Geoinformatics 2007 Vol07

Article
Infoterra and Geomer Provide
Flood Information Online

Damage potentials and indication of dangers derived from satellite imagery and historical maps. The major cross-border river areas already completely captured. Key aim of FloodServer is a more efficient flood management across Europe. By Mareike Doepke and Stefan Jger
are available. The more information we can gather, the more precisely we can define potential flooded areas, explains Tinz further. A combination of this data with up-to-date land use maps allows the identification of areas particularly at risk, as well as the damage potentials involved. Based on these maps, authorities in charge can implement targeted and efficient preventive measures. Historical and potential flood areas, information on potential damage as well as up-todate land use maps - all this can be accessed easily through an info button on www.floodrisk.eu. Additionally, the information system allows the user to access particular locations through a comfortable search function and to print high-resolution maps. Local squad leaders, water management agencies, civil protection forces and rescue services, as well as European authorities in charge of international flood management - a great variety of users will benefit from the FloodServer in the next years.
Future Users
We have developed this platform in close cooperation with the future users, reports Dr. Andr Assmann, responsible member of the General Management at geomer GmbH, thus we can be sure, that the FloodServer will really make a considerable contribution to an improved anticipation of flood events, the initiation of systematic protection measures, an efficient preparation, a targeted reaction in case of crisis and, last but not least, to an optimal implementation of subsequent restoration works. In addition to the two geo-information providers user organisations such as the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) as well as the transnational Interreg III B Project ELLA (ELbe and LAbe) dealing with risk prevention in the Elbe catchments, have supported the definition of the information layers implemented on the FloodServer today. The novel approach of developing up-to-date geo-information services in close cooperation with the user organizations is a key aspect of the European Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative. Within this program, the European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA) work together to establish a
Application Example from the FloodServer. Flood extent at Rivers Aller and Weser (Germany), April 1994: The system enables the user to select different information layers such as land use or road networks, and to search for specific place names.
The FloodServer, a novel platform designed

to provide extensive flood risk information for the whole of Europe quickly, reliably and easily accessible for everybody is now available online at www.floodrisk.eu. The geo-information service providers Infoterra and Geomer present detailed maps and information about past and potential future flood events at the rivers Rhine, Elbe and lower Weser. Detailed information on the extend and impact of past flood events supports the responsible authorities and teams, explains Marek Tinz, responsible project manager at Infoterra. While it can of course not prevent an actual flood event, the FloodServer significantly supports the efforts to reduce the impact of future events. Not only satellite-based maps of recent flood events are used: For example, historical maps of the river Rhine flood in the winter 1881/82
October/November 2007
Article
Mapping of Flood Events. Flood extent at Rivers Aller and Weser (Germany), April 1994: Information on flood extent along with land use information supports flood risk management in this particular flood event and for the future.
long-term operational European Earth observation program. GMES is intended to provide authorities and administrations in Europe with environment and security related information. The FloodServer was developed within the GMES projects RISK-EOS and Preview, which addresses the development and validation of GMES applications in the field of risk management.
The use of the FloodServer, which is jointly operated by Infoterra and Geomer is free of charge. Organisations and authorities interested in making flood risk maps and existing additional information accessible for their own responsibilities, can also utilize the platform. Minor charges may apply for individual editing and integration of data.
Mareike Doepke (mareike.doepke@infoterra-global.com) and Dr. Stefan Jger (sj@geomer.de). More information on this subject: www.floodrisk.eu, www.infoterra.de, and www.geomer.de .
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Article
Romney Marsh Case Study and
Intermap Flood Risk Analysis

Insurers face their biggest UK flood bill in 20 years, with claims set to top 2 billion pounds after intense rain left swathes of central, northern and southern England under water. The bill from flooding across the central counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire is likely to run into hundreds of millions of pounds, which comes on top of an estimated bill of 1.5 billion pounds from earlier flooding in June that hit central and northern England and caused chaos in the cities of Sheffield and Hull. By Kevin Thomas
erties in the immediate vicinity of the river, with a population of approximately three million people. Intermaps proprietary IFSAR system (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) was used to collect approximately 22,000 km of Digital Elevation Models (DEM) and image data in support of the project. Subsequently, every insurer with commercial or residential property portfolios in the Thames basin made use of the risk analysis system. The traditional method of assessing a flood risk by postal code has been rendered obsolete by this new technology that actually provides an address-specific (rooftop) flood risk assessment. Fortunately, on this occasion, the South East of England, home to the low lands of the Thames Estuary, was spared the travesty of relentless rain and flood risk. In the event, home owners and insurers would likely have been better prepared than middle England. It is this preparedness that is increasingly critical in the knowledge that one hundred year events are proving to be ever more frequent and with greater environmental impact.
This unprecedented catastrophe comes in the

wake of an attack on the UK Environment Agencys flood and costal defence budget by The National Audit Office (NAO) in early June, which slammed the EAs 176m budget as too focused on reactive repairs and lower-priority defence systems. The writing was already on the wall. Seven years earlier, the autumn floods of 2000 in Britain marked the wettest autumn since records began in the 1700s; river catchments were saturated, and unable to hold water, which ran straight into the rivers. Of the 1.8 million premises at risk of flooding in the UK, about 9,000 were flooded: some on several occasions. Fortunately, then, as is not the case in 2007, there was no loss of life directly attributable to the flooding. Sub-
sequently, that year, Intermap Technologies collected, processed, and archived 230,000 square kilometres of detailed digital mapping for all of England, Scotland, and Wales. Intermaps NextMap Britain programme began with a pilot project undertaken in 1999 /2000. Willis Consulting, a flood risk consultant to the insurance industry, hired Intermap to acquire elevation data in the River Thames drainage basin for use in a new flood risk analysis system. The 340 kilometre long River Thames is unique in that its regime changes from tidal (susceptible to storm surge) to non-tidal (susceptible only to rainfall induced flooding). Flood modelling has to consider this dual regime. There are 1.4 million residential and 100,000 commercial prop-
Marsh Attack!
A good case in point lies some 50 miles south of the Capital, an area known as Romney Marsh in the Dungeness Peninsular with a costal focus between Folkestone and Cliff End on the English
Article
Channel. Here, in 2005 the local authority implemented a 100 year flood risk management and coastal defence strategy using Intermap height data. Most of the land behind this line of the British south coast is barely above sea level and some areas are well below, requiring a criss-cross of water dykes to drain the fertile farmland. It has provided an excellent wetland environment for an abundance of flora and fauna, as well as to the shingle habitats, which are arguably the most extensive in Europe. These habitats are recognised as protected, at an international level. The Marsh has never been densely populated but the extent of the low lying area results in over 15,000 homes and businesses - including two of Britains Nuclear Power Stations and the nearby Lydd Airport all being potentially within floodable areas. Further, a long history of settlement has resulted in the presence of a surprising number of medieval churches and numerous other valuable features such as the unique fresh water and shingle habitats, and tourist attractions such as
Flood Depth
the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch miniature railway. The extensive coastline and sparse development creates an environment attractive for holidaying, resulting in the many holiday parks situated around the peninsulas coast. There is also the Royal Military Canal, which stretches for 28 miles hugging the old cliff line that borders Romney Marsh from Hythe in the north east to Cliff End. The canal was built as a third line of defence against Napoleon, after the British Royal Navy patrolling the English Channel, and a line of 74 Martello Towers were also built along the south coast. Today, it is used to manage water levels across much of the Marsh, and is integral to the areas flood protection.
1.4 million residential and 100,000 commercial properties in the immediate vicinity of the river Thames, with a population of approximately three million people.
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In the recent UK government commission report Foresight Futures, the ecosystems of coastal marshes are highlighted as driven by both sealevel rise and flood-management policy. Coastal grazing marsh appears to be the most threatened coastal habitat as intertidal losses of saltmarsh and mudflat are likely to be offset by coastal realignment or abandonment of grazing marsh. The flood risk management project was run by the Halcrow Group on behalf of the UK Environment Agency, focusing on developing a flood risk management and coastal defence strategy which would take into account anticipated climate change and sea level rise. The area is currently defended from flooding by a combination of man-made coastal and fluvial defences and very effective natural defences such as the sand dunes and shingle ridges. Such a large low-lying area is potentially under threat from inundation from any part of the coast, or indeed from fluvial sources such as the River Rother, which outfalls at Rye.
Article
Halcrow used Intermaps NEXTMap Britain Digital Terrain Model (DTM) supplied through the Environment Agency to identify what would happen if a defence were to fail in a particular place to better identify the risks. Using Tuflow modelling software, it can be seen where and how far flood waters would flow in the event of a defence being overtopped or breached. Particular assets can then be identified in a particular area, such as houses, and business premises and in the case of the Dungeness Peninsular, the power stations and Lydd airport, and thereby estimate the likely damages of such a flood. This estimate can then be used in a cost benefit analysis to appraise the economic justification for providing or improving flood defences. There are many complicated socio-economic factors to be considered and there is always a delicate balance between the cost of building more elaborate defences against the potential damage caused by a flood. The flood modelling also allows us to consider the potential impacts of inundation upon the valuable natural environment of the area. The Halcrow Group used a NEXTMap DTM to calculate many different scenarios; for example flooding associated with extreme surge and storm events, both for present day and in the future including consideration of climate change. The implications of possible defence failure can also be calculated, by creating a hole in the defence line imposed onto the Digital Terrain Model. The group looked at the areas with underlying OS mapping, and existing environmental datasets, but for a strategic study of this nature, they did not need to gather more detailed data
Romney Marsh
such as ortho photos. Some LiDAR data was used to perform some QA of the NEXTMap DTM to establish that the data is suitable for use on this study. For the purposes of this project The Halcrow Group took the NEXTMap 5 meter data and gridded it up to 50 meters. This was done as the computational time involved running the Tuflow model for the full flood risk area using the denser 5m data would have been huge. Over the centuries, many smaller defences and dykes have been put in place which affect the way the water would flow in particular areas. The 5 meter data picks up many of these, but these are partially lost in gridding to 50 meters. At the back of the Dungeness peninsular for example is the Royal Military Canal, which is raised above the surrounding land. The first step was to load the DTM and then overlay the height of the existing flood defences along the coast, many of which are not
correctly represented in the DTM as their crest is narrower than 5 meters. The same was done for the banks and ditches around the Marsh areas. After this, a time series of water level data was run (to represent a tidal curve) against the edge of the defences and then run the model over different periods of time. When the height of the water exceeds the height of the defences, Tuflow calculates the volume of water that goes over that defence and uses hydraulic calculations to spread it across the DTM. The model calculates water inputs and movements for every minute of the simulated period and creates outputs every thirty minutes, so it is possible to see how the flood waters propagate as the tide ebbs and flows. These can be run as animations over time which can be very useful when illustrating the potential flooding risks to stakeholders. The review and understanding of potential flooding risks is then used to identify the potential social and environmental impacts of the various potential flood management options. The strategy then goes on to use the outputs from these appraisals to identify the preferred management approach for the next 100 years or sooner.
Official Warning
One of the most important warnings to local and central governments in the UK to develop effective flood risk management strategies came from a group of experts commissioned to look at the risks by the Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir David King, under the Government's Foresight Programme, in 2004. Their report, Future Flooding, said that unless precautions were taken, more severe floods brought about by climate change could massively increase the number of people and the amount of property at risk. Amidst all the news of communities being overwhelmed by water in June and July, one very significant announcement, from the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hilary Benn, was that the Government is setting up an independent inquiry to look at the flood events of June and July. Its report will be immensely important and may prove a milestone in terms of the British public's appreciation of the reality of climate change. It will doubtless focus on the key problem in terms of flood response - but it may also take a view of the disaster in terms of global warming, and may well come to the conclusion that we are already witnessing the future.
Kevin Thomas is Vice President, Marketing at Intermap Technologies. For more information on Intermap: www.intermap.com.
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Interview
Significant Input from Our Users
Interest Shown by Utilities Compan

Alligned Assets is a small company compared to the large solution providers in the Local Government market. Still NLPG / NSG solutions led to success. Addressing the Issues with Andy Hird, Professional Services Manager at Aligned Assets By Job van Haaften
business areas and that the Gazetteer is almost a secondary consideration. Our focus is on providing high quality open gazetteer solutions and this has led to our success and rapidly expanding user base. The other factor is that the Symphony suite was developed with significant input from our users. We have listened to the needs of more than 70 clients to develop the Symphony GMS, which is why the system is so popular.
Any problems with getting Symphony accredited to the new British Standard?
We experienced a few minor problems at the start, but nothing that set us back. In fact, the Symphony Suite of applications was the first to achieve accreditation to the new British Standard BS7666:2006. Currently, Aligned Assets is one of only two suppliers to achieve accreditation to this new standard. Also, one of our clients, Cardiff City Council, was the first authority in the UK to successfully provide updates to the NLPG in the new dtf 7.3 format. The new version of the NLPG will be in place from October 2007. This conforms to the latest addressing standard BS7666:2006. Authorities should upgrade by this date or face fines.
Is it just Local Government who are using your solutions?

Initially, interest in our solutions was almost entirely from Local Government as they had been charged with the creation of the LLPGs (Local Land & Property Gazetteers), which together form the NLPG. More recently, with changes in the MSA, we have seen significant interest from other organisations with major addressing requirements. Recent clients include Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks, British Transport Police and Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service. Interest is also being shown by the utilities companies.
Andy Hird: Our focus is on providing high quality open gazetteer solutions.
Cardiff City Council, was the first authority in the UK to successfully provide updates to the NLPG in the new dtf 7.3 format.
Aligned Assets is a relatively small organization but has emerged as a major supplier of gazetteer software, what do you think has been the reason for this success?
Youre right we are small compared to the large solution providers in the Local Government market. However, NLPG \ NSG (National Land & Property Gazetteer \ National Street Gazetteer) solutions are at the core of what we do. Weve found that our competition is focused on other
What about integration with other systems used in Local Government?

From day one we realised that the only way to utilise the benefits of a central address
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Interview
ies
gazetteer is if back office systems are integrated to the core addresses. The Symphony Gazetteer is part of a comprehensive suite of applications the Symphony Enterprise Suite. These modules combine to create the strongest solution for Gazetteer Management in the marketplace. Indeed, the iExchange module has been providing these integration opportunities for almost 5 years. Not only does the Symphony Enterprise Suite comply with the latest version of BS7666 but it also allows you to integrate it with any other database system to ensure high quality output and delivery by cross reference. This provides the complete solution to maintain and manage LLPG data and disseminate and use the data throughout an organisation.
Job van Haaften (jvanhaaften@geoinformatics.com) is editor of GeoInformatics. For more information: www.aligned-assets.co.uk.
Recent clients include Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks.
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Article
Fast Mapping Results Provide Deeper Insights
Wildfires & Remote Sensing

In the beginning of the summer this year, a large fire in the area of the Mount Parnitha National Park near Athens in Greece resulted in the loss of approximately 5,000 ha of forest area, shrublands and agricultural land. Considering the extent and the consequences of the damage caused by the large fire, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki began to collaborate with national authorities to provide all the necessary information to develop forest protection and restoration plans.
By Ioannis Gitas, Anastasia Polychronaki, Thomas Katagis, Giorgos Mallinis and Chara Minakou
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Photo: Daniel Danjeager Vendruscolo
Article
3D view of the Mount Parnitha forest fire damage. The dark area surrounded by a yellow outline represents the burned area
Object-oriented vs. Pixel-based Analysis of Images

The concept on which the Definiens technology is based is that information necessary to interpret an image is not represented in single pixels, but in meaningful image objects. Segmentation, the first step in the object-oriented approach, involves merging the pixels in the image into image groups called objects or segments. In comparison with pixels, image objects carry much more useful information, and therefore can be characterised by far more attributes, such as form, texture, neighbourhood or context, than pure spectral or spectral-derivative information. The advantages of object-oriented analysis are meaningful statistic and texture calculation, an increased uncorrelated feature space using shape (e.g. length, number of edges, etc.) and topological features (neighbour, super-object, etc), and close relation between real-world objects and image objects. This relation improves the value of the final classification and cannot be fulfilled by common, pixel-based approaches. The use of traditional classification techniques have been often reported to create confusion that can affect the accuracy of mapping, the most troublesome of which can be summarized as follows: - spectral overlapping between slightly burned areas and other non-vegetated categories, especially water bodies, urban areas and bare soil; - spectral overlapping between burned areas and shaded unburned areas; - spectral overlapping between burned areas and unburned forest.
hen a forested area is damaged by fire, detailed and current information concerning the location and extent of the burned areas is required by forest managers to assess economic losses and ecological impacts, and to monitor land use and land cover changes. Detailed mapping is also important for modelling the atmospheric and climatic impacts of biomass burning. Moreover, accurate assessment assists in evaluating the effectiveness of measures taken to rehabilitate the fire-damaged area, and in allowing forest managers to identify and target areas for intensive or special restoration, thus avoiding long-term site degradation. In order to estimate the ecological impact of fires on Mediterranean ecosystems, reliable monitoring and effective analysis techniques need to be implemented.
of Southern Greeces flora and fauna. Parnithas proximity to the urban sprawl of Athens, coupled with its great aesthetic and ecological value, accentuate its importance in the area. To accurately map the burned areas of Mt Parnitha, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki chose an object-based classification approach and an Ikonos high resolution image that was captured nine days after the fire. The estimation of the ecological impact on the environment was made using an inhouse developed software called Burned Area Statistics (BAS).
Use of technology
Satellite data have been used extensively for many years for the detection and mapping of fire-affected areas. Image analysis techniques such as object-based classification have been developed in the recent past. For instance, the Definiens Enterprise Image Analysis Suite utilizes object-based classification to identify burned areas and helps to automate processes and incorporate expert knowledge to deliver consistent and accurate results. A further benefit of automating the process is that once a model for the evaluation has been created, it can be distributed to and used by end-users, such as agencies, with only slight calibrations necessary to achieve comparable, consistent results.
Mapping the Large Fire of Parnitha

