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May • 2015 • Geospatial World

INSIDE

CONTENTVOLUME : 5 ISSUE : 10

Data Talk and Geospatial CONVERGENCEP | 20 Prof. Arup Dasgupta, Managing Editor, Geospatial World

ARTICLE

Understanding legalities and tech convergence Kevin Pomfret, Editor – Policy, on legal and policy challenges associated with tech integration

Adapting to the New NormalSimon Thompson, Director of Commercial Industry, Esri

INTERVIEW

Infrastructure—>GDP—>

Funding—> InfrastructurePaul A McRoberts, Vice President – Infrastructure Modelling and Platform Product Group, Autodesk

Mapping the globe, 3mx3m at a timeSteven Ramage, Strategy Director, What3Words

CASE STUDY

Tech alliance for greater opportunitiesRon Bisio, General Manager, Surveying and Geospatial Division, Trimble

Sticking together: GIS and cement industryReliance Cement Company’s holistic technological roadmap

REGULAR FEATURES

7 Editorial

8 News

14 Vertical News

45 Product Watch

48 Picture This

16

32

24

36

28

40

DisclaimerGeospatial World does not necessarily subscribe to the views expressed in the publication. All views expressed in this issue are those of the contributors. Geospatial World is not responsi-ble for any loss to anyone due to the information provided.

Owner, Publisher & Printer Sanjay Kumar Printed at M. P. Printers B - 220, Phase-II, Noida - 201 301, Gautam Budh Nagar (UP) India Publication Address A - 92, Sector - 52, Gautam Budh Nagar, Noida, India

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Geospatial World • May • 2015

6

CHAIRMAN M P Narayanan

Publisher Sanjay Kumar

Publications Team

Managing Editor Prof. Arup Dasgupta

Editor — Building & Energy Geoff Zeiss

Editor — Mining (Hon) Dr. Hrishikesh Samant

Editor — Policy Kevin Pomfret

Editor — Latin America Dr Tania Maria Sausen

Executive Editor Bhanu Rekha

Product Manager Harsha Vardhan Madiraju

Associate Editor Nitika Bajpayee Jha

Senior Assistant Editor Ishveena Singh

Sub Editor Sanskriti Shukla

Senior Graphic Designer Debjyoti Mukherjee

Circulation Manager Ashish Batra

Executive — Posting Vijay Kumar Singh

Ahmad Fauzi Bin Nordin SrDirector General of Survey

and Mapping (JUPEM), Malaysia

Aida Opoku-MensahSpecial Advisor: Post 2015

Development Agenda, UN Economic Commission for Africa

Barbara RyanSecretariat Director, Group on Earth Observations

Christopher W GibsonVice President & Executive

Committee Member, Trimble

Derek ClarkeChief Director-Survey and Mapping & National

Geospatial Information, Dept of Rural Development & Land Reform, South Africa

Dorine BurmanjeChair-Executive Board, Cadastre, Land Registry and

Mapping Agency (Kadaster), The Netherlands

Ed ParsonsGeospatial Technologist, Google

Greg BentleyCEO, Bentley Systems

Jay Freeland President & CEO, FARO

Prof. Josef Strobl Chair, Department of Geoinformatics,

University of Salzburg, Austria

Kamal K SinghChairman and CEO, Rolta Group

Kumar NavulurDirector, Next Generation Products,

DigitalGlobe

Mark ReichardtPresident and CEO,

Open Geospatial Consortium

Mladen StojicPresident, Hexagon Geospatial

Mohd Al RajhiAsst Deputy Minister for Land & Surveying,

Ministry of Municipal & Rural Affairs, Saudi Arabia

Sandeep SinghalGeneral Manager, Bing Maps and Geospatial, Microsoft

Stephen LawlerVice-President, Direct Traffic,

Amazon

Vanessa LawrenceSecretary General,

Ordnance Survey International, UK

International

Advisory Board

The Team

7


Editorial

Technology: Converging together for a better future

The cliché that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is applicable to the geospatial world. Taken in isolation, various geospatial technologies show limited versatility in their

own domains, but when used in an integrated manner, this versatility improves by orders of magnitude. For example, a 3D cityscape rendered using CAD, located on the earth in a GIS, on a background of a remotely sensed imagery has a far greater impact than each of the elements considered separately.

As technology progresses, users have found value in using it in an integrated manner, such that the benefit of different technologies to serve a common purpose is enhanced. Thus, in their time, remote-sensing, GIS, GPS, EDM, Total Stations, LiDAR, Cloud Computing and Big Data Analytics have all become a part of the arsenal of spatial analysts. The recent earthquake in Nepal has already spawned several studies using geo-spatial techniques, which show the changes in the ge-ography of the area. Another study uses the 3D models of the Durbar Square before and after the event, to es-timate the damage. While these are preliminary stud-ies, they will ultimately lead to a better understanding of the causes leading to the quake and the associated damage estimation. More importantly, it will also lead to the adoption of better building technologies.

What has building technologies got to do with geospatial systems? Consider the fact that in the Nepal quake, the major damage has been caused to herit-age buildings made in the Newari style, while modern buildings show less damage. The Newari method of

building employed empirical methods to make them quake tolerant by using sun-dried bricks, mud mor-tar and wooden supports. But, they required constant maintenance, in the absence of which, they degener-ated to a point where they became unstable. Modern buildings, on the other hand, are designed to take into the quake factors in a more systematic manner through intensity zoning and appropriate building codes for each zone. We can say that geology and geo-tectonics have converged with building technologies to create safer buildings.

Convergence is happening in many other domains as well. More efficient power distribution and asset management is the result of the convergence of GIS and SCADA. Better services to communities are provided by municipalities through the use of geospatial technolo-gy to rationalise taxes and provide better maintenance of roads, street lights, transport facilities, water and sewerage. Municipalities are joining hands with the police to provide better illumination in crime prone areas. These areas are being defined by the police through spatial analysis of crimes.

Ultimately, such isolated examples of convergence will come together to create smart cities and towns, which in turn, will be stitched together with rural areas into a seamless fabric through the Internet of Things (IOT). This convergence of technologies is the key to Marshall McLuhan’s Global Village.

“Better services are provided by municipalities through the use of geospatial technology to rationalise taxes and provide better maintenance of utilities.”

Prof Arup DasguptaManaging Editor, [email protected]


NEWS8

AMERICAS

Dude Solutions acquire mobile mapping provider Mobile311Dude Solutions has acquired Mobile311, a GIS and mobile mapping solution provider. The acquisition will allow Dude Solutions to address the growing requirements of state and local governments, particularly those with public works needs, as well as universities and other entities that manage spatial and distributed as-sets. Mobile311 clients will have access to Dude Solutions’ product delivery and support.

US researchers test Smartphones for earthquake warning

A study, led by scientists at the USGS, has explored the possibility of using sensors in Smartphones and simi-lar devices for building earthquake warning systems. It is believed that GPS receivers in a Smartphone can detect the permanent ground movement (dis-placement) caused by fault motion in a large earthquake. Using crowdsourced observations from participating users’ smartphones, earthquakes could be detected and analysed, and custom-ised earthquake warnings could be transmitted back to the users.

TerraGo unveils new version of OpenGeoPDF softwareTerraGo has unveiled the latest version of OpenGeoPDF software that gives end users new spatial database features, including the ability to search and update feature attributes, and an interactive OpenGeoPDF map accessible to the end user without requiring them to purchase any software. Another benefit is that the GeoPDF maps with embedded feature attributes can be accessed, searched, updated and extracted as an Open Geospatial Consortium GeoPackage.

Geosystem ING to enhance field survey solution with SuperSurvSupergeo Technologies’ SuperSurv GIS app for Android and iOS handheld devices has assisted Geosystem ING, Colombia, in expanding mobile GIS solutions. SuperSurv has been designed for spatial information collection, and provides multiple functions, such as data capture, map display, on-screen measurement, query, and so on. The unique mapping app is also capable of online and offline GIS editing, and supports users to apply OpenStreetMap as free survey base map.

NASA, USGS begin work on Landsat 9NASA and the US Geological Survey (USGS) have started work on Landsat 9, which will extend the Earth-observing

programme’s record of land images to half a century. The satellite is sched-uled for a launch in 2023. With data from Landsat satellites, ecologists have tracked deforestation in South America, firefighters have assessed the severi-ty of wildfires and scientists have mapped the retreat of mountain glaciers.

LISTECH Neo 2015 launchedLISTECH has launched Neo, a new-generation geospatial software that designs and tailors attribute defi-nitions to suit client needs. Attributes can also be set to automatically popu-late with default values and optionally increment as objects are created. Neo seamlessly transfers information to and from GIS, BIM, CAD, Google Earth, Leica DBX, XML, LISCAD and many other systems, making it extremely versatile for combining, manipulating and moving data between various office systems and/or the field.

Website relaunch: Geospatial crop data for food policyThe International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) have im-proved and relaunched an interac-tive website that delivers essential components for ensuring adequate, sustainable food production and food security through satellite-based maps. The website, called Spatial Production Allocation Model (SPAM), includes maps that were produced using satellite images and then fine-tuned on the ground.

Smart can detect earthquakes before they even happen

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Congress members want NASA to fund the programme at the national level, so the local facility can use its money on other projects to benefit the community.

Navy awards $30m GIS surveying contractThe U.S. Navy has awarded NAVGeo a $30 million contract to provide geographic information systems, surveying and mapping services. NAVGeo is a joint venture between national geospatial firms Woolpert, Magnolia River and Quantum Spatial.

