SuperMap - TwinGeo interview for the geospatial perspective

MR. WANG HAITAO, Vice President of SuperMap, President of SuperMap International

1. Please tell us about Supermap’s journey of evolving as the leading provider of GIS in China.

SuperMap Software Co., Ltd. is an innovative GIS platform software and service provider. It was founded in 1997 in Beijing (headquarter). The most important milestone is that SuperMap was the first listed GIS software company in China in 2009. SuperMap has been focusing on developing GIS platform software, application software and online cloud services since its establishment in 1997. By now, SuperMap has jointed hands with over 1,000 ecological partners to empower the informatization of governments, institutions and enterprises in various industries. Meanwhile, SuperMap is dedicated to develop overseas market. By now, SuperMap has successfully entered Asia, Europe, Africa and South America and other countries and regions, and has developed distributors and partners from over 30 countries and end users from over 100 countries.

2. What are your latest offerings?

The latest product of SuperMap is SuperMap GIS 10i, which includes GIS server, Edge GIS server, Terminal GIS, Online GIS platform.

SuperMap GIS 10i Product Architecture

Also, SuperMap GIS 10i integrates AI GIS technology, and further innovates Big Data GIS, New 3D GIS, Cloud Native GIS and Cross Platform GIS to establish a five key technologies system of “BitCC” for GIS platform software.

3. What role can GIS play in the effective management of Smart Cities? Which one of your products is specifically catering to smart cities? How is your product different from other most popular GIS software?

For the spatial characteristics, GIS plays an indispensable role in smart cities. First, the GIS related information is the basic information for smart city management; second, GIS provides an effective carrier for various types of urban information integrated applications, which can help the effective integration of information resources, and achieve better development and utilization of resources; third, the use of GIS technology can provide supports for geo-visualization, geo-decision, geo-design, and geo-control for applications in smart cities.

In the field of smart cities, SuperMap provides comprehensive solutions of “one platform, one network, one field” based on cities, districts, counties, streets, parks, and even buildings. “One platform”, that is, the smart city spatio-temporal big data platform , it provides a unified platform for the integration, management and sharing of regional information resources. “One network” refers to the applications of grid city management, social governance, street and rural governance and others.

For urban governance, it provides digital management in urban governance, dynamic monitoring of city status, and analysis and judgment of urban situation to comprehensively improve the level of urban governance. “One filed”, namely, refers to smart parks, smart fields and other applications, mainly in forms of parks and sites. It integrates BIM with GIS to provide refined management and service applications for field and park planning, construction and management, and enhance the management service capabilities and competitiveness in the field.

When compared with other GIS software vendors, SuperMap has strong advantages in spatial big data and New 3D GIS technology. Also, SuperMap can provide users with comprehensive solutions in smart city + urban planning, construction, management and others.

4. How does the integration of BIM and GIS benefit the construction sector? Has Supermap been able to create a mark in digital construction? Please share your best case study of BIM+GIS integration.

BIM and GIS integrations enable construction users to introduce the real large geographic context within a project to accurately assess the environmental impact, accelerate project delivery and improve the operations and maintenance of completed assets.

One of the cases is Beijing Sub-Center Smart Construction Supervision Platform. In this case, seamless integration of BIM and GIS provides the design and construction teams with geospatial information for better understanding the updated conditions and help them deliver outcomes more efficiently and accurately under very limited construction schedule.

Besides, based on outstanding 3D GIS techniques and IoT data，the platform can provide experts and other stakeholders with real-time simulation of construction progress for better evaluation and full lifecycle management and maintenance.

5. How has been the adoption of Supermap’s products so far? Which steps are you taking to increase awareness and adoption?

By now, “SuperMap has the 3rd largest share in global GIS market, and the 1st largest share in Asia GIS market. Meanwhile, the report indicates that with quick growth in past over 20 years, SuperMap Software now is the biggest Chinese GIS supplier, and top GIS suppliers in the Chinese market”, according to the Geographic Information Systems Market Research Study Report released by ARC Advisory Group.

To further enhance the SuperMap brand and increase the adoption, SuperMap continuing focuses on developing and providing the advanced and competitive technologies and products in industry. And SuperMap has insisted that the quality is the basic and priority since its establishment. At the same time, in the field of business, SuperMap has joined hands with partners to conduct cooperation on projects, which provides successful solutions and applications in mutiindustry. Also, SuperMap has good relations with many universities worldwide and make contributions in providing software and technical supports for better GIS education. More, SuperMap has developed and opensourced SuperMap GIS software such as SuperMap iClient and others for unfavoured users around the world.

6. Where do you see Supermap in the next few years?

For the next, SuperMap will actively participate into fields of urban design, smart city, BIM+GIS, AI GIS and others according to the development of SuperMap technologies of Big Data GIS, 3D GIS, AI GIS, as well as the worldwide user types and bases, like governments, universities.

7. What steps are you taking to make GIS smarter in AI era?

SuperMap released the SuperMap GIS 10i at the 2019 GIS Software Technology Conference. SuperMap GIS 10i fully integrates artificial intelligence technology to construct technology systems of “BitCC”, which newly added the AI GIS into the product system.

For AI GIS, it consists of 3 parts:

GeoAI: Spatial data processing and analysis algorithm that integrates AI, and is the product of AI and GIS.

AI for GIS: Using AI capabilities to enhance the functions and user experience of GIS software.

GIS for AI: Using visualization and analysis technology of GIS to perform spatial visualization and further spatial analysis of AI output results.

SuperMap will practice smarter GIS in following the above AI GIS Trilogy.

SuperMap GIS 10i Technology System (BitCC)

8. What are the most important standards your software is applying for interoperability with geospatial, engineering and operation industries.

In 2017, SuperMap opensourced an open Spatial 3D Model(S3M) data standard specification for fast streaming, loading, displaying massive and heterogeneous 3D geospatial data on multiple devices and platforms. And it has enabled not only visualization but 3D spatial query and analysis of large spatial data.

What is more, S3M is the first group data standard published by China Association for Geospatial Information Society. Now S3M has been widely adopted in more than 20 notable companies from various industries, such as DJI, Altizure etc.