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MAY 2012 VOL 02 ISSUE 10

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07 Editorial 8 News 49 Events 54 Picture this

ARTICLES

Air Traffic: Tech for the skies

Deepali Roy

Railway management: Fast track to efficiency

Ron Bisio

CASE STUDIES

32 Singapore Land Transport Authority

34 Taipei City Department of Transportation, Taiwan

36 City of Brisbane, Australia

38 Indian Railways

39 Kwazulu-Natal Department of Transport, South Africa

40 Abu Dhabi Department of Transport, UAE

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS

CONFERENCE REPORT

Geospatial World Forum 2012

G-tech: The game changer in the world economy

20

26

45

50

42

5

Abbas Rajabifard President,GSDI Association

Jack DangermondPresident, Esri

Shailesh Nayak SecretaryMinistry of Earth SciencesGovernment of India

Mark ReichardtPresident and CEOOpen Geospatial Consortium, Inc.

Aida Opoku Mensah Director - ICT DivisionUN Economic Commission for Africa

Josef StroblDirector, Centre for Geoinformatics,University of Salzburg, Austria

Vanessa Lawrence CBDirector General and CEO,Ordnance Survey, UK

Matthew M O'ConnellPresident and CEO GeoEye

Bryn FosburghVice PresidentTrimble

Juergen DoldPresident, Hexagon Geosystems

Preetha PulusaniChief Strategy Officer,Rolta Group

Derek Clarke Chief Director-Survey and Mapping & National Geospatial InformationDepartment of Rural Development & Land Reform, South Africa

Kamal K SinghChairman and CEORolta Group

Greg BentleyCEO, Benltey Systems

MARITIME TRANSPORT

Shipping undergoes sea change

Vaibhav Arora

CHAIRMAN M P Narayanan

PUBLISHER Sanjay Kumar

PUBLICATIONS TEAMManaging Editor Prof. Arup DasguptaEditor - Europe Prof. Ian DowmanEditor - Latin America (Honorary) Tania Maria SausenSr. Associate Editor (Honorary) Dr. Hrishikesh SamantExecutive Editor Bhanu RekhaProduct Manager Shivani LalAssistant Editors Deepali Roy, Aditi Bhan, Vaibhav Arora, Anand Kashyap

DESIGN TEAMSr. Creative Designer Deepak Kumar Graphic Designer Manoj Kumar Singh

CIRCULATION TEAMCirculation Manager Vijay Kumar Singh

Advisory Board

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and, water and air - these three elements form the basis of human life and human activities.One of these activities is transportation of people, goods and material for industry, commerce and recreation. Transportation is about movement from one place to anotherand, therefore, is a fertile ground for geospatial technology and applications, which can

range from route planning to position location, navigation, asset management and surveillance.

The story of human progress has a huge chapter on exploration and commerce. The hunger fornew land led to the 'discovery' of the Americas. The search for an alternative to the risky land routeto India for spices and silk led to the search and discovery of a route from Europe via the aptlynamed Cape of Good Hope. While land travellers were guided by way points, sailors depended onthe stars and the sun. The sextant provided a measure of the latitude but it required a determined and somewhat eccentricclock maker named Harrison to devise a means to determinethe longitude.

The ability to navigate also helped conquest and colonisation.The need to optimise transportation routes for the efficientmovement of goods and men saw the development of engineer-ing marvels like the Panama and Suez Canals; the evolution ofthe railroad, road networks, aircraft and ocean liners and ports,railway stations and airports. As traffic grew, port cities becametransportation hubs and the cause for competition, congestionand chaos.

The need for regulation and control required planning and foresight. That essential tool of navigation, the map took on adifferent role - as a means of planning. Routing of roads, canals,railways and the charting of air corridors, the location of facilities like airports, stations, goods yards, and protection ofthe environment from the ill effects of these activities, safety andcontrol, all required a map base. Thus geospatial technologywas, is and will continue to be an integral part of this humanendeavour. Technologies like the Global Navigation Satellite Systems are now essential for navigation. As the world battles with global warming and economic crisis, the need for optimisingtransportation to reduce costs and reduce emissions becomes essential. While technology is doingits bit by evolving fuel efficient transportation, geospatial technology is providing for efficient routeplanning and management of assets and facilities and their sustainable development.

The Geospatial World Forum 2012 was held in Amsterdam in the third week of April. This smallcountry, the Netherlands, hosts two important travel hubs, the port of Rotterdam and Amsterdamairport, an important gateway to Europe. Amsterdam city itself is well served by train, road,tramway, canals and metro, and is an illustration of excellent transportation planning and management, blending the traditional with the modern. The Dutch Kadaster, which co-hosted theconference, provides a very comprehensive spatial information base on which such planning isdone. This exemplifies the importance of geospatial technology for transportation.

EditorSpeak

7Geospatial World I May 2012

Prof. Arup Dasgupta

Managing [email protected]

LTransportation - route to prosperity

8 Geospatial World I May 2012

SUDAN

FAO provides land

cover atlas

Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigationreleased land cover atlas of Sudan,based on an updated database ofhigh-resolution satellite imagery. Itshows that less than 13 percent ofland is used for agriculture. Morethan 50 percent is desert, 10 percentis covered by trees and a tiny 0.7 per-cent is covered by water. The atlas isproduced by the Food and AgricultureOrganization's (FAO) SIFSIA (SudanIntegrated Food Security Informationfor Action) programme, which isfunded by the European Commission.The atlas can help identify availableagricultural land and pastures and tomonitor water sources, land degra-dation and climate change.

BURKINA FASO

'Africa is ready to

embrace NSDI'

The regional seminar, National Spatial Data Infrastructures: whichbenefits for emerging countries?,observed that Africa is fully preparedto implement NSDI procedures. Whileno unique spatial data infrastructuremodel exists, the participants agreedthat the African model will beinspired from European model. Theseminar was organised by IGNFrance International and the FrenchIGN, in collaboration with the Geo-

graphic Institute of Burkina (IGB), theUnited Nation's Economic Commis-sion for Africa (CEA) and Esri.

NIGERIA

Agency gets image

processing capability

The National Space Research andDevelopment Agency (NASRDA)claimed that its laboratory has gotthe capacity to download and processimages from its satellites. Theagency refuted the media reportwhich claimed that UK's SurreySatellite Technologies Ltd will

process the data from NigeriaSat-1,NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X. Anagency spokesperson explained thatthe ground station for the satellites inthe UK serves as a back-up stationfor the Abuja ground station for thetesting period.

‘Nigeria using 1973

map’

"Nigeria is still using a topographicmap prepared in 1973. Now, mappingon large scale is required for thecountry," stated Surveyor GeneralPeter C. Nwilo, in conversation withallAfrica. Nwilo explained that theupdated new maps will help the government in reducing unnecessaryexpenditures and would improve the land reform system. He addedthat an updated topographic map of a particular area can helppeople in building environmentfriendly structures. He urged peopleto consult surveyors before building a structure.

NEWS

KENYA

'Africa full of underground water reserves'

Many African countries, which are cur-rently designated as 'water scarce', havesubstantial groundwater reserves,observed researchers at the British Geo-logical Survey and University CollegeLondon. For the first time, they mappedaquifers, or groundwater, across theAfrican continent. They estimated thatreserves of groundwater across the conti-nent are 100 times the amount found onits surface, or 0.66 million cubic kilome-tres. The largest groundwater volumes are found in the large sedimentaryaquifers in the North African countries Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan.

INDIA

First indigenous radar

sat launched

The Indian Space Research Organisa-tion (ISRO) launched the first indige-nous radar satellite, RISAT-1. Earlier,in 2009, ISRO had launched 300 kg

RISAT-2 but it was procured fromIsrael. According to ISRO Chairman KRadhakrishnan, the 1850 kg RISAT-1is a boon for regions perenniallyunder cloud cover. Besides use in theagriculture sector, the satellite's all

weather capability to take images ofthe earth could also be used to keepan eye on the country's bordersround-the-clock and to help in anti-terrorist and anti-infiltration opera-tions.

Asian glaciers 'putting

on mass'

A French team from the NationalCentre for Scientific Research andthe University of Grenoble used satel-lite data to show that glaciers in partof the Karakoram range, to the westof the Himalayan region, are puttingon mass. It is an unusual finding asglaciers in other parts of theHimalayas are losing mass - which isalso the global trend. The French sci-entists compared two models of landsurface elevation derived from satel-lite observations, for 1999 and 2008.

Atlas shows shrinking

wasteland

A national wasteland atlas noted thatIndia's wasteland declined more than5 lakh hectares during 2005-2008.

The atlas is based-on a collaborativesurvey by the Rural DevelopmentMinistry and the National RemoteSensing Centre (NRSC). The NRSChad mapped land use in 2005 andrepeated the exercise in 2008 to knowthe changes.

The report further stated thatwasteland during 2005-08 declinedby 3.2 million hectare while increasein wasteland was to the tune of 2.7million hectares. The atlas also indi-cated that more than 13,769 hectaresof wasteland has been used forindustrial purpose and 1.3 millionhectares of wasteland has been usedfor agricultural activities.

INSAT-3C to track

trains

Using INSAT-3C satellite data, theCentre for Railway Information Sys-tems (CRIS), along with Indian SpaceResearch Organisation (ISRO), devel-oped a solution to provide exact loca-tion of moving trains. It provides anaccuracy of 10 metres and latency of2 minutes on a real-time basis. Thesolution also uses GPS data. CRISintegrated GPS devices with Googlemaps, which will enable passengersto see real-time locations of theirtrains. A pilot project has alreadybeen rolled out. CRIS plans to allocate around INR 70 crore to the project.

CHINA

Haiyang-2 sat data accessible to all

The State Oceanic Administration(SOA) announced open access to datafrom the oceanic surveying satelliteHaiyang-2. China Aerospace Scienceand Technology Corporation devel-oped this satellite and launched it inAugust 2011. The satellite providesdata for oceanic disaster preventionand relief, resources exploitation, environmental protection, oceanicresearch as well as safeguarding oceanic rights.


Influx of investment

in transportation

Efkon India, a subsidiary of Europeanconstruction company Strabag, willinvest more than INR 100 crore in thedomestic urban transportation andhighways tolling business over thenext four to five years, announcedPushkar Kulkarni, CEO of Efkon.Kulkarni stated that while toll systemequipment and services make up thebulk of the company's revenues,logistics management, GIS mappingand vehicle tracking system con-tribute 10-15 percent.

NCFC to provide crop

forecasts

Sharad Pawar, Minister of Agricul-ture and Food Processing Industries,inaugurated National Crop ForecastCentre (NCFC) in New Delhi. Usinggeospatial technologies, the centrewill provide in-season forecasts forselected 11 major crops such as rice,wheat, sugarcane and maize. It willalso assess drought situation in thecountry through latest technologies.The centre, in collaboration with Indi-an Space Research Organisation(ISRO), will also work towardspreparing sub-district level droughtassessment in the entire country.

JAPAN

Quake scale

estimation faster now

The Geospatial Information Authority,in association with Tohoku University,developed a GPS-based quake scaleestimation system. It will be fullyoperational in 2013. It can estimate

the scale of crustal movement withinminutes. Current systems take morethan five hours to do so. Under tradi-tional methods, analysing only seis-mic data, quake scales can be under-estimated just after earthquakes, GSIofficials claimed.

Collaboration to spur

space research

UK Minister for Universities and Sci-ence, David Willetts, signed an agree-ment with the Japanese EconomyMinister Motohisa Furukawa for col-laboration on space research andtechnology, while also identifyingpotential commercial opportunities.

Under the agreement, Japan will getUK assistance for its NovaSAR pro-gramme. On the other hand, theagreement will help UK achieve itstarget of growing its share of theworld space market to 10 per cent by2030.

HONG KONG

Asia gets wind data

analysis centre

Scotland-based renewable energyconsultancy, SgurrEnergy, set up theOffshore Risk Quantification Analysis(ORQA) platform on behalf of Hong


Scientists trace tsunami debris

Scientists at theUniversity ofHawaii's Internation-al Pacific ResearchCenter (IPRC) devel-oped SCUD (SurfaceCurrents from Diag-nostic) model. It pre-dicts ocean currentsto estimate the pathof debris from the devastating Tohoku Tsunami that struck the northeastcoast of Japan in March 2011. The researchers used actual satellite dataon sea surface height and on ocean surface winds to help build their ani-mated model, as well as data from scientific drifting buoy networks andreports of debris sightings.

11

Kong Electric Company (HEC). This isAsia's first ORQA platform. It featuresthe latest technology in data monitor-ing equipment specifically designedto capture meteorological, environ-mental, wave and tidal data, includ-ing SgurrEnergy's Galion LiDAR, asecond generation laser-baseddevice. The measurement campaign,located near Lamma Island, HongKong, will run for one year and thedata captured will be used to informthe planning and construction phasesfor the proposed offshore wind farm,the first one for Hong Kong. Thetechnology will be part of HongKong's first offshore wind farm.

NEPAL

ICIMOD gets fire

monitoring system

The International Centre for Integrat-ed Mountain Development (ICIMOD),in collaboration with Nepal's ForestDepartment, developed a forest firedetection and monitoring system.The system reprocesses data from

Maryland-based Fire Information forResource Management System(FIRMS), whereas the FIRMS usesTerra and Aqua satellite data. Itshows location of fire, altitude andslope of the site, and land cover type.Updates are sent by SMS and email

to subscribers. Alerts are sent outtwice daily, two hours after eachsatellite passes over the region.

IRAN

Govt continues

tweaking g-tech

Sometime back, Iran had drawnattention of geospatial fraternity byusing GPS spoofing technique toguide a US drone (RQ-170 Sentinel)to an intact landing inside hostile ter-ritory. Now, it has disabled trackingsystem aboard its oil tanker fleet,making it difficult to assess howmuch crude oil the country is export-ing as it seeks to counter Westernsanctions aimed at cutting its oil rev-enues, Reuters reported. A Reuters'survey of the Iranian fleet via the shiptracking system AIS (Automatic Iden-tification System) Live observed thatonly seven of its 25 very large crudecarriers are still operating on-board

transponders, allowing computers totrack vessels.

