September 2012 : Surveying by Geospatial World

Publication: 10 of every month I Posting: 15 / 20 of every month

R.N.I No - UPENG/2010/34153 Registration no: UP/GBD-136/2011-13 YOUR GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

www.geospatialworld.net SEPTEMBER 2012 VOL 03 ISSUE 02 ISSN 2277 - 3134

Price: INR 150 / US$ 15 Subscriber’s copy. Not for Sale

Leica XPro DSM with Leica ADS80 More Matches to Win.

Original data: Courtesy of Blom CGR S.p.A.

High Density Surface Models from Leica ADS Imagery Leica XPro DSM point clouds are generated with pixel level accuracy show a 100% ﬁt to the triangulated image orientation are generated with clean and reliable matching techniques can be RGB- and FCIR colourized are created by using a scalable distributed processing environment

For more information visit http://di.leica-geosystems.com www.leica-geosystems.com

Leica_XPro_DSM_Ad_7_75x10_25inch.indd 1

20.4.2011 12:01:34 Uhr

From Server to Desktop.

WE HAVE YOU COVERED.

COMPLETE YOUR GEOSPATIAL WORKFLOW More than ever before, we can sense the real world around us – from space, the air, and the ground. Let the data work for you. Intergraph’s geospatial portfolio connects photogrammetry, remote sensing, and GIS to provide a streamlined system. Discover and exploit the wealth of information contained in data from any source, share it rapidly (and securely), and deliver it on demand as reliable and actionable information to drive smarter decisions.

geospatial.intergraph.com

Creating your own map from maps published by other users is just one of many ways to take advantage of the rich collection of data and resources ArcGIS Online makes available to you. SM

Welcome to the new frontier in geographic information systems.

G55098_GeoSpatialWorld_Sept2012.indd G d 1

8/17/12 2:04 PM 8

ARTICLES

Vietnam:

Re-inventing itself Kapil Chaudhery and Manoj Pant

Surveying technology:

Blending measurement and management Bryn Fosburgh

Spatial enablement:

Inside...

Offering new possibilities Dr. Daniel Steudler and Prof. Abbas Rajabifard

Surveying market

CASE STUDIES

Measuring up to the promise

China:

India:

United States:

France:

Greece:

Deepali Roy CHAIRMAN

M P Narayanan

PUBLISHER

Sanjay Kumar

PUBLICATIONS TEAM Managing Editor Editor - Latin America (Honorary) Sr. Associate Editor (Honorary) Executive Editor Product Manager Assistant Editors

Prof. Arup Dasgupta Tania Maria Sausen Dr. Hrishikesh Samant Bhanu Rekha Shivani Lal Deepali Roy, Aditi Bhan, Vaibhav Arora, Anand Kashyap

DESIGN TEAM Sr. Creative Designer Graphic Designer

Deepak Kumar Manoj Kumar Singh

CIRCULATION TEAM Circulation Manager

Vijay Kumar Singh

Tour against the current Cost effective water management No details left behind Testing the waters Mapping for growth

INTERVIEWS

D ISCLAIMER Geospatial 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 responsible 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,

Jerry Johnston

Swarna Subba Rao

Geospatial Information Officer, Dept. of Interior, United States

Surveyor General of India

Sector - 52, Gautam Budh Nagar, Noida, India

07 Editorial

Advisory Board

Geospatial World Geospatial Media and Communications Pvt. Ltd. (formerly GIS Development Pvt. Ltd.) A - 145, Sector - 63, Noida, India Tel + 91-120-4612500 Fax +91-120-4612555 / 666

08 News

58 Events

C ORRIGENDOM : The credits for the images used on Pg. 27 in the story on "Volunteered Geographic Information" in the July 2012 edition have inadvertently been missed out. The left and centre images of the composition are courtesy Giacomo Rambaldi, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA); and the image on the right is courtesy Cybertracker.

PRICE: INR 150/US$ 15

COVER IMAGE COURTESY Severn Partnership

Abbas Rajabifard President, GSDI Association

Greg Bentley CEO, Benltey Systems

Juergen Dold President, Hexagon Geosystems

Preetha Pulusani Chief Strategy Officer, Rolta Group

Aida Opoku Mensah Director - ICT Division UN Economic Commission for Africa

Prof Ian Dowman First Vice President ISPRS

Kamal K Singh Chairman and CEO Rolta Group

Shailesh Nayak Secretary Ministry of Earth Sciences Government of India

Bryn Fosburgh Vice President Trimble

Jack Dangermond President, Esri

Mark Reichardt President and CEO Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc.

Vanessa Lawrence CB Director General and CEO, Ordnance Survey, UK

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

Josef Strobl Director, Centre for Geoinformatics, University of Salzburg, Austria

Matthew M O'Connell President and CEO GeoEye

Geospatial World I September 2012

If your structure moves, you’ll know it.

If you build it, it will move. Knowing when and how much a structure is moving is critical for overall dam safety and risk mitigation, and it is absolutely essential for scheduling and performing maintenance. Trimble has proven solutions for real-time monitoring of your infrastructure, no matter the size of the object. Whether your structure is moving a small amount over a long period or if an acute event occurs, you’ll know. Trimble’s monitoring solutions have the ﬂexibility to combine GNSS and optical data on a single project; provide you with structural awareness in real time; can detect the slightest movement (to the millimeter level); collect data and constantly monitor your structure remotely; and offer extensive analysis and management tools plus numerous alarming and alert options. You can’t stop objects from moving, but you can stay informed when they do. Trimble – keeping you and your structure safe. For more information, visit www.trimble.com/monitoring.

©2012, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. Trimble and the Globe & Triangle logo are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited registered in the United States and in other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. INF-002 (6/12)

www.trimble.com

EditorSpeak

Surveying: A radical shift urveying is the oldest geospatial technology and it is surveying that has undergone some of the most radical changes in terms of technology. It has gained from digital imaging, computation, GNSS and laser technologies, to name a few. Adoption of new technologies has enabled more accurate as well as faster data acquisition and in terms of applications, the range has extended beyond land administration and site survey to large scale mapping and structural photogrammetry.

While the traditional image of a surveyor is that of being very precisiondriven, technology-savvy professional who has the last word in any legal dispute relating to land and water boundaries, a new breed of surveyors is emerging. The same technological advances that have transformed surveying have also put unique capabilities in the hands of a common person, enabling them to contribute to survey information. Meanwhile, spatial systems, which include spatial data infrastructure, are gaining stakeholders beyond the traditional government regulation-oriented bureaucracy. The recently concluded Rio+20 has squarely put the citizen on the centrestage. It has been recognised that any growth story must address the needs of the economically challenged, else the growth will not be sustainable. Much depends on the direction surveying will take. While precise information shall remain the guiding principle, some concession will have to be made to Prof. Arup Dasgupta encompass the somewhat imprecise but timely inforManaging Editor arup@geospatialmedia.net mation that is emanating from technology-enabled citizens. It is heartening to see that NMOs (national mapping organisations) are actively considering the integration of such data into the mainstream survey data. All this data must get integrated in the SDI and interactive access to citizens must be enabled. The technology exists but the data policies and access controls will need to move with the technological advances in data acquisition. The challenges are tricky but I believe they can be overcome. After all, which other technology has been around since 3000 B.C. and has thrived?

Geospatial World I September 2012

SOUTH AFR ICA

GIS-based property data management The city of Cape Town unveiled Integrated Spatial Information System (ISIS), a property data management system. The system automates both spatial and financial business processes, some of which were previously done manually. Through the integration of the transaction system with GIS, all the city's transactions related to properties are also geographically displayed, making spatial analysis of transactions possible.

SE N EGAL

RS to resolve food crisis Researchers at Senegal's Centre for Ecological Monitoring (CSE) and Pakistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Inter-Islamic Network on Space Sciences and Technology

(ISNET) will collaborate on space technologies to boost food production in Senegal. Aziz Toure, DG, CSE said that in addition to government policies such as increasing food imports, space technology - particularly remote sensing - could help solve the country's food problems. Ahmad Bilal, President, ISNET, said, "Such technologies constitute a precious contribution in the field of accurate agriculture, crop control and meteorological forecasting".

Image courtesy: WWF

NEWS

Africa Forests Commission and FAO in collaboration with the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research.

NAM I B IA CAM E ROON

Advanced forest monitoring soon A new regional initiative by the United Nations (UN) will help ten central African countries in the Congo basin to set up advanced national forest monitoring systems. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will provide technical support to the countries, enabling them to use remote sensing technology to estimate current forest cover and forest cover changes as well as to estimate the amount of carbon stocks contained in the forests in the region. The project will be managed jointly by the Central

Geospatial datasets to enhance land admin The Ministry of Lands and Resettlement launched a NAD (Namibian dollar) 19 million project to gather aerial and orthophoto images of the country for a better land administration system. The project will help the country in resolving issues related to mapping, planning, land registration, resettlement and agricultural development. The project will deliver coloured digital imagery including panchromatic and infrared, with applications such as map revision, land-use planning and archaeology.

Using detailed regional climate models and GIS, researchers of the Climate Change and African Political Stability (CCAPS) programme developed an online mapping tool that analyses how climate and other forces interact to threaten the security of African communities. The map will help vulnerable populations in adapting to climate change and political instability. The CCAPS climate security vulnerability model identifies four main sources of vulnerability, including climaterelated hazard exposure, population density, household community resilience and governance and political violence.

Image courtes y: CCAPS

Mapping tool analyses climate vulnerability

Geospatial World I September 2012

First indigenous EO satellite launched The first indigenously developed satellite in Vietnam, the F-1 Satellite, manufactured by the Space Research Division of the FPT Technology University, was successfully launched into orbit from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center. F-1 satellite can take pictures of 640x480 resolution and transmit them to earth at a speed of 1,200b/s. The satellite will be used to monitor maritime transport and forest fire prevention efforts.

UAE

Geographic names division established The Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA) in Abu Dhabi recently announced the formation of a new division under the Land and Property Management Department. Known as the Addressing and Geographic Names Division, the initiative aims to have a unified street addressing system and also to standardise street names and signages in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Map to promote fitness culture The Dubai Sports Council (DSC) has launched a map of sporting venues in the emirate to promote fitness cul-

Geospatial World I September 2012

Satellite data predicts drought A satellite survey by the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) predicted drought-like situation in many Indian states. National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring System (NADAMS) provided near realtime information of drought situ-

I N DIA

DRDO receives miniature GNSS module The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) received a highly miniaturised device, G3oM, with all the available features from GPS and GNSS. The G3oM module weighs 17 grams. The module can be used in winged aircrafts, helicopters, vehicles, small boats and can assist in several survey applications. According to a DRDO statement, G3oM integrates both GPS and Indian SBAS GAGAN and GLONASS systems.

Airborne surveys to map aquifers The World Bank has funded 'Aquifer India Mapping Project' (AQUIM), which aims to map both deep and shallow aquifers in five Indian states. Mrinal K. Sen, Director, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) said that advanced technology would be used to map subsurface structures to know various aspects such as the properties of the rock

Image courtesy: ISRO

VI ETNAM

ture among residents. The Sports Destinations Map lists the venues of both indoor and outdoor sports facilities available across the emirate. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People looking for venues according to their sporting interests like golf, shooting, camel racing, etc, can now find these easily,â&#x20AC;? said, Nasser Aman Al Rahma, Director of cultures and social activities affairs, DSC. With the help of this map, DSC aims to improve the percentage of people who lead an active lifestyle.

Reduced greeness over agricultural areas is an indicator of lower vigour in 2012

ation of 13 Indian states. The report by NRSC stated, "Satellite data and ground data reveals that crop sowing activity has not commenced in many parts of the country as a result of widespread meteorological drought over large proportion of agricultural area.

layers. Beginning mid-October, the surveys would be conducted through a helicopter fitted with electro-magnetic equipment in six sites in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Polaris targets 60pc LBS market California-based Location Based Services (LBS) solution provider Polaris

Wireless aims to capture 60 percent of India's location-based solutions market. The company claims to have completed field trials with a tier-1 Indian wireless operator's 3G network to prove compliance with Department of Telecommunications. "I believe the total revenue opportunity for the LBS solutions would be USD 500 million. But that is just the estimate. We hope to capture the 60 percent of whatever is the number," said Srinivas Varadarajan, VP, Sales and Business Development, Asia, Polaris Wireless.

