LESSONS SO FAR
geospatial 112010 Rs. 100/- www.geospatialtoday.com TODAY
DEVELOPING GEOSPATIAL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS SAGAR MUNICIPALITY GOES DIGITAL
RAMACHANDRAN VISWANATHAN
PRESIDENT AND CEO, DEVAS MULTIMEDIA INTERVIEW
R-APDRP is underway and states are in different stages of implementation. Technical challenges apart the programme has quite a few lessons for all the stakeholders
ISSN 0972-6810
TODAY
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Publications Director Ramprasad
Vice President (Operations) Umamaheswar Rao P Sr. Assistant Editor T P Venu Assistant Editor Omer Ahmed Siddiqui Copy Editor G Srinivas Reddy Head – Design Jayaraj Frederick Sr. Designers Masa Vijay, Lakshmi D Designers
Srinivas P, Nagaraju N S Web Upender Reddy V
CONTENTS
Head - Business & Events Wilson Rajan [email protected] - 099499 05432 Circulation & Subscription Unnikrishna Pillai S [email protected] - 095059 19923 Marketing & Sales
Mumbai Dr Shibu John Head - Strategy & BD [email protected] - 098676 82002 Delhi K N Sudheer - Regional Manager [email protected] - 099101 66443 Kolkata Nikhil Doshi - Region Head [email protected] - 098369 96293 Chennai W Sudhakar - Manager [email protected] - 097899 81869
Lessons so far
02 14
22
24
27
34
42
48
NEWS COVER STORY
R-APDRP is underway and states are in different stages of implementation.
Technical challenges apart the programme has quite a few lessons for all the stakeholders
INTERVIEW
Ramachandran Viswanathan, President and CEO, Devas Multimedia GAGAN IN THE FINAL PHASE GAGAN system will revolutionise navigation in India, be it by land, sea or air
SAGAR MUNICIPALITY GOES DIGITAL Armed with high-resolution satellite data, SOI toposheet and municipal records, a digital urban land use map of Sagar has been created to facilitate an effective assessment of municipal properties and build a Web-based GIS DEVELOPING GEOSPATIAL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS
A perfect GeoBI solution can be developed by integrating the spatial component and its functionalities into each component of business intelligence infrastructure PUTTING A BUSINESS METRIC ON GEOSPATIAL STANDARDS Open standards have played a crucial role in enhancing the interoperability of diverse systems and in helping organisations provide better services, saving significant costs to both public and private enterprises
EVENTS Mark your calender
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VOLUME 9 ISSUE 9
Prof Ian Masser Visiting Professor, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analyses, University College, London, UK Jack Dangermond Founder and President, ESRI Dr Shailesh R Nayak Secretary, Min of Earth Sciences Dr V Jayaraman
Director, NRSC Maj Gen (Dr) R Siva Kumar CEO-NSDI, Head - NRDMS
K R Sridhara Murthi M Moni
Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre, Government of India Rajesh C Mathur Vice Chairman, ESRI India Mukund K Rao GIS Activist Dr R Nagaraja Group Head, NDC, NRSC Dr N L Sarada Prof. Computer Science &
Engineering Department, IIT Bombay
Editorial advisory board
President and CEO, Devas Multimedia
Ramachandran Viswanathan
Interview
14
30
MILITARY OPERATIONS, WARFARE AND SPACE APPLICATIONS
38
AIRPHOTO PROCESSING SIMPLIFIED
02 |geospatial TODAY november 2010
News
Technology helps TNEB
nna University’s Institute
A
of Remote Sensing has installed GIS systems for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). The university is also undertaking training programmes for TNEB engineers to update their skills for using GIS, GPS and satellite imagery. Using GIS, TNEB has been able to develop several layers of maps of road network, drainage systems, habitated lands etc. The process for laying transmission lines could be optimised and thecoordinates could be easily drawn using GPS, which was otherwise a laborious task.
With GIS, TNEB has been able to save 40 per cent of its time and avoid wastage of resources.
Before installing GIS systems TNEB was using maps developed in the 1970s by Survey of India to lay transmission lines.
Promoting novel technologies in mineral exploration
nder the UN Framework
U
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), governments around the world are negotiating a mechanism to provide payments for reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus additional forest “activities”(REDD+), with the aim of halving deforestation by 2020. For this purpose, mapping of areas where a country's carbon stocks overlap with areas that are rich in wildlife and important for local peoples' livelihoods, is underway in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The aim is to support international efforts to conserve forests in order to combat climate change. But in a way, that delivers other benefits including
conservation of economically-important ecosystems linked with water, fertile soils and other crucial services. The maps are being compiled by a partnership led by the UN Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP- WCMC). These maps overlay the carbon held in the vegetation and soils of a country’s terrestrial
ecosystems with other key features such as population densities and economic activities such as honey and
gum production. The maps will also mark the location of existing protected areas and biodiversity.
Fire information system for Africa
utilities to set up predefined user profiles to assist them in their tasks at national, municipal and provincial levels. In addition to active fire location data, burnt area estimates can also be obtained from the satellite images. The system also integrates information on wind speed and direction from 130 automated weather stations every hour.
data within 10 minutes after a satellite passes over a fire location. It enables government departments, civil organisations, local fire protection associations and he Council for Scientific
T
and Industrial Research (CSIR) has released advanced version of Advanced Fire Information System AFIS-II that provides information on active fire locations in southern and east Africa in real time. This is a first of its kind satellite-based fire information tool that can be used through cell phones to send alerts. AFIS-II receivesAFIS-II takes disaster management initiatives in Africa a step ahead by providing real-time information.
Carbon mapping to curb climate change
n an attempt to promote
I
use of modern technologies such as remote sensing, geophysical and geochemical exploration in mineral extraction, the central government is inviting private sector participation.Preference for issue of reconnaissance permits (RPs) for mining is being given to those entrepreneurs who use these technologies. In the past three years, the central government has granted 114 reconnaissance permits (Rps)
for exploring minerals like platinum group elements (PGE), gold, silver, iron ore, cobalt and copper in 1.31 lakh sq km of India. The Geological Survey of India is also making efforts to promote exploration of PGE resources in
geologically potential areas.
