes to provide refined results. RQE 16 also includes a model version which was certified by the Florida Commission Hurricane for Loss Projection Methodology in June 2015.
The U.S. Offshore Energy Model features a distinctive wave model component and unique financial model which produces an improved estimate of potential damage to physical assets in U.S. territorial waters within the Gulf of Mexico. A network analysis is also built into the model to produce a better estimate of the lost production from oil wells.
“All of these enhancements will help insurers understand hazard risk in a more granular and comprehensive way, and this precision in risk modeling will help the industry overall fine-tune its underwriting, claims and reinsurance efforts,” Larsen said.
DJI is offering two new cameras for its DJI Inspire 1 professional aerial camera platform.
The new Zenmuse X5 is a commercially available micro four-thirds (M4/3) camera designed specifically for aerial use. With a large sensor, aerial image makers will be able to capture up to 13 stops of dynamic range, making it easy to capture high-resolution 16 megapixel photos or 4k, 24fps and 30fps videos in complex lighting environments.
Zenmuse X5 users will have more options for capturing images in the sky through additional supported lenses and full wireless aperture and focus control. At the time of launch, the Zenmuse X5 will support four interchangeable lenses, including the DJI MFT 15mm f/1.7 ASPH lens, Panasonic Lumix 15mm G Leica DG Summilux f/1.7 ASPH lens, Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12mm f/2.0 lens, and Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 lens. While the Zenmuse X5 is in flight, pilots can adjust both focus and aperture via the DJI GO app or through DJI’s previously announced Follow Focus system.
The Zenmuse-X5 aerial camera.
The camera’s lightweight 340-gram (0.75-pound) body integrates with DJI’s signature three-axis Zenmuse gimbal technology, creating effortlessly smooth video and stabilized long-exposure photos (up to 8 seconds).
“The professional applications of the Zenmuse X5 are almost endless,” said Eric Cheng, DJI’s director of Aerial Imaging. “In addition to shooting professional-quality photos and 4K video, the new camera can be used to create high-quality aerial maps and 3D models, and can also help industrial teams get even more detail from their aerial imaging pursuits, for example, in utility inspection using a drone.”
DJI also announced the Zenmuse X5R camera, which shares the same sensor and lens compatibility with the X5, but records video both to an onboard microSD card as well as to a removable 512GB solid state disk (SSD) on the gimbal’s top plate. The Zenmuse X5R records CinemaDNG (RAW) video to the SSD, and opens up lossless 4k video recording in a compact form factor with video bitrates averaging 1.7 Gbps (with a maximum of 2.4 Gbps).
The Zenmuse X5R also offers a brand-new D-LOG mode that offers a broader array of color correction options in post production.
To support the management of Zenmuse X5R Cinema DNG files, DJI will release software to edit and convert RAW camera footage. CineLight, which will be available when the Zenmuse X5R camera is released later this year, simplifies users’ workflows by offering offline proxy editing before converting the CinemaDNG files to ProRes.
“In order to achieve the quality of video produced by Zenmuse X5 and X5R, pilots used to have to spend many thousands of dollars for large, complicated aerial equipment,” said Frank Wang, DJI CEO and founder. “Now, pilots can simply mount the Zenmuse X5 series cameras to their Inspire 1, put on their props, get up in the air, and have full control of their shot while in flight. This saves valuable time on film sets and makes high quality imaging for industrial applications smaller, lighter and easier to manage.”
By mounting a small, easy-to-install bracket, the Zenmuse X5 series cameras are fully compatible with existing DJI Inspire 1 platforms as an interchangeable option for the Inspire 1’s standard Zenmuse X3 camera.
The Zenmuse X5 is available for pre-order at store.dji.com for $4,499 (€4,999), including a DJI Inspire 1 and DJI’s MFT 15mm F1.7 ASPH lens, and will begin shipping before the end of September. The Zenmuse X5R will be available in Q4 2015 for $7,999 (€8,799). Both can be purchased as stand alone cameras with, or without lens. More information can be found at dji.com.
This image depicts how Orbital Insight is detecting building shadows in Nanjing, China, to monitor construction rates in the area.
DigitalGlobe has expanded its partnership and offering with Orbital Insight, a market intelligence and data science company that analyzes socioeconomic trends at global, regional and hyper-local scales.
Within DigitalGlobe’s Geospatial Big Data platform, Orbital Insight’s machine vision engineers, artificial intelligence experts and data scientists now have access to 400 terabytes of high-resolution imagery, an increase of nearly 80 times the data that was available for analysis under the previous partnership agreement.
The partnership is enabling Orbital Insight to more quickly validate its hypotheses and understand a variety of trends in the commercial and humanitarian markets. Having access to this volume of DigitalGlobe’s data allows the ability to visualize and analyze even larger areas of interest around the globe, allowing users to better understand the economic trends impacting industries and markets, according to DigitalGlobe.
