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The 2023 Geospatial World Annual Edition focuses on the transition of the geospatial industry and its future outlook. The highlight is on the gamut of geospatial technologies that are set to shift into a more outward position and attract other technologies, businesses, and sectors altogether.
Every transition is a decisive turning point, as well as the time to reflect and change course, as per market directions, consumer demands, and tech forces reshaping the world. The same holds true for the geospatial industry, whose value, utility, and adaptability, have increased tremendously over the years – powering sectors as wide as can be imagined.
From mapping and navigation, to agriculture, logistics, energy & utilities, to space and defense, geospatial visualization plays a seminal role. This edition provides a look into the potential of geospatial technologies in all of its different avatar. Be it in space, GIS and mapping, PNT, or sustainability, geospatial delivers a bedrock that cannot be overlooked. Even in emerging technologies such as AI, ML, Big Data, and crypto, geospatial is proving to be a prospect of utter importance, one that is unwavering. What does the future hold? Where does the industry go from here?
What will drive geospatial market? How can geospatial application get more mainstream? Find the answers to all such questions in this edition.
Enjoy reading!
With far-reaching changes and increasing tech adoption, the role of geospatial has become more decisively futuristic, making transition a peculiar reality as well as an ongoing challenge.
The role and scope of national mapping agencies is undergoing a seminal transformation, from a basic mapping mandate to providing digital services and solutions to all stakeholders.
Initially the preserve of governments and academia, space has rapidly transformed itself into a viable business proposition. It’s imperative both for our society and security. We can no longer live our daily lives as we know it without space.
In the recent past many incidents of interference in PNT services have resurfaced, reflecting the vulnerability of entire global economy. Thus the need for the resilient PNT capabilities is more than ever.
Scope of national mapping agencies is undergoing a seminal transformation, from a basic mapping mandate to providing digital services and solutions to all stakeholders.
REGULAR Editorial 6 Editor's Note 7
JACK DANGERMOND 8
Founder and President, Esri
GANESH PATTABIRAMAN 14
CEO, NextNav
SCOTT CROZIER 16
Vice President of Survey & Mapping for Trimble Inc
RICHARD W. SPINRAD 18
Ph.D. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & NOAA Administrator
DR. WALTHER PELZER 22
Member of the DLR Executive Board and Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR
INGRID VANDEN BERGHE 25
Administrator General National Geographic Institute, Belgium
JEFF HAIGHT 32
CEO, Locana
PROF. PAUL BECKER 34
President, Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG), Germany
ARIE VERSLUIS 36
Manager, Policy and Management (Geo) information, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, The Netherlands
KNUT BJØRGAAS 37 Director, Land Division Norwegian Mapping Authority GEERT DE COENSEL 38 Co-Founder & CEO, Merkator, Belgium DAVID HENDERSON 40 Chief Geospatial Officer Ordnance Survey, Great Britain
MAARIT KAHILA 41
CEO – Mapita Oy
DMYTRO MAKARENKO 42
Deputy Chairman, StateGeoCadastre, Ukraine
ERIC LOUBIER 43
Director General of the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation
PROF. DR MARCO BEIJERSBERGEN 50
Founder, Cosine
A space company celebrating its 25th anniversary
DR. HERIBERTO SALDIVAR 52
Head of the Foresight & Strategy Dept., ESA HQ Paris
SEAN WIID 53
CEO – UP42
MOTOYUKI ARAI 54
Founder & CEO, Synspective
DON OSBORNE 56
CEO, EarthDaily Analytics
CHRISTOPHER THEIN 58
CEO, EOI Space
DR. CAITLIN KONTGIS 60
Vice President, Go-to-Market, Satellogic
PROF. ERNA SRI ADININGSIH 61
Research Professor / Executive Director, Indonesian Space Agency (INASA) Secretariat National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)
BETH GREENAWAY 62 Head of Earth Observations and Climate UK Space Agency
DR. GAY JANE PEREZ 64
Deputy Director General for Space Science and Technology, Philippine Space Agency
THOMAS HARRING 69 President Geosystems at Hexagon AB
SERGE LUPAS 70
CEO of Cyclomedia
NADINE ALAMEH 78 CEO, Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)
PAOLO MANUNTA 79
Senior Digital Technology Specialist (Earth Observation) Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, Asian Development Bank
YASMEEN AL HASHMI 80 Director, Spatial Data – Operations Support Sector, Department of Municipalities and Transport, Abu Dhabi
RAGHU BOYAPALLY 81 Founder & CEO, Marvel Geospatial Solutions
GEORGE ZHAO 82 CEO, CHC Navigation
KIMBERLEY WORTHY & GEORGINA RACE 88 Principal Consultants, Spatial Vision
PROF. P K JOSHI 91
Chairperson, Special Center for Disaster Research (SCDR) and Professor School of Environmental Sciences (SES), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
MAYUR GORI 92 Director of Product Delivery and Operations, ERM
MELISSA GARSIDE 94
Team Lead Energy (incl. Chemicals & Resources) Statista
DR VIPUL SINGH 96
Professor of Environmental History University of Delhi, India
VOLUME: 13 / ISSUE: 01
Editor-in-Chief
Sanjay Kumar
Managing Editors
Prof. Arup Dasgupta
Sanjay Singh
Contributing Editor
Geospatial Infrastructure
John Kedar
Contributing Editor
Global Defense and Security
Keith J. Masback
Associate Editors
Geospatial World
Aditya Chaturvedi
Europe
Meenal Dhande
Asia Pacific
Sarah Hisham
Chief Sub Editor
Nibedita Mohanta
Sub Editors
Sachin Awana
Jeffy Jacob
Chief Designer
Subhash Kumar
Visualizer
Pradeep Chauhan
Saurabh Srivastava
Disclaimer
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.
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The present decade has so far been eventful but not encouraging.
Business as usual was disrupted by Covid and the Ukraine war. These events have catalyzed global recession, which has hit the poor and the marginalized. Climate change is progressing unchecked, all COPs notwithstanding. Unusual and destructive weathers are being witnessed worldwide. In this scenario, what can we expect in 2023?
Prof. Arup Dasgupta Managing Editor arup@geospatialworld.net
Geospatial companies weathered the Covid pandemic. Covid provided an opportunity in terms of healthcare. Covid restrictions also showed the effects of unbridled development were reversible. Something that could be used to combat Climate Change.
War in Ukraine opened an entirely new prospect in terms of testing geospatially enabled weapons as well as the use of geospatial for reportage. When the war ends relief, rehabilitation and rebuilding will need geospatial intervention. The rebuilding could also look at green technologies and environmental sustainability.
Covid and the war have spawned a global recession. How will this impact development? In what way can geospatial help in terms of supporting low-cost solutions to developmental issues? Climate change is here to stay. The canals of Venice have dried up and India faces an unusually hot spring with the ominous prediction of a severe summer.
The stress must be on sustainability and resilience. Unbridled 'development' is a thing of the past. We need solutions for the conservation of scarce resources. Green buildings, mass rapid transportation, distributed facilities and assets, and a sustainable lifestyle are opportunities of the future.
The future is going to be a period when geospatial systems mature and move from a technology push to solutions pull. While technology is attractive and Proof of Concepts of applications are numerous, the need is for the deployment of geospatial information beyond PoC. We do not need technology in search of applications but applications in search of technology.
Geospatial systems provide data and information needed to address a problem. However, solutions need more than data. Any solution has several dimensions
- human, societal, environmental, administrative, and political. In developing an optimal solution geospatial data and information plays a significant role.
To serve this role, the geospatial system needs to become a part of the solution by subsuming its identity in the solution. This can be seen in Location-Based Services, where the underlying communications, GIS, and GNSS services provide seamless access to positioning and navigation without the user needing to know about the details of how the services are provided.
Geospatial must find value outside the geospatial ecosystem and it is beginning to move in that direction. Insurance companies, banks, and finance are adopting geospatial data. Perhaps, one of the most significant moves has happened in India where banks have bought into a geospatial solutions company.
Marine resources have rarely been addressed beyond coastal mapping and ship navigation. The land-water-atmosphere interaction is one of the key areas of study when it comes to climate change. The extension of geospatial technologies to this area is intensifying as the realization dawns that the oceans are not a universal dump for human-generated waste.
There is talk about purpose-oriented data sets, Digital Twins, AI, Cloud, and Metaverse. We seem to have mislaid Smart Cities! These are technologies and not solutions. Technologies must progress and geospatial systems have always adapted and adopted systems to move ahead. That is necessary but not sufficient.
It is only when these become universal in usage and become goto systems for solution providers that the value will be realized. The map marks the beginning of a great journey. The real utility comes when the map ends, and a challenging and uncertain future beckons. Will geospatial systems participate in the creative destruction of old systems in the interest of a sustainable future? The call for sustainable progress insists that it must -- even if it means the creative destruction of standalone geospatial systems.
Geospatial technology has been used across many industries, but its wider value has been under-appreciated. With the growth of Esri’s ArcGIS system supporting a broad range of apps including field data collection, operational dashboards, and new analytic tools, geospatial technology is being used in many ways across existing organizations.
The “traditional” GIS-centric organizations continue using it as their system of record, expanding the “geo-footprint” as teams leverage existing work and geospatial infrastructure. Many of these organizations are expanding into data science, integrating GIS analysis tools to gain better insights into their large data collections.
GIS was previously regarded as a specialized tool. Over the last 3 years, we saw a huge uptake in new organizations leveraging key aspects of ArcGIS to address their business challenges. Many do not see themselves as GIS organizations—rather, GIS is one of their enterprise-class data intelligence platforms and workflow simplification tools.
The geospatial revolution is just beginning. Wider adoption and increased use of GIS in formal curriculums are changing the landscape of next-generation managers, analysts, and executives. They see the value of the geographic approach across their traditional and newer areas, influencing broader markets. They understand geographic thinking is crucial for managing our world.
Each industry is looking at sustainability differently, considering what makes up a sustainable city, sourcing for manufacturing, managing carbon offsets, and so on. Everywhere geography is a key element in analyzing sustainability practices. Organizations are increasingly using digital twins to understand current challenges and develop the best action plans. They can see how a planned city infrastructure functions in extreme
weather; or how to minimize the carbon impact of a new development—before breaking ground. Digital twins can help identify assets at risk, or monitor where social inequities occur.
AI is another tool applied across sustainability areas. It has enabled organizations to simplify and accelerate data generation using automated feature creation from remotely sensed data. AI is giving analysts the ability to ask deeper questions to build up new layers of results, modeling what was, what is, and ultimately what could be.
Our work with Microsoft (and many others) is focused on providing authoritative data enabling organizations to better target where to engage most effectively in sustainable agriculture. Combining our GeoAI capabilities, and satellite imagery with Microsoft’s technology, we’re hoping our tools provide a deeper understanding of agricultural opportunities, ultimately helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.
While we are honored to be named a leader, it is our customers who do heroic work responding to the climate crisis. Esri is committed to supporting them with improved tools, workflows, and content. An example is our work with Yale University, supporting E.O. Wilson's vision of mapping biodiversity for the Earth. This data will be used by GIS analysts in nations, states, and cities to identify areas important for conservation. Setting aside 30 percent of land and water for nature by 2030 is a key climate and biodiversity action, known as the 30x30 initiative.
We worked with the White House and NOAA to help stand up a climate portal, which brought together authoritative scientific information for state and local governments to use in selecting the right locations for mitigation efforts and to learn about available grants. I am excited about that project because it leverages an all-of-government approach to create a better future.
Our users are using satellite and drone imagery to monitor real-time changes to land, detect
where and when deforestation happens, and identify areas impacted by extreme weather. We also worked with several organizations to help develop a new, high-resolution global map of land cover. Developed with help from AI and machine learning, the map can show changes on the earth’s surface on a weekly basis. So we can do more to protect the planet using information to predict, with modeling, what may happen next. We can see where sea rise could overtake land, where crops are at risk, and where conservation policies can be enacted to make an impact.
We entered into an agreement with the United Nations Population Fund to help countries use GIS techniques in their census work. There are nations that haven’t had the resources to invest. Esri’s official statistics modernization program stands ready for eligible countries who would benefit from not only the technology but also direct training to collect census data.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act announced in 2021 commits a historic amount of USD 1.2 trillion in investments to improve America’s infrastructure. While the IIJA comes with unprecedented funding, local governments, tribal nations, and other organizations need to identify where funds should be applied.
GIS can bring together all the data needed for rational, equitable decisions. Data such as infrastructure location and condition can be combined with dynamic usage information. Communities can be modeled and prioritized based on need and impact, bringing demographic information together with asset planning. Communities can also use GIS to communicate their needs and priorities.
Ultimately for this opportunity and across other areas, GIS provides a means to apply holistic thinking to our most pressing challenges. It doesn’t just bring understanding of where to take action, it enables us to model multiple what-if scenarios, track how solutions are implemented, and measure their effectiveness.
AI is giving analysts the ability to ask deeper questions to build up new layers of results, modeling what was, what is, and ultimately what could be.
With far-reaching changes and increasing tech adoption, the role of geospatial has become more decisively futuristic, making transition a peculiar reality as well as an ongoing challenge.
By Aditya ChaturvediEvery transition is a decisive turning point, as well as the time to reflect and change course, as per market directions, consumer demands, and tech forces remaking the world. Companies that have failed to transition with the pace of rapid advancements either slide into stagnation or are rendered into oblivion by more vigilant competitors. Thus it goes without saying, that transition is a vital cross-road for industries of all hues & stripes – from the nascent startup to the Fortune 500 mega-corporation.
The same holds true for the geospatial industry, whose value, utility, and adaptability, have increased tremendously over the years – powering sectors as wide as can be imagined. From mapping and navigation, to agriculture, logistics, energy & utilities, to space and defense, geospatial visualization plays a seminal role.
The range of sectors under the broad geospatial panoply would only soar with enhanced automation, upsurge in connectivity, widespread digitalization, the quest for more reliable PNT
services, and the bid to design HD maps for self-driving vehicles that can be interpreted by machines.
With this extraordinary broadening of contours, geospatial is at the cusp of a massive transition, and simultaneously, is enabling and accelerating another transition – sweeping digitalization and the move towards an all-encompassing next wave or industry 4.0. This makes the story of geospatial transition quite peculiar, and with a vast impact on the intersection of technology, innovation, paradigms, and societies.
The term 'paradigm shift', first used in 1962 by Thomas Kuhn in his book 'The Structure of Scientific Revolutions' explains how accumulated anomalies that defy old frameworks lead to a new model which goes against the current. These shifts accompany a thorough transformation in multiple ways. The upcoming Fourth Industrial Revolution premised on dazzling technologies and their geo-convergence, considered inconceivable till recently, would herald the same paradigm shift.
2023, in many ways, is a year of fresh starts and terminal decline and breaking apart of old frameworks and architectures, be it the security scenario in Europe, the landscape of environmental protection and sustainability, or the rumblings about embodying true resilience in everything we do.
Arup Dasgupta, Managing Editor, Geospatial World, mentions the transition underway in space as following ‘Creative Destruction’ as anticipated by the economist Joseph Schumpeter. Indeed the heady, high-octane, and make-orbreak pace of space startups and the rise of new business models, be it in upstream, ground stations, or data analytics best illustrates the transformative potential of technology when unfettered, and of capability when provided with a conducive ecosystem.
In the words of George Zhao, CEO, CHC Navigation, the transition is going to be multi-faceted, with the integration of data from different sources such as drones and IoT devices.
However, amidst the onward move to key trends influencing
the geospatial industry, notably technology convergence, interoperability, move towards new business models ( X-as-a-Service), readiness for AI, IoT, more precise analytics, and on-demand, subscription-based services, the industry needs to stave off what Rober Shirer terms ‘Irrational Exuberance’ and be wary of ‘Innovators Dilemma’. The acute mismatch between data generation and analytics, along with asymmetry between market outlook and exceeding consumer demands, remains an area to watch out for, with the end goal being diversification and democratization.
There’s optimism in the air with established IT, AEC, and automobile companies either investing in geospatial and location intelligence capabilities or acquiring units with those. These include some of the world’s biggest names. While keeping the market shift and perception in mind, geospatial industries are gearing towards solutions from services.
Thomas Harring, President of Geosystems, Hexagon AB, is of the view that with the gamut of new use-cases and innovative applications around surveying, defense, public safety, agriculture, forestry, and disaster management, it is an exciting time for the geospatial industry.
Revolutionary roads? As the threshold of technology readiness is crossed, and industries reach a certain maturity, there’s a demand for targeted solutions to problems, rather than services. This presents a great opportunity for the geospatial industry to expand, consolidate, and shift towards being the fulcrum and knowledge driver of a dynamic economy.
The years ahead augur well for geospatial and shows the doors to enhanced workflow integration, process reorientation, and more immersive visualization. Sifting data and turning it into more and more valuable sectoral insights would be increasingly in demand. The next-phase of geospatial has just begun, and in the topsy-turvy world of today, it will go on.