02 |geospatial TODAY november 2010
News
Technology helps TNEB
nna University’s Institute
A
of Remote Sensing has installed GIS systems for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). The university is also undertaking training programmes for TNEB engineers to update their skills for using GIS, GPS and satellite imagery. Using GIS, TNEB has been able to develop several layers of maps of road network, drainage systems, habitated lands etc. The process for laying transmission lines could be optimised and thecoordinates could be easily drawn using GPS, which was otherwise a laborious task.
With GIS, TNEB has been able to save 40 per cent of its time and avoid wastage of resources.
Before installing GIS systems TNEB was using maps developed in the 1970s by Survey of India to lay transmission lines.
Promoting novel technologies in mineral exploration
nder the UN Framework
U
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), governments around the world are negotiating a mechanism to provide payments for reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus additional forest “activities”(REDD+), with the aim of halving deforestation by 2020. For this purpose, mapping of areas where a country's carbon stocks overlap with areas that are rich in wildlife and important for local peoples' livelihoods, is underway in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The aim is to support international efforts to conserve forests in order to combat climate change. But in a way, that delivers other benefits including
conservation of economically-important ecosystems linked with water, fertile soils and other crucial services. The maps are being compiled by a partnership led by the UN Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP- WCMC). These maps overlay the carbon held in the vegetation and soils of a country’s terrestrial
ecosystems with other key features such as population densities and economic activities such as honey and
gum production. The maps will also mark the location of existing protected areas and biodiversity.
Fire information system for Africa
utilities to set up predefined user profiles to assist them in their tasks at national, municipal and provincial levels. In addition to active fire location data, burnt area estimates can also be obtained from the satellite images. The system also integrates information on wind speed and direction from 130 automated weather stations every hour.
data within 10 minutes after a satellite passes over a fire location. It enables government departments, civil organisations, local fire protection associations and he Council for Scientific
T
and Industrial Research (CSIR) has released advanced version of Advanced Fire Information System AFIS-II that provides information on active fire locations in southern and east Africa in real time. This is a first of its kind satellite-based fire information tool that can be used through cell phones to send alerts. AFIS-II receivesAFIS-II takes disaster management initiatives in Africa a step ahead by providing real-time information.
Carbon mapping to curb climate change
n an attempt to promote
I
use of modern technologies such as remote sensing, geophysical and geochemical exploration in mineral extraction, the central government is inviting private sector participation.Preference for issue of reconnaissance permits (RPs) for mining is being given to those entrepreneurs who use these technologies. In the past three years, the central government has granted 114 reconnaissance permits (Rps)
for exploring minerals like platinum group elements (PGE), gold, silver, iron ore, cobalt and copper in 1.31 lakh sq km of India. The Geological Survey of India is also making efforts to promote exploration of PGE resources in
geologically potential areas.
News
ew enhanced version of
N
Bhuvan, Bhuvan V 2.0, has been released, which is easier to use, understand and navigate. The new Bhuvan comes along with a bundle of new and excitingfunctionalities and has been specially designed to help explore the world with specific focus on India in 2D and 3D landscape. Information on various themes like land resources, agriculture, soil, water, ocean sciences, ground water potential, ecosystems, biodiversity etc. has been
updated in the new version. This information is extracted from multi-resolution remote sensing images taken by various ISRO satellites. New features include: Collaborate Tool – a community tool that connects Bhuvan users through a collaborative network; ‘Add Content’ enables uided by the effective use
G
of GIS in Gujarat for boosting socio-economic development, a central expert group headed by rural development ministry secretary B K Sinha has recommended keeping Gujarat as a base model for developing a national framework to monitor NREGA implementation using GIS.The 16-member expert group further recommended for developing a list of all GIS
databases that could be used for the plan. In addition, a list
of institutions having expertise in using GIS technology will also be prepared.
According to a rural
development ministry official,
“The initiative of the ministry aims at strengthening decentralised participatory planning process,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of works under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA by using GIS and Geo-ICT tools.”
users to add their own information also known as Voluntary Geographic Information (VGI) to Bhuvan; and ‘Developers Tool’ provides an assortment of functional code for developers that can be changed and used for different purposes. The Bhuvan Application Program Interface (API) lets users embed a true 3D digital globe into Web pages. To enhance the outreach of its capability among the Indian user community, the new Bhuvan V 2.0 is now available in Hindi as well.
LA Times maps crimes
The Los Angeles Times has developed a new crime mapping programme that enables users to analyse crime statistics, search for historic crime patterns and receive alerts when several crimes occur in a given area over a period of time. The maps will use crime data provided by the LAPD and LA County Sheriff's Department on a daily basis and will provide detailed information on serious crimes, offering alerts at the neighborhood level. Of late, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles county Sheriff’s Department have also been working on ways to make crime data available to the general public in electronic form through online crime maps. Bhuvan V 2.0 helps
explore the world with specific focus on India in 2D and 3D landscape.
Blue Sky partners with Iridium
lue Sky Network, a leading
B
global provider of GPS tracking and communication solutions for land, sea, and aviation assets has entered into a service partnershipagreement with mobile satellite service provider, Iridium Serviçios de Satelites S.A., a subsidiary of Iridium Communications Inc. As an Iridium service partner in Brazil, Blue Sky Network can now provide its satellite-based GPS tracking and remote
communication solutions directly to operators of air, land and marine vehicles based in that country. The new partnership expands Blue Sky Network’s global footprint and builds upon its long-standing relationship with Iridium.
The new partnership helps Blue Sky Network’s long-term growth in the Brazilian market. The company recently opened Blue Sky Network Brazil based in Alphaville, just outside Sao Paulo.
he Union Home Ministry is
T
planning a new scheme to integrate radar sensing devices across the coastal areas to track terror activities through sea routes in India. The sensing devices integration is part of ` 350-crore project, forinspecting the entire 7,517-km coast zone of the country. The sensors will be installed in specific lighthouses on the coastline and on certain islands.
In the entire western India,
Mumbai will be the major area for radar sensor-mediated sea surveillance. The west zone Remote Operational Station (ROS) for states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and the Lakshadweep islands will be installed at the ICG headquarters in Mumbai.