UAE

G-tech to monitor

flora and fauna

The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi(EAD) rolled out a project to establisha baseline for long-term monitoringof terrestrial biodiversity and habitatin the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve.There are 10,000 survey grids acrossthe emirate to perform the study. Theproject will include environmentaldata collection, base mapping, griddesign etc. It aims to develop an envi-ronmental data model and geo-data-base terrestrial baseline survey andto provide detailed understanding ofthe environment including land cover,water resources and animals. It willhelp authorities in implementingpolicies and regulations and assess-ing their success.


VIETNAM

GNSS to track

radioactivity

In a bid to ensure nuclearsecurity, South Korea, Viet-nam and the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency(IAEA) have proposed theintroduction of RadiationSource Location Tracking(RADLOT) system in Viet-nam. The RADLOT, devel-oped by the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, is capable of trackingradioactive sources in real time through GPS satellite signals and mobiletelecommunication networks.

Fire Management System


FRANCE

'InSAR data can

monitor volcanoes'

Interferomet-ric SyntheticApertureRadar(InSAR) datacan be usedto monitorvolcanoes,according tothe article,'Monitoring

Volcanoes', published in Sciencemagazine. The article explained thattiny changes on the ground causechanges in the radar signal and leadto rainbow-coloured interference pat-terns in the combined image, knownas a 'SAR interferogram'. Movementof magma underground may cause

deformation of the surface above,thus InSAR can be used to monitorvolcanoes. Referring to this article,the European Space Agency (ESA)claimed that earth-observing satel-lites, such as Envisat, can detectunrest in currently unmonitored vol-canoes.

ESA loses contact

with Envisat

After 10 years of service, Envisatstopped sending data to earth. How-ever, the European Space Agency's(ESA) mission control is working tore-establish contact with the satel-lite. A contingency agreement withthe Canadian Space Agency onRadarsat will be activated in order tocontinue to serve some of the userrequirements if the problem withEnvisat persists. The Envisat hasbeen in orbit for twice as long as itwas designed for, but the ESA hopesto keep the satellite in service untilthe launch of its successor, Sentinelmissions.

UK

OGP standardises

'polygons' for maps

The European Petroleum SurveyGroup (EPSG) of the InternationalAssociation of Oil and Gas Producers(OGP) released a series of standardmap 'shapes', or 'polygons'. RogerLott, Chairman of OGP's GeodesySubcommittee explained that the

polygon data will be used through themapping capability of GIS applica-tions and websites offering a mapfront end for searching the EPSGDataset.

The polygon data has been cap-tured at point densities suitable forsmall scale mapping. It is being dis-tributed in both GML and Shape fileformats. The data is available fordownload from the OGP GeomaticsCommittee website at http://info.ogp.org.uk/geomatics/polygons.

Airport promotes

geography education

According to a new survey by theHeathrow, one in 10 British childrencannot find the UK on a map. Thestudy of 1,000 children between the

GNSS information portal launched

European Space Agency (ESA) introduced its own wiki-based informationsource, Navipedia. It is the first ever ESA technical wiki, opened to the public. There are more than 400 articles on the site till date, covering thefundamental principles of satellite navigation, how receivers operate, various systemsin current orfuture operationaround the globeand GNSS-relat-ed services andapplications. The website canalso be edited by outside contributors.

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ages of six and ten also revealed that41 percent of them did not know thatthe UK is in Europe. To address thisissue, the airport has installed giantglobes in its terminals to help chil-dren locate their destination. Also,20,000 maps will be handed to youngtravellers, adding to their excitementabout the destinations ahead andhelping them to understand moreabout different geographical loca-tions across the world.

GBP 6 mn boost for

space projects

As part of the National Space Tech-nology Programme, the UK Govern-ment announced a GBP 6 milliongrant to co-fund new research proj-ects. The projects include developinga system and service for measuringland carbon stocks and fluxes from

earth observation satellite data. Thisservice will enable the monitoringand trading of carbon credits andsimilar commercial tools for tacklingclimate change. In addition, the funds will be used to support UKNovaSAR Synthetic Aperture Radarmission. All these projects will be ledby Astrium Ltd, DMC InternationalImaging Ltd and Surrey SatelliteTechnology Ltd.

THE NETHERLANDS

TomTom launches

geocoding service

TomTom launched Global Geocoder,a high volume batch geocoding webservice. The Geocoder convertsaddresses into geographic coordi-nates to allow location analysis. By

combining geographic knowledgewith business information, business-es can make smarter decisions thatwill lead to better products, as wellas cost savings and process improve-ments. For example, insurance com-panies are relying on geocoding tech-niques to help set premiums andmake underwriting decisions basedon the physical locations of the insur-ance projects.

GeoEye, Rolta team

up

GeoEye signed a memorandum ofunderstanding (MoU) with Rolta inAmsterdam. With this new partner-ship, Rolta gained access to GeoEye'shigh-resolution satellite imagery,services and expertise to developinnovative geospatial products andservices. According to Rolta's pressstatement, 90 percent of the fastest-growing metropolitan economies arelocated outside North America andWestern Europe and in regions suchas Southern Asia. The companyintends to offer these high-growthglobal markets with financiallyaccessible 3D model solutions devel-oped from GeoEye satellite imagery.

RUSSIA

USD 10 bn approved

for Glonass

Russia approved RUB 300 billion(USD 10.1 billion) for developing theGlonass satellite navigation system,to the year 2020. Deputy Prime Min-ister Vladislav Surkov made thisannouncement at the sixth annualSatellite Navigation Forum inMoscow. President-elect Vladimir

'IT companies yet to tap

mapping power'

Nearly three-fourths of IT decision makersworldwide are not effectively using map-ping technology and are not even tappingthe full potential of location-based servic-es (LBS), observed SanjayPatel, head of enterprise GEOat Google. In an interview withTechworld, Patel said, "IT decision makersshould start thinking about using loca-tion-based business intelligence inorder to process and analyse 'Big Data'.If you can't put data onto a map andunderstand it, then you're in the wrongline of business." He said that addinggeographical context to 'Big Data' canhelp organisations visualise their data, in orderto geta better grasp of customer behaviour.

Spatial data available

online

City of Melbourne became the firstAustralian council to make its spatialdata freely available online, as part ofthe 'Community Maps Program'. The

programme aims to develop theworld's most accurate online map using Esri's ArcGIS Online service. With this, Melbourne joined major cities including NewYork and Los Angeles as one of thefirst in the world to contribute to a

new World Topographical Map, whichis expected to become the mostauthoritative online global map everdeveloped.

'Need for unified

spatial data network'

Australia needs to provide a compre-hensive, detailed and nationwide net-work of spatial data, observed theSpatial Industries Business Associa-tion (SIBA). Such a network is essen-tial in handling natural disasters,adjudicating between militant farm-ers' groups and coal seam gasextraction projects.

The association is using a review ofthe New South Wales (NSW) planningsystem to outline the importance ofbringing public sector activities in allstates and territories within a spatialguidance framework.

SIBA noted that the objective of theNSW planning legislation should beto ensure that all land-based activi-ties are brought together into a singlespatial framework.

Geospatial World I May 2012 15

Geospatial education gets a boost

Australian government's NationalVET E-Learning Strategy supported apilot project to boost entrants into thespatial information industry. The proj-ect aims to raise the skill level oftechnicians through greater use of e-learning in vocational education andtraining. Project director GeorgeHavakis said, "Surveying and geospa-tial technologies and services have been identified as the key to Australia'sfuture productivity. However, there is a serious skills shortage in all sec-tors of the industry. Developing an e-learning program has the potential todeliver training anywhere, any time." The project is being supported by aconsortium of peak industry bodies, spatial organisations and companies.

Putin has said he hopes Glonass willensure "satellite navigation sover-eignty" for Russia and help promotethe creation of domestic consumerdevices. Russia estimates that thenavigation market in the country wasworth RUB 12 billion last year.

BELGIUM

EU funds 'i-GOing'

project

The European Union (EU) funded 'i-GOing' project under the 7thResearch Framework Programme.The project aims to design, developand demonstrate a precise indoornavigation service based on Galileoand advanced 'pseudolite' technolo-gies. Pseudolites are small trans-ceivers that are used to create alocal, ground-based GNSS alterna-tive. Researchers hope to providebetter than one meter accuracy toindoor applications, using 'pseudo-lite' technologies.


BUSINESS

Microsoft, Facebook

boost market

presence

Monday (April 9, 2012) was the day ofmegadeals. At the one end, Facebook

announced that it will acquire themobile photo-sharing firm Insta-

gram, which has an easy-to-use geo-tag feature in its photo-sharingprocess that lets users tell everyoneexactly where they were when theycaptured the photos. The deal, Face-book's largest to date, is wortharound USD 1 billion in cash andshares. At the other end, AOL sold800 patents for USD 1.1 billion toMicrosoft. The patents are related tomapping, advertising, search, contentgeneration/management, social net-working, multimedia/streaming andsecurity, among other things.

USD 200 mn for 'big

data' initiative

Responding to the large amount of data collected by geospatial intelligence and other systems, theUS government announced a 'bigdata' research and development initiative. Under this initiative, six federal agencies announced more

than USD 200 million in new commit-ments, aimed at improving the toolsand techniques needed to access,organise and glean discoveries fromhuge volumes of digital data. NASA'sGlobal Earth Observation System ofSystems (GEOSS) will also gain fromthe programme. NASA has joinedforces with the US Environmental

POLICY

Call to ease satellite

export controls

"Limited national security bene-fits" are provided by a 1998 lawthat applies more stringent con-trols on satellites, a report by thePentagon and State Departmentfound. The report urges the US

Congress to relax satellite exportcontrols so that US companiescan better compete globally forsales of communications andremote-sensing equipments. Thereport recommends removinglicense requirements for commu-nication satellites that do not con-tain classified components andremote-sensing satellites that fallshort of certain performanceparameters as well as subsys-tems, parts and components forthose systems.

Trimble strengthens surveying and

3D portfolio

Last month, Trimble inked two mega deals. It acquired Gatewing, a providerof lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), for photogrammetry andrapid terrain mapping applications. And, by the end of month, it acquired

Google's 3D modelling platform 'SketchUp' for an undisclosed sum,which is Google's first disinvestment ever.

TechCrunch reported that Trimble couldn't havepaid more that USD 90 million for it. AboutGatewing, Trimble claimed that the acquisition

will enhance its surveying solutions portfolio. "Thecombination of UAVs and low-altitude photogrammetry

as an image collection platform opens up new opportu-nities for surveyors to use aerial

imagery for the rapid acquisitionof high-density geospatial data,"said Anders Rhodin, Director ofTrimble's Survey Business.

Protection Agency (EPA), NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-tration (NOAA), other agencies andnations to integrate satellite andground-based monitoring and mod-elling systems to evaluate environ-mental conditions.

'Lockheed Martin to

lose USD 70 mn'

Lockheed Martin will lose its entirefee of about USD 70 million to defrayan 18 percent cost overrun on thenewly designed GPS satellites,according to the US Air Force. The

company had estimated that it wouldcost USD 1.5 billion to develop, buildand test the first two GPS III satel-lites. However, US Air Force spokes-woman Vicki Stein informed that thecost had risen to USD 1.62 billion.Lockheed Martin's fee is 5 percent ofthe target cost, which includes one-time engineering tasks, test equip-ment and satellite assembly.

MISCELLANEOUS

DARPA seeks sensors

for navigation

Many US Military systems rely onGPS to provide accurate position, ori-entation and time information whilein flight. When GPS is inaccessible,information critical for navigationmust be gathered using the missile'son-board sensors. To overcome thischallenge, the Defense AdvancedResearch Projects Agency's (DARPA)

Chip-Scale Combinatorial AtomicNavigator (C-SCAN) seeks an atomicinertial sensor to measure orienta-tion in GPS-denied environments.Such a sensor would integrate smallsize, low power consumption, highresolution of motion detection and afast start up time into a single pack-age.

China accused of

stealing space tech

China is stealing US military andcivilian space technology and is dis-rupting US' access to intelligence,navigation and communicationssatellites, noted a report by the USState and Defense Departments.Speaking to Bloomberg, US intelli-gence officials said that while theChinese military was not preparing tofight a major land war, its goal was todeny military access to the other fourarenas in which a war might befought--the seas around China; the


airspace surrounding the country;space; and cyberspace. Last year, acongressional commission report hadobserved that computer hackers,possibly from the Chinese military,interfered with two US satellites in2007 and 2008.

Industry supports

AAG resolution

AOL, Nokia and Sprint Nextel showedsupport for funding geography edu-cation in the USA. They endorsed aresolution, developed by the Associa-tion of American Geographers (AAG),which calls on the Congress to

"include authorisations and appropri-ations for geography education con-sistent with other core academicsubjects for K-12, as part of a re-authorised Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)." It also supports geography pro-grammes such as the TeachingGeography is Fundamental Act, andurges the Obama administration toinclude geography as part of its proposals for improving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineeringand Mathematics) education.

Esri launches Titanic

'story map'

On the occasion of 100th anniversaryof Titanic disaster, Esri released aninteractive story map that gives aclass-based view of the survivabilityof the Titanic shipwreck. The mapstory looks at the geography, classand fate of the passengers on theship. The online mapping applicationgeocoded the hometowns of all pas-sengers on board the Titanic (Titan-

ic's crew was not included) and iden-tified them by the type of class theywere travelling on (first, second orthird class). The map highlighted thatpassengers in first class had a highersurvival rate than those in secondclass.

LiDAR-powered

drones to hunt

pirates

The US Navy scheduled first test ofLiDAR-powered Fire Scouts droneswith seven small boats off the Cali-fornia coast this summer. The Navyaims to use these drones to automat-ically recognise small pirate boats.With in-built automatic target recog-nition feature, these drones will easethe workload strain for Navy sailors,who eyeball the data coming from theMulti-Mode Sensor Seeker (MMSS) —a sensor mix of high-definition cam-eras, mid-wave infrared sensors andthe 3D LiDAR technology.