The work will be per-formed at Navy,

NOAA: Interactive storm surge map for flood risksThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is preparing an application to help people determine at a street-level where water could rise in a storm surge. This experimental storm surge simulator will let people

get a look at what kind of storm surges can take place in their surroundings and which can be the possible damages. The preliminary model is based on Charleston, South Carolina.

surveying contract$30 mn

Hemisphere GNSS announces RTK-capable GNSS CompassHemisphere GNSS has announced a top-of-the-line, RTK-enabled Vector V320 GNSS Compass. The first of its kind, the Vector V320 smart antenna supports multi-frequency GPS, GLONASS, Galileo (future firmware upgrade required), and BeiDou. Designed for the professional marine and marine survey markets, the Vector V320 is the only multi-fre-quency, multi-GNSS smart antenna capable of both RTK-level positioning accuracy and better than 0.2° head-ing accuracy in a simple-to-install package.

Esri and Safe Software release CIM for data exchangeEsri and Safe Software have come together to develop and openly share a Common Information Model (CIM) template for data exchange. The template supposedly demonstrates one approach to translating network data from an Esri ArcGIS database into CIM XML format. The XML can then be shared with other enterprise systems. The model also promotes faster decision making internally when data can be moved quickly from GIS technology to destination enterprise systems.

Ohio asks NASA to fund algal bloom warning systemOhio Congress members, whose districts abut Lake Erie, want the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to keep funding a new satellite-based system to track algal blooms that can contaminate drinking water. Last summer, an algal bloom rendered Toledo-area water undrinkable for several days. The

Marine Corps and other government facilities. The contract is not to exceed 60 months, and the work is expected to be complete by April 2020.

Honduras and Colombia share disaster risks knowledge Honduran and Colombian authorities have participated in an exchange of knowledge to reduce disaster risks. Representatives from both countries met in Colombia for a study visit, preparatory sessions and workshops to share their experience. The South-South exchange provides a substantial increase in the knowl-edge and skills on how to consolidate policy and institutional frameworks with an integral emphasis on natural hazards.

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experimental Potential Storm Surge Inundation Map


NEWS10

Enhanced spill detection and SAR comes to UKA consortium of three companies has joined forces to bring enhanced oil spill detection, and search and rescue capability to the UK North Sea. Using technology developed in Norway, and working with Aberdeen’s Briggs Environmental Services, Aptomar has introduced an enhanced TCMS (tactical collaboration management system) on an Atlantic Offshore Rescue-operated emergency response and rescue vessel. The system brings a high-capacity, motion stabilised IR camera together with geo-referenc-ing technology using radar and AIS data with live streaming capability.

EUROPE

INSPIRE GWF 2015 launches online networking platformWith less than a month until the high-ly-anticipated geospatial gathering, Geospatial Media and Communi-cations has launched the INSPIRE Geospatial World Forum 2015 online networking platform. The platform will allow delegates to initiate contact with other registered delegates prior to the conference. It aims to build mo-mentum towards the conference and maximise networking opportunities for all delegates. Scheduled between May 25-29 in Lisbon, the forum expects 2,000 delegates from 80+ countries around the world. The online net-working platform can be accessed at www.geospatialworldforum.org

Copernicus Master competition now accepting submissionsThe European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that the Copernicus Masters competition is now open to accept

submissions. Entrepreneurs can submit their ideas for services, business con-cepts and applications based on satellite Earth observation data. In addition to over €3,00,000 (over $3,21,000) in cash prizes, the winner will get support in bringing the winning idea to market, and the chance to enter the incubation programme of one of Europe’s 11 ESA Business Incubation Centres (BICs). Submissions will be accepted till July 13.

EuroGeographics announces new Chair for C&LR KENEuroGeographics has named Cadastral Surveying expert Daniel Steudler as the new Chair of its Cadastre and Land Registry Knowledge Exchange Network (C&LR KEN). Dr Steudler, who holds a PhD degree from the University of Melbourne, Australia, is a scientific associate at the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, and works for the Federal Directorate for Cadastral Surveying. He also has extensive internation-al experience consulting for land

administration and cadastral projects in Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Kosovo.

Bluesky’s NTM helps London Council clear up fallen leaves

A detailed map of more than 280 million trees across England and Wales is helping the London Borough of Bromley prioritise its autumn street cleansing programme. The National Tree Map (NTM), created from Bluesky’s high resolution aerial photography, colour infrared data and detailed height datasets, helps the Council locate trees with close proximi-ty to roads and pavements and identify large leaf species that have a greater contribution to the annual leaf fall.

Smart city mapping site launched in Luxembourg The Luxembourg Institute for Science and Technology (LIST) has introduced Smart City Logistics, a decision support mapping software to help au-thorities tackle the complex challenge of urban freight transportation. Using GIS technology, the tool provides online information to help minimise congestion, CO2, and air and noise pollution in the city when developing sustainable freight plans. Currently, the tool gathers data across the whole of three European capital cities: Lon-don, Brussels and Luxembourg.

The camera is part of Aptomar’s SECurus technology

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NEWS

in an M2M network using devices ranging from low data rate light-weight M2M (LWM2M) systems to high-speed Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT)-based IP terminals.

ASIA PACIFIC

UN-GGIM: Arab States inauguratedThe inaugural meeting of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) Regional Committee for Arab States has been held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Organised by the Secretariat of UN-GGIM, in partnership with the Government of Saudi Arabia represented by the General

Satellite boosts flood prediction in BangladeshBacked by a new satellite observation system officials at Bangladesh’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) are confident of staying ahead of flood-related disasters in the country this summer. Experimental trials con-ducted last year by FFWC using data from the JASON-2 satellite — that was developed by SERVIR and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development — proved that an eight-day advance warning of floods was possible against the earlier three or four days.

Commission for Survey (GCS), the two day event attracted senior delegations from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and GCC-Stat.

Nepal raises awareness to fight fires through satellite imageryThe SERVIR-Himalaya Initiative of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), and Regional Support Office of UN-SPIDER, in collaboration with the Department of Forests (DoF) of Nepal, has conduct-ed an awareness campaign in the most fire prone districts of Nepal — the Terai region. The system generates and disseminates three products: short

GSDI announces death of former President, Prof. Bas Kok

GSDI announced the recent death of former GSDI President, Prof. Bas Kok. Bas, who died battling cancer, was known to many members of GSDI for his long support for developing Spatial Data Infrastructures both in Europe and globally. He helped to find the initial GSDI Conference series, attending the very first conference in Bonn, Germany, in 1996, and remained directly involved in the global SDI initiatives up to his death this month.Prof. Kok was GSDI Association President from February 2008 until June 2009 and remained a member of the Board of Directors and the GSDI Executive Committee for several years thereafter.

Airbus Defence and Space unveils Proximity M2MAirbus Defence and Space recently launched a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) management solution called Proximity M2M, designed to simplify the integration and management of satellite communication components within standard M2M networks and applications. Proximity M2M helps maintain real-time data delivery

The JASON-2 satellite is helping to predict floods in Bangladesh. Courtesy: RadioHamProf. Bas Kok helped to find the initial

GSDI Conference series. Courtesy: Delta


Makani smartphone app. Google and HERE compatibility is expected to be online by 2016. Around 125,000 buildings in Dubai will be registered with Makani.

International Charter activated for flooding in northern IndiaThe International Charter: Space and Major Disasters was activated in April to support response efforts in Jammu and Kashmir State with satellite-based maps. The region experienced flooding and resulting landslides following several days of heavy rain. The mechanism was triggered by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The project management of the activation will be handled by India’s National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).

Abu Dhabi showcases interactive GeoDecisions map The Abu Dhabi Housing Authority

NEWS12

(ADHA) in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), demonstrates geospatial innovation to UAE and international dignitaries through a new map-centric portal called Complete Emirati Communities (CEC). GeoDecisions, an IT company specialising in geospatial solutions, developed CEC in conjunction with its business partner, GeoLinks, to aggregate Abu Dhabi GIS data at the community, district, municipal, and Emirate level. Built on the Esri® ArcGIS platform, CEC illustrates pie charts and gauges that integrate Abu Dhabi loan, housing, land, infrastructure, and utility data in an easy-to-understand spatial display.

Smart maps necessary for smart citiesAs India gets on course to develop 100 smart cities, a report titled ‘Smart Maps for Smart Cities’ claims that smart maps can save $1.6 billion in productive time and fuel

Indonesia: Fujitsu announces app-based disaster information-sharing toolFujitsu and PT. Fujitsu Indonesia have announced the completion of a partic-ipatory disaster informa-tion-sharing system, cre-ated for Jakarta’s Regional Disaster Management Agency, BPBD DKI. The smartphone application receives real time information from individuals as well as from BPBD DKI. People can upload pictures and comments, which the app will assign to their locations, using the associated GPS data. In case of a disaster, it also sends out warnings to all smartphones that have the app installed.

message system (SMS) alerts, email notifications, and a web application for visualising the latest fire data as well as historical data.

New countries line up to India for satellite launchesWhile ISRO has put India in global limelight because of its low-cost mission to Mars, its commercial wing, Antrix, has started witnessing a robust growth with more countries approaching it with offers to launch their satellites. One such proposal is due for June, in which three DMC-3 earth observation satellites along with one micro and one nano satellite built by UK’s Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) will be launched into space. There is also a plan to launch a US satellite in 2016.

Makani to be compatible with Google and HERE mapsDubai’s satellite location address

and navigation system, Makani, will soon be compatible with Google and HERE maps, as revealed by an official. Dubai Municipality’s Makani (My Location) assigns a 10-digit number to every building in Dubai on a digital map and helps users find the desired location using the free

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newspaper. In doing so, South Africa would like to have their own data readily available instead of relying on international satellites. The new satel-lite, EO-Sat1, will be part of the African Resource Management Constellation, a network of African nations that plan on launching a common Earth observation satellite system.