“The geospatial revolution is just beginning. Wider adoption and increased use of GIS in formal curriculums are changing the landscape of next-generation managers, analysts, and executives. They see the value of the geographic approach across their traditional and newer areas, influencing broader markets. They understand geographic thinking is crucial for managing our world”, says Jack Dangermond, Founder & CEO, Esri.
Nothing can be a more impactful assessment of a geo revolution than the increasing receptiveness of people from all walks of life – officials, planners, decision-makers, administrators, and emergency responders – to the need for inculcating spatial thinking. The age of ‘World is Flat’ has paved the way for a geo-enabled, geo-functioned era.
From volcanic eruptions in Tahiti, and wildfires in California, to floods, earthquakes and other environmental hazards across the globe, geospatial aids those in the first line of planning and execution of relief and rescue operations. Interactive GIS dashboards give the exact on-ground scenario in the most lucid and comprehensive manner.
“GIS provides a means to apply holistic thinking to our most pressing challenges. It doesn’t just bring understanding of where to
take action, it enables us to model multiple what-if scenarios, track how solutions are implemented, and measure their effectiveness”, adds Dangermond.
The next stage in geo-preparedness is undoubtedly a national geospatial infrastructure, which would serve as the groundwork for a metaverse-enabled Digital Twin of countries. This is a giant geospatial leap, albeit with slow but constant steps, mindful of slippery slopes.
"Digital twin has been an indispensable tool for a long time. A virtual model simulates various processes considering an object’s relevant aspects, functions, and properties. Though enlarging the scope of digital models from small areas to a whole country can be a mammoth task, the possibilities of creating digital twins have increased significantly in recent years", says Paul Becher.
“Digital Twin is a key building block of concepts such as the Metaverse. However, these environments will only be useful if the data is accurate and monitored or updated in real-time”, concurs Geert De Coensel, CEO, Merkator.
A Financial Times article in October last year called The Netherlands, whose population density is five times the European average, as perhaps the first country that has hit the limits of growth, or in other words, already reached peak development. One of the reasons for this assessment is rising sea levels and the decreasing availability of land due to climate change.
For optimal planning, efficient land-use assessment, and tackling
climate-induced land shrinking, geospatial is an indispensable tool. The Netherlands ranks quite high in geospatial adoption, and would be classified as a geo-aware nation, however, there’s always scope for more collaboration, and out-of-the-box maverick approaches for yielding the best outcomes.
“The way ahead for the geospatial ecosystem in the Netherlands for the coming years is about making a shift from sustaining sectoral spatial planning to cross-sectoral spatial planning,” argues Arlie Versluis, who works in the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations as manager of policy and management for geo-information.
The disruptive market landscape can get quite mercurial about picking up winners & losers, but it rewards those who cater to customer demands, stay loyal to their base, constantly up the ante in innovation, focus on newer learnings, and above all prepare to take up the challenge ahead. What comes as a unique opportunity, can also be an unprecedented challenge. In the realm of geospatial, the move from services to solutions poses both.
Companies that will reap the headwind and build durable solutions, further catalyzing innovation, will be those that are unafraid of reinvention. On one hand, this stiffens competition, but on the other, it opens new avenues for collaborations. Multiple market players, with their respective domain expertise, are joining hands. This is leading to a new phase of knowledge transfer, contributing to socio-economic development and the greater good.
“Over the last few years, making space-based infrastructure and geospatial data accessible to everyone has become salient”, says Prof. Dr Marco Beijersbergen, Founder, Cosine.
“Bottom line is that investors are looking for demonstrable business cases, which give ample wriggle room to the company to charge for the services they offer. In 2023, the opportunity is to start building up real operational systems,” he adds.
The recent $6.4 billion acquisition of Maxar by Advent International, a private equity firm with stakes in sectors ranging from construction, railways, and agriculture, to finance, reveals the astounding value of geospatial data and the interest exhibited by investing honchos. Although, the lions-share of the big customers in traditional geospatial and space data have predominantly been from just a few sectors, mainly defense and government, giving big companies a competitive edge in terms of contracts. This is why sectoral diversification is the key to geospatial dissemination.
The acquisition of Canadian geospatial firm CubeWerx by Maria DB, the famous open source database, for ‘building scalable geospatial capabilities’ indicates the increasing value of geospatial data for building any application. Open Source data platforms are playing a major role in tackling a lot of challenges. The geo-thread is quite evident in a lot of major acquisitions.
“There’s a rise in businesses offering services to help customers from data acquisition and integration to building analytics platforms. We are seeing an ecosystem where the
services are built on building blocks (pieces of the solution)”, says Nadine Alameh, CEO, Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).
The publication of ‘Risk Society’ in 1986 by German sociologist Ulrich Beck and his British counterpart Anthony Giddens highlighted the multiplicity of compounding, spiralling risks in the modern world, and its inadequacy to face them. At the time of the Covid outbreak, Foreign Policy cited Beck as the thinker for the pandemic age. While the outbreak derailed societies and caught the world off-guard, the role of geospatial data and location, cannot be understated. Ever since, it has become an integral part of policy formulations.
Data dissemination for social change and building a sustainable world is a major task today — and one that has a broad consensus. Towards this, all leading endeavors, from tracking progress on SDGs to providing free mapping data, are fostered by geospatial.
"Geospatial can accelerate our collective understanding, preparation, response, adaptation to disruptive events be it natural or man-made", adds Alameh.
As we face multiple disruptions and grapple with increasingly uncertain and alarming climate change events, the overwhelming need for geospatial data is critical. This is where a broad coalition of national mapping agencies, innovation
hubs, grassroots organizations, and citizen collectives come into the picture. Actionable open data and pinpointed insights are great tools for them, at the time of disaster rescue, or planning development tracks.
David Henderson, Chief Geospatial Officer, Ordnance Survey, is on-point in categorically stating that there haven’t been so many opportunities available ever to truly make a change. “Geospatial really matters to society, public services, and the planet Earth. Therefore, we must change our pace with the changing world and technology”.
As some of the examples of the indispensability of geospatial data, he cites driving net zero, supporting green transport and electric vehicle infrastructure, planning renewable energy, managing climate-related flood risk and drought, and improving waste collection and recycling.
In the book ‘Mission Economy’, economist and public thinker Mariana Mazzucato elaborates her insightful thesis of innovation-driven, public purpose-led, mission-critical mode. Taking a cue from the Apollo space program, she redefines the role of the state as a multifaceted player driving, enabling, fostering and participating in innovation on a time-bound priority.
Space has hitherto been an exclusive government turf. Though even after liberalizing access to resourceful private
entrepreneurs, the governments haven’t devolved all of their work, instead they are focusing more on core research & development and incubating, grooming, and hand-holding startups to develop cutting-edge solutions. The outlooks and approaches differ from region to region, subject to the shortcomings, practices, and what’s needed.
For instance, in the European context, Sean Wild, CEO, UP42, says that usually public institutions release tenders for standalone platforms or capabilities that must be custom-built, leading to ‘shortlived projects that exhaust public resources, compete with existing commercial capabilities and have limited long-term impact’. He advocates that ‘the focus should be on re-using and supporting the businesses of existing companies as much as possible’.
Notwithstanding the regional divergences, in the geospatial sector overall, the state is a big buyer, as well as, key regulator. Maybe it’s time for it to amplify its role as a leading driver and participant in advancing geospatial innovation and devising how can it impact other sectors?
Only through a concerted collaboration between private entities and government agencies, duly backed by state mandate and a goal, can the immense potential of geospatial be put to optimum use.
Associate Editor, GW Media Aditya@geospatialworld.net
Geospatial data derived for one solution is reusable for many sectors. User challenges should absolutely dominate NMGA thinking, the more problems solved then the greater the data demand and the more sustainable is the data creation and management.
Many are familiar with GPS in the context of driving directions or the phone map app. However GPS provides position, navigation, and timing (PNT) and is integral across a wide range of use-cases. Reliance on PNT (GPS) leaves many sectors vulnerable to outages, spoofing attacks, signal jamming, and solar flare interferences. The spoofing of GNSS signals due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year forced European aircrafts to reroute due to an “inability to perform a safe landing procedure”, resulting in the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issuing a safety information bulletin (SIB) around GNSS interferences in March, 2022.
It’s crucial for policymakers, infrastructure owners to deploy complementary PNT solutions to close these gaps and avoid potential chaos – as we’re seeing now, with both the US and EU taking promising steps to study and implement these critical technologies.
While Visual Position Systems (VPS) might be helpful for some applications and complementary to current GPS systems, it is still in early stages with challenges (example, environmental). Critical infrastructure – emergency services, utilities, financial industry – rely on the timing that is deliv-
ered by GPS (which VPS doesn’t do). We need to recognize the importance of having systems that both serves as a complementary layer for everything that GPS does - position, navigation, and timing –and enhance it, by providing things such as robust 3D location and deep, indoor building penetration.
It's promising that policymakers, infrastructure owners, businesses are recognizing the importance of alternatives to GPS, and are exploring options for PNT technologies to address vulnerabilities and effectively access location information. NextNav, has the commercially available TerraPoiNT terrestrial system, which provides full 3D PNT services and are working to expand it.
It’s not a surprise that, as a free, expansive service, GPS is so widely used. But relying on GPS without any complementary resilient PNT solution in place is a major cybersecurity risk and has been classified as such by the US Department of Homeland Security. It’s critical for Cybersecurity leaders to manage PNT vulnerabilities as they would other Cybersecurity risks.
There are many use cases where alternate PNT technologies fit today’s needs for indoor, outdoor applications. Example,
GANESH PATTABIRAMAN CEO, NextNav
in urban areas, GPS signals can be less reliable and impede navigation, transportation, and don’t provide accurate altitude information. Emergency services can save more lives with PNT services that include floor-level vertical location for situations like finding an emergency caller. Our Pinnacle technology provides floor-level location, thus enhancing situational awareness for first responders.
We’re in an exciting time for new technologies with potential to reshape how society’s challenges are approached. Autonomous vehicles, urban air mobility, drones, and smart cities are forecasted to play important future roles. In all these technologies, PNT is integral to how they are developed, deployed, managed.
Looking at how to prepare our infrastructure for these new innovations, now –– is perhaps the most important time to ensure, policymakers are educated on how PNT plays a critical role in securing infrastructure and enabling technology - both now and in future. Further, we need to have secure, resilient, GPS alternatives that meet certain criteria for performance, but also are cost effective, easily deployable, can fit into mass market devices, and can cover wide areas.
We need to have secure, resilient, GPS alternatives that meet certain criteria for performance, but also are cost effective, easily deployable, can fit into mass market devices, and can cover wide areas.
We are no longer waiting for a wave of technology to sweep across our surveying and construction industries with groundbreaking productivity and efficiency solutions. We are already on the crest, holding on tight as we ride a massive digital swell transforming the way we work.
The thirst for more data, gathered more frequently to deliver more insights, is a reality leading us to more efficient uses of resources, more productive projects, the next generation of digital twin workflows — even the reality-based metaverse. While “metaverse” is a term with many contexts, for geospatial professionals, it relates to the complete virtual replication of the real world. It relies on reality capture, modeling, simulation, citizen engagement and much more.
Our ability to make the most of this sea change is dependent on connectivity – connecting workflows, connecting lifecycle conditions, and connecting people… at scale. We need efficient ways to deploy connected digital technologies that expand and optimize workflows for a variety of reasons that range from productivity, cost, and schedule improvements, to the reduction of emissions and waste.
For the geospatial professional, this demand has triggered a paradigm shift from points, lines and polygons toward capturing rich data and directly using digital models to place assets and objects in the field. It’s an adjustment that necessitates a digital transformation that starts with reality capture – the capture of existing conditions through scanning or photogrammetry – and includes the visualization and analysis of models in the field with cloud workflows that integrate data seamlessly into shared systems. From that shift,
we can then deliver groundbreaking efficiency and capitalize our returns on our growing investments in the geospatial metaverse.
Are you adapting? If not, what should you do to get on board?
Digital construction is defined as using digital technologies and workflows to increase efficiency and quality, specifically to save costs, reduce project timelines and eliminate waste and emissions throughout the lifecycle. This transformation is enhanced by a growing technology ecosystem (e.g.,
While “metaverse” is a term with many contexts, for geospatial professionals, it relates to the complete virtual replication of the real world. It relies on reality capture, modeling, simulation, citizen engagement and much more.
So, what should you look for from your technology providers and partners to move to this next step? Watch for these advances to drive us forward:
Artificial intelligence:
By combining AI approaches such as computer vision, machine learning and deep learning, it is possible to build systems to automate the delivery of “intelligent” information. AI has many applications in a wide range of fields, including image-based object identification, natural language processing, robotics and more. For example, it is essential for automating repetitive processes and speeding up imagery and lidar data classification, identifying assets or extracting curb/gutter linework for corridor design and inspection applications.
Hybrid survey/scanning solutions:
The combination of a total station and a 3D scanner is one example. As some progressive contractors have noted, the ability to set up, scan and photograph – all in a matter of minutes – provides great flexibility to deliver highly accurate data for simplified and connected workflows. At the most advanced level, mobile mapping systems that combine GNSS, inertial, scanning and camera sensors deliver accurate, visually rich data, at the highest level of efficiency.
Connect-and-scale strategies:
Big data presents many challenges in storage, visualization, sharing and analysis – and common data environments support this emerging demand, allowing users to combine many different data types while providing foundational APIs to support connectivity and extensibility. It’s a “connected” foundation that allows users to seamlessly combine physical and digital data with integrations to multiple vendor platforms that support “live digital representations” of a project’s status.
cloud, adoption of BIM, open APIs, reality capture) that is reducing the barriers to adoption and by government legislation and contractors who need economic, social, and environmental benefits.
The technological capabilities are foundational to the adoption of digital construction. Why? Because they are enablers to effectively communicate and deliver information between all project stakeholders and to clients. With streamlined access to quality data, project teams are more informed and have actionable insights to better manage scheduling and costs. In turn, this transparency and predictability enable owners to see potential cost overruns or scheduling issues. Maintaining quality data throughout a project also provides an accurate representation of the delivered asset to enable productivity increases to extend into future maintenance and operations.
Case in point: The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is spearheading a movement to digitally connect how it designs, constructs, and maintains many of the state’s transportation projects. Using everything from digital as-built models to what it calls a “digital geospatial ecosystem (DGE),” the agency is dynamically representing the state’s physical world in digital form, enabling streamlining of projects and collaboration by all stakeholders in real time. The success of this type of effort depends on the geospatial professional to efficiently deliver actionable models.
Surveyors and geospatial professionals are the data specialists of the reality-based metaverse, embracing trends in connectivity and interoperability. History reminds us that surveyors are often first on a project guiding the geospatial discovery and definition, and they have the knowledge and skillset to embrace and deliver on this enormous opportunity. Connecting physical and digital environments through these new methods means not just getting caught in a wave of technology but riding the peak.
By combining AI approaches such as computer vision, machine learning and deep learning, it is possible to build systems to automate the delivery of “intelligent” information.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOOA) envisions healthy ecosystems, communities and economies that are resilient in the face of change to emerge and strengthen American competitiveness in the 21st century. Richard
W. Spinrad, Ph.D. Under Secretary of
Commerce for Oceans
These innovative and valuable climate data, products and services, will provide rich insights to shape effective policies which would feed decisions at a local level, personal level and corporate level.
andAtmosphere & NOAA Administrator shared his perspectives on NOAA’s strategies, innovations and initiatives in an exclusive conversation with Geospatial World
We understand that NOAA's vision of the future includes the development of resilient ecosystems. In this context, what initiatives are you undertaking to foster the resilient communities and economies in the short and long term?
I am a confirmed climate optimist. I believe through the development of climate data, climate services and climate products, we can position the nation to actually understand how climate is going to impact our coastal communities, our ability to grow food and have food security, our understanding of what we need to do to adapt to changes in weather patterns and adapt accordingly on how we use energy insight. So we are developing concepts around a ClimateReady Nation.
NOAA’s Strategic Plan 20222026 includes a strong priority to build a ‘Climate Ready Nation’ by establishing NOAA as the primary federal authoritative provider of climate information and services in the whole-of-government response to tackle the ongoing climate crisis.
As climate risks continue to grow, NOAA is addressing these challenges by providing essential, critical weather, water and climate information and data to members of the community and key decision makers so that they can take appropriate actions to reduce the impacts of climate change.
Climate data is required by relevant private and public sector decision-makers to increase resilience to the more frequent weather extremes and its overall community impacts. What are your thoughts on how translating climate data helps in effective understanding of related community impacts?
NOAA has been developing climate products and services
which contribute to decision making and to understanding natural environment that affect a community’s everyday life. Recently these efforts have been bolstered by federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, which have provided almost USD 6 billion to NOAA, most of which is being used for climate adaptation and resilience strategies.