TECHNOLOGY

NROL-25 to enhance

GEOINT

The US launched a new classifiedradar imaging satellite that can see atnight and through bad weather. Withprecise GEOINT, it will allow Ameri-can intelligence agencies to spy on

GIS market in utility segment set to climb

According to the latest report byPike Research, utility spending onGIS services, software and toolswill increase steadily over the nextfive years, reaching USD 3.7 bil-lion in 2017. Bob Gohn, Vice Pres-ident of research at PikeResearch explained, "The smartgrid has energised electric utili-ties to think creatively about howto improve the delivery of electrical power and the business and workflowprocesses that enable it. As the deployment of intelligent field equipment,particularly advanced metering infrastructure, has surged, the applica-tions leveraging this infrastructure are increasingly dependent on GIS-based data for critical real-time performance."


countries of interest. This successfullaunch is the first of four spy satellitemissions to be launched for theNational Reconnaissance Office thisyear. Other satellites will be launchedwithin the span of five months.

JAXA provides radar

tech to NASA

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA) handed off the new satelliteinstrument, Dual-frequency Precipi-tation Radar (DPR), to NASA. TheDPR has been designed and built byJAXA and Japan's National Institute

of Information and CommunicationsTechnology (NICT). The instrument isthe first space-borne radar to usetwo bands in the microwave range offrequencies, Ku and Ka, to study pre-cipitation. It obtains three-dimen-sional information about precipitationparticles. It will aid forecasts of

hurricanes, floods and other naturaldisasters.

MEXICO

Law for real-time

surveillance

The Mexican legislature unanimouslypassed a surveillance legislation. Itwill grant the police warrantlessaccess to user location data in realtime, without their consent. The billhas been sent to Mexican Presidentfor final approval. However, manyinternet privacy experts criticised thisnew law. They characterised it asbeing against the human rights.Speaking to EFF, Mexican humanrights lawyer Luis Fernando Garciasaid, "Mexican policy makers mustunderstand that the adoption ofbroad surveillance powers withoutadequate safeguards undermines theprivacy and security of citizens, and istherefore incompatible with theirhuman rights obligations."

CANADA

Open government data plan unveiled

The President of the Treasury Board,Tony Clement, announced Canada'smembership in the international OpenGovernment Partnership. Clement pre-sented Canada's Open GovernmentAction Plan and endorsed the partner-ship's declaration of principles as Cana-da's final steps towards membership inthe partnership. According to Geoff Zeiss, Director Utility Industry Pro-gram, Autodesk, Inc., the fundamental principle is the issuing of a govern-ment-wide directive that will make government information and data avail-able to the public by default. The pilot Open Data Portal now has a total ofover 272,000 data sets including geospatial data from 20 organisations.

WorldView-3 satellite features announced

DigitalGlobeunveiled uniquecapabilities of itsWorldView-3satellite, slatedfor launch inmid-2014. Thesatellite will offer0.31 meter resolution panchromatic and eight-band multispectral imagery.In addition, it has been licensed by the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA) to collect eight-band short-wave infrared (SWIR)imagery. This will make DigitalGlobe the only company with multi-bandSWIR capabilities. The satellite is currently being constructed by Ball Aero-space. The imaging instruments, including the SWIR sensor and optics,were engineered and are being built by ITT Exelis.

Maritime transport or the shipment of people andgoods by sea is one of the most ancient andwidely used forms of transport known to man.

From the times of legendary explorers like ChristopherColumbus and Vasco da Gama who sailed the mightyseas on their archaic ships armed with just a compassand some other basic equipment, both shipping vesselsand shipping as a means of transport have undergone asea change. According to the International Chamber ofShipping, international shipping today transports about90 percent of total world trade by volume. With increasein the number of vessels sailing at a time, there is grow-ing need for constant innovation in the field of maritimesurveillance. Shipping companies these days have begunto deploy modern technologies to ensure enhanced moni-toring, efficiency and security of their fleet.

Importance of marine transport

Marine transportation is an extremely vital yet often theleast publicly visible part of the world economy. The searoute is one of the major channels through which goodsare moved across the world. According to Government ofIndia statistics, about 95 percent of the country's trade byvolume is transported through the marine route.

For a developed economy like United States of Ameri-ca, too, maritime transport is equally crucial. Figurespublished in the book Geospatial Information Infrastruc-ture for Transportation Organizations: Toward a Founda-tion for Improved Decision Making, reveal that the portsare particularly critical to the US economy with 95 per-cent of all foreign trade passing through them. Besides,the marine transportation system supports nearly 13 mil-lion jobs in the country.

MARITIME TRANSPORT


Shipping undergoes

sea change

Shipping undergoes

sea change

From navigation to loading and unloading of cargo at the port, modern technology haspermeated mostt aspects of maritime transport. Here's a look at some of the technologies thathave played a signifiicant role in changing the face of the world shipping industry

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Geospatial tech in marine transport

Owing to the rapid increase in global shipping traffic dur-ing recent years (Fig 1 shows the location of every vessel- over 20 meters long - in the world at one point in time),the vessel location and navigation systems have becomethe primary focus of the world. Vessel navigation systemsare mobile information platforms, which integrate GPS,GIS and wireless communication to offer extensive datasuch as location, speed and status of a ship in real timemode. This data is processed and the location and mov-ing track of the ship can be shown on digital maps.

GNSS or Global Navigation Satellite Systems havebeen used in the maritime environment since the late1960's as the TRANSIT system, which was used mainly bythe US Navy. In 1996, the US offered GPS to the IMO(International Maritime Organisation) as an input to theWorld-Wide Radionavigation System (WWRNS). FollowingIMO's recognition, GPS became the primary radio-basedmechanism for navigation in the maritime sector.

With the advent of GPS, new applications came to thefore including the provision of accurate information toassist in the docking of large vessels. GPS info is used toaid the pilots and captains of vessels to determine howthe vessel is moving when it is getting close to a jetty.

Describing how the use of GPS has revolutionisedvessel navigation, Capt. Charanjit Singh, Master Pilot,Mumbai Port Trust says, "In the high seas, there are nolandmarks and the ship's crew had to depend only on theposition of sun and stars to find out the course. GPS sys-tem gives you accurate positions and it has now becomeeasier to find out if the vessel is deviating from its course.Thus, it helps you save time, save distance and save fuel."

E-Navigation

One of the most important initiatives in the field ofmarine transportation, which is set to revolutionise theway world shipping industry functions is E-Navigation.Led by the IMO, the initiative aims to bring improved safe-ty and security in shipping through better organisationand exchange of data between ships and the shore.

One of the primary aims of the E-Navigation initiativeis to integrate existing and new navigational tools such asAutomatic Identification System (AIS), Electronic ChartDisplay and Information System (ECDIS), radio naviga-tion, Vessel Traffic Management Services (VTMS) and theGlobal Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) in anall-encompassing system that will result in increasednavigational safety while at the same time reducing theburden on the navigator.

Automatic Identification System (AIS)

For a ship navigating at sea, the course ofother ships in the surrounding areabecomes extremely critical to makeprompt decisions to avoid collision.

The AIS is an automatic trackingmechanism deployed on ships for locatingother nearby vessels by electronicallyexchanging data with them. AIS functionsby integrating a standard VHF transceiverwith a GPS receiver and other electronicnavigation sensors. Vessels fitted with AIScan be tracked by AIS base stations andsatellites fitted with special AIS receivers.

"AIS is basically used as a tool for col-lision avoidance. But, it has also got other

International seaborne trade, selected years (millions of tons loaded)

Fig 1 The figure shows the location of every vessel in the world at one point in time

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roles. It can be used to make a good surveillance networkbecause you can track the movement of all vessels. Thus,it can be used to beef up the security of the coast," saysPP Sinha, Directorate General of Lighthouses and Light-ships, Ministry of Shipping, Government of India.

Vessel Traffic Management Service (VTMS)

Similar to air traffic control systems, a VTMS is a marinetraffic monitoring system established by port authoritiesto ensure smooth operation of vessels. A standard VTMSdeploys a combination of radar, close circuit televisioncameras and AIS to track vessel movements and ensurenavigational safety in a particular geographical area. Thesystem presents real-time navigational data overlaid onan electronic chart system display.

"For the purpose of vessel traffic management, GIS isused for shore-based management of vessel traffic flow.For example, the monitoring of keeping an allocated tidalwindow of a ship is realised by means of supporting dis-play functions integrated into the GIS," explains DrMichael Baldauf from World Maritime University.

At present, VTMS can only present a two dimensionalpicture of vessels moving within a designated area on anelectronic chart, which has several limitations. The per-formance of radar systems is prone to adverse impact byweather conditions. Apart from that, the radar blips canmerge when vessels are close together.

To overcome these limitations, a 3D VTS system has

been developed recently, which draws on informationfrom existing radar systems and supplements this withinputs from tidal gauges, meteorological stations andradio based automatic identification systems to present athree dimensional image and also gives realistic repre-sentations of all the vessels, the waterway, port installa-tions and navigational marks such as buoys.

"VTS is essential for maintenance of maritime safetyin port waters. These are used by harbour masters andtheir operational staff to efficiently manage traffic, guidemariners and prevent any dangerous situations from hap-pening," says Dr. Rafal Goralski from GeoVS Limited, thecompany which developed the 3D VTS system.

ECDIS and ENC

An ECDIS is a computerised navigation information sys-tem that has up to a large extent replaced the traditionalpaper nautical charts. An ECDIS system combines infor-mation from Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC) withpositional information from the GPS, radar and AIS toprovide continuous navigational safety and position infor-mation. Modern ECDIS systems are capable of generatingalarms when the vessel is in proximity to hazards.

"Numerous functions are integrated into ECDIS whichsupport safe and efficient navigation. These includewarning and alarming functions to announce theapproach of a waypoint, or depth alarm, in case a certainwater depth is violated. ECDIS may also provide automat-ic calculation of the ship's speed needed for in-timearrival at the next port of call," says Dr. Michael Baldauf.

Some of the areas where geospatial technology hasbeen used in marine transportation include:

Vessel monitoring

GPS-based tracking for individual and a fleet of vehicleswas originally conceived for the shipping industry. Vesseltracking systems are generally deployed for reasons suchas safety and security, compliance with internationalrules and regulations and better traffic management.

A tracking system consists of a GPS device, which isinstalled in each vessel to track its precise location viasatellite. The device can also track and monitor otherinformation related to the vessel such as its speed, routeand deviation from planned course. The information isthen transmitted to a remote user where it can be used toaccess available reports on vessel status via the internet.


The introduction of GIS changed the industryin many ways. While enhancements to theoperational efficiency are very important, themost crucial benefits are to maritime safety. Itis in this area that a reduction in number ofincidents translates to lives saved

Dr Rafal Goralski, Director of Technology, GeoVS Limited

Functioning of an AIS (Courtesy: maritimejournal.com)

TelecommunicationsSatellite

Navigation SatelliteGalileo

GPS

Collision avoidance

The recent incidents of oil spill across the world havehighlighted the devastating impact that marine accidentshave on the environment. Such accidents, which aremajorly a result of ship collisions, cost huge loss of lifeand property and threaten the environment. A majority ofthese accidents can be attributed to human error.

Combined together, AIS systems and radar technolo-gy can effectively contribute to warn the crew members ofan approaching obstruction (such as icebergs) and thushelp avoid a collision. While aerial surveillance is the pri-mary method used to locate icebergs, satellite-basedradar observations are being used increasingly toimprove the accuracy and efficiency of these systems.Satellite images can effectively point out icebergs andalso track their movements to help prepare a chart ofthreatening icebergs in a particular region. "Shore-basedtraffic coordination and support for avoidance of colli-sions with other ships or objects and even display ofdynamical changing banks in fairways make use of geo-referenced information," explains Dr. Michael Baldauf.

Ship lane mapping

A ship lane can de defined as a regularly used route byocean going vessels. Commercial ships and large boatsusually move through internationally designated shippinglanes from one port city to theother. The shipping lanesensure navigational safety byregulating maritime traffic.Besides, sticking to pre-deter-mined route makes sure thatthe ship does not venture intounsafe waters and also savesvaluable time and fuel. A GIS-based electronic navigationalchart is capable of guiding aship's crew to follow a particu-lar path.

"If you want to go from oneport to another, then the software offers the capability oflaying the route. You can mark the waypoints from onepoint to another. Once the waypoints have been marked,the system selects the latest available navigational chartfrom its database and displays on the screen so you canplan the route, avoiding dangerous locations/activities in

the sea. You can lay down the best possible, most eco-nomical, shortest and most fuel efficient route," says asource.

Ocean currents

Knowledge of ocean currents has been extremely impor-tant for seafarers since the sail-ship era. Today, suchknowledge plays a vital role in reducing fuel costs.

Although satellite sensors available these days arenot capable of measuring ocean currents directly,remotely sensed data can be used to measure current.The most commonly employed method uses ocean vectorwinds and satellite altimetry to estimate currents.

Port operations management

"From the perspective of both the maritime shipper andthe port managers, it is port throughput and efficiencywhich counts at the end of the day. And here GIS is beingused in a number of ways to better manage port traffic

and vessel loading and unload-ing," says Terry Bills. The Port of Sines in Portugaluses GIS for vessel traffic man-agement. The system functionsby integrating berth and supportscheduling with real time vesseltracking to optimise berth allo-cation and generate timelybilling by integrating the systemwith billing systems.

Technology has also found use in vessel loading andunloading. When combined with

real time truck arrival systems, these mechanisms cansignificantly reduce vessel turnaround time and, in turn,goods throughput.

Specially designed geographic information systemsthat use GPS technology can be used to monitor contain-ers and signal alerts when a container deviates from its


E-Navigation is addressing all three aspectsof maritime transportation - processesonboard and ashore as well as the communi-cation aspects between ships, ship and shoreand shore-based institutions. It also includesaddressing human factor related aspects

Dr. Michael Baldauf, Associate Professor, WMU

Vessel Navigation System


proposed path. A well established GIS can help in con-tainer security as they travel through the sea. On enteringthe port, the container can be tracked as it movesthrough the truck or rail route to its final destination.