Ghana Parliament approves $43 million for ECG projectsIn spite of the numerous challenges facing the energy sector and the slide in crude oil, Ghana’s main power distributor, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) will benefit from a $42.9 million loan facility from government to support the electricity distribution system, reinforcement and extension

pro-ject. The project com-prises

of three main components, such as the distribution system reinforcement and extension under component A, which will see the construction of a new 161/33kV, 4x50/66 MVA Bulk Supply Point (BSP) Substation.

South Sudan goes live with new Mining Cadastre SystemThe Minister of Petroleum and Mining in South Sudan, Stephen Dhieu Dau Ayik, launched South Sudan’s new Mining Cadastre System at an external stakeholders workshop held in Juba on April 28. The project included the implementation of FlexiCadastre to meet the requirements of the Mining Act of 2012 and the Mining Regulations of 2015 as well as the launch of a view only map portal.

in commuting, save 13,000 lives by helping ambulances locate callers better, and increase revenues to local retailers by $2.2 billion. Released by strategy and policy consulting firm, Dalbert Global Development Advisors, in partnership with CII, the report is based on detailed analyses of nine high potential uses of maps.

India, France sign remote sensing MoU India and France have signed 17 agreements, including on the stalled nuclear project in Jaitapur in 5, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with French President Francois Hollande. An MoU was also signed between ISRO and French National Centre for Space Stud-ies (CNES) on the Indo-French Megha-Tropiques satellite which was launched on board the Indian launch vehicle PSLV on October 12, 2011.

New Delhi begins 3D mapping in preparation for smart cityThe New Delhi Municipal Council has approved a project to start three-dimensional mapping as a precursor to planning for their Smart City initiative. The work will include the mapping of buildings, streets, trees and water and sewer lines. The

agency will hire a private firm to conduct the project. New Delhi’s Smart City efforts include WiFi connectivity, intelligent parking systems and energy conversion.

AFRICA

Tanzania: New agency for disaster risk reductionTanzania will create a new agency for emergency response and disaster risk reduction, both for man-made disasters and disasters triggered by natural hazards. The Tanzanian Parliament has passed an accord-ing law establishing the agency. The Disaster Management Agency (DMA) will oversee efforts to prevent damage, and deal with the impacts of floods, drought, hail, storms and hunger, as well as manage the stock of supplies to aid effective response.

GLTN promotes GeoInformation for mapping land rights GLTN and Nairobi’s Regional Center for Mapping Resources for Development (RCMRD) have co-facilitated a training workshop on Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) and Quantum Geographical Information System (QGIS) for three IFAD supported projects in Mozambique, PRODIRPA, PROSUR and PROMER. The orientation aims at creating awareness of STDM and QGIS, including its principles, practice, use and application to mitigate conflicts.

South Africa plans to launch EO satellite in 2019South Africa will launch an Earth observation satellite in 2019, as the head of the South African National Space Agency, Sansa, announced to a

NEWS

loan facility$43 mn

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande.


VERTICAL NEWS14

AGRI

INFRA

AgWorks Software partners with CDMSAgWorks Software has announced a new partnership with CDMS Inc. to provide crop protection compliance infor-mation within AgWorks’ new unified agronomy software. The partnership will allow AgWorks to better serve their customers by providing the most accurate and current product information.

Topcon acquires Digi-StarIn a huge expansion of their precision agriculture presence, Topcon has acquired Digi-Star, a global leader in agricultural solutions involving weight sensors and control systems for feeding, planting, fertiliser, and harvest equipment manufacturers. Digi-Star supplies electronics, sensors, displays, position verification, and software for data analysis and measurement – for use in both the livestock and grain markets.

Lehmann Aviation unveils LA300 UAV system Lehmann Aviation has launched an aerial system for precision agriculture: LA300 drone coming with the MicaSense RedEdge multispectral camera. To get multispectral images of the crops, the user just has to set way-points on the touchscreen map of the area, and Lehmann OperationCenter software will automatically calculate all mission parameters.

UAVs help combat poppy mildew in TasmaniaAgricultural UAVs could help Tasmania’s poppy industry fight mildew that has wiped hundreds of thousands of dollars from the 2015 harvest. Poppy grower and co-owner of Drone Ag, Will Bignell, flew drones over poppy crops last season and saw the extent of the damage on his own crops and others. He is investing in a $20,000 custom-built drone camera and will map the disease this coming season.

India’s first smart city under construction in Gujarat Even as India awaits the guidelines on what constitutes a ‘smart city’, the country’s first-ever meticulously planned metropolis is in the making in Gujarat. The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), as it is called, is being constructed in collaboration with IL&FS Engineering and Construction. The Indian prime minister has declared that 500 Indian cities will be revamped, heritage cities will be restored and refurbished, and 100 ‘smart cities’ will be built in the country by 2022.

Demand of BIM for quantity surveyors on rise in Middle EastBIM adoption is gaining immense traction for large projects in the UAE. Quantity surveyors are increasing-ly depending on BIM to prepare scheme designs with

detailed specifications and costing, which helps them to formulate competitive bids and tenders. BIM 5D also allows extraction of the most accurate quantities to be used for cost estimation. Aided with BIM capabilities, quantity surveyors produce work of higher and accurate standards.

New Zealand’s Christchurch Hospital being rebuilt in 3DSome of the biggest buildings of the new-look Christchurch Hospital in New Zealand are being put together virtual piece by virtual piece, courtesy remarkable 3D technology. More than a decade after BIM made its debut in the construction industry, a team at architectural firm Warren and Mahoney is using the technology to tackle several large-scale operations, including three buildings of 40,000sq m, covering a city block.

15VERTICAL NEWS


ENERGY

LAND

EnWin Utilities to use GIS to improve operational efficiencyEnWin Utilities has received an Award of Excellence from Esri Canada for its adoption of GIS technology to drive operational efficiency throughout the organisation. Embracing GIS as a key business system, EnWin has transformed the manage-ment of its hydro and water network assets by consolidating data from numerous systems into the GIS. This has signifi-cantly improved the visibility and quality of data across the utility and enabled them to better understand where to focus maintenance and capital expenditures.

Big data tech helps finding river locations to generate hydro-powerA technology being developed in the United Kingdom has the potential to revolutionise the sourcing of renewable energy from rivers. A software app, developed collaboratively by the

University of Leicester and High Efficiency Heating, automat-ically selects appropriate locations in Britain’s rivers to identify a large range of micro renewable hydro-power turbines and determines the environmental sensitivity of the location. This innovative prototype software saves a lot of money in initial survey costs. Smart metering: Ikeja Electric begins consumers’ enumerationTo address customer complaints over outrageous billing, the management of Ikeja Electricity Distribution, in conjunction with its technical partner, Korean Electricity Company, has concluded plans to carry out enumeration of customers to drive efficiency and effective metering within its network. The project would involve mapping the location coordinate of each of the electrical network entities from 132KV/33KV System, 11KV system, distribution transformers and poles.

The Netherlands assists Colombia to register properties on landTogether with ITC (University of Twente), The Netherlands’ land registry and mapping agency, Kadaster, plans to assist Colombia to formally register their land rights. The assistance consists of providing a method that measures parcel boundaries and registers the properties much faster. The method uses aerial photos and pop-ulation surveys. Furthermore, a mobile phone app will help owners to track the boundaries of their land parcel themselves.

New sourcebook on Water-Smart Agriculture in East AfricaThe sourcebook is the result of a collaboration between the Global Water Initiative East Africa (GWI-EA), the

International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). The collection of case studies from soil conservation to building resilience — including farmers’ own innovative practices — aims at helping development managers, educators, local administrators and policy makers.

The fight over India’s land laws continuesThe Indian government is trying to pass amendments to a 2013 land-acquisition bill through its Parliament’s upper house, where it lacks a majority. Under the existing bill, any forced sale of land requires the consent of at least 70 per cent of affected owners and must also pass a social-impact test. Compensation is set at double the market value for urban plots and quadruple for rural land.

ARTICLE16


Kevin Pomfret, Editor – Policy, Geospatial World, highlights the legal and policy challenges associated with technology convergence in the geospatial industry

The geospatial industry has undergone a series of sig-nificant transformations since its evolution. Initial-

ly, only the government agencies and large industrial sectors – such as utility and telecommunication – were the primary customers. But, over the past decade, the customer base has shifted to include a much broader set of industries as well as the consumer market.

However, for the most part, geospatial technology has tended to exist as its own silo within a ser-vice or solution. This is beginning to change as geospatial technol-ogy and geoinformation are be-ing integrated into and with other technologies.

A practical requirementThis integration allows companies to provide a more complete solution to end users and further expands

the power of ‘where.’ Unfortunately, such convergence of technologies also raises a number of new legal and policy challenges that the geospatial community needs to address.

Though the geospatial industry is facing numerous challenges, one such challenge is that the commu-nity will have to deal with additional legal and regulatory bodies. A simple example is the migration of geo-spatial sensors to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones. While sensors have been deployed on satellites, manned air-craft, and ground-based geospatial technology for years, their deploy-ment on drones has caused a great deal of concern around the world. As a result, traditional geospatial pro-viders and users like engineers and surveyors are now forced to consider decisions being made by the regula-tory bodies that regulate the nation-al airspace. The primary concern of

The integration of geospatial technology and geoinformation with other technologies opens up a number of business opportunities

Legalities and Tech

17ARTICLE


these regulatory bodies is safety, and therefore, the importance of geoin-formation to a society is often not un-derstood. In addition, due to privacy and homeland concerns associated with drones, geospatial professionals will soon have to deal with agencies that address these issues too. Many of these see the collection and the use of geoinformation more like a threat, than a value, to the society.