The area constitutes the nucleus of the Parnitha National Park and is a wooded area, noted primarily for its spreads of the endemic Cephallonia fir (Abies cephalonica) on relatively poor and dry soil, its temperate coniferous-tree forests (chiefly consisting of Pinus halepensis), maquis, mountainous grasslands, rocky hills, springs and streams. The Parnitha National Park commands particular ecological interest, and constitutes a reserve for the protection and preservation
The Process
Following the pre-processing of the data with Erdas Imagine, various levels of segmentation were formed in order to extract information on different scales of the image.
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duced to analyse the burned areas with other authorities, for instance in the Peloponnese. Forest managers typically use this information to: - assess economic losses and ecological impacts; - monitor land use and land cover changes including development of illegal settlements; - model the atmospheric and climatic impacts of biomass burning; - evaluate the effectiveness of measures taken to rehabilitate the fire-damaged area; - identify and target areas for intensive or special restoration.
Ikonos satellite image of the burned area with the burned area highlighted in red
A generalized perimeter of the burned area was delineated using a large scale during the segmentation procedure. This showed the overall area affected by the fires. To identify the actual burned surface, a second segmentation level was added which allowed the exclusion of islands of unburned forest within the generalized perimeter. The generated object levels where then classified using a rule based approach combining spectral as well as texture and relational object attributes. All segmentation and analysis steps were formulated in a Definiens rule sets. The latter sets up a standard sequence of processes which can be applied repeatedly to large volumes
of data varying over time or space. The rule set used to generate the maps of Mt. Parnitha was developed within two days by the university.The Definiens software as well as the image interpretation knowledge and the experience gained from previous work using the same kind of image data (Ikonos) accelerated this process. Altogether, the maps and statistics were produced within only three days. They were provided to the local forest fire service for use in post-fire management. The university is providing their support to the people effected by the multiple fires in Greece as a costfree service and is sharing the models pro-
The results are utilized by the local forest service to declare the burned areas under special protection regime and to develop the restoration plans. The national forest service uses the results to produce annual fire statistics. Local authorities can make better decisions, for example for improved pre-fire planning by assessing the effectiveness of fire suppression by the fire brigade.
Future outlook
Looking ahead, the operational use of satellite imagery in forest management will include the calculation of fire risks and the creation of hot spot mapping in order to predict where existing fires may spread. For example, the International Charter Space and Major
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Disasters monitors fires, providing rapid assessment and thereby helping to mitigate the effects of disasters on human life and property. The next steps will be to generate a standard library of Definiens rule sets which will then be distributed to the local authorities. Wrapped into an easy to use graphical user interface (GUI), these rule sets will be applied by local experts to generate maps addressing all aspects of forest fires even faster. This will enable the image analysis experts to transfer needed know-how to local agencies so that they can create maps on demand. On a global scale, the ultimate goal is to provide decision makers with information services
that help reduce wildfires. Not only do the fires destroy vegetation, life and habitat, they also contribute to atmospheric CO2 concentration, intensifying the effects of global warming. The estimated total burned biomass in Europe by the end of August was 7.3 million tons leading to the emission of more than 12.3 million tons of CO2. Image analysis solutions extract relevant information from increasingly high quality imagery provided by airborne and spaceborne systems and support end-to-end intelligence processes, maximizing the combined value of multi-source intelligence. Today, highly-automated standardized mapping provides accurate and up-to-date geospatial information which assists environmental efforts in populated as well as remote areas worldwide.
Fires this summer in Italy, Greece and Balkan. Credits: ESA
Dr. Ioannis Gitas (igitas@for.auth.gr), Anastasia Polychronaki, Thomas Katagis, Giorgos Mallinis, Chara Minakou.at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. More information on the Parnitha National Park can be found at www.gnto.gr/pages.php?pageID=323&langID=2. Result images courtesy of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Ikonos satellite data provided by Geoinformation S.A. Ikonos satellite image of the burned area
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Event
Report on the Latest GIS Trends at Intergeo 2007
Intergeo 2007 Conference and Trade
Intergeo 2007, once again the top industry gathering, took place in Saxony in one of the oldest and most famous fair sites, the Leipzig Fair Leipziger Messe. There is no doubt that the Leipzig Fairs famous Glass House an extraordinary steel and glass architectural masterpiece was a significant attraction at Intergeo 2007. This event, which integrates international conference with trade fair, had more than 16,500 visitors and delegates from over 50 countries. Leipzigs Intergeo 2007 was the largest assembly of the various industry sectors this year. By zgr Ertac
The Glass House in the Leipzig Fair Leipziger Messe. Copyright HINTE GmbH.
n important fact is that the event set a world record with 240 trade fair innovations. And Intergeo again clearly represents the interdisciplinary approach by incorporating the industrys three primary pillars: geodesy, geoinformation and land management.
were not able to attend or who missed some parts of the fair. The Intergeo Exhibition Hall was the centre not only of knowledge and technology but also of entertainment. For instance, you could enjoy the thrill of a racing simulation, or be amazed by the laser show at the Topcon booth, or try to identify the cup with the coin under it at the Trimble booth where magicians and poker-players plied their trade. No matter that we are serious business people: we handed over our business cards for a shot at the wheel of fortune to win an iPod or to play for toys at some of the booths. My personal wish was to win a 3DConnexion SpaceNavigator, a 3D computer mouse which can be called a toy for GIS specialists. And the Intergeo tradition of party time was on show in the booths on Wednesday night. Were still talking about the fantastic band, GeoKosmos, (supported by Datum) and the delicious food at the ESRI booth. An attractive spot out in Hall 3 was the Fokus Forum, a platform for bringing together industry specialists and exhibition visitors. It was a great opportunity for following enhancements
in both industry and academia. During the moderated presentations the audience could ask questions about developments in the market. And it was not just for German speaking visitors. Again this year Intergeo proved itself to be an international event by giving the afternoon Fokus Forum sessions in English.
Unique Meeting Point

Results of the official visitors survey show one third of visitors attending for the first time, and in answer to the question of how they heard about the congress trade fair, virtually half of the trade visitors said it was known throughout the industry, a reflection of Intergeos fame. In this sense another key indicator, and probably the key indicator, was the exhibitors satisfaction rate. Both the survey and the stand bookings for next year show that they were quite happy with the high profile of visitors, with 85.7% of companies saying they had achieved their aims in showcasing themselves at Intergeo. This event deserves to be called the Mecca for an entire sector. In this article I will discuss the latest trends and share my general observations. I hope this will give a good idea of industry developments to those who
55th German Cartographers Day

The 55th German Cartographers Day was organized by the German Society for Cartography (DGfK) as part of Intergeo. This was the third time this specialist field has been represented independently and comprehensively at the Congress. In this context Dr. Abschenberner, DGfK President, emphasized the importance of cartography when he said people only really can understand the benefits of geodata properly if the data are represented in their geo-spatial context and geographic complexity. This is what cartography does with its wide range of methods. Modern-day cartography above all means operating and communicating with digital maps, either on screen or on mobile displays. Two trends regarding cartography could be observed: first, the integration of carto-
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Event
Fair in Leipzig
graphic presentation tools and functions into GIS software, illustrated by a project of the Swiss national mapping agency, Swisstopo; second, automatic map generation is reaching maturity. and multi-dimensional hydraulic visualization. The primary capabilities of the software involved 2D or 3D hydrodynamic modeling and visualization, groundwater simulations, model development, calibration, automated basin delineation, and overlay computations by rainfall depth, precipitation, roughness coefficients, run-off, etc. minds since applications and know-how kept cropping up in the exhibition area. On the other hand, the most important concern of SDIfocused specialists this year is impact assessment. With new projects, applications and implementations arising every day, the impact on industry and on daily life is very important. The questions are: how successful have they the SDI implementations been? What will be the impact of the European INSPIRE directive, and what will the implementing rules for INSPIRE that are currently being developed look like? Increasing competition among public agencies everybody wants to be the owner and the only authority. Efficiency and effectiveness issues pending feedback from the user perspective. Interoperability and the enhancements in GI-industry such as Geobrowsers, Geotagging, Mash-ups, GeoCommons, crowd sourcing, social networks and Geo-Gaming (second-life, myspaceetc). We are looking forward to seeing answers.
Disaster management and risk assessment

It would not be wrong to state that FloodServer online at www.floodrisk.eu was one of the most striking projects in the area of disaster management at Intergeo this year. Geoinformation service providers Infoterra and Geomer present detailed flood information for the whole of Europe. Users can call up maps and information on past floods as well as examine the effects of future flooding in areas along the Rhine, Elbe and Unterweser. The key issue in such projects, as Mr. Tinz, project leader at Infoterra, stated, is that although FloodServer cannot prevent the threat of floods, it provides critical assistance for minimizing the impact of floods in future Closely related to flood-based disaster management systems, a number of companies were interested in hydraulic and hydrologic modeling. At Intergeo 2007, water resources and related visualization techniques seemed to have improved. The main areas of interest were software development and consulting services using several modeling technologies such as groundwater modeling, surface water modeling
3D Terrain and City Models

A noticeable trend at the trade fair was 3D, in terms of both 3D terrain models and 3D city models. A number of booths concentrated on airborne laser scanning and the processing of LIDAR data. The number of 3D city models available has grown rapidly, with City GML becoming the transfer format that allows applications to go beyond visual representation.
National Geo-data and European Spatial Data Infrastructures

The geo-data infrastructures (GDI) have been developed as a network for spatial data discovery and access which makes the spatial data readily accessible and shareable. As a natural result of this rapidly growing segment of the geo-information market, complete GDI&SDIready packages are increasing again this year. Those who were at Intergeo last year remember the ambitions for GDI technology and the future of data accessibility. This year it seems GDI and SDI are becoming clearer in peoples
Internet GIS and Geo-Web Services

As is commonly believed, and I agree, serverbased GIS is used in most major cities around the world. Key priorities are that it be reliable and recoverable, interoperable and scalable, highly secure and deployable to the non-GIS specialist. Intergeo was the place to see stateof-the-art technology and solutions in the field of web-based GIS. Industry focus was not only on big-scale enterprise solutions but also small workgroup solutions to reduce the overall costs. Experience shows that in any case a wellplanned solution always turns a profit in a webbased GIS infrastructure. Interoperability between GI systems from different vendors is still an issue. Accordingly, for customers mainly from the public sector the support of OGC interfaces like WMS and WFS is a crucial factor. The service-oriented architecture (SOA) paradigm coming from general IT has been adopted by the leading GIS software vendors but customer projects using this technology, for example for coupling GI and ERP systems, are still to come.
The Second Open Source Park

The Open Source Park, established in Munich last year, took place again this year, and again, the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) established and designed the overall
The Open Source Park at Intergeo.
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Exhibition Hall at Intergeo 2007 in Leipzig. Copyright HINTE GmbH.
concept. The Park was split into three sections. In the first section, service providers offered solutions with open software. In this section some open source implementers were ready to share solutions, namely 52North, Autodesk, Camptocamp, Geolock etc. The second section provided the opportunity for personal contact among the developers and visitors. The third section was the presentation area where users, manufacturers and service providers showcased their projects. In all three sections plenty of projects were on hand: Desktop GIS: GRASS, gvSIG, QGIS; WepMapping: Mapbender, MapServer, GeoServer; geo libraries: GDAL/OGR, GeoTools; metadata catalogue: GeoNetwork open source; database: PostGIS; organizations: OSGeo, GAV, Humboldt Project. In this context interoperability was an important topic indeed. Almost all key GIS vendors such as ESRI, Intergraph, Bentley and Autodesk, as members of the Open Geospatial Consortium, offered GIS products with appropriate open application programming interfaces. They also supported key data interchange formats and Web services standards to ensure relevant GIS and IT interoperability between systems over wired and/or wireless networks.
establish remarkable connections among universities and other industry stakeholders. In this regard more than 30 national and international academic institutions were represented in the exhibition hall this year. Probably the most impressive improvement in universities was that GIS has become more of a major subject while before it was primarily a minor area of study in various faculties. My personal observation on the conditions in GIS labs in universities is that GIS facilities are about to become more modern and better equipped with the help of generous GIS and IT vendors. And the content of GIS-related courses is more professional and is better designed by the faculty. For your records, the GIS Youngsters a Runder Tisch GIS initiative were also there with the young student and researcher team at Intergeo to catch the trends in industry. The annual Intergeo trend analysis is about to be published, again by Runder Tisch GIS (www.rundertischgis.de).
the specialists and developers busy. And each area of interest comes up with another approach to understanding. In this regard, what visitors commonly noticed at Intergeo this year was that Earth Viewers are to become more geospatially oriented through the increasing involvement of geo-processing tools (GoogleEarth is not an exception anymore); GDI and SDI technologies are more than ever becoming part of our daily lives; location-based services are going further by adding 3D enhancements; 3D representation of the built environment is increasingly becoming part of GIS applicationsand the rest youve reviewed through this article. Im looking forward to seeing the impact of this outstanding event in industry this year. And now its time to start the countdown for Intergeo 2008 in Bremen.
zgr Ertac (oezguer.ertac@bv.tu-muenchen.de) is a Research Assistant at the Technical University of Mnchen, Germany. For additional information on Intergeo please visit www.intergeo.de and Runder Tisch GIS e.V web site: www.rundertischgis.de.
Valuable Reflection
Intergeo has always been a valuable reflection of the industry. The success and the record numbers of exhibitors and visitors at the event support Hagen Graeffs comment: Growth should be in average between five and ten percent. He anticipates a positive future for the geo-industry by assessing the commercial sales volume within one year. It means that day by day we are facing new challenges. Its clear that new issues keep
Universities and educational institutions

Intergeo is not only a platform for bringing GIS professionals together but also an event to
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Article
Data Lending Service
A Novel Solution of the Finnish NSDI

The INSPIRE directive puts forward a variety of GI infrastructure services at the national level. Most countries are currently at the planning phase of their own metadata and viewing services. Issues related to describing spatial data quality, defining data prices and enhancing the discovery of data sets are topical from country to country. In Finland, the challenges have been solved in part through a concept of spatial data lending. By Tuuli Toivonen and Risto Kalliola
enough to deliver their data for distribution via the Paikkatietolainaamo facility. Data producers may also get information on the amount of interest in their products, as each download and renewal is registered together with respective user information. Data vendors have access to the download statistics of their own data sets and they may monitor the level of use.
Hand in Hand
One of Paikkatietolainaamos basic aims is to make technical metadata descriptions more understandable. This aim is achieved by making it possible to view the data sets and their attributes in an interactive map service. Data sets on a certain theme may be easily overlaid and compared in the map view. This allows comparisons between different scales or between data produced by different data providers. As well, the compatibility of data sets may be visually evaluated in the map service by simple comparisons between data layers. The user can, for example, open building data and water coverage by different vendors and quickly evaluate how many buildings along the shoreline fall into the water due to the level of generalization or inaccuracies in spatial referencing. The download option allows users to make even more profound analyses of the data sets. Users are able to download either the full data set or at least sample data from a given area to their own GIS workstation. Data sets are available in their native formats defined by data vendors. The value of extending metadata descriptions from tabular information to interactive map services and sample data sets is clear. Paikkatietolainaamo usage statistics show that the forms-based metadata search is used by only 25% of the users, while 52% utilize the map service to access the metadata descriptions and to evaluate and inspect the data sets. These inspections together fulfil the needs of most users. Download statistics show that the number of actual data downloads is much smaller and seems to be limited to individual data sets that have already been determined to be useful with other tools. No opportunistic over-loading has been discovered.
Data selection and follow-up tools built into the spatial data lending service Paikkatietolainaamo.
The
spatial data lending service called Paikkatietolainaamo in the Finnish language has been operational since 2003. The basic idea is to improve access to geographical information among scientists, teachers and product developers. It also aims to enhance the use of spatial data in society and bring metadata alive during the process of data selection or pre-evaluation. The service constitutes part of the Finnish NSDI in National Geographic Information Strategy 2005-2010 (National Council for Geographic Information 2004).
Implementation
Paikkatietolainaamo is a non-profit internet service that delivers GI data sets from nearly 20 national government data producers and private vendors. The service operates as a joint
venture of the departments of geography at the universities of Turku and Helsinki. The Paikkatietolainaamo secretariat is responsible for making contracts with all data providers and data users. The service interface contains an openly-available viewing and metadata service with a download option for registered users. Available data sets provide either full coverage of the country or a sample piece from predefined test areas. Usage conditions for data sets are relatively flexible: data sets are available for research, education, product development and evaluation. They may be used for a limited period of time; after one year users are requested to delete the files or renew them. Failure to do this would lead to closure of usage rights. With this arrangement, data vendors are confident
Attracting Users
During the last four years, use of Paikkatietolainaamo has grown steadily and the
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ucts via the service. As well, the international company Experian has shared pieces of its MOSAIC data set with users. For a private company, motivation for participation comes from the opportunity to promote products for new user groups. The facilitys advanced data transfer log allows data producers to identify each download of their data, which helps them get an idea of who is interested in their products. This option may contribute to further product development and help them establish new collaboration networks. As the data sets are used extensively in teaching at universities and polytechnics, new student generations become familiar with the data sets and their providers.
The operation of the lending service is based on agreements between the data providers, the secretariat and the data users. Technical mechanisms have been developed to allow both users and data providers to see the lending status of different data sets.
Clear Benefits
The concept and implementation of the Paikkatietolainaamo download facility is rooted in national collaboration and support from the EUs Life Environment funds. The impetus for its further development is the fact that data lending is one step towards a freer data-sharing culture. Research and education are also clear beneficiaries of the improved variety and quality of data sets available in the society. While the INSPIRE directive talks mostly about users in the administration, lending is free for everyone. This fact increases the number of potential data users, which may also lead to a variety of consumer-oriented applications using spatial data, thus enhancing the role of GI in modern societies. Therefore, the lending concept may also be worth implementing in future download services that will be established along the lines of the INSPIRE directive.
Tuuli Toivonen (tuuli.k.toivonen@helsinki.fi) is a university lecturer and currently acting professor of geoinformatics at the department of geography of the University of Helsinki, Finland. She has been in charge of the establishment of the Spatial Data Lending Facility as a novel data download service. Risto Kalliola (risto.kalliola@utu.fi) is a professor in the department of geography of the University of Turku. He is director of the Spatial Data Lending Facility and contributed to its strategic planning. (www.paikkatietolainaamo.fi)
service is currently attracting some 500 different user IPs monthly. Thus far, 850 professional GI users have registered with the service and the number of data downloads exceeds 5,500. This can be considered substantial in a country with 5.2 million inhabitants and thus a limited number of GI professionals with data needs. Most users (55%) come from educational and research sectors. Use of the service has clearly broadened the awareness and use of different data sets. Furthermore, training and education can now be based on high quality, real-life data sets instead of street maps of some American city. Professionals from the private sector form another, yet smaller (21%) user group. They represent more than 130 private companies and NGOs from various branches of the economy.
These users benefit from the openness of the service and its data delivery policy. Software developers may select the best basis for product development without worrying about data costs in the early phases. The results of this situation appear in the form of new innovative GIbased services and even increased markets for GI data sets.
Even Commercial Data