A GIS can integrate port security information and display results on a map or satellite image to provide realtime update. The system can be used to merge vesseltracking applications with output from live televisioncameras to obtain a comprehensive security view.

Vessel security

According to a report by the IMO, 489 actual or attemptedacts of marine piracy occurred in 2010, which is 20.4 per-cent more than 2009. According to Bloomberg, piracy costthe international economy USD 12 billion in 2010. G-techis being used to track the movement of pirates and createpiracy hotspot maps, which can be used to warn ships.

Geospatial technology is used for other applicationssuch as oil spill management and maritime securityresponse tool. Geographic Information systems offer use-ful information in a graphical and timely fashion, whichhelps decision makers to deal with emergency situations.

Weather reporting: One of the major problems faced byseafarers till a few years ago was access to weatherupdates. Thus, ships had to either take a passage detouror were caught in stormy weather. However, technologyhas ensured that the oceans are now constantly being

monitored by satellites. The satellitessend updated weather

information to

ship based marine receivers, which helps to predict themovement of storms and to provide adequate warning tothe seafarers.

Communication: Satellites have revolutionised the waycommunication was done between the ship and theshore. Not only can instant connection be made betweentwo or more vessels or the ship and the shore, but thecommunication can also be recorded for future reference.

Search and Rescue: The entire SAR operations thesedays are controlled and coordinated with the help ofsatellite technology. The distress messages are sent toregional control centres located at faraway places usingsatellites. Homing beacons (EPIRB) are fitted on lifeboats, which directly pass the distress message and ves-sel position and thus help the approaching SAR aircraft inhoming and locating. The satellites can also undertakesurveillance of the SAR area and monitor progress.

Challenge

Today, navigators onboard ships are using electronicposition fixing systems. These sensors are more or lessthe major position sensors for onboard navigation, routemonitoring, collision avoidance, shore-based vesseltracking, traffic management etc. Inaccurate positiondata or use of outdated chart data may lead to seriousaccidents. Even the best and high sophisticated presenta-tion of the ship's position in a 3D display of an ECDIS is ofno use when the source of data is not reliable. Approach-es to tackle the problem of integrity in terms of accuracy

and up-to-dateness include cross-checking andfusion of data from different sensors. "The main

challenge today regarding GIS and geospatialtechnology is the provision of exact/accurateand reliable data for integration into online nav-igation systems," says Dr. Michael Baldauf.

Vaibhav Arora Assistant [email protected]

In the GIS arena, the use of GNSS for the positioning of LIDAR-carrying survey aircraft hasrevolutionised shallow water surveying. Oceanfree float buoys can be tracked by GNSS to givevery accurate measurement of ocean currents

Colin Beatty, President, Royal Institute of Navigation

Larger vessels almost all have ECDIS sys-tems. Among ports, the growth has beenlargely in the last two to three years, but weare seeing very rapid adoption among majorports. Most major ports have VTMS, althoughmany still rely on ground based radar

Terry Bills, Transportation Industry Manager, Esri

Ship collision off Mumbai coast in 2010 resulted in oil-spill

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Human ambition to fly is the stuff mythologiesare made of. In modern times, ever since theWright brothers took to the skies, there has

been no looking back in advancements in aviationtechnology. Air travel is no longer confined to beingthe privilege of the elite that it once was. According toindustry estimates, air traffic has doubled every 15years since 1970. Having recovered from the economicrecession, the aviation industry is bullish going ahead,

fuelled by dynamic growth in emerging markets,increasing urbanisation driving wealth and trafficgrowth, strong continued growth in North Americanand European markets and expanding global middleclass globally. Aerospace company Boeing's forecastfor 2011 anticipates delivery of 33,500 new airplanes(including passenger and freighter) over the next 20years, while Embraer projects that world air transportdemand will grow by 5.2% per year during this period.

AIR TRANSPORT


With growingair trafficvolumes, thereis a lot ofdemand onair trafficmanagementto manage thecongestionon therunways andin the skies.Geospatialtechnology canhelp addressthis demmand

Tech for the skies


Clearly, there is a lot of demand on air traffic manage-ment to manage the congestion on the runways and inthe skies.

Geospatial technology in air traffic

management

Given the inherent spatial nature of the aeronautical data,geospatial technology can play an integral role in ensur-ing smooth and safe flight movements amidst growingtraffic. Geospatial technology is one of the key enablingtechnologies being used in overall planning, deployment,delivery, maintenance, and management of the aviationinfrastructure, says SV Satish, General Manager – AirTraffic Management, Airports Authority of India. It ischanging the way the cockpit resource management andflight management are taking place in the modern air-craft fleet. Electronic flight bags are replacing papercharts and maps. Electronic route bulletins, aerodromeinformation, electronic aeronautical information publica-tions, electronic terrain obstacle data are all the out-comes of geospatial technology.

Let's take a detailed look at the roleof various geospatial technologies in airtraffic management.

GIS

Aviation managers have critical require-ments for reliable data and cost-effec-tive workflows. Adding a spatial compo-nent to their data, GIS can help themmodel and track flight paths andanalyse data for concerns such as noiselevels and height clearances. Terry Bills,Transportation Industry Manager, Esrielaborates that commercial airlines andair traffic control regulators use GIS forairspace planning and routing applica-tions as well as for facilities manage-ment applications. In addition, by managing data onceand producing multiple products from aeronautical infor-mation management (AIM) system, aeronautical officescan realise an operational advantage. The database-driv-en geographic information system approach means thatchanges are reflected on all related products automati-cally through one-touch editing. This enables the organi-sations to create high quality data and charts in less timeand with less money, informs Terry.

The civil aviation administrations of a number ofcountries are migrating to GIS technology to manage andupdate the aeronautical charts that are used by the pilotsand air traffic control staff. Terry says that the major shiftfor many of these agencies is away from CAD producedmaps to a data base driven and intelligent maps, whichare increasingly replacing the paper charts that pilotsused to carry.

GIS is also helping aviation authorities tackle oldwoes. One such woe is bird strikes. Aircrafts have battledbird strikes for decades. Airports are turning to technolo-gy to prevent the collisions between birds and planes. Aninstance can be seen in Australia where Adelaide airportis integrating GIS into its wildlife hazard managementprogramme. The GIS brings together more than 20 yearsof bird census and bird strike data to generate interac-tive, real-time maps of bird congregation over the airportsite. Adelaide Airport Limited (AAL) Environment OfficerRenae Eden says once the authority enters the data inthe GIS, it can produce real-time maps, which make it

easier to model trending and examine where bird popula-tions have moved over subsequent seasons. The birdmapping tool enables AAL to mitigate hazards beforethey can create an incident.

GNSS

Global navigation satellite system (GNSS), that providesaccurate locations for cars, boats and aircrafts, has a lotof potential in air traffic management. The primary use of

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Obstacle identification surface geoprocessing tools can help analyse and manage obstacle data

GNSS is for computing the air-craft position in order to navigatethe aircraft, informs RichardFarnworth, Navigation Specialist,DSR/CMN/Navigation and CNSResearch, Eurocontrol, the Euro-pean organisation for the safetyof air navigation. GNSS is alsobeing used for surveillance appli-cations where the position com-puted on the aircraft is sent tothe air traffic control centre viadata link, thus providing an alter-native or a back-up to radar sur-veillance. GNSS is being used for instrument guidanceduring approaches to airports, adds Farnworth.

RNAV (area navigation), a method of Instrument FlightRules (IFR) navigation that allows an aircraft to chooseany course within a network of navigation beacons, ratherthan navigating directly to and from the beacons, makesuse of the flight management computer to allow naviga-tion between any two waypoints, independent of the loca-tion of navigation aids. In 1998, basic RNAV becamemandatory in European airspace and the only way formany aircraft operators to become RNAV capable was tobe equipped with a GPS receiver. Farnworth says that theRNAV approach with precise lateral guidance has beenmade possible due to the widespread availability of GNSSon all categories of aircraft. This approach has beenintroduced in place of non-precision approach (NPA) as ameans of improving pilot situational awareness andtherefore safety. They can also be used in low visibilityconditions over conventional NPA, allowing better accessto airports in poor weather.

Satellite-based augmentation systemGNSS alone is not always sufficient or reliable to meetthe stringent requirements of accuracy, integrity, avail-

ability and continuity for aviation safety of life applica-tions, observes Satish who adds that the inherent limita-tions of standalone core constellations can be overcomeby augmenting the core constellation signal in space.Farnworth informs that vertical navigation capability isenabled by either the integration of barometric verticaldata by the flight management computer or through theuse of a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS). Inthe case of SBAS procedures, the minima can be as lowas 200 ft which is equivalent to that achieved using a pre-cision Instrument Landing system (ILS) Category I.

The most significant benefits of SBAS are in theapproach phase of flight, giving performance as good asCat-1 ILS without having to install any navigation infra-structure on the airfield, says Farnworth. This allows forhigh performance instrument approach procedures to beimplemented at smaller aerodromes where it was previ-ously uneconomical to install instrument landing sys-tems.

While SBAS provides an improved navigation capabili-ty for some aviation users such as the general aviationcommunity and those not equipped with modern avionics,Albert Tjoeng, Assistant Director, Corporate Communica-tions, Asia Pacific, International Air Traffic Association(IATA), opines that the aircraft fleets of most commercialairlines have on-board avionics that already allow foraccurate tracking without the use of ground based navi-gation aids. In addition, most of today's commercial air-craft fly to airports where ILS are installed. Albert cau-tions against the cost factor of SBAS. Albert says thatSBAS offers no additional capacity over what airlines arecurrently able to do but has potential for a significant


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"RNAV (area navigation) approach with precise lateral guidance has been made possible due to the widespread availability of GNSS on all categories of aircraft."

Richard FarnworthNavigation Specialist, DSR/CMN/Navigation and CNS

Research, Eurocontrol

increase in costs to an already overburdened airlineindustry.

Remote sensing

Remote sensing can contribute in a number of ways in airtraffic management. One significant application isaddressing flight delays. Flight delays are a financial bur-den for airlines and a major inconvenience for the pas-sengers. Even though there can be several reasons forflight delays, one of the reasons is congestion - too manyaircrafts in too small an area, in the same time. Remotesensing can come to the rescue in such a situation.Stereo remote sensing can allow aircraft flight controllersto minimise such delays.

Dejan Damjanovic, Director, Air & Marine Solutions,GeoEye explains that aircraft congestion problem can besegregated into in-flight delays that involve flying fromairport to airport, and ground delays that involve taxiingto and from the runway. Since an aircraft cannot be in thesame 3D place at the same time as other aircraft, trafficcongestion is a 4D problem. One of the new methods ofair navigation that has evolved with technology advance-ments in navigation is known as required navigation per-formance (RNP,) which attempts to segregate airplanesby their ability to navigate in 4D airspace andallows airplanes that can support greater navi-gational accuracy to fly in smaller containmentregions. If an aircraft can fly in a smaller4D containment, it is possible to get moreplanes into and out of any given airport. Touse optimised RNP routes in and out ofairplanes requires 3D surveys of allobstacles that might be in the path of thenew routes. This requires stereo

remote sensing to support 3D feature extraction of thefollowing: airport runways, taxiways, ramps and buildingsto accurately map the airport and optimise taxiing routes;obstacles that may be tall enough to pose a hazard to air-craft taking off and landing on the new irregular RNP-based routes; terrain and other natural features like treelines that may be tall enough to pose a hazard to aircrafttaking off and landing on the new irregular RNP-basedroutes.

Satellite technology can also address weather-relatedissues. Moderate to severe weather formations oftenaffect flight movements. Flights are normally equippedwith weather radars and can request deviations awayfrom weather. Similarly ground radars (primary radars)help in providing air traffic controller information onweather. But normally this information is restricted to 60miles around major aerodromes, informs Satish. The

advent of computer networking, coupled with geospa-tial technology and satellite weather forecastinghelps in advance planning and control of air traffic.With the development of technology, specificweather patterns can be provided to aircraft onboard for pilot to plan and manage routes that willhave lesser impacts due to weather.

Current status of application

Airport traffic control systems often havenumerous security and safety concerns to


"Stereo remote sensing can allow aircraft flight controllers to mininise delays caused due to presence of too many aircrafts in too small an area, at the same time."

Dejan DamjanovicDirector, Air & Marine Solutions, GeoEye


address in case of embarking on major changes, there-fore technology adoptions usually take time. But changescan be seen in recent times. Bills says that in terms ofthe actual application of such systems, it has been rapid-ly adopted over the last five years. Nearly all of the NorthAmerican and European international airports haveimplemented GIS and it is now spreading to Asia and theMiddle East, as well as down to regional airports.

Looking ahead

As air traffic volume increases and aviation assumesimportance in the global economy, airports are gearingup to handle the volume and improve efficiencies throughnext generation air traffic control systems that call forgreater use of geospatial information and technology. Forinstance, one of the world's biggest and busiest aviationhubs, the United States has embarked on The Next Gen-eration Air Transportation System (NextGen), the FederalAviation Administration's on-going transformation of thenational airspace system. NextGen supplants the radarand voice communications used today with satellite-based technologies and digital communications, accord-ing to FAA. Also, With the publication of Advisory Circular

150/5300-18B, the FAA has estab-lished a comprehensive digital datastandard and roadmap forming thebasis of what is called the FAA Air-port Surveying - GIS Program (Air-ports GIS). Airports GIS will enablethe FAA to establish more agilecommunication and coordinationwith airports as well as to facilitatebetter decision making using con-sistent and accurate data that hasbeen verified through a rigorousquality assurance process, theagency informs. NextGen requiresairports to submit a range of GIS

information to the FAA. Terry Bills elaborates that as theworld's civil aviation administrations move to the nextgeneration air traffic control (NextGen in the US, SingleEuropean Sky ATM Research - SESAR in Europe), veryaccurate on-ground GIS inputs will be required to helpensure the safety of these GPS-based air traffic controlsystems.