“Orbital Insight’s customers — hedge funds, Fortune 500 companies, and global humanitarian organizations — will now be able to understand near real-time global economic trends with even greater precision and scale,” DigitalGlobe writes in a blog. “In one recent project, Orbital Insight leveraged DigitalGlobe imagery to process 4 trillion DigitalGlobe pixels in a 48-hour period, counting 700 million cars that yielded tradable insights into national shopping behavior for the company’s customers on Wall Street. This fall, Orbital Insight expects to release several new data analytics products, including worldwide monitoring of crude oil storage inventories and monitoring construction rates across the major cities in China, which are powered by DigitalGlobe’s image library and Geospatial Big Data platform.”
“This expanded partnership with DigitalGlobe accelerates the realization of Orbital Insight’s vision for a macroscope, a scientific instrument for helping human society to see itself in a new light,” said James Crawford, CEO of Orbital Insight. “The partnership enables us to more quickly validate our hypotheses and understand a variety of trends in the commercial and humanitarian markets. Having access to this volume of data gives us the ability to visualize and analyze even larger areas of interest around the globe, allowing us to better understand the economic trends that are impacting industries and markets.”
“The era of geospatial big data has arrived,” said Shay Har-Noy, DigitalGlobe’s Senior Director for Geospatial Big Data. “DigitalGlobe’s platform provides the largest commercial library of current and historical satellite imagery available, integrated into a cost-effective environment where meaningful insight can be extracted from the data through algorithms built by companies like Orbital Insight.”
The latest solutions by Teledyne Optech for the productive and accurate collection of spatial data will be on display at INTERGEO 2015, taking place Sept. 15-17 in Stuttgart, Germany — including a new solution for survey-grade mobile mapping.
At booth C4.019 in Hall 4, Teledyne Optech will present the latest addition to its high-powered Optech Lynx mobile survey systems. The new model is designed for both efficient asset collection and the delivery of engineering survey-grade results, giving operators flexibility for multiple types of jobs. Teledyne Optech will also demonstrate how the advanced features of Optech LMS 3.0 improve collection and processing efficiency by enabling access to survey control.
Several other Teledyne Optech systems will be at the booth, including the Optech Galaxy airborne mapper. Visitors can take the opportunity to see how Galaxy vastly improves survey efficiency and consistency in variable terrain by letting surveyors ignore multipulse blind zones and keep their swath and point density on the ground constant with its PulseTRAK and SwathTRAK technologies. Forestry and coastal data from the Optech Titan will also be available, with Teledyne Optech experts ready to explain the new techniques that surveyors, government agencies and academics have developed to take advantage of its revolutionary multispectral lidar technology for topo/bathy surveys, land classification and biomass estimation.
The CZMIL Nova System is designed for airborne coastal and marine mapping.
Groups interested in surveying deeper in turbid waters than any other airborne lidar can also drop by the booth to hear more about the Optech CZMIL Nova. Even smaller organizations with limited budgets can now make use of CZMIL Nova, thanks to redesigned hardware that lets it survey from aircraft as small as a Piper Navajo, plus the ability to rent the sensor and its HydroFusion workflow through the CZMIL Project Program.
For smaller scale projects, Teledyne Optech will display integrated solutions using the flexible Optech ILRIS terrestrial lidar scanner: Users can rapidly survey open pit mines by combining ILRIS with photogrammetry from the new geo-XR6 UAV, constantly monitor dangerous areas for landslides with the Gexcel OPMMS solution, or even survey harbors above and below water simultaneously with an integrated ILRIS/Seabat sonar system.
Visitors interested in improving productivity and safety in underground mining can see the Optech Cavity Monitoring System (CMS) V500 in action and try out its new integrated camera, georeferencing tools and more.
Remote GeoSystems is now offering direct support in all of its LineVision cloud, server and desktop applications for video from the DJI Inspire 1 unmanned aerial vehicle. The new LineVision capability gives DJI Inspire 1 operators and pilots the ability to create and deliver interactive professional-grade video inspection and survey work products using GIS software such as Esri ArcGIS, Bing Maps and Google Earth.
DJI Inspire 1 users need to enable .SRT file logging while recording video during flight. Post-flight, LineVision allows users to load or upload the video and GPS track to a map. As the video plays, a cursor moves along the GPS track on the map, constantly indicating where and when the current video view was captured based on GPS data logged during the mission.
Users can geographically navigate the video recordings by clicking any of the points along the GPS track on a map. The video then automatically advances or reverses to that point in the video so that analysts and subject-matter experts can visually interpret what was recorded at that specific place and time.
In addition to FMV, LineVision features import/upload and “one-click” geo-referencing of nearly any kind of rich media including photos, audio and electronic documents or files such as PDF, Microsoft Office and CAD files.