For example NOAA’s– ‘Sea Level Rise viewer’ allows local communities to get access to highly accurate information about what they are going to see in terms of loss of land due to sea level rise, where it's going to be more severe than other places and by how much.
These kinds of data are
Sea Level Rise Viewer: Use this web mapping tool to visualize community-level impacts from coastal flooding or sea level rise
The New Blue Economy is a knowledge-based economy, looking to the sea not just for extraction of material goods, but for data and information to address societal challenges and inspire their solutions.
being used to help communities become more resilient, with a particular emphasis on natural infrastructure. In fact, we have just announced USD 295 million in the present fiscal year for natural infrastructure investments to increase resilience and buffer against climate change and extreme events.
Our goal is for our products and services to be used to understand what the climate impacts are going to be. Through impact based decision support we are trying to understand the nature and severity of impacts and then help affected communities, especially vulnerable communities, to address them.
The significance of understanding the extent of the actual impact felt by communities can be a very helpful tool to determine which climate data and services to prioritize on when initiating a program. Having the right infor-
mation is how we mitigate climate change challenges.
Climate equity ensures the just distribution of the benefits of climate protection efforts for everyone. How important is it to recognize this aspect in related initiatives and decisions?
Equity is central to all of our efforts, especially since traditionally underserved communities have often been left behind. Our goal is to make sure they have access to all of our climate products and services.
As an example the web portal Heat.gov serves as a primary source of heat and health information for the nation to reduce the health, economic and infrastructural impacts of extreme heat. Our goal is for community based decision makers, along with anyone in the community, to have the information.
Language is another important factor when talking about equity. Many of NOAA’s products like weather emergency warnings are already being translated into Spanish. We hope to do even more in the future.
The model of centralized, government-directed human space activity born in the 1960s has, over the last two decades, made way for a new model, in which public initiatives in space increasingly share the stage with private entities. What is your view on the strategic significance of the ‘commercialization of space’ sector?
I think the investment in commercial remote sensing, is very exciting. That said, we need to make sure that as a government entity charged with regulatory oversight that, we are doing our
due diligence with respect to commercial remote sensing.
Space situational awareness and space traffic management are key components of NOAA’s responsibilities through our Office of Space Commerce (OSC). This team also works with industry on policies that allow use of commercial data in a very effective manner and allow the commercial data providers to grow their business and build out their business model. So, I think you're going to see an increased volume of activity on the commercial side. The other thing is with miniaturization, we are starting to see some remarkable capabilities in the private sector.
In NOAA we are constructing billion dollar satellites which are in the constellation of lower earth orbit and geostationary. These are both primarily satellites as well as the space weather satellites. We are going to build those out over the years to come. We launched two satellites GOES 18 and the Joint Polar Satellite System -2 (JPSS-2) in 2022.
At the same time we are looking at the commercial sector for some of the very small microsats, nanosats that are going to be providing a lot of capabilities. So I think you are going to see a burgeoning private sector.
world on the human world in the future and how is it helping shape policy making and action?
The Biden Administration’s “America the Beautiful” initiative has set a goal to conserve and restore 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030. At NOAA, we have a very strong ocean conservation and stewardship component and we have an active involvement in the country’s Marine Protected Areas.
An important area of attention in this arena is the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, which serves as the trustee for a network of underwater parks encompassing more than 620,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes Waters. There is also the National Estuarine Research Reserve System which is a network of 30 coastal sites designated to protect and study estuarine systems.
An important initiative formulated in 2022 is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Nippon Foundation- General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) Seabed 2030 and NOAA at the UN Ocean Conference 2022 in Lisbon which will greatly expand the understanding of the world's ocean by initiating mapping of global ocean waters.
The ocean covers more than 70 per cent of the planet. With the development of new tools and technologies for mapping and measuring its floor, we have a better capacity to understand its physical structure, and the life it supports, and therefore better
understand our full planet. That knowledge can help us make better, more sustainable decisions — locally, nationally, and globally.
Can you share more about the concept of ‘New Blue Economy’ you have written about extensively?
The New Blue Economy is a knowledge-based economy, looking to the sea not just for extraction of material goods, but for data and information to address societal challenges and ultimately to inspire solutions. There is an opportunity for economic development, but it must be balanced with environmental stewardship.
Let me offer an analogy by using the commercial weather industry. Several decades ago, some meteorologists thought they could take the basic products that the National Weather Service produces and then add value to them for targeted markets. The result is a robust commercial ‘value added’ weather products industry worth several billion dollars.
I am convinced that the same type of approach to ocean data, in the context of this New Blue Economy, would be orders of magnitude greater in economic value.
New Blue Economy founded on the improved collection, analysis, and dissemination of ocean and coastal-derived data and information, can support economic growth and address societal challenges, while protecting ocean health and ensuring social equity.
As global concerns of environmental degradation draw attention of concerned stakeholders, the ocean is being increasingly viewed as the Earth’s next frontier waiting to be fully explored and used. NOAA is actively working in the marine realm. What are your views on the growing impact of the marine
All of the information NOAA acquires with their products and services are being used to understand what the climate impacts are going to be.
Dr. Walther Pelzer is Member of the DLR Executive Board and Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR. In his vast and prolific carrier, Dr. Pelzer has been responsible for a variety of tasks in the area of value-creation management as well as strategy and technology. His remits include positions within industry on a national as well as international level, including managerial appointments at Degussa AG (later FERRO Corp.) and Pankl Racing AG. From 2007 to 2015 Dr. Pelzer was Director and subsequently Deputy Director General of the Research and Technology Department at the Ministry of Innovation, Science, Research and Technology of the State of North-Rhine Westphalia. In an interview with Geospatial World he reflects on current developments in the space sector and how space can help to tackle global challenges.
The global space industry could generate $1.1 trillion or more in revenue by 2040. What factors are driving this space economy?
Certainly, there are many drivers boosting the space economy to ever new heights and they are closely interconnected at many levels. What we all can agree on is the fact that the emergence of New Space has been a game changer for the global space economy. This means in particular the introduction of increased competition, new technologies and processes, which are lowering manufacturing and associated costs. This interconnects with access to space becoming cheaper. With respect to the industrial
landscape it is not only big players anymore – start-ups and smalland medium-size enterprises are entering the scene in large numbers, coming up with innovative approaches in the upstream sector as well as in the downstream businesses.
Awareness, not only in the space industry but other industries as well, of the fact that space data is available and can add extensive value to different workflows, has been a game changer. Industrial players way beyond the traditional space industries include space services, data and applications in their business portfolio directly or by enhancing their product portfolio. A combination of all these factors is thriving the space sector.
Germany is the largest financial contributor to the European Space Agency (ESA). What are your priorities after the recent ESA ministerial council?
First of all, I am glad that Germany with its commitment of 3.6 billion euros remains a central partner in European space activities. Together, the 22 ESA Member States commit to a total funding of 16.9 billion euros, which is a fantastic overall result. With respect to Germany’s contributions to ESA, both from a financial and policy point of view, we clearly identify three priorities. First, we put a decisive focus on supporting the European Green Deal. ESA’s progam portfolio especially in the Earth Observation (EO) domain has valuable contributions that we strive to support. Second, we aim at fostering the European discussion on the right balance between independence and international cooperation when it comes to space infrastructures. From a German point of view,
we believe it is important to have strategic independence – meaning we select specific technological capabilities and be world-class in them. This not only gives us an edge in technology development and innovation capability, but makes Europe a valuable partner of choice internationally. One of the best examples here is the European Service Module, which is an essential element of NASA’s Artemis program and, therefore, future boots on the moon.
As another priority we aim at fostering innovation in the launcher sector. We are supporting the preparations for a successful maiden flight of ESA’s Ariane 6 – the heavy launcher Europe relies on for the next decade. At the same time, Germany is the driver behind additional support for privately developed launcher systems in Europe with the aim of diversifying the European launcher market and introducing competition to the sector.
Beside our commitments in the frame of the Ministerial Conference, I am humbled that after being elected by the other Member States, Germany will now hold the ESA Council
Presidency for the next three years and host the next Ministerial Council in 2025. In this role, Germany intends to contribute to a strong ESA that harnesses the opportunities provided by space for the good of Europe and our planet. The contribution of spaceflight to climate protection, the strengthening of European sovereignty in strategically important space domains and the boost to innovation, and cost efficiency achieved through the promotion of New Space approaches are important cornerstones for this.
Germany has always been one of the staunchest supporters of the European EO program Copernicus, which is the most proliferated civil earth observation constellation in the world. Copernicus provides unique information about the past, present and future of our climate and the data generated by its sentinels constitutes the basis for indispensable applications and tools that help to enable climate change mitigation. In 2019, we committed to enhancing it with six additional satellites, which are currently under development.
With climate monitoring as one of our top priorities. Germany on a national level has launched the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP) in 2022. This hyperspectral satellite mission monitors and characterizes Earth’s environment on a global scale.
I am also thrilled that DLR along with NASA paved the way for GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment). This award-winning mission studied key changes in the planet’s
DLR has three main goals. First, the European Green Deal and Earth Observation program. Second, independence and international cooperation. Third is, fostering innovation.
waters, ice sheets, and solid earth. In 2027, the GermanFrench MERLIN (Methane Remote Sensing Lidar Mission) satellite will be launched with the objective to measure atmospheric methane concentrations with unprecedented precision and will help to better understand the sources of greenhouse gas playing a pivotal role in global warming. We also have a strategic partnership with JAXA for monitoring greenhouse gas levels.
We must be aware that climatic change is a global challenge. Reliable data and huge investments are needed to tackle it, which further requires international collaboration between space agencies.
What are the new approaches to resilient and alternate PNT (positioning, navigation, and timing) systems?
If you look at the new generation Galileo, we are making the atomic clocks resilient and stable. We are also working on introducing optical clocks, which show an even better performance. Thirdly, there’s a lot of focus on signal power. The new generation PNT satellites are bigger and heavier than before because they will provide much more power to make the navigation signals significantly stronger.
Until now, PNT satellites have been outside the lower earth orbit (LEO). But ESA’s LEO-PNT program aims at extending GNSS to a ‘multilayer system of systems’ approach, with medium-Earth orbit signals supplemented by those from LEO satellites.
Not the least, we are also looking into merging 5G/6G and even terrestrial Digital Audio
Broadcast technology with satellite navigation. The combination of alternative PNT technologies will be essential to achieve strong resilience.
The rise of commercial use of space is transforming the space industry worldwide. What is DLR’s approach and view on this?
The German Aerospace Center is a dual-capacity entity with two main pillars under its roof. On the one hand, it is one of Europe’s biggest research and development facilities, with space being one of its scientific disciplines. On the other hand, it is home to the German Space Agency.
From a research and development perspective, we develop cutting-edge science with commercialization in mind. We transfer knowledge and technology to the industry. So, when our scientists come up with new programs, we ask them, “How are you going to transfer the knowledge to the industries? Who are your partners?” In addition, we have special programs to foster start-ups. Many start-ups have come out of DLR, and we already have a large portfolio of impressive success stories of our spinoffs.
From the German Space Agency’s point of view, we are at the forefront in Europe regarding commercialization and related programs. For example, we are financing and supporting a microlauncher competition for German start-ups that aim at developing and commercially operate microlaunchers. While we have three promising start-ups in this field, which are all progressing well from a technology point of view, we must also be sure to back up their efforts from a policy perspective. Therefore, in the course of the ESA Ministerial Conference, we pushed for these companies get access to ESA payloads and establish a true level playing field.
With the changing global security scenario and the space race increasing, what kind of future do you see?
The Ukraine war has been a game changer for the space sector in Europe. It has clearly reinforced the notion that security in space and security from space are important not only from a global perspective but especially for Europe.
Space is part of our daily life, and therefore, it is part of politics. We must think of securing every aspect of the space sector –securing satellites and communication between satellites – applications, cybersecurity, ground stations, and so on. The EU also sees the importance of a sovereign communication capability and has launched its ‘Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnection and Security by Satellites’ (IRIS²), a third ‘space flagship’ program alongside Galileo and Copernicus, in order to build its own satellite system for secure communications for the EU.
We must be aware that climatic change is a global challenge. Reliable data and huge investments are needed to tackle it, which further requires international collaboration between space agencies.
meeting other high government priorities, such as the emergency services, security services and those focused on solutions for the climate crisis. This takes brokering beyond data to the provision of solutions to partner problems.
INGRID VANDEN BERGHE Administrator General National Geographic Institute, BelgiumIn a Geospatial World column a year ago, Ingrid Vanden Berghe exposed her ideas on the geo-information brokerage role that she believes mapping agencies are well placed to take on and is being adopted by the National Geographic Institute (NGI), Belgium. This brokering works in two ways – outwards to provide government information publicly and inwards to ensure that government has the data it needs. This year she explained to John Kedar, Contributing Editor, GW, how this transformation is progressing, and in particular how partnerships and solutions are central to being an effective broker.
Transformation to the brokerage role requires new behaviors if the full benefits are to be realised. Most important amongst these, in addition to the implicit brokerage role as a ‘data and map provider’, NGI is positioning itself as a strategic partner with its key customers. The biggest partner initially is defense but NGI is also developing partnerships with those
The emergency services often operate and integrate assets across boundaries. NGI has worked with the emergency services to bring a consistent base map that meets their needs with a standardised emergency grid index and thematic symbology. It’s not just the big issues though, NGI won an IT-award in December for establishing a tool for firewomen and firemen to rapidly print specific mapping to ensure improved coordination between field and command centers – everyone operating with the same information.
Partnership works in other ways too. In addition to better data and supporting integration, NGI conducted a tender for, and procured, Google API licences and technical services on behalf of the police. This idea is taken further to whole of government procurement of geospatial data and licences, although sometimes big ministries are in the lead, for instance the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
NGI is changing its relationship with its biggest customer, the Ministry of Defence (MOD), by supporting the Ministry improve its capacity to benefit from geospatial data and technology. MOD and NGI intend to sign a partnership agreement to formalize
this. It will include placing NGI employees into the Ministry of Defense, removing the need for the Ministry to recruit and retain small numbers of specialists. As a result, NGI is closer to its partner, better understands defense challenges and can build a pool of customer-centric staff with experience of wider user systems, potentially benefitting other ministries. It is good for geospatial careers too, as the arrangement provides young people with customer-facing development combined with long-term progression that would otherwise be denied in a small specialist team. The recruitment of military reservists amongst NGI-staff, building experience in peacetime but deploying with the military in crisis, is another option being explored. In these examples, the partnership can be seen to be tripartite, MOD, NGI and the individual.
It's not all plain sailing - the broker role has challenges. Firstly, securing the ‘factory’ when producing and serving data is relatively easy but NGI is now grappling with the more difficult security challenge of working interactively with multiple partners. Secondly, NGI has a responsibility not to implicitly lock partners into particular technology vendors, instead looking for openness and modularity in solutions. Overall, though, through its brokerage approach focussed on solving users’ challenges whilst still responsible for the basics, NGI is becoming even more relevant to the Belgian Government, business and people.
Transformation to the brokerage role requires new behaviors if the full benefits are to be realised.
The role and scope of national mapping agencies is undergoing a seminal transformation, from a basic mapping mandate to providing digital services and solutions to all stakeholders.
By John KedarFor years, national mapping and geospatial information agencies (NMGAs) have struggled to understand their future direction in a fast-changing geospatial ecosystem. A host of global conferences and symposiums, including the Geospatial World Forum,
Cambridge Conference and United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress, have all explored this theme in recent years.
Is authoritative, up-to-date, foundation geospatial data the future or should mapping agen-
cies be looking to provide knowledge services and solutions? How do government owned NMGAs fit in a World in which industry can profitably supply the data and services for many use cases, and where the wider digital ecosystem is increasingly incorporating location into its workflows? This article, along with NMGA leader guest columns, explores these questions.
Defining the future role of national geospatial information agencies should start with an understanding of the changing digital ecosystem. The United Nations Future Geospatial Information Ecosystem document explores this from a government perspective. The Geospatial Knowledge Infrastructure (GKI) concept, a partnership between like-minded bodies including Geospatial World and the United Nations Statistics Division, looks more broadly at an ecosystem where data and applications combine to deliver user-led knowl-
edge and solutions for across government and industry.
Geospatial and wider digital ecosystems are converging. This has been evidenced by Geospatial World’s research during the GKI project, where examination of eight industry sectors amply demonstrated the widespread adoption of geospatial technology and data in digital workflows. As Ed Parsons, Google’s Geospatial Technologist, said in 2020, there’s a bit of geo in everything.
The soaring user base is naturally complemented by a growing data and technology provider base, of which NMGAs constitute a small part. Some NMGAs, such as UK’s Ordnance Survey, have recognised this trend and established, with partners, a geospatial start-up accelerator led by Carly Morris called Geovation, which has set a global example.