Currently, 19 national and regional data producers have placed their data for downloading via Paikkatietolainaamo and the total number of available data sets in the service is around 300. These include a good representation of all core spatial data sets mentioned in the INSPIRE directive proposal or in the Finnish National GI Strategy. In addition to public data producers, private companies have seen the potential in giving their demo data for downloading. The largest private GI producer in Finland, Affecto Oy, presents a full selection of its data prod-
The registered users come from different sectors of society. In all, 55% of the 850 users come from educational and research sectors, whereas private enterprises and NGOs represent some 21% of the users. Photo: Hanna Pohjonen.
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esa - 2004 - P. Carril
Article
Satellites All over the Place
GNSS update
In the last few months progress has been made in the development of satellites for all major GNSS. Planning, however, is still the major problem. With Galileo, the problems are still financial; with GPS and Glonass the problem lies with the built quality of the satellites. With GPS the satellites last too long, whereas with Glonass they dont last long enough. By: Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk Galileo
Funding After some discussion the EC (European Commission) has decided that the remaining 2.4 billion euros for Galileo has to come from public funds. There is an agreement for 300 million euros to come out of the EU research budget. For the remaining amount the EC wants to use unspent farm subsidies. The member states are divided over this, although all have stated in a joint resolution that development of Galileo should continue. Giove-A The test campaign using the first test satellite, Giove-A, has been completed. Analyses of the transmitted signals have resulted in adjustments to the spacecrafts signal generation unit. As a result Giove-A will transmit optimized signals until its expected end of service life in March 2008. Giove-B Giove-B, the second test satellite, was shipped to Noordwijk for extensive testing in early September 2007. After completion of the tests it will be transported to Baikonur, Kazakhstan for launch on a Soyuz-Fregat rocket. The launch was scheduled for the end of 2007 but has been postponed to March 2008 due to problems with the rocket. If it is not launched before Giove-A shuts down, Galileo runs the risk of losing its claim on the Galileo
signal frequencies with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
Operational satellites In 2009, the first two satellites of the operational Galileo constellation should be launched, followed in 2010 by the next two operational satellites. They will be used for inorbit verification of the Galileo system before being joined by the 26 additional spacecraft required for full operations by the end of 2013.
GPS-Galileo Common Civil Signal Europe and the USA have reached an agreement to use an interoperable signal on the L1C (GPS) and L1F (Galileo) frequency band. The signal will use the MBOC modulation technique. Introduction for GPS is expected to be on the GPS III blocks of satellites, while Galileo will employ the signal in the Galileo Open Service on all operational satellites.
Extension of the WAAS network to Mexico and Canada (source: www.nstb.tc.faa.gov)
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GPS
IIF almost ready The first of 12 GPS Block IIF satellites, which will offer an extended design life of 12 years and a new civil signal on the L5 frequency (1176.45MHz), is expected to be launched sometime in 2008. The L1-L2-L5 signal combination enables high accuracy tri-lane phase navigation. IIR-M test bed The first of the Block II-R satellites, built by Lockheed Martin, has surpassed its design life of 10 years. Of the 21 Block II-R satellites built, the final 8 were designated as Block IIR-M. There are currently three IIR-M spacecraft onorbit with the fourth scheduled for launch in late 2007. The remaining four IIR-M satellites are available for launch to replace broken-down satellites in the current constellation. The IIR-M satellite to be launched is currently being reconfigured to transmit the L5 signal, the signal that will be included in the Block IIF satellites. It is possible that this test bed will be launched for signal testing or that the USA will want to claim the L5 frequency with the ITU as Galileo did with its frequencies using GioveA. If the latter is the case then the launch of Block IIF may be delayed. Selective Availability The next generation of GPS satellites, GPS III, will no longer have SA (Selective Availability). In May 2000 the use of SA was stopped on the current satellites although the option to switch it on is still available. By eliminating this possibility in the next generation of satellites, the US has removed one uncertainty over GPS performance that has been a major concern to all civil GPS users.
Block IIIA The launch of the first of eight IIIA satellites is to take place in 2013. In total a further eight GPS IIIB and sixteen GPS IIIC satellites are planned. One of the reasons for the delay of the Block III satellites is that all current satellites are lasting significantly longer than expected. Another reason may be the slowdown of the Galileo program, creating less political pressure on the development of GPS III. GPS III will have the capability of transmitting M-code, the enhanced military code.
IRNSS India plans to build its own GNSS called IRNSS (Indian Region Navigation Satellite System) using a constellation of three geostationary and four geosynchronous satellites at a cost of 290 million euros. The first launch should take place around 2010 with a complete constellation being available in 2012. The satellites are expected to be launched by home-built PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle).
EGNOS
Pseudolites In June a test with pseudolites (earthbound satellite-like navigation transmitters) was performed in Finlands Helsinki Harbor. Regular coverage for both GPS and Egnos is poor in northern latitudes. With the use of pseudolites, the navigation solution reportedly had a precision compatible to that of GPS and Egnos. Helicopter Trials Trials using Egnos for helicopter landings in Lausanne, Switzerland have been successful. Using a steeper descent than usual, helicopters made various Egnos-assisted landings. The use of vertical guidance allows the pilot to remain longer at a higher altitude, thus circumventing adverse weather conditions. Africa ESA has signed an agreement with the African and Madagascan air authorities for the use of Egnos over the African continent. The extension of Egnos to Africa involves the installation of reference stations on African soil. Egnos transmissions already cover both Africa and Europe.
GLONASS
Satellites and funding Glonass has been allocated a total of 134 million euros for 2006 and 280 million euros for 2007. The system is scheduled to become operational in 2008. However, the system continues to be plagued by failing satellites. In early October only nine satellites were operational, with an additional one to become operational later this year and three temporarily switched off. Change of geodetic system Glonass has made the change to ITRS (International Terrestrial Reference System). Earlier the system used a geodetic system designed for the former USSR. This new version of the PZ-90 reference system is interoperable with the WGS84 system used by GPS and the ETRS89 system to be used by Galileo. Beidou China has reportedly started using Beidou for monitoring the transportation of dangerous chemicals. The system, in contrast to other GNSS, transmits data from the ground back to a control station via a satellite link. Current planning shows that the system, known as CNSS (Compass Navigation Satellite System) or "Beidou", its Chinese name, will provide navigation and positioning services before 2010. Four satellites have been launched so far, of which three are geostationary and one has a medium earth orbit.
WAAS
Mexico and Canada The WAAS network has been extended to Canada and Mexico with the integration of nine new reference stations into the network. The expansion also benefits US users with more accurate corrections around the former fringes of the WAAS coverage. Satellites WAAS has stopped using the AOR-W (PRN 122) and POR (PRN 134) satellite as of July 2007. In the same month the Telesat geostationary satellite (PRN 138) became active, giving better coverage over the US and northeastern Canada.
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk (hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.com) is project manager at IDsW and editor-in-chief of GeoInformatics. This article represents his own opinions.
Pseudolite station in Helsinki Harbor (source: www.esa.int)
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Article
A Report on the Bulgaria 2007 Conference
From Imagery to Map: Digital Photo

[a]
[b]
The 7th International Scientific & Technical Conference with the title "From Imagery to Map: Digital Photogrammetric Technologies" was held in Nessebar, Bulgaria between 17th and 20th September 2007. The Conference was organised jointly by the Racurs and GIS-Sofia companies from Russia and Bulgaria respectively. The previous six conferences in the series had been held as International PHOTOMOD Users Conferences - PHOTOMOD being the principal software product from the Racurs company. The change in the Conference title reflected the desire of the organisers to widen the scope of the meeting with speakers and participants from Western Europe and from Racurs' partners in Russia and elsewhere. By Gordon Petrie Conference Facilities & Programme
The Conference was held in the Nessebar Bay Hotel - one of three large IFA hotels linked together and located on a single site on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast just south of the town of Nessebar. The facilities were excellent, both in terms of the hotel accommodation and food and the actual Conference venue - which was the hotel's Neptune Hall [Fig. 1]. The Conference was well organised, had good audio and projection facilities and featured a really excellent Russian/English translation service. Furthermore a booklet containing the abstracts and summaries of almost all the presentations was issued to all the participants on their arrival at the Conference registration desk. There were 110 participants, 60 of whom were from Russia and Belarus - who all arrived together as a group on a charFig. 1 - (a) - The Conference participants assembled on the staircase to the Hotel pool and garden. (b) - The audience listening to a presentation in the Neptune Hall. (Source: Racurs)
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grammetric Technologies
ter flight from Moscow. The lecture programme was divided into three roughly equal parts. The first day was devoted to airborne imaging and mapping; the second day to spaceborne imaging and mapping; and the third day to recent developments in Racurs' software products. On the fourth day, most of the Conference participants went on a sightseeing tour along the coast northwards to the city of Varna. Besides which, a comprehensive series of dinners and social events took place in the evenings.
[a] [c]
I - Airborne Imaging & Mapping

After the formal opening speeches of welcome from the Conference organisers and sponsors [Fig. 2] and from Mr. T. Boev, Head of the Bulgarian Cadastral Agency, the first lecture was delivered by Prof. Katzarsky from Sofia, who is an honorary member of ISPRS. He first outlined briefly the development of photogrammetry in Bulgaria and then covered the mapping and cadastral activities of the municipally-owned GIS-Sofia company for which he acts as a consultant. The PHOTOMOD software is used by GIS-Sofia to process airborne, spaceborne and terrestrial imagery for its mapping applications [Fig. 3]. The next speaker on the programme was Prof. Konecny from the University of Hannover and a former president of ISPRS [Fig. 4]. He was in his usual excellent form, discussing all the various current issues of digital mapping, and providing some very interesting data on the pricing and relative costs of orthophoto production and line mapping. He also highlighted the increasing tendency for photogrammetric mapping operations to be oriented towards the generation of data that has been
Fig. 2 - The Conference organisers - (a) Dr. Adrov, managing director of Racurs; and (b) Prof. Katzarsky of GIS-Sofia - together with (c) Dr. Gershenzon, managing director of the ScanEx company - which acted as sponsor of the Conference. (Source: Racurs)
[b]
structured specifically for inclusion in GIS databases instead of the CAD (MicroStation and AutoCAD) data that has been produced in the past. He was followed by G. Goldberg from the Metrum company who gave an account of the development of digital photogrammetry and the automated processes that it allows - as seen from his own personal perspective within Latvia.
Airborne Digital Imaging

The second part of the airborne section commenced with present writer (G. Petrie) giving an overview of airborne digital data capture systems, including both frame and line imaging technologies together with radar and
laser scanning systems. The growth in multiple lens frame camera systems having many different geometric configurations is a noticeable trend at the moment. After this, came a series of presentations devoted to the Leica ADS40 pushbroom line scanner - apparently designed to provide a balance to the various presentations on the processing of Vexcel UltraCam digital frame camera data using PHOTOMOD that had been given in the previous (6th) conference held in Montenegro last year (2006). This
[a]
Fig. 3 - (a) - A photogrammetrist operates a digital photogrammetric workstation (DPW) carrying out orthophoto production in the GIS-Sofia office using the PHOTOMOD software. (b) - The resulting digital orthophoto of a part of Sofia. (Source: GIS-Sofia)
[b]
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borne imagers being used for mapping purposes in Russia. They included a paper given by Prof. Bykov of the West Siberian branch of Goszemcadastrsyomka (VISHKHAGI) on the field calibration of a Leica RC30 metric film camera (and a Hasselblad digital camera) using a test field Fig. 4 - Two of the invited speakers - Professors Konecny (left) and Petrie (right) established near the city together with Mr. Bouroumand (centre), managing director of the Nama Pardaz of Omsk. This was folRayaneh (NPR) company, which acts as the distributor of PHOTOMOD software in lowed by (i) a detailed Iran (Source: Racurs) paper by V. Petrova and Prof. Katzarsky of GISseries of presentations started with one by V. Sofia on the accuracies of aerial triangulation Zaitev from Leica Geosystem's Moscow office achieved using PHOTOMOD with a block of phowho reviewed the company's latest airborne tographs acquired over a test field using a Z/I products. Besides the second-generation ADS40 Imaging RMK 30/23 film camera; and (ii) an scanner, these included the new Leica RCD105 amusing account of the trials, tribulations and medium-format digital frame camera and the success encountered in setting up a new phoALS-CM Corridor Mapper (an airborne laser togrammetric production office in the city of Tula scanner) [Fig. 5]. It also contained the interestthat was given with great enthusiasm by L. ing news that his company has now supplied Afanasieva of the Meridian company. five ALS50 airborne laser scanners to various Russian companies. He was followed by Dr. Finally, within this section, there was a presenTitarov from Racurs who outlined in a very clear tation by Prof. A. Guk, head of the manner the overall approach and the detailed Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing Dept. of procedures used to process ADS40 line scanthe Siberian State Academy of Geodesy (SSGA) ner data within PHOTOMOD after the prelimibased in Novosibirsk. He outlined the changes nary processing had been carried out using to education within his institute arising from Leica's GPro and ORIMA software. This presenthe adoption of a two-tier Bachelor/Master's tation was reinforced by another contribution degree structure that is now being implementby Dr. Sinkova of the research division of the ed in Russian universities. Prof. Guk was someGoszemcadastrsyomka (VISHKHAGI) cadastral what sceptical about the value of these organisation which operates two ADS40 scanchanges. ners. She dealt with the processing of ADS40 image data for the production of orthophotomaps for an area near [b] Moscow from imagery flown at altitudes of 1,500 m and 2,500 m respectively.
II - Spaceborne Imaging & Mapping

This part of the programme held on the second day comprised a number of overview presentations followed by several application papers.
Sovzond
The first of the overview presentations - given by M. Bolsunovsky of Sovzond - provided a systematic review (i) of the non-military remote sensing satellites that are currently in operation world-wide; and (ii) of the coverage of Russia that is available from these satellites. The Sovzond company acts as a distributor of spaceborne imagery of all types. What was of particular interest to western participants was the news it gave about the current status of Russian remote sensing satellites. The MonitorE satellite that was launched in August 2005 has provided pan and three-band multi-spectral images with 8 m and 20 m GSD (Ground Sampled Distance) values respectively. However apparently the satellite is not working too well at the moment and only a limited amount of Monitor-E imagery is available. The RESURS-DK satellite was launched in June 2006 and is delivering high-resolution pan images with 1 m GSD and three-band multi-spectral images with 3 m GSD.
ScanEx
The interesting introductory paper by M. Bolsunovsky was supplemented by another overview of Geo-Portals. This was presented by Dr. Gershenzon, managing director of the ScanEx company - which was acting as the sponsor of the Conference. Again this presentation was of very considerable interest. The ScanEx company is well known both as a supplier of its large UniScan ground receiving stations and of a large number of smaller and less powerful stations. Indeed it has supplied a comprehensive network of these stations to national agencies and regional authorities right across Russia [Fig. 6]. Besides which, ScanEx operates three powerful stations on its own account, located in Moscow, Irkutsk (Baikal) and Magadan (in the Far East). The resulting image data - especially that received from the French SPOT and Indian IRS satellites - has allowed a number of portals to be established to help disseminate the space imagery of Russia to a wider audience. These include the portals set up by Yandex (www.yandex.ru/) and ScanEx
Aerial Film Photography

After which, the remaining presentations in this section were concerned with more traditional methods using photos acquired by metric film cameras - which still constitute the vast majority of air[a]
Fig. 5 - (a) - The new Leica ALS Corridor Mapper (CM) airborne laser scanner complete with its control electronics cabinet and its aircraft-certified LCD displays used for flight management and system control purposes. (b) - The new Leica RCD105 medium-format airborne digital frame camera that produces 39 Megapixel colour images. The camera is designed to be used in conjunction with the company's ALS scanners, but it can also be used as a stand-alone imager. (Source: Leica Geosystems)
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(http://catalog.scanex.com/ and http://eostation.scanex.ru/). Besides which, ScanEx appears to be the main inspiration and driving force behind the establishment of other Web sites such as Transparent World (www.transparentworld.ru/en/) and Kosmosnimki http://new.kosmosnimki.ru/eng/) that are oriented towards the supply of low-cost space imagery over the Internet for environmental monitoring and education purposes respectively.
[a]
DMCii
Yet another overview paper in the same general area of spaceborne remote sensing was given by O. Hawkins of the DMC International Imaging (DMCii) company from the U.K. [Fig. 7]. In many ways, it provided an update to the article on the DMC (Disaster Monitoring Constellation) that was published in the March/April (3/2007) issue of GeoInformatics. The new UK-DMC-2 and Spanish Deimos-1 micro-satellites - which are scheduled to be launched and join the existing constellation in 2008 - will provide very wideswath (660 km) multi-spectral imagery with a GSD of 22 m. Furthermore, when it is launched and joins the DMC constellation in 2009, the new larger and heavier NigeriaSat-2 mini-satellite will combine a high-resolution imager producing 2.5 m GSD pan and 5 m GSD multi-spectral images over a 20 km swath with a medium-resolution imager generating 32 m GSD multi-spectral images over a 300 km swath. Besides which, the DMCii company is now able to supply pan and three-band multispectral imagery with 2.8m and 5.6 m GSD respectively that has been acquired by the TopSat micro-satellite which was built for the UK Ministry of Defence and the British National Space Centre (BNSC) and launched in October 2005. On the other hand, the Turkish Bilsat micro-satellite has dropped out of the DMC constellation - "since it has now completed its mission!"
[b]
Fig. 6 - (a) - A map showing the locations of the network of UniScan ground receiving stations. They include stations installed in Valladolid (Spain), Baku (Azerbaijan), Tehran (Iran), Dubai (U.A.E.) and Almaty (Kazakhstan) as well as those located within the Russian Federation. (Source: ScanEx) (b) - The receiving antenna of the ScanEx UniScan ground receiving station installed in the city of Samara which is located on the Volga River in the south-eastern part of European Russia.
digital maps and with the geospatial data that is contained in the tables of a database. The results are generated in the form of Web pages.
Geo-Alliance
This Russian company is also involved in the processing of a large variety of high-resolution space imagery. In her presentation, O. Gromyko from Geo-Alliance outlined the imaging characteristics, including the different operational modes, of the newly launched TerraSAR-X radar satellite for which her company is the Russian agent. She also discussed the various potential applications of the resulting high-resolution SAR imagery.
KB Panorama
This is another Russian company with strong links to Racurs. N. Panteleeva presented an account of its activities to the Conference participants. Apparently the photogrammetric data that is generated by PHOTOMOD is fully compatible with the software that has been developed by KB Panorama. The company's software developments include a GIS Toolkit that can be used to develop GIS applications within a Delphi and C++ environment. The company has also developed a GIS WebServer that allows remote access to geospatial databases and electronic maps. This is based on ASP.NET technology and functions under the control of Internet Information Services (IIS) within the .NET Framework 2.0 environment. It provides the user with a Web interface to work both with
the use of medium-resolution and fairly highresolution imagery from the ALOS, Cartosat-1, SPOT-5 and Formosat satellites for the purpose. Another pair of papers about the revision of the 1:25,000 scale map series from spaceborne imagery were contributed by the Goszemcadastrsyomka (VISKHAGI) cadastral organisation. These two papers were presented by T. Osintseva and I. Nizhegovodtsev from the organisation's West and East Siberian offices located in the cities of Omsk and Irkutsk respectively. In each case, SPOT-5 imagery was processed using PHOTOMOD to produce orthoimagemaps at 1:25,000 scale in conjunction with DEM data derived from digitized contour lines extracted from existing topographic maps of the areas that were being revised.
Mapping @ Medium Scales