Countries in the fast growing regions for air trafficvolume like Asia too are sprucing up their technology tohandle the traffic. India for example, is in the process ofestablishing centralised Air Traffic Flow and CapacityManagement (ATFM) systems and will implement thecentral flow management systems by the year end. TheATFM shall rely on the geospatial data obtained dynami-cally through various subsystems such as aircraft flightprofiles, weather, user preferred trajectories, special useairspace, surveillance data inputs from radars, automaticdependent surveillance systems and multi-lateration,informs Satish.

While technology is poised to be a key enabler for themore busier airports to manage their traffic, it has anequal significance for airports at the other end of spec-trum too. As the world's less busy airports seek to attractmore airline crowd, they will need to ensure quality servic-es, improved safety and security in supporting air trafficgrowth. These airports also often have a large number ofaeronautical data sources but are not always able to putthem together meaningfully to be a decision support sys-tem. Geospatial technology can aid them in these efforts.

Deepali Roy Senior Assistant Editor, [email protected]

"With the advent of computer networking,coupled with geospatial technology, specificweather patterns can be provided to aircrafton board for pilot to plan and manage routesthat will have lesser impacts due to weather"

SV SatishGeneral Manager - Air Traffic ManagementAirports Authority of India

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The city-nation of Singaporefaces increasing populationand travel demand, against a

backdrop of limited land space.The logical way for the nation toaccommodate the diverse travelneeds of the people is to investheavily in public transport since itis the most space-efficientmeans of carrying largenumber of people.

Over the years,Singapore's LandTransport Authority(LTA) has beenworking on multi-pronged approachaimed at puttingmore information intothe hands of the com-muters so that they can plan aheadto decide the mode of transport touse and travel conveniently by avoid-ing traffic jams. One of its strategiesis to unleash the value of LTA's GISdata by proactively making this infor-mation easily available to the publicfor informed decision making whilegetting around in Singapore.

In line with LTA's key strategicthrust in making public transport achoice mode, LTA's public transport

portal - PublicTransport@SG wasrolled out in 2008 to provide com-muters with the convenience ofaccessing public transport informa-tion from a single website. One of themain features ofPublicTransport@SG includes aninteractive GIS map to help com-

muters to move around Singa-pore with public transport

information such asbus service informa-

tion, key bus servic-es maps, MRT andLRT system maps,the public transport

guide and premiumbus services. Real

time information on busarrival time is also available

for select bus stops. The websitealso features the latest public trans-port related news and information onpublic transport promotion cam-paigns and initiatives. Citizens canfreely access LTA's GIS data at theOne.Motoring portal too.

Motorists can be informed ofroad accidents and travel speeds ofthe routes they are planning to take,before they embark on their jour-neys. They may even query regarding

the availability of car parking spacesat their destinations, so that they canmake alternative arrangements toavoid long waits. Commuters canlocate nearest bus stops usingmobiles equipped with location-based services and even find outwhen the next bus will arrive.

LTA has collaborated with Googleto give commuters transport optionsat their fingertips. The result is aservice that allows commuters toplan their journeys based on currenttraffic status. The partnership is oneof the first few instances where acountry is working with Google toprovide transport options as part ofits global online map platform.

LTA's mobile service, MyTrans-port.SG makes it easier for com-muters to access landtransport informationon a single platform.The service allowsthem to access a com-prehensive range oftransit and trafficinformation - includinglocations of bus stopsand MRT stations -from any GPRS-enabled mobile device.

SINGAPORE LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY


Tiny Singapore is strengthening public transport with GIS to meet the travel

demands of increasing population

INFORMATION TO

THE PEOPLE

Case Study


Following the launch of MyTrans-port.SG (mobile), LTA launched theportal MyTransportSG portal to caterto all land transport users. The por-tal can be customised to suit theneeds of the people based on theirprofile as commuters, students,cyclists or commuter with mobilityneeds etc, all under one roof. Newfeatures include GIS information on:

• Taxi stand location: Commuters cansearch for taxi stands near their loca-tion. Each taxi stand has a locationcode that they can use as referencepoint for the cab driver to pick them upwhen they make a booking.

• Cycling town and bicycle parking:Cyclists can use the network of cyclingpaths with park connectors to accesskey public transport nodes and neigh-bourhood amenities. The portal alsoprovides GIS information on bicycleparking facilities at most MRT stations.

CATCHMENT

AREAS

LTA also applies GISfor studying thebehavior and charac-teristics of consumersliving in various busand rail catchmentareas. It allows theorganisation toanalyse the sensitivityof the consumers to

different parameters. Each bus stopand rapid transit station (RTS) alongthe corridor is mapped using GIS. Bymodifying the radius of the catch-ment area, GIS shows the patterns,relationships and trends that helpLTA understand the attributes andunderlying factors within the catch-ment areas, so that they can choosethe best modal option for the popu-lation living in the catchment areaand plan for changes in the trans-portation network design.

ROAD SAFETY

In the area of road safety, LTA lever-ages on GIS technology to signifi-cantly reduce the number of trafficaccidents, fatal or otherwise, at acci-dent-prone areas. GIS makes thevisualisation of collision incidencedistributions and patterns more intu-itive than statistics, charts and tabu-lar data. Through collaboration withSingapore Traffic Police, traffic acci-dent locations and collision patternscan be easily visualised and analysedgeographically in a process knownas "Black Spot Analysis." Troublespots can be pin-pointed for roadsafety engineers to implement trafficimprovement schemes. This hasyielded a significant reduction in

accidents over a two-year period.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Rosina Howe, LTA's Group Director(Innovation & InfoComm Group) andChief Innovation Officer, says "LTAhas established partnerships withprivate technology providers to pro-vide real-time traffic information,dynamic routing and navigation solu-tions, to further exploit its enterprisegeospatial data to benefit end users.These collaborations have broughtabout an array of innovative servicesthat directly benefit the public andtransform the way Singaporeans useland transport systems."

BENEFITS

LTA's multi-pronged approach hasyielded significant returns as LTA isable to concentrate on providing effi-cient traffic and transport solutionswhile leveraging on the resources ofthe private sector to offer high-impact commuter applications with-out incurring significant costs to thegovernment. Commuters can makeuse of these information services toplan their journey in advance for effi-cient routes to their destination andeven make changes to their routes onthe move when exigencies arise.

Case Study

Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan, is one of the mostheavily populated cities with

2.6 million people residing on271.7997 square kilometres. Themegacity has 1,080,000 motorbikesand 710,000 cars running withinthe city. On the other hand, withthe growing demand for bettertourism service, traffic hasbecome a significant challenge andthe priority for the local govern-ment.

After maturing the transportationsystem, Taipei City Department ofTransportation decided to establishan information platform named ATIS,the Advanced Traveler InformationSystem, to support traffic manage-ment administrators in making deci-

sions, taking appropriate actions torelieve traffic congestion and improv-ing the quality of the traffic network.

Through accessing the ATIS plat-form, it can assist travelers and driv-ers to obtain real-time traffic infor-mation and then plan their tripsbefore travelling and making routedecisions to minimise travel timeand improve travel safety.

CHALLENGES OF THE

PROJECT

With the development of technology,information has become easier toobtain over the internet; however,the long waiting time and insufficientavailability of information make itdifficult for users to search andreceive required data quickly.

In order to increase the accessi-bility of online transportation servic-es to the public, Taipei City Depart-ment of Transportation utilises serv-er GIS technology to integrate differ-ent transportation informationresources into a single platformwhich can offer accurate traffic datato the public.

This biggest challenge of thisproject is how to integrate the mas-sive amount of data such as trafficevent reporting system, closed cir-cuit TV (CCTV), monitoring systemand changeable message signals(CMS) from different governmentalunits and make real-time trafficinformation more available to usersthrough the internet and mobiles.

INNOVATIONS IN

TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICE

Using server GIS technology, ATIS isable to integrate a wide range oftransport information seamlessly,enhancing the traffic data distribu-tion and security and helping reach aminimum maintenance cost for themanagement.

The SuperGIS Server, incorporat-ed by Taipei City Department ofTransportation is capable of creating,managing, integrating and distribut-ing a variety of geospatial resourcessuch as maps, globes, geodatabas-es, tools, etc., over the internet to

TAIPEI CITY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, TAIWAN


An advanced traveller

information system

Case Study


extensively support desktop, mobile,and web applications.

Taking advantages of the highlyscalable GIS server platform andcloud infrastructure, SuperGIS Serv-er allows the managerial staff tocustomise an appropriate serverenvironment in which spatialresources and data can be sharedamong system administrators, theenterprise management and thepublic.

Due to an explosive increase inthe number of smart phone users,the Taipei City government hasextended its application over a net-work. As a consequence, the app,Easy Travel in Taipei, was introducedto the smart phone users.

In the data distribution phase ofATIS, several interfaces includingweb and mobile subscription areprovided for users to retrieve real-time traffic information and dailyweather report provided by the ITS(Intelligent Transportation System)according to the device location.

OTHER IMPLEMENTATIONS

The solutions provided by the ServerGIS comprise three sections, front-end demonstration, mobile/PDA weband back-end management system.

Front-end demonstration: Thisincludes map manipulation, static

information query anddynamic informationquery. Users can queryreal-time dynamic infor-mation online, such asbus information, real-time traffic images ofroad conditions, roadevents, changeable mes-sage signals (CMS), trav-el time on national high-ways, average vehicle speed andweather information.

Mobile/PDA web: When applyingthe app, Easy Travel in Taipei, to themobile devices, users can enjoy thetransport information service any-where and anytime. Moreover, thesubscribers of Taipei City ATIS Webcan further receive road incidentreports via email or SMS on mobiles.

To satisfy the governmentrequirements, the ATIS has beendeveloped to accomplish the goal ofcompiling all kinds of traffic datafrom units under other city or countygovernments and distributing real-time traffic information successfully.

BENEFITS TO THE LOCAL

COMMUNITY

Through accessing the Server GISservice, the citizens and visitors caneasily retrieve the traffic informationthrough the browser without

installing any plug-inprograms and use othertraffic related servicessuch as bus routes plan-ning and itinerary plan-ning.

Moreover, the well-established cyclewaysoffer people anothertransport option to makea difference to the city."YouBike" is the public

commuter bicycle rental systemdesigned for people who can querythe nearest bike rental stationsaround them.

BENEFITS TO THE CITY

By accessing ATIS, citizens canreceive the information through thebrowser without installing any plug-in programme and avail traffic relat-ed services such as bus routes plan-ning and train schedule.

ATIS also plays the importantrole of connecting a variety of trafficinformation databases that existwithin different governmental units.In order to ensure the stability andmobility of the data, this server willkeep track of the receiving status ofupstream information and reportexception events, while serving asthe streaming server.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

Experts suggest that travelling bypublic transport is better for reduc-ing carbon footprint and carbonmanagement than driving cars.Recently, city governors across theworld have been engaged in stimu-lating low carbon ideas.

With the advantages, both citi-zens and visitors are willing to utilisepublic transit. Climate change canbe mitigated when people decreasethe use of electronic vehicles.

Case Study

When floods, tropicalcyclone Yasi and severestorms wreaked havoc

across the state of Queenslandduring 2011, the disastersdestroyed billions of dollars ofproperty and infrastructure - andrendered parts of the state's roadnetwork unusable.

Brisbane City Council (BCC) andQueensland Reconstruction Authority(QRA) turned to technology to com-municate important traffic informa-tion to members of the public. GISwas used to generate user-friendlyonline mapping websites that shareupdates on the current status ofroads and highways with members ofthe community - giving drivers thelatest information on road closures

and current travel conditions. Duringthe height of the 2011 flood disaster,BCC partnered with Esri Australia todevelop a flood map that provided cit-izens with an understanding of whichroads were accessible and safe. Thesystem compiled flood data fromacross disaster-struck Brisbane -such as flood peaks, road closuresand evacuation centres - onto a mapto provide a comprehensive, real-time picture of the flood.

More than three million membersof the public accessed the map at theheight of the crisis, to view the scopeof damage and access importantupdates on the road networks. Bris-bane City Council's Jeff Sangster saidthe map was relied upon by many asproviding the most current, up-to-

date view of the road network.To provide citizens with a compre-

hensive, up-to-date view of the stateof the road network - as well asinsight into how other elements ofthe reconstruction process wasunfolding - QRA also developed aninteractive, online map. Updated dailywith data collated from varioussources on the ground - such as thetransport department with road con-dition updates - the site displays thecurrent status and condition of infra-structure across Queensland.

With a click of a mouse, viewerscould select affected communitiesand view disaster imagery of impact-ed infrastructure and assets - includ-ing schools, rail, homes, roads andbridges.


The city of Brisbane used GIS to communicate status of road networks

to the public during floods

Road to recovery

CITY OF BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA Case Study

Rail transportation inherentlyrequires tight control.Unlike road or air traffic,

train traffic needs to be controlledfrom a central control roomthroughout the journey of eachtrain. This is because there is noscope for local discretion for trainpaths. Two trains cannot travel onthe same path; train movementstherefore need to be closely man-

aged by the train control office.Since rail network is geographical-ly dispersed and consists of linearassets such as tracks and electri-cal power lines, the role of geospa-tial technology for railways cannotbe undermined.

Apart from the obvious use inmapping of railway assets, there aremore subtle uses for geospatial

databases and GISs in the field ofrail transportation. Foremost is thepossibility of controlling train move-ments based on their position,speed, etc. Compared to the tradi-tional "string charts" or "controlcharts" used by train controllers tovisualise train movements, GIS mapspromise to provide a much moreaccurate view of train movements.Depicting the train movements on a

GIS map can assist the train con-trollers immensely. Coupled withGPS devices on trains sending theircurrent position to a central locationvia satellite communication, GISmaps can help to reduce train head-ways and increase section capacitiessignificantly.

Another way in which train con-trollers can use the GIS is for plan-

ning maintenance "blocks" or maintenance-related service interruptions. Blocks required formaintenance of different assets such as track, overhead electrifica-tion equipment, signals, etc. can beplanned to be taken up together bycorrelating their locations usinggeospatial data.