Increasingly, users leverage Earth Observation data, AI and the Cloud to create knowledge. India’s Blue-Sky Analytics is a geospatial data intelligence company building an API based catalogue of environmental datasets to support climate change decision making. EO companies today are aiming to solve specific problems rather than providing data.
Technology change is leading to greater adoption of combined digital and geospatial technologies, along with the consumption of location data, providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for NMGAs to transform collection, management and data access. This gives a particular opportunity for developing nations left behind by the growing digital divide, a point often reiterated by the United Nations’ Dr Greg Scott.
The real technology change is not geospatial, but AI, Cloud, ever-present connectivity and Web 3.0 which combined allows the processing and curation of decentralized digital information in real-time. Web 3.0 goes further; it offers the opportunity to make geospatial agency data and services findable machine to machine. As autonomy sets in that bodes well for geospatial data consumers, who are no longer just human searching for data through a browser but increasingly machines.
Nadine Alameh, CEO of the Open Geospatial Consortium, argues that the Metaverse is geospatial. Dr Lesley Arnold, Director Geospatial Frameworks Ltd, goes further and coined the phrase ‘Geoverse’. Whatever the name, geospatial information is a 4D foundation to the metaverse, potentially providing a scaffolding and truth in that world and giving NMGAs a potential role.
The days of geospatial agencies serving data and throwing it out there are over. To transform, geospatial agencies must understand their funders and customers and build a sustainable business model based on both.
The user, human or machine, has a choice – geospatial agencies are not the only suppliers of data, services and solutions. Transformation is not easy; all technology companies are constantly adapting in a rapidly changing user environment. But it is necessary.
In December 2022, the United Nations made public its approach for countries to prepare action plans to improve geospatial information management for national, social and economic good. The approach supports countries consider a wide-ranging array of stakeholders to understand national priorities, as only then can a country gain insights into the
Topographical maps are primarily used for recreational purposes or to assist with urban planning, mining, emergency management and more.Technology change is leading to greater adoption of combined digital and geospatial technologies, along with the consumption of location data, providing a once-in-alifetime opportunity for NMGAs to transform collection, management and data access.
geospatial information actions it needs to take, many of which will fall on NMGAs. Supported by the SDG data Alliance, this approach is being currently followed by 13 nations across the Pacific, Africa, and Latin America, with others seeking to do the same.
Across the world, mapping agencies are getting closer to users. The Georgian National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR) is an example. At the recent United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress, NAPR’s Mari Khardziana made clear how this is opening new opportunities for the agency and its customers, resulting in government funding for data maintenance.
But what are users actually seeking?
You would be forgiven for thinking geospatial data, but Ingrid Vanden Berghe, Director General Belgium’s National Geospatial Institute and Eric Loubier, Director General Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation, argue differently in their columns in this edition of Geospatial World. They opt for solutions to user challenges. How those solutions are achieved and with what services, data and algorithms, is not relevant to the user provided the solution or answer can be trusted in the context of the challenge.
This is the direction for the wider geospatial ecosystem. Consider the pressing need for climate change solutions, which is a focus of great minds. GHGSat established earth obser-
vation satellites to provide emission monitoring solutions that help carbon intensive industries and governments achieve their emissions targets.
Geospatial data is only a part of the solution to often complex challenges, so NMGAs should understand how they fit into a value chain in any sector. The 2022 GKI Phase 2 report describes the geospatial contribution to sector workflows, including that by NMGAs, and links the eight sectors to the sustainable development goals.
Geospatial data derived for one solution is reusable for many sectors. User challenges should absolutely dominate NMGA thinking, the more problems solved then the greater the data demand and the more sustainable is the data creation and management.
As the author did, when in the British Army, loaning experts to key users enables users to realise value and consequently invest. Geosciences Australia has loaned staff to government departments for years; in both cases resource availability restricts this to the highest priority users where greatest benefit can be accrued. In return, the geospatial community is better placed to collaborate.
Eric Loubier expresses his view on solutions in his column, but he is not alone and some NMGAs in developing nations are doing the same. Guatemala’s National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology delivers knowledge in the form of risk mapping, which directly supports decision-making.
For NMGAs seeking to transform, the first imperative is to be
Ordnance Survey & Mobileye Create New Roadside Data Collection Technology used to map Lusaka, Zambia is replicable in other African cities to upgrade informal settlements and achieve sustainable urban expansion.closer to national priorities, key stakeholders, major government programs and users. This derived understanding has led Norway’s NMGA, Statens Kartvert, to give increased operational priority to maritime data and solutions.
Once mapping agencies understand what solutions or data are required to solve user problems, then they can adapt to a ‘fit for use’ approach. Just as NMGA’s competitors have done. ‘Fit for use’ both applies to quality, in its widest sense, and its useability, which impacts data design.
Before reaching decisions on foundation geospatial information governance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, GASGI sought to understand users’ data requirements based upon the challenges they face. Dr Vanessa Lawrence CB, former Director General, Ordnance Survey, supported this work.
In understanding the needs of the ecosystem, NMGA leaders can work with government to determine where they have a role and what can be left to industry in an open market.
Paradoxically, NMGAs do have a role in developing industry, whether through partnerships that enable a greater variety of solutions to be delivered to the market or, in developing nations, to help generate new geospatial information industries. Alina Sushchyk, from Ukraine StateGeoCadastre, made this point at the 2022 Geospatial World Forum.
StateGeoCadastre has pursued
this over recent years, actively contracting data production to the private sector whilst providing support to help build the private geospatial sector to move from maps to data using GIS technologies.
The second imperative is to embrace technological opportunities to create and manage fit-for-use data in ways that helps achieve the solutions that customers seek.
Technology enables access. An increasing number of NMGAs make topographic mapping available to businesses and citizens as open, free, data. Swisstopo’s internationally renowned free map app is both an open map viewing platform and a tool to help people pursue outdoor activities, from snow sports to aviation.
Georgia did the same – the 2022 launch of NAPR’s Georgia Maps app increased awareness of NAPR’s
national offer multi-fold and increased interest in funding the agency’s output and wider NSDI.
Connectivity and automated data integration are driving value so NMGAs needs to develop data access further to make it ‘machine findable’ and automatically accessible through APIs. Dr Lesley Arnold offers that NMGAs should create linked data to help this.
Technology enables continuously updated foundation data, digital twins and HD mapping. The combination of EO and AI, espoused by Eric Loubier in his column, gives an opening for developing nations.
An Ordnance Survey partnered project combined automated AI processes and imagery provided by the Zambia Survey Department to generate a new base map of Lusaka, reducing the cost of geospatial information considerably. Indeed, Ordnance Survey has pushed the boundaries further
Ordnance Survey and Mobileye Mapping Britain’s Roadside Infrastructure
Geospatial data derived for one solution is reusable for many sectors. User challenges should absolutely dominate NMGA thinking, the more problems solved then the greater the data demand and the more sustainable is the data creation and management.
and in 2018, with partners, tested the automated data processing and updating of national geospatial databases based on data collected by Mobileye sensors mounted on standard utility company vehicles that regularly drive the streets of UK. HD maps need this level of update, and better. But the same principle applies everywhere.
Rocsanda Pahola Mendéz Mata, Director National Geographic Institute of Guatemala stresses her drive to give users “access to information faster and digital to the point that we can afford it”.
NMGAs do not have to own bespoke technology in a bespoke architecture to benefit. This can stifle innovation and add expense when industry is far more adaptive, has scale and does listen to users.
Ordnance Survey, which turned to Esri to implement a fully automated mapping architecture, exemplifies this change. The cloud makes this even more appealing, although it can never be the only solution whilst connectivity and power supply remain challenges in many developing nations.
The balance of NMGA skills is shifting from traditional survey to data and solutions, with data
scientists being an obvious addition to embrace AI, data integration and customer focussed solutions. Embracing technology is only possible if NMGAs develop their people and recruit additional skills to take advantage of the opportunities. Global institutions such as FIG have role to play in helping NMGAs shift emphasis.
New role of data?
What does all this mean for the concept of ‘authoritative data’, previously the raison d’etre of many NMGAs?
From a user perspective the word ‘trusted’ carries more weight than ‘authoritative’. Simply put, fit-for-use trusted useable data (which may or may not be authoritative) and trusted algorithms tend to provide trusted solutions.
Ensuring the flow of trusted geospatial data to and from governments, from whatever source, is one role NMGA leaders are adopting: Belgium’s NGI is doing this. But ‘authority’ remains relevant. Foremostly, managing and making available national reference systems is fundamental to spatial data integration, far more so for autonomy. Position, Navigation and Time (PNT) is increasingly considered an element of critical national infrastructure; GKI
recommends that governments have a PNT strategy. The new UN Global Geodetic center of Excellence hosted by Germany, will help all nations benefit.
In September 2022, Australia and New Zealand initiated the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network (SouthPAN), awarding an AUD$1.18 billion contract to Lockheed Martin to help realise more than $7.6 billion in demonstrable economic benefits. SouthPAN provides accurate, reliable and instant positioning services across all of Australia and New Zealand’s land and maritime zones, providing ten centimetres accuracy without the need for internet connectivity.
Overall, the term ‘fit-for-use’ is gaining ground. This still implies authority in data, products and solutions where these are necessary, particularly where life or significant financial impacts are at stake, and thus remains part of the NMGA offer. Safety of life at seas is a particular example, where hydrographic agencies can carry liability if they knowingly endanger life and the environment. Roads and land navigation data may fall in the same bracket with Level 5, full automation. Cadastral data also needs to be authoritative given the impact of getting it wrong.
An increasing number of countries are adopting geospatial registers which are, by definition, authoritative. In UK, the Unique Property Reference Number is now mandated for use across Government, enabling integrated solutions. In the Netherlands, a leader in registers, the Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency maintains the cadastre and topography registers and provides a facility to access wider government spatial registers.
Supporting the move towards solutions, the Agency recently combined national building and address registers with high resolution imagery and GeoAI techniques to provide policymakers a national understanding of the potential of solar energy and interventions necessary to achieve some of that potential.
The UK’s Geospatial Commission, directed by Thalia Baldwin, has adapted the FAIR principles and argues that geospatial data is better if Q-FAIR: Quality (fit for purpose), Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and (Re)useable. In this regard, NMGAs should declare the quality of their data to assist users make better decisions and continue their move towards APIs.
In time, NMGA geospatial data should be as easy-to-find on the internet as textual data, leading to true knowledge on demand. Industry can continue to support OGC and W3C collaboration to promote this.
If change is a pre-requisite for national mapping agencies, then partners stand ready to assist. This conjures up thoughts of public-private partnerships (PPP), but these are a small subset, fully explored by the World Geospatial Industry Council in its 2021 policy report on the subject.
Emphasis on partnerships is the norm across the private sector, often to combine technologies or technologies and data that provide
user-specific solutions. It needs to be for NMGAs. Partnerships are stressed both by GKI and the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework.
Partnerships offer NMGAs benefits in managing fit for use and accessible geospatial data. Three examples point to opportunities: Firstly, through its Map Editing Partnership program, TomTom partners with companies in logistics and on-demand industries to share the map editing process to ensure up-todate maps.
Secondly, in 2021, Canadian company Ecopia partnered with Airbus, gaining access to Airbus’ global 50cm resolution imagery database, and applying AI systems to extract local geospatial vector data at global scale.
These Ecopia Vector Maps are available within the Airbus OneAtlas Platform. Thirdly, Geosciences Australia is expanding its national network of GNSS reference stations, a network of stations that are owned and operated by both the Commonwealth and third parties.
Partnerships can be innovative. In the USA, USGS has created a partnership programme to build affordable Lidar coverage of the country, soliciting proposals from potential government and private sector partners. One successful proposal, in Arizona, saw private industry collect data at a higher resolution for its own uses and provided USGS a lower-resolution
subset for a heavily discounted price. NMGAs can enable such partnerships by expressing a clear route. Through its NGA Partnership Intermediary Agreement, the US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency has published a clear innovation, confidence building and assurance process for potential partners to follow.
For industry, assisting a national mapping agency provide better data, services and solutions has reciprocal benefits. Equally, in developing nations, industry and donors can make single-use project geospatial data available to NMGAs who can then repurpose it for wider national benefit.
Conclusion
The rapidly changing geospatial ecosystem applies to NMGAs just as any other organisation, and gives them great opportunity. Four imperatives are highlighted in this article that should feature in all NGMA transformations:
Just as all technology businesses are transforming to remain relevant, transformation is equally essential for NMGAs.
Become closer to national challenges and users, thereby understanding the solutions and data required to meet the need for knowledge and solutions.
Take advantage of technological opportunities to meet these changing user demands.
Invest in partnerships and collaborations.
John Kedar Contributing Editor john@geospatialworld.net
The balance of NMGA skills is shifting from traditional survey to data and solutions, with data scientists being an obvious addition to embrace AI, data integration and customer focussed solutions.
adapting to climate change and help our customers evolve to new needs. For major U.S. utilities, our mobile solution, Lemur, leverages vegetation management to help mitigate wildfire risk to critical infrastructure. Our integration of spatial technology into enterprise business systems allows them to better transition to greener energy sources and meet net-zero goals.
We are working with the Federal government to address wildfire risk by identifying areas of greatest exposure with tools to prioritize risk reduction actions. Internationally, we’re working with development organizations to build decision-support tools that help keep agricultural commodity value chains viable and resilient. Our geospatial technologies are evolving. They span the range from adding new innovative features to a solution — to building entirely new data platforms and tools to help characterize the problem and direct a response.
2023 is the year of AI
scenarios such as directing service vehicles in post-disaster situations.
Another less visible trend is increased integration of spatial data with core business systems. Some digital transformation work we’ve done is modernizing geospatial infrastructure and introducing standard data schemes, which are poised to bear fruit in increasingly spatially-enabled industries.
Through the pandemic our customers have increasingly become data driven. They are treating data as an asset with strategic value, not a byproduct of their operations. And consequently, they are realizing that a spatial component often provides the most pertinent and actionable insights. As these new cutting-edge technologies demonstrate meaningful gains, the growth is “up and to the right” as we like to say. We see the trajectory very steep in that direction.
Locana stays attuned to megatrends affecting our customers. We started an initiative to establish an enterprise view to address the challenges of
2023 was declared “The Year of AI” by many — and I agree. There is increasing interest from customers in this space. We see the application of machine vision for automated feature extraction at increasing scale and adaption of consumer-oriented machine learning models (both in object detection and natural language processing) to enterprise use cases.
We are excited with where OpenStreetMap (OSM) has come in terms of completeness and quality. The barrier to entry for working within OSM has been significantly lowered. We work with customers to analyze options for energy transition via microgrids, the development of new supply chains, and construction of custom routing services that meet
Better accuracy in location intelligence is leading to tangible benefits for our customers. With mobility solutions, we’re able to help customers direct field workers more precisely to work locations — and track and trace infrastructure components in response to regulatory requirements around safety management. We’re using increased accuracy to make our customers more efficient and responsive.
Location intelligence helps our customers adapt to the impending retirements in the utility industry by enhancing their location intelligence and core geospatial assets, extending them to the field. They are developing comprehensive location intelligence for their operations in a number of ways like building geospatial systems of record for their core assets or enriching the geographic features with real time sensors, topology, context and metadata to serve as a knowledge base to train new workers. While it is impossible to replace practical experience, location intelligence provides an effective way to mitigate the loss of experienced workers.
Customers are treating data as an asset with strategic value, not a byproduct of their operations.
Digital twin has been an indispensable tool for a long time. A virtual model simulates various processes considering an object’s relevant aspects, functions, and properties. Though enlarging the scope of digital models from small areas to a whole country can be a mammoth task, the possibilities of creating digital twins have increased significantly in recent years. Improved surveying techniques that allow large-scale and accurate LiDAR data capturing, very high-resolution satellite imagery, and modern technologies, such as AI, cloud computing, etc., have offered tremendous potential in recent years to develop digital twins.
It is imperative to use the potential of digital twins because governments and decision-makers at present and in the future will face many challenges, including natural disasters, scarcity of natural resources, increased land consumption, and social demands. Most of these causes correlate. To address them effectively, data-driven methods are needed to analyze the interconnections between the different reasons. Thus, a spatially explicit and comprehensive common data basis is essential for many administrative decisions. There is not just a single solution in many situations but multiple alternatives and remedies. A common database and framework are of utmost importance to compare the effects of different policy decisions, and this is exactly what Digital Twin Germany aims to provide.
Geospatial data is already used for scientific projects, feasibility studies, and planning assessments. For example, accurate information about the affected environment is required to simulate disaster events with hydrological characteristics, such as flooding or heavy rainfall. This could include data on sealed surfaces, urban settlements, or weather-related data. The more data is available, the higher the value of the data. Therefore, the basic dataset will be
enriched with other information, such as information on climate, infrastructure, agriculture, or traffic.