The Sovzond company, already mentioned above, contributed a further two papers concerned with this subject area, both of which were presented by A. Belenov. The first of these outlined the technical solutions and procedures being implemented by his company to process spaceborne image data. This involves the use of ITT's ENVI software for thematic mapping and spectral analysis and the Bentley Geospatial desktop software for the incorporation of the resulting data in a GIS database. His second paper outlined the procedures being used to update 1:25,000 scale topographic maps. Apparently there are 300,000 individual sheets in this Russian series, a large percentage of which now need revision. He outlined
Mapping @ Large Scales

E. Kokhava from the Belgiprozem organization in Belarus provided an account of its use of PHOTOMOD in processing spaceborne image data for the generation of orthoimages, land use maps and the data required for inclusion in land information systems (LIS). SPOT-5 and ALOS image data is being used to generate maps at 1:10,000 scale for rural areas, while QuickBird and IKONOS high-resolution data forms the basis for mapping at 1:2,000 scale. Next E.Kubzeva from UralGeoInform based in Yekaterinburg also provided a report on the use of PHOTOMOD to carry out the photogrammetric processing required for the updating of urban master plans at 1:2,000 scale using
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[a]
III - Racurs & PHOTOMOD Status & Developments of PHOTOMOD
The third day was concerned with the overall scope and current activities of the Racurs company and with recent developments of its PHOTOMOD software. Dr. Adrov, the managing director of the company, gave the introductory overview. Racurs has now issued 895 licences for PHOTO[b] MOD, of which 219 are network licences. In total, there are around 3,500 workplaces licensed to use PHOTOMOD world-wide [Fig. 8]. The Russian VISKHAGI cadastral organisation has 250 licences, while in Belarus, the Belgiprozem Conclusion organisation has over 50 licences. As the above account has shown, the Recently Racurs has been gaining Conference was really well worth attending. many new customers in Asia. Dr. Quite apart from the considerable amount of Adrov also outlined the new featechnical information that was communicated tures that have been incorporatto the participants via the presentations, overed in the latest release (4.3) of all it offered a quite different perspective on PHOTOMOD and those that users Russian activities in mapping and photogramcan expect in version 5.0 of the Fig. 7 - (a) - Spaceborne images showing the flooding along the River metry to that given at the Conference on Laser software which will be released in Danube that occurred in Northern Bulgaria during June 2005. The Scanning & Digital Aerial Photography held in 2008. These new features were upper photo is a Landsat-7 reference or baseline image showing the Moscow last December (2006) - which was expanded upon by Dr. Y. Sechin, area without flooding. The lower photo is a mosaic compiled from reported on in the January 2007 issue of the scientific director of Racurs. In space imagery acquired by DMC satellites showing the actual floodGeoInformatics. However, the two conferences, particular, he concentrated on the ing. (Source: DMCII; Images processed by SERTIT, Univ. of Strasbourg) (b) - An artist's impression of the NigeriaSat-2 mini-satellite which is when taken together, have really shone a light new bundle adjustment of aerial now under construction at SSTL in the U.K. The satellite is planned for into the very interesting developments and triangulation of frame images that launch in 2009. (Source: SSTL) applications of modern photogrammetric techis available in PHOTOMOD 4.3 and nology that are currently taking place within gave the results of extensive prostereo-imagery acquired by the IKONOS satelRussia. Given the strong economic growth that cessing of blocks of both synthetic photos and lite. Finally M. Gromov of the NPF Geo compahas been a feature of the country in recent real photos using both the existing indepenny based in Omsk provided still more examples years, undoubtedly we can expect further rapid dent model method and the new bundle adjustof the monitoring of changes and the updating developments in this area in the coming years. ment. Future developments will include the of large-scale maps, both in large urban areas incorporation of self-calibration such as the city of Omsk and in smaller towns and robust blunder detection and villages in Siberia using data from the and an increased speed of proQuickBird satellite. It was really quite unexpectcessing using sub-blocks. Finally, ed, indeed surprising, to hear about all these in this section, D. Kochergin examples of change detection and map revidescribed the new PHOTOMOD sion based on spaceborne imagery from ProRaster module which allows Russian users - especially when the same tasks the spatial, radiometric and are more often undertaken using airborne spectral enhancement of multiimagery in Western countries. ple images. Further developments will see the functionality of the ProRaster and GeoMosaic modules being integrated into a Fig. 9 - The user interface of the InSAR Processor for the generation of single program.
from each (different) satellite that is currently operational. He presented a really excellent systematic and comprehensive overview of the topic, full of interesting points, based on his extensive experience of this type of processing. His presentation should be compulsory reading for every lecturer and student of photogrammetry. His colleague, R. Shuvalov, was perhaps slightly less confident in his command of English, but this could not hide the fact that he has an equally comprehensive and insightful knowledge of the complex and sometimes abstruse field of spaceborne SAR image data processing and its radargrammetric procedures [Fig. 9]. I was so impressed with the knowledge and abilities of these two talented young men - the Racurs company simply cannot afford to lose them to an academic institution, government agency or a rival company!
Master Classes
DEMs from spaceborne SAR imagery within the PHOTOMOD Radar program using the interferometric technique. (Source: Racurs)
Fig. 8 - Map showing the overall distribution of PHOTOMOD licences. (Source: Racurs)
These presentations covered a variety of topics, but, in my opinion, two of them were quite outstanding. Dr. Titarov gave his on the photogrammetric processing of spaceborne pushbroom line scanner images
Gordon Petrie (gordon.petrie@ges.gla.ac.uk) is Emeritus Professor of Topographic Science in the Dept. of Geographical & Earth Sciences of the University of Glasgow, Scotland.
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A 2007 Geospatial Personality Test

How about we do something different for this months column. Just for the fun of it I decided to compile a simple geospatial personality test, based on nothing more than my own empirical observations. Why dont you give it a go, I would be interested to hear the outcome. Note: I do not take any responsibility for the result of your
Tick only one box per question. No right or wrong answers; higher or lower scores merely indicate different styles or preferences. Add up your scores to reveal your personality?? 1. GIS is used by Neanderthals still in denial about Web 2.0 a structured spatial database for superior analysis delivering real return on investment just a tool 10 points 2. Metadata is almost as exciting as having a tooth pulled a waste of time with todays powerful search engines a means to accurately describe and retrieve data critical for todays information economy 3. Service Oriented Architecture is when I draw a line between two boxes in Powerpoint what Ive been doing since birth widely misunderstood by the geospatial community just for IT consultants to justify their existence 4. Neo-geography is when geo-amateurs create messy data something Ill look at when I get the time a name invented by those who dont understand it proof that the world finally gets it 5. The future of geospatial is the ability to make the world a better place ever more challenging now next week 6. At a conference, you approach a GIS vendor booth. What do you do? Avoid eye contact, grab the freebies and run Charm myself into their champagne reception Look at the brochures but ignore the sales person Try the demo in the hope of finding a fatal error
Total:
15 points 5 points 20 points
10 15 5 20
points points points points
20 15 5 10
5 10 15 20
20 5 15 10
5 20 10 15
Thierry Gregorius is currently Head of Exploration Data Management and Geomatics at Shell International. As such he is responsible for providing new oil & gas ventures around the world with GIS mapping, spatial analysis and subsurface data services. Prior to this position, he was programme manager for a $multimillion investment in (geo-)information services at Shells headquarters, and also held the position of Global GIS Coordinator for 3 years, with responsibility for technical and commercial aspects of geospatial technology deployment worldwide. Thierry joined Shell in 1998 as a Geomatics Analyst, with a Ph.D. in Satellite Geodesy from Newcastle University (UK), a B.E. in Geomatic Engineering from UNSW Sydney (Australia), and a Pre-Diploma in Surveying from Karlsruhe University (Germany). Originally from Luxembourg, he currently lives near The Hague, Netherlands, with his British wife and their two young children.
Less than 40 points: The Spatial Purist

You know your spatial models inside out, excel at designing elegant spatial architectures, and are frustrated by everybody elses ignorance. They often take the credit for your work but you dont mind as long as you have control over your domain. Which is not a problem as most people dont understand it. You are also prone to taking colleagues hostage for 30+ minutes when they ask you a question.
you avoid any type of imbeciles and scope changes whenever possible. You thrive on emergencies but also realise that some routine work needs doing. Extremely reliable, you are however prone to impatience with other personalities.
which gives you secret pleasure. Just in case, however, you keep your CV on your blog.
Over 100 points: The Map Merchant

You are interested in the big (raster) picture. You enjoy keynotes at conferences, especially if you are the speaker. You prefer to look at the bright side of everything and occasionally get frustrated by others constant focus on technical issues. You may think all is running smoothly but the truth is that operational emergencies are being hidden from you by people who know better. People do respect you, though, especially once they have figured out how to use you as a shield against other corporate distractions.
70 100 points: The Geo-Magician

You have the most creative personality and thrive on designing new geospatial solutions. As a consultant, you are known to run entertaining presentations and training classes; as a developer, you are a fast and gifted programmer who however tends to prototype map applications in a production environment. The latter is causing your manager to despair,
40 70 points: The Polygon Predator

You roll up your sleeves and get on with gathering data and making fit-for-purpose maps. Your mission is to keep the project on track, so
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Oblique Imagery
Bringing a Revolutionary New Per

A growing number of markets are embracing the wealth of functionality Pictometry oblique imagery can deliver. There is growing recognition of the potential for Pictometry technology to support property management, contingency planning, tourism, transportation and many other uses. By Eddie Bulpitt
An intriguing modern office building in the centre London called the Gherkin.
ith an emergent customer base spanning several business and commercial markets, Ordnance Survey, Great Britains national mapping agency, has responded to this customer demand by adding the Pictometry application to its already extensive range of geographic information products. Ordnance Survey can now offer its business and government customers across Great Britain the chance to go beyond the image with a revolutionary integrated system for viewing and measuring the built and natural landscape.
About Pictometry
Pictometry is the worlds largest digital, oblique imagery company, which has patented a unique system for capturing and viewing images from different viewpoints. This is a high-resolution, high-quality resource of oblique aerial imagery that allows users to make accurate measurements of features from
the photography. The imagery allows assessment of the size, shape, design, construction and surrounding environment of a location from upwards of twelve different oblique and vertical vantage points. For Great Britain, Ordnance Survey is working in partnership with BLOM Aerofilms Limited, which undertakes the oblique image capturing and processing. Currently, BLOM Aerofilms is on course to deliver complete coverage of Pictometry oblique view imagery for all towns and cities with populations greater than 50 000 by the end of 2007, with over 80% of data captured to date. The resolution of each individual image is, on average, 15cm, allowing every feature on the ground to be viewed and interrogated. The photography is taken at various flying heights with different focal length cameras, to retain the average resolution, thus allowing the capture to progress rapidly and not be affected
in areas of heavy commercial air traffic such as London. In addition, Pictometry technology combines the aerial images with free viewing software and a GIS plug-in application designed to enable accurate measurements. It offers an excellent way to embed contextual geographic information into operational systems.
Pictometry and Ordnance Survey

Although Pictometry is relatively new, oblique aerial imagery has been used for several decades, assisting in the interpretation of the built environment. Vertical aerial photography, again, has been used for a long time, but has most recently become mainstream by being viewed in GIS packages. The difference here is that Pictometry oblique imagery is georeferenced so the imagery can be combined with other data layers. The benefits are a quantum leap forward in aerial imaging. This type of oblique imaging technology proves a perfect complement to Ordnance Surveys most detailed data, seamlessly combining to deliver a unique and accurate view of the built and natural environ-
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spective to Great Britain

beyond the image. Pictometry is one of the first products in the world to be based on the concept of geospatial fusion. This means that it combines aerial images with a unique viewing and manipulation application, ensuring accurate measurements of features in their geographic context. Users can actually click on an image and pull up the underlying Ordnance Survey geographic data. Ordnance Survey is also the first organisation to be able to offer oblique imagery for the whole of London, offering a revolutionary new perspective of the capital. Over 3 000 km of data covering all London boroughs is now available. able to model a proposed new building and the visual impact from different viewpoints. The distance and height measurement tools could provide valuable information, potentially ruling out the need for preliminary site inspections, saving time and money.
Emergency Services
Pictometry oblique imagery has obvious and exciting applications for all the emergency services. For assessing risk, strategic planning, operational response, and post incident analysis, oblique imagery can be a powerful tool. Pictometry gives the emergency services the chance to view incident locations in their entirety from the desktop or whilst en route. It allows for the fast access to information like the number of floors in a building, the locations of windows, surrounding roads, schools, rivers, railways and so on. For the police, as an example, having access to such detailed imagery can negate the need to utilise the Air Support Unit, meaning the use of resources can be more targeted and efficient. Command-and-control staff can access the intelligent map base to store and quickly access key information about locations and resources to avoid duplication of effort. Visual clues on the landscape can enable the remote monitoring of foot chases, while sketchy
How Pictometry is Used

Most professional users are aware of or have made use of vertical photography. Georeferenced oblique imagery extends the benefits of traditional straight-down imagery providing a unique view of a locality, allowing users to see the sides of a building, structure or feature, exposing blind spots, exits and entrances previously impossible to locate on straight-down photography. Pictometry users can also view GIS data in 3D by overlaying it on their oblique imagery, extending the traditional and more familiar 2D view afforded by most GIS applications. To give an example, town planners would be
A Partinavia P-68C (yellow) and a Cessna C206 used for oblique image capturing. Copyright SFS.
ment. It is fully complementary to the entire OS MasterMap data portfolio of Topography, Imagery, Address and Transport Layers and is another example extolling the OS MasterMap ethos of interoperability. The OS MasterMap Imagery Layer offers highquality, orthorectified vertical aerial photography. However, with Pictometry the vertical view is provided together with images taken at an angle from the four cardinal points of the compass north, east, south and west to provide a complete view of all features. This allows the user a greater appreciation and interpretation of the features in the built environment. For example: - How many floors within the building? - Where are the entrances and exits of the building? - What is the height of a structure? - Where are the points of access and egress to buildings? - What features are in the local environment? This ability means they can effectively go
The imagery was captured using the Pictometry capture system. This single image was captured as part of several hundred thousand images that are now available for the whole of Great Britain. Shown is the Barbican, a multiarts and conference venue in London. Copyright 2007, BLOM Aerofilms Norway
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details about the location of an emergency can be substantiated using easily identified real-world objects in the data. Oblique imagery can aid the identification of potential risks and constraints. The user can visualise where, for example, residential property is located above or adjacent to commercial or industrial premises. By having the answers to important adjacency questions such as what is the adjoining property? fire services, for example, can decide the best way to tackle a blaze.
Remote Management
The interoperability of the data can drive land and air coordination in search and rescue efforts, while alternative routes to incidents can be assessed and remote guidance given on the location of obstacles such as trees or electrical wires, which might impair rescue equipment or helicopter access. Furthermore, as Pictometry oblique view imagery is captured under clear daylight conditions, it benefits operations conducted during darkness or in bad visibility. This all-weather capability lets the user know what to expect and where to look for equipment that may otherwise be difficult to find.
Annotated Value
The imagery data can be annotated, for example, with address coordinates, house numbers and road names. Additionally, images can be supplemented with related information, such as overlaying plans to highlight exits and access points, and adding structural notes such as the location of hazardous materials or sprinkler systems. After an emergency, the technology can assume an analytical function, enabling the attachment of notes that manually detail the location of concealed entrances and create incident logs. Pictometrys oblique imagery can also assist in the evaluation of building damage and the recovery effort on adjoining property.
The resolution of the imagery is, on average, 15cm and every sq meter has between 12 and 18 views from opposing angles, including the vertical, allowing every feature on the ground to be viewed, measured and interrogated. Copyright 2007, BLOM Aerofilms Norway
Integrated Measurement Tools

Unique to geospatial imagery, Pictometrys oblique aerial imaging software has a height tool that gives users the ability to measure the stature of features. A location tool gives the Ordnance Survey grid coordinates of any feature, providing an immediate and common reference point and potentially shaving seconds from a response. Radius tools enable proximity searches based on a user-defined distance. For example, fire crews may wish to assess nearby street furniture, adjacent buildings or other features that could prove to be an obstacle during a response. Crews can arrive equipped to look beyond the immediate incident factoring the proximity of an incident to schools and shopping centres, for example.
Conclusion
Pictometrys high-resolution, oblique aerial imaging technology is a prime addition to Ordnance Surveys extensive portfolio of geographic information. Georeferenced to the pixel level, it proves an ideal complement to the OS MasterMap family. Oblique view imagery has the functionality to give unprecedented visibility of a scene for contingency planning or incident management. The emergency services can especially benefit from this multi-angled imagery, whether to help make a judgement on deploying resources or by benefiting from a contextual view of an incident. The emergency services rely on accurate, timely information about the locations of incidents and their resources. Having access to a library of images before, during and after an emergency can power the management of risk and resources to fine tune efficiencies when every second counts.
Wembley stadium.
Eddie Bulpitt, Product Manager for Pictometry Oblique Imagery at Ordnance Survey. For more information please visit www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/pictometry. Ordnance Survey, the OS Symbol and OS MasterMap are registered trademarks of Ordnance Survey, the national mapping agency of Great Britain. Pictometry is a registered trademark of Pictometry International Corporation.
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Part 6: Software Set-up
Practical Geodesy
Every GIS program or GPS system needs at some point to have a few parameters set. The background of most settings was discussed in the previous articles, but which parameters are truly necessary and which settings should be made? In this final article an overview of the various settings is given. By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk Datum transformation
Since the datum used to portray the data is usually different from that used to collect the data, some sort of transformation between the two is needed. For very small areas (a few square kilometers) or for projects not requiring much accuracy, one can simply shift the coordinates between the two datums (translation or 2/3 parameter datum transformation). If greater accuracy is required or if the area is larger, some mathematics are needed. In this case the coordinates are first transformed from geographic to Cartesian (X,Y,Z) coordinates. These coordinates, also called ECEF (Earth Centred Earth Fixed) coordinates, are determined relative to the centre of a spheroid. The ECEF coordinates are now transformed using a three-dimensional rotation, translation and scaling to ECEF coordinates in the new datum. Depending on the software, a three, seven or nine parameter datum shift is used. Most common is the seven parameter shift using a three axis rotation and translation and a single scale factor. Because the scaling is not three dimensional, the parameters are only valid over a certain area (e.g. a complete state). A common mistake with datum transformations is the use of a seven parameter shift when only three parameters have been given (leaving the other four parameters at zero). This may result in errors as large as a few dozen to a few hundred meters.
Settings for the Dutch horizontal and vertical datum when using GPS with QINSy hydrographic software.
ith most hardware and software the following settings have to be made by the user: Selection of the horizontal datum used for the measurement Selection of the horizontal datum used for projection Definition of the datum transformation between the two datums Selection of the vertical datum to be used Selection of the projection in which all data has to be displayed In some cases a few of these items will be coupled, such as with the State Plane Coordinate System or the Dutch RDNAPTransTM. In these cases steps 2 to/or 5 are usually bundled in the method.
the data was collected and the datum onto which it will be projected/presented. Usually a great number of horizontal datums are defined within the software. When the correct datum is unavailable (check the exact parameters!), it needs to be added by the user. Most software uses either the semi-major and semi-minor axes or the semimajor axis and the flattening.
Selection of the horizontal datum