Fallout of the above is that theGIS system can be used for long-term planning as well. Likely con-straints of line capacity, mainte-nance facilities, crew availability andloading and unloading facilities aremuch easier to visualise whenobserved through a GIS map. Theconcerned information systemstoday run separately and eachdepartment makes its plans on itsown. Correlating the geospatial datato understand the overall plan for asection of the track is a mammothexercise today, requiring the inter-pretation of different types of data.With a GIS, a simple interface withthe various departmental systems isenough to be able to get a compre-hensive view of the overall plan forany section.

It is with the above use in mindthat the Indian Railways has decidedto implement geospatial technologyto manage train movements anddevelop a GIS map covering all itsassets and applications, progressive-ly over a period of a few years. It isexpected that the GIS system willmake railway operations more effi-cient and better planned..

INDIAN RAILWAYS


Indian Railways is on track with g-tech

Realising the potential

Case Study

The volume and category ofvehicles on the various sec-tions of a road network is a

key factor in network planning,determining levels of service, pub-lic transport planning and for pave-ment design. Traffic volumes areusually determined by using acombination of permanent contin-uous counts and short durationcounts.

Continuous counts are carriedout using counting loops with sophis-ticated equipment housed in perma-nent stations at key locations withinthe road network. They help roadagencies understand time- of-day,day-of-week and seasonal variationsin traffic volumes. Because continu-ous counts are expensive, most roadagencies would have a few perma-nent stations but use short termduration counts as the main methodof determining traffic volumes.

There are many methods that canbe used to carry out short durationcounts. The methods can be broadlyclassified as electronic or manual.Because of the need to classify traf-fic for public transport planning, theDepartment of Transport uses man-ual traffic counting as the predomi-nant method of carrying out shortduration counts.

Challenges in manual

counting

The department faces a number ofchallenges when using externalservice providers to carry out manualtraffic counting.Most notable chal-

lenges include enumerators countingwrong intersections; enumeratorsallocating counts to the wrong inter-section legs even if they are at thecorrect intersection; enumeratorsarriving at intersections before/aftertime and guessing counts for miss-ing periods.

Dealing with challenges

Over the years, the departmentexperimented with various measuresto limit the magnitude of errors aris-ing from the above practices, withlimited success. This situation per-sisted until the department startedmonitoring the enumerators usingan internet-based tracking system.Monitoring involves assigning a GPS-enabled mobile phone to each enu-merator. The mobile phones havesoftware installed to send GPS loca-tion signals to a central trackingserver. The counting supervisors canmonitor each enumerator to ensure

they are at the correct intersectionand are counting the correct inter-section leg. If for any reason anyenumerator arrives late or leavesearly, the exact time of arrival ordeparture is known. This ensuresdata integrity since guessed countscan be removed from the captureddata. Using mobile phones presentsan added advantage since the count-ing supervisor can guide lost enu-merators to the correct intersec-tions.

Manual counting presents acheaper and viable alternative forcarrying out short term traffic count-ing. In cases where differentiation isrequired between passengerminibuses and cars, and betweenbuses and trucks, it could be the onlyalternative. The use of GIS technolo-gy by the Department of Transporthas ensured that manual counts canbe done with a reasonable level ofaccuracy.

KWAZULU-NATAL DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT, SOUTH AFRICA

At the last count


Case Study

KwaZulu-Natal Dept. of Transport is using g-tech for short term traffic counting

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi inthe United Arab Emirates isone of the most modern and

fastest-growing cities in the world.The Department of Transport (DOT)is the organisation responsible fordelivering an effective transportationsystem that contributes to the eco-nomic growth, quality of life andenvironmental sustainability of thecity. As part of Abu Dhabi 2030 vision,DOT needed to acquire, build andimplement the best GIS technologypossible. It realised that a robust GISsystem was required to support theplanning and daily operational andbusiness needs of building, manag-ing and maintaining a state-of-the-art transportation network.

A project was conceived, whichaimed to build a transportation datamodel, infrastructure and databasefor the GIS within DOT; use GIS datafor planning, design, construction,operations and maintenanceprocesses; build a public internetportal (DARB) to deliver various serv-ices such

as driving directions and bus routeinformation as well as build GeoT-RANS, an enterprise-level intranetportal that would provide accurateand reliable geospatial informationand services to various DOT sectorssuch as surface, aviation and mar-itime transportation.

Since its launch, the por-tal has been supporting andenhancing DOT's daily busi-ness in terms of planning,network operation and pub-lic awareness of road worksprojects. The project is anexcellent example of fast-track implementation of asuccessful enterprise GISfor transportation in aplace with the highestdemands in terms of functionalityand workflows due to the rapidlygrowing infrastructure. Some of theservices provided by the GeoTRANSportal include:

Safety application: The applicationcontains road safety data, includ-

ing information aboutaccident hot spots. This isused to support engi-neers in visual analysisof the accident data. Parking application:This application pro-

vides users with infor-mation about parking

locations and assets, bothon and off-street, includ-ing the DOT-managedparking facilities.

Bus and taxi application: It offersrich information about existing busroutes and bus stops as well as taxifacilities. It allows users to analyseand manage data with respect toother activities in DOT and reflect thesame on the public portal.

DARB : While GeoTRANS providedadvanced tools and functionalitiesfor DOT's internal end users toaccess maps, tools and reports, thepublic portal DARB is the main gate-way to share maps and services withcitizens in the UAE, using a fast andsimple, map-based interface. Ser-vices launched for the public includeCar Travel, which helps users finddriving directions and parking areas;Bus Travel, which helps users findbus routes; DARBI, which allowsusers to record incidents pertainingto road asset, parking, bus shelter,street lighting and road conditions.Users can click on a map and choosethe type of incident to be reported,enter the required information andeven upload photos.

ABU DHABI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT, UAE

Information @ fingertips

Department of Transport portal offers traffic information to the public

GeoTRANS displays different parking types within Abu Dhabi city


Case Study

Vision to Viability

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AR for smarter vision

Science fiction stories and movies have been predictingvirtual or augmented reality for several years - just thinkof films like Terminator and Mission Impossible and hi-tech glasses that have out-of-the-world features. Therecently introduced AR eyeglasses by NASA, Google andJapanese engineers have raised optimism in people whoare crazy about such glasses.

NASA's AR glasses weigh less than a quarter of apound (113g) and incorporate a lens that fits over oneeye, providing the pilot with a variety of information, aswell as a virtual view of the surroundings. It is even

designed to track head movements. If the pilot turns hishead, the glasses can react in real-time to ensure thatthe virtual representations always stay in the same placeas their real-world counterparts. Some pilots have evenrated NASA's headset higher than cockpit technology,which provides them with similar information.

Similarly, engineers at the University of Electro-Com-munications' Nakajima Laboratory in Japan have devel-oped GPS-based prototype specs, known as the 'Wear-able Personal Navigation System'. It incorporates a bat-tery, a microcomputer, a magnetic directional sensorand a number of LED lights. To put the glasses to workon getting users to their destination, users will berequired to enter their destination using a computer. Theglasses have integrated LEDs positioned in a circularfashion around the frame. The LEDs, which are visible ina user's peripheral field of vision, will then change theircolour and placement in order to show which directionusers should be walking. Engineers claimed that currentGPS devices - such as smartphones - require users tolook down at a display while moving, instead of watchingwhere they are going. With these glasses, users would beable to look ahead instead of looking down.

Unlike NASA and Japanese engineers, Google bringstogether motion-sensing capability, 3G or 4G wirelessconnections, GPS-based services, a phone and a camera,in its eyeglass. The glasses map out the route and thenput up the directions discreetly into the left corner andannounce them into the user's ear. Thus, they maketransportation safer and better. Moreover, in future,experts expect that the technology may overlay the maponto the actual street. So, users could see the arrows onthe ground as they walk.

Driverless cars

We are about to drive on the road to the future where wewill jump into our cars, enter a destination and watch thecar drive on its own. The future of roads, full of driverlesscars, would be enhanced by the development and deploy-ment of a wireless communication system that will letcars moving on the road talk to each other. Such a sys-tem would let cars know if another car is in front of it orplanning to turn, as well as provide points of traffic con-gestion that alert robot drivers to alternate routes.Undoubtedly, a world with such vehicles as Google'sLiDAR powered car, Ford's car with its automatic brakingintersection collision avoidance system and Fendt's trac-

Tech Innovations


TRANSPORTATION

IN TRANSITION

Today, across the world, governments

are investing billions of dollars in

transportation infrastruucture, but it is

innovation which can make it better and

sustainable. And, here comes geospatial

tecchnology, including augmented reality

(AR), Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)

technology, Global Naavigation Satellite

System (GNSS), Radio-frequency identifi-

cation (RFID) technology, et al. These

technologies pave way for more futuristic,

comfortable and safer transportation

systems. Here is a glimpse of what the

future might have in store.

tor with GuideConnect system - all talking to each other- would be much safer.

Google's car uses a rotating laser on its roof called'LiDAR', worth USD 75,000, that gives a 360-degree or 3Dunderstanding of the car's surroundings that is accurateto two centimetres. A computer, in-built in the car, com-pares this information with known maps. As a result, thecar not only knows every road and traffic light but canalso react to other cars and pedestrians, in any weatherconditions and at any time of the day. The car has beenspecially designed for those with mobility issues. Googleengineers claim that the car would be able to tackle con-gested roads, ensure parking facilities, etc.

Ford went a step ahead and prepared itself for theworst situation and developed an automatic brakingintersection collision avoidance system for its car toensure safer transportation. Current technology, basedon radar and cameras can only find objects in front ofand behind the vehicle. Ford's new radio-based wirelesssystem provides a 360-degree view and uses advancedengineering algorithms to validate any threats and reactaccordingly in real-time. The system uses wireless andGPS technologies so automobiles can literally speak toeach other and mitigate accidents.

On the other hand, Fendt, a tractor manufacturer,with its GuideConnect system, ensured that even farmersexperience technological advancements. Fendt's Guide-Connect system can connect two tractors by satellitenavigation and radio communication, to operate as oneunit. The system enables two unmanned vehicles to per-form the same working procedure as the manned vehi-cle. About safety features, Fendt explained in its pressstatement that it is equipped with a multi-level safetyconcept. The encoded wireless connection ensures that

only the two defined tractors can communicate with eachother. In addition, an emergency stop feature immediate-ly gets activated when satellite positioning is no longerpossible or the wireless connection is interrupted or thedistance between the tractors is too large or small. At alater stage, the guided tractor will get more capabilities;for example, it will be equipped with an environment sen-sor system.

No tension flight

According to the US Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) report, during the last 10 years, 112 small planeshave been involved in mid-air collisions and thousandsmore have reported close calls. The report highlights theneed for enhanced safety measure in air. Hence, toensure a safer flight, FAA mandated that by 2020, allcommercial aircraft and small aircraft flying near mostairports must be equipped with a new tracking systemthat broadcasts GPS data, providing more accurate loca-tion information than ground-based radar. Much of thework on the new algorithm involves optimising the trade-off between error tolerance and false alarms. Forinstance, if two planes are headed in the same direction,their moderate-alert hockey pucks (which are hypotheti-cal spaces based-on GPS data) are relatively small; but ifthey're headed towards each other, their hockey pucksare larger, since they'll have much less time to react toan impending collision. If an extrapolation from twoplanes' recent trajectories suggests that either set ofhockey pucks will intersect, the system issues the corre-sponding alert.

43GeospatialWorld I May 2012

LiDARA rotating sensor on the roofscans more than 200 feet in all directions to generate a precise3D map ofthe car’s surroundings.

POSITION ESTIMATORA sensor mounted on the leftrear wheel measures small movements made by the car andhelps to accurately locate itsposition on the map.

VIDEO CAMERAA camera mounted near therear-view mirrordetects trafficlights and helps the car’s onboardcomputersrecognize movingobstacles likepedestrains andbicyclists

RADARFour standard automotive radar sensors, three in front andone in the rear, help determine the positions of distant objects

IntegratedLiDAR sensor suite

In addition, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) provided coordination assistance to the FAA. Itaims to enable the dissemination of Special Activity Airspace (SAA) definitions and reservation schedules via OGC Web Services and using the Aeronautical Information Exchange Model AIXM 5.1. Determining when airspace is safely available for civilian use can bedifficult, but providing such information on demand tothose who need to know is necessary to help reduce airtraffic congestion.

NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, designed three LiDAR sensors that together canprovide all the necessary data for achieving safeautonomous precision landing. The first is a three dimen-sional active imaging device, referred to as flash LiDAR,for detecting hazardous terrain features and identifyingsafe landing sites. The second is a doppler LiDAR instru-ment for measuring vehicle velocity and altitude to facili-tate precise landing at the chosen site. The third is ahigh-altitude laser altimeter providing data prior to finalapproach for correcting the flight trajectory towards thedesignated landing area.

In conjunction with laser/ LiDAR sensor developmentat Langley, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is develop-ing algorithms or mathematical procedures for analysingthe acquired three-dimensional LiDAR maps and deter-mining the most suitable landing site.

On the other hand, researchers at the FraunhoferInstitute in Germany also developed an innovative systemto spot debris on a runway. It can prevent disasters likethe 2000 crash of the Concorde in France that killed 113.The system consists of infrared cameras, optical 2D and3D cameras and networked radar sensors. Devicesinstalled all along the runway continuously scan the sur-face. They can detect even the smallest of items, such asscrews, but the system will only issue a warning if anobject remains on the runway for a longer period of time.A windblown plastic bag or a bird resting briefly will notset off the alarm.

Eyes on sea

There is no doubt that marine transport is considered oneof the main economic pillars in any country. Most of theworld's trade is moved through the sea.

Recently, an experiment hosted by European SpaceAgency's (ESA) Columbus module started testing the via-bility of monitoring global traffic from the International

Space Station (ISS). The ship-detection system under testis based around the Automatic Identification System(AIS). Integrating AIS information with other satellitedata, such as remote-sensing satellites, should signifi-cantly improve maritime surveillance and boost safetyand security at sea. ESA is planning a dedicated initiativein this area as part of its Advanced Research in Telecom-munications Systems (ARTES) programme.