The data obtained from radar sensing units of all these states will be transmitted to corresponding Remote Operation Centres (ROC) and
rdnance Survey has
O
announced the GeoVation Challenge that invites budding innovators and entrepreneurs to contribute ideas that could revolutionise transportation in Britain. A prize fund of£ 25,000 is being provided for the best entries. The basic aim of the challenge is to seek ideas on how geographic data can be used to make travel more environmentally
Ordnance Survey announces the GeoVation Challenge
sustainable and improve public transport services. The challenge is expected to bring up possible ideas such as the use of geography to bring together potential lift-share partners based on their location, interests and availability of public transport,
thereby reducing congestion and carbon emissions.
Commenting on the contest, Dr Chris Parker, one of the organisers said, “There are exciting opportunities for geography to be harnessed to help us travel in a sustainable way, whilst the government data releases we’ve seen over the past year means there is now a real opportunity for people to use that information to improving public services.”
The GeoVation Challenge aims at exploring eco-
friendly modes of transportation.
AuScope to explore Earth's subsurface
AuScope is a not-for-profit collaboration between universities, the CSIRO and other science organisations in Australia to explore the Earth’s subsurface, study the composition of the top 1 km and provide a clearer picture about the deeper crust. Launched with a capital of US$ 43 million, AuScope is expected to significantly help scientists in tackling climate change. Inaugurating the geosicence body, Science Minister Kim Carr said,
“AuScope will deepen our understanding of this land in ways we can’t yet fully comprehend.” AuScope will study certain critical signs such as changes in sea level, atmospheric circulation and the water cycle to provide the world detailed information on climate change.
the Mumbai-based ROS. The Mumbai centre will share the information with other states’
ROS as well as with the apex headquarters. The ROC will be
set up at the ICG west zone headquarters located in Worli.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and the Navy will monitor the coastal safety measures.
GIS technology to help monitor NREGA
ational Renewable Energy
N
Laboratory (NREL) has developed a new bioenergy mapping portal where users can gather data on biopower and biofuels potential in North America. Users can start with a blank map of North America and add on various layers such as map with biomass feedstocks, ethanol andbiodiesel plants both active and idle, and existing transportation infrastructure, power plants, fueling stations, refineries and more. Atlas thus developed will help people in gathering data about biopower and biofuels potential in North America.
The portal development has been funded by the
Environmental Protection Agency’s Blue Skyways Collaborative and Department of Energy's Biomass
Programme. The portal will be helpful to government and state agencies, universities, the petroleum and pipeline industries, research institutions, vehicle manufacturers, GIS companies and citizens.
NREL maps bioenergy development New version of Bhuvan released Radar sensors for coastline security
CACI acquires TechniGraphics, Inc.
strategy are to diversify CACI’s work and offerings within the Intelligence Community, focus on core intelligence mission areas with particular emphasis on those that are enduring, and develop capabilities in market segments adjacent to those where CACI has a presence. TechniGraphics adds an essential geospatial element to CACI’s core competencies.
This acquisition solidifies CACI's competency in the mission-critical intelligence space and sustains a long- term commitment to sophisticated intelligence solutions.
Acquisition of TechniGraphics furthers CACI’s strategy to grow and invest in capabilities that serve the intelligence market. Key elements of this ACI International Inc. has
C
signed a definitive agreement to acquire TechniGraphics, Inc., a leading provider of imagery and geospatial services to the US Intelligence Community.TechniGraphics’ products form the basis for intelligence analysis, military operational planning, disaster relief planning, and operations and other mapping requirements.
04 |geospatial TODAY november 2010 november 2010 geospatial TODAY|05
News
ew enhanced version of
N
Bhuvan, Bhuvan V 2.0, has been released, which is easier to use, understand and navigate. The new Bhuvan comes along with a bundle of new and excitingfunctionalities and has been specially designed to help explore the world with specific focus on India in 2D and 3D landscape. Information on various themes like land resources, agriculture, soil, water, ocean sciences, ground water potential, ecosystems, biodiversity etc. has been
updated in the new version.
This information is extracted from multi-resolution remote sensing images taken by various ISRO satellites.
New features include:
Collaborate Tool – a community tool that connects Bhuvan users through a collaborative network; ‘Add Content’ enables uided by the effective use
G
of GIS in Gujarat for boosting socio-economic development, a central expert group headed by rural development ministry secretary B K Sinha has recommended keeping Gujarat as a base model for developing a national framework to monitor NREGA implementation using GIS.The 16-member expert group further recommended for developing a list of all GIS
databases that could be used for the plan. In addition, a list
of institutions having expertise in using GIS technology will also be prepared.
According to a rural
development ministry official,
“The initiative of the ministry aims at strengthening decentralised participatory planning process,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of works under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA by using GIS and Geo-ICT tools.”
users to add their own information also known as Voluntary Geographic Information (VGI) to Bhuvan;
and ‘Developers Tool’ provides an assortment of functional code for developers that can be changed and used for different purposes. The Bhuvan Application Program Interface (API) lets users embed a true 3D digital globe into Web pages. To enhance the outreach of its capability among the Indian user community, the new Bhuvan V 2.0 is now available in Hindi as well.
LA Times maps crimes
The Los Angeles Times has developed a new crime mapping programme that enables users to analyse crime statistics, search for historic crime patterns and receive alerts when several crimes occur in a given area over a period of time. The maps will use crime data provided by the LAPD and LA County Sheriff's Department on a daily basis and will provide detailed information on serious crimes, offering alerts at the neighborhood level. Of late, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles county Sheriff’s Department have also been working on ways to make crime data available to the general public in electronic form through online crime maps.
Bhuvan V 2.0 helps explore the world with specific focus on India in 2D and 3D landscape.
Blue Sky partners with Iridium
lue Sky Network, a leading
B
global provider of GPS tracking and communication solutions for land, sea, and aviation assets has entered into a service partnershipagreement with mobile satellite service provider, Iridium Serviçios de Satelites S.A., a subsidiary of Iridium Communications Inc. As an Iridium service partner in Brazil, Blue Sky Network can now provide its satellite-based GPS tracking and remote
communication solutions directly to operators of air, land and marine vehicles based in that country. The new partnership expands Blue Sky Network’s global footprint and builds upon its long-standing relationship with Iridium.