When working with GPS all measurements are, by default, in the WGS84 datum. In software this is not a common setting and therefore one has to select the datum on which
Datum transformation settings for the Netherlands in QINSy.
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Projection settings for the Netherlands in QINSy.
Selecting a vertical datum

As a rule, measurements are performed referenced to orthometric heights such as mean sea level. When converting the ellipsoid height from the GPS receiver, a correction grid or formula is needed. Without a correction grid we will only find heights relative to the ellipsoid. When working within a (very) small area, a fixed correction value can be determined using GPS measurement of a benchmark. The result will, however, always be less than with an accurate correction value.
nates. Most systems will have a number of pre-defined projections built into them. As a rule, these are general projections and users need to input their own specific parameters. Which parameters need to be set will depend on the projection selected. If UTM is used it is usually enough to select the correct central meridian. Based on that information the software sets all the other parameters. But if, for example, a stereographic projection is selected, as is the case for the Netherlands, then all sorts of parameters such as point of origin, scale factor and false easting/northing need to be defined.
Selecting geodetic settings in Leica SmartworX software.
Check
Good survey practice dictates a check of the geodetic parameter entered. When working with GPS this is best done by placing the receiver over a control point, the coordinates of which have been calculated in both WGS84 and in projection coordinates. With the receiver set correctly, the results should be within the measurement precision of the receiver. When working with software, a check can be achieved using a small test file with a few coordinates. In this case the exact position should be displayed in the software after inputting and converting the file.
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk (hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.com) is project manager at IDsW and editor-in-chief of GeoInformatics. This article is the last in this series and represents his own opinions.
Projection
The final step is the selection of a projection on which to display the measured coordi-
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Event
Leipzig September 25 to 27
Intergeo 2007
Visitors travelled from over 50 countries, underlining the international importance of Intergeo as a leading trade fair in Geoinformation. In the halls 1 and 3 there was 25,000 m2 exhibition space in use by 484 exhibitors. Over 16,500 trade visitors came to the three successful days at the Leipzig Trade Fair to find out about the latest developments in the business. There were to many to mention them all. By Job van Haaften
Key Milestone for NextMap Europe

Intermap Technologies announced at Intergeo 2007 that its NextMap Europe program has reached a key milestone with the completion of the entire country of Germany this month. For the first time uniform 3D digital elevation models at 1 meter accuracy on 5 meter posts and orthorectified radar images at 1.25 meter resolution are available for the whole country. Germany joins Great Britain as the second European country that will benefit from such a data set.
Carlson
Carlson Survey 2008 Standalone Now Available Carlson Survey 2008 Standalone is ready to be shipped for surveyors and designers at civil engineering firms all over the world.
Carlson Survey 2008 Standalone features more than 70 improvements based on user input. Combined with Carlson SurvCE2.0, Carlson Survey 2008 Standalone allows users to transform field survey data into maps and CAD drawings, all layered and drawn. Carlson Survey 2008 Standalone includes SurvNet, the Network Least Squares Program that enables users to simultaneously process and adjust networks of traverse, level and GPS data, handling the special conditions of triangulation, resection and trilateration. In addition to the Standalone version, Carlson Survey 2008 also comes in a For AutoCAD version.
Land Desktop 2008 and to utilize some of the features from the Carlson Survey 2008. CSD 4.0 runs inside LDT 2008 and LDT 2007 and is fully integrated with the LDT project environment.
CSD R4 & LDT 2008 A Perfect Pair Just released, the newest version of Carlson Survey Desktop, CSD 4.0, from Carlson Software, is updated to support Autodesk
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Event
Topcon
Topcons Laser Scanner GLS-1000 Topcon Europe Positioning presents its new laser scanner to the surveying and civil engineering community. The Topcon GLS-1000 handles like a total station but delivers a total scanning solution. At an affordable price it takes the pain out of investing in a laser scanner, offers reliable measurements and opens a whole new area of possibilities. The Topcon GLS-1000 gives its users new opportunities to increase their productivity and market possibilities. Topcons GMS-2 Pro takes GIS a step further Topcon incorporated their dual-constellation satellite tracking into a small hand-held GNSS receiver, the GMS-2. An integrated electronic compass and digital camera powered by Topcons imaging technology meant a lot of new possibilities. The concept of the powerful combination of dual-constellation satellite performance and digital imaging technology for GIS field mapping, is taken one step further with GMS-2 PRO. The GMS-2 Pro offers an integrated laser distance meter, offset measurement, a unique image height/width measurement and a high level of mobility in the well known handy format of the GMS-2. The Digital camera offers two mega pixels of sharp images. Take it outside and use the GMS-2 Pro in Agriculture and Forestry, Geology and Archeology, Environment, Energy, Utility or use it as a controller for Robotic and RTK GNSS and much more. GPT-9000 MC Topcon announces new 3-D local positioning system LPS-900 brings new tracking technology for finish grading. 3D-LPS, the highaccuracy local positioning 3-D control system, just got better. The new LPS-900 system, based on GPT- 9000 Machine Control features Topcons exclusive X-Trac tracking technology and integrated radio communication for higher speed operation under all conditions. Driven by Topcons robotic total station technology and its 3D automation technology, the LPS-900 provides dual use of the GPT 9000 as a base for high-accuracy machine automation or traditional robotic surveying operation. 3D-mmGPS The construction industrys first total information technology solution for every machine on every global job site will soon be a reality. SiteLINK, Topcons wireless communications mapping, data logging, reporting and asset management system for off-road equipment provides the first solution with the ability to work with any make, model or type of job site
Leica
Leica TPS1200+ Total Station The Leica TPS1200+ provides a very accurate reflectorless EDM with the smallest laser dot and measures distances over 1000 meters. A new telescope is fitted to all Leica TPS1200+ models. Measurements to inaccessible or hard-to-reach targets more than 1000 meters away are possible now even without reflectors, and in true PinPoint accuracy. Leica TPS1200+ works with an improved Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) sensor that tracks and follows the prism with more accuracy and reliability than before. If lock is interrupted, then the PowerSearch sensor relocks onto the prism with one button press. Introducing the Leica RedLine With Leica RedLine, Leica Geosystems presents a complete solution for all construction positioning needs. From the office to the field and back again: The new Leica RedLine offers the user the solution for each construction site design task and all machine control applications. RedLine is a versatile construction site positioning range, providing products and solutions for the office, for base station setup, data capturing and surveying as well as machine control and final as-built verification. Leica PowerTracker The Leica PowerTracker is an accurate robotic tracking sensor, a tool for high-accuracy construction positioning needs. From stakeout to machine control to as-built verification. Leica PowerTracker is the sensor for the construction site with no keyboard and an intuitive user interface. The Level & Go feature makes the Leica PowerTracker as easy to handle as a laser. Leica PowerAntenna Whether a machine needs a GNSS position or heading, the site base station needs simplest
machine. The new technology is based on utilization of Mesh Radio Networks built on a standard Wi-Fi environment.The new communications system, can pinpoint via GPS any make of equipment on a job site, serving as a built-in theft protection program adding geo-fencing functions. SiteLINK was developed jointly by Topcon and TSD Integrated Controls.
Topcons GTS-750 Series Modernized The GTS-750 will replace the existing GTS-720 Series. Now Topcons mid range conventional total station series include all the modern advanced interface features of the new GPT9000 and GPT-7500 series instruments. The Improvements are: slimed down design - it is 8% smaller than the previous model; back lighted keyboard and larger keys; increased RAM size to 128MB; full USB interface support (for memory stick etc) and a new battery BT-65Q - operating time with distance measurement is 10 hours. Topcon Imaging Station Robotic Total Station, Scanner, Digital Cameras and Machine Control. The new Topcon Imaging Station has it all. The Topcon Imaging Station now offers the added productivity and versatility of integrated digital imaging, a technology Topcon introduced in 2005 with its GPT-7000i total station. Its integrated through the lens, dual digital camera imaging technology captures reality with wide angle and 30x optical zoom capabilities and when used in conjunction with the built-in scanning feature, it provides a dynamic system that provides the automation of a much-higher priced laser scanner..
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turn on & go or the supervisor needs to check grade with his 4-wheel drive and stake out a manhole in the next minute the Leica PowerAntenna does the job. It uses the same components for on- and off-machine applications. It can be combined wit the Leica PowerBox to boost productivity of an excavator with dual GNSS position, or put on a pole for staking out, doing volumes determinations or as-builts, while the excavator continues in single GNSS operation or use it as a base station that site personnel easily can set up.
Stations compromise consistency. Leica Geosystems was the first company to provide through their Reference Station Software (Leica SpiderNET) and their GNSS rovers of Leica System 1200 full support of the new RTCM international standard version 3.1. With Leica SmartRTK and RTCM 3.1 correction data, performance and peace-of-mind is guaranteed.
Magellan
Magellan ProMark3 RTK ProMark3 RTK offers real-time GNSS surveying and mobile mapping capabilities on an innovative platform at an affordable price. Magellans embedded Blade technology, a proprietary GNSS processing solution, enables ProMark3 RTK to outperform other single-frequency RTK receivers, granting real-time performance in the most lightweight handheld system on the market. Blade technology delivers centimeter accuracy for real-time and post-processing surveys and mapping operations. Its GPS+SBAS RTK algorithm ensures quick initialization with single frequency receivers and takes advantage of the maximum satellite coverage from the dual constellation.
Leica PowerBox The Leica PowerBox is a system that combines the advantages of a classic antenna / receiver with the benefits of a PowerAntenna: The PowerBox is designed for machine control applications, where positions for machine control are required; for orientation (e.g. on an excavator), just add an additional PowerAntenna. The user can take the same components for all off-machine applications. PowerBox is a scalable positioning system, that grows with the needs: Glonass, Networking, higher update rate, Base Station use and more. Leica GNSS Spider V3.0 Leica GNSS Spider V3.0, the Leica Geosystems solution for GNSS Infrastructure and Network RTK, now comes with extended GNSS support, providing comprehensive GPS & Glonass Network RTK services. It is designed to be extended for future GNSS signals, such as GPS L5 and Galileo. With its improvements this new GNSS Spider V3.0 enhances the software usability and performance. Using all available GNSS satellite signals means that it is possible to work in environments where it was previously not possible with GPS signals only. The number of rover receivers in the field with the ability to track and use both GPS & Glonass signals therefore increases continuously. Leica GNSS Spider V3.0 will be available this November. Leica SmartRTK Users of GNSS Reference Station Networks expect their results to be consistent throughout the complete Network, but often theyre unaware that virtually computed Reference
Time for a rest.
ProMark3 RTK is available as an all-inclusive Base + Rover system with a license-free plugand-play radio kit. The integrated radios conform to the IP65 standard and are directly powered from the receiver and easily configured through a simple menu. ProMark3 RTK can be used as a rover only, connected to a real-time network. A Bluetooth connection can be established between ProMark3 RTK and a cellular phone. ProMark3 RTK is compatible with NTRIP and direct IP and can be connected to any GPS network broadcasting corrections (RTCM 2.3, RTCM 3.1). In this rover configuration the real-time performance of the receiver is linked to the quality of the network (i.e.,distance to the station, interval between stations, VRS quality).
Asia on advance at the Intergeo.
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Event
The company rock band of Geokosmos performed on Wednesday evening. Singer is Sergey Melnikov the Geokosmos director. Melnikov: Next song is about Galileo and Glonass: Knocking on Heavens Door.
Geokosmos
Geokosmos 3D Modeler creates better 3D Geokosmos is a company in the area of geospatial data collection applying LiDAR and digital aerial imaging technologies. Geokosmos developed in 2003 its own software called Geokosmos 3D Modeler. Eventually the functionality has significantly been enhanced and from now on the product is recognized as a tool for creation of maps and 3D photorealistic digital surface models based on the combination of LiDAR and digital aerial imaging data. Apart from that the software allows to solve a number of basic topographic tasks. The most significant application tasks are as follows: creation of 3D photorealistic digital surface models; terrain and engineering objects modelling; surface analysis and objects interpretation; creation of topographic maps (including 3D maps), and the creation of profiles and cross-sections. Geokosmos 3D Modeler has fully met the Companys expectations and the software is acknowledged by Geokosmos customers, colleagues and partners. The key factor in this connection is high speed of large volume data processing, user friendly format, smooth integration of our software into the work cycle, compliance of results with the existing requirements.
quency GPS receiver technology. Based on Hemisphere GPS' Crescent(R) L1 GPS technology that incorporates techniques for reducing code measurement noise and mitigating multipath signals, Eclipse delivers reliable centimeter-level accuracy. The performance and versatility of Hemisphere GPS' Eclipse board allows OEM customers to integrate it into a wide variety of precise applications including navigation and GPS machine control. Depending upon the application, Eclipse users can record and post-process GPS data or choose from several differential solutions including Real-Time Kinematic (RTK), OmniSTAR(R) (HP/XP) and SBAS (WAAS, EGNOS, etc.).
monitoring and tunneling, the robotic Trimble S8 offers 1" angular accuracy and EDM precision of 1 mm + 1 ppm, plus numerous other features. The Trimble S8 instrument is built on Trimble's latest total station technologies. Trimble's MagDrive servo technology ensures the total station is fast and silent. The Trimble S8 Total Station includes Trimble FineLock technology and high-speed data synchronization outputs. FineLock is a smart tracker sensor with a narrow field of view that enables the Trimble S8 to detect a target without interference from surrounding prisms. The 10 Hz high-speed synchronized data output makes data collection faster and more accurate. The Trimble S8 Total Station works with the Trimble CU and TSC2 Controllers running Trimble Survey Controller software, which now offers an optional Engineering module. The Trimble 4D Control software is a postprocessing software designed for engineering applications such as monitoring. When target movement is detected over time, the customizable Trimble 4D Control software generates alarms and warnings so the information can be acted on quickly. The Trimble S8 Total Station's optical data can be combined with GPS and 3D scanning data, or it can be used as a Trimble I.S. Rover.
Trimble
Trimble Acquires Ingenieurbro Breining in Germany Trimble announced at the Intergeo that it has acquired Ingenieurbro Breining GmbH of Kirchheim, Germany, a provider of customized field data collection and office software solutions for the cadastral survey market in Germany. The addition of Breining software resources, expertise and products enable Trimble to further address local application requirements and provide customized survey solutions for the German market. Trimble S8 Total Station and Trimble 4D Control Software The Trimble S8 Total Station is Trimble's most advanced optical instrument to date. Designed to perform in both surveying and specialized engineering applications such as
Trimble GX 3D Scanner The Trimble GX 3D Scanner is a surveying and spatial imaging sensor that uses high-speed laser and video to capture coordinates and image data. The data is then processed in Trimble RealWorks Survey software and delivered to clients in compelling 2D and 3D. With the latest generation of the Trimble GX 3D Scanner, users can collect millions of points for photo-realistic resolution, or they can collect exactly the number of points they need with Trimble SureScan technology. The system enables surveyors and geospatial professionals to collect and process data faster by focusing on collecting the right points, not just more points. The Trimble GX 3D Scanner system also supports the Trimble TSC2 Controller. Trimble VX Spatial Station The Trimble VX Spatial Station has been enhanced through new functionality in Trimble Survey Controller field software and Trimble RealWorks Survey office software, improving field productivity and allowing users to create enhanced deliverables in the office. The new in-field functionality for Trimble Survey Controller includes polygon framing that allows users to select exactly the area they want to scan. Users can view captured point clouds over the video stream of their job site, as well as enjoy panoramic image
Hemisphere
Hemisphere GPS Announces Centimeter Accuracy Hemisphere GPS announced the latest addition to its product line, Eclipse dual-fre-
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capture. These new capabilities enable users to minimize gaps and overlaps in scan data. For enhanced office deliverables, RealWorks Survey software allows spatial imaging professionals to provide data to clients as a walkthrough or fly-through in 3D. In addition, users can export 3D models into Google Earth, so data can be viewed as it will actually appear as an object onsite.
The Trimble BD960 is a multi-channel, multifrequency, OEM GNSS receiver in a compact Eurocard form factor. With the Trimble BD960, OEMs and integrators can utilize both the modernized GPS L2C and L5 signals and Glonass L1/L2 signals. The Trimble BD960 includes on-board features such as multipath mitigation, low-elevation tracking and support for OmniSTAR worldwide DGPS service.
Enhanced VRS Now Network in Germany Recent changes to Trimble's RTK network service in Germany make centimeter positioning accuracy easier than ever. Partnering with TMobile, Trimble is providing mobile phone coverage with subscriptions to Trimble VRS Now in Germany. By combining mobile minutes and network RTK into a single contract, users now have one less contract to manage.Three levels of RTK service and differential GPS service are available in Germany. Simplifying everything from package to purchase, Trimble VRS Now makes RTK easy. The latest network expansion includes coverage for all of Germany. The Trimble VRS Now network also includes Glonass streams in areas of availability. Users in enabled areas can connect with the complete range of GNSS signals available today for improved initialization times. In Germany, Trimble also supports both GSM and GPRS so subscribers maintain a seamless link to the system in areas where either communications systems is preferred. Trimble VRS Adds New Functionality With the launch of Trimble GPSNet 2.6, the industry-standard GNSS network software has been updated to meet the changing needs of network operations. New functionality improves the value of Glonass capabilities in a network environment and enhances operational control of the networked solution. Improvements in Glonass handling include Predicted Orbits support, which reduces time needed to produce network solutions using Glonass signals. Enhancements to the software provide network operators with expanded control and improved management flexibility. The new Trimble NTRIP Caster enhances network security and improves network performance and data integrity. Trimble BD960 The Trimble BD960, a real-time kinematic (RTK) compact GNSS card for high-precision guidance and control applications. Capable of receiving a range of commercially available GNSS signals, the BD960 receiver is designed to allow OEMs and system integrators to add centimeter-level positioning to specialized or custom hardware solutions.
Applanix
Applanix GNSS Post-Processing Software
the software to maintain memory of the GNSS ambiguities during cycle slips or even full outages. Included in the Applanix SmartBase module is the ability to automatically download existing reference station data from the Internet. Up to 50 reference stations can be processed at a time, with a minimum of four recommended for redundancy and robustness. POSPac Air 5.0 software includes an all new Graphical User Interface (GUI) based on the Microsoft .NET architecture. POSPac Air 5.0 is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2007 through the Applanix sales network.
Spectra Precision
Spectra Precision announced the worldwide availability of its Focus and Epoch product portfolios. Until today, the products were only available in select geographical regions. Spectra Precision expanded its product lines with the introduction of the Focus 4 Mechanical Total Station, Focus 5 Mechanical Total Station and Epoch 25 Static only L1/L2 Global Positioning System (GPS) system and Epoch 25 RTK L1/L2 GPS system. The new 7" mechanical total station offers an interface ideal for survey construction and basic topographical applications. The Spectra Precision Focus 5 is a high-precision mechanical total station with Bluetooth capabilities. Using a detachable Spectra Precision Recon data collector, the onboard interface allows the system to use a Windows Mobile touch-screen operating system. Available as a 2" or 3" angle accuracy model, the Focus 5 mechanical total station offers surveyors a measurement solution for everyday surveying needs. Spectra Precision Epoch 25 L1/L2 Static and RTK systems include a high-accuracy GPS receiver for cadastral, topographic, control, stakeout and other precision survey applications.
Job van Haaften (jvanhaaften@geoinformatics.com) is editorial manager of GeoInformatics. Intergeo 2008 will be held from 30 September to 2 October in Bremen. For more information, go to www.intergeo.de. These new products are just a handful out of many releases at the Intergeo. For more information on the mentioned products: www.intermap.com, www.carlsonsw.com, www.topcon.eu, www.leica-geosystems.com, www.magellangps.com, www.geokosmos.com, www.hemispheregps.com, www.trimble.com, www.applanix.com, and www.spectraprecision.com.
Applanix introduced at the Intergeo a new version of its Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-Aided Inertial post-processing software for airborne mapping and surveying applications - the POSPac Air 5.0 software. POSPac Air 5.0 features software technology that increases the efficiency, accuracy, and robustness of mapping and surveying using GNSS on an airborne platform. It does so by using a combination of GNSS network and inertial post-processing methods that work together to eliminate or reduce the restrictions currently associated with high accuracy GNSS positioning in an airborne environment. The POSPac Air 5.0 software also includes a module for using GNSS network corrections to increase accuracy. Based upon Trimble VRS technology, the Applanix SmartBase software can use the data logged from a network of public or private GNSS reference stations to generate a set of GNSS observables that correct for the atmospheric errors at the location of the remote receiver in the aircraft. These along with the remote receiver observables are then post-processed with data from the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) using the new Applanix IN-Fusion technology, to simultaneously solve for the GNSS ambiguities and the position and orientation of the aircraft. The tight integration with the inertial data allows
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Laser scanning Blackbox or Braintwister?