Apart from the experimental Columbus module, ESAhas also developed 'Cont-Track' to track shipping con-tainers via satellite. The Cont-Trak solution consists of asatellite terminal on the outer hull of the container, withtwo distinct elements. The first is the GPS and satcomterminal that provides location information as well as thelink to the satellites.

The second element is the new container trackinginterface module (CTIM). This communicates with thesatellite terminal, container sensors and other containersthat do not have a line-of-sight to a telecom satellite, viaa UHF wireless inter-container link. The data are collect-ed and transmitted via an L-band satellite to the Cont-Trak server. For trial, an Inmarsat I-3 satellite was usedover Europe and the Mobile Services Venture MSAT-01over North America.

On another front, the DLR Microwaves and RadarInstitute developed a special traffic processor for the Ter-raSAR-X/TanDEM-X satellite constellation, which doesnot require a road database or any other prior knowledgeto detect off-road vehicles and ships. The traffic proces-sor combines the data recorded by TerraSAR-X and Tan-DEM-X at different times. To achieve best performance,the distance between the two satellites is required tobe 20 kilometres.

Compiled by: Anand Kashyap, Assistant Editor

[email protected]


ISS detecting Mediterranean vessels

In the post-recession economy, most businessesoperate under parameters they cannot control. Thetransportation segment feels the external pres-

sures more than most. To understand why, we needonly to look at the macro forces that are affecting therailway industry. Commodity prices are rising, affect-ing both supply and demand for goods that travel byrail. Fuel prices are fluctuating along a relentlesslyupward trend and railway networks are under pres-

sure from increased freight usage and passengers.Demand for environmental protection is increasing, asare requirements for social responsibility. Someregions are experiencing a high rate of retirement ofexperienced railway workers.

On the other hand, because of their inherent advan-tage in fuel efficiency per ton-kilometre, railways couldsee more cargo move from trucks onto trains. Increaseduse of high-speed passenger rail can reduce congestion

RAILWAY MANAGEMENT


Fast track to efficiency

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Railway operators manage far-flung fleets of highly mobile assets running on thousands

of kilometres of maintenance-intensive infrastructure. Geospatial systems are helping

them reduce costs and increase utilisation of tracks and facilities


at airports and on highways. For the railways serving theport cities, the growing ocean traffic presents an oppor-tunity to upgrade their infrastructure to handle the floodof cargo and containers. But the broader use of trainspresents new challenges. The railway infrastructure isalready busy and more capacity will be needed.

For most railway operators, these are compellingforces to better utilise existing assets, primarily the thou-sands of kilometres of track. Trackage is a finite resourceand railway companies need to run larger trains at morefrequent intervals. Where possible, they want the trainsto move at higher speeds. This introduces a paradox inrailway maintenance operations-more traffic on a lineresults in increased need for maintenance. At the sametime, the available maintenance windows (downtimeavailable to perform the maintenance) are shrinkingbecause of the traffic load. It's a familiar problem: domore in less time. One of the most effective approachesis to improve the speed and productivity of inspectionsand the resulting maintenance and repairs.

Geospatial technology contributes to this effort in twoways. First, it can gather large amounts of data on therailway assets and then analyse the data to produceactionable information. Second, it can help speed upmaintenance and repair activities to ensure more effi-cient use of labour and materials.

THE GEOSPATIAL IMPACT

To see how the various geospatial technologies can beused in railway development and operation, we can breaka railway project into four phases: pre-design; design;construction operations, maintenance and safety. While anew railway will go through all four phases, we can alsoapply the last three to existing networks.

Pre-design and decision phaseNew rail lines are emerging in many regions. Developingnations use railways to provide basic transport for peopleand goods whereas economic growth in developedregions often calls for new or expanded service. To pro-vide the capacity, railways can enlarge existing lines ordevelop new routes. Both approaches call for extensiveplanning.

In the pre-design phase, planners conduct feasibilityand other analyses to determine the physical, financialand socio-economic impacts. Geospatial technologydelivers much of the data needed for these studies,including aerial imagery, cadastral information and envi-ronmental data. The results include large-scale mapsand terrain models. Mapping and GIS systems can pro-vide good vehicles for preliminary route selection, butdetailed feasibility studies must go much deeper as rout-ing options are narrowed down.

As part of the process, geospatial alignment planningsoftware uses the multi-source data to develop optimalroutes. For example, consider a project to build a new railline from a new mine to an ocean port. Alignment plan-ning software considers construction and operatingcosts, environmental impact, land acquisition and otherfactors. A tunnel might cost more to construct, but it willresult in a shorter route that reduces transit time andfuel costs. The software develops and tests multiple routealternatives and makes recommendations based on opti-

mising the interrelated variables.

DesignWhen the project moves to the design phase, the vol-ume and detail of geospatial data increase. Theobjective is to collect and manage accurate infor-mation on the physical and cadastral conditionsover the project area.

In addition to aerial imagery, the engineeringand design work requires ground-based measure-ments to produce the needed precision and detail.

Most railway operators are compelled tobetter utilise existing assets, primarily thethousands of kkilometres of track. Geospa-

tial technology can gather large amounts ofdata on the railway assets aand analyse the

data to produce actionable information

A high-rail vehicle conducts track inspection.A high-rail vehicle conducts track inspection.The vehhicle carries GNSS and inertialThe vehicle carries GNSS and inertialpositioning sensors as well aas LiDAR andpositioning sensors as well as LiDAR andoptical imagers. Image courtesy: Herzogopticall imagers. Image courtesy: Herzog

Topographic information and existing circumstances,including ownership, crossing roads, utilities and infra-structure, all play key roles in the design phase. Survey-grade optical and GNSS equipment are common tools atthis stage and ground or airborne LiDAR is used as well.Environmental impact data can be gathered using GISdata collection equipment.

During this stage, one of the most important activitiesfor railway operators is to plan and implement their infra-structure for measurement and positioning. The refer-ence framework for 3D optical and GNSS positioning isessential for accurate design, and for the constructionand life-cycle phases yet to come. Networks of GNSS ref-erence stations are becoming common around the world.Often established as part of a construction plan, a GNSSnetwork can provide positioning for the railway as well asa wide array of government and commercial applicationsand users. Reference monuments for optical work can beinstalled during the design phases as well. As construc-tion progresses, new monuments can be placed whereneeded to ensure good accessibility for as-built surveysand during the maintenance and operations stages of theprojects.

ConstructionThe role of geospatial technology during railway con-struction is similar to that of any large engineering proj-ect. Functions such as earthwork and grading utilise sur-vey-grade GNSS and optical systems for layout, automat-ed machine control, inspections and quality control.

Geospatial technology is especially important in proj-ects such as tunnels and complex earthworks. Precisesurveys provide control and alignment verification, qualityinspections and data for volume calculations. Throughoutconstruction, the geospatial systems collect as-built dataon the final location of the track and new facilities. Thedata become part of the railway database which serves asthe basis for maintenance and life-cycle projects.

During construction, GNSS and optical sensors-including 3D scanners-can be used to monitor deforma-tion and subsidence around large excavations, in slideareas and in and above tunnels.

In addition to laying track, railway construction oftenincludes new stations, maintenance facilities and otherbuildings. These projects use geospatial technology in thesame way as other building construction. Large, complex

rail stations (the new La Sagrera station in Barcelonacovers more than 295,000 m2) benefit from the use of BIM(building information models) to manage the three- andfour-dimensional information about the building. BIMinformation includes structural components, mechanicalsystems, utilities and other aspects. Geospatial systemsprovide layout and quality control during construction andgather as-built information that the BIM uses for opera-tions and maintenance.

Operations, maintenance and safetyWhile geospatial systems deliver enormous benefits during the feasibility, design and construction phases,they can play an even bigger role during the operationalphase of a railway. This is because the operational phaseis the largest and most costly part of the railway life cycle(Figure 1). And in a business that is based on movingobjects from one place to another, the value of geospatialtechnology springs from its core ability to do its workwhile in motion.

For obvious safety reasons, most maintenance of way (MOW) work requires train traffic to be stopped.Operators must plan their work to limit MOW stoppagesto periods of low activity.

We can break the safety and maintenance (or opera-tional) phase into three components: fixed and mobile


The role of geospatial technology duringrailway construction is similar to that of any

large engineeering project. Functions suchas earthwork and grading utilise survey-

grade GNSS and optical systems for layout,automated machine control, inspections

and quality control.

Figure 1: Typical distribution of costs of railway facilities in thelife cycle. The time frame is 30 to 50 years.Source: Service Track Management, Balfour Beatty Rail, 2010


asset management, inspection and documentation anddeformation monitoring. Each of these areas can benefitfrom geospatial technology. It all begins with georefer-enced spatial information. Visits to railway companiesoften reveal ongoing efforts to digitise old, paper trackcharts and get them georeferenced and moved into a GIS.From there, companies can use airborne systems to scanor photograph their lines and extract the various featuresinto GIS or BIM applications to manage the fixed assets.

The next level of fixed asset management providesmore precise information on existing tracks. To collectthis data, surveyors can use a small trolley that is simplypushed along the tracks by a single operator. GNSS oroptical systems measure the trolley's position and othersensors on the trolley capture the cant and gauge of thetrack. Over the longer term, we can expect customisedmobile mapping equipment and software to handle thebulk of the inspection and documentation load.

Even something that seems as simple as weed con-trol can benefit from geospatial technology. In Europe, anational railway authority uses weed-spraying systemsthat automatically sense weeds and deliver the spray. Thesystem utilises GNSS to capture the locations of thespraying and avoid environmentally sensitive areas. Evenmore complex than managing fixed assets is managing arailway's rolling stock that involves tracking the positionand status of complex, highly mobile equipment.

Finally, deformation monitoring is an important partof safety and maintenance operations. As in the construc-tion phase, precise sensors can detect motion in struc-tures and landforms. Control software analyses the datafrom the various sensors and issues alerts when move-ments exceed specified levels. The monitoring systemscan be tuned to detect movement ranging from slowmotion over long periods to abrupt, rapid motion thatmight indicate a structural problem. Monitoring systems

can be set up using combinationsof total stations, GNSS and geot-echnical sensors.

It is difficult to overstate theimportance of the spatial refer-ence framework for railway man-agement. Because every feature inthe railway's geographic databaseis tied to spatial data, the position-ing information must be complete-

ly reliable. The ideal positioning infrastructure blends anactive real-time GNSS network with fixed stations andreference points for optical measurements. The planning,installation and maintenance of the positioning frame-work should receive the same care and attention as therail beds, bridges and other critical structures.

GATHERING STEAM

For the railway operators looking forward, the contribu-tion of geospatial technologies will grow. Large-arearemote sensing and mapping will aid in feasibility andplanning. Positioning networks will support the spatialactivities for the railways and surrounding communities,including design, construction and monitoring. Mobilemapping, imaging, feature extraction and geospatial datamanagement will become key parts of maintenance andoperations.

The common element among these solutions is theability to collect, fuse and utilise the information from thegrowing array of geospatial sensors. We should expect tosee specialised data acquisition platforms ranging fromhandheld computers to customised railcars andunmanned aerial vehicles. Data management will ensurethe flow of information between systems for GIS, designand maintenance. Enterprise management can improveby tying spatial components into the decision and trans-action processes.

The essential geospatial element is the positioningtechnology, which is the fundamental tool for a railway toaddress shrinking maintenance windows. By ensuringthat the proper positioning infrastructure is in place, railway operators can achieve increased performance and efficiency over the immediate and long-term timeframes.

Ron Bisio Railway Business Area Director, Trimble [email protected]

Guided by GNSS, aGuided by GNSS, abulldozer brings abulldozer brings a

railbed to grade. Real-raailbed to grade. Real-time GNSS networkstime GNSS networks

provide control forprovide control forrconstruction andconstruction and

maintenance activities.maintenance activities.Image courtesyy:Image courtesy:

Balfour Beatty RailBalfour Beatty Rail

JULY


Mark your calendar

22 - 23 MayLocation Intelligence Conference/Oracle Spatial 2012

Washington DC, UShttp://goo.gl/tnY9o

23 - 24 Maye-GEOS International Conference

Rome, Italy http://www.e-geos.it/news/meeting12/index.html

29 MayAdvanced Surveys for RailInfrastructure

Birmingham, UKhttp://www.fugro-aperio.com/events/railsemi-nar.html

29 - 31 MayMundoGEO Connect 2012

Sao Paulo, Brazilhttp://goo.gl/pn7l

04 - 07 JuneHexagon 2012Las Vegas, Nevada, USAhttp://goo.gl/iI6gv

05 - 06 JuneEsri Canada User Confer-ence

Victoria, Canadahttp://goo.gl/1KnDL

08 JuneHERMES de Suisse 2012

Bern, Switzerlandhttp://www.eco-hermes.ch

05 - 06 JuneSouth Africa GeospatialForum

Johannesburg, SouthAfricahttp://www.sageospatialfo-rum.org

09 - 11 JuneEORSA 2012

Shanghai, Chinahttp://www.eorsa2012.org

11 June3Dcamp

University of Limerick,Irelandhttp://www.ul.ie/news-cen-tre/events/3d-camp

11 - 14 June33rd Canadian Symposiumon Remote Sensing

Ontario, Canadahttp://www.csrs-sct2012.ca

12 JuneExpedition 2012

Ontario, Canadahttp://www.dmtispatial.com/en/expedition.aspx

13 June4th Annual GeoEd Conference

Kentucky, USAhttp://geoed12.eventbrite.com

13 - 14 JuneGeo Maritime

London, UKhttp://www.wbresearch.com/geomar

01 - 03 JulyCOM.Geo 2012

Virginia, USAhttp://www.com-geo.org/con-ferences/2012/index.htm

13 - 15 JunePBS: Insights 2012 Userconference

Los Angeles, USAhttp://www.insights2012.com

03 - 06 JulyGI_Forum 2012

Salzburg, Austriahttp://www.gi-forum.org

04 - 06 JulyAGIT 2012

Universität Salzburg,Austriahttp://www.agit.at

16 - 20 JulyAGSE 2012

Johor Bahru, Malaysiahttp://applied-geoinformat-ics.org

21-24 JulyEsri Homeland SecuritySummit

San Diego, UShttp://goo.gl/1MiH9

23 - 27 JulyESRI User Conference

Sandiego, C.A, USAhttp://www.esri.com/events/user

23 JulyData Mapping for Beginners

Berkeley, USAhttp://journalism.berkeley.edu/events/details/746/

MA

YJU

NE

Centred on the theme of "Geospatial Industry and WorldEconomy", Geospatial World Forum crossed Indianshores for the first time and was successfully held

in Amsterdam, The Netherlands during April 23-27, 2012. Bringing together more than 1000 experts from 78 countries,the Forum analysed and deliberated upon the utility, relevanceand contribution of the geospatial industry to several key industries contributing to the global economy.