Legalities involve understandingAnother issue that is likely to arise is that many of these new legal

and regulatory bodies often do not have an understanding of geospatial technology or the value of geoinformation. As a result, they are more likely to introduce laws, policies and regulations that are overly restrictive or have unintend-ed negative consequences for the broader geospatial community. For example, companies such as Uber and Lyft are capturing and using geoinformation in innovative ways. Their Smartphone apps allow users to locate, order and follow private drivers to take them to their desti-nation. Such business models are

proving to be quite disruptive to the traditional taxi industry. At the same time, lawmakers and regula-tors are struggling to adapt the ex-isting laws and regulations pertain-ing to taxis to Uber and Lyft drivers. As a result, some regulators have suggested prohibiting Uber and Lyft from including maps on their Smartphone apps, thereby making it difficult for a user to know when a private driver is nearby. While such an approach might limit Uber and Lyft’s competitive advantage over the traditional taxi, it would be a misguided fix to the larger prob-


ARTICLE18

lem, that the legal and policy com-munities have been unable to keep up with technology.

Taking the legal routeMoreover, when lawmakers do try to address a legal or a policy issue involving geoinformation, the trend has been to introduce new laws and policies rather than adapt ex-isting laws or policies. This trend is the result of several factors. First, lawmakers often receive more pub-licity from stakeholders and their constituents by creating new leg-islation rather than amending or broadening existing legislation. Also, regulatory bodies tend to fo-cus on particular industry segments or technologies, such as energy, transportation, telecommunica-tions, etc. These bodies have limited ability to change laws and policies subject to other bodies. And often such issues cut across a number of

legal and policy disciplines, such as privacy, intellectual property rights, homeland security, data quality, and technology domains. As a re-sult, it is sometimes easier to create something new rather than modi-fy a variety of otherwise unrelated laws and regulations. For instance, members of the International Bar Association proposed a conven-tion to address a variety of le-gal and policy issues associated with the collection and use of geoinformation concerns.

An associated risk is that these new bodies will develop new laws and policies that are difficult for the industry to conform. Numerous lawmakers and regulators have al-ready expressed their concerns over the privacy issues associated with the collection, use and distribution of geoinformation. However, in many cases, each legal and regu-latory body has developed its own

definition of what geoinformation should be protected and how.

In many countries, different reg-ulatory bodies are responsible for mobile devices that collect geoinfor-mation, smart grids and intelligent transportation systems. Each is de-veloping their own definition of pro-tected geoinformation. In many cas-es, these definitions do not conform. Requirements also differ as to how long the information can be stored and whether it can be distributed to third parties. These differences, however, will not have a greater im-pact on companies that work in one industry sector. They will, though, become increasingly difficult for ge-ospatial companies that are trying to develop products and services to be used across industry sectors. The companies will need to spend time and money, making sure they iden-tify and comply with diverse and, in some cases, divergent regulations. Geospatial companies that wish to integrate geoinformation from dif-ferent industry groups also need to identify, understand and comply with each set of applicable regula-tions or laws.

The way forwardThe convergence of geospatial technology and geoinformation with other technologies opens up a number of different business opportunities. However, it will also result in a number of new chal-lenges. Some of the most difficult challenges will deal with address-ing new legal and regulatory bod-ies and regimes. Companies that understand and prepare for these challenges will have a significant advantage over those that wait.


COVER STORY20

GeospatialData Talk

and

Convergence

Integration and convergence are two very important processes for the successful implementation of geospatial systems, suggests Prof. Arup Dasgupta, Managing Editor, Geospatial World. Read on to gather more…

Geospatial technology, as we know today, has evolved from many dif-ferent sources. Surveying

is the core activity in geospatial data acquisition, which has been augmented by many new technol-

ogies as they have evolved. Simple levels have given way to theodo-lites to EDMs and Total Stations to Differential GPS. Geographical In-formation Systems, GIS, grew out of the efforts of the Harvard Labora-tory for Computer Graphics which

sought to apply digital techniques to the analogue art of cartography.

Initially, the efforts were to just automate cartography, but soon, it became apparent that a digital map and database make a versatile combination for city planning, and

21COVER STORY


thus was born Automated Mapping and Facilities Management or AM/FM. Landscape architects moved this a step forward and added ana-lytics to find spatial patterns, bring-ing GIS to life.

Evolving furtherThe addition of analytical capability took GIS to a new level where it could be used in many fields from simple mapping and decision support sys-tems to modelling and prediction. In this journey, GIS integrated with many systems, such as statistics, remotely sensed data, GPS location data, 3D data from stereoscopic imagery and LiDAR point clouds. Today, any GIS worth its salt must seamlessly use data from a wide va-riety of sources and provide analyt-ical tools which can make best use of such data, and derive meaningful spatial patterns to aid decision mak-ers and planners. Standards and interoperability considerations have

helped to provide strength to inte-gration of data sources and services. This is not only the biggest opportu-nity for geospatial systems, but also, its biggest threat.

A versatile GIS can be used not only in surveying and mapping, but also in many fields, as diverse as anthropology, business, climate change, finance and political science to name a few. If there is a spatial pattern, then it is amena-ble to GIS analysis. Integration with the Web has made GIS ac-cessible to the common person. One of the new application areas is the

use of GIS to harvest information from social media in order to ana-lyse the human situation in events such as epidemics, disasters and other major events that impact communities and nations.

Challenges and moreThe main weakness is the silos that each technology seems to operate in. For long, remote sensing scientists considered GIS to be ‘something else’. Only in

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COVER STORY22

2014 did the International Soci-ety for Photogrammetry and Re-mote Sensing recognise ‘Spatial Information Science’ as worthy of a Commission! Please note the marked avoidance of terms like GIS or geospatial. Surveyors swore by aerial photography for stereo imag-ing and consigned satellite stereos-copy to small-scale mapping. These silos become more pronounced when one leaves the traditional arena of mapping. For example, Business Intelligence (BI) may use maps, but does not consider it to be a geospatial application. The matter is not helped by geospa-tial professionals themselves who

tend to think in terms of geospatial and domains such as agriculture, defence, etc., rather than a con-verged solution for an application like infrastructure planning or smart cities. For example, there is much talk about e-Governance and g-Governance where the ‘e’ prefix indicates the use of IT and ‘g’ indi-cates the use of geospatial tech-nology. In reality, these prefixes draw attention away from the main task of governance and focus on the enabling technologies. Those on whom the task of governance falls, tend to consider them as ex-ternal impositions rather than the facilitating technologies that they

really are, thereby losing out on the advantages to be gained.

Opportunities galoreHerein lies the opportunity. The Smartphone is perhaps the best example of the kind of opportu-nities that exist, some apparent, some dormant and many undis-covered. Using a Smartphone, a person can navigate to a point of interest using a digital map and GPS, take a picture, geotag it and share it with friends and perhaps even link it to the digital map for public viewing. The Smartphone is not called a GIS phone or a GPS phone, though it uses GIS and GPS

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23COVER STORY


for navigation and geotagging. It is called ‘smart’ because it adds on features and widens the range of communications possibilities from just a voice call, which is what a phone is supposed to do, to a multimedia message while using GIS and GPS as facilitating technologies for information lo-cation, acquisition and dissemina-tion. A Smartphone is the epitome of Information and Communica-tions Technologies in action as an integrated service. The ‘I’ in ICT stands for multimedia informa-tion encompassing voice, text, im-age and spatial data.

Anne Kemp in her article on ‘Geospatial and BIM’, (Geospatial World, February 2015) puts it neatly when she writes, “The convergence of the various methodologies and technologies for managing data, taking the best of each, and boldly ditching the worst or superfluous of the rest, must surely be for the common good of developing and managing a better planet. So, let’s

The addition of analytical capability took GIS to a new level where it could be used in many fields from simple mapping and decision support systems to modelling and prediction

put aside the hang-ups of what is and is not GIS and BIM, and discov-er what really deserves our focus”.

What really deserves our focus are end goals like smart cities, sustaina-ble development, climate change management, to name a few, which ultimately have a positive impact on human existence. Some domains are already picking up convergence of technologies; for example GIS and SCADA for better power distribution management; BIM and GIS for better decisions in infrastructure manage-ment; and BI and GIS for business ef-ficiency. This is not the end. Any and every domain can benefit, provided we leave our silos and start thinking out-of-the-box.

Channelising the opportunitiesSince we have covered strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, let me conclude with threats. Apart from the silos, the biggest threat is slow and restrictive regulatory environment. There are regula-tions that pose challenges to the

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applications of technology, which can upset the best of applications. UAVs are being used to survey the earthquake-hit areas of Nepal where access is difficult at normal times and has become well nigh impossible with landslides.

Yet, UAV usage is not allowed in most countries in the light of perceived dangers to aviation, secrecy and privacy. The rapid growth of technology has outpaced regulations and this sometimes restricts meaningful applications.

Given the level of integration achieved within the geospatial ecosystem and the convergence with many applications, geospatial systems should become a major component of the Internet of Things (IOT). Let it remain IOT and not g-IOT.


INTERVIEW24

In conversation with Paul A McRoberts, Vice President – Infrastructure Modelling and Platform Product Group, Autodesk Inc., Geospatial World’s Executive Editor, Bhanu Rekha, understands why an agnostic approach to data is healthy for the industry...

What according to you are the technology trends in the infrastructure space?It’s the access to information that is held

in silos. The files, formats and setups, have all been availa-ble in spaces such as GIS, BIM, CAD, aerial imagery, LiDAR and so on. They have all been disparately available, but the aggregation of information together was not possi-ble. Now, newer ways of collecting and aggregating in-formation are coming up, and these are a lot cheaper too. Technologies are blending together – in GIS, BIM and CAD environment – to utilise the already available information.