Every technology has its time. A Chinese proverb tells us: Dschung Ping Man gave all his assets to Master Dschi Li Yi in order to learn how to kill a dragon. After three years he was very skilled in this art, but he found no occasion to show his skills. This is about learning the right things at the right time.
As with every upcoming new technology, people tend to overrate its capabilities at first instance. Examples in Geomatics-related technologies are Radar, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. After some years of high expectations, often immediately followed by frustrations, when performance does not live up to those early dreams, a realistic evaluation takes place. Laser scanning in terrestrial mode has been around since the late 70s, in aerial mode since the early 90s. So one would assume people should have had enough time to critically assess its performance. While there are critical expert voices around, the shear number of laypersons digging into the new technology makes a rational discussion very difficult. First one should differentiate between aerial and terrestrial scanning. The related sceneries under which the technologies are used differ from each other. While in aerial scanning the data provider usually delivers a preprocessed dataset, in terrestrial applications the laser scanner may be used even by persons with very little knowledge about the pitfalls of the system and no skills in data processing. is usually a long way from scanning to high quality 3D object modeling. Of course, the technology of data acquisition is constantly improving, with the major trends multiple pulse recording, increase of scan frequency and scan accuracy and integration of cameras to also acquire intensity information. However, if one looks around at conferences and on the Internet one realizes very quickly that pointclouds are the prevailing products of laser scanning projects. Very seldom is the object shown at a higher level representation, e.g. as a 3D surface model, possibly even textured. This applies to aerial as well as to terrestrial applications. It is obvious that a pointcloud can be generated very quickly, this is actually a laser scanners intrinsic quality. Here the laser scanner acts as a blackbox. What is however, at least for the expert, a point of worry, is that the internal procedures are hidden from the user. The primary data are not accessible, correction/calibration values are not transparent. Also, sophisticated accuracy models do not exist. The description of a systems accuracy in form of one (or more) standard deviations for distance values is far too simplistic and does no justice to the many possible error sources. But even then - what can be done with a pointcloud, except performing a low level coarse analysis or just to look at it? Although we are aware that there are new algorithms in Computer Graphics being investigated which are based on pointcloud rendering, we still emphasize the need to produce a structured model for further use, whatever it may be. Another good deal of confusion stems from the fact that there are many different applications of laser scanning, with greatly varying quality specifications. Applications in science, engineering, architecture, archaeology, cultural heritage, robotics, industrial quality control, medicine, biomechanics, Virtual World generation, videogames, movies and other forms of enter- and infotainment industries differ so much from each other that they cannot be judged by one scale. Clearly, laser scanning, especially the time-of-flight technique, has some serious limitations with respect to accuracy, target definition and strength of the returned signal, which may lead to high noise, loss of signal, systematic and gross errors. This may be tolerable in one application, but totally unacceptable in others.
Prof. Dr. Armin Gruen is since 1984 Professor and Head of the Chair of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland. He graduated in 1968 as Dipl.Ing. in Geodetic Science and obtained his doctorate degree in 1974, both from the Technical University Munich, Germany. From 1981 to 1984 he acted as Associate Professor at the Ohio State University, USA. He has lectured at University level since 1969, with photogrammetry and remote sensing as major subjects. He acted as member of several commissions, committees and councils, currently Chairman of the ISPRS International Scientific Advisory Committee (ISAC).
immediately followed by frustrations, when performance does not live up to those early dreams.
Then one must realize that laser scanning consists essentially of two stages, which should also be considered separately: Raw data acquisition, leading to an unstructured pointcloud, and data processing, which again consists of several steps, leading ultimately to a structured model with (hopefully) correct internal topology and possibly a realitybased texture mapped onto it. In a recent editorial on laser scanning in another Geomatics magazine, some critical remarks of the guest-editor stirred up a lively discussion. A major point of the discussion was the issue whether a trained layperson would suffice to operate a laser scanner appropriately. While this can surely be confirmed one has to realize that operating a laser scanner is only a small part of the whole job. There
However, the true problem, indeed, starts when the pointclouds have to be turned into consistent, topologically correct, truly 3D models. Noise reduction, systematic error compensation, blunder removal, co-registration, scan hole filling, 3D triangulation, intelligent data reduction, high quality texture mapping are processing steps which still require a large amount of manual intervention. And it is commonly agreed in the community that (in the average) the data processing needs by a factor of 10 more time than raw data acquisition and preprocessing. In general we are far away from reliable, fully automatically operating systems. Here much more R&D will be required. The good news is that we dispose today of a great variety of sensors, with different properties and performances. The true challenge is to accumulate enough knowledge in order to be able to make optimal use of all these devices. In the history of measurement sciences there has never been just one sensor who could have served as the magic wand. And the efficient use of these sensors in data acquisition and processing needs experience and expertise. That is why we say it with Memphisto in J.W. von Goethes FAUST I, 1806 (sic!): This is one of their old sins they think computing is inventing.
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Article
Use of Technology to Make an Arrest
British Transport Police Leads the
Geographic information can be crucial in police investigations. A strategic study resulted in defining the requirements and the best strategy to move forwards with the GIS vision for the British Transport Police. Reason enough for the Force to partner with Aligned Assets to create a pioneering solution. By Job van Haaften
The British Transport Police wants to use the latest and best technology to improve their service to the public.
Whilst many will cite the arrest of Dr.

Crippen, apprehended after a wireless message was sent to the ship upon which he was escaping in 1910, as the first use of technology to make an arrest, the British Transport Police can point to an incident over half a century earlier. In 1845, Sergeant Williams of the Great Western Railway was alerted to the imminent arrival into Paddington of suspected murderer John Tawell by a message sent from Slough. This tradition of staying at the forefront of technology continues to this day within the Transport Police and location remains as crucial now as it was in the 19th Century.
Controlled from their headquarters in Camden (a suburb of northern London) the British Transport Police is divided into seven geographical regions made up of 88 police stations and over 3000 staff. In an organisation so geographically diverse, the Force estimates that over 90% of their data has a spatial component (address and/or postcode, or x, y coordinates of crime and incident information) and therefore the potential to fully exploit a single GIS is tremendous.
Sharing and Accesibility

The way the Force use GIS has come a long way. Having started as a mapping tool that was part of the NSPIS Command & Control System, used merely to present maps in digital format, its use was extended to accommodate the needs of Intelligence Analysts. However other departments and areas of the Force had different requirements and over the years have procured their separate, specific systems. This use of individual applications and data sources could give rise to problems in the future and the Force recognises that sharing and accessibility of data across the whole organisation is vital to meet the current threats. In 2005 and 2006, a strategic study was undertaken to identify shortfalls, the overall requirements and the best strategy to move forwards with the GIS vision for the Force.
Accuracy and Communication

Today, when the British Transport Police respond to an incident, those needing their help are extremely unlikely to consider how the officers arrived at the scene. However, the accuracy and communication of the location could mean the difference between life and death. Because of this level of seriousness it is vital that the data and applications used by the Transport Police are accurate, available and accessible to all their staff. The latest developments that are now planned for their Geographic Information System (GIS) are designed to ensure that the officers of the British Transport Police can respond to any and all emergency situations.
The conclusions of this work include the need to: - Provide maps and map based searches to the high number of users that daily require them (estimated in excess of 1,000) whether they are in the office or on the street. - Provide access to GB wide OS MasterMap as well aerial photography to all staff as and when required, this involves the rapid access to terabytes of information held in a secure and robust environment with a 24/7 availability. - To centrally manage and maintain a single spatial database which will be accessible for all stakeholders in the organisation, giving live updates and immediate availability. - Eliminate duplicated effort, enabling the more efficient use of resources to develop and enhance the products.
Pioneering Solution
To achieve these ambitious aims the Force has partnered with Aligned Assets Limited whose experienced and knowledgeable staff will work to create a pioneering solution. The Aligned Asset solution will ensure that all the British Transport Force systems integrate with common, centrally maintained and controlled spatial data. With the implementation of this work the Force will have full access to the Ordnance Survey MasterMap dataset as well as other map layers. The project will also see
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Way with New GIS

the first major implementation that utilises the full value of the National Land and Property Gazetteer data, by an emergency service. Aligned Assets vast experience of working with this data will be of huge benefit to the British Transport Police. Said Ian Rudd, Senior Sales Consultant for Aligned Assets: Aligned Assets is very pleased to be starting an exciting new venture with British Transport Police. We will be providing an integrated spatial management solution based upon open solutions, linking all their key systems including Command and Control into an open spatial environment with single address database based upon the NLPG. This is one of the first fully integrated uses of NLPG by the emergency services in the UK. It will be a prime example of the benefits of open solutions bringing the best of breed working together to provide the best solution for the customer. With the implementation of this project the British Transport Police will continue their proud tradition of using the latest and best technology to improve their service to the public.
Thanks to Helen Lum from Aligned Assets. For more information on this subject
Waterloo Station in London.
visit: www.aligned-assets.co.uk and www.btp.police.uk
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Interview
HP - Global Reach with Global Responsibility
The Ability to Discover, Optimize and

Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) from Palo Alto, California is among the worlds largest IT companies with a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure. With approximately 156,000 employees worldwide HPs mission is to invent new technologies and services of high business value and social benefit. Thats why it is not surprising that the global geospatial business community is a long-time valuable HP customer and partner. This months interview is an excellent opportunity for a closer look at HP along with its innovating products and services available for geospatial industry. By Joc Triglav
Debbie Tarr
At the beginning, please introduce HP company in the main outlines. Which are the HP hardware products that are most relevant for the geospatial industry?
HP is an engineering company that prides itself as innovators with over 16,000 patents if you think about it that is 1,800 new patents per year or eleven a day. HPs Workstation value proposition is to foster intimate relationships with our customers that enable delivery of innovative products at competitive prices. We have the broadest product portfolio in the industry, and our close relationships with partners and suppliers allow us to usually be the first to ship new technology in our industry. With technology gains, geospatial data has been brought to the masses (my kids google earth those places I only read about in the encyclopedia like the pyramids) and there are many HP products that bring that geospatial data and information to the user, from wireless handheld devices to large format printers and enterprise servers. Often it is consumer pc users taking advantage of the technology for their personal use. A workstation is an excellent alternative for users that need more power,
flexibility and reliability than is available from high end PCs. For professional geospatial users, those who need to manage, analyze and display high-end geospatial info, or are doing photogrammetry, there are a range of HP workstation platforms that can meet their needs, depending on their requirements. Quad core processors enable an unprecedented amount of multi-tasking with no performance degradation, and the introduction of dual graphics on most of our desktop workstation lines will allow up to four displays showing real-time 3D graphics information. Its really just a question of how much performance and expandability the particular GIS professional needs. And as I mentioned, HP provides a full range of products for GIS professionals from handheld devices, workstations, enterprise servers to large format printers. So, one stop shopping is easy with HP.
Please, give us your description of typical HP workstation hardware configurations for entry, medium and high-end level users in geospatial business.
There are a number of variables to look at in selecting the right workstation configuration; HP offers choice and provides guidance in
selecting the right platform. For a new workstation user, I would recommend they check out our How to Guide for purchasing workstations to understand the choice points to consider, and the solution options HP provides. Typically, but depending on application, entry GIS users using 2-D or low-end 3-D applications, might consider the recently announced xw4550; it is powerful and reliable, providing workstation performance at a PC-like price. It has dual-core AMD Opteron processor, simultaneous 32 and 64 bit application support and workstation-class professional graphics. As performance, graphics and expandability needs increase, GIS professionals such as analysts, engineers and specialists in land and resource management, would look at our mid-range platforms, such as HPs Intel based xw6400 offering high performance Intel Core 2 Duo, Quad, or Extreme processors, a lot of choice in disk, controllers and external storage, and high end NVIDIA 3D graphics. Finally, our highest performing systems, the Dual Core AMD Opteron based xw9400 and Intel Xeon based xw8400 are platforms for the most demanding computational and visualization performance, like photogrammetry, where dual graphics, quad core technology, meet the performance and visualization demands of the very demand-
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Interview
Manage
ing geospatial application environment. And of course, mobile GIS professionals can bring their workstation on the road with them with the HP Compaq 8710W, a true 64-bit computing environment, with 17 diagonal display, full OpenGL and DirectX10 graphics support. lead most of our competitors with product technology. This is great for our customers who are early adopters and need up to the minute technology and performance. But not all our customers are early adopters and dont need to move early to new products. This is especially true for our OEM & large enterprise customers. So we also offer the stability of long-life configurations (e.g. long-life xw6200/xw6400 especially for those customers in the financial industry). And when our customers are ready to upgrade, as a technology industry environmental leader for decades, HP is making a difference with a comprehensive, Design For the Environment Strategy that touches upon virtually every aspect of our business. We challenge ourselves to reduce the environmental impact of the materials we use in our products. We focus on energy efficiency, product reuse and recycling and supply responsibilities. the ability to discover, optimize and manage your unique combination of hardware, graphics drives, applications operating system and other system resources. This is an exclusive HP software innovation thats included free with every HP workstation sold with a Microsoft operating system. High-performance, mission-critical applications are very demanding on the underlying system and its drivers, especially graphics. PTF connects to an HP database so it always has the latest information on certified graphics drivers for each application and makes recommendations to help optimize the performance of our customers workstations in their ever-changing environments.
In the nature of hardware and software technology is that it changes very quickly. How do you at HP advise your customers to follow this quick development in the best way and how to decide when to upgrade, trade in or replace the existing hardware
Because one of the key facets of our value proposition is customer intimacy, we strive to provide product roadmap information to as many customers as possible on an ongoing basis. We regularly host customer visits at our Ft. Collins facility, and conduct customer roadmap updates remotely and at customer sites all the time. By doing this, we are able to provide customers with the advanced planning information they need in order to decide what the best time is for them to transition. We also host an Early Evaluation Program, which is a program that gets prototype hardware in the hands of customers for evaluation and development. This program allows those customers to get a (roughly) six-week head start on the activities typically associated with product transitions. We are time to market with all of our products. We are right there with our partners and
Today's workstations are composed of an infinite number of combinations of hardware and software components, OS, and applications. Have you at HP perhaps established a standard procedure to reduce these complexities and to allow fine tuning to the specific individual user requirements?
HPs Performance Tuning Framework (PTF) allows expert customization and configuration of our workstations. PTF and HyperTune are a collection of easy to use tools that give you
How do you benchmark your workstations regarding their capability to perform geospatial operations? How would you rank the importance of a processor, display, hard disc, memory, graphic card and other individual hardware components in a workstation, finely tuned for geospatial applications?
We perform standard benchmarks -e.g. SPEC- as well as application-focused performance characterization. Our industry and application-specific platform configurations and recommendations are based on our benchmark results plus application and industry expertise so we know what really matters most to users in all the industries in which we focus.
A large installed base of users worldwide using workstations (both desk-based and mobile), servers, high definition graphic displays and large format printers among other platforms.
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Interview
How are the cooling problems and the problems of multiple sources of acoustic noise, like fans, hard disk drives and other noises solved in HP workstations?
All our HP workstations are engineered from the inside out not only so they are easy to access the inside with our tool-less chassis but also designed clean so its easy for the user to switch out things, like graphics cards, when the need arises. As the demands of the users increase in visualization so can the hostility of the insides of a computer. HP engineers our workstations to be cool and quiet, they can be bought with PFC 80 PLUS power supplies & advanced cooling and highly configurable power management. Our workstations are used by some of the most creative people in industry today the last thing they want is a noisy computer on their desk we respect their need for a quiet and cool running computer and work hard to deliver workstations that meet those needs.
based workstations and their large multiple monitor configurations. So, you can buy one of each! But seriously, there are inherent benefits that a desktop workstation provides, like ultimate performance (both CPU and graphics), significantly more expandability (I/O and storage), and multi-display capability. Desktop workstations also typically provide more performance for your dollar, although mobiles are certainly coming down in price all the time. Mobile workstations, on the other hand, can provide very compelling performance with the added value of being able to travel with the user. The good news is that HP offers a great variety of Desktop and Mobile workstations to suit just about any requirement.
hardware, software, drivers and graphics to ensure that the application works optimally on our workstations.
Some of HP's technical workstation markets and customers still heavily rely upon the UNIX operating environment. Nowadays Linux seems a very attractive UNIX alternative. How does HP offer its customers R&D and other necessary support to make such a transition to Linux viable?
We were innovators in the UNIX computing world especially around graphics and visualization and we continue to support our UNIX customers. By the way the Airbus A380 was designed on HP-UX Workstations. HP also strives to provide our workstation customers with Linux a choice of Linux as part of our overall multi-OS strategy. Linux was a natural progression for a lot of UNIX customers who wanted out of their higher maintenance proprietary environments, as well as, customers who were hitting the top of their PCs capabilities. HP has a dedicated Linux R&D team that does early qualifications of beta releases from strategic Linux distributors to enable us to deliver Linux configured to each HP personal workstation, including the latest driver updates. We maintain strategic relationships with the open source community to enable a timely and quality HP workstations and Linux solution. We have a large Linux installed base in the Oil & Gas, DCC and Government sectors. Several of our ISVs are Linux-based and weve re-tooled much of our Unix expertise into Linux. An example: UGS Unigraphics NX is available on Linux. Weve created a tool to analyze an NX Linux installation for correctness - driver versions, patch levels, etc - and can help the user get it right the first time.
What is HP Remote Graphics Software and how can it be useful in geospatial applications?
RGS is an advanced utility that allows users to remotely access and share their graphics workstation desktop (desk-based or mobile) across different platforms, so that workstation performance high-end 3D graphics can be quickly and easily viewed in real-time with other users. This is a great solution for project teams, for those in the field who want to access applications from a remote site with network access, or with multiple members of the team in different locations. The solution allows you to access applications on different platforms, such as Windows, Linux and HP-UX.
People in geospatial business are often in the move or working outside the office. What would be your advice to them regarding a decision between a desktop workstation and a mobile workstation or notebook or other types of mobile computer hardware?
Because of our focus on the industries that we sell to - like geospatial - we understood early that mobile was an important factor in our customers work environments. So, HP offers our customers both desk-based and mobile and we often recommend that they incorporate both into their businesses: the powerful and reliable mobility they need when they are away from the office and the extreme power, speed and visualization capabilities when they are in the office with their desk-
Does HP have any strategic partners in geospatial software business? With which main companies in this business do you have tighter business cooperation and which are the main fields of cooperation?
HP works with the leading geospatial/GIS technology solutions vendors and have a large installed base of users worldwide using workstations (both desk-based and mobile), servers, high definition graphic displays and large format printers among other platforms. Our workstation technical computing lab has expertise in the GIS/Geospatial market, and with the applications. They work with the vendors to test and certify the applications with a range of
At the end, please outline your opinion on the developments in geospatial market in the next 5 to 10 years?
A very exciting time as this technology becomes more accessible to people in their everyday lives and to global communities of people and businesses. Like the universe itself, there is an unlimited geospatial database to work with, so for professionals who want to quickly access, analyze and model geospatial information with the highest quality visual experience, we would like HP workstations to be their platform of choice.
Joc Triglav (jtriglav@geoinformatics.com) is editor of GeoInformatics. For more information on the workstations www.hp.com/go/workstations.
I would recommend they check out our How to Guide for purchasing workstations to understand the choice points to consider.
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Article
Part 4: GML - Geography Markup Language
Standards in Practice
In previous articles I described how to model a dataset in such a way that the contents are well defined (data model) and the dataset can be found and used (metadata). But what is the best way to exchange a dataset with other interested parties? By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
GML Geography Markup Language What it is for: The exchange of geographic information in a structured way Relevant standards: - ISO 19136: Geographic Markup Language - OGC GML 3.1.1 Specification (the ISO standard is derived from this) Technical implementation: - XML scheme of the W3C Legal basis: The format is currently being researched as the standard exchange format within INSPIRE
Detail of the XSD scheme generated from the waterpart UML data model (see the GeoInformatics website, www.geoinformatics.com, for the entire file)
here are a number of formats available for the exchange of geographic data. Most formats have been developed with a specific software package and application in mind. Probably the best known example of such a geographic exchange format is ESRI shape files.
exert on the format is usually limited. These limitations may cause practical problems. Take, for example, a GIS package that allows multiple geometries per object. If we want to exchange this information using an exchange format that only allows one geometry per object, we either have to choose which geometry to exchange, or we have to exchange two files that the receiver then has to recombine into a single dataset. Allowing multiple geometries in an exchange format, however, is not of interest to a vendor that supports only a single geometry in its own software. The alternative is to use open standards. With an open standard, users can define the standard. With such a standard, the need to exchange certain information usually overcomes the software limitations. The international open standard for the exchange of geographic information is GML (Geography Markup Language). This standard was developed by the OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) based on the information needs and wishes of a large user community. The disadvantage of using an open standard such as GML is that, since it is developed from an information standpoint, it is usually somewhat ahead of the current software. It is therefore very important that the software vendors who have to support it in their software back such a standard. This process may, in some cases, take several years.
Open or closed?
One of the main disadvantages of a format developed by a software vendor is that it is fully compatible with the software produced by that vendor but, to a certain extent, incompatible with the software of other vendors. Further, the amount of control that users can
How does it work?

GML is a daughter language of XML (Extensible Markup Language). This language has become the language for the exchange of information over the Internet. An example of another XML-like language is HTML (Hypertext
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A GML file is easy for the user to read, that is, if one knows what there is to be read.
type of data that is allowed in a particular field including the length of the field. The pull-down lists, the enumerations and codelists, are defined within the scheme as well. This way a self-describing format is created. Essentially all information needed to read the GML file is defined in the associated scheme.
Example of the coding of two waterparts into a GML file (see the GeoInformatics website, www.geoinformatics.com, for the entire file)
Markup Language) which is used to code web pages. In practice most users will not be confronted with either XML or HTML: our web browser translates the underlying fields into comprehensible information such as a webpage or table.
GML file A GML file is easy for the user to read, that is, if one knows what there is to be read. The file itself is decoded using readable text (ASCII) and is not, as is the case with most other exchange formats, based on binary characters. Therefore anyone with text-editing software can change a GML file. The structure of a GML file takes some getting used to. As with a number of formats,
the file starts with a header that states the information the computer needs in order to read the remainder of the file. The information after the header has a strong structure and looks somewhat similar to a database. The data itself is written in so-called fields. In the example these fields can be seen as text between tags (recognizable from the <>). GML allows the addition of multiple (sub) fields to a single main entry or object. This way all the information related to an object can be stored with that object, creating a clear information structure. Relations between objects can also be defined using pointers or nested structures.
Validation The advantage of using the combination of a scheme and data file is that the latter can be validated for both the structure and the type of data in the fields. All mandatory fields from the scheme (and therefore the data model) have to be filled in the GML file. If they are not present the software usually gives an error message. An error message is also given if a non-existing value is selected for an enumeration field. The software will not give an error or warning when technically correct which means impossible data is entered into a field. If, for example, the length of a watercourse is defined and someone types in 0.01 m, the file will pass the validation. A check on this type of error is not built into the current XML format and has to be checked by the software itself. Geometry The fact that all object information is exchanged in a structured way is great, but with geographic information what really counts is the relation to the geometry of the object. Within GML this has been solved in such a way that quite a number of geometry and topology types are available for the geographic component of the data. Examples of geometry types are, of course, point, line and surface geometries. But more complicated types such as multipoint, 3D solids and multisurfaces are allowed. Even mixing basic geometry types into a single geometry is possible. Profiles GML supports more geometry types than most current software does, including the 3D geometry types that as yet are available in just a few GISs. This is also true for the way the object information (attributes) is structured; for example,
GML scheme
The structure of the GML file is defined in a GML scheme. This scheme is essentially the result of a translation of the UML data model (discussed in a previous article) to a GML-usable format, the GML scheme (XSD). In the header of the GML scheme a reference is made to the scheme on which the file was built. The scheme holds the structure of the file as well as the
Sample GML file as a geographic image in the Snowflake software
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Legalization
Just as with data models, there is no legal requirement for the use of GML as an exchange format. More and more governments are, however, switching to the use of open standards for government data. At the moment the only worldwide open standard for geographic information exchange is GML. The European INSPIRE project is currently investigating the use of GML as a basis for the exchange of information, but is not yet at the point of defining this in the implementing rules. Finally, when using WFS (Web Feature Service), the use of GML is prescribed in this standard. More on WFS (and WMS) in the next article.
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk (hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.com / Sample GML file as administrative data in the Genetics XML viewer h.lekkerkerk@idsw.nl) is project manager standardization at IDsW and editor-in-chief of GeoInformatics. For more information: OGC: www.opengeospatial.org; INSPIRE: www.ec-gis.org; Snowflake: www.snowflake.co.uk; Genetics: www.genetics.nl.
GML, similar to UML, allows an attribute to be used multiple times with a single object. This is, however, not allowed in all software. To prevent this type of problem, GML has defined a number of standard profiles. These profiles limit the GML possibilities in a controlled way. The standard profiles are called
SF (simple features) and are defined on three different levels: 0, 1 and 2. SF level 0 has roughly the same possibilities as the wellknown shape format. The higher the level, the more GML options are allowed for in the exchange file, and the more options the software has to support.
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(Spanish National Program for Aerial Orthophoto):
Collaborative and Innovative Spirit in Geospatial Information

At the beginning of the 21st century, Spain faces very important challenges for sustainable development: significant infrastructure expansion and huge urban and tourist-oriented residential pressures need to be fitted into a structure of adequate environmental impact evaluation and minimization. By Guillermo Villa
A large percentage of Spanish territory undergoes modifications every year, and it is imperative to monitor and manage this rapid rate of change. Traditional cartographic and GIS databases are not well suited to this task because of high production costs and lengthy updating periods. The only way to keep up the pace at a reasonable cost is by using orthoimagery coverage. Digital orthophotos have been used in Spain for many years by different public organizations (regional and national) for specific needs (cadastre, topographic cartography, environmental and agricultural management, etc.). These different needs were addressed through specific orthophoto projects, each with its own specifications for resolution, precision, product list, and so on. In 2004, IGN Spain (Instituto Geographico Nacional) decided to apply INSPIREs principles (Information should be captured only once) and proposed our public organizations join a common orthophoto production project that would serve different needs, consolidating the requirements of all them. This would save money, reduce duplication of effort, and foster derived vector database harmonization and convergence.
Organization
In accordance with the decentralized organization of Spain into 19 Regional Governments (RGs) - Comunidades Autnomas - PNOA (Spanish National Plan for Aerial Orthophoto) was defined from the beginning as a decentralized yet coordinated project. The production of each regions territorial products was the responsibility of the RG, and IGN would act as coordinator of the national part with four Ministries involved technically (Public Works, Environment, Agriculture, Economy) and some others involved as users (Housing, Science and Education, Interior). Through a hard negotiation process, PNOA was launched. This plan included: - Strategies (resolution, update period, products) for the entire territory (505,000 km2). - Budget: an annual amount and how it would be shared among all the different participating organizations. It was decided that the national contribution would be 66% and the
a, b en c: Orthophoto samples: 50 cm / 25 cm / 10 cm pixel size.
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regional contribution 34% of the production costs. Technical specifications: workflow, product list (48 different products in the different phases), process and product detailed specifications (data and metadata). Chronogram (general and particular for each region). Quality assurance process. Organization (national and regional technical and management teams, meeting schedules, legal documents to be signed, property issues, etc.). Principle of data policy agreement. Dissemination process.
How Its Being Done

Venturo, which with 125 employees is one of Spains largest private mapping companies, is responsible for creating orthophotos of 4 of the 17 PNOA regions. Their portion of the project covers some 60,000 km2, captured at 50 cm resolution (50,000 km2) and 25 cm resolution (10,000 km2). While thats a huge undertaking by most standards, the firm hopes it is just the start of its PNOA involvement. The firm, founded 17 years ago by brothers Manuel and Jose Antonio Coronado, is based in Asturias, an area once known for its coal mining industry. With the mines now closed, the region looks to high-tech employers like Venturo for future growth and prosperity. The firms 2,000 m2 office is equipped to support such growth with 12 Leica Photogrammetry Suite (LPS) digital photogrammetric workstations, 40 Digi3D (a local feature extraction SW) stereoplotting workstations, a Leica DSW700 photogrammetric scanner, five Leica IMAGINE Professional remote sensing licenses, 24 SIGRAF cadastre licenses, and an EMC2 Clarion 35TB massive storage disk library. Venturos current project scope includes orthophotos, stereoplotting, mapmaking and cadastre. The company hopes to extend into other areas with the acquisition of aerial sensors and airborne LIDAR. Our goal is to be one of the leaders in the Spanish/European mapping market, explains Pedro Llorens, a director of the firm. - 50 cm pixel size color aerial flight with GPS + IMU (scanned film or digital camera). - Integrated orientation (GPS + IMU + field control + aerial triangulation). - Digital elevation model (DEM) by automatic correlation and manual editing with 2 m rmse in Z. - 50 cm pixel size digital color orthophotos with 1 m rmse in X,Y. - Updating period: 2 years. These specifications allow for 1:10,000 topographic mapping and satisfy most of the needs detected in the definition phase of the project. Some regions, based on their territorial characteristics (such as population density, parcel size, and change rate) decided to go for higher resolution and/or shorter updating periods; some decided to make annual coverages. The excess cost would be paid by that region.
In most cases, RGs contract production through a call for tender to Spanish or European companies.
Resolution/Updating Strategies PNOA 50cm

The main technical discussion has been on the geometric resolution, update period, and annual cost strategy. After much negotiation, it was decided to set minimum requirements for the entire territory of Spain for the 20042007 period:
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PNOA 25cm
For 2008-2011, it has been decided to increase the resolution while keeping the two-year update period. To maintain a reasonable budget, alternate 25 cm/50 cm coverages were recommended. While the 25 cm coverages follow the same rigorous process as before, the 50 cm coverages are treated through a quick othoprojection process (reusing existing DEM and field control points, totally automatic color balance and mosaics, no manual retouch). The 25 cm coverages are associated with a 5 m grid 1 m rmse Z DEM. The minimum requirement is automatic correlation plus stereoscopic manual editing, but simultaneous or almost simultaneous LIDAR capture and processing is recommended. Some regions are opting for this technique. In the near future, LIDAR coverages should be compulsory, because there are many applications (hydrology, flood prevention) that need higher quality DEMs than can be obtained by automatic correlation. These specifications will allow for four-year updating of 1:5,000 topographic mapping of all of Spain. Again, some regions have adopted more ambitious strategies -annual flights and/or 25 cm resolution for all of their coverages.
PNOA coverages 2004-2007.
Technical Aspects and Advances

Detailed technical specifications have been written and corrected by collaboration among all participants and are constantly revised and improved. Technological changes in state-of-theart aerial photography, DEM and digital orthophoto production are adopted as soon as possible. Some examples are: - On board GPS + IMU mandatory since 2005 - Aerial cameras: in 2004 some of the flights were made with digital aerial cameras. In 2005 they were in the majority. In 2007 they are almost all digital. Eight digital aerial cameras are owned by Spanish aerial survey companies. If a digital camera is used, a false color infrared orthophoto is produced as well. - LIDAR capture and MDE instead of automatic correlation has been recommended since 2007. Some companies are offering it at no extra cost. They say that the reduction in manual editing compensates for the increase in flight costs, provided LIDAR and photographs are taken at the same time with one single flight with a two-window plane.
PNOA 10cm
As of June 2007, we are also negotiating the extension of PNOA to coordinate the production of 10 cm pixel aerial flights and orthophotos of urban areas and the coast with a maximum four-year update period. These coverages have been produced in the last few years by various RGs, city authorities, and the Environment Ministry. Once again, the task is to consolidate all the requirements and define a comprehensive and coherent project including all organizational and technical aspects mentioned above for the 50 cm/25 cm case. These flights will be made with simultaneous 1 point/m2 LIDAR capture for orthophoto production and basic 3D-modeling.
tion must be stored in online or near-line storage and adequately backed up. In 2004 IGN installed a NAS server with scalable architecture that accommodates this growth rate. Old information (past years coverages) must be kept online (compressed) or near-line (uncompressed files) for multitemporal comparisons.
Data Policy
By tradition, aerial photogrammetric data in Spain is the property of the organization that pays for the work, not of the private company that makes the flight as in some other countries. In PNOA, RGs and the national administration are co-proprietors of all the information, so PNOA is the property of all Spanish citizens. This provides us with total freedom for data policy definition. The spirit of the project is that information should be as inexpensive, open and widely used as possible. IGN and CNIG are evaluating some kind of Creative Commons type license. The basic principles to be followed in data policy are transparency, neutrality, openness of information, privacy assurance, public guarantee of true data, and public service.
Historical flights
Some regions, as well as the national CNIG (Centro Nacional de Informacin Geogrfica, which is in charge of disseminating IGNs products), are scanning and sometimes orthoprojecting historical photogrammetric flights. This is useful information for monitoring territorial evolution.
Storage
PNOA 50 cm of the whole of Spain is about 15 TB/year of uncompressed data and PNOA 25 cm/50 cm is about 30 TB/year. All this informa-
Dissemination
Transmitting large data sets between different organizations is done with external USB-2 or e-SATA hard disks. Both RGs and national
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In this figure we can see a schema of PNOT components.
ministries have set up and are improving web portals and web services for public access to all this data. Images are served through Internet services by ad hoc portals and are also integrated in Spanish SDI (IDEE) through WMS standard services. Some portals also allow FTP compressed file download. The main concern now is what should be and what will be the role of the private sector in this dissemination. We are trying to define a scenario in which the contribution of each part (public and private) adds to the general benefit and does not hamper it, as could be the case with an exclusive rights philosophy or monopolistic scenario.
Innovation
One of the main objectives of this project is to foster innovation in the Spanish and European photogrammetric sectors. Many interesting initiatives in Spain are reaching the market at this moment. Among them are StereoWebMap (a stereoscopic Internet server for aerial photos), DIGI21 (a powerful yet inexpensive digital photogrammetric software) and many others.
aspect we are quite concerned about what we perceive to be the erroneous copyright, use license and data policies of some satellite image distributors. In our opinion, these policies have hampered the development of operational medium and high resolution remote sensing applications with constant interruptions of the added value chain. A 2.5 m resolution Spanish remote sensing satellite (SEOSAT) is in the final development phase, scheduled to be launched in 2010. - Another interesting component is the SIOSE Project (Spanish 1:25,000 Land Cover Information System) for which we have developed a very innovative parametric object-oriented land cover data model. This model overcomes the important limitations and shortcomings that have been experienced in the production and use of traditional hierarchical classification land cover databases (Corine Land Cover and others). However, that is a theme for another article.
Guillermo Villa (gmvilla@fomento.es) is the Head of the Remote Sensing Department at IGN (National Geographic Institute) in Spain. For additional information: www.ign.es.
PNOT
PNOA is part of a bigger national plan called PNOT (Spanish National Program for Observation of the Territory). In the figure you can see a schema of PNOT components. Among PNOT components are: - PNT (Spanish National Remote Sensing Program): systematic national coverage with different resolution satellite images. In this
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Product News
3Dconnexion Adds Support for ESRI Applications

3Dconnexion has announced that its SpaceNavigator 3D mouse is now supported by ESRIs ArcGIS Desktop products. Using a SpaceNavigator, GIS professionals can now simultaneously pan, zoom and rotate camera views to better visualise geographic information when navigating 3D maps and models. The freedom of navigation provided by the SpaceNavigator 3D mouse enhances map and spatial analysis, making it easier to view and understand geographic data. The integration of 3D data in GIS applications has grown significantly, changing how GIS users interact with geographic information. Advanced 3D navigation allows ESRI users to explore data-rich environments in a way that cannot be achieved with a mouse and keyboard alone. With the SpaceNavigator 3D mouse, users apply very slight movements to the devices controller cap to seamlessly fly through 3D terrain. The SpaceNavigator 3D mouse is a companion to the traditional mouse and is controlled with the other hand. The 3Dconnexion product line is supported by more than 100 of todays most popular 3D applications. Internet: www.3Dconnexion.com .
Bentleys Haestad Methods Solutions Selected No. 1

Bentley Systems, Incorporated announced that its Haestad Methods product line has been selected as the No. 1 water resources modeling software in a national survey. The survey, commissioned by Bentley, was conducted across the readership of CE News Civil Connection, a leading civil engineering newsletter published by ZweigWhite. This follows on the heels of the Peoples Choice Award that Bentleys WaterGEMS product in its Haestad line won at the American Water Works Association Annual Conference and Exposition. The survey asked licensed civil engineering professionals employed by leading consulting engineering, survey, and construction firms and key public works departments, utilities, and municipalities about their software preferences in seven categories of water resources modeling software. Bentleys Haestad solutions earned the No. 1 position receiving up to more than three times the top responses of the closest competing products in five categories. To view the survey results, visit: www.cenews.com/bentleysystems.
New Release of ArcGIS Explorer

The latest release of ESRI's ArcGIS Explorer contains many new powerful features and enhancements. Quickly organize your query results and more easily add content by downloading Build 410 of ArcGIS Explorer. The new version of ArcGIS Explorer extends the capabilities of the free software that brings the power of GIS to everyone. New capabilities include: ability to access, modify, and save result properties; improved hyperlink capabilities that make it easy to integrate web-based content and local files, videos, and documents; improved result views that allow you to control the zoom and perspective for any result; improved management and organization of results and multilingual driving directions. To download ArcGIS Explorer, visit: www.esri.com/arcgisexplorer
DigitalGlobe Successfully Launches Worldview-1

had automatically initialized its onboard processors. WorldView-1, built by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation with the imaging sensor provided by ITT Corporation, is a high-capacity, panchromatic imaging system featuring half-meter resolution imagery. With an average revisit time of 1.7 days, WorldView-1 is capable of collecting up to 750,000 square kilometers (290,000 square miles) per day of half-meter imagery. WorldView-1s first images include a half-meter snapshot from Houston, Texas, USA acquired October 2, 2007 Internet: www.digitalglobe.com
Optech Releases New LYNX Mobile Mapper
Shortly after the launch, a DigitalGlobe ground station received a downlink signal confirming that the satellite successfully separated from its launch vehicle and
Garmin launches Sat-Nav for Your Phone

The satellite navigation company, Garmin has launched an all-in-one software solution that turns selected smartphones with internal GPS into high-end navigators. Garmin Mobile XT is a mobile phone software application that pairs the phone's built-in GPS with Garmin's software so that customers have the benefits of navigation anywhere in Europe or North America. Unlike other mobile phone applications, Garmin Mobile XT offers preloaded maps and includes access to dynamic content like premium real-time traffic alerts and weather reports but does not require monthly fees (safety camera alerts free for first three months. For updates subscription charges then apply). Internet: www.garmin.com
Emergency Management Professionals Take Advantage of ESRIs ArcGIS

ESi and ESRI announced the release of WebEOC Mapper Professional (WebEOC Mapper). This Webenabled emergency management communications system was designed for public and private organizations involved in homeland security and emergency operations. WebEOC Mapper provides users with powerful technology tools to create a dynamic, geographically based common operating picture and the ability to view data from multiple WebEOC screens simultaneously on a centralized map. It allows fast data access and dissemination critical to all phases of preparedness and response to both commanders working in an emergency operations center and first responders in the field. Internet: wwww.esi911.com www.esri.com Optech Inc. launched the LYNX Mobile Mapper, a next generation of LIDAR technology. The LIDAR is bundled into a mobile mapping solution with the accuracy, robustness and support that Optech users have come to expect. The LYNX Mobile Mapper boasts a revolutionary new LIDAR sensor head that leverages Optechs 33 years of development experience and the latest in LIDAR innovation iFLEX - to collect survey-grade LIDAR data at over 100,000 measurements per second with a 360 FOV, while maintaining a Class 1 eye safety rating. The LYNX mobile mapping solution, while accommodating up to four LIDAR sensor heads, fuses the LIDAR data with an on-board passive imaging system, the Trimble/Applanix POS LV system and a tried and tested operational software platform to produce survey grade 3D data from a mobile vehicular platform. Internet: www.optech.ca
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Autodesk Contributes New Coordinate System Software
Roads and Bridges Solutions asset-class portfolio. In addition to facilitating communication among the software development, sales, marketing, and professional services groups, he will act as spokesman for the comprehensive suite of Bentley MX Solutions, GEOPAK, and InRoads, which supports each phase of the asset lifecycle planning, design, engineering, construction, operation, and maintenance.
GIOVE-A test Campaign Completed
www.bentley.com/civil
Blue Marble Geographics and 1Spatial Cooperate.

Blue Marble Geographics in cooperation with 1Spatial, is supporting a research initiative by the Spatial Data Quality Working Group of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). Blue Marble President, Patrick Cunningham, is Vice Chair of the Spatial Data Quality Working Group (WG) and he has worked together with Graham Stickler of 1Spatial to develop the survey. As well, Blue Marble development staff members have donated their time to post and launch the survey. The Charter of this WG is to attempt to establish how data quality can be both defined and communicated, using standards to help in the reuse of spatial data and in the creation and management of spatial data infrastructures. The test campaign using the large antenna at Chilbolton Observatory to analyse the navigation signals transmitted by GIOVE-A, the first Galileo satellite, has been successfully completed. Following its launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 28 December 2005, GIOVE-A began transmitting navigation signals on 12 January 2006. Analysis of these signals has involved several facilities, including the Navigation Laboratory at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), in the Netherlands, the ESA ground station at Redu, in Belgium, and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) Chilbolton Observatory in the United Kingdom. Chilbolton's 25-metre antenna made it possible to acquire the signals from GIOVE-A and analyse them in detail to verify their conformance with the Galileo system specification. Analysis of the signals has allowed some adjustments to be made, re-programming the spacecraft's navigation signal generation unit to compensate for changes to the signals introduced by the amplifier that boosts them for transmission to Earth and by a filter that protects adjacent frequency bands from interference.
Autodesk has recently announced its plans to donate coordinate system and map projection technology to the geospatial open source community. The software, acquired from Mentor Software and its founder Norm Olsen, will help users to more easily support geographic coordinate conversions and allow accurate and precise geospatial analysis. The announcement was made at the annual Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) conference in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, where geospatial open source developers and users join to learn, present and network. The planned contribution follows a recent acquisition by Autodesk of Mentor Softwares technology. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Mentor Softwares founder and principal, Norm Olsen, who created and supported the technology Autodesk intends to donate, will join Autodesk as a senior software engineer.
www.opengeospatial.org
Christopher Tucker Joins Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging

Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging is pleased to announce that Christopher Tucker will join the management team as Senior Vice President, National Programs, with purview over U.S. Defense, Intelligence, Homeland Security and associated Federal Programs. Tucker is former President and CEO of IONIC Enterprise, which was recently acquired by Leica Geosystems. IONIC is a global provider of products and solutions for interoperable web-mapping, location-based services, imagery management and distributed geo-processing. Tucker will continue to manage IONIC Enterprise during its integration into Leica Geosystems over the next several months. In his move to Leica Geosystems, Tucker will continue his Board seats with the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF).
www.autodesk.com
www.esa.int/esaNA/SEM4R1VL05F_index_0.html
Bentley Appoints Mike Sedgwick Vice President

Bentley Systems has appointed Mike Sedgwick as vice president, Bentley Civil and Transportation Sales, for the Americas region. Sedgwick brings more than 30 years of experience in engineering automation software sales to both commercial and government organizations. He has seven years of experience at Bentley in roles ranging from civil engineering consultant for state departments of transportation (DOTs) to industry sales executive for Canada and the northeastern United States. In his new position, Sedgwick is responsible for civil sales, technical support, administration, and marketing in the Americas. Sedgwicks technology background includes tenures at leading software firms, such as Universal Systems and Intergraph, and at state agencies, including the New York State Office of General Services. His professional accomplishments include affiliations with the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials and the Highway Engineering Exchange Program, and he also is a member of the GTC Advisory Board.
Hexagon Acquires NovAtel

NovAtel Inc. and Hexagon AB have entered into a definitive agreement. Hexagon has agreed to acquire all the outstanding shares of NovAtel for US$ 50 per share: the approximate total value is US$ 390 million. NovAtel has a long standing partnership with Hexagon's subsidiary, Leica Geosystems, focused on the development of high-precision GNSS technologies. NovAtel has been a core supplier of these technologies to Leica Geosystems since 2002. The combination of Hexagon and NovAtel will add new applications to the Hexagon product portfolio and give Hexagon access to technologies applicable to new high growth markets. Under the terms of the agreement, Hexagon will commence a cash tender offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of NovAtel for US$ 50 per share. The agreement has been approved by NovAtel's Board of Directors and is fully supported by NovAtel's senior management. Completion of the transactions is expected during the fourth quarter of 2007 and is subject to customary regulatory approval, minimum tender and other conditions.
www.gi.leica-geosystems.com
DHL Express Selects DMTI Spatial to Streamline Delivery Routes

DMTI Spatial (DMTI), a provider of location intelligence for the enterprise, has been selected by DHL Express, a global market leader of the international express and logistics industry, to provide comprehensive mapping data to optimize its facility and driver routing of its packages by moving from an address-based routing system to a 6 digit postal code boundary framework for its more than 100 locations across Canada. DHL Express Canada picks up and delivers over 300,000 packages on a daily basis. Using DMTIs Platinum Postal Suite, DHL can apply national postal code information with unmatched precision down to the neighborhood level ensuring accuracy and reliability in pick-up and delivery services for their customers.
www.bentley.com/civil
www.hexagon.se
Bentley Appoints Tom Clemons as Vice President

Bentley Systems, Incorporated has appointed Tom Clemons as vice president, Bentley Roads and Bridges Solutions. Clemons brings more than 30 years of experience, including seven years at Bentley, in civil engineering and geospatial technology applications working with federal, state, and local government agencies and the consulting firms that serve these agencies. In his new position, Clemons will plan, manage, and execute strategies for the expansion of Bentleys
Microsoft Joins OGC as a Principal Member

At the annual Geoint 2007 Symposium, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) announced that Microsoft Corporation has joined the consortium as a Principal Member. Government agencies worldwide are realizing the power of geospatial applications to meet their missions in ways that are unprecedented - from public safety applications to famine and hunger relief. Through its involvement with OGC, Microsoft is able to ensure the geospatial interoperability of its tech-
www.dmtispatial.com
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Industry News
nology, including its flagship geospatial offerings the Microsoft Virtual Earth platform - and Microsoft SQL Server 2008, which is scheduled to ship in the second quarter of calendar year 2008. Microsoft will submit the SQL Server 2008 geometry datatype for compliance to the Open GIS Simple Features for SQL standard, a significant move towards ensuring that geospatial data can be seamlessly layered upon and integrated within SQL Server 2008. By making its products OpenGIS compatible Microsoft will support both developers and users who wish to work with the most extensive assortment of the world's geospatial data resources currently available. by 2012. Dedicated personal navigation devices (PNDs) are likely to see even stronger growthfrom 220,000 units in 2006 to over 2.8 million units in 2012. insightful underwriting, rating, coverage and risk selection decisions.
www.mapinfo.co.uk/TR
www.teleatlas.com
Nokia Buys Navteq
Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging increased Its Level of OGC Membership to Become a Principal Member
Principal Members have authority over the development, release and adoption of OpenGIS Specifications through their voting rights in the OGC Planning Committee (PC). Principal Members also evaluate and provide guidance on market direction and Consortium focus, have approval authority for OGC policies and procedures, and vote to elect members of the OGC Board of Directors. In line with its commitment to provide and support standards-based geospatial data management solutions, Leica Geosystems recently acquired Acquis, ER Mapper and IONIC. IONIC has been active for many years in the OGC Technical Committee, Planning Committee, Architecture Board, and Board of Directors.
www.microsoft.com/industry/government
Mladen Stojic Joins Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imagings Executive Management Team
Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging announced that Mladen Stojic, former Director of Enterprise and Visualization Solutions, will join the management team as Senior Vice President, Product Management and Marketing. Following the recent acquisitions of Acquis, ER Mapper and IONIC, Stojic will greatly assist in Leica Geosystems integration and growth, providing direction in product management and marketing strategies. With over 10 years of experience within Leica Geosystems (including time at ERDAS), Stojic has extensive product development and management experience, coupled with a broad understanding of the rapidly expanding geospatial markets. Stojic has held several positions within the company, including Photogrammetry Product Manager and Platform Extensions Product Manager. Since 2004, Stojic has been the Director of Enterprise and Visualization Solutions, spearheading the market strategy and vision for Leica Geosystems' growing enterprise and visualization portfolio, including Leica TITAN, Leica ADE and Leica Virtual Explorer.
Nokia and Navteq surprised the market yesterday by announcing that Nokia will acquire Navteq for $8.1bn. Navteq is a supplier of digital maps for automotive navigation systems, personal navigation devices (PNDs) and other corporate and Internetbased mapping systems. It also owns Traffic.com which provides traffic information for the US. Nokia will finance the acquisition with a mixture of cash and debt. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008. It has said that it will run Navteq as an independent subsidiary, so that existing relationships can remain in place.
www.opengeospatial.org
www.navteq.com
Vincent Dessard Joins Geospatial Imaging
Leica
Geosystems
Ordnance Survey Appoints New Director of Information Systems
Most Complete Digital Map of China by TeleAtlas
Great Britain's national mapping agency, Ordnance Survey, has appointed Bob Goodrich as its new Director of Information Systems (IS). Bob, who will lead a team of around 240 people, will have overall responsibility for Ordnance Surveys entire technology infrastructure, including the implementation of a new seamless database management system, a project unique in terms of its scale and complexity. Bob is moving from his current role as an IS programme director. He originally trained as a cartographer before moving to research and development, and finally information services. It was there that he was instrumental in the 2001 delivery of OS MasterMap, the largest seamless geospatial database in the world.
Vincent Dessard, former CEO of IONIC, will join Leica Geospatial Imagings executive management team as Vice President of Business Development. He will continue to manage IONIC Software during the integration process over the next several months. Dessard has spent more than fifteen years in the geospatial information industry, vitally contributing to the interoperability and standards definitions for both the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). In 1999, Dessard co-founded IONIC Software in Belgium, and, in 2001, co-founded IONIC Enterprise, IONICs presence in the USA. During his time at IONIC, Dessard served as CEO and Executive Director, in addition to spearheading sales and business development efforts. Dessard continues to serve as a member of the OGC Management and Planning Committee and Chairman of the OGC Europe Forum. In addition, he is also the head of the Belgian Delegation at ISO-TC211.
Altus Group Selects DMTI Spatial to Improve Decision Making

DMTI Spatial (DMTI), a provider of location intelligence, has been selected by Altus Group to provide geographical data to enhance their automated property valuation models. Using DMTIs Location Hub platform, Altus Group can map geographic data including addresses, point of interest, municipal boundaries, and other location information on behalf of real estate boards, mortgage and insurance companies allowing them to make informed decisions on behalf of their clients.
Tele Atlas a global provider of digital maps and dynamic content for navigation and location-based solutions, today announced Tele Atlas MultiNet China, the most complete digital map of the country available with street level coverage for more than 3,000 provincial and county cities. The company also announced it has opened a Display Technology Center in Shanghai, focused on producing visual enhancements such as 3D landmarks, 3D city maps and crossing magnifications for the Asia Pacific region designed to help make navigation systems clear and compelling to end users. Industry analysts report that the Chinese market for map-based devices and applications is one of the fastest growing in the world. According to recent studies by Telematics Research Group the in-vehicle navigation market in China is projected to grow from 80,000 units in 2005 to nearly 1.5 million systems
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
Pitney Bowes MapInfo Aligns with Exclusive Analysis to Provide Advanced Terrorism Risk Analytics
Pitney Bowes MapInfo have aligned with Exclusive Analysis, a leading strategic intelligence company, to provide the insurance industry with TerrorRisk, a terrorism risk assessment tool. TerrorRisk, combining Exclusive Analysis terrorism forecasting expertise with Pitney Bowes MapInfos location intelligence, employs fact-based, location-specific metrics developed by Exclusive Analysis to score the maximum likely severity of violent risks to more than 3,700 global points of interest. Armed with Exclusive Analysis insight and the location intelligent capabilities delivered by Pitney Bowes MapInfo technology, insurers and risk managers are able to make more
www.dmtispatial.com
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Infoterra and Geomer Provide

Flood Information Online

The FloodServer, a novel platform designed

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Romney Marsh Case Study and

Intermap Flood Risk Analysis

This unprecedented catastrophe comes in the

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Significant Input from Our Users

Interest Shown by Utilities Compan

Is it just Local Government who are using your solutions?

What about integration with other systems used in Local Government?

Recent clients include Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks.

Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com

Fast Mapping Results Provide Deeper Insights

Wildfires & Remote Sensing

Photo: Daniel Danjeager Vendruscolo

Object-oriented vs. Pixel-based Analysis of Images

Mapping the Large Fire of Parnitha

Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com

Fires this summer in Italy, Greece and Balkan. Credits: ESA

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Report on the Latest GIS Trends at Intergeo 2007

Intergeo 2007 Conference and Trade

Unique Meeting Point

55th German Cartographers Day

Disaster management and risk assessment

3D Terrain and City Models

National Geo-data and European Spatial Data Infrastructures

Internet GIS and Geo-Web Services

The Second Open Source Park

The Open Source Park at Intergeo.

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Exhibition Hall at Intergeo 2007 in Leipzig. Copyright HINTE GmbH.

Universities and educational institutions

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Data Lending Service

A Novel Solution of the Finnish NSDI

Even Commercial Data

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esa - 2004 - P. Carril

Satellites All over the Place

Extension of the WAAS network to Mexico and Canada (source: www.nstb.tc.faa.gov)

Pseudolite station in Helsinki Harbor (source: www.esa.int)

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A Report on the Bulgaria 2007 Conference

From Imagery to Map: Digital Photo

I - Airborne Imaging & Mapping

Airborne Digital Imaging

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II - Spaceborne Imaging & Mapping

Aerial Film Photography

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Mapping @ Medium Scales

Mapping @ Large Scales

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III - Racurs & PHOTOMOD Status & Developments of PHOTOMOD

A 2007 Geospatial Personality Test

15 points 5 points 20 points

points points points points

points points points points