Cloud computing, AI, or modern visualization techniques provide opportunities to overlay additional information on the virtual 3D world. Data from the federal administration shall be accounted for as much as possible to develop the complex and dynamic model of Germany. The data has to be consistent and assimilable. Therefore, data will be received from all federal administrations and constantly updated. The Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) is the key geodata provider for the government’s spatial data infrastructure and has already disposed off much national geodata. All this data is the starting point for building Germany’s digital twin.
Before developing a digital twin of the whole country, a pilot project was performed to test the feasibility in general. Therefore, the city of Hamburg and its metropolitan area have been surveyed by Hexagon. In this joint project with the State Office for Geoinformation and Surveying of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, implementations were tested, data validated, and technologies and methods explored. This pilot project gained experience handling, capturing, and analyzing the data and valuable insights into all aspects of the digital twinning process.
Furthermore, a pilot use case was studied within the project Starkregengefahrenhinweiskarte NRW (Heavy rain hazard indicator map North Rhine-Westphalia),
completed in the summer of 2021. This project clearly shows the potential of digital twins in processing complex issues by combining geospatial data and specialist expertise. In the project, extreme weather situations (such as heavy rain) were linked to an existing terrain or building structure using hydrological models. Water levels and flow velocities were determined for various scenarios for North Rhine-Westphalia. The spatial resolution was in the range of meters. This pilot digital twin is to be extended to the whole of Germany and further developed at less than 30 cm resolution.
A digital twin is more than just a 3D image of an area or a country. Besides the technical innovation and techniques, it enables policymakers and decision-makers to monitor specific conditions and test scenarios. The most significant advantage is the possibility of predicting how a system could react to changes and revisions.
The Digital Twin Germany aims to establish a new way to communicate with stakeholders at the federal and state level. Developing smart and innovative ideas will take communication to a new level. Complex issues can be analyzed, and test solutions and plans derived. Monitoring systems can be improved for agriculture, water management, air pollution, and climate
change. Various scenarios can be simulated, for example, what impact sea level rise would have on settlements and nature. A digital twin is not just a technical innovation originating from the remote sensing sector but rather a tool beyond specific thematic areas and applicable to all kinds of the decision maker. But to exploit the full potential of the data, interoperability is key. Several digital twin initiatives already exist on a municipal level. As the main geospatial data provider, the BKG is filling the gap between international and communal projects. Hence, sharing services, knowledge, and tools is essential to succeed.
The Digital Twin Germany is primarily a technical platform that enables analyses, simulations, and visualizations. For this purpose, an editorially maintained data pool, i.e., a broad range of relevant geoinformation, is provided. This platform is intended to support the federal administration in preparing well-founded data for decision-making for many use cases in politics and administration.
Selected use cases will be realized in cooperation and coordination with the competent federal authorities. BKG is thus supporting Germany with its expertise to become a smart country with smart solutions and faster decisions in the future.
A digital twin is not just a technical innovation originating from the remote sensing sector but rather a tool beyond specific thematic areas and applicable to all kinds of the decision maker. But to exploit the full potential of the data, interoperability is key.
agriculture. For that purpose, we need to combine data from all kinds of sectors. In my perspective the way ahead for the geospatial ecosystem in the Netherlands for the coming years is about making a shift from sustaining sectoral spatial planning to cross-sectoral spatial planning. Making that shift is not easy. We love making grand designs for future ecosystems and run and govern projects based on that design. But nowadays, it's quite impossible to develop ecosystems that way. We don’t need designs, but an ambition. We therefore ask business people to define business ethics.
in an effective, efficient, secure, and ethical way. Another aspect is having separate strategies: a tech strategy, a data strategy and a business strategy. In my opinion it is far better to have a business strategy that includes digital data.
We are used to public funded infrastructures. Over 100 years ago, we started with public infrastructures. But nowadays, there's also a private funded structure with lots of data. There’s a need to accept that in the private sector there's even more data than in the government sector.
Future geospatial ecosystem will be different from current geospatial ecosystems. Ecosystems are all about enabling business to become more data-driven and digital and creating business value. The question is: what business are we in? Not today, but tomorrow.
In the Netherlands land is scarce. Spatial planning in the Netherlands therefore is increasingly all about finding the best combination of different functions. Functions like housing, transport, waterplay, nature and
There is an increasing need for digitization and digital transformation. Without it we won’t be able to face major challenges like climate change. Digital transformation is however not always on top of the mind of the boardroom. Often because we ask them to provide answers to all kind of very technical questions. That’s not the way to get them involved and becoming a leader in the field of data and information technology.
What they want to see is a glimpse of what future (digital) business can look like. For example by means of pilots and use-cases. Once they get that, you can start talking about infrastructure or ecosystems needed to provide in business solutions on a continuing basis
We are used to public funded infrastructures. Over 100 years ago, we started with public infrastructures. But nowadays, there's also a private funded structure with lots of data. There’s a need to accept that in the private sector there's even more data than in the government sector.
If you look at the whole picture, there’s a need to combine the data for public and private. And I think it's necessary to create a data space or a data ecosystem, which shows private and public data. It's always difficult to create such a data space – some orchestrator of this data space is needed as well.
Companies come to the Netherlands with suggestions to create data space companies. Most of the times they want the government to be part of this space or even orchestrate it, because otherwise it's difficult to create rules and policies for this engagement.
We have to do a lot more work on public-private to make it really happen. In governments we are not always precise in defining goals and objectives and making agreements because we feel it's not necessary. Private sector is far keener on return on investment and risk management. We have to bridge that gap to make public-private ecosystems work.
ARIE VERSLUIS Manager, Policy and Management (Geo) information, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, The Netherlands
We believe data should be available, but in some cases only to those authorized to use it. Given the security situation in Europe, all data shouldn’t necessarily be available for everybody, especially in the case of infrastructure that is critical for the society.
The amount of data today has grown exponentially, which puts pressure on the IT infrastructure used to store them. The increase in data needs to be equally backed up by the budget.
There is an increase in the adoption of geospatial technology and data across multiple sectors. With increased amount of data and new applications that make use of them, there are evolving demands and requirements of the users. Therefore, engaging in a broad dialogue with the users and understanding their needs becomes essential. We see an increase in adopting new technologies, such as AI. The Norwegian Mapping authority has tested AI for a while, and now we are putting the first tests into production. AI in correspondence with aerial photography to detect changes in the terrain and the maps.
The role of national mapping agencies has changed considerably due to a shift from physical maps to data. The Norwegian Mapping Authority has a mandate of geodata coordinator. We make sure that geospatial data is collected and then distributed to multiple stakeholders such as public sector agencies, municipalities, private companies, etc.
Our main challenge is putting all the data together in systems, and then giving it to the users while adhering to the FAIR principles – the data should be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.
The geopolitical situation and the Ukraine war have forced us to rethink our strategies and policies. Some data needs to be secured; and available only to defense and security agencies to protect our citizens and critical infrastructure.
Climate change is a big driver of geospatial data. Data analysis and change detection are imperative for predicting and mitigating natural disasters such as landslides, floods, glacier melting, etc.
The third driver, also connected to climate change, is that Norway has vast areas and a small population. Suppose people are going to live all across the country. In that case, there’s a need to give the municipalities actionable geospatial data so they can plan where people can live safely.
The Norwegian Mapping Authority is in a transition with less focus on the physical map and more emphasis on the geospatial data. For us as an organization, that means a digital transition. Digital data has increasingly become the basis on which governments, organizations, and businesses base their decisions. So we need different competencies than we used to have – we need people who both understand geospatial technology and also understand the new possibilities with data and AI.
There is an increase in the adoption of geospatial technology and data across multiple sectors. With increased amount of data and new applications that make use of them, there are evolving demands and requirements of the users.
People have forgotten that geospatial technologies and solutions have been around since the early 70s. Thanks to the maturing IT and engineering tools, geospatial is now at the forefront. The market has noticed this too and geospatial innovations are everywhere today. Practically, no single IT solution can ignore the ‘where’ component anymore.
Emerging technologies such as AI, and ML are accelerating the processing power for analyzing, correcting, and augmenting different types of geospatial data. Today, Merkator actively uses AI for change detection over vast and complex vector and raster datasets. A trending example of the fast expanding AI capabilities in early 2023 are engines such as ChatGPT, which have the potential to accelerate several areas of geospatial automation.
Customers no longer want too many different vendors rather they count on stable partners that have the expertise in both the applications and the surrounding data.
Software is useless without data and vice-versa. One of the several reasons Merkator acquired Belgium-based GIM is to cater to customers who want end-to-end
solutions. Now we can create a perfect triangle we call– SDS (software, data, services) facilitating the key building blocks for real geospatial solutions.
For example, Belmap tells where customers live, work and shop. It provides insights on energy and sustainability questions and integrates more than 50 data geospatial sources offering the most complete and accurate 3D Digital Twin of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg at present.
For smart cities and infrastructure-related automation such as telecom fiber design and extending the electricity grid, we count on workflow driven solutions like MarlinDT and Eaglebe. For instance, Eaglebe supports more than 170 local Belgian authorities in permitting public space for relocation, roadworks, and events.
Users no longer want an always changing ribbon interface and a pack of buttons in an application. A workflow-driven solution pushes the user to follow strict guidelines for both geospatial data creation and attribute related data entry. It really contributes to improved data quality as user errors are reduced to the absolute minimum. In the coming months, we will add AI capabilities to raise the bar even further.
If something is ‘broken’ in the real world it needs to be fixed. Digital Twin-enabled workflow solutions accelerate the repair or engineering of any infrastructure. Digital Twin is a key building block of concepts such as the Metaverse. However, these environments will only be useful if the data is accurate and monitored or updated in real-time. This is where Marlin Digital Twin comes into play.
I see a huge investment of Digital Twin in the infrastructure sector, whether it's water, oil & gas, electricity, or telecommunications. The infrastructure sector sits at a collision point of global disruptions, including shifts in capital availability, evolving social and environmental priorities, and rapid urbanization. Our geospatial network inventory is ready to cater to the unstoppable infrastructure demands of our human species.
Emerging technologies such as AI, and ML are accelerating the processing power for analyzing, correcting, and augmenting different types of geospatial data.
The world is changing and with it there is a greater demand for assured, trustworthy and secure geospatial data that helps see the bigger picture and implement change.
At Ordnance Survey (OS), we see ourselves as part of the wider global digital ecosystem – it's our data, our services, combined with our location know-how that provide our customers with valuable insights. We unlock real potential and support customers in bringing data together, identify patterns and adding context to support critical decision making.
embedded into sustainability across global platforms.
It's not that long ago when the role of national geospatial agencies (NGAs) was to solely focus on producing high quality datasets to underpin their national geospatial data infrastructures.
Fast forward and many NGAs around the world are doing far more than just creating data, they are providing the backbone for core decision making which is being driven by a marketplace who understand and recognize the importance of authoritative and trusted data.
OS has recently gone through a big digital transformation enabling faster and easier access to Britain’s most authoritative location data.
An excellent example of this is geospatial unlocking the value of Earth Observation (EO) data. On its own EO data has limited context but add a geospatial lens and suddenly you can identify patterns, trends and support predictive capabilities. Whether that’s monitoring and identifying environmental change or mapping pollution.
OS has recently gone through a big digital transformation enabling faster and easier access to Britain’s most authoritative location data. Customers can now easily pick and choose data as and when they need it – because data is most valuable when it is used. The recently launched OS Select+Build and OS NGD Features API, not only accelerate efficiencies but enables governments and organizations to make critical decisions in a much shorter time frame.
As the world counts down to the United Nation’s 2030 Development Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), OS is on a mission to demonstrate how trusted location can be
Last year’s Cambridge Conference, hosted by OS, demonstrated how trusted geospatial data is already delivering a positive impact, but we need to ensure we have a united vision as we respond to the challenges of a changing global climate. Many governments, including the UK Government, are drawing on the power of trusted and authoritative geospatial information in helping to hit net zero targets. It’s vital that location data is recognized as a fundamental enabler in solving common challenges and supporting sustainability plans globally.
Working in collaboration with partners, our aim is to improve transparency across the world to support sustainability challenges. A good example is the Supply Chain Data Partnership which OS is leading. The aim is to launch a financially sustainable Location Register which provides a trusted location platform to conduct due diligence on commodity assets.
What we do matters to society, the environment, and the resilience of the global economy. We understand the value of partnerships, and the benefits of being able to join different data sets together in order to deliver outcomes that are much richer in their impact than if examined in isolation from one another.
If we look towards the future, our aim is to add more value to our location data, to achieve even greater efficiency and accuracy, and in turn deliver innovative services for our customers.
that lack the relevant geospatial know-how.
Geospatial data is crucial for enabling people to understand what’s happening in their neighborhood and immediate environment. At the same time, grassroots data from local people is needed in various city planning and development projects — preferably, in geospatial format. Maptionnaire enables planners, and cities in general, to collect geospatial data from residents and stakeholders about their experiences with the built environment, a vital piece of data often lacking from the urban geospatial ecosystem.
This is why there is a need to make people understand local challenges and connect with them regarding sustainability goals.
When we started in 2005 as a service for collecting geospatial data from local people, not many organizations seemed to be interested in it, but nowadays it has become a fairly common concept. A lot of players have entered the market with similar offerings, giving a great choice to the consumers. Maptionnaire has developed into a citizen engagement platform with multiple functionalities, but geospatial data is still at its heart.
MAARIT KAHILA CEO – Mapita Oy
For industries already familiar with spatial technologies, it has been easy to adapt to new processes and systems. But then there are a lot of sectors not accustomed to geospatial. A lot needs to be done to introduce them to the spatial component.
Over the years, we have experienced that it's quite difficult to introduce geospatial features to those who have got no idea of it. For instance, there are different department in cities, such as health, education etc.
Data provided by the people is related to their perceptions of the living environment and comes embedded with their ideas and hopes. For projects related to, for example, renewable energy, infrastructure, and urban planning, this information is vital. It is also essential to use local insights as a source for crucial background information at the early stages of a project.
Today, climate change has taken center stage in various government policies. Another challenge is economic slowdown and the need to design resilient systems. Existing technology is rapidly evolving to meet user needs and demands. New advancements will help tackle a lot of current challenges such as climate change from a broad perspective. However, we also need to be careful while communicating with people – it should not be assumed that they will easily adapt to the evolving changes. Instead they need to be involved and engaged well in advance, before these changes took place.
On the innovation front, there is an increasing demand and usage of digital twins, which is a key technology trend. Cities have started building them and using multi-purpose technology applications. While this is just the first step, their use and scope will increase rapidly in the future. At the same time, we need a mechanism to evaluate their benefits, and determine the value of 3D models.
Gamification is another trend in citizen engagement. Gamification helps us make everything more connected, appealing, and interactive. What’s more, AI is going to be vital for connecting different kinds of data sets, analyzing enormous amount of data, and bringing it together.
Even though the business model for SaaS services is very good and valuable, there are factors that hinder its success such as the implications of data storage, security, user privacy, and the localization debate.
Data provided by the people is related to their perceptions of the living environment and comes embedded with their ideas and hopes.
Deputy Chairman, StateGeoCadastre, Ukraine
From a land management body, the National Mapping and Cadastral Agency of Ukraine, StateGeoCadastre, has become a service institution. While facing the brunt of war, we are digitalizing services and re-aligning geospatial data strategies. Although, we embarked on digital transformation before the war.
The StateGeoCadastre faces four major challenges – war, budget constraints, climate change, and updating maps of a vast geographical area within a very short timeline. Currently, most state topographic maps of all scales are catastrophically outdated. The existing 1:10 000-scale topographic maps are more than a decade old.
The misbalance of ecology is another grey area. Most military operations took place in the area with the highest fertile soils. The explosions have contaminated vast agricultural land, and there’s a significant impact on wildlife as well.
The geopolitical situation has also compelled us to think about the open data policy, particularly geospatial data sharing. The open data can be used against national interests. Pre-war, we were supporting the approach of free data sharing between the users. The new challenge will probably be how to rethink the current policy and introduce the new one.
There’s a constant threat that the data can be physically destroyed. The onus is on us to ensure proper data security. We are working with cloud providers and arranging the backup of critical systems.
Integrated approach I think we should avoid duplicating the efforts in terms of recovery and rebuilding the infrastructure. We will have a lot of work on the territories which have suffered. Integration and cooperation between the various data holders will be the key to the country’s reconstruction and recovery.
We have prepared the legal base for the NSDI and geospatial data by referring to
various business models applicable in European countries. In particular, we analyzed the Norwegian, German, and Polish models.
A current example of our efforts is the implementation of a joint project with the Mapping Service of the Kingdom of Norway, ‘Maps for Good Land Governance in Ukraine.’ The results of these cartographic works are being used by the authorities already and will be publicly available during the post-war reconstruction and included in the national geospatial data infrastructure.