Infrastructure

GDPFunding

INFRASTRUCTURE

How important do you think BIM is for the entire infrastructure life cycle?The building space is evolving and BIM for infrastructure is catching up. BIM for infrastructure started doing the rounds at Autodesk three or four years ago. BIM, in the context of infrastructure design, is about an aggregate of fetching the information and understanding its context in the real world scenario. By aggregating all the information, we can generate a 3D view of what an entire city might look like – each and every aspect of the city is noted fundamentally, and the existing information is aggregated further. Through

25INTERVIEW


a BIM process, and today’s BIM cloud, desktop and mobile solu-tions, you can actually make better decisions early on about what the future might look like and how we can enhance it in a constructive way. The BIM environment allows you to rapidly prototype options for future and run analytics against those options to see if they actually are viable and make any sense. And equally important, it enables you to visually communicate design in-tent to technical and non-technical project stakeholders.

Could you please cite an example?Let’s talk about the Carbon Disclosure Project, wherein 40 cities around the world got together to measure carbon footprints. In a span of few years, about 280 countries joined in. To understand what carbon disclosure is, and to find ways to reduce it, you ought to start using the information and make sustainable decisions. There is a need to identify where a city is going, how it is doing currently – in terms of its dynamics – and what is its vision for the future. We check with the city authorities about their mission and vision about the future of their respective cities and explain to them what GIS is and how it can contribute to the overall well-being of the infrastructure space.

How do you think public perception of infrastructure has evolved over the years?People are socially active and social media is impacting all as-pects of modern life, including the civil infrastructure world. When

a project is taking shape initially, there is a strong design for bet-ter systems, better utilisation of limited resources and better live-ability. When it comes to public infrastructure, most people had no way to participate in design de-cisions, but with social media, all that has changed, giving even the general public an outlook to share opinions via social media. Today, forward-thinking government and civil infrastructure professionals are offering their project stakehold-ers such things as drone-based fly overs, animations, photo realistic 3D images, you name it. Users can go to websites, click a picture and tweet it for others to see. Since the

industry involves spending of a lot of money, it becomes instrumental for the public to participate and see where their money, that they pay as taxes, is going.

There is always a need for solutions as far as efficiency of systems is concerned. How is Autodesk gearing up to provide solutions, especially in the urban framework of city planning? While developing the latest tech-nology, we created a really strong Application Programme Interface (API) for being able to connect. Definitely, there is a lot of informa-tion out there and we, of course, don’t own it. Our objective is to

Paul A McRoberts


INTERVIEW26

re-represent the data. Bringing in the CAD, BIM, GIS, federated and non-federated data together in context of the real world scenario gives us an advantage to explain it to people who are not necessarily from this segment of the world.

To assimilate the data and re-represent it within a BIM workflow, how is it done? As far as the big information (or big data) piece is concerned, we try remaining as agnostic as possi-ble, both in what we aggregate and what we create. We don’t necessar-ily have to own the data; we only need to make it possible for our us-ers to be able to re-represent data they collect from public records or capture in the field. We are help-ing to move away from a ‘data silo’ environment to a data aggregation translation approach for being able to re-represent the information quickly, and use that information to expedite the decisions. I strongly believe that the agnostic approach to data is healthy for the industry.

Do you think it is absolutely important for BIM and GIS to come together and synergise the data? How is the trend catching up to use both BIM and GIS capabilities together?We are putting it in under the whole BIM for Infrastructure concept. If it

is GIS information, we represent it, and if it is an architectural building coming in, and we have the infor-mation, we re-represent that as well. In both cases, it’s about information, and what we are doing is breaking down the barriers between them.

But is such trend not opening up in most emerging markets? In the future of the smart city sce-nario, having access to data is es-sential since it leads to generating a model and do creative things. All data is created equal. Most coun-tries wouldn’t put sensitive data on their websites, but there is still a lot of data that they do. For example, through our Model Builder solu-tion via Autodesk InfraWorks 360, we can pick a location anywhere in the world and generate a pretty de-cent representation of what exists there today, just from the GIS in-formation that is available through the Web. Then additional informa-tion can be layered in to improve accuracy. Talking about the emerg-ing markets, China has really good building and GIS information. In-dia, however, has the ability to scan – through LiDAR or a UAV, etc. The processing cost and manageability of it is cost-effective.

How do you see BIM being used effectively in the operations and the maintenance of the large

infrastructure, especially in utility networks?Utilities and the public go hand in hand. In an emergency situation, or when a natural disaster strikes, public support becomes apparent. In such a situation, people can snap pictures of the location and tie it to a model based on location and then enter the information. They are not relying on hand notes being put in around the particular GIS ob-ject. Instead, they can capture infor-mation at the location with mobile devices and submit directly to the model. This way, I can have the in-formation directly fed in to my BIM infrastructure model and send it out or have people on the field look at the heat map and understand where the problems are and go di-rectly to access that information.

What is the roadmap of Autodesk to address the massive business opportunity available? I believe infrastructure improves GDP and GDP improves funding. Increased funding automatically leads to improved infrastructure. So, the best thing we can do is to actual-ly help improve the economy to im-prove the infrastructure. Take China for instance — their GDP growth has less to do with export and more to do with fetching raw material from the rural environment and bringing it to the cities, manufac-turing the complete product and trading it off to some other country. If you look at their transportation plans, the amount of roads and rail and everything else, you feel the growth of the country. Getting into the macro and micro dynamics of the economy is the key.

We are helping to move away from a ‘data silo’ environment to a data aggregation translation approach to re-represent the information

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Asia Pacific

10 – 12 NOveMbeR, 2015Hotel Hilton ReformaMexico City, Mexico

11 – 12 NOveMbeR, 2015Hotel Hilton ReformaMexico City, Mexico

Latin America

11 NOveMbeR, 2015Hotel Hilton ReformaMexico City, Mexico

10th – 11th aUgUst, 2015Hotel Marriott Bethesda North and Conference Centre, Maryland, USA

18 – 19 aUgUst, 2015Birchwood Hotel and O R Tambo

Conference Centre Johannesburg, South Africa

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Conference Centre Johannesburg, South Africa

19 aUgUst, 2015Birchwood Hotel and O R Tambo Conference Centre, Johannesburg

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10 – 11 deceMbeR 2015 Novotel Amsterdam City

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CASE STUDY28

Working day and night, a group of machines races to harvest a farm’s

crops, before an approaching storm damages the plants. In precise formation, the automated harvesters steer themselves, freeing the opera-tor to monitor the onboard systems that gather the crop and record the yield. The yield data, combined with location, soil conditions and other information, is wirelessly delivered into a software that the farm oper-ators use to create detailed plans for seeding, fertilisation and water needs for future crops. The plans then support automated machine guidance and control for plant-

Tech allianceTech alliancegreatergreaterforfor

opportunitiesopportunities

The demand for information is increasing constantly. Through the use of innovative tech combinations, geospatial professionals can now support their clients’ increasingly complex needs and processes

ing, spraying, monitoring and — completing the circle — harvesting.

Tech convergenceThis scenario is not an imaginary or futuristic view. Rather, it describes the functions of precision agri-culture – very much in use today across the world. It is just one of the many examples of how multi-ple technologies work together to collect, process and utilise geospa-tial information. Certainly, a new

technology can be exciting and can even open doors to applications far beyond its developers’ original vision. Only rarely, however, does a single technology address a com-plex need or a problem.

Today’s most successful solu-tions are the products of carefully crafted combinations of multiple – sometimes disparate – tech-nologies. Some problems can be straightforward, such as the need to reduce the time required to

29CASE STUDY


collect survey data and compute earthwork volumes on a road con-struction project. Other solutions, such as precision agriculture, often involve many people performing different tasks at different times and locations.

In either case, the solutions re-quire thorough design, which can come only from deep knowledge of a client’s needs. To put it sim-ply, technology is the means to the end. If you don’t understand the problem at hand, then, even the newest, shiniest technology may be of little help. Conversely, by working closely with clients and customers, technology companies can create streamlined solutions for some very difficult challenges.

Simplifying workflowDrawing on its long history of work-ing relationships with numerous transportation agencies and con-tractors, Trimble has developed a deep understanding of their pro-cesses, needs and challenges. For example, road and highway depart-ments conduct regular inspections of their bridges and other infrastruc-ture. A thorough bridge inspection might require several hours of field work by engineers, surveyors and technicians. During the inspection, the teams conduct measurements, take photographs and make writ-ten notes. The inspection may entail closing traffic lanes and accessing difficult or hazardous areas on and around the bridge structure, add-ing time and cost to the job. After the field work, the data and notes are compiled and entered into the appropriate logs and databases. Managers and engineers need to sift

through the data to extract the in-formation needed to determine and prioritise maintenance and repairs.

While several stages of the in-spection process can be improved, let’s focus on how blended technol-ogies can simplify the field work. By using an imaging rover such as the Trimble V10, field crews can cap-ture georeferenced, high-resolution panoramic images of the bridge. In-dividual points can be collected with survey accuracy and tied to forms to capture detailed data on a feature or object. To eliminate clipboards and handwritten notes, additional infor-mation, including photographs, can be collected using interactive cus-tomised forms on tablet or hand-held computers with built-in digital cameras. When highly detailed in-formation is needed, teams can use 3D scanning to capture dense point clouds in minutes. They can also use imagery data captured with the V10 to reconstruct point clouds in the office. Data from the field systems can be uploaded to the cloud to be accessed and shared with down-stream users including engineering, management and finance teams.