Chunfeng, deputy director-general of the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation said.

RS satellite Ziyuan III operational China's first high-resolution, remotesensing satellite for civilian use, Ziyuan III, is now operational. The satellite has been delivered to its primary subscriber, the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation. Unlike the Ziyuan I and II satellites, which produce only two-dimensional images,

SR I LAN KA

Hazard maps for disaster management The Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre (DMC) will release hazard maps of the entire island by December, said Srimal Samansiri, Assistant Director (R&D), DMC. UNDP is funding hazard mapping activities for coastal hazards, landslides, cyclones, droughts and floods. About 80 percent of cyclone hazard mapping has been completed.

CH I NA

AZ E R BAIJAN

Policies to support geoinfo industry

Committee on standardisation formed

China is expected to introduce policies that will give preferential treatment to the geoinformation industry, which is expected to produce CNY 1 trillion (USD 157 billion) worth of goods and services by 2020, said an industry source. The polices are aimed at making geoinformation industry - which offers a range of products and services related to surveying, mapping and navigation - one of China's strategic industries, Wang

The State Committee on Standardisation, Metrology and Patents in Azerbaijan formed a technical committee on the standardisation of the evaluation of land and geographic information and geomatics. Functions of the committee includes evaluation of land cadastre, cartography, preparation of plans for standardisation in the field of national data infrastructure space and amendments and changes in the existing standards.

Image courtesy: CASTC

the new satellite can produce threedimensional imagery. "The images' resolution is 2.1 metres, better than the previous resolution of 3 metres," said Cao Hailing, Ziyuan III's designer with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

R USSIA

First geological map of CIS unveiled

Image courtes y: OneGeolog y

The Russian Geological Research Institute (VSEGEI) unveiled the first geological map of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the neighbouring countries. The CIS geological data will be invaluable to mining and oil and gas companies, environmental agencies, researchers and governments. The data represents the results of a national programme of geological mapping of the former Soviet Union between 1964 and 1990. CIS map data has been generated from over one hundred 1:1,000,000 scale geological maps.

Geospatial World I September 2012

G E R MANY

USD 2 bn support for EO missions German Government has indicated that it will be able to contribute just as much to Europe's space programme as it did in 2008, and perhaps a bit more. Germany's de facto space minister has told the European Space Agency (ESA) that Germany is fully behind a planned USD 2 billion, 4-year investment in earth observation missions. Johann Dietrich Woerner, head of the German Aerospace Center, DLR, said that Germany intends no reduction in its ESA engagement this year.

First BIM academy launched Crossrail and Bentley Systems launched an information academy to provide hands-on training to the Crossrail supply chain on the latest

technology and software being used to design and build the new railway including Building Information Modelling (BIM). Greg Bentley, Chief Executive, Bentley Systems, said, "The UK's particularly advantageous innovation strategy is collaborative BIM. Beyond technology, what's most exciting for us about the academy's potential contribution is what we can all learn from 'working smarter together' with the Crossrail construction supply chain - collaborating to yield BIM benefits during construction, while also improving lifecycle information quality."

FI N LAN D

Alliance for indoor positioning services Twenty-two companies have formed an ‘In-Location Alliance’ to drive innovation and market adoption of high accuracy indoor positioning and related services. An Alliance spokesperson said, "The aim of the in-location alliance is to open up new business streams for indoor environments. Indoor positioning is the next frontier of mobile services, offering great opportunities to enhance consumer

experiences. For the benefit of enterprises, the Alliance will drive a world-wide indoor positioning system for use in major venues.”

B E LG I U M

GPS data available via Internet GPS data can now be obtained via the internet in addition to the existing satellite signal. European Commission (EC) Vice President Antonio Tajani launched the European Data Access Service (EDAS) - a new commercial service of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) – designed to make satellite navigation in Europe more reliable. Users can now access EGNOS information even if the EGNOS satellite signal is unavailable due to signal obstruction.

Ordnance Survey International soon Ordnance Survey (OS) will soon launch a new international service, Ordnance Survey International, to help countries around the world tap the potential of accurate geographic information (GI). It will harness the vast range of skills and expertise within OS to primarily support other national mapping agencies and countries. The new organisation will be headed by Steven Ramage, former Executive Director at the OGC.

OS Mastermap imagery layer

Geospatial World I September 2012

Jorge Mauro Barja Arteiro, Topocart

Visit iFlyUltraCam.com to see the Topocart video.

,Q UHVSRQVH WR ORJLVWLFDO FKDOOHQJHV DQG GDQJHURXV FRQGLWLRQV LQ $IULFD WKH WHDP UHTXLUHG VWDWH RI WKH DUW LPDJLQJ DQG KLJK FDSDFLW\ GLJLWDO VWRUDJH FRPELQHG ZLWK WKH SHUVRQDO DWWHQWLRQ RI D NQRZOHGJHDEOH VXSSRUW WHDP 7KDW·V ZK\ 7RSRFDUW FKRRVHV 0LFURVRIW 8OWUD&DP 8OWUD&DP·V Á H[LELOLW\ SUHFLVLRQ DQG LPDJH TXDOLW\ KDV VXSSRUWHG 0U $UWHLUR·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À FLHQFLHV )RU GHWDLOV YLVLW www.UltraCamEagle.com APAC Sales:

Singapore: Beijing: LQIR#LPDJHPDSV FRP ZZZ LPDJHPDSV FRP

0LFURVRIW &RUSRUDWLRQ $OO ULJKWV UHVHUYHG 0LFURVRIW 8OWUD&DP 8OWUD&DP;S 8OWUD0DS DQG 9H[FHO ,PDJLQJ *PE+ DUH HLWKHU UHJLVWHUHG WUDGHPDUNV RU WUDGHPDUNV RI 0LFURVRIW &RUSRUDWLRQ LQ WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV DQG RU RWKHU FRXQWULHV

GIS ´, Á \ 8OWUD&DPµ FDPSDLJQ 7RSRFDUW SDJH & EOHHG $3$& DG 7ULP 6L]H µ [ µ %OHHG 6L]H µ [ µ Y UHYLVHG $XJXVW

AUSTRALIA

Gaming tech integrated with g-tech Ergon Energy, a Queensland utility company, is experimenting with open source gaming engines and physics

age a range of factors to change outcomes. Matthew Coleman, research director, ROAMES said through this, "Utilities will be able to play out scenarios â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for example, 'what if I deferred maintenance of all poles for the next five years' â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the system should be able to show us the effect of those changes."

FIJ I

GIS for sugarcane farms The Sugar Research Institute will soon introduce GIS at all sugar cane farms for easy access of information. Sugar research technical officer Jasneel Singh said the new project has been funded by the governments of Fiji and Belgium. The Institute aims to systematise information like variety of the cane, the ratoon age and the area of the plots with the help of GIS technology.

models in an effort to capitalise on a massive geospatial data set from its ongoing laser-mapping project. Ergon hopes to create a comprehensive map that would function like the classic game SimCity, in which players built cityscapes and microman-

N EW Z EALAN D

'Ease immigration of GIS experts' Citing shortage of GIS experts, the geospatial industry association of the

country wants the government to get skills in GIS recognised by immigration authorities and include them in the long-term skill shortage list. Experienced geospatial specialists will then find it easier to enter New Zealand and gain residency. Scott Campbell, the capability specialist on the SIBA executive said, "A lot of jobs have been cut in traditionally strong GIS areas. So one of the reasons behind us trying to lower the barriers to immigration is that there's a pool of skilled resources in the UK specifically, whom we could be recruiting."

Mapping project for Northland A mapping project to distinguish between coastal and non-coastal land has been rolled out for the Northland region. Northland Regional Council is working in partnership with the three district councils and is contacting nearly 4400 affected Far North landowners to help refine the draft maps. Regional councillor Ian Walker said, "Regionally consistent maps of these areas will create more certainty in the long-run - for landowners, communities, developers and council decision-makers and prevent potentially costly battles at the consents stage."

The world's first continent-wide suite of mineral maps has been developed by CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) scientists. The mineral maps show information about rock and soil mineral components and provide a Google-like zoom, to view images from thousands of kilometres wide to just a few kilometres. The maps were generated from a ten-year archive of raw Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection (ASTER) data collected by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Japanese government's Space Systems.

Image courtes y: CSIRO

World's first continent-scale mineral maps

Geospatial World I September 2012

tinel-1A satellite is available, which is expected around mid-2014.

B USI N ESS

MDA to increase RADARSAT provision

Image courtesy: ESA

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Limited (MDA) signed a contract for CAD (Canadian dollar) 11.9 million to increase its provision of RADARSAT-2 satellite imagery to Europe's Global Monitoring for Environment and

BAE to provide technical services to NGA BAE Systems bagged an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract to provide Enterprise Support to Management and Resources for Technical Services (ESMARTS) to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).The ESMARTS programme is designed to provide access to a large quantity of qualified cleared personnel with skills in management and technical services support, which will allow NGA to more efficiently fulfill its mission of providing timely, relevant and accurate geospatial intelligence in support of national security.

DigitalGlobe reports 23 pc revenue increase Security (GMES) programme. The additional RADARSAT-2 imagery addresses the gap in data availability created by the recent loss of the European Space Agency's (ESA) ENVISAT satellite and fulfils ESA's maritime monitoring needs until the full operational capacity of the Sen-

DigitalGlobe reported a 23 percent increase in revenue during the second quarter ended on June 30. The satellite imagery company said it had USD 101.8 million in revenue in the second quarter, compared with USD 82.5 million during the second

quarter of 2011. Second quarter EBITDA was USD 47.9 million, delivering an EBITDA margin of 47 pc. This margin expansion occurred despite incurring USD 2 million of non-recurring costs in connection with the recently announced combination with GeoEye.

M ISCE LLAN EOUS

OGC forms energy and utilities group The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) formed OGC Energy and Utilities Domain Working Group (E&U DWG) to address geospatial interoperability challenges in the international energy and utility domains. "Digital technology plays an increasing role in the management of all utility networks. The group's efforts will focus not only on data sharing in traditional grid operations, but also standards to communicate in real time the status of vast numbers of highly variable supply assets that now fall within the increasingly complex generation umbrella," explained Renee Bogle Hughes, chair of the E&U DWG.

Researchers from Cornell University are testing a system that can prevent GPS spoofing. Cornell researcher Mark Psiaki and senior engineer Steve Powell tested a receiver modification that can differentiate spoofed GPS signals from real ones. Psiaki said their latest countermeasure correctly detected spoofing in three cases. "This is strong confirmation that our system can successfully detect spoofing in an autonomous mode using short segments of GPS receiver data. It is the first known detection of this type of attack from a live, on-air spoofer," he added.

Image courtes y: BBC

'Spoofed GPS signals can be counteredâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Geospatial World I September 2012

'Drones can conduct mapping quicker' Researchers at Vanderbilt University, Tennesse, have developed an SUAVe (semi-autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle) that can reduce the time to map archaeological sites. "The

were based on the assumption that mapping in Brazil is increasingly becoming complex. Nowadays, decision-making in any public or private company depends upon reliable information. It is estimated that at least 85 percent of the world has location data attributes. Thus, maps support decision-making in most nations, said Luiz.

M EXICO

Disaster risk atlas developed Researchers at the Institute of Geology (IGL) of the UNAM, Mexico, developed "Risk Atlas Township Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca," for disaster management. The

PARAG UAY

National geoportal soon SUAVe system will provide much higher resolution imagery than even the best satellite imagery can provide and it will produce a detailed 3D model," said Steven Wernke, Vanderbilt archaeologist. "When it completes capturing the images, it lands and the images are downloaded and transformed into a map," he said.

The Itaipu Technological Park (PTI), in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning (STP), Paraguay, is developing the National Geoportal Paraguay (GPN-PY). The geoportal will provide information regarding political boundaries, educational institutions, hospitals etc, throughout the country. The portal will contain digital map data and associated data of Paraguay.