The new partnership helps Blue Sky Network’s long-term growth in the Brazilian market. The company recently opened Blue Sky Network Brazil based in Alphaville, just outside Sao Paulo.
he Union Home Ministry is
T
planning a new scheme to integrate radar sensing devices across the coastal areas to track terror activities through sea routes in India. The sensing devices integration is part of ` 350-crore project, for inspecting the entire 7,517-km coast zone of the country. The sensors will be installed in specific lighthouses on the coastline and on certain islands.In the entire western India,
Mumbai will be the major area for radar sensor-mediated sea surveillance. The west zone Remote Operational Station (ROS) for states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and the Lakshadweep islands will be installed at the ICG headquarters in Mumbai.
The data obtained from radar sensing units of all these states will be transmitted to corresponding Remote Operation Centres (ROC) and
rdnance Survey has
O
announced the GeoVation Challenge that invites budding innovators and entrepreneurs to contribute ideas that could revolutionise transportation in Britain. A prize fund of£ 25,000 is being provided for the best entries. The basic aim of the challenge is to seek ideas on how geographic data can be used to make travel more environmentally
Ordnance Survey announces the GeoVation Challenge
sustainable and improve public transport services. The challenge is expected to bring up possible ideas such as the use of geography to bring together potential lift-share partners based on their location, interests and availability of public transport,
thereby reducing congestion and carbon emissions.
Commenting on the contest, Dr Chris Parker, one of the organisers said, “There are exciting opportunities for geography to be harnessed to help us travel in a sustainable way, whilst the government data releases we’ve seen over the past year means there is now a real opportunity for people to use that information to improving public services.”
The GeoVation Challenge aims at exploring eco-
friendly modes of transportation.
AuScope to explore Earth's subsurface
AuScope is a not-for-profit collaboration between universities, the CSIRO and other science organisations in Australia to explore the Earth’s subsurface, study the composition of the top 1 km and provide a clearer picture about the deeper crust.
Launched with a capital of US$ 43 million, AuScope is expected to significantly help scientists in tackling climate change. Inaugurating the geosicence body, Science Minister Kim Carr said,
“AuScope will deepen our understanding of this land in ways we can’t yet fully comprehend.” AuScope will study certain critical signs such as changes in sea level, atmospheric circulation and the water cycle to provide the world detailed information on climate change.
the Mumbai-based ROS. The Mumbai centre will share the information with other states’
ROS as well as with the apex headquarters. The ROC will be
set up at the ICG west zone headquarters located in Worli.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and the Navy will monitor the coastal safety measures.
GIS technology to help monitor NREGA
ational Renewable Energy
N
Laboratory (NREL) has developed a new bioenergy mapping portal where users can gather data on biopower and biofuels potential in North America. Users can start with a blank map of North America and add on various layers such as map with biomass feedstocks, ethanol andbiodiesel plants both active and idle, and existing transportation infrastructure, power plants, fueling stations, refineries and more. Atlas thus developed will help people in gathering data about biopower and biofuels potential in North America.
The portal development has been funded by the
Environmental Protection Agency’s Blue Skyways Collaborative and Department of Energy's Biomass
Programme. The portal will be helpful to government and state agencies, universities, the petroleum and pipeline industries, research institutions, vehicle manufacturers, GIS companies and citizens.
NREL maps bioenergy development New version of Bhuvan released Radar sensors for coastline security
CACI acquires TechniGraphics, Inc.
strategy are to diversify CACI’s work and offerings within the Intelligence Community, focus on core intelligence mission areas with particular emphasis on those that are enduring, and develop capabilities in market segments adjacent to those where CACI has a presence. TechniGraphics adds an essential geospatial element to CACI’s core competencies.
This acquisition solidifies CACI's competency in the mission-critical intelligence space and sustains a long- term commitment to sophisticated intelligence solutions.
Acquisition of TechniGraphics furthers CACI’s strategy to grow and invest in capabilities that serve the intelligence market. Key elements of this ACI International Inc. has
C
signed a definitive agreement to acquire TechniGraphics, Inc., a leading provider of imagery and geospatial services to the US Intelligence Community.TechniGraphics’ products form the basis for intelligence analysis, military operational planning, disaster relief planning, and operations and other mapping requirements.
04 |geospatial TODAY november 2010 november 2010 geospatial TODAY|05
News
CS will develop a GIS for
T
Tiruchi on which the city’s infrastructure including buildings, roads, water distribution network, hospitals, educational institutions, bus stands, transport routes, parks and playgrounds would be mapped.The exercise is a part of the
CI Geomatics has
P
launched its GeoImaging Accelerator Aerial (GXL-A) software at the Intergeo 2010 Conference. This follows an earlier announcement in March when Microsoft’s Photogrammetry division, Vexcel Imaging GmbH, agreed to partner with PCI to produce an image processing system specifically for Vexcel Imaging’s UltraCam aerial cameras and UltraMap photogrammetric software.eroGRID has signed
A
partnership agreements with IGN, the national mapping agency for France and CNIG, the commercial department for IGN-E, the national mapping agency of Spain. The partnership enables AeroGRID to add full orthophoto coverage of France and Spain to its already impressive aerial photography coverage of Western Europe.Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project-III, funded by the World Bank. The GIS database will be used in various applications including urban planning, monitoring property tax assessment and collection, drinking water supply and drainage networks maintenance. Tiruchi is among
GXL-A is a best of breed offering and completes Vexcel’s UltraMap workflow product line with the addition of high-speed
orthorectification and mosaicking capabilities. Using PCI’s multi CPU/GPU Commenting on the
partnership Miles Taylor, General Manager, AeroGRID said, “AeroGRID is proud to be able to work with these two highly respected national
Tracing origin of the Indus
PCI Geomatics releases GXL Aerial
ccording to observations made by a
A
Chinese researcher Liu Shaochuang from the Institute of Remote Sensing Applications under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the River Indus originates in a valley located northeast of Kailash, the highest peak of the Gangdise Mountain, in the west region of Tibet, southwest of China.Shaochuang traced the longest headstream of the Indus River using remote-sensing images with a resolution of up to 2.5 m collected by the French SPOT satellite system. Field investigations further revealed that the headstream contains water even in dry seasons. A commonly accepted hypothesis among the international geographical community is that the longest branch in the drainage basin is generally
the five urban local bodies in Tamil Nadu for which land- based digital mapping is being done with the help of satellite images. Other local bodies to be mapped include the Coimbatore and Madurai corporations and the Gobichettipalayam and Rajapalayam municipalities.
distributed processing architecture, aerial image producers will realise significant improvement in production throughput and reduced costs. The product will be offered as a stand- alone deskside or single-node rack system. It is fully upgradable to multiple node architectures and can be integrated into existing IT configurations for existing airphoto producers. mapping agencies and we are
delighted to be able to add full online coverage of both France and Spain to our core datasets of Western Europe. This enables us to provide a continuous dataset of more than 1 million square miles (1.7 million km²) to our customers across the world.