Solutions that address just this one example represent a blend of many technologies. The imaging rover combines digital photogra-phy with positioning via total station or RTK GNSS (each a re-markable blend of technologies on their own). WiFi, Bluetooth and cellular communications enable rapid movement of information, instructions and inspection re-sults. Rugged, high-performance field computers control the field sensors, store data and provide the platforms for additional notes

working closely with clients & customers, tech companies can create streamlined solutions for difficult challenges

Guided by GNSS, an automated sprayer applies pre-determined amounts of fertiliser. Precision farming combines multiple technologies in positioning, machine control, communications and data management

and photos. In the office, blended solutions combine software-based technologies ranging from 3D po-


CASE STUDY30

sitioning and adjustment, image processing and photogrammetry to point cloud management and 3D modelling. Software, like field hard-ware, is evolving to blend more func-tionality into single packages. For example, Trimble Business Center software (TBC) handles traditional survey measurements via GNSS and optical instruments. The software also performs image processing and photogrammetry (including dense point cloud reconstruction) using photos from a total station, imaging rover or airborne solutions, such as the Trimble UX5 aerial imaging rov-er. In addition to providing a stand-ard user interface and workflows, multifunctional software, like TBC, reduces time and data loss when transferring data between special-ised software programs.

In applications for infrastructure inspection and asset management, combined technologies do more than save time in the field and of-fice. The blended solutions can also improve safety, reduce the need for lane closures and help to prevent

costly return visits. And by moving inspection results into downstream applications for design, planning and economic analysis, the inte-grated solution enables manage-ment teams to make timely, in-formed decisions.

Technological blending and evolution is not limited to the sys-tems that gather and process geo-spatial information. In recent years, the approaches used to move and share information has advanced as well. Like hardware and software, the most effective new solutions are designed to address the needs of geospatial professionals and the clients they serve. Many of these approaches leverage the power and flexibility of the Internet.

Cloud-based productivityWhen the first cellular phones came to the market, many com-panies recognised the potential of wireless technologies and used SMS (text messaging) to communi-cate among field and office teams. As wireless Internet connectivity emerged and the volume of data grew, organisations began to in-corporate cloud solutions into their enterprises. In addition to provid-ing communications among stake-holders, Internet technologies offer tremendous power and flexibility in data processing, information management and enterprise op-erations. The result? The lines be-tween field and office have blurred.

Cloud technologies can play a key role in fulfilling the needs of an enterprise or organisation. In addition to data transfer and stor-age, cloud services can provide streamlined access to geospatial

databases and enterprise man-agement tools. By using Web in-terfaces, stakeholders in multiple disciplines and locations can access project data and collaborate on de-sign and project decisions. With cloud-based tools and services, changing field conditions are visi-ble to design teams, and field crews are confident that they are working with up-to-date project data. This smooth movement of information is a large step in the effort to create streamlined processes and repre-sents a major advantage of blend-ed technologies.

There are other benefits as well.Some of the most difficult problems an organisation faces stem from long, complicated workflows. By blending technologies, solutions can combine multiple steps in a workflow or value chain, saving time and eliminating potential sources of error. For exam-ple, wireless Internet technologies can automate the seemingly simple step of transferring geospatial data

Software like field hardware is evolving to blend more functionality into single packages, leading to reduced transfer time and data loss

An in-vehicle display for precision farming provides position and operator guidance together with data from yield monitors

31CASE STUDY


from the field to an office system. Not only can the data be put to work almost immediately, automated transfer reduces and simplifies the work of the field crew. Rather than spending time to upload their data, the field crew’s time and energy can move to their next task.

Blended systems for complex operationsAs the complexity of work process-es increases, so does the value of blended technologies. Because complex processes offer greater op-portunities for savings and efficien-cy, companies with complicated op-erations stand to gain the most from blended systems. To illustrate this, consider the operation of an open

pit mine, where frequent meas-urements are needed to produce data on production volumes, mine planning, reclamation and other operations. The solution is to com-bine ground positioning and aerial or terrestrial photography with soft-ware for image processing, feature extraction, change detection and 3D modelling. This blended approach produces more accurate data cap-tured at shorter intervals, with lower cost and less disruption to mine op-erations. As a result, mine engineers and management are able to make timely, informed decisions.

In creating blended solutions, developers must be able to take ad-vantage of a broad range of technol-ogies. The work to design a complete

solution begins by understanding the decisions and processes fuelled by the information from the work-site. From there, the equipment, software, workflows and interac-tions are defined to optimise the efficiency and accuracy in collecting and utilising data. These solutions can cross — or eliminate — tradi-tional technological boundaries. For example, automated earthwork construction calls on geospatial technologies for positioning and terrain modelling. It also uses wire-less communications, high-speed field computing and direct control of a machine’s mechanical and hy-draulic systems. Similarly, enterprise solutions for water utilities combine GNSS field positioning and data collection with technologies for GIS, asset maintenance and customer call management. Technicians may access information via specialised field computers, tablets or even their personal Smartphones.

Many geospatial professionals enjoy talking about their technology. But, it’s critical to remember that the value of information does not come from the technologies that produce and deliver it. As long as information is complete, accurate and usable, the people using the information have little interest in how it got to them. A successful blend of technologies will deliver information in such a way that the underlying effort and complexity is unseen. Like the auto-mated farm, organisations that em-brace these solutions will reap new benefits in efficiency and profits.

Ron Bisio, General Manager, Surveying and Geospatial Division, Trimble

combined technologies improve safety, reduce the need for lane

closures and help to prevent costly return visits

Using images captured from aerial or land-based cameras, Trimble Inpho software produces data on structures, vegetation, change detection and more. The information can be shared for use by public and private agencies


ARTICLE32

Adapting to the New NormalClimate change is here. Simon Thompson, Director of Commercial Industry, Esri, shares how geospatial tools are helping us adapt to the ‘new normal’

It is hard to believe that this year, as the Polar Vortex returned to North America, bringing snow and sub-zero temperatures, meteorological offices in the UK, Australia and other countries around the world an-

nounced that 2014 was the hottest year on record. Re-cords dating back to 1659 tell us that eight of the UK’s top 10 warmest years have occurred after 2002.

Soaring temperatures and high winds in Australia last year fuelled some of the worst bushfires in more than 30 years. According to a recent report by Climate Council, a climate change research group based in Australia, changing weather, a growing popula-tion, and the proximity of vulnerable assets in bush-fire-prone areas have increased the risks to lives and property. The cost of these bushfires is estimated to run into hundreds of millions of dollars each year. It is ex-pected that Australia needs to double up the number of firefighters by 2030 to cope with this threat. Ironi-cally, record warm weather like Australia’s dry spells

and the recent drought in California are mirrored with increasingly severe wet weather, including cyclones in the Pacific and Atlantic hurricanes. The tropical storm - Jangmi - led to flooding and landslides in the Philip-pines and more than 50 people lost their lives. Jangmi comes fast on the heels of Malaysia’s worst flooding in decades, which killed 21 people and destroyed about two hundred thousand homes. It seems that lately, weather is getting more extreme.

The role of GISAs climate change brings in stability to short-term weather patterns, weather events are becoming more severe. This is challenging our understanding and the ability to respond. Given this ‘new normal,’ how can we best protect lives and better prepare for future events?

Many reports make recommendations on how coun-tries and communities can become more resilient to extreme events. Important decisions about adaptation

33ARTICLE


Adapting to the New Normaland risk reduction need to be made at all levels: global, national and lo-cal. To do this, we need a framework that can provide consistent, aligned information for better understand-ing. Concepts like geodesign — designing with nature in mind — are already in place to help forge consensus and negotiate the path to implementing action. GIS and spa-tial analytics can help.

GIS is the most powerful and intuitive tool for making reasona-ble, informed and congruent de-cisions that balance the needs of all individuals and actors from the wealthiest nations to the poorest, and those most likely to be impact-ed as booming populations flock to coastal cities.

At its core, GIS helps people to discover, make, use, and share ge-ographic knowledge. Esri’s ArcGIS platform lets people connect with anyone, anywhere, and on any de-vice. It provides sophisticated, high-ly accurate and scientifically robust tools which precisely quantify and categorise risk, yet, are intuitive and provide easy-to-author templates to communicate and inform.

If we are to protect our lives and livelihoods, our infrastructure and financial assets, we need a tool like this to test, compare, and evaluate all available options. Better account for risks in financial systems can be taken into consideration through such tools. We can make informa-tion about extreme weather more usable and suitable for users’ needs.

This encourages collaboration and ongoing dialogue between pro-ducers and users of knowledge.

Improved risk understanding provides more accurately modelled impacts and provides relevant in-formation for decision-makers, particularly at regional and local levels. As a result, we can inform valuations and investment deci-sions, as well as incentivise organ-isations to reduce their exposure.

Leading the chargeA number of organisations around the world are already using these tools to make better decisions in the face of changing climate. Only six years ago, the idea of mapping sea-level rise based on emission scenarios was novel in the US, and proposing to combine these with storm surge models was consid-ered absurd. Despite awareness

Improved risk understanding provides more accurately modelled impacts and relevant information for decision-makers, particularly at regional and local levels

Web-mapping services from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, USGS, and NOAA were integrated with Coastal Resilience data to help users assess risk and vulnerability to flooding across the eastern seaboard of the US


ARTICLE34

of growing coastal hazards, local governments and decision makers do not have the capacity to map and plan for future climate pro-jections, let alone identify coastal management scenarios to address these threats. Today, decision makers often have only limited access to the critical information necessary to support choices for managing social and economic vulnerability, and specifically, to understanding the role natural habitat can play in reducing risk. As a consequence, they are una-ble to comprehensively integrate coastal hazard risk and sea-level rise into their decision-making in order to increase the resilience of human and natural communities.

Enter Coastal Resilience, an approach led by The Nature Conservancy to assess risk and vulnerability while identifying restoration and adaptation choices. The backbone of this approach is an online mapping decision support tool, based on the ArcGIS platform.

The Coastal Resilience decision sup-port tool is well-positioned to sup-port a vast array of local and regional governments and institutions that are either responding to disasters, or preparing and planning for current and future climate conditions.

Coastal Resilience helps users assess risk and vulnerability to storm surges and erosion along the coastlines of the United States, Mexico, and Central America and in the Caribbean. It also gives them ways to identify how to restore damaged or eroded land and adopt new techniques to protect vulnerable communities. Local and regional government offi-cials, as well as the general public, can use Coastal Resilience to re-spond to and prepare and plan for changing climate conditions and coming disasters.

Insurers are on the GIS bandwag-on as well. Aon eSolutions uses GIS to help companies take steps to mit-igate loss and develop contingency plans. Aon eSolutions is the client

technology arm of Aon, a leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resource consulting and outsourcing. Aon eS-olutions provides cloud-based and on-premises business solutions the specific needs of this community.

Aon staff integrated GIS into the company’s RiskConsole solution, a global risk management infor-mation system used by many of the world’s leading corporations. Organisations can show a compar-ison of business measures, such as counts of reported claims by organisational unit, visually on a map. Displaying these measures on maps allows users to interactively validate locations, visualise loss patterns, and identify hot-spots. Adding natural-hazard data, such as weather, earthquake, and fire, helps customers view properties likely to be impacted by an event so they can take steps to mitigate loss and develop contingency plans.

And this scenario is being played out in thousands of locations all over the world. There are many tough decisions to make on fire, drought, heatwaves, landslides, and severe storm risk; GIS is making this pro-cess easier with purpose-driven tools and templates that are readily customisable and easily adaptable to users’ needs.

GIS helps us in easily sharing and coordinating information, so we can make more prudent decisions on the risk and returns on investment of development. Together, we can leverage these tools to build better long-term re-silience to extreme weather and climate change.

Visualising models with apps based on ArcGIS, like WSN’s XtremeGIS, gives risk managers a better idea of what may happen during and after a storm

IGF_report_ mar2015_revised.indd 6 23-02-2015 14:41:05


INTERVIEW36

Mapping the globe, 3mx3m at a timeMapping the globe, 3mx3m at a time

Steven Ramage, Strategy Director, What3Words, shares how his start-up has simplified the world’s addressing system by splitting the globe into titled squares.

Hi! I’d like to get this package delivered to purely.dips.dent, please.’

Now, that may have sounded unintelligent. But, what if we were to tell you that it was just a request made at a courier company, asking for a parcel to be delivered to Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York, US?

A new global addressing system, called What3Words (w3w), has divided the world into 57 trillion

3mx3m squares, and given each one a three-word address. So, while Paris’ Champs-Élysées becomes ‘gushes.cracker.fronted,’ London’s Oxford Street boils down to ‘tube.gates.leave’ under this novel system.

And while you may find yourself searching for what your address is called under what3words’ umbrel-la for fun, let’s not forget that we still don’t have unique addresses for a major chunk of planet Earth. It’s these four billion unaddressed people

around the world, what3words really wants to focus on.

The company’s motto is ‘addressing the world.’ Is the global addressing problem something we really need to worry about?Around 75% of the world suf-fers from inadequate addressing systems. In the remaining 25%, a large number of national addressing systems are plagued with problems,

37INTERVIEW


causing widespread inefficiency. And while poor addressing is costly and annoying for some developed countries, in developing nations around the world, it is responsible for hampered growth and progress.

How can a unique address change the world?A unique address means that the four billion unaddressed people of this planet can now be visible. They are able to get deliveries and receive aid, report diseases and exercise their rights as citizens, because they have a simple way to communi-cate where they live or work. It also means that in remote locations, water facilities can be found, mon-itored and fixed; and schools, hos-pitals, refugee camps and informal settlements can be managed. It means that microfinance can scale up, and local businesses and e-com-merce can grow. On the other hand, in countries with advanced systems, a precise and simple address means that people don’t get lost, packages are delivered efficiently, utilities are managed and businesses get found by customers. This can add billions to the economies.

How successful have you been in trying to allocate three words to any and every location in the world?Since what3words is based on a grid of 57 trillion 3mx3m squares, we have been able to give everyone a unique, fixed, three-word long, simple and usable address. Anyone, including countries that have poor or inadequate addressing, can get started immediately, quickly and cost effectively.

But, why are you working against the coordinate system?Latitude and longitude continue to be the basis for our system. And while they are brilliant for computers and trained profession-als, three-word addresses are more human-friendly in everyday use. There are a few alphanumeric ad-dressing systems out there, but they are all hard to memorise. The use of words means that non-technical people can find any location accu-rately, and communicate it more quickly, more easily and with less ambiguity than any other system. Words can easily be remembered, written, said, printed or shared digitally. And let’s not forget that three-word addresses are available

Steven Ramage, Strategy Director, What3Words

A unique address means that the 4 billion unaddressed people of this planet can now be visible

in multiple languages, including English, Russian, French, Portu-guese, Spanish, Turkish, Swahili and Arabic. And more languages are on the way.


INTERVIEW38

‘Table.chair.lamps,’ ‘curiosity.peach.deconstructs’ — aren’t these sets of words quite strange in a world which relies on latitude and longitude?Each of our wordlist is curated to ensure that the words are mean-ingful and used daily in local language. There are, occasionally, some odd combinations, but we believe the benefits of a precise and simple address outweighs these.

Can you tell us about the technology and related infra-structure behind w3w? An algorithm and wordlist un-derpin our service. The system is not a database, but an algorithm of less than 10Mb in size, so it fits on any device. The wordlists have 25,000 words in each language, and 40,000 in English. We have covered the sea, as well as the land. The lists go through multiple auto-mated and human review process-es to remove homophones (like

sale and sail) and offensive words. The words are then sorted by the algorithm, taking into account the word length, distinctiveness, fre-quency, and ease of spelling and pronunciation.

Simpler, more common words are allocated to more populated areas that speak that language, and the longest words are used in unpopulated areas. The algorithm also shuffles similar-sounding three-word combinations around the world to make it obvious if you have made an error in typing. For example, ‘table.chair.lamp’ and ‘table.chair.lamps’ are purposely on different continents.

We have an error detection system that makes intelligent suggestions on where it thinks you mean as you type, even if you make typos. We are currently working on a voice recognition system.

How do navigation devices comprehend w3w? Can I type

in an address and navigate to it easily in an app, like Google Maps or Apple Maps?Currently, we have in excess of 25 partner integrations from organisations offering taxi services to UAVs. Out of these, the most no-table is Navmii, one of the world’s leading navigation apps, which now allows its 23 million users to specify a three-word address. Our goal is to become a globally accept-ed standard, so you can just use your Apple device or search word.word.word on Google, but we are not there yet.

How is w3w working with various organisations across the world to tackle the addressing problem?We recently attended a number of key events, including the Unit-ed Nations Universal Postal Union (UPU) Strategy Conference in Ge-neva, and the World Bank Land and Poverty Conference in Wash-ington. Our goal has been to ex-plain to these global organisations how much of an impact a simple and precise three-word address can have on the global population. Numerous governments from Afri-ca, Latin America, the Middle East and South East Asia have now con-tacted us about addressing entire countries. And some developed countries are already using three-word addresses, such as, Statens Kartverk in Norway. We also have several tie-ups at the community level, including a delivery franchise operating in the Brazilian favelas, called Carteiro Amigo; a mapping and spatial collection app called Geospago; and a car sharing app called Gocar share.

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CASE STUDY40


GIS and Cement industrySticking together

A holistic technological roadmap that encompasses IT, automation and geospatial technology is empowering Reliance Cement Company to efficiently monitor and manage its mining operations

The indigenous Indian cement industry is almost a century old. By virtue of the ever-increasing de-

mand for infrastructural growth in the nation, our limestone resources are depleting at a rapid pace. Con-

sequently, it has become imper-ative for the industry to make ef-fective use of process innovations, technology and automation to create a scalable and sustainable business model. And that is exact-ly what Reliance Cement Company

Pvt Ltd (RCC), India, has done. The subsidiary of Reliance Infrastruc-ture, RCC has proactively designed and implemented a holistic oper-ations management system using available geospatial data, industry standard processes and state-of-

41CASE STUDY


the-art automation and IT systems. These data, systems and processes — ranging from high-resolution satellite imagery, DGPS and GPS, GIS, Mine Modelling, Mine Plan-ning and Scheduling, Quality In-formation Management and Enter-

prise Resource Planning — are all seamlessly integrated to help RCC efficiently monitor and manage its entire mining operations.

The roadmapA broad understanding of the crit-ical business challenges, technolo-gy and interrelated disciplines has enabled RCC to create a compre-hensive technological roadmap for managing mining operations at its various plants. This roadmap comprises of interrelated compo-nents contributing to the overall proposed solution, which (as illus-trated in the schematics) follows a holistic approach involving in-corporation and integration of the following:• High-resolution satellite image

(Cartosat-2) interpretation and analysis.

• Differential GPS (DGPS) based surveying and mapping.

• GIS-based map data creation, overlay and plotting.

• 3D subsurface modelling, ge-ological correlation and block model creation.

• ERP (SAP PP and PM) based pro-duction planning, monitoring and maintenance.

• High-precision GPS (HGPS) based real-time asset location, equipment scheduling and syn-chronisation (for example, shovel and dumper coordination), and dispatch monitoring.

• Electronic Control Module (ECM) integrated equipment health monitoring and maintenance.

• Algorithm based automated mine planning, scheduling and blending.

• Automated sampling and re-

al-time quality testing and anal-ysis via cross-belt analysers and robotic arms.

• Laboratory information system based real-time quality monitor-ing and management.

• GPS-based tracking and field force automation using mobile devices.

• ERP (SAP BI/BO) based reports and analytics.

• Browser based Web-GIS and re-al-time dashboards and decision support systems (DSS).

Integration between these sys-tems is achieved at the data layer as well as at the end-user layer using industry standard hard-ware and application interfac-es, service oriented architecture, standardised exchange protocols and workflow-defined custom developments.

Advantages of the integrated approach A piecemeal approach towards technology and automation makes efficient decision-making almost

RCC has designed and implemented a holistic operations management system using available geospatial data


CASE STUDY42

impractical for the end-user. The business user frequently struggles to grasp the nuances and idiosyncra-sies of the myriad applications and data formats, thereby rendering him cynical, if not hostile, toward future

Reporting & Decision Support

Dashboards

Web GIS

VisualisationAnalytics

(Production & Quality)

Pit PlanningBlast hole Planning

Production Quality

Excavation & Blending

Crushing & Transport

Automatic Sampling

Long-Term Planning

Short-Term Planning

SAP-PP

Enterprise Data

BlockModeling

GIS Application

Bore-hole data

Third-party Map Data

Geologicalmapping &

3D

Spatial Database

Ancillary Maps & Attributes

Topographic Data

DGPS Survey Data

Hi-Res Satellite Images

Geoprocessing

Geology & Mining Software

SAP-QM

Monitoring and Mgmt.

Enterprise Resource Planning (SAP)

technological implementations and subsequently growth.

RCC acknowledges that any pro-cess or application is only as good as the base-data that is provided as input to it. High-resolution,

multi-temporal, panchromatic and multispectral satellite imag-es, geo-referenced topographical map data, DGPS based precision surveys and accurate geo-tag-ging have helped RCC to create

Per

iodi

c R

evie

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pdat

e

Intregated quality information management workflow at plant


CASE STUDY44

unbiased, unsullied and metic-ulous sample logging, sample status reporting, querying, corre-lation and reconciliation.

• Efficient and timely manage-ment of critical equipment and resources.

• Improved productivity, effective skills, and personnel mapping and monitoring.

• Reduction in waste and reduced overburden and material han-dling, etc.

Additionally, it has also helped RCC in adhering to its vision of sustainable growth by minimising environmental impact, reducing inefficiencies, improving produc-tivity and enhancing the overall life of the mines. The road aheadGoing forward, RCC seeks to incor-porate the following components:• GPS-based vehicle tracking sys-

tem for inter-plant transfers and outbound dispatch.

• RFID based in-plant truck man-agement system.

• Spatial data and algorithms driv-en Logistics Planning and Opti-misation system.

• GIS and mobile apps based sales and marketing management system.

• Last-mile mapping and custom-er relationship management sys-tem (CRM).

Realisation of these initiatives will help the company efficiently monitor and manage the entire product lifecycle, right from plan-ning and exploitation of raw ma-terials, through the various value add-on processes, customer order fulfilment and right up to post-sales support.

Anand Budholia, Vice President & CIO - Cement & Power, Reliance Group Sumantra Naik, General Manager, Reliance Cement Company

and maintain a comprehensive, up-to-date and accurate spatial repository for all its sites. This acts as the crucial base-data for all ap-plications and initiatives, includ-ing legal and statutory clearances, socio-environmental monitoring, mine modelling, mine planning, asset tracking and other operations related activities at RCC.

A seamlessly integrated de-cision support system, driven by precision and accuracy of the data, process automations and intui-tive user interfaces has helped the company cut through the clutter and emphasise on attention-wor-thy data. A well-rounded approach toward implementation and inte-gration has enabled:• Automatic and real time data ac-

quisition, validation, consolida-tion, and long term storage.

• Comprehensive calculations, tem-poral analysis and trends mapping.

• Near-zero human intervention,

44CASE STUDY

45PRODUCT WATCH

Surveying made easyTopcon Positioning Group recently added to its line of reflectorless total stations for the construction and mining market — the GPT-3500LNW. The GPT-3500 is designed to measure further than any non-prism instrument in its class and has a measuring distance of 2,000 meters (6,560 ft.). Along with its onboard data collector, the GPT-3500 has the ability to connect to an external field controller via built-in Bluetooth technology, enabling field to of-fice connectivity with the MAGNET suite of software solutions. It can also be paired with a prism to allow for a measurement range of up to 3,000 meters (9,842 ft.).

Features• Rugged IP66 environment rating• Powerful EDM, with confident distance measurement to 2,000m (non-prism) or

3,000m (prism)• Convenient visual laser pointer for rapid, reflectorless measurement and layout• On-board TopField application software• A rugged IP66 rated design

Improving visual qualityFARO Technologies has released the newly designed PointSense for Autodesk’s Revit® building design software. PointSense significantly improves the evaluation and conversion of point cloud data to BIM. Laser scanning is the most efficient method to capture existing field conditions for buildings. It speeds up and simplifies the analysis and design of this data directly in Autodesk Revit®.PointSense for Revit® provides tools for fast and precise creation of walls. Varying wall types and thicknesses can be generated automatically. It also provides numerous 3D design utilities. The application allows for creation of 3D model lines and construction points via an all new 3D point snap within the point cloud. Users can snap freely to point cloud points in 3D space independent from the Revit® working plane.

Features • Creates 3D models directly in the point cloud• Provides photo-like, planar scan views to supplement the raw Revit® point cloud data• Offers tools for fast and precise creation of walls• Creation of digital ground models (so called Toposurface)


46

Delivering big benefitsLeica Geosystems has released the 8th generation of versatile, high performance laser scanners, the Leica ScanStation P40, P30, and P16. Advances in LIDAR and imaging for these new, ultra-high-speed scanners let users take advantage of the productivity and safety benefits of laser scanning – or High-Definition Surveying (HDS) – for even more types of sites, scenes and as-built projects. The P40 and P30 provide users with increased, long range capabilities (to 270m) and advanced scanner controls for additional versatility, while the ScanStation P16 acts as a short range, introductory model. With the Leica ScanStation C10 and ScanStation P20 scanners as a reference point, the new family of scanners integrates the best-in-class features of those two scanners into a single scanner.

Features • High-resolution camera • Built in HDR imaging capability • Maximum target range is specified at 75m (Leica ScanStation P40 and P30)• Maximum target range is specified at 40m (Leica ScanStation P16)• Improved field productivity

Less rework, better decision-makingTrimble has introduced Trimble SitePulse System, an affordable and easy-to-use Site Positioning System designed for superintendents, foremen and field engineers on heavy civil construction sites. The new SitePulse System attributes field managers with the same 3D constructible model and digital information that construction surveyors, grade checkers and machine operators’ use. This can result in less rework, better decision-making and improved communication. Using the Trimble SitePulse software with the new Trimble SPS585 GNSS Smart Antenna, field managers can take photographs that are tagged with GNSS position, date and time to create an audit trail of day-to-day activities, and provide thorough documentation of work completed over the course of the entire job for invoicing and payments.

Features• Real-time digital information• Reduce the dependency on the surveyor by performing simple positioning tasks• Access up-to-date data to support decision-making• Increase production, reduce rework, and document work quality• Improve communications between the field and office by connecting more

people on the jobsite

PRODUCT WATCH


PICTURE THIS48

A 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck central Nepal on April 25 and reduced it to rubble. The quake caused major damage in Kathmandu and remote, rural parts of the country. Acting immediately after the disaster, the geospatial and mapping communities started mapping Nepal to identify the damage and assist humanitarian organisations.

The first set of satellite images released by DigitalGlobe and Airbus Defence and Space have helped the world to understand the level of damage and human displacement.

Images 1: Dharahara Tower in Kathmandu, as seen from DigitalGlobe WorldView-3 on Oct 25, 2014, and the Tower Reduced to Rubble as seen from DigitalGlobe WorldView-3 on April 27, 2015.Images 2: Tundikhel area from Kathmandu, as seen on Oct 25, 2014; the same area as on April 27, 2015, where relief camps after the earthquake can be seen.

Maps come to aid: Nepal Earthquake

The background map depicts the earthquake affected areas in Nepal and North of India. Map credits: European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Before After1

2 2

1

49PICTURE THIS

Maps come to aid: Nepal EarthquakeHumanitarian OpenStreetMap Team [HOT] has initiated its mapping tasks related to identifying major and minor roads, residential areas, including buildings, leisure spots and camp areas. The mapping activities are aided by imagery data from various sources, such as Bing, DigitalGlobe, MapBox and MapGive HIU. The maps come as handy help in aiding deliv-ery and search and rescue efforts by identifying earthquake- damaged buildings and displaced populations. The first im-age on the left shows village areas and the houses mapped as part of the task, where the map data was missing.

DigitalGlobe’s Tomnod mapping projects — Earthquake in Nepal and Help locate remote Nepali villages — have started to take pace. Around 39,914 taggers have searched over 97,436 sq km area to assess the damage on Tomnod platform, as part of the first project that took off immediately after the earthquake. The second image on the left shows damaged houses in rural Nepal, identified by a volunteer.

A 3D model of the earthquake damaged Durbar Square, Kathmandu, is shown below. The model was created using aerial video, shot by with a drone by Kishor Rana and Matthew Schroyer of the Professional Society of Drone Journalists

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