It is important to mention about our partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which aims to secure NSDI operation and will contribute towards economic development of Ukraine. Our joint project results will also ensure uninterrupted operation and safety of data and critical systems such as State Land Cadastre.
Monitoring explosive contamination, demining, and, most importantly, reclamation of damaged agricultural land and ensuring food security is another top priority. A comprehensive monitoring system is a must. We have already made a small assessment of the potential of such contamination with the help of satellite imagery, AI, data analytics, etc.
Now onwards, huge attention will be given to the security of data infrastructure, and complete digitalization of processes. There may be some inconvenience, but society must understand these are necessary steps we need to take.
There’s a constant threat that the data can be physically destroyed. The onus is on us to ensure proper data security.
Recognizing that data integration and data brokering could remain national mapping agency roles, Eric is also seeking to advance and provide value-added solutions that help governments meet today’s challenges, evaluate climate change impacts, and assist emergency and disaster management.
Earth Observation or Geo-solutions that “protect Canadians from disasters like floods and forest fires” gain far greater political and fiscal recognition than arguing for a budget for fundamental data. This does not rule out the need for national fundamental data, for a geospatial infrastructure, but this fabric must be achieved because of solving national challenges.
Eric believes that agencies only focusing onto the concept of
authoritative fundamental data are missing a real opportunity, as ‘fit for purpose’ data is increasingly what is required by data consumers who can now ‘shoparound’. For example, it was recently announced that several tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, TomTom and Microsoft, created the Overture Maps Foundation, which aims to make more map data freely available for use. In that context, geospatial information is increasingly becoming a consumable as sensors on land, in the air and in space, coupled with advanced analysis techniques such as AI, are refreshing data regularly.
Eric uses flooding to bolster this argument. The extent of flooding, ground and hydrology conditions, and potential damage to infrastructure can change rapidly, making near real time geospatial solution essential to inform response, planning and decisions.
Even fundamental data sets we which were "static", such as digital elevation models, change frequently at the higher resolutions at which they are now routinely collected and used. Eric accepts that some users need the assurance of precise and highly accurate data, such as cadastre for land registration and addressing for emergency services.
However, problems can be solved with geospatial information at lower fidelity, which is increasingly available from multiple sources. The timeliness of the information is becoming more important than the completeness or absolute precision (commission / omission) of the data. Eric uses the term ‘implication dependent’ to describe how mapping agencies should be thinking as they assess their approach.
Mapping agencies often ignore the growing truth that consumers have a choice of data providers. Many still believe that "perfection’’ is necessary, but users are increasingly seeking currency and accessibility in data along with trusted applications to apply it. Eric argues that traditional mapping agency geospatial information management processes and data models need to adapt to support users to integrate ‘consumable’ data through services and solutions.
In Canada, this changing role for the national mapping agency has led, for example, to CCMEO’s Emergency Mapping Service, which supports first responders with maps and data just hours after satellites have passed overhead in a format that allows rapid integration with wider infrastructure and statistical data.
Eric says that we must learn to trust algorithms to deliver solutions by investing in the upstream science necessary to provide assurance and to gain more structured and actionable data from sensors.
There is no other choice but to collaborate, given that the complexity of the challenges we face today. Issues such as cumulative effects, climate change and emergency management are only a few examples that span government departments. To survive and prosper, national mapping agencies must reach out across government, jurisdictions, and user communities to understand the challenges we face and offer solutions accordingly.
Schumpeter’s ‘creative destruction’ is defined as the decay of long-standing practices, procedures, products, or services followed by more innovative ones. Space provides one of the most disruptive technologies for innovation and change. Space technology and its applications are on the path of transition from a standalone system to becoming a part of everyday life.
Initially the preserve of government and academia, space as a sector is rapidly evolving into a viable business proposition.
Earth observation (EO), positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), and data analytics delivery over the Cloud is now dominated by industry players. Though, globally government remain the single largest buyer of the space-based products and services, it can be seen that they are now increasingly being subsumed by new users or industries.
Initially the preserve of governments and academia, space has rapidly transformed itself into a viable business proposition. It’s imperative both for our society and security. We can no longer live our daily lives as we know it without space.
By Arup Dasgupta & Meenal Dhande
Transition from sovereign to commercial
Primarily, space applications were used by military under government control. Private industry was used as defense contractors. While the civilian benefits of space communications and broadcasting were realized long ago and commercialized through private entities, EO from space and satellite-based navigation took longer to realize their commercial potential. Initially, they were government-funded systems like NOAA, Landsat, IRS, GPS, GLONASS, etc. Private industry promoted the downstream applications of the services these satellites provided.
The commercialization of upstream activities like satellites and sensors began in the US around 1994 when Space Imaging was authorized to build and launch high-resolution EO satellites. The first commercial EO satellite was IKONOS-2, launched in 1999. Since then, Maxar has emerged as a major player after
a series of acquisitions and mergers.
Tony Frazier, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Public Sector Earth Intelligence, Maxar, sees a market opening up with “a ‘buy first, build last’ mentality for procuring geospatial imagery, analytics, and related products and solutions. While the pace of this trend varies from country to country, it reflects on the maturity of the commercial geospatial sector worldwide and the increasing willingness of government agencies and militaries to put trust in proven commercial providers like Maxar to supplement their capabilities”.
In Europe, ICEYE, and in the US, Capella Space are prominent synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data provider that use SAR satellite constellations.
Payam Banazadeh, Founder
&
CEOof Capella Space sees an
uptick in government agencies and local and international humanitarian groups interested in accessing commercial SAR capabilities, especially in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, to monitor the conflict and inform critical decision-making. “Commercial companies, like Capella Space, are uniquely positioned to create more direct and reliable access to the critical information needed for governments to meet their mission and business objectives”.
It’s noteworthy, while SAR has been available in the government sector for decades, it hasn’t always been as easy to operationalize and scale at the rate it can be now.
Given the impact of climate change on the industry, private players are also eyeing commercial meteorological satellites. GHGSat is detecting greenhouse gases essential for climate change studies. On the other hand, Planet has shaken the market with its constellation of small satellites for optical sensing. Hawkeye 360 provides a new twist to ELINT satellites by integrating RF transmission detection with geolocation.
Commercial companies are playing an increasingly larger role in space. NASA has been leading the charge with commercial cargo and crew programs as well as its initiatives to replace the ISS with commercial space stations. The Space Development Agency, a division of the US Space Force, has been pertinently acquiring commercial technology to build the agency’s Transport Layer.
Dylan Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Voyager Space sees that, “governments are also leveraging commercial satellites and
Commercial companies are playing an increasingly larger role in space. NASA has been leading the charge with commercial cargo and crew programs as well as its initiatives to replace the ISS with commercial space stations. The Space Development Agency, a division of the US Space Force, has been pertinently acquiring commercial technology to build the agency’s Transport Layer.
technology for several use cases, including Earth observation and national security.” He opines that “most people would be amazed to learn how many commercial companies are investing in space-based assets. The ‘space race’ of the 21st century now has dozens – perhaps hundreds – of players, and with that comes the need for a different way of looking at collaboration”.
AWS Director of Aerospace and Satellite, Clint Crosier says, “commercial organizations are developing new space technologies and driving innovation across various mission areas. Many of the 70-plus space agencies around the globe are looking to leverage this innovation to solve future mission requirements more quickly for space-based missions that directly benefit citizens and protect natural resources.”
Organizations like Ursa Space rely on AWS to maintain a catalog of over 10 million SAR satellite images which is used by government customers, first responders, and other users to easily find relevant information within minutes.
European countries are also opening up the commercial space sector for some time now through different European Union (EU) authoritative bodies.
“For the last 18 years, commercial space companies have been contracted by the Joint Research Council (JRC) to centralize the provision of imagery for the different countries. From 2023 the countries will need to rely on the commercial space sector to supplement Sentinel imagery for verification purposes,” indicates Skye Boag, Marketing Manager, and Maria Hochleitner, Sales Manager, European Space Imaging.
Emmanuel Pajot, Secretary General at EARSC observes “Governments and international organizations like the ESA have been working on transferring routine EO activities like procurement of data and services to commercial entities. Driven by the increasing demand for EO data and services, private companies are also developing their EO capabilities by launching their satellites and developing new technologies.”
The commercial EO industry is expected to grow through EU policies aimed at opening a level playing field to support the promotion of the private sector. ESA’s ScaleUp program is for making Europe a hub for space commercialization by providing business incubation, business
acceleration, intellectual property, and technology transfer services to new companies while ensuring that business ideas scale up in new marketplaces and attract private and institutional investors.
In India, an independent agency, IN-SPACe was created to regulate and promote building of routine satellites, rockets and commercial launch services through native companies. Dr. Vinod Kumar, Director – Promotion Directorate, IN-SPACe & Executive Secretary – ASI, Department of Space, Govt. of India concurs, “There is a paradigm shift from government to the involvement of many diverse space actors who are carrying out activities in up-stream, mid-stream, and down-stream.”
The transition from sovereign to commercial is powered by the emergence of new application areas through the evolution of new user communities. It is an interplay of technological advances, emerging needs, and enabling policies.
Apart from new sensors on board satellites and satellite constellations, there are many advanced developments in data usage. Edge computing on satellites can reduce on-ground data curation and efficient bandwidth usage for data transmission.
The use of data ensembles, originally restricted to the oil & gas industry and meteorologists, is now becoming a common practice in many fields ranging from agriculture to urban planning.
Cloud storage and computing is another technology impacting geospatial data and service delivery. This enables the ensemble approach by providing analysts with data aggregation, and AI/ML tools. The analysts, in turn, can provide easy access and insights to users who are not experts in geospatial analytics.
Customers across the public and private sectors increasingly demand integrated offerings that give them the insights they need 24/7 and in all weather conditions. That requires combining
traditional optical imagery with other forms of intelligence, such as SAR and radio frequency (RF).
In illustrating this, Frazier describes a real-world test: “a camera on a Saab Gripen E fighter jet flying over Sweden captured a live stream of its flight path. Maxar’s Precision 3D Registration (P3DR) compared that incoming livestream to the Maxar 3D Surface Model of the area stored on the jet. By matching scenes in the livestream to the 3D data in real time, P3DR could determine the jet’s
The development of CubeSats has made it possible for companies and organizations to launch and operate their EO satellites at a fraction of the cost of traditional large satellites. This is making EO data more accessible and affordable to a broader range of users.
Companies are launching prominent constellations of satellites to provide more frequent and higherresolution data, which is useful for applications like agriculture, urban planning, and natural resource management.
Advanced imaging technologies such as SAR and hyperspectral imaging provide new data types and insights.
Companies are utilizing AI and ML to improve the efficiency and automation of EO data processing and to extract more insights from the data.
Satellites in LEO, which sit closer to the Earth than their MEO and GEO counterparts, are ideal for enabling faster revisit times, low-latency and adequate coverage.
SOME OF THE CRITICAL TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS TRANSFORMING EO LANDSCAPEprecise location, enabling the pilot to navigate and carry out the mission without GPS. The ability to transform satellite imagery into a 3D environment, paired with accurate geo-registration, is a new and powerful tactical navigation capability within GPS-denied environments.”
Then there is a growing popularity of low-Earth orbit (LEO). Space-based assets in LEO support much of the terrestrial infrastructure including utilities, emergency communications, military operations and more. Taylor explains that other technologies that will make an impact sooner rather than later include laser or optical communications between satellites in space – in other words, how the satellites in these vast new constellations will relay information and data to each other efficiently and securely.
Internet from space is another massively disruptive opportunity – this was seen when Starlink became a crucial tool in the Ukrainian war.
There’s huge amount of EO data and an increasing awareness among non-space companies about the benefits of EO. Technological advancements, lower operating and launch costs, are also encouraging companies to participate in the space industry. Thus governments, scientists, and other end-users must sort through huge volumes of data and intelligence quickly and at scale.
In 2022, AWS collaborated
with D-Orbit and Unibap to directly address the secure processing of large amounts of satellite data with low latency. Crosier points out, using AWS-developed AI and ML software models in a payload onboard a D-Orbit satellite, realtime data analysis of EO imagery revealed that it helped reduce image size by up to 42 percent, increasing processing speeds and enabling real-time inferences on orbit.
The Cloud makes designing, testing, running, and analyzing space missions easy and affordable. In the Cloud, users can handle a hundred times more data than could be handled 30 years ago and at a fraction of the cost, with enormous processing power accelerating the innovation we see today. With this, companies do not need to build supercomputers or run data centers for their space programs.
For example, Descartes Labs collects huge volumes of geospatial data derived from satellites, aircraft, and other sources and uses AWS cloud technologies like AI/ML, and high-performance computing (HPC) to store, process, and rapidly analyze vast volumes of raw data, and deliver analysis to customers, which helps them make timely decisions about complex issues such as climate change, food security, and the protection of natural resources.
In the Earth Observation industry, resolution, revisit, accuracy, and pricing are
important parameters. Boag & Hochleitner share example, “new constellations such as Albedo and EOI Space are coming onto the market next year and offering resolutions of 10-15 cm. This is the highest native resolution (not resampled) the industry has seen to date.” Maxar will launch Legion this year, offering intraday visits so the customer can get multiple images from sun up to sun down over the same AOI.
In terms of pricing, there are new opportunities for a wide range of industries; with many different satellite options, prices are becoming very competitive and will continue to do so as more and more constellations are launched.
Applications
Application is an area that attracts many service providers. The opportunities are limited only by the imagination and innovativeness of the data analysts. Data analysts can use AI and ML to provide simple, intelligent user interfaces, which can provide insights to end-users in many new fields. The increasing availability and affordability of EO data and services also enable smaller companies and start-ups to enter the market, increasing innovation and scope of application areas.
3D visualization and the resultant emergence of Digital Twins using high-resolution imagery is the next most important application, which is helpful
There’s huge amount of EO data and an increasing awareness among non-space companies about the benefits of EO. Technological advancements, lower operating and launch costs, are also encouraging companies to participate in the space industry.
Observation imagery) to predict global markets.”
He further asserts that “a large percentage of the Fortune 100 is actively investing in or at the very least exploring the opportunities that space-based assets can offer from an innovation and competitive standpoint today, and only envision that number growing over the next 5-10 years.”
for war fighter training, autonomous navigation, telecommunications planning, gaming, metaverse applications and more. Frazier highlights that Maxar was selected as the prime contractor for the US Army’s One World Terrain (OWT) program, which delivers 3D terrain and information services that support a fully accessible virtual representation of Earth through the US Army network.
According to Banazadeh, there is a massive growth opportunity for commercial applications across a range of commercial industries that can help social sector, NGOs, civil governments and other organizations make informed decisions and assist with humanitarian and environmental action.
Capella Space has launched vessel detection, change detection, and global change monitoring capabilities directly within their image tasking console to offer their customers automated insights into their collected data. They have also opened the door
to commercial partnerships with data analytics companies. This is seen as a major benefit to enabling faster, data-driven decision-making and for commercial users who might not otherwise have been able to leverage geospatial data.
Undoubtedly, advancements in AI and ML are opening up many new application areas like insurance, financial services energy, shipping, supply chain management, automatic object and change detection over and above the traditional areas like agriculture, forestry, security, etc. Such systems can be used by professionals who may not be experts in geospatial systems but are experts in their domains.
Taylor expresses this view when he says that, “the set of use cases for commercial users is growing exponentially. A few standout categories are research in biotech, AgriTech, and financial services companies looking at space-based data (like Earth
The drive to innovate both in technology and applications is the realm of innovators thinking out of the box. They are not burdened by legacy, hence can afford a fresh view of space technology and applications. Governments have appreciated the new space drive and provide financial support. They are the main source of funds.
The world is heading for a trillion-dollar space economy – the share of geospatial is about 700 billion dollar – the private sources must step in to reach the target.
Venture Capital (VC) firms are playing an important role in financing the new space companies. They provide seed capital to develop their technologies and market their products and as well as services. VC firms are also playing a pivotal role in identifying new opportunities for growth in the industry and in helping start-ups to navigate the challenges of the new space industry.
“There has been an incredible amount of investment and attention on the new space sector over the last five years, and we’ve seen many companies achieve incredible things, and some others haven’t panned out,” says
Autonomous navigation Humanitarian aid Insurance Financial services Energy Urban planning Change detection Shipping Supply chain Biotech Climate changeTaylor. Ultimately, investment in this sector is critical to the future of its growth. Still, it can be challenging for some traditional non-deep-tech VC models because the development cycles are much longer, and their technical sophistication to diligence space-related deals is limited.
While Pajot observes “SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies) are becoming increasingly popular for new space companies to go public. This allows new space companies to raise capital and access the public markets more quickly and efficiently than traditionally.”
Boag & Hochleitner strikes a cautious attitude by noting, “In the last three years, we have also experienced several global crises that have resulted in very high-interest rates and extraordinarily high inflation. Investments in the space sector are steadily declining, and some experts believe we are on the verge of a major recession.”