Opening session

With rapid technological developments in the last 55 years,geospatial technology is going to be a game changer, particular-ly in the development of rural and remote places of the world,observed Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, former President of India, in his

keynote address. Dr Kalam deliberatedupon the applications of geospatialtechnology for sustainable develop-ment of 3 billion people living in ruralareas of the world. "World's waterresources are facing potential threats,both man-made and natural. Global cli-mate change has changed the dynam-ics of living. The quality of water isdegrading and geospatial tech pro-vides a means to measure, monitorand manage these resources well.With so many satellites, and groundsensors, so much of data is being gen-erated. With this information, knowl-edge and wisdom, what can we give tothe rural community to improve theirquality of life? We need to explore howgeospatial technology can help the

bottom of the pyramid. Creating a sustainable developmentmodel for the 3 billion rural people involves linking data, infor-mation exchange and proper dissemination."

"About 38 out of every 100 workers in the world are into agri-culture. In least developed nations, this ratio goes up to 68 per-cent. How can we enhance the capabilities of this workforce?How can we improve the agriculture productivity? The need is tomap water content as well as pest and weed management andpost harvest management. Can geospatial tech bring all thesebenefits to the farmer in their language and deliver the info ontheir mobile phone? Another reality and challenge of 21st cen-tury is providing urban quality amenities to the rural population."To address all these challenges, he proposed the 'WorldGeospatial Knowledge Platform', which is a joint venture todevelop the products and systems of geospatial technologyusing the core competencies of multiple nations.

Melanie Schultz van Haegen-Maas Geesteranus, Minister ofInfrastructure & Environment, the Netherlands, underscored thepower of geospatial technology. "Opportunities are tremendousand it is time for a geospatial revolution, but we all face chal-lenges, we need to work together on standardisation and har-monisation on sharing data. That is how we can create ageospatial revolution," she said. "Digital information hasbecome part of our daily lives and public expects the govern-ment to use and share geoinformation. We succeed in launchinga number of initiatives and achieved great success in standardi-


CONFERENCE REPORT | GEOSPATIAL WORLD FORUM

G-tech: The game changer iG-tech: The game changer i

sation and data access. We also contributed to European geoin-fomation initiatives like INSPIRE. Netherlands will continue itspath-breaking work in the future."

Dorine Burmanje, President, Board of Governors of DutchKadaster, the Netherlands, opined, "Developments in the field ofmapping, cadastre and land administration occurred rapidly inthe last few years. Geospatial information in all forms is essentialto the broader society including business persons, citizens andeveryone else. European Union is showing growing interest inlocation information. The directive of GMES is enabling capaci-ties to be developed across Europe." Datuk Amar Haji AwantTengah Ali Hasan, Minister, Resource planning and environment,public utilities, industrial development, Ministry of Public UtilitiesSarawak, Malaysia, pointed out that geospatial information isalready part of our everyday life. Geospatial technology height-ened the awareness of understanding the people and places,decision making process. He described various initiatives of thegovernment and highlighted major projects underway in Malaysiathat extensively use geospatial technology.

Steven Berglund, president and CEO, Trimble Navigation, said,"Geospatial information is becoming more and more central tomany capabilities". He added, "The nature of geospatial is acombination of three different technologies - sensors that cap-ture data, software that turns data into information and the wire-less communication that enables that information to be usedeverywhere in relatively seamless manner." He discussed howgeospatial technology is enabling improved productivity, efficien-cies and a range of capabilities that did not exist previously invarious verticals like agriculture, infrastructure, transportationand business enterprise. "Exhorting that geospatial informationwill be the next frontier of evolution, KK Singh, CMD, Roltaopined that the innovations in geospatial technology will go along way in addressing the issues and challenges of humanity."Today, we live in a world that is dramatically transformed withtechnological advances. The immediate opportunity is to inte-grate the data residing in disparate places and create value out

of it. The convergence of various stakeholders including users,technology providers and the industry will enable to meet theneeds of the future."

Empowering 'billion + people'

The first plenary got together geospatial industry stalwarts delib-erating upon the ways and means to empower 'billion + people'in the world.

Jack Dangermond, Founder and President, Esri Inc., said "Ourworld is changing rapidly and it is creating challenges for organi-sations and individuals." He added that the work done bygeospatial professionals, whether it is in software, application orhardware area, is all about understanding the challenges andbuilding the right knowledge, to work on those challenges. Today,this kind of knowledge is being shared on the web and organi-sations are rapidly adopting cloud GIS platform.

Taking the analogy of the music industry, Ola Rollen, Presidentand CEO, Hexagon traced the evolution of music industry start-ing from the invention of phonogram to MP3 players, YouTube


r in the world economyr in the world economy


and several online tools that allow individuals to listen, shareand even create music on their devices. He observed that digi-talising the music industry has helped spread music amongstbillions of people. Turning to geospatial industry, Rollen saidtechnology genres like cartography, remote sensing, GIS andGPS are growing individually but they need to come together tocreate geospatial music. The preconditions to empower the bil-lion + people according to him include breaking down thedepartment walls, creating dynamic geospatial ecosystem,socialising geography with a fusion of web, mobile, tablet andcrowd sourcing, synthesis of sensors and software to createsolutions for dynamically modelling and understanding the realworld.

Paul Cheung - Director, United Nations Statistics Division andGGIM Secretariat, USA, discussed the objectives of UN GGIMand how it is achieving the same through its activities. Accord-ing to Cheung, the four critical tasks before the geospatial com-munity are - evolving a shared vision for the future in manage-ment of geospatial info nationally and globally; evolving an inclu-sive platform for improving, sharing and disseminating nationaland global g data; evolving a global statement of ethics andsupporting code of conduct to enhance public trust; evolving amutually beneficial relationship between the govt and non-govtentities.

Solar energy for sustenance

Wobbo Joannes Ockles, Professor of Aerospace for SustainableEngineering and Technology, Delft University of Technology, TheNetherlands observed "We are at the end of industrial revolu-tion. Our oil resources are getting exhausted. Greenhouse gasconcentration is leading to heating up of the earth. These areindicators that humanity is leading itself to catastrophe," he saidand added that humanity should learn to play win-win game withnature if it wants to sustain the species on earth. The first Dutch

astronaut exhorted humans to turn to sun, which gives light,heat and wind and plenty of energy for everyone, much morethan an individual requires. He predicted that in 10-15 years,humans would be producing more solar energy than the energyproduced by all the power plants on earth put together. It ismore important to look for avenues to tap solar energy for livingand be energy neutral.

Enabling spatial culture

The plenary panel "Convergence: Enabling spatial culture" sawSteve Hagan, Vice President - Server Technologies, Oracle Inc.talking on big data, cloud computing and spatial databases. Hesaid global digital data is growing by leaps and bounds at anaverage rate of 40+ percent year over year. In 2009, humanbeings have generated 0.8 zeta bytes. Going by this rate, by2020, we would be producing 35 zeta bytes of data. He thendiscussed the concepts of structured and unstructured data andthe proliferation of the same because of advances in sensortechnology and pervasiveness of social media.

Alain de Taeye, Board Member at Tom Tom BV traced the histo-ry of the art and science of map making right from Mercator in16th century. In 20th century, much advanced tools have beenused for map making and navigation. Discussing the changingmap making environment, he said hybrid map making approachis the way to go forward and that includes field survey, GPSmeasurements, community input, mobile mapping and data fromauthoritative sources. Ben Semmes, Group operating officer, PBSoftware enumerated how changing priorities are enabling amature geospatial world. After Haiti earthquake in 2010, thecombination of Twitter and open maps has complementedauthoritative data, he said.

There was a time when interoperability was thought to beimpossible as everyone looked at world with a different per-


spective. When Galileo invented the telescope and Gutenberginvented the typewriter, people had an entirely different per-spective of things, according to David Schell, Founder andChairman Emeritus, OGC. Geosciences and geodesy are impor-tant pillars of this technology that enable us to understand andto tackle the major challenges of the future. He opined thatinvestments are going into developing trivial applications ratherthan pursuing solemn objectives.

Air chief marshal Stuart Peach, Royal Air Force, UK describedways to enable geospatial culture. To realise the vision technolo-gy promises, to blend all our thoughts and experiences, trainingis essential, he opined. "We need to fuse across traditionalboundaries, inculcate the culture of sharing and enable thedatabases to become interoperable. It is also about the interop-erability of the mind,” he concluded.

The exchange forum "Evolving Industry-Institution Network forCapacity Development' witnessed exchange of ideas betweenindustry and institutions, leading to relevance and marketabilityof the trained human resources. The forum saw a confluence ofindustry and academia stalwarts bringing their rich experienceand insight to the floor. Karl Donert, President, European Asso-ciation of Geographers pointed out that citizens are powered bygeodata, most of them without even realising it. The industryneeds to market itself better. It is not the technology, innovation,creativity, but it is the geospatial awareness or the lack of it inpolitical circles that actually limits us, he said.

Symposia and seminars

Geospatial World Forum 2012 also hosted a range of symposiaand seminars where eminent speakers from across the globeshared the latest in various applications, policies and technolo-gies with the audience. The themes for the symposia includeddefence & intelligence; water; business enterprise; constructionand infrastructure; mining and exploration; and energy. The sem-inars were on real time geoinformatics – live geography; Euro-pean Digital Agenda; 5D modelling; GIS-ready information fromImageries; Next Gen Standards and Interoperability; and Envi-ronmental Management. The sessions were on themes includ-ing governance & planning; cartography; 3D Modelling & WebGIS; cloud computing, surveying & mapping; and photogramme-try and image processing. Technology companies includingHexagon, Trimble, Esri, Autodesk and TomTom showcased their

latest offerings in the Technology Tracks. The pre-conferenceagenda for the event included exchange forums on LandAdministration for Economic Development, and Earth Observa-tion Systems and Nation Building.

Geospatial World Excellence Awards (for application of geospatial technology)

CATEGORY WINNER

Urban Planning Gothenburg City, Sweden & AGENCY 9 AB, Sweden

Land Administration Sarawak Information Technology Resource Council, Malaysia and Sarawak Information Systems Sendirian Berhad (SAINS), Malaysia

Health Services Division of Spatial Information Science, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan

Virtual Reality VALE, Brazil

Mining Coal India Ltd.

Municipal Services Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company, UAE

Utility Services (Power) Alabama Power, USA

Oil & Gas Production Qatar Petroleum

Mass Media VPRO Broadcasting Corporation, The Netherlands

Public Safety British Transport Police

Facilities Information System Solidere s.a.l , Lebanon and Khatib & Alami CEC, Lebanon

Transportation Management Crossrail Ltd, United Kingdom

Geospatial World Policy Awards

Excellence in Geospatial Policy Implementation for International Joint Commission - Canada & USA'Bilateral Cooperation'

Exemplary Implementation of Geospatial PSMA Australia Ltd.Policies and Programmes

Exemplary Implementation of Geospatial European Commission eContentplus Programme, and Policies and Programs EuroGeographics, Belgium

Excellence in Geospatial Standards Implementation The 'OneGeology' Project

Geospatial World Innovation Awards

Technology Innovation Award for 3D Visualisation and Modeling SOFTOPIA Japan

Technology Innovation Award for Mobile Mapping Avenza Systems Inc., Canada

Technology Innovation Award for LiDAR Data Processing LASSO, Germany

Technology Innovation Award for Photogrammetry Optech, Canada

Leadership Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award David Schell, Chairman, OGC, USA

The Geospatial Ambassador Jack Dangermond, Founder and President, Esri, USA

Geospatial Entrepreneurship Kamal K Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Rolta India

Making a Difference Ms Aida Opoku-Mensah, Director, ICTs & S&T Division (ISTD), UN Economic Commission for Africa, Ethopia

The Geospatial Personality of the Year Ola Rollen, CEO, President and Director, Hexagon AB, Sweden

Corporate Leadership Steven W Berglund, President and CEO, Trimble Navigation, USA

Premier National Mapping Organization SWISSTOPO

Popularizing Geospatial Content as a Public Utility TOMTOM

Fundamental Research and Capacity Development Wuhan Universityin Geospatial Sciences

Geospatial World Excellence Awards - Winners 2012

GeospatialWorld I May 201254

Almost 20 years ago,the architect of modern China, DengXiaoping, had stated,"There is oil in the Middle East but thereis rare-earth in China."Undoubtedly, Chinaidentified significanceof the elements andtoday holds 96 per-cent of total rare earth element market share,but at the cost of seven-mile lake of toxic waste. It hasbeen captured byNASA's Terra satellite.Two pictures, capturedfive years apart, showhuge growth of minefacility in the Nei Mongol AutonomousRegion. Vegetationappears red, grasslandis light brown, rocksare black, and watersurfaces are green. If mining at this pace continues, therepercussion may turn the blessings (in form of rare-earth)into curse.

Courtesy: NASA

acquired on July 2, 2001

acquired on June 30, 2006

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To find out how Bentley Map is advancing GIS for infrastructure, visit www.bentley.com/GT. For inquiries contact Malaysia: +60 3 2054 7000, Singapore: +65 6225 6158.

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