LineVision features flexible mapping options allowing users to incorporate and “stream” background maps and data layers from your enterprise GIS and third-party map service providers. All these imported data types can be saved in a Remote GeoSystems .geoProject file for data portability and future analysis in LineVision software.
The Remote GeoSystems technology has been developed commercially and independent of defense programs, making it easier for non-military customers outside the U.S. and around the globe to acquire the applications and expertise without having to go through the often lengthy ITAR export process.
Esri and FlightAware have partnered to combine the power of a flight tracking and status company with the ArcGIS mapping platform. The partnership features the ability to view and analyze large amounts of accurate, live-aviation data in one powerful spatial system.
FlightAware aggregates live flight tracking data from more than 50 government air traffic control authorities, satellite data link partners such as Garmin and ARINCDirect, and FlightAware’s own in-house ADS-B receiver network, consisting of more than 3,400 receivers in more than 100 countries.
“Esri has the tools and expertise to visualize data in a proven GIS environment,” FlightAware business development manager Max Tribolet said. “FlightAware data is the perfect addition. We’re the largest flight tracking company in the world, based on how many disparate data feeds we have coming into our system. So it’s pretty powerful when you pull our data into GIS.”
“This is a really good way to provide an additional option to our existing and potential customers, who might not have an easy way to consume larger volumes of flight tracking data,” Tribolet said. “A stand-alone app like Esri’s ArcGIS is adept at handling large quantities of data and is able to visualize it. This relationship with Esri allows FlightAware to focus on what we do best: constantly adding and aggregating quality flight tracking data and providing it to the industry.”
Airports and agencies have started exploring opportunities to use FlightAware data in GIS to improve proactive noise monitoring and airspace design as well as monitoring airspace congestion in real time. FlightAware visualizes live and historic data — such as altitude, longitude, latitude, ground speed, and estimated and actual schedule times—in 2D, 3D, and even 4D maps.
“The ability to fuse FlightAware data within the ArcGIS platform unlocks a host of new and innovative capabilities with regard to visualization, analysis and collaboration,” Esri aviation business development lead Stephen Willer said. “That results in a higher level of operational intelligence. We’re excited to bring this to our users across the globe. Real-time information access like this is essential not only today but also to our future air traffic systems.”
Figure 1. Suomi NPP/VIIRS night-time light images for Iraq: (a) May 2014, (b) December 2014.
A new paper published in the academic journal International Journal of Remote Sensing analyzed city night lights in Northern Iraq during 2014, suggesting a major loss of electrical power supply within the Iraqi cities seized by ISIS.
The territory controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has grown rapidly since the start of the Syrian Civil War, and in 2014 ISIS expanded its control into Northern Iraq. While there are many media reports on violence and geopolitical issues surrounding the takeover of these areas, the impact on everyday life, such as access to electricity for people living in ISIS-controlled regions, is less clear.
In the study, Xi Li and Deren Li (Wuhan University, China) and Rui Zhang and Chengquan Huang (University of Maryland) analyzed city lights as a proxy for the power supply in ISIS-controlled regions between May 2014 and December 2014. The city light data were acquired from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor on the NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite.
The analysis indicates that most of the ISIS-controlled cities, including Mosul and Tikrit, experienced a decrease of more than 90 percent in city light after being seized by ISIS, while the loss of light in cities controlled by the Iraqi security forces (ISF) was very limited. However, the city lights in Ar Raqqa, Syria, ISIS’ de facto capital, did not show a decline after that region was seized by ISIS.
These comparisons suggest that the conflict in Northern Iraq has resulted in a major loss of electrical power supply within the Iraqi cities seized by ISIS, and that this loss is most likely due to lack of access to the Iraqi power grid, rather than a deliberate ISIS strategy of limiting night-time light.
The insurgency in Northern Iraq since 2014 has led to a severe humanitarian crisis, the study authors say. It is widely known that it is extremely dangerous to collect information from ISIS-controlled regions; therefore, the use of remotely sensed night-time light images such as these offer humanitarian agencies and NGOs a low-risk indicator of socioeconomic conditions in war-torn countries like Iraq.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has contracted with Woolpert to evaluate new lidar (light detection and ranging) technologies to assess the suitability to support the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP).
This use of the single photon and Geiger mode lidar for this evaluation is new to the commercial market, according to Woolpert Project Director John Gerhard.
“This technology provides the ability to fly at higher altitudes while acquiring data at an increased point density,” Gerhard said. “The USGS has asked us to provide an evaluation of this sensor technology in support of 3DEP.”
The USGS is developing the 3DEP initiative to respond to the growing need for high-quality topographic data nationwide, to address issues that include flood-risk management, precision agriculture, natural resource management, infrastructure management and hazard mitigation.
Woolpert — a national architecture, engineering and geospatial firm — will then evaluate the data, conduct an accuracy analysis, develop final data products and provide a comprehensive report to the USGS by the end of the year.