On the contrary Narayan Prasad, CEO of Satsearch says, “One of the key features of any successful space industry ecosystem worldwide has been the hallmark of governments acting as first customers to risky products/services. This
enables their maturity to leverage the fruits of success to scale to markets abroad.”
While government support vary by country, he highlights some best practices. For example, the US government has supported NASA by creating special procurement reforms through the NASA Space Act Agreement.
Another interesting example is the use of Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts by the defense establishments in the US, such as the Space Force to provide contracts for immature technology products to come to fruition through procurement support based on their utility.
All the technological developments are leading to a disruption in the space landscape. New entrants in the market are giving competition to traditional companies. They are also challenging the traditional business models by offering new services and creating new markets.
Additionally, these developments are leading to a democratization of access to space data, as smaller companies and organizations are able to launch and operate their satellites, and this is creating new opportunities for innovation and growth in the space industry.
“Because of our global reliance on connected technologies including cell phones, we can no longer live our daily lives as we know it without space. It’s imperative both for our economy and our security, so I think you’ll see all sorts of solutions and organizations getting involved and participating in the space ecosystem,” sums up Banazadeh.
“With all of this opportunity we see organizations bringing forth innovative and exciting new space missions. At AWS, we work closely with customers to understand their challenges, and innovate to enhance their missions with industry-leading cloud solutions,” says Crosier. However, he also considers the challenges associated with latency, or delay, involved with transmitting space data back to Earth, and operating in a limited bandwidth environment.
Utilization and development of space is no longer the preserve of the government alone. VCs, and SPACs, along with space associations are playing important roles in the new space era. “Associations are playing a key role in promoting the development of the new space industry through activities such as advocacy, education, and networking. They also help to bring together industry players, government agencies, and academia to collaborate on research and development and to identify new opportunities for growth in the industry,” concludes Pijot.
The ever-evolving world challenges and recent geopolitical events have proven how crucial are space-based services and products. The use of space technology for applications that will enhance the quality of life for humankind is on the way to achieving ubiquity.
Managing Editor arup@geospatialworld.net Associate Editor, EMEA meenal@geospatialworld.net
Utilization and development of space is no longer the preserve of the government alone. VCs, and SPACs, along with space associations are playing important roles in the new space era.
dancy along with data continuity.
Towards enablement
We are seeing space applications –the satellites and the instruments – becoming more of a commodity. It also means that there are multiple parties that can offer solutions. Over the last few years, making space-based infrastructure and geospatial data accessible to everyone has become salient.
A space company celebrating its 25th anniversary
Geospatial data collection was quite centralized in the past – just a few missions, and a handful of instruments and satellites were engaged in observation through a centralized system. Only a few big countries in the world were able to collect this.
Nowadays, a large number of companies are offering satellite constellations as a commercial market offering. This means there is a rise in demand for satellite data, and due to increasing competitiveness, there are multiple providers for similar data types, such as what is made available by cosine.
With new technologies and systems such as drones and space apps, we get data more rapidly and can also process it on-board.
Resilience and reliability are already in effect as we move from one big satellite to constellations. Smaller satellites give more redun-
For instance, if we examine the climate problem, it's crucial that we build up space infrastructure. cosine is working to make that possible by building up the capabilities, and our customers are building up the capacities.
We demonstrated last year that we cannot only process the image data in orbit, but that we can actually also apply Machine Learning algorithms to it.
Fast processing
There’s a need of rapid response systems so that we can get access to data in a few hours. This means on-board processing, which translates into miniaturization and commoditization.
An important trend we are witnessing is more standard instruments. Our company is manufacturing hyperspectral instruments that are small enough to fly on a constellation and swift in response. With in-orbit processing and the short timescales, there will be abundant real-time information for disaster
mitigation related to fire hazard risks, oil spills, and more.
In the coming years, there will be many more applications using geospatial data, not just limited to the classical geospatial information that people are familiar with.
Over the previous few decades, the business model has changed towards creating solutions. The focus for companies is on building a system that actually provides a solution, not just an abstract amount of data that other people can work on. It enables direct value for the end-user.
Instead of focusing on huge missions that cost billions of dollars and are managed by large industrial conglomerates, paid by the governments, the business model has shifted towards building up services, applications, and providing concrete information and actionable insights that people are willing to pay for.
At the same time, we also see that in the current business models, the government is an important customer, as well as a key player with strategic interests. This is not just limited to Earth Observation.
For climate change, there are completely commercial use-cases as well. But also for many of the business cases, the governments are actively involved.
Bottom line is that investors are looking for demonstrable business cases, which give ample wriggle room to the company to charge for the services they offer. In 2023, the opportunity is to start building up real operational systems.
PROF. DR MARCO BEIJERSBERGEN Founder of cosineIn the coming years, there will be many more applications using geospatial data, not just limited to the classical geospatial information that people are familiar with.
euros. One of the core ambitions is secure connectivity. The Council reached a provisional agreement on the Regulation establishing the European Union's space-based Secure Connectivity Programme for 2023-2027, aimed at deploying the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS2).
ESA's FutureNAV program will strengthen and ensure the safety of the Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) system. Through this program, we will be able to respond to future trends and the needs of satellite navigation in the field of PNT.
legacy players. We have got the ESA ScaleUp program that aims to make Europe a hub for space commercialization by providing business incubation, business acceleration, intellectual property, and technology transfer services to new companies while ensuring that business ideas scale up in new marketplaces and attract private and institutional investors.
Space is an integral part of our daily lives. It provides crucial solutions and support for monitoring, early warning, and emergency response in case of catastrophic events. Space inspires, protects future generations, and shapes our economic growth.
We need to understand that safety of space assets is crucial. The European Space Agency (ESA) is working to ensure that European space-based services are secure and that Earth's orbital space is responsibly managed.
The recent ESA Council at ministerial level decided to strengthen Europe's space ambitions, with a record-breaking, new budget envelope of 16.9 billion
The rise of commercial use of space is transforming the space industry worldwide. ESA supports the European space industry and fosters commercialization. Satellite navigation, secure telecommmunications and integrated applications, transportation, weather and climate monitoring, and other diverse security-related applications have promising commercial markets and revenue models. This is where Europe wants to position itself and it’s something that we are excited about.
Bolstering innovation is one of our priorities – the more innovation, the stronger we become. Innovation can come from newcomers, startups, and the space ecosystem's
Climate change is the biggest challenge that humanity will handle in the coming decades. One of the ESA's “Accelerators” – Space for a Green Future, is our response to the global environmental crisis. Under this, we are constructing a Digital Twin of Earth. Earth observation data will be combined with in situ environmental measurements and AI to provide an accurate representation of the world's past, present and future changes.
Another initiative is delivering critical data and information that can help us assess scenarios for policy implementation and reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and support its Green Deal.
ESA Member States have once again agreed on the importance of ESA's Earth observation programs. This includes funding for FutureEO, ESA's world-leading Earth science, research, and development program that harnesses innovation and develops pioneering missions while fostering innovative ways of using Earth observation data.
With the current geopolitics and the paradigm shift on the space ecosystem, the future provides an opening for many opportunities. We are committed to work with our international partners to ensure safe, sustainable, and clean space. Space is being integrated into our daily life more than ever, and even though it looks big, it's a limited aspect.
We need to understand that safety of space assets is crucial. ESA is working to ensure that European spacebased services are secure and that Earth's orbital space is responsibly managed.DR. HERIBERTO SALDIVAR Head of the Foresight & Strategy Dept., ESA HQ Paris
and flexible licensing models, and (3) simplifying access data and analytics across multiple providers.
It is encouraging to see that many data providers already provide archive access and tasking via API, and most others are currently building these capabilities. The creation and adoption of standards such as STAC are essential factors, and we at UP42 are helping to extend these standards to include tasking.
industry. However, to unlock the full social, economic and environmental potential of the investments in EO constellations, for investors and us all, we need more investment in the downstream market i.e. industry-specific solutions, horizontal distribution capabilities, and analytics.
Earth Observation is at an inflection point. We are experiencing a perfect storm of enablers (cheaper access to space, smaller satellites, cloud infrastructure, AI) and demand drivers (climate change, ESG regulations, geopolitics). This has created an environment where EO has the potential to play an increasingly important role for life on Earth. However, many barriers to broader adoption remain. As an industry, we must upset the status quo to drive change at scale.
We have to make it easier to buy, process and use EO data at scale by (1) automating data ordering and access, (2) providing more open
We solve key pain points for companies across all verticals by providing an API-first, one-stop-shop for data and analytics.
Data licensing is much more complex and will be harder to solve consistently across all providers. Yet there is hope: Umbra recently announced that all their data would be under a creative commons license, enabling efficient and uncomplicated use of their data to solve downstream problems. Hopefully, other data providers will start simplifying their licensing models too.
Accessing analytics-ready data and analytics capabilities across multiple providers inherently carries a lot of technical, commercial and legal overhead. This complexity is why platforms such as UP42 are growing so fast. We solve critical pain points for companies across all verticals by providing an API-first, one-stop-shop for data and analytics. Providing an abstraction layer on top of the data and analytics providers allows companies to focus on solving “last-mile” end-user problems and makes it easier to scale new use cases using multiple data sources.
We need more investment in downstream applications. VCs have primarily focused on the upstream side of the space
We must change how industry and governments collaborate on downstream EO. Typically, public institutions release tenders for standalone platforms or capabilities that must be custom-built. This dedicated project approach often results in short-lived projects that exhaust public resources, compete with existing commercial capabilities and have limited long-term impact. Instead, the focus should be on re-using and supporting the businesses of existing companies as much as possible. Doing so will help to create an EO ecosystem that is customer-focused, efficiently leveraging investments already made by the industry and economically sustainable. It is promising that institutions such as ESA are already moving in this direction.
UP42 is also accelerating downstream adoption by integrating into existing ecosystems. We recently partnered with Esri to make UP42 platform capabilities available in ArcGIS Pro. We announced our participation in the Google Cloud Ready Sustainability Program, where we will help GCP customers achieve their sustainability and ESG goals using geospatial data.
We all work in this industry because we believe in the ability of EO to improve life on our planet. It's time to make that happen at scale.
SEAN WIID CEO – UP42Majority of satellite imagery users, especially from the defense and intelligence sector, used to procure datasets directly from the satellite constellation providers. This trend is now shifting towards procuring insights- or solutions-asa-service. I foresee this business model will be a standard in the geospatial data industry. In the highly competitive optical satellite market, major players have already shifted from a data to analytics platform business model.
tion, insurance, and urban planning. These users will drive further adoption of geospatial data.
The number of satellite constellations, either SAR or optical, along with other geospatial data sources has and will increase continuously. More geospatial data will be accessible to users.
In parallel, the availability of big data analytics platforms allows users to drastically reduce the time needed to generate more insights. This trend will make geospatial data more popular for industrial use, not only in the traditional sectors, but also in the emerging sectors such as resilient infrastructure and renewable energy.
The increased availability of datasets from satellites, drones, IoT sensors, and others, without a doubt, has expanded the use cases of geospatial technology. While this helps promote our industry, on the other end, customers are facing the challenge of having too much data.
The conflict in Ukraine has big implications for the demand for geospatial and space-based data from the defense and intelligence sector. For instance, the Japanese government requested to increase its national security budget in 2023. This is a common trend globally as well.
Economists and academic experts have been waiting for the capability to combine statistical data, location data, and geospatial dataset for sustainable development analysis and for resilient infrastructure development. Today, with the help of analytics platforms provided by Google, AWS, or Microsoft Azure they can accurately analyze and propose the appropriate countermeasures against climate change and promote sustainable development.
Resilient infrastructure includes sectors such as construc-
Synspective is actively developing a data analytics platform and establishing partnerships in emerging industries such as construction and insurance. Compared to when we started 5 years ago, the market today is very much receptive and well aware of satellite imagery benefits. Instead of explaining what SAR or satellite technology is, we can simply discuss the value that can be generated through satellite data. This is a huge change in the market.
As a technology provider, it is very important for us to understand the details of customers’ daily operations and system workflows so that we can offer seamless integration with our own technology.
We partner with system integrators with expertise in each industrial domain to develop usable and valuable solutions for end users. The know-how from system integrators is crucial in this process. For example, our land displacement and forest monitoring service can be integrated into customers’ existing analytics infrastructure through partnerships with system integrators.
Currently, we are trying to expand our partnership network in Asian countries. Having our partners interact directly with customers on the ground, we can put our focus on technology innovation and satellite constellation development.
In the highly competitive optical satellite market, major players have already shifted from a data to analytics platform business model
Geospatial plays a critical role in tackling financial, operational, and business-related risks by making global change detection a reality. Positioned as a tool that enables vertical industries to identify, mitigate, and predict risks, the geospatial domain is more horizontal than ever.
Successful risk prediction is of every organization’s greatest interest. Geospatial technologies are capable of delivering this, and that is why the domain is transitioning.
While anticipatory action promises to reduce disruptions to people’s lives, opportunities to implement them may not be easy to identify. This is where the datasets from our forthcoming Constel-
lation will change the game.
While there are many satellite imagery providers out there, not all the data and imageries are captured, collected, processed, and delivered in ways that are equal. Some are simply better than others. The way satellites are designed and standards of excellence to products/services are some of the ways to determine that.
When the term ‘New Space’ came out, the industry was thrilled to see space technologies becoming available for “off the shelf” purchases. Traditionally, space companies would rely on in-house engineering. ‘New Space’ now, is a true “Space for All”, so that one space company can offer their technology to other space companies to empower all members of the industry.
EarthDaily Analytics is an advocate for commercialization and democratization of the space technologies, as the mastermind behind our software EarthPipeline. EarthPipeline is the key to making satellite data more accessible at a fraction of the current cost due to its innovative approach and machine learning and AI capabilities. The evolution of ‘New Space’ is also happening ‘on the ground’ with more soft-
ware-focussed solutions for realworld problems.
Coined by Oxford University’s Sustainable Finance Group, the “Spatial Finance” approach outlines that economic outcomes, natural environment and geography are interlinked. This approach is an integration of geospatial data and analysis into financial theory and practice.
Earth observation and remote sensing combined with Machine Learning have the potential to transform the availability of information in our financial system. It allows financial markets to better measure climate-related risks, and other factors that affect risk and return in different asset classes.
Earth observation identifies the risks that impact food supply such as estimating crop area, monitoring crop progress, and modeling and forecasting future crop yield. It provides the early indicators of an impending food security problem often months before the traditional forecasts are made available.
A special initiative in this realm is the establishment of a coalition comprised of agribusiness, non-profit, government, and NGO partners to support the Ukrainian agriculture sector during the ongoing conflict. Projects initiated by Coalition members include everything from EarthDaily Analytics’s precision farming services to providing in-kind support of seed, fertilizer, fuel, and equipment repair to help small farmers, located in the regions most impacted by the war to recover after the Russian invasion.
Earth Observation provides the early indicators of an impending food security problem often months before the traditional forecasts are made available.
As geospatial data becomes more available, affordable, better quality and easier to integrate into workflows, it will play an increasingly important role across government and commercial organizations. Satellite imagery is often the connective tissue from which valuable information is derived or mapped on for visual context.
Despite a global surge in demand for high-resolution imagery and a maturing market, lingering high costs associated with building and operating older more expensive constellations still pose a barrier for many customers. New innovations, like the ones we’re developing at EOI Space, will help usher in a new generation of geospatial data consumers by providing the highest-resolution satellite imagery available (15 cm) at a competitive price.
The pandemic made many companies embrace satellite imagery for the first time—and in new ways, like insurance companies and residential construction analytics firms that could not perform in-person site visits. In many cases, they paired imagery with other kinds of data and ML to get
the answers they needed. Incorporating Space increased their operational efficiency, making them resilient to future global economic disruptions. When it comes to policy, the broadening adoption of geospatial data will create a new nexus for creative cross-government collaborations and public-private partnerships.
I foresee many trends, and most have to do with making it easier to acquire imagery, making it more readily usable and applying advanced programs to extract greater value from the data. In the not-so-distant past, customers waited days to receive massive files of grainy 1-m+ resolution imagery. I predict more processing and analysis will take place as close to the source of the images as possible, enabling actionable insights to be delivered to decisionmakers within minutes or seconds.
Companies along the commercial space value chain have rapidly innovated and passed their cost savings along to customers. This has been especially true in the launch phase, which is often one of the biggest cost burdens of deploying a satellite constellation. Benefitting from the lower launch costs and other operational improvements, EOI Space will soon provide the highest-resolution satellite imagery available at a lower price than currently available lower resolution imagery options.
We’re set to begin launching our first six satellites, part of our Stingray constellation, into Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) in early 2024. Flying at this lower altitude lets us avoid the increasing congestion and risk of collision in the more populated Low Earth Orbit (LEO). VLEO comes with some obstacles, such as increased drag, which have deterred others, but our proprietary electric propulsion system and unique design enables our Stingray satellites to reliably maintain their orbit for many years.