B RAZ I L JAMAICA

National agency for cartography soon US Congressman Arnaldo Jardim ) proposed creation of a National Cartographic Code (NCC) and National Agency of Cartography (Ancar) for Brazil. According to Luiz Ant么nio Sanches Ugeda, president of the Institute Geodireito, the proposals

NSDI to enhance development The Government of Jamaica is working to build a national spatial data infrastructure (NSDI). "This is necessary to facilitate sectoral growth, and for us to keep up with technological advancements and of course, provide

atlas contains GIS data and will be a useful tool for Oaxaca civil agencies. "The atlas will not only help in planning prevention and evacuation designs, but it will also help in locating the vulnerable population," said Elena Centeno, director of IGL. The atlas contains information about both the natural environment and the elements that impact economic and demographic conditions.

for the geospatial data needs of the government and our people," said Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change.

COUNTRY FOCUS

Vietnam: Re-inventing itself

A rising economy in South East Asia, Vietnam is blessed with abundant natural resources and is invessting significantly towards nation building, offering immense opportunities for the geospatial industtry. Here's an insight into the geospatial ecosystem of the country

s Vietnam takes centrestage in South East Asia, it embodies the spirit of a strong and growing nation. This small country may be an enigma to most of the world, but it is a growing economy and a country that is rapidly reinventing itself. Rapid urban expansion is taking place around Hanoi as the administrative capital in the north and Ho Chi Min City (HCMC) as the economic hub in the south. Other urban centres are also growing under a relatively well coordinated effort for distributed urbanisation across the country. Complementing

this urban growth story is the flurry of economic activities in agriculture and aquaculture, with fertile rice growing lands and rich harvest from the seas. A long and beautiful coastline forms a haven for tourism as well as serves as a platform for extensive port development to support the growing industrial production of a nation on the move. Forests and rich ecosystems add depth to the rich palette of land management within this increasingly complex country. All these multi-faceted dimensions of existence and growth, combined with environmental aware-

ness and concerns for climate change, are representative of the diverse portfolio that awaits the extensive and intrinsic use of geospatial technologies.

Exploring GIS in Vietnam Back in 2006, it appeared that there was nothing much to work with. Further probing and questioning revealed that Vietnam has a fantastic data resource base - the availability of which is obscured by language limitations for an outsider and the tendency of the GIS community to hold data very close to itself as data

Geospatial World I September 2012

represents business opportunity. The topographic data, satellite imagery, updated information on administrative boundaries (that continue to change shape like amoebae), demographic and statistical information, agricultural productivity, forest cover and even climate change scenario mapping available in the country can put other countries in the region to shame.

Human resource capacity Vietnam has a cluster of very capable, experienced and eminent individuals and organisations that have contributed to the growth of the use of GIS in Vietnam. Industry stalwarts like TECOS, VidaGIS, and GeoViet, among others, have contributed much to the growth of the practice of GIS in Vietnam, with the active presence of Esri, promoting knowledge and capacity through its user forums and seminar series. More extensive development of GIS in Vietnam is supported by the academia. Frontrunners in this endeavour are academic institutions like the University of Mining and Geology and the University of Science - Vietnam National University, Water Resources University, Urban Architecture Institute within the Hanoi Civil Engineering University that are integrating GIS into their curricula.

vides the base data, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) has the directive control on facilitating the use of this technology. It is also a key user of this technology while supporting the national initiatives and modelling efforts on climate change. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is another key user of GIS with its potential to address agricultural productivity and food security and water resource management. Natural disaster risk management in the face of climate change impacts is another key use of GIS under MARD. Use of GIS for rural development and resettlement is undertaken through NIAPP (National Institute of Agriculture Planning and Design) and for forestry management through FIPI

(Forest Inventory and Planning Institute). With growing urbanisation, the Ministry of Construction is emerging as a significant potential user of geospatial technologies. Under the guidance of the Ministry, VIAP (Vietnam Institute of Architecture and Planning) and UDA (Urban Development Agency) are working towards developing more responsive urban development strategies.

GIS and NGOs An increasing awareness of GIS and the benefits of data visualisation have brought GIS into the domain of local and international NGOs. These organisations are applying GIS for better field based information capture, participatory mapping, information analysis, visualisation of areas of operation and impact, better monitoring and evaluation and in many instances, for better coordination amongst the NGOs themselves.

Sourcing GIS Data

Government organisations As the governmental arm that pro-

Vietnam has a cluster of very capable, experienced and eminent individuals and ave organisations who ha contributed to the growth of the use of GIS in the country

A GIS trainee hard at work

A key source of data in Vietnam is MoNRE for its topographic maps. A range of very good cartographic

While the topographic maps form the general basis for GIS mapping activities, satellite imagery is also increasingly available for professionals

products such as thematic atlases, provincial maps and special maps such as those for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) are also available. However it would be useful for the new entrant into the field of GIS in Vietnam to understand that availability is a rather subjective term here. While maps can be officially procured from MoNRE, a flourishing grey market operates that specialises in making such maps available more expediently, often with value addition such as regional or local updates. For a suitable "data creation cost", a variety of maps, even restricted area maps of some of the border areas, northern provinces and maps at higher levels of detail, can almost magically appear. And while this may not be official, it isn't necessarily a bad thing as most of the GIS professionals clamour for more openness in data availability and more readily available data. While the topographic maps form the general basis for GIS mapping activities, satellite imagery is also increasingly available for professionals. The SPOT satellite data is most readily available in Vietnam through a dedicated ground receiving station. Private sector suppliers like Singapore-based DES provide access to a variety of imagery products, not only for Vietnam but for the region. More cost effective and a wide array of

imagery is also available from the progressive Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) range of products.

Potential verticals Vietnam, as a nation, holds tremendous potential for the geospatial industry. Some of the key areas are outlined below. Beyond this, we are bound only by our imagination, resource constraints and deeper understanding of application of geospatial technologies. Environment management Climate change is one of the biggest issues facing Vietnam. MoNRE, through the Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment (IMHEM), has been at the forefront of working on multiple scenarios addressing sea level rise and coastal storm surge. Along the same lines, pioneering work in the REDD+ programme appears to be an interesting use of the geospatial technology. Given the large number of coastal cities, the role of GIS in planning and managing the impacts of climate change

is becoming increasingly essential Agriculture For an economy that is still largely agricultural, Vietnam is investing heavily in enhancing agricultural productivity and food security. The quality and quantity of the main crop rice has significant implications on the regional export pricing and on the well-being of its own population. The ability to pre-anticipate the market value of the produce drives economic decisions and influences strategies for food procurement and management. In this aspect, as well as in other agricultural output, the role of GIS applications is quite vast. Improved models for crop yield prediction, studies of climate change impacts, better data, and better data analysis are areas with tremendous opportunities in the times ahead. Urban planning Growing urban centres are driving demand for transportation infrastructure, electricity and energy management, industrial growth and

KEY SECTORS USING GIS IN VIETNAM •

Utility asset management: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Society for International Cooperation) is supporting provincial city waste water management companies to use GIS for creating an asset management system within an asset documentation unit.

•

Biodiversity mapping: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is working in the North Vietnam for mapping land use and cover to understand the viability of UNESCO world heritage site at Babe, Nahang in Backan and Tuyen quang.

•

Disaster risk management: Red Cross is using GIS for mapping and evaluating mangrove planted for countering storm surges.

•

Climate chang ge: UN-REDD along with Stichting Nederlandse Vrijwilligers (Netherlands Development Organization), WWF and International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) are using geospatial products created by FIPI in better understanding scope of REDD in Vietnam

•

Public health: Family Health International (FHI360's) pioneering working with mapping nutrition status in Vietnam is gathering world's attention.

Geospatial World I September 2012

Cadastral mapping and surveys are a key GIS activity transforming land ownership records

overall economic expansion. GIS holds the potential to support, enhance and stimulate decision making activities in these inter-related and massive sectoral domains. The interest and use of GIS in urban planning is growing incrementally among organisations such as the Vietnam Institute of Architecture, Urban and Rural Planning (VIAP) and the Urban Development Agency (UDA), under the Ministry of Construction. Beyond the national level where macro-level analytical GIS holds much potential, the technology is poised to make inroads into the provincial and urban centres under the respective government departments.

Constraints Success stories and examples of application of GIS in various sectors are encouraging; however the very fertile field of opportunities for GIS is constrained in part due to the absence of a wider range of players who can bring in their experience and lessons learned from failures.

Infrastructure management is a rapidly growing area for the use of GIS

A significant focus of the geospatial industry remains the business of data creation and sale of valueadded data products. Adding to the constraints are the limited experience and technical expertise on the part of the clients requiring such services. For the most part, there may be limited or incomplete understanding of the benefits of the technology, as well as the lack of relevant experience in the use of GIS to adequately frame projects, programmes and procurements. The problem of successful delivery is further dependent on the presence of technically competent and mature GIS professionals who can manage the expectations of the client and the output of the technical consultants to achieve incrementally good standards of delivery. There is perhaps an opportunity for growth and participation of more national and international players, shifting away from the production business of data to the intellectual space that brings domain expertise to marketplace in Vietnam.

Conclusion With a diverse landscape, varied ecosystems, rich reserves of mineral and natural resources and valuable potential in the coal, petroleum, and hydropower sectors, Vietnam holds tremendous opportunities for the use of geospatial technologies. This technological expertise is also poised for growth with major universities introducing curricula in modern geospatial techniques. While there is great potential and more adventureloving geospatial enthusiasts are welcome, they should not ignore the expertise already present; rather acquaint themselves with that and work collaboratively to expand the opportunity to create higher value geospatial solutions in this fascinating country. Kapil Chaudhery Director, Spatial Decisions,

kapil@spatialdecisions.com Manoj Pant Resident Representative, Spatial Decisions, Vietnam manoj.p@spatialdecisions.vn

INTERVIEW

“Geospatial Platform will facilitate use of geoinformation ” Can you give us a national perspective with regards S to the geospatial information strategy of the US government? Which institutions are involved in fulfilling that strategy?

We have a strong history of coordination among various departments of the US government that use and create geospatial information. The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), which promotes the coordinated development, use, sharing and dissemination of geospatial data, comprises of a number of agencies that work together through a formal governance structure to advance the state of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) in the country. Over the twenty years of its existence, the organisation has accomplished a lot in terms of having metadata standards and providing a lot of our data to the public. Apart from being a big player in open standards community, we have been working with our private sector and NGO partners to advance the state of standards and interoperability in the geospatial domain. Over the last couple of years, we have made a big shift in our strategy, towards applying more focus on formulating, building and managing an operational IT programme.

What are the objectives of the Geospatial Platform and its modus operandi to achieve those objectivves?

JERRY JOHNSTON Geospatial Information Officer Department of Interior, United States

The initiative, known as the Geospatial Platform in the United States, was called for a couple of years ago by the White House. We have been working hard across agencies since that time to better define the structure of this platform. It should be noted that the platform is not intended to be just a website and that www.geoplatform.gov is just one part of the overall initiative. Some of the Platform's major objectives are: • The Platform is about facilitating the use of geospatial information. While we have a long history of making our

Geospatial World I September 2012

data available through catalogues, it has been more for discovery of data and not necessarily giving people data that is instantly usable. â&#x20AC;˘ The second objective is to drive greater IT efficiency across the government through the use of shared hosting, shared computer infrastructure and shared application development. â&#x20AC;˘ The third objective is to facilitate greater collaboration around geospatial information. We look at the Platform as a way to build communities where people share their information in focused domains.

Geospatial Platform is more focused on the operational level of service delivery rather than policcy. Do you perceive this as a step of maturity by the government? While I do not want to downplay the importance of having policies and standards in place, it is a step forward towards building the operational IT infrastructure necessary to realise the ideas that are in those policies. The NSDI concepts in the US have focused around the idea that when you put standards out in the community and put policies in place regarding the use of those standards, the result will be completeness in terms of all the data that people need.

What are the services and applications enabled through the Platform? What applications are on your priority at the moment? US government has always promoted the use of geospatial information through initiatives like Geospatial

One-Stop and data.gov. The intent uses its own designing, style and has been to make metadata availtechnology. Constraining the numable for everything. The result of ber of different Web map designs that is millions of metadata records and viewer applications that are from which the user needs to find used for public communication what they require. In the Geospatial across government websites is a Platform initiative, this parallels our huge opportunity, not just in terms work with of cost savings implementing but in terms of An excellent example of the supplemental communicating impetus for Geospatial guidance to an better with the Platform initiative is the oil existing Office of public. spill in the Gullf of Mexico when Management need was felt at the practitioner and Budget You talked level for a single place where about the (OMB) directive the citizens could d be directed objective of in the United in such a situation greater collabStates, which is oration. Do the White House you have any kind of a policy organisation that gives the agencies frameworrk to make it mandatory their resources. OMB had promulfor the agencies to collaborate or gated guidance to an existing policy is it voluntary? directive regarding creation of the While there are established requireNSDI. As part of that, they tasked ments in place for agencies to colthe US government agencies with laborate in some business lines of defining the core themes and the the government, in most cases it is nationally significant data assets based on the drivers of working that fall under each of those together. Citizens do not care about themes. So, instead of looking at which part of the government is this universe of datasets, we want responsible for which function, all the Geospatial Platform to focus on they want is to get information from the few hundred 'critical' datasets. a single place. An excellent example As per the focus of the platform, we of the impetus for Geospatial Platare filling out the datasets in the form initiative is the inter-agency new themes. Leveraging their work, response during the oil spill in the I foresee a number of applications Gulf of Mexico. Various agencies like that will be focussed on doing better the Environmental Protection business and making better public Agency, National Oceanic and policy within those themes. We have Atmospheric Administration and many different Web maps across US Coast Guard started publishing data government Web domains and each

Do you believe that the Geospatial Platform would be able to help the government undertake nctions and use geospatial its fun technology in the most cost effective and optimum way? While we have done a lot of geospatial work across the US government for the last twenty years, most of it is not very well understood by our political and executive leadership. The Platform presents an opportunity to correct that situation. We are working to create a dashboard on top of the Platform, which repreNOAA CCAP Wetland cover change 1996-2006, shown on geoplatform.gov sents a way for our senior most leadership to not only see Web on their own websites. Many of us at maps but also ask for new Web government will play an active role the practitioner level and ultimately maps. As government, we have in certifying that data. the White House felt the need for focused more on tools for practihaving a single place where the cititioners and professionals. The Do you foresee a challenge as far as funding is concerned to carry zens should be directed in such a defence and intelligence community out several initiatives? situation. While collaboration is not has done some great work at bridgClearly, the budgets in the US govnecessarily a written policy directive, ing the gap between practitioners ernment are declining. However, we it is a general consensus in governand executive leadership. have been lucky to have an inter ment to work together more effecWe have written a document agency funding mechanism for tively to break down organisational called the Geospatial Platform Value shared geospatial work in the US boundaries. Proposition, which talks about how government for the Platform can several years. be used to drive Is quality control a major challenge when creating something The OMB has better public policy. We have written a document like the Geospatial Platform? How directed the To make this initiacalled the Geospatial do you deal with quality issues? agencies to contive successful will Platform Value Proposition, I talked about the increasing focus tribute some require developing which talks about how the on nationally significant datasets, resources to a examples that othPlatform can be used to which is a lot different from the past shared central er people can refer drive better public policy where metadata was the tool pool and we are to. through which the user of geospaleveraging that tial data became aware of quality funding stream to build the PlatAre you working towards facilitating 'geospatial apps' through this issues. The focus of the Geospatial form. There are other ways to es Platform for use on smartphone Platform will be on the nationally arrange funding such as public priand tablets so that the significant datasets. Once some vate partnership. Our commercial utility/application and acceptabildata is defined as nationally signifipartners can engage using a model ity of geospatial data is increased cant, the onus will be on its producwhere they provide data to users at anifold? ma er to document the data quality and no cost, with no license and no I recognise that my personal use of the data lifecycle in their entirety. restrictions, which also gives them desktop computing has gone signifiSo, although the data could be from an opportunity to sell value added cantly down and more than half of different sources, but the federal products.

Geospatial World I September 2012

challenges such as: â&#x20AC;˘ To create a shared infrastructure that the agencies can use to put their data. â&#x20AC;˘ To improve the distribution channels, with the goal of creating access to anything that we determine as nationally significant and which needs to be available as highly performing, interoperable web services. â&#x20AC;˘ Another challenge is of perception. When you talk about having shared infrastructure in any government, the general perception is that it is a mandate. However, in this case, it is an option that will help serve citizens and drive down costs by making available shared infrastructure. US Soil survey as seen on geoplatform.gov

my work on the Web is through mobile devices. Thus, it becomes crucial for us to make sure that the maps and application templates that we are making available are mobile enabled and are viewable on both standard Web clients and mobile clients.

Do you think there is a role for public-private partnership, not just for data input but also to mmercialise the value proposicom tion of the Geospatial Platform? Absolutely. Some of the best examples of success in the federal IT domain have happened when the government has made an investment in something and the private sector has leveraged that by building markets on top of that. GPS is the biggest example where the private sector investment led to a huge change. The availability of more data will lead to innovative applications being developed on top of that by the private sector, which is a primary goal of what we are trying to accomplish.

Is there any initiative that you

have already taken to engage the industry and show the way to make use of this platform for commercialisation? While there is nothing specific to that in the platform yet, there has been some work done in data.gov with regards to contests. A major area of the focus of US government last year was to spur innovation by offering some kind of prize, be it recognition or in the form of funding for novel uses of government data. We have learnt a lot through those initiatives and would like to extend that to the Platform.

Creating something like the Geospatial Platform, which involves several stakeholders, en very challengwould have bee ing. What kind of challenges did you face? We have been lucky from a policy perspective in the US. For a long time, we have had the policy that if the US government creates geospatial data then it shall make it available. What we intend to improve with the platform is the access path. The initiative has had to face several

Do you think that data initiatives by the private sector like Google Earth, which make it available to the people almost free of cost, is creating a spatial culture? What Google and others have done in the consumer IT space has created a new culture where people interact with geographic information every day. Nowadays, people do not ask for directions, but use their phones for navigation. Government has a long way to go in terms of creating a similar user experience. Building API is leveraging some of the work that has been going on in the commercial space and helps us better serve citizens and meet the expectations of this kind of placebased culture. Over time, we have seen a real shift from the Federal Government in the US being the predominant producer of geospatial information towards the local governments being the primary producers. The role of the private sector is growing markedly and it is looking at the federal government as one of many partners in this area. Our role needs to change as time goes on to embrace this shift and understand how we can work together.

Geospatial World I September 2012

ADVERTORIAL

ENABLING NATIONAL Mapping With DigitalGlobe's Advanced Elevation Series

oday, even the most developed countries with a sophisticated understanding of geospatial content and national programs to support cartography are finding gaps in national mapping programs.

These needs can be even greater within the developing world, where rapid growth, modernizing infrastructure, and a growing population create more demands for accurate base mapping. Elevation data, in the form of both digital surface models (DSMs) and digital terrain models (DTMs), is a foundational layer that supports national mapping initiatives and

Geospatial World I September 2012

can be used in a variety of ways. >> DSMs are an accurate representation of the earth that retains buildings, trees and vegetation, and other cultural features. >> DTMs are bare-earth models that exclude all building and vegetation features. Each are valuable forms of content when mapping large areas. They become vital components when used to extract planimetric data, used for effective routing of rail and road transportation corridors, assessing and managing geologic resources, planning for homeland security initiatives, and more.

In the United States, a multi-jurisdiction partnership of federal, state, and local governments called NDEP (National Digital Elevation Program) was recently established to address the overwhelming need to update their national elevation model. Similarly, other countries including Germany, the United Kingdom, and Singapore are creating and publishing national-level topographic products. And multinational organizations such as the United Nations have groups dedicated to wide-area mapping programs that are developing national contour layers, digital shore lines, and other national-level geospatial products.

Figure 1: Digital Surface Model (DSM)

Elevation information becomes extremely important when considering impacts to property, population safety, and economies. For example, damage from hurricane Katrina in the U.S. cost in excess of $80 billion and resulted in the loss of over 1,800 lives. Thailand, the number two exporter of hard drives and a major manufacturer of automobile parts, saw flooding disrupt the global supply for com-

Figure 2: Digital Terrain Model (DTM)

puter manufactures and auto makers. And in 2010, the Mississippi River crested its banks, resulting in $1 billion in clean-up costs in Nashville, Tennessee alone. When conducting planning for emergency management and mitigation, the value of on-hand elevation data is clear.

Elevation models and national mapping initiatives are key to directly supporting these efforts and yield benefits in the form of safe populations The results of a study performed and prosperous to support the NDEP program nations. These show that investments in factors national mapp ping and elevation drove the initiatives return up to 5:1 in development cost savings when using and release of conservative benefit estiimates. DigitalGlobe's In the U.S., this equated to Advanced Elevapotential benefits exceeding tion Series (AES) in $1 billion annually with 2011. AES provides significcant value in flood risk users access to DSMs management, infrastructure, and DTMs at multiple resgeologic resource management, olutions and accuracies to and hazard mitigattion. address requirements at project or national levels.

Mapping level products are captured and processed for large areas and urban zones, while high priority or high risk zones can be targeted with Precision or Very High Precision level products in order to affordably gain insight. Data is delivered in industry-standard formats for easy integration with off-the-shelf commercial software packages and include rich metadata to describe collection and processing details.

Figure 3: Tarapacรก Region, Chile

Geospatial World I September 2012

Figure 4: Oberstdorf, Germany - WorldView-2 ortho image draped over 2 m DTM

Planning, collecting, and processing of the source data required for national mapping and large regions is not a trivial undertaking. National mapping initiatives require broad-area coverage in most circumstances. Capturing this data with aircraft can present challenges in temporal consistency and requires mobilizing a large and expensive fleet either through contracting or purchase. There are ongoing expenses associated with keeping flight crews ready and available, even when weather conditions ground the planes. Aircraft must undergo routine maintenance during these large missions, and flight plans and permitting can be cumbersome and time-consuming. Processing these raw materials

Geospatial World I September 2012

into meaningful data and delivering it in a timely manner present even greater challenges. Many organizations are unable to make the significant investments in hardware, software, and staffing expertise that is required to process stereo imagery into elevation data. While there are vast numbers of GIS users in the ranks of Figure 5: Thai flooding domain experts - hydrologists, geologists, transportation engineers, and other scientists and analysts that are eager to integrate a con-

sistent source of elevation and national mapping data into their daily workflow, they don't have the time or knowledge to profi-

ciently process the data. Delivering AES in a GIS ready format accelerates how quickly experts can utilize the data.

Resolution (post spacing)

Abs Vert LE90

Rel Hor CE90

Abs Hor CE90

10 m

Rel Vert LE90

Values are scaled by 1.5x when slope >30%

large expanses of elevation and orthorectified imagery. It is expected that large area elevation data will be an engine of innovation. Use of high-quality mapping content will encourage new activities and markets such as mapping solar potential, defining better drilling programs for mining and energy exploration, and the adoption of Visual Quality Objectives - leading to safer and more livable communities everywhere. Many challenges remain in finding solutions that can scale to large-area and national mapping initiatives. Users will find DigitalGlobeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Advanced Elevation Series an indispensable source of information to meet these challenges.

Figure 6: Viewshed analysis using SRTM

Figure 7: Viewshed analysis using DigitalGlobe AES DSM

Today's satellite imagery is uniquely suitable to meet these challenges. DigitalGlobe's constellation collects over 2.4 million square kilometers on a daily basis. The global reach of the constellation has enabled DigitalGlobe to deliver Advanced Elevation Series products on every continent, including Antarctica. Because

WorldView-1 and WorldView-2 satellites are able to slew 200 km in 10 seconds, they are a preferred platform for capturing stereo data - the raw materials needed for development of AES elevation products. And with expertise in planning and collecting imagery, DigitalGlobe has a team of processing experts to quickly deliver

Stuart Schwartz is a product manager with DigitalGlobe and has recently focused on development and release of Advanced Elevation Series. These products are the foundation for providing customers with new sources to measure the earth and new ways to visualize geospatial data, and are now being applied to national mapping initiatives. Prior to joining DigitalGlobe, Mr. Schwartz spent over 10 years in roles directing and implementing enterprise geospatial systems and solutions in both public sector and private organizations. He is a graduate of Colorado State University.

Geospatial World I September 2012

COVER STORY : SURVEYING MARKET

MEASURING UP

to the promise

Throughout much of recorded history, surveying techniques have been used to determine the exact physical dimensions of a piece of land, create high accuracy maps, establish land ownership and political boundaries and to erect buildings. Surveying techniques continue to perform most of these tasks today and much more. This article examines the prospects for the surveying market in detail.

GROWTH AREAS Surveying is required whenever an object's position and condition are part of an information set used to plan, create or maintain a socioeconomic asset, observes Chris Gibson, Vice President, Trimble. The need for surveying begins with simple property lines and land ownership.

Geospatial World I September 2012

Supported by viable cadastres, land titling is a primary foundation of financial value. With titling in place, the fundamental economic components of agriculture, business development and public infrastructure can support growth in population and economic stability. Because these fundamentals are based (and built) on real

Key drivers for surveying business >>> Infrastructure and cadastre

Utilities

Oil and gas

Construction in emerging markets is expected Improved drinking water facilities are required to become a USD 6.7 trillion business by 2020 for over 780 million people worldwide

property, the surveyor's expertise in measurement and documentation places him or her at the core of a society's economy. Surveying therefore continues to be a key pillar of modern economy and society. While land surveying has traditionally been the mainstay of surveying, the application domains for the survey-

Major application sectors addressed by leading surveying solutions companies in addition to land su urveying (An indicative list)

Global investmentsof USD 20 trillion are required over the next 20-25 years in oil and gas supply infrastructure

Mining

The global metals and mining forecast to reach USD 5,579. from USD 2,319.3 billion in 2

ing component are increasing. The evolving business dynamics of survey solution providers indicate that while a decade or more ago, their key customers had been surveyors and construction contractors, the customer base has widened significantly to include cities and government agencies, cadastral agencies, utilities, oil & gas companies, railways and mining companies. The growth registered by the surveying businesses of leading geospatial companies over the last few years is an indicator of the growing demand for surveying from not just the traditional land surveying but also the emerging applications, especially considered in the light of the growth in these application verticals. The projected growth in these verticals is further poised to propel surveying demand. Infrastructure and cadastre: The relevance and need for surveying is on-going: wherever something is built, one needs a base to work on (i.e. a plan) and to position, align, and level correctly what has been designed on site, says Agnes Zeiner, Director Corporate Messaging, Leica Geosystems AG, adding that surveying will continue to grow as the world's population and demands for infrastructure continue to grow. To help sustain economic growth, many Asian countries need to upgrade their basic infrastructure, road networks, port facilities, housing and city planning. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia will require USD 8.2 trillion on infrastructure investment in 2010-2020, meaning an annual average demand of USD 820 billion. At the other end of the spectrum, Ernst & Young recently concluded that the U.S. needs to invest USD 2 trillion to

Geospatial World I September 2012

and mining industry is USD 5,579.3 billion by 2015 3 billion in 2010

Global demand for passenger and freight rail-related services is projected to grow to USD 214 billion by 2016

70 percent of the earth's surface is water and much of it is unmapped

re-build bridges, water lines, sewage systems, and dams - in addition to roads - that are reaching the end of their life cycles. These are the indicators of the kind of investments in infrastructure in both the developing and developed parts of the world. The key activity in infrastructure development is construction. Reports observe that the global construction industry is expected to grow over the next decade-especially in the rapidly emerging economies of Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. Construction in emerging markets is expected to double within a decade and will become a USD 6.7 trillion business by 2020, accounting for some 55 percent of global construction output, observed the "Global Construction 2020" report published by Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics. Secure rights to own and use property are the cornerstone of wealth in developed nations. Research has shown that developing nations can obtain positive results by implementing land information and titling systems. A large number of emerging economies across the globe are embarking on the process of developing/enhancing their cadastral system, opening doors for extensive surveying requirements. Utilities: In utilities, rapidly changing regulations are driving the need to accurately survey existing rights-of-way and structures, many of which are below the ground and difficult to locate, Chris observes. Increased building in existing utility corridors is creating demand for more accurate as-built data on all projects. Geospatial data is

Geospatial World I September 2012

Urban mapping Image courtesy: Briti i sh Antarctic Survey British

Seabed mapping Image courtesy: Severn Partnership

Railways

Image courtesy: Visualphotos.com

Mining

More than 50 percent of population lives in urban areas today

essential in all phases of the utility lifecycle, including feasibility mapping and design, construction, operations and maintenance. As efficient utilities are at the core of social development and modern economy, emerging economies are pushing toward a developed-world standard of living, even as the developed world looks at upgrading its aging utility infrastructure. There is a need to provide access to improved sources of drinking water for over 780 million people and improved sanitation to 2.5 billion people across the world, according to UNICEF. With water supply and sanitation being key components of Millenium Development Goals, much activities can be anticipated in this segment. Oil & gas: In the oil & gas sector where much surveying is involved especially in the exploration stage, there are planned investments of USD 600 billion in 2012. Global investments in oil and gas supply infrastructure of USD 20 trillion are required over the next 20-25 years, observes leading offshore surveying player Fugro in its 2011 Annual Report. Mining: Worldwide needs for mined resources combined with many nations' desire for resource independence are driving an increase in mining activity. The global metals and mining industry was valued at USD 2,319.3 billion in 2010 and is forecast to reach USD 5,579.3 billion by 2015, according to Datamonitor. The mining market is readily adopting solutions that increase efficiency and safety while reducing operating costs, says Chris. PricewaterhouseCoopers observes that over the past 20 years,

growth in places as diverse as China, India, South East Asia, Africa and Latin America has far outpaced growth in the West. According to PwC, these economies are growing and they need cities and infrastructure to be built to cater for their growing needs. Railways: Increasing fuel prices are driving the need for cost-effective ways to move goods. Thanks to railways' inherent fuel efficiency, it enjoys financial advantage over other ways of surface transportation. Geospatial and surveying technology can address every aspect of the railway life cycle, including route selection, design and construction, maintenance and safety, observes Chris. The significance of this mode of transportation can be gauged by the investments in the sector. The report Global Competitiveness in the Rail & Transit Industry, by Michael Renner and Gary Gardner notes that global demand for passenger and freight rail equipment, infrastructure, and related services in 2007 was USD 169 billion and is projected to grow to USD 214 billion by 2016. Urban light rail systems and subways are expanding in many regions, and there is growing investment in intercity high-speed rail lines. Urban mapping: According to United Nations statistics, more population of the world lives in urban areas today than in rural areas (urban population having overtaken rural population in 2010 for the first time in history). Much urban mapping is therefore required for effective urban development.

These innovations complement traditional surveying perfectly to enable faster and more accurate results, cost and labour efficiency and very importantly, widen the scope of surveying. Take the example of laser scanning. While a traditional survey would probably net about 20,000 points, laser scanning gives close to a billion in any particular survey. Revisiting a site is common in traditional surveying. Revisiting can be costly, not only in monetary value but also in lost project time. Laser scanning can help get it right the first time, as found in an industrial surveying project in Seattle, US (refer to the detailed case study on Page 46). The benefits can also include significant cost savings in areas like mining. In a quarry test conducted by Spatial Resources, there was a six percent difference between the volumes calculated by standard methods versus laser scanning, with laser scanning reporting the lesser amount. Conventional practices overestimated the total stockpile volume by almost 500,000 cubic feet, equating to 26,000 tons of product. The overestimate of material by conventional practices corresponded to a value of USD 1.5 million. High definition surveying using laser scanning allows surveyors to target markets that were not accessible with conventional methods before. With the growing importance of 3D data, high definition surveying is also a quick route to 3D deliverables. LiDAR technology in surveying can help reduce con-

Seabed mapping: With 70 percent of the earth's surface being water and much of it unmapped, seabed mapping offers significant opportunities in hydrographic surveying. In an instance of investments in this area, the European Commission has recently proposed to create a digital seabed map of European waters by 2020, observing that the European economy can benefit from a more structured approach to marine knowledge. Given the vast water surface of the earth, prospects in this area are tremendous considering that mankind is looking at the oceans as its next resource destination.

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS Surveying technologies have undergone a sea change in the last half a century. (Refer to Bryn Fosburgh's detailed article on Page 36 on technological innovations.)

Benefits of various complementing technologies

Geospatial World I September 2012

struction change orders in earthcharged by field surveying compawork quantities by providing a nies were approximately 50 per more accurate existing cent lower for large projects ground model. Conventionand 20 per cent lower for al aerial mapping is still smaller (2-3 day) projects the most cost-effective when precision GNSS way to collect mapping technology is used. features, but LiDAR can As the acceptance of provide potential cost value proposition of the savings by providing technological advanceadditional information ments grows, more and content that may reduce more avenues would open field visits, observes the up for surveying. Missouri Department of WAY FORWARD Transportation, US. Whenever work starts on a location Fast making inroad into the Cost benefits of various and accuracy is top priority, there will surveying arena is the use of complementing technologies always be a practicing land surveyor who unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). UAVs offer carries the legal credentials, maintains the expertise and dramatic improvements in cost and flexibility to gather experience and will assure the public that the boundaries aerial images. In addition to productivity gains, advanced and infrastructure assets are measured and placed where airborne systems are opening new geographic areas to they are supposed to be. Anyone can buy a high precision accurate mapping and modeling, says Chris. The small, GPS device but it has not been proven to the public they lightweight systems enable operators to use smaller airfully understand the local boundary laws nor have the craft and fly farther than previously possible. experience to measure with such devices competently. A Another innovation is SmartStation, a surveying surveyor's license guarantees this, remarks Donny Sosa, system that combines total station and GPS in one Surveying Industry Specialist, Esri, underlining the imporinstrument, reducing the time required for setup and tance of surveying in a world where crowdsourced geoorientation by up to 80% and thereby increasing the graphic information is a fast becoming a phenomenon. users' productivity. Swiss survey company Swissphoto With surveying addressing some of the most used the SmartStation in surveying for cadastre project in immediate concerns of the modern economy and society Kyrgyzstan and found that owning a SmartStation is like - infrastructure, urbanisation, real estate, transportation, having two instruments but without having to pay anywhere near the cost of two instruments. For the company, to name a few, it is one of the most forward looking segments of the geospatial industry. While opportunities it meant that the payback period was much shorter than abound, the segment is also partially impacted by the they anticipated. clouds of the economic recession, with a sentiment of GNSS, an increasingly integral technology in surveycaution in investments that can impact projects with ing, offers a number of cost benefits. In its analysis of significant surveying component. Despite the caution, benefits of precision GNSS in land surveying, Allen Conthere are significant growth prospects as enumerated sulting Group highlights cost savings both in terms of above. "While worldwide economic challenges continue, time and labour. It estimated that time savings of up to 75 the surveying (along with engineering) segment is percent for large projects and 60 percent for small projects are possible. On the labour side, it estimated that the showing steady, albeit not spectacular, growth. Localised economic growth and investments in infrastructure are use of precision GNSS can reduce the number of surveyplaying key roles," signs off Chris. ors required for a project - from 50 to about 10 for large projects. In site survey tasks in construction projects, Deepali Roy, Sr. Assistant Editor, deepali@geospatialmedia.net consultations undertaken by the Group found that fees

Geospatial World I September 2012

SURVEYING TECHNOLOGY

Image courtesy: Balfour Beatty Rail

Blending measurement and management

New technologies and changing demands are driving a paradigm shift in modern surveying. Rapid techno o logical development extends beyond measurement to include computing, communications and geospatial d ata mapping. For millennia, surveyors have fulfilled the need to mark property boundaries, conduct reconnaissance and make maps for planning. As economies and populations grew, surveyors kept up with the increased demands for

broader knowledge and higher accuracy. Today, we are witnessing technical advances that affect surveyors in unanticipated ways. The rapid technological advances extend beyond measurement to include computing, communications and geospatial data mapping. These changes have made geographic information more accessible. As a result, society has placed increased importance on accurate, timely and user-friendly geospatial information. To meet the demands, the role of a surveyor is changing rapidly. Far beyond the time-honoured practices of property and construction measurement, surveying has grown to include managing, interpreting, analysing and portraying spatial information. The surveyor must guide geospatial data consumers working in a variety of related disciplines. Through it all, the surveyor must maintain a high level of data integrity.

Geospatial World I September 2012

Image courtesy: Balfour Beatty Rail

FROM SUNDIALS TO QUANTUM MECHANICS Beginning with the gnomon (a simple stick in the ground), wood and string, surveying instruments evolved to include metal parts for compasses, chains and rods. Telescopes, which required clear glass, came into surveying in the 18th century. Instruments made of these basic materials were used in the great early surveys of the modern era and remained the dominant instrument technologies through the 19th and 20th centuries. Surveying technology witnessed a rapid change in the 1950s, beginning with electronic distance measurement (EDM) based on light and microwaves. By the end of the 20th century, GPS (global positioning system) and GNSS (global navigation satellite system) emerged to play major roles in surveying measurement. Today, GNSS and EDM (with its high-speed offspring LiDAR and laser scanning) are standard equipment for survey positioning. Recent new technologies including digital levels, airborne scanning, digital photogrammetry and remote sensing have also added to the mix. In spite of the revolutionary advances in measurement and positioning, the most important change has been a surveyor's ability to capture, manage and utilise spatial information. Field computers have become small, rugged and powerful and can be connected to the office by wireless communications. Tools for management, analysis and visualisation have become faster, more flexible and easier to use. These improvements in hardware and software have combined to deliver significant benefits for surveyors and their clients. Advances in computing technologies have enabled the collection of more complete data, speedier field campaigns and nearly instantaneous data analysis. Software is continuously evolving to furnish more solutions to niche applications. With a focus on acquiring and managing position data, the systems are supplemented by an array of technologies. For example, surveying systems can be coupled with mobile phone and Internet access, cloud computing and Web-based geo-data-

Geospatial World I September 2012

bases. The new data include control data and information, visible, infrared and multi-spectrum imaging, obliquely sensed aerial data, cadastral information and regional mapping products. The growth of technology has been the catalyst that enabled a surveyor to evolve as well, changing from measurer/interpreter to geo-data manager. In this expanded role, a surveyor can select, gather and combine information and techniques to meet the needs of the entire project while retaining the ability to drill into tiny details. Let's look at some examples.

MODERNISING CADASTRES AND CONSTRUCTION In the West African country of Burkina Faso, lack of adequate land titling and record systems is a serious problem. With funding from international agencies, Burkina Faso is setting up the geodetic and computing capability needed to develop and support its cadastral information. The country has installed nine permanent GNSS stations to provide the framework for positioning and geospatial data. In neighbouring Benin, field crews use a similar GNSS system to capture cadastral information. In rural areas, handheld GPS receivers measure property and ownership boundaries to an accuracy of 20-30 cm (0.6 to 1.0 ft). For property in higher-value urban areas, survey-grade GNSS receivers collect data to centimeter precision. After checking and analysing by national authorities, the results are loaded into land information systems running under Esri ArcGIS. In contrast, the cadastral system in Germany is mature and richly populated. Surveyors working at centimetre level collect positions and attributes according to tightly written specifications. Germany's nationwide network of active GNSS stations provides the framework for precise, realtime measurement. The information is processed and delivered to cadastral databases using formats specified by local and regional authorities. To meet these requirements, field software directs surveyors through the workflows needed Integrated surveying combines robotic total station with RTK GNSS. Results are immediately available in the appropriate coordinate system.

to ensure that the necessary information is collected with precision in the field. On the construction site, a surveyor's traditional role consisted of layout and checking for the heavy equipment operators. But with the advent of machine control, a surveyor's function has radically changed. Today, a surveyor's value lies in supporting construction through planning processes used by construction organisations. In his or her role as geo-data manager, the construction site surveyor creates or verifies the digital terrain and design models used by the heavy machines. Additional activities include work to ensure that machines accurately create the desired design, managing onsite communications, monitoring individual machine performance, and providing input into the project's building information model (BIM).

streamline the data collection workflow and provide geo-tagged images of job sites and features. When combined with 3D point clouds, the images help produce photorealistic 3D models. As the project moves to the engineering phase, GNSS, robotic total stations and 3D scanning are used to collect detailed information on existing conditions. In many locations, a construction project will install an active GNSS network to provide a consistent project reference frame for real-time positioning at the centimetre level. These technologies stay on the site through the construction and inspection process and the GNSS network provides benefits to the surrounding community long after A GNSS reference station in Benin. construction has ended. Standard designs reduced construction time On a large construction project, and costs. the most important surveying component is the communications and information management network. Wireless communications conTHE PERFECT STORM OF TECHNOLOGY AND necting workers in the field and office ensures up-to-date CULTURE information. The construction activities described above illustrate the TIGHTENING THE LINK BETWEEN SURVEYING breadth of surveying technology and how effectively difAND MAPPING ferent systems can interact to share and utilise informaGIS is a dynamic management tool that provides a geotion. Long before construction begins, surveyors collect graphic framework to manage and utilise data from a information on numerous aspects of the proposed projhost of sources. A surveyor's involvement in GIS is not ect. Aerial images, ground surveys, cadastral data and limited to just collecting measurements. Surveyors also information on existing infrastructure are combined into a collect and manage attributes about the elements they database along with environmental and other background geo-locate, using sensors and data collection technolodata. This information is shared with design and decision gies that extend beyond the normal surveying instrumenteams to provide a comprehensive view of the project and tation. This is a paradigm shift for many surveyors, who its challenges. necessarily regard position and spatial relationships as For the early project stages, 3D modeling is becoming primary data. But GIS presents abundant opportunities an important part of the process. It enables quick design and visualisation of the project and its components and for a surveyor who understands that future success reacts rapidly to the changes that commonly occur. 3D requires them to be a geospatial data professional. A GIS models are developed using information from aerial or can contain data management, precision and visualisavehicular mobile mapping systems or from stationary tion functionality needed to support traditional surveying sensors such as total stations and 3D laser scanners. needs. For a surveyor, GIS presents business opportuniNew total stations incorporate digital cameras which ties that include creating, populating and maintaining a

Geospatial World I September 2012

October 8 - 11, 2012 • Orlando, Florida Gaylord Palms Hotel & Convention Center

THE NATION’S LARGEST INTELLIGENCE EVENT

FEATURED SPEAKERS The Honorable James R. Clapper Jr.

Ms. Letitia A. Long Director, National GeospatialIntelligence Agency (NGA)

Director of National Intelligence (DNI)

RADM Sandy Daniels

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach

Senior Advisor for Space to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance (OPNAV N2/N6)

Commander, Joint Forces Command, U.K. MoD

DON’T MISS OUT ON SESSIONS COVERING s

s 250+ exhibiting organizations displaying the latest cutting edge technology

s Over a dozen panel discussions, breakout sessions and lunchtime workshops

s Outdoor displays featuring vehicles from ﬁrst responders, military vehicles, and live satellite downlinks and demos

s Rich networking opportunities with immeasurable ROI s Don’t miss out - nearly 4,500 attendees in 2011

Today!

GIS and using it to manage cadastral data and informaavailable to GIS, design and other applications. tion on the natural and built environment. As the cadasIn addition to traditional photogrammetry and terrain tral and survey layers expand and densify, they infuse modeling, information from the mobile systems can be new levels of accuracy and precision used for feature extraction, asset into the GIS depiction of the physical management and maintenance operworld. ations. For example, a railway can As the cadastral and Given the close relationship use mobile mapping to collect inforsurvey layers expand between surveying and GIS, it comes mation on the condition of its track, and densify, they infuse as no surprise that the tools and signals and other assets. This infornew levels of accuracy techniques are on the converging mation can be used in planning and precission into the path. GIS positioning using GNSS repairs or schedule maintenance. GIS depiction of the once the realm of post-processed, Airborne imaging has taken an physical world metre-level precision - now produces important step forward with the decimetre results in real time. Conemergence of small, unmanned aeriversely, surveying data collection al vehicles (UAV) for aerial photogracommonly includes photographs, multiple attributes and phy. Using very small, lightweight aircraft flying at low ties to external sensors. The convergence of GIS and suraltitudes, the UAV captures high-quality images over veying is moving to include field workflow and individual small and medium areas. GNSS provides navigation and tasks. Surveying data collectors include built-in cameras, georeferencing. The images are processed with traditionGNSS receivers and other sensors to acquire information al photogrammetry techniques to produce orthophotos used to populate the GIS database. Survey data can also and digital terrain models. be readily exchanged with mapping systems using SHP or CONCLUSION other file formats that have their roots in GIS. The integration of surveying technologies will continue. NEW SENSORS, NEW SOLUTIONS Integrated survey rovers, which combine GNSS and total Mobile mapping systems utilise video and station target on a single pole, are already available. Total LiDAR imaging combined with position stations with integrated video technology enable surveydata from GNSS and inertial systems. ors to see exactly what the instrument sees and to capAirborne systems continue to ture georeferenced images for use in photogrammetry improve as well, with aerial camand "in-office surveys." Airborne and mobile mapping eras and scanners supported systems - still early in their technology life cycle - have by positioning systems for significant prospects for improvement in hardware and navigation, flight managesoftware that will increase integration, functionality and ment and georeferencing. throughput. The data from these highIn the end, it's a win-win situation for the surveyor speed, multi-sensor sysand client. As clients become increasingly sophisticated, tems are fused and made they drive the surveyor to deliver higher levels of information and analysis. At the same time, the technological advances in acquiring and applying measurements enable surveyors to perform as the geodata managers that their clients and communities require. By selecting and blending sensing and data management technologies, the surveyor can structure an optimal geospatial solution. Unmanned aerial systems provide timely, low-cost imagery. Flight plans are pre-programmed and loaded into the autonomous aircraft.

Bryn Fosburgh, Vice President, Trimble

Geospatial World I September 2012

CHINA

Tour against the current RTKGNSS receivers turned out to be the ideal

surveying equipment while building water

u River Grand Canyon is located in north-west of Nu River State, Yunnan Province, China. This 300 km-long canyon has an elevation of 3000 metres and the fall from mountain top to river surface of most section is over 2000 metres, deeper than the famous Colorado Grand Canyon. This depth makes Nu River Grand Canyon seldom visited and it is titled "Eastern Grand Canyon".

The local government is making investments to build water infrastructure in the Canyon. But in the preliminary, pre-construction measurement stage, they faced a number of challenges. These included high humidity levels, significant temperature changes and low temperatures over long periods. These challenges made it impossible to use conventional survey instruments, necessitating the use of efficient GNSS equipment. The government selected Kolida K9T RTK

Nu River Grand Canyon

Surveying besides the stream

GNSS receivers. K9T can receive signals from GPS and GLONASS systems and acquire positioning information in real time with accuracy that can reach 8mm+1ppm. The utility software for topography measurement and water path grid design on controller enabled surveyors to do office work the in field.

Geospatial World I September 2012

After basic operation training, the surveyors began the tour against the current of Nu River. The actual environment turned out to be more complicated than expected: cliffs besides the narrow muddy path, heavily covered sky and sudden cold rain, the minimum temperature dipping to fifteen degree Celsius below zero. The

surveyors' team set the base station on the mountainside and mountaintop as well, extending the pole of rover up to over 2.5 metres to ensure that it could receive the correction signal from the base station. The work team moved between the mountaintop and the foot of the mountain to seek a control point. During the day-long measurement process, the government realised that it was a wise decision to use GNSS receivers as they delivered the desired results. Satellite signals could be received just after switching the power on; within 20 seconds the float data became fixed. Under the guarantee of two units 2500mAh batteries, the instruments worked continually from noon to 9 p.m. RTK GNSS receivers also offered benefits like several rover stations working together at the same time after the base station is set, with rapid initialisation and getting fixed data immediately.

Case Study

infrastructure in the hostile Nu River Grand Canyon in China

INTERVIEW SOI is the oldest scientific department in India, set up in 1767. How d over has the organisation evolved these years? What is the guiding vision for SOI? When SOI was established by the East India Company and controlled by the British Empire, it was meant to help British Empire to expand its territory and acquire new areas. After the independence of India, Survey of India (SOI) became the national survey and mapping agency and mandated to create the mapping infrastructure required to take up developmental activities in the country. In recent times, with the penetration of information technology and geospatial technologies like GIS in various walks of governance, SOI has donned the role of producer and supplier of geospatial data. Its primary duty and responsibility is to support the Government of India in its geospatial needs, advice about the future trends and also monitor various developments and activities in the field of surveying, mapping and geospatial technologies on behalf of the Government of India.

Surveying has witnessed lot of technological advancements in the last few decades and a shift from analogue to digital mapping. How is SOI using these technologies?

Swarna Subba Rao Surveyor General of India

In sync with the times 42

Geospatial World I September 2012

How far has SOI digitised its data? SOI, since its inception, has embraced and adopted new technologies. When photogrammetry came in, SOI adopted it in 1970s and extensively used this technology in its work. In recent times, it has adopted digital technology and converted all its mapping data into digital form. We now have all our data including the complete 1:50,000 mapping data in digital form. This was updated between 2005 and 2007. In its upcoming major initiative, 1:10,000 mapping, SOI is committed to produce all this data in digital, GIS-ready format so that both the government and industry can put this data to use immediately.

One of the missions of SOI is to promote the use of geospatial knowledge and intelligence by all secctions of the society. What are your activities and initiatives in this direction? SOI has converted all its data into digital form and a major portion of the database is in the form of open series maps which are available for all sections of the society. SOI is organising various programmes to increase awareness and use of geospatial technology by all sections of the society in general and the student community in particular. Students, mainly from engi-

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

ning & Design Institute Limited neering discipline, are being allowed (CMPDI), mapping of cities on to do training in geospatial technol1:10,000 scale with mapping core ogy in various offices of SOI as part areas on 1:2000 scale under Nationof their course and as requested by al Urban Information System (NUIS) their institutions. This is greatly project for Ministry of Urban Develhelping in building their intelligence opment, and and knowledge of some more geospatial techworks. Some nology which they SOI has converted all more important can use in the its data into digital projects are also future in their form and a major being negotiated respective fields. portion of the database and these will be integrated with is in the forrm of open the 1:10,000 SOI is also series maps which involved in project. National are available for all research. Can you GIS is also being sections of the society shed light on integrated in some of the similar lines.

research activities of SOI?

The Geodetic & Research Branch of SOI is dedicated towards the research work in various fields of surveying and mapping. Various research projects in the field of geodesy, geomagnetism and other areas of mapping are currently being undertaken by this office.

SOI is engaged in surveying for a number of developmental projects in India. What are the key ojects you are involved in? pro SOI is presently engaged in executing the Integrated Coastal Zone Management project of Ministry of Environment and Forests, mapping of coal mines for Central Mine Plan-

What is the progress on the 1:10,000 mapping project? Mapping of India on 1:10,000 scale is probably the biggest survey and mapping event in the history of the country. As everyone knows, SOI, with the present manpower strength, cannot handle it alone. In view of this, the Department of Space has been requested to participate in this for which the Department has consented. As the task is gigantic, involving various government agencies, IT industry and outsourcing of a number of services to other agencies, it calls for detailed planning. A team of officers of SOI and the Department of Space have been working on identifying various

Mapping of India on 1:10,000 scale is probably the biggest survey and mapping event in the history of the country

Geospatial World I September 2012

â&#x20AC;? 43

ing necessary data with UN agencies and working with international groups on these issues.

Is SOI meeting the demand for geospatial applications on mobile platform that require patial information detailed geosp with an extensive coverage? As on date, SOI is providing data to a few vendors and service providers who will do some value addition and put them to use in mobile applications. But 1:50,000 mapping has several limitations in this direction. However, I am sure that the 1:10,000 map will meet all the requirements of mobile mapping.

Increasing location awareness amongst the public, both globally and in India, is generating new kets that NMOs must respond mark to, How is SOI responding to this? Can partnership with industry play a role here? Subba Rao addressing a forum on NMOs technical procedures to be adopted, areas where expertise is to be borrowed, services to be outsourced and systems to be put in place for supervising and monitoring the project. Soon after this team submits its report, the project will start in the real earnest.

As the implementing authority of National Map Policy 2005, is SOI looking at upgrading the Map Policy to make it more enabling for the fast growth of the geospatial industry? National Map Policy 2005 is being updated as National Map Policy 2012. SOI has already submitted its

proposals to the Department of Science and Technology. Everyone will find this to be more liberal and it will meet the requirements of the industry.

Are there any initiatives by SOI to facilitate cross-border geospatial data sharing, since several situations requiring timely geospatial data, like disasters or climate change, are not limited to geographic borders? SOI is a member of United Nations initiative on Global Geospatial Information Management (UNGGIM). In view of the disasters that run across geographic boundaries, SOI is shar-

Recognising the awareness among general public about the geospatial data, SOI is committed to generate GIS-ready spatial data with limited GIS data content. In the 1:10,000 project, we are expecting a good partnership from the industry.

National mapping projects are capital intensive. Is SOI looking at evolving a model of profitabiliity? The contribution of SOI towards the nation by way of providing accurate and timely geospatial data yields greater returns on the national exchequer than what can be realised by commercialising this data or SOI services. In view of this, SOI is not looking at any profit-oriented model now.

Geospatial World I September 2012

INDIA

Cost effective water management A watershed management project in India, spread over nearly 13,000 sq km, combined high resolution satellite imagery with conventional survey and optimised ground control to prepare high accuracy datasets

In any water resource project, preparing a very accurate base map and digital terrain model (DTM) providing details of 3D terrain, network of hydro features, contours, road network, villages and other human habitat locations are prerequisites to successful implementation of the project. SECON, the surveying company involved in the project, used a hybrid method combining high resolution stereo satellite imagery (HRSI) with conventional survey and optimised ground control for planning and design of

Geospatial World I September 2012

medium and minor-sized dams and tanks. This was one of the first attempts in India of using HRSI for identification, planning and design of irrigation projects covering an area as large as about 12,769 sq. km. The task was divided into the following components:

Digital terrain model using HRSI

• Preparation and data collection • Ground survey - horizontal and vertical control provision • Photogrammetric compilation using high resolution stereo satellite images to generate DEM and 0.5m contour map • Site validation and field checking of photogrammetric output • Generation of updated base map with 0.5 m contours

Contours

• Planning of medium and minor projects (micro watersheds) in the 10 sub basins which included the design of dams, canals and irrigation structures

statistics. As an add-on from HRSI, EIA analysis was done from the multispectral image. This method achieved accurate results in a faster and cheaper manner compared to purely conventional surveying or aerial photography methods. The accuracy derived from this method of mapping was a benchmark even for the satellite imagery provider. This approach not only saved time, money and other resources but also helped in smooth execution of the project without compromising on accuracy.

• Creation of colour orthophotos that were further analysed for purposes such as planning, environmental impact assessment (EIA) etc.

With accurate ground survey and well-planned GCP locations, SECON achieved sub-pixel accuracy. The software-derived XY accuracy was as high as 0.4m. It is practically not possible to measure sub-pixel accuracy in XY but the advanced aerial triangulation tools provided reliable

Case Study

armada Valley Development Authority, under the Government of Madhya Pradesh State, initiated a project to ensure integrated water utilisation for an area of 12,769 sq km of Narmada River sub-basins involving 10 watersheds. The project was valued at USD 800 million.

No detail left behind On a massive industrial park project, the laser scanning technology helps get it right the first time

or engineering firms, one of the biggest drawbacks to traditional surveying techniques has long been the need to revisit a project because some feature, some measurement, some element of the initial survey had either been missed or now needs to be expanded upon. Revisiting the site to resolve these issues can be costly, not only in budget dollars but, more importantly, in lost proj-

The site contains about 50 structures of different use, including manufacturing, office and storage, and it includes everything from a 100' plus tall buildings to underground tunnels. The demand of the project was to find an efficient and economical way to conduct the surveys while, at the same time, gathering sufficient data to eliminate having to repeatedly re-visit the site as new demands arose.

Having massive amounts of data available means any feature, such as the piping shown in this scan off the complexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mechanical plant, is immediately available.

Case Study

ect time. So when Barghausen Consulting Engineers undertook a project to do ALTA (American Land and Title Association) surveys on a huge industrial site near Seattle, they opted to supplant the standard surveying approach with the use of a laser scanner. The project was a 90-acre industrial site at which Barghausen was contracted to conduct a full ALTA survey as part of a new constructionrelated boundary-line adjustment.

scanner in this application, is its ability to gather information which can be called up, examined, manipulated and measured at any time in the project. Lanktree says that it's inevitable that the design team will soon start asking for additional data regarding onsite features and when they do, that's when the savings on this project will just erupt. Had they done that project with a traditional instrument, they would have needed to go back out

A scan of the courtyard adjacent to one of the buildings onsite yields data on everything from the structure itself to trees, signs, sidewalkks, etc.

Over the course of six weeks, the Barghausen team set up in 88 scan positions and shot a total of 110 scans. While a traditional survey would probably have netted about 20,000 points, the Topcon GLS-1500 laser scanner has given them close a billion. "The laser scanner gathers data at a rate of about 30,000 points per second," informs Trevor Lanktree, one of the company's project surveyors. The overriding benefit derived from an instrument like the laser

twice to reshoot it. That means incurring the cost of a crew, travel time there and back, setup time, and so on. Being able to expand the scope of the project by just manipulating data is an invaluable advantage. And it is an advantage that is quantifiable, he adds. Based on work done at the industrial park to date, Lanktree estimates that the survey portion of the project has already come in 25% under budget.

Geospatial World I September 2012

EOSCOPE has evolved as one of the leading Solution provider for GEOMATICS, GIS, HYDROGRAPHY, SEISMOLOGY, LIDAR, MACHINE CONTROL 100% UAE based Company owned by AL BATHA GROUP Having Head Office in UAE and branches in Qatar and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, representing some of the best brands in industry from US, CANADA, EUROPE and ASIA and capable of providing complete after sales support and services. Offering complete turnkey solutions for Cadastral Surveying, GIS/ Mapping, Reference Station Networks, Aerial & LIDAR Mapping, 3D As Built of Plants with RBI, LIDAR bathymetry & Hydrography, Earthquake Monitoring, Utility Detection to Government and Private sectors and rental services of equipment GEOSCOPE feels elated for its corporate philosophy to attract, hire and retain the best professionals from all areas of commercial and professional sectors, our core team of professionals is our real strength to scale new heights of distinction and excellence

GEO ++

www.geoscope.ae | info@geoscope.ae | UAE Tel. + 971 2 643 8253 | Qatar Tel. +974 401 65 575 / 40165576 | Jeddah Tel. +966 2 289 3088

FRANCE

Testing the waters Airborne LiDAR bathymetry helped understand the coastal zone and enhanced the economic and environmental activities in the zone

n February 2012, the General Council of Finistère and Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur in France commissioned an airborne LiDAR bathymetry (ALB) survey project for precise understanding of the coasts. The area of interest included more than 2,000 sq. km. of complex rocky coastlines, beaches, islands and reefs along the French coastlines of Finistère on the Atlantic and the Provence, Alpes and Cotes d'Azur in the Mediterranean. The surveys were also supervised by France's Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine (SHOM) as part of the Litto3D programme.

The survey supported a wide range of stakeholders involved in: • Risk prevention including flood inundation and tsunami mapping • Shoreline management including erosion and sand nourishment to get a better understanding of the erosion process • Economic development for ports, tourism and marine energy

Case Study

• Habitat mapping for biodiversity

The survey was conducted using the Fugro LADS Mk 3 ALB system that has been integrated with the recently developed Riegl VQ-820-G shallow water ALB system. Both ALB systems utilise sophisticated 532nm lasers to safely and efficiently measure water depth and collect data over the marine and coastal zone environments. During the survey, the two systems operated simultaneously from a single fixed wing aircraft and comple-

mented each other by providing coverage on the coast and offshore to deep water. The combination of the two sensors provide a seamless and high resolution description of the land-sea interface, while still achieving coverage in the depths >20m offshore. An additional benefit of ALB technology as a survey tool is that it offers the operational flexibility of an aircraft being able to freely move within and between survey areas to avoid unsuitable environmental conditions. The survey planning for this project took into account the environmental conditions of Finistère where spring kelp growth curtails acquisition by airborne LiDAR systems and the Atlantic Coast weather is not always suitable. PACA also presented survey challenges with commercial and tourism activities in the summer months, limiting survey operations. Alternative areas were assigned where possible to minimise the impact of adverse environmental conditions. Unfortunately for this survey, aircraft maintenance restrictions also impacted the operations and reduced the flexibility of moving between the Finistère and PACA areas. The task of combining the two sensors for this survey was certainly challenging and pushed the limits of the standard tools and methods used. It required adaptations to the data collection and processing strategies, along with enhancements to both systems' software architecture and algorithms that ensured a seamless integrated dataset from both systems. Fugro was able to provide complementary survey and engineering expertise to provide an efficient low-risk survey approach to these environmentally challenging but economically important regions.

Geospatial World I September 2012

GREECE

Mapping for growth Greece is combining legal and surveying expertise to establish a reliable cadastral representa-

the cadastral survey has to combine the following information: • The description of the real property on the deed, • The spatial representation of the real property on the topographic plan if one exists, • The perception of the beneficiary of the extents of his real property, Applying administrative acts in the context of developing cadastre in Greece

ince the mid 19th century, Greece has used the Registrations and Mortgages system, an archive of all the registered transactions of a particular person regarding real properties, for real property transactions. Some of the deeds regarding real property transactions referred to topographic plans which, however, were not registered with the Mortgage Office. Thus, there was no consistent spatial representation of all the registered land parcels of the country.

In the mid 1990s,

Greece initiated a project of developing cadastre as a unified system that combines all legal information about ownership and other registrable rights on real property with their geographic representation as land parcels on a cadastral map. The procedure that is used to develop the cadastre in Greece, involves the beneficiaries a) to declare their real property rights based on the deeds through which they have acquired their rights and b) to point out their perception of the extents of their real property. Thus, the contractor of

Geospatial World I September 2012

• The spatial representation of existing boundaries between land parcels in the form of fences, walls, roads etc.

It is evident from the above, that a simple topographic representation of existing boundaries does not provide a sound spatial representation of the legal land parcel boundaries. In areas where administrative acts exist (land consolidations, land redistributions etc), then the corresponding map of the act is followed as close as possible. On the contrary, in areas where there are no deeds and the land is owned and transferred without any legal evidence by word of mouth, then other information that may be available can be employed, such as information in the land parcel

identification system (LPIS). In order for the State to protect its real property rights, official forest maps and coastal zone delineation are produced and the corresponding information is also incorporated on the cadastral maps. This is a quite demanding procedure that must combine legal and surveying expertise to provide a reliable cadastral representation of the land parcels. The cadastral map that is then produced can become the basis to encourage investments, development and sound taxation. Also, through this procedure, the State land is registered for the first time systematically, which, upon the completion of the cadastre, is estimated to amount to about 50% of the total area of the country, say Dr. Dimitris Rokos, Director of Planning and Investments, Ktimatologio S.A. (Hellenic Cadastre ) and Prof. Apostolis Arvanitis, President and Managing Director, Ktimatologio S.A. (Hellenic Cadastre).

Case Study

tion of the land parcels and encourage investments

SPATIAL ENABLEMENT

Offering new possibilities

Spatial enablement - the ability to add location to almost all existing information unlocks a wealth of existing knowledge about social, economic and environmental matters, playing a vital role in understanding and addressing the many challenges faced in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. Here is an analysis of the key components in realising spatially-enabled societies and the role of surveyors

patial enablement, that is, the ability to add location to almost all existing information, unlocks the wealth of existing knowledge about social, economic and environmental matters, playing a vital role in understanding and addressing the many challenges we face in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. Spatial enablement requires information to be collected, updated, analysed, represented and communicated, together with information on land ownership and custodianship, in a consistent manner to underpin good governance of land and its natural resources, efficiency in

activities of the government, public safety and security towards the well-being of society, the environment and the economy. To achieve this objective, societies need to focus less on spatial data and more on "managing all information spatially". This is a new paradigm that needs to be explored, deliberated and understood in the context of a spatially-enabled society.

Challenges faced by societies International media reports present several examples

Geospatial World I September 2012

demonstrating a strong need for sound land information and good land administration and management systems. Phenomena such as urban sprawl, overpopulation, pollution, traffic congestion, inefficient transport systems, disaster management, land grabbing and environmental sustainability need our full attention. In order to manage and handle those issues, basic information including land ownership is required about the land, and the location of occurance of these events. Spatial information and technology is proving to be an effective tool in addressing such complex and multi-scale challenges.

Role of land administration and land management

Spatial enablement in action (from Bennett et al., 2012).

A spatially-enabled society needs well organised and efficient land administration and land management systems. By bringing together the various strands - land administration, land management and land governance we can create a strong framework by which land and natural resources can be effectively managed to fulfill political, economic and social objectives, that is, to help realise sustainable development objectives.

Key elements for a spatially-enabled society In order to support this concept, the Task Force of FIG (International Federation of Surveyors) looking into the issue of "spatially-enabled societies" identified six elements, which are critical to its implementation. Without those six elements, the spatial enablement of a society or government would seriously be held back in its progress. They are: Legal framework: To provide a stable basis for the acquisition, management and distribution of spatial data and information; Common data integration concept: To facilitate that existing spatial data - from government as well as other sources respect a common standard in order to ensure interoperability and linkage of data for the benefit of all; Positioning infrastructure: To provide a common geodetic reference framework in order to enable the integration of spatial data and information; Spatial data infrastructure: To provide the physical and technical infrastructure for spatial data and information to be shared and distributed; Land ownership information: To provide the updated and correct documentation on the ownership and tenure of the land,

Geospatial World I September 2012

fisheries, and forests, without which spatial planning, monitoring and sound land development and management cannot take place; Data and information concepts: To respect and accommodate the different developments in the acquisition and use of spatial data and information.

Legal framework The ability of spatial data sharing and interoperability by reconciling often competing legislative policies poses a significant challenge. This is of particular significance for spatially-enabled datasets as they often have multiple uses that were not anticipated in the original licensing conditions or in its creation, which could increase the risk of litigation should injury result from the inappropriate use of data.

Common data integration concept Common data integration concept has high political and institutional relevance, as depending on the concept, valuable information is either locked into data silos or it can satisfy the aspects of true interoperability and data sets can be shared and linked between different stakeholders. Only then can a society benefit as a whole.

Positioning infrastructure The geodetic datum is widely recognised as the most fundamental layer of any spatial data infrastructure. The implementation of higher quality infrastructures, such as CORS, providing even higher accuracy can only be justi-

fied in densely populated areas, while the extension into rural and remote areas makes sense only when the business case is broadened beyond surveying and spatial data, for example for machine guidance in agriculture, construction or mining.

spatial representation of such phenomena can serve important political decision-making processes. Another example is a project in Switzerland, where a Web-based portal is being developed for farmers to declare their annual cultivation areas online. Farmers receive subsidies on the basis of the crops and areas they Spatial data infrastructure (SDIs) cultivate. Based on the cadastral land ownership and an A growing demand for access to timely and precise spaorthophoto layer, the portal offers tools such as easy-totial information in real time about real use snapping functions and standard world objects to support more effective forms to be filled out. This will allow a cross-jurisdictional and inter-agency much more direct and efficient notificaThe fusion of decision-making in priority areas has tion process for farmers to provide their different sources of geo-information will be resulted in SDIs becoming a key infradata and receive their subsidies. Such a transforming the structure in realising a spatially-enabled solution would not be possible without a geospatial information society. complete documentation of land ownerlandscape as society ship and the interoperability of the inforhas access to an ever Land ownership information mation, both of which are in place in increasing set of Depending on the jurisdiction, a piece of Switzerland. geospatial information land can have various spatial dimensions, The future of spatial enablement and from a single point value to an accurate the realisation of a spatially-enabled representation of its boundaries. The usual representasociety lie in a holistic endeavour where spatial (and land tion, however, is the 'cadastral parcel', which is uniquely data) and non-spatial data are integrated according to defined to also make it suitable to serve as the key data evolving standards and with the SDI providing the element for the spatial reference. enabling platform. The concept of SES needs to move beyond the current tendency to put the responsibility Data and information concepts solely on the government to achieve SES. SES will be With the digital revolution, geodata and location data are more readily achieved by increasing involvement from the nowadays managed and consumed in digital form. Elecprivate sector and in the same vein, if the surveying and tronic mapping, smartphones, Google Maps, Bing Maps, spatial industries start to look towards other industries location-based services, meeting friends and finding local for best practices in service delivery. It is imperative for restaurants are all mainstream applications in the 'locasurveyors, land and spatial information specialists to tion revolution.' The fusion of different sources of geounderstand the technological changes, developments and information will be transforming the geospatial informapossibilities so that they tion landscape as society has access to an ever increascan convey these messages and requirements to their ing set of geospatial information and associated locationpartners, to political decision-makers and to society. based information. (In 2009, the FIG established a Task Force to look into the issue of "spatially-

Discussion and examples When a society has attained full spatial enablement, decision-making procedures may become feasible which were not possible before. The following two examples illustrate this. The first example shows how the cadastral land ownership layer can be complemented with mortgage and foreclosure information. Such information can then be aggregated at a state or national level, which allows detecting patterns or clustering phenomena. The

enabled societies". A three-year effort together with representatives from GSDI and PCGIAP led to a publication compiled and edited by Dr. Daniel Steudler, Chair of the FIG Task Force on Spatially Enabled Society, and Prof. Dr. Abbas Rajabifard, President of the GSDI Association.)

Dr. Daniel Steudler Licensed Cadastral Land Surveyor, Swiss Federal Office of Topography Federal Directorate for Cadastral Surveying

Daniel.Steudler@swisstopo.ch

Prof. Abbas Rajabifard Head - Department of Infrastructure Engineering, Director - Centre for SDIs and Land Administration, University of Melbourne, Australia

abbas.r@unimelb.edu.au

Geospatial World I September 2012

NOVEMBER

OCTOBER

SEPTEMBER

Mark your calendar

September 13

September 13-14

September 17-19

September 24-27

PPP- a small revolution in the area of GPS Rapperswil SG, Switzerland

Euroconsult's Symposium on EO Paris, France

Asia Geospatial Forum 2012

SPIE Remote Sensing 2012 Edinburgh, UK

Hanoi, Vietnam

http://tinyurl.com/c4x33ap

http://tinyurl.com/ppp-eventhsr-2012

www.satellite-business.com

www.asiageospatialforum.org

September 24-27

September 24-28

September 25-26

12th International Scientific and Technical Conf Algarve, Portugal

Use of GIS & RS in Climate Change Analysis Nairobi, Kenya

11th Int. Symposium on Geoinformation Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

www.racurs.ru

www.indepthresearch.org

www.isg.org.my

October 2-4

October 3-4

October 8-11

October 16-20

GISSA Ukubuzana 2012 Gauteng, South Africa

Africa Geospatial Forum 2012 Accra, Ghana

GEOINT 2012 Symposium Orlando, Florida

GIS-IDEAS 2012 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

http://tinyurl.com/bqtdwjn

www.africageospatialforum.org

www.geoint2012.com

http://tinyurl.com/dyah9kj

November 5-7

November 12-16

November 26-30

Trimble Dimensions 2012

URISA's Caribbean GIS Conference Montego Bay, Jamaica

Asian Conference on Remote Sensing Pattaya, Thailand

http://tinyurl.com/ctduwbq

http://acrs2012.gistda.or.th/

Las Vegas, US www.trimbledimensions.com

Geospatial World I September 2012

www.Bentley.com/Map/GW

Data courtesy City of Quebec

THE 3D GIS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE – EXPERIENCE THE POWER OF BENTLEY MAP GIS is going 3D and the beneﬁts are enormous. With Bentley Map, you’ll gain the additional advantage of a GIS that’s both intrinsically 3D and optimized for the rigorous demands of sustaining infrastructure. Bentley Map supports 3D objects in Oracle Spatial natively, has smart 3D object editing tools, and executes advanced 3D spatial analyses as well as standard 2D routines.

CHECK OUT THE NEW BENTLEY MAP EDITIONS

Bentley Map is the choice of infrastructure professionals around the globe. It has all the power of MicroStation to make workflows efficient, and includes innovative and comprehensive map finishing functions as well as advanced parcel management functionality. Featuring an extended API, the latest version of Bentley Map is optimized for developers and enterprise deployments alike. It comes in three editions to meet a range of user needs – from light editing and review, to 2D and 3D spatial information creation and analysis, to advanced raster image management and long transactions using Oracle Spatial. To find out how Bentley Map is advancing GIS for infrastructure, visit www.Bentley.com/Map/GW or call +91-11-4902 1100.

ADVANCING GIS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE © 2011 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley, the “B” Bentley logo, Bentley Map, and MicroStation are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

THEME: TOWARDS GEO ENABLED ECONOMY

2 2 – 2 4 J A N U A R Y, 2 0 1 3 Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Hyderabad, India

KNOWLEDGE SHARING = GROWTH EXPLORE YOUR GROWTH POTENTIAL USING GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGIES COME…JOIN US FOR INDIA’S LARGEST GEOSPATIAL PLATFORM