Our role is to make the procurement of worldwide aerial imagery convenient and cost-effective.”
BBMP clamps down on tax defaulters
In an effort to bring defaulters under the tax net, Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is using GIS and Statistical Analysis Software (SAS). The technologies have been implemented with the primary objective to bring in more number of property owners under the tax bracket. Before implementing GIS, Bangaluru had more than 7 lakh tax defaulters and the losses summed up to a whopping ` 90 crore. After GIS implementation, the number of tax payers has increased from 7.5 lakh properties in 2009-10 to 9 lakh in 2010-2011.
Microsoft and Autodesk team up with AICTE
Microsoft and Autodesk have inked an agreement with the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) for providing free software to over 10,000 engineering and architectural institutes in the country. According to Moorthy Uppaluri, general manager, Microsoft India, the initiative will provide millions of students access to software for designing projects as part of their curricula and otherwise. The AICTE website will provide free access to software like Window phone, visual Studio and Explorer-9. Commenting on the initiative, Joe Astroth, chief education officer, Autodesk-US said, it is an investment aimed at expanding their reach in the country. Over 10,000 institutes in India will benefit from Autodesk software for designing several models ranging from automobiles to 3D animation.
AeroGRID offers complete coverage of France and Spain New Zealand topographic maps available for free
Appreciating the efforts to increase accessibility of topo maps, Colin MacDonald - CEO, Land Information New Zealand said, “LINZ has modernised its production systems to allow a wider range of digital map products to become available free online. It is great to see them being endorsed in this way.”
Topographic Map Series were purchased as printed paper maps. These map series are produced by Land
Information New Zealand (LINZ) and play a critical role in defense planning, location and routing services, land management and are used by other government entities such as Department of Conservation.
he topographic maps of
T
New Zealand are officially available for free online at the new website www.nztopomaps .com. Users can easily find, view and print topographic maps for planning recreational, business and research activities. The website also includes a place name search function.Traditionally the 'NZTopo'
GeoImaging Accelerator Aerial offers high-speed orthorectification and mosaicking capabilities.
TCS to map Tiruchi
defined as the source of a river, and the source has water running all through the year.
AeroGRID aims to offer its global customers access to worldwide aerial imagery in a cost-
effective manner.
Telmap ranks fourth in Deloitte Fast 50
elmap, the original pioneers
T
in mobile location solutions has ranked fourth on the 2010 Deloitte Israel Technology Fast 50, a ranking of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in Israel. Commenting on the achievement Oren Nissim, CEO of Telmap said, “We are excited to announce this achievement that provides further proof of our significant growth. Despite the fact that the mobile LBS industry is facing fierce competitive pressures, especially from industry giants such as Google and Nokia, Telmap has been able to grow and hit profitability due to its strong relationships with its customers, the mobile operators, combined with a winning solution and a strong commitment to bringing long- term, sustainable value to consumers.”06 |geospatial TODAY november 2010 november 2010 geospatial TODAY|07
Esri’s GeoVision Seminar Series flags off at Hyderabad
S Sridhar, President and COO, Esri India speaking at the geovision seminar
sri India flagged off the
E
GeoVision Seminar Series at Hyderabad with the aim to reach out to the user community and enable them to interact with the technical teams. Speaking on the occasion, S Sridhar, President and COO, Esri India, explained how GIS originated and evolved over a period of time and how it pervades all industry verticals. He also said how the technology was used by multiple municipal corporations for an online GIS based property taxcalculation; information and
payment system which resulted in increase in property tax revenue collection.
Dr Y V N Krishna Murthy, Deputy Director, NRSC was the guest speaker. He said NRSC is one of the oldest users of Esri. The Department of Space is involved in a space based information system for farmers. He said, “The farmers also need to be given some tools so that they too can get involved. He was of the opinion that even semi skilled people should be able to use GIS tools. He said the need is
to bring out small packages.”
During the seminar the integration between ArcGIS and ENVI was demonstrated.
The GeoVision seminar will cover Chennai, Bengaluru,
Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Nagpur, Lucknow, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Kolkata and the series will conclude in Guwahati on 22 December, 2010.
News
CS will develop a GIS for
T
Tiruchi on which the city’s infrastructure including buildings, roads, water distribution network, hospitals, educational institutions, bus stands, transport routes, parks and playgrounds would be mapped.The exercise is a part of the
CI Geomatics has
P
launched its GeoImaging Accelerator Aerial (GXL-A) software at the Intergeo 2010 Conference. This follows an earlier announcement in March when Microsoft’s Photogrammetry division, Vexcel Imaging GmbH, agreed to partner with PCI to produce an image processing system specifically for Vexcel Imaging’s UltraCam aerial cameras and UltraMap photogrammetric software.eroGRID has signed
A
partnership agreements with IGN, the national mapping agency for France and CNIG, the commercial department for IGN-E, the national mapping agency of Spain. The partnership enables AeroGRID to add full orthophoto coverage of France and Spain to its already impressive aerial photography coverage of Western Europe.Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project-III, funded by the World Bank. The GIS database will be used in various applications including urban planning, monitoring property tax assessment and collection, drinking water supply and drainage networks maintenance. Tiruchi is among
GXL-A is a best of breed offering and completes Vexcel’s UltraMap workflow product line with the addition of high-speed
orthorectification and mosaicking capabilities. Using PCI’s multi CPU/GPU Commenting on the
partnership Miles Taylor, General Manager, AeroGRID said, “AeroGRID is proud to be able to work with these two highly respected national
Tracing origin of the Indus
PCI Geomatics releases GXL Aerial
ccording to observations made by a
A
Chinese researcher Liu Shaochuang from the Institute of Remote Sensing Applications under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the River Indus originates in a valley located northeast of Kailash, the highest peak of the Gangdise Mountain, in the west region of Tibet, southwest of China.Shaochuang traced the longest headstream of the Indus River using remote-sensing images with a resolution of up to 2.5 m collected by the French SPOT satellite system. Field investigations further revealed that the headstream contains water even in dry seasons. A commonly accepted hypothesis among the international geographical community is that the longest branch in the drainage basin is generally
the five urban local bodies in Tamil Nadu for which land- based digital mapping is being done with the help of satellite images. Other local bodies to be mapped include the Coimbatore and Madurai corporations and the Gobichettipalayam and Rajapalayam municipalities.
distributed processing architecture, aerial image producers will realise significant improvement in production throughput and reduced costs. The product will be offered as a stand- alone deskside or single-node rack system. It is fully upgradable to multiple node architectures and can be integrated into existing IT configurations for existing airphoto producers.
mapping agencies and we are delighted to be able to add full online coverage of both France and Spain to our core datasets of Western Europe. This enables us to provide a continuous dataset of more than 1 million square miles (1.7 million km²) to our customers across the world.
Our role is to make the procurement of worldwide aerial imagery convenient and cost-effective.”
BBMP clamps down on tax defaulters
In an effort to bring defaulters under the tax net, Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is using GIS and Statistical Analysis Software (SAS).
The technologies have been implemented with the primary objective to bring in more number of property owners under the tax bracket.
Before implementing GIS, Bangaluru had more than 7 lakh tax defaulters and the losses summed up to a whopping ` 90 crore. After GIS implementation, the number of tax payers has increased from 7.5 lakh properties in 2009-10 to 9 lakh in 2010-2011.
Microsoft and Autodesk team up with AICTE
Microsoft and Autodesk have inked an agreement with the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) for providing free software to over 10,000 engineering and architectural institutes in the country. According to Moorthy Uppaluri, general manager, Microsoft India, the initiative will provide millions of students access to software for designing projects as part of their curricula and otherwise. The AICTE website will provide free access to software like Window phone, visual Studio and Explorer-9. Commenting on the initiative, Joe Astroth, chief education officer, Autodesk-US said, it is an investment aimed at expanding their reach in the country. Over 10,000 institutes in India will benefit from Autodesk software for designing several models ranging from automobiles to 3D animation.
AeroGRID offers complete coverage of France and Spain New Zealand topographic maps available for free
Appreciating the efforts to increase accessibility of topo maps, Colin MacDonald - CEO, Land Information New Zealand said, “LINZ has modernised its production systems to allow a wider range of digital map products to become available free online. It is great to see them being endorsed in this way.”
Topographic Map Series were purchased as printed paper maps. These map series are produced by Land
Information New Zealand (LINZ) and play a critical role in defense planning, location and routing services, land management and are used by other government entities such as Department of Conservation.
he topographic maps of
T
New Zealand are officially available for free online at the new website www.nztopomaps .com. Users can easily find, view and print topographic maps for planning recreational, business and research activities. The website also includes a place name search function.Traditionally the 'NZTopo'
GeoImaging Accelerator Aerial offers high-speed orthorectification and mosaicking capabilities.
TCS to map Tiruchi
defined as the source of a river, and the source has water running all through the year.
AeroGRID aims to offer its global customers access to worldwide aerial imagery in a cost-
effective manner.
Telmap ranks fourth in Deloitte Fast 50
elmap, the original pioneers
T
in mobile location solutions has ranked fourth on the 2010 Deloitte Israel Technology Fast 50, a ranking of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in Israel. Commenting on the achievement Oren Nissim, CEO of Telmap said, “We are excited to announce this achievement that provides further proof of our significant growth. Despite the fact that the mobile LBS industry is facing fierce competitive pressures, especially from industry giants such as Google and Nokia, Telmap has been able to grow and hit profitability due to its strong relationships with its customers, the mobile operators, combined with a winning solution and a strong commitment to bringing long- term, sustainable value to consumers.”06 |geospatial TODAY november 2010 november 2010 geospatial TODAY|07
Esri’s GeoVision Seminar Series flags off at Hyderabad
S Sridhar, President and COO, Esri India speaking at the geovision seminar
sri India flagged off the
E
GeoVision Seminar Series at Hyderabad with the aim to reach out to the user community and enable them to interact with the technical teams. Speaking on the occasion, S Sridhar, President and COO, Esri India, explained how GIS originated and evolved over a period of time and how it pervades all industry verticals. He also said how the technology was used by multiple municipal corporations for an online GIS based property taxcalculation; information and
payment system which resulted in increase in property tax revenue collection.
Dr Y V N Krishna Murthy, Deputy Director, NRSC was the guest speaker. He said NRSC is one of the oldest users of Esri. The Department of Space is involved in a space based information system for farmers. He said, “The farmers also need to be given some tools so that they too can get involved. He was of the opinion that even semi skilled people should be able to use GIS tools. He said the need is
to bring out small packages.”
During the seminar the integration between ArcGIS and ENVI was demonstrated.
The GeoVision seminar will cover Chennai, Bengaluru,
Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Nagpur, Lucknow, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Kolkata and the series will conclude in Guwahati on 22 December, 2010.
News
rimble introduced its
T
Accubid Enterprise Estimating Version 5 with support for electrical estimating, making it the only enterprise class solution on the market and designed specifically for electrical and ITS contractors. The robust, specification-driven estimating software represents a leap forward inapQuest has launched
M
the beta version of its new mapping site in India built on OpenStreetMap (OSM) data. This is MapQuest's first OSM-based site outside of Europe.MapQuest also launched two more beta sites using OSM data in Central Europe – Austria and Belgium. All three sites have the new MapQuest
estimating technology with job-wide, multi-user support leveraging Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft .NET technology. The Accubid Enterprise Estimating platform is a next generation framework for delivering productivity solutions for specialty contractors. A key strength of the platform is the ability to leverage data across
branding and user experience, and will leverage OSM data, allowing users to improve upon their local areas such as editing streets in their neighbourhood, bike paths,
Digital address code system for Ireland
MapQuest launches its first mapping site in India
the life of a project, without the need for disparate systems.
Commenting on the product launch, Mark Mandarelli, chief product & technology officer for Trimble's Accubid Division said, “We're very excited with the version 5 release. It marks the availability of electrical estimating on the Accubid Enterprise platform.”
parks, hiking trails and more. Commenting on the website launch, Antony Pegg, Product Manager, MapQuest said, “We see enormous potential for open data to serve the needs of growing and dynamic regions such as India, and think that our new site will be instrumental in driving the adoption of OpenStreetMap in the area.”
Ingo Simonis receives OGC’s Gardels Award
t the OGC’s 12th annual
A
Kenneth D. Gardels Award Ceremony, OGC director Philippe Delclaux of EADS/Astrium presented the Gardels Award to Ingo Simonis. The Gardels Award, a gold medallion, is awarded to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to advance OGC’s vision of geographic information fully integrated into the world’s information systems.Ingo Simonis, co-founder and principal of the International Geospatial Services Institute (iGSI) GmbH, has been an active participant in the OGC Technical Committee since 2001 and has been a key player in the design, development and promotion of the OGC’s Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) standards.
attva Welfare Association in
S
Bengaluru has taken up “Project Vruksha” that aims to estimate and preserve the urban tree population in Bengaluru. The project will perform a scientific tree census and establish a biodiversity portal. During the census surveyors will measure the girth of trees, condition, salient characteristics as well as specific details such as whether a tree belongs to some rare species etc.According to Vijay Babu S, general secretary of Sattva Welfare Association, “The tree census along with the biodiversity will help us
Saving Bengaluru’s green cover
A large walk-on map unveils Britain from the air
Britain and this exhibition highlights the location of 100 stunning natural and human geographic features.
Ordnance Survey is delighted to support Britain from the air and the large walk-on Ordnance Survey map will give visitors a new perspective, understanding and desire to explore some of the beautiful locations that we have in Great Britain.”
glaciers, saw-toothed coastlines edged by glistening waters, abandoned villages and transport networks, telling their story with text, historical images and maps.
Commenting on the map, Vanessa Lawrence, Director General & Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, said, “For many years maps have been used to reveal the beautiful and varied landscape of Great huge walk-on Ordnance
A
Survey map of Britain accompanied by more than 100 stunning aerial photographs that showcase Britain’s wonderful natural and human landscapes was officially launched by Michael Palin, President of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in the historic centre of Bath. The map reveals mountain valleys carved byoc8 Code Ltd., a Cork-
L
based company in collaboration with Garmin Europe has developed an all- Ireland digital address code system that has generated 45,00 new codes. Loc8 has proposed its digital address code system for the entire Ireland as the traditional address system cannot be used directly by satnavs, iPhones or other GPS-enabled devices. The digital address code system has the support of Enterprise Ireland, and references map data from Ordnance Survey Ireland and Land & Property ServicesNorthern Ireland. The address system is also expected to provide considerable savings in transportation costs because of the address precision when used in conjunction with a satellite navigation device. Commenting on the new address system, Gary Delaney, CEO of Loc8 said, “We are convinced that the Government will see the merits of using Loc8 Code’s tried and tested digital address code system as a national system providing the most precise information
countrywide, including Northern Ireland. We are supported by Enterprise Ireland in our efforts and feel our offering is the solution to the Government’s
requirements.”
ThinkGeo launches Wiki for Map Suite GIS Information
ThinkGeo introduced the official ThinkGeo Wiki, a centralised source of reference information and learning material for its Map Suite line of software products. The wiki caters to users of Map Suite, a developer-oriented suite of GIS software development tools, by providing a single source for documentation, sample code, version history and other reference content. The wiki's content is focussed on the Map Suite user, but also helps visitors learn more about GIS and related software development. The ThinkGeo Wiki consolidates several formerly-separate sources of information about Map Suite, including the Code Community, which was launched in 2009 as a way for Map Suite developers to share and explore sample code that extends and enhances Map Suite. The Code Community will be shuttered in the coming days as the ThinkGeo Wiki becomes established as the unified source of Map Suite information. accessing free lung spaces, plan
plantations, conserve rare trees or treat and save unhealthy trees.
GPS-enabled chips embedded in trees will send distress signals when they are harmed. This initiative is the first of its kind. It will check tree theft and also ensure that the cutting of trees is checked once the systems are in place.” All the trees in Bengaluru will be geotagged and the details will be put on a website.
The project is inspired by the tree census conducted in New York where 1,000 volunteers turned up to count 500,000 trees in a single day.
infrastructure of the country, conducting geoscience research as part of the GeoNet project, and performing commercial survey work throughout New Zealand. Positioning data can be accessed from the LINZ reference stations through live data streams and archived data distributed over the Internet.
New Zealand upgrades GPS Infrastructure
GNSS reference station receivers. Accurate control points provided by the LINZ network of reference stations help in monitoring and developing the geospatial he Institute of Geological
T
and Nuclear Sciences Limited (GNS) and Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) have initiated a project to upgrade the LINZ PositioNZ GPS network to multi-constellation GNSS and real-time data distribution capability. For the project GNS and LINZ have together purchased 40 Trimble NetR9Upgradation of the LINZ PositioNZ GPS network will boost the geospatial infrastructure of New Zealand.
The new website will be instrumental in driving the adoption of OpenStreetMap in India.
Google Maps developers bag ICT entrepreneurship award
Lars and Jens Rasmussen, developers of Google Maps have been awarded the 2010 NSW Pearcey Award for ICT Entrepreneurship. In 2003, the Rasmussen brothers had co- founded a mapping start-up called
‘Where 2 Technologies’ that was later acquired by Google. Later, the brothers joined Google as engineers to develop Google Maps, which is now one of the leading online map services in the world. Commenting on the award, Eric Roozendaal, NSW state treasurer said, “Google Maps has changed the way many of us run our lives and our businesses – it’s a great example of an IT product with endless opportunities.
Trimble’s new Accubid Enterprise Estimating Version 5
08 |geospatial TODAY november 2010 november 2010 geospatial TODAY|09
News
rimble introduced its
T
Accubid Enterprise Estimating Version 5 with support for electrical estimating, making it the only enterprise class solution on the market and designed specifically for electrical and ITS contractors. The robust, specification-driven estimating software represents a leap forward inapQuest has launched
M
the beta version of its new mapping site in India built on OpenStreetMap (OSM) data. This is MapQuest's first OSM-based site outside of Europe.MapQuest also launched two more beta sites using OSM data in Central Europe – Austria and Belgium. All three sites have the new MapQuest
estimating technology with job-wide, multi-user support leveraging Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft .NET technology. The Accubid Enterprise Estimating platform is a next generation framework for delivering productivity solutions for specialty contractors. A key strength of the platform is the ability to leverage data across
branding and user experience, and will leverage OSM data, allowing users to improve upon their local areas such as editing streets in their neighbourhood, bike paths,
Digital address code system for Ireland
MapQuest launches its first mapping site in India
the life of a project, without the need for disparate systems.
Commenting on the product launch, Mark Mandarelli, chief product & technology officer for Trimble's Accubid Division said, “We're very excited with the version 5 release. It marks the availability of electrical estimating on the Accubid Enterprise platform.”
parks, hiking trails and more.
Commenting on the website launch, Antony Pegg, Product Manager, MapQuest said, “We see enormous potential for open data to serve the needs of growing and dynamic regions such as India, and think that our new site will be instrumental in driving the adoption of OpenStreetMap in the area.”
Ingo Simonis receives OGC’s Gardels Award
t the OGC’s 12th annual
A
Kenneth D. Gardels Award Ceremony, OGC director Philippe Delclaux of EADS/Astrium presented the Gardels Award to Ingo Simonis. The Gardels Award, a gold medallion, is awarded to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to advance OGC’s vision of geographic information fully integrated into the world’s information systems.Ingo Simonis, co-founder and principal of the International Geospatial Services Institute (iGSI) GmbH, has been an active participant in the OGC Technical Committee since 2001 and has been a key player in the design, development and promotion of the OGC’s Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) standards.
attva Welfare Association in
S
Bengaluru has taken up “Project Vruksha” that aims to estimate and preserve the urban tree population in Bengaluru. The project will perform a scientific tree census and establish a biodiversity portal. During the census surveyors will measure the girth of trees, condition, salient characteristics as well as specific details such as whether a tree belongs to some rare species etc.According to Vijay Babu S, general secretary of Sattva Welfare Association, “The tree census along with the biodiversity will help us
Saving Bengaluru’s green cover
A large walk-on map unveils Britain from the air
Britain and this exhibition highlights the location of 100 stunning natural and human geographic features.
Ordnance Survey is delighted to support Britain from the air and the large walk-on Ordnance Survey map will give visitors a new perspective, understanding and desire to explore some of the beautiful locations that we have in Great Britain.”
glaciers, saw-toothed coastlines edged by glistening waters, abandoned villages and transport networks, telling their story with text, historical images and maps.
Commenting on the map, Vanessa Lawrence, Director General & Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, said, “For many years maps have been used to reveal the beautiful and varied landscape of Great huge walk-on Ordnance
A
Survey map of Britain accompanied by more than 100 stunning aerial photographs that showcase Britain’s wonderful natural and human landscapes was officially launched by Michael Palin, President of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in the historic centre of Bath. The map reveals mountain valleys carved byoc8 Code Ltd., a Cork-
L
based company in collaboration with Garmin Europe has developed an all- Ireland digital address code system that has generated 45,00 new codes. Loc8 has proposed its digital address code system for the entire Ireland as the traditional address system cannot be used directly by satnavs, iPhones or other GPS-enabled devices. The digital address code system has the support of Enterprise Ireland, and references map data from Ordnance Survey Ireland and Land & Property ServicesNorthern Ireland. The address system is also expected to provide considerable savings in transportation costs because of the address precision when used in conjunction with a satellite navigation device.
Commenting on the new address system, Gary Delaney, CEO of Loc8 said, “We are convinced that the Government will see the merits of using Loc8 Code’s tried and tested digital address code system as a national system providing the most precise information
countrywide, including Northern Ireland. We are supported by Enterprise Ireland in our efforts and feel our offering is the solution to the Government’s
requirements.”
ThinkGeo launches Wiki for Map Suite GIS Information
ThinkGeo introduced the official ThinkGeo Wiki, a centralised source of reference information and learning material for its Map Suite line of software products.
The wiki caters to users of Map Suite, a developer-oriented suite of GIS software development tools, by providing a single source for documentation, sample code, version history and other reference content. The wiki's content is focussed on the Map Suite user, but also helps visitors learn more about GIS and related software development.
The ThinkGeo Wiki consolidates several formerly-separate sources of information about Map Suite, including the Code Community, which was launched in 2009 as a way for Map Suite developers to share and explore sample code that extends and enhances Map Suite. The Code Community will be shuttered in the coming days as the ThinkGeo Wiki becomes established as the unified source of Map Suite information.
accessing free lung spaces, plan plantations, conserve rare trees or treat and save unhealthy trees.
GPS-enabled chips embedded in trees will send distress signals when they are harmed. This initiative is the first of its kind. It will check tree theft and also ensure that the cutting of trees is checked once the systems are in place.” All the trees in Bengaluru will be geotagged and the details will be put on a website.
The project is inspired by the tree census conducted in New York where 1,000 volunteers turned up to count 500,000 trees in a single day.
infrastructure of the country, conducting geoscience research as part of the GeoNet project, and performing commercial survey work throughout New Zealand. Positioning data can be accessed from the LINZ reference stations through live data streams and archived data distributed over the Internet.
New Zealand upgrades GPS Infrastructure
GNSS reference station receivers. Accurate control points provided by the LINZ network of reference stations help in monitoring and developing the geospatial he Institute of Geological
T
and Nuclear Sciences Limited (GNS) and Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) have initiated a project to upgrade the LINZ PositioNZ GPS network to multi-constellation GNSS and real-time data distribution capability. For the project GNS and LINZ have together purchased 40 Trimble NetR9Upgradation of the LINZ PositioNZ GPS network will boost the geospatial infrastructure of New Zealand.
The new website will be instrumental in driving the adoption of OpenStreetMap in India.
Google Maps developers bag ICT entrepreneurship award
Lars and Jens Rasmussen, developers of Google Maps have been awarded the 2010 NSW Pearcey Award for ICT Entrepreneurship. In 2003, the Rasmussen brothers had co- founded a mapping start-up called
‘Where 2 Technologies’ that was later acquired by Google. Later, the brothers joined Google as engineers to develop Google Maps, which is now one of the leading online map services in the world.
Commenting on the award, Eric Roozendaal, NSW state treasurer said, “Google Maps has changed the way many of us run our lives and our businesses – it’s a great example of an IT product with endless opportunities.
Trimble’s new Accubid Enterprise Estimating Version 5
08 |geospatial TODAY november 2010 november 2010 geospatial TODAY|09