Being closer to Earth means our satellites—and customers— benefit from higher resolution images. The detail of 15-cm resolution imagery enables keeping tabs on the location of valuable assets and watching for risks like land erosion or illegal encroachment. Additionally, onboard supercomputing means image processing and analysis can be done instantly, before being downlinked in a readily usable format. We’re excited to begin delivering the first images to customers and continuing to evolve and innovate as their needs and the world around us change.
Satellite imagery is often the connective tissue from which valuable information is derived or mapped on for visual context.
Vice President, Go-to-Market, Satellogic
Today, the geospatial domain is undergoing a transition, which I think is quite positive, as people are seeing the power of geospatial data for a variety of applications.
Historically, the geospatial industry has been limited to a niche group since both data and computing were prohibitively expensive for widespread adoption. It was only in 2008 that NASA opened up its archive for free use (later ESA would also provide open access to their satellite imagery).
In the decade after that, many New Space data providers emerged with unprecedented supplies of low-cost, high-reso -
lution satellite imagery. Cloud processing also became more widely available. The combination of these advancements allowed geospatial data to become a valuable tool across many industries.
In present times, the evolution of “New Space” further democratizes access to critical data extracted from satellite imagery, which was previously limited to governments. This shift has fueled expansion and innovation within the commercial space sector, creating more accurate and accessible insights than before.
At Satellogic, we are able to provide low-cost, affordable access to high-quality imagery. These advancements would have seemed impossible when I began my career in remote sensing.
One of the reasons why it’s so exciting to witness this “geo-transition” is the ability of these technologies to tackle environmental challenges. It’s impossible to change what you can’t see, and the fact that we now have regular, global coverage of the Earth means that there is transparency into what is happening to our broader environment.
With satellite data and other geospatial data sources, it’s possible to track supply chains to ensure sustainable sourcing and equitable distribution of resources. A great example is some of the work Satellogic is doing with GREEN+ Jurisdictional Programme to monitor protected areas across the world.
Satellogic’s Constellation-as-a-Service (CaaS) is the product I’m most excited about as we enter 2023. It allows governments who do not have a space program to develop the skills to use satellite imagery.
Rather than investing in their own satellites, ground stations, and processing facilities, they can leverage what we’ve already built at Satellogic.
The CaaS offering can also expand the capacity of governments with a space program currently in place. Specifically, it enables a government (or other entity) to purchase capacity from our constellation and task our satellites over its sovereign territory.
The capacity can be used across our entire fleet, enabling customers to optimize collection windows to capture exactly what they need. Recently, Albania purchased the capacity equivalent of two NewSat spacecraft but can allocate that capacity across 30 satellites however they need.
Satellogic will also launch the next iteration of our Mark V satellite model, which has a native resolution of 70cm (compared to our current fleet which has native resolutions of 1m). Thanks to vertical integration, we can improve our technology while keeping the cost low for the end user.
With satellite data and other geospatial data sources, it’s possible to track supply chains to ensure sustainable sourcing and equitable distribution of resources .
During COVID pandemic there was a dependence on data processing. Google Maps is a very good example as people were dependent on it during the pandemic as they had to stay at home isolated, with no in-person social activity, not going anywhere even for daily needs.
Now the challenge ahead for the space industry is increased use of AI, Machine Learning, and IoT, particularly for satellite data applications.
Geospatial activities are important in the digital decade. I believe this idea of a digital decade is not in my imagination but a reality in our day to day activities. This digital decade that can take good care of not only the needs from the government agency, but the need from the people in a broad sense and the natives.
for various applications because of which the satellite data industry is had not been growing. The important message is that business area is not in the data provision, but in the service provision as well as the information added value information provisions.
Since the 1970s, private entities have been playing a crucial role in Indonesian space industry, beginning with telecommunication satellites to unify areas and extend coverage across regions.
Over the past decade, private players are focusing on space activities in technology and applications, data processing and ground stations and become a key part of the space ecosystem.
People need to be made aware about the benefits of digital tech and space applications. Familiarization with digital tech from school to college level for the youth is important now. Creativity and Innovation will work well in space activities. In the future, transition of the Space trajectory from 4G, 5G etc. to future technologies will happen with rapid innovation.
The digital decade could be a driver of these trends. One should not just be the User of the digital decade but also take part and contribute in its growth.
The Indonesian Space Agency advices startups on generating activities or business in space sectors, because this will be good business opportunities. However, the government has to support at initial stages as they need to have sufficient capabilities, and they to conduct the commercial activities by themselves.
The challenge is how to add value products, rapid data processing, for example, and also how to derive various information on the data, particularly in the observation satellite data. In the past, LAPAN had estimated to provided satellite data for government institutions and ministries
From now and in the future, the other goal challenge now is how the government through the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), to could convince the private sectors that this area is good for business or commercial space applications, since the role of private sector is not to provide raw data, but has been shifted to ready data and rapid data analysis provision for various applications. and the information should be provided by the private entities not the government institutions.
That’s exactly what we need, we need to promote the space sector, the space activities, and the role of the industry in that particular direction. With the recent events i.e. 28th APRSAF in Hanoi and G20 space industry meeting in Jakarta, there is a good opportunity for the geospatial industry to actively take part not only as the observer, but also provide inputs to the government and to contribute for the advance of space sector.
The real challenge is how the government space agency could help, facilitate, and provide solutions to the problems that are plaguing the industry.
PROF. ERNA SRI ADININGSIH Research Professor / Executive Director, Indonesian Space Agency (INASA) Secretariat National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)The Indonesian Space Agency advices startups on generating activities or business in space sectors, because this will be good business opportunities.
The use of space for climate decision making is critical and we're showing global and local leadership, how we can develop sustainable climate services on the back of these trusted data sets,” says Beth Greenaway, Head of E Observations and Climate, UK Space Agency
The UK Space Agency has played a major role in delivering the Government's National Space Strategy. And this supports a really thriving sector in the UK, which generates around £17 billion of income, employs 47,000 people across the country. The three-pronged objectives are to catalyse investments, deliver missions and capabilities, and champion the power of space – to inspire people, to offer greener solutions, smarter solutions, help create a more sustainable future.
The Agency has eight priorities of which Earth Observa tion (EO) is one of the key priorities. We go right through from low TRL activities to actually building missions. We build them by ourselves, with the private sector, ESA, and with other nations. SWOT for example was launched in December. It's a NASA and CNES mission, and that's going to measure for the first time the whole of the water on planet Earth. On board is a UK built radio duplexer and we are about to help calibrate the mission over the Bristol Channel.
We then have a data and ground segment program looking at how best to manage all these vast volumes of data and how best to get them to the users.
The other area that we champion within my group in the agency, is climate. The use of space for addressing the climate challenges, is critical and we're showing global and local leadership, how we can develop sustainable climate services using these trusted data sets.
The rise of commercial use of space technologies is transforming the space industry worldwide. What is the Agency’s approach?
The UK Space Agency embraces new space transformation. We are supporting small sats and innovations. For example, Surrey Satellites and Clyde Space are at the forefront of building the smaller and cheaper missions. Another thing we’re doing that will help new space is building the TRUTHS mission. The mission is about shrinking the entire calibration, which is there in our laboratory, and putting it into space. For the first time, we will measure a key part of the radiation budget. It will make any other satellite’s data more useful for very accurate climate studies. We can have trusted and interoperable datasets from new space missions
As a long-term vision, where we’re helping the companies to develop their business models. There are people coming up with amazing ideas. To support them, we've just run a call for SMEs to develop such ideas with nine new grants awarded. There's been some phenomenal ideas on using EO for climate change services. There's a big demand for the data and a very big pool of people innovating in that area and getting the data to users in a way that makes sense.
What kind of tech trends are you seeing coming in the space ecosystem?
When it comes to climate change, we have a plethora of technologies coming. There’s satellite monitoring to observe changes and track the efforts against greenhouse gases and CO2 emissions. MicroCarb is one such mission where we (France and UK) are trying to capture global greenhouse gas data as well as a tool to measure cities. .
AI is a trend that brings out a lot of excitement in the industry. It doesn’t only streamline the workflows but also assists in scanning the vast datasets presented by technologies like EO and GIS for the data of relevance.
We’ve got things like the Biomass mission to be
launched next year. It’s an ESA mission which is led by the UK in terms of the scientists and the industrial build. And that will be a game changer in measuring the carbon in our biomass across the Earth, which will give us another look at whether we are able to have actual results, for example, saving rainforest.
Technology is evolving in ways we can’t imagine. But we, as a space agency, need to champion early-stage technology development. This brings one of our roles in the government sector to look ahead and have programs that allow innovation in geospatial technologies and look for new parameters.
Do you see new users of EO data coming up, especially those who are yet to realize its full potential?
The accessibility and awareness of Earth observation datasets is challenge that requires attention. I remember going to Adaptation Futures a couple of years ago, a very different community from those looking at space data. They didn’t know that such vast amounts of space data could be accessed at no cost. Therefore raising awareness of the data outside the space sector is a priority. Through the Space4Climate we reach out to new sectors to understand their problem statements and showcase the potential.
Insurance and banking sectors are beginning the dialogue with space climate experts. Organizations who own land such as the National Trust are also looking for tools to make decisions regarding climate change adaptation. There are also supermarkets and big retailers who want to create and manage their global supply chains, and EO can help and we are hoping to find tools that enable large civil engineering/infrastructure projects to incorporate EO data into their decision making so there are lots of sectors we’re breaking into.
The future of the Earth Observation industry is exciting. There’s confidence in the upstream, midstream and downstream space sectors, and in general people are waking up to the potential uses. There has been plenty of significant developments in the data management skill sector as well as things like the introduction of AI. This presents a whole new opportunity for industries that can conjure the real power of space data. So it’s only going to grow. The future is exciting and not just in the UK but globally. EO allows a global perspective and the challenge is to bring the crucial data to those making the important decisions. After all, there’s no plan B for our planet.
UK Space Agency embraces new space transformation. We are supporting small sats and innovations. For example, Surrey Satellites and Clyde Space are at the forefront of building the smaller and cheaper missions.
see as we go through the space value chain– we see infrastructure acquiring data, and bringing this information on the ground. Now there are systems making sure that it is being used and acted upon. Throughout this whole stream of processes, we see different components of the complex network that is the space ecosystem and how it has expanded to include more actors and stakeholders, all contributing to its sustainability.
that regard. There will always be room for improvement and much to learn. This is one reason why it is exciting to be entering space right now as an emerging space actor– more avenues and opportunities for dialogue where we can exchange knowledge and best practices, and adopt these later on as we build up.
When we talk of diversifying the space value chain, we must first talk of its sustainability in the long run. We can think of sustainability in two ways: in ensuring that space assets are safe and that there is continuity of its missions. There are many sources of information and tools that can be used for monitoring the space environment and making sure that this information is available to other space actors, which would, in turn, allow us to plan missions and ensure its responsible use.
From what used to be largely information-driven, space applications in this era are undergoing a shift, reorienting towards becoming solution-driven. This is what we can
The data accessibility gap between developing and developed countries is gradually narrowing in comparison to previous years. With the recent trends in technology, accessibility to such data and tools is becoming more widespread.
Digitalization and faster connectivity, as well as tools such as AI and ML, enable a wide range of platforms where satellite data layers are hosted. So now we can crunch data much faster with the help of AI and machine learning. These all play a role in making data more accessible. As data becomes more accessible, so does the acceleration of its production. If we have more products, this consequently drives the line of services that can be drawn out of it.
Undoubtedly, there are still some differences on the execution in comparison to advanced countries and their industries in
As more and more actors start taking on crucial roles in space, we cultivate an environment where members of this network can thrive and contribute to this ecosystem. The private sector, for instance, plays a vital role in bringing space-based technology to the end-users; it can reach end-users more effectively by packaging their services into solutions through localized results and ease of use.
At the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), we have a space education program which spans from basic education up to post-professional programs. Students can decide or opt to pursue courses that will hone their competencies needed to become a part of the workforce of this entire space ecosystem in the future. It is important that the youth are getting into these fields.
Recently we have concluded our Decadal Survey where we look at the challenges and objectives of the coming decade that can be addressed through Earth Observation. These identified challenges will be used to plan our missions for the upcoming decade. We also envision for this to serve as a roadmap for the future generation of space scientists and encourage them to build on it.
As more and more actors start taking on crucial roles in space, we cultivate an environment where members of this network can thrive and contribute to this ecosystem.
In the recent past many incidents of interference in PNT services have resurfaced, reflecting the vulnerability of entire global economy. Thus the need for the resilient PNT capabilities is more than ever.
By Rituparna Sengupta & Nibedita MohantaIndustries such as aviation, agriculture, telecommunications, power grids, financial transactions, location based services, maritime, oil and gas, surface mining, professional surveying, and others rely heavily on positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services.
PNT can actually be called “the invisible utility” as more and more companies, consumers, and governments become increasingly reliant on PNT services. PNT is finding use in everything from civil to commercial to military and overall a strong part of global economy drive. A single point of failure can bring the global economy to their knees.
According to RTI International, “a complete GPS outage would cost the US economy $1 billion per day”, which becomes mammoth if calculated globally.
In the recent past many incidents of interference in PNT services have resurfaced following the Russia-Ukraine war. One such incident that grabbed US headlines in October 2022, was when the Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW) in Texas was forced to close a runway and re-route flights over a two-day period due to unexplained GPS interference at the airport. Being one of the significant travel hubs, the disturbance caused noteworthy widespread logistical and economic disruption in all related arenas.
Ganesh Pattabiraman, Co-Founder and CEO NextNav said, “Recent signal interference incidents in 2022 at the Dallas and Denver airports that forced flights to reroute are clear consequences of failing to prepare for GPS vulnerabilities.”
GLONASS may be perceived as too risky. Now, new and more affordable options, such as Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations, are making such investments more attractive.
November 2021
Increased
March 2022
November 2021
Russia shot down its own satellite and announced on state television that they could take out all of the GPS satellites used by NATO as a warning not to interfere with Ukraine.
March 17, 2022
EU’s Aviation Safety Agency warned of GNSS spoofing and jamming in aircrafts with noted incidents in flights over Europe.
January 21-22, 2022
Denver airport in Colorado, US experienced a significant GPS outage within a 50 mile radius, with impacts across flight systems (including collision avoidance and traffic management), infrastructure, and applications
China has demonstrated the ability to “grab” Geostationary satellites in space
To avoid such incidents in future, the need for resilient PNT service is more than ever. There is an urgent need for the transition of the PNT services to become resilient PNT services in the face of threats it faces to ensure the interrelated economies do not crumble or disrupt.
October 2022
Dallas Airport in Texas, had GPS interference for more than 36 hours, impacting air travel
As industry discussions convened on this topic, it is widely acknowledged that 2023 needs to see resilient PNT evolve with expanding government investments in alternative sources of PNT.
Expanding reliance on the traditional dependence on US GPS, Europe’s Galileo, Russia’s
A report on PNT Backup and Complementary Capabilities to the GPS released by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2020 showed that the uses of position and navigation data in critical infrastructure are so diverse that no single PNT system (including GPS) can fulfill all user requirements and applications. The report recommends a series of application-specific PNT systems rather than a single alternative.
As noted in this report, indeed no single technology can account for the wide variety of use cases that PNT services address. The desired solution will require several technologies working together to serve as both complements and supplements to GPS.
GPS is still likely to remain an important component of PNT systems for the foreseeable future as it is cost-effective for various civil applications. For military usage, GNSS systems are likely to be augmented with redundant position capabilities to secure mission success.
David Harel, Asio Technologies CEO, said, “Over the years numerous advances in PNT innovation have been made, including improvements in GPS technology, the development of new GNSS constellations, and the introduction of complementary positioning technologies like VPS, Optical Flow, INS, and SLAM.”
“The future of PNT is undouble influenced by rapid technological
amount of GNSS interference and spoofing within the Ukraine ahead of the Russian invasion. Aircraft flying near Kaliningrad noticed interference with GPS signals, affecting Baltic States, Finland and Poland.advancements in AI, machine learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT). These advancements can lead to increased accuracy and reliability, improved security and integrity, expanded applications and services, and the transition to the 4IR. This will have far-reaching impacts on various industries and applications, including drones, land, and naval applications,” he added.
The economic impact and the strategic dependence on PNT services in the overall global economy is huge today. This dependence is steadily growing and since the interrelated factors are widespread, there is also a realization that vulnerabilities of PNT systems would lead to tremendous economic loss as well as serious disruption of everyday life.
To ensure PNT resiliency, the industry needs:
Increased accuracy and availability in urban environments
Indoor navigation
Altitude data (3D location)
Increased resilience and redundancy
• Increased security
Pattabiram said, “It’s crucial for policymakers and infrastructure owners to explore and deploy complementary PNT solutions to close these gaps and avoid potential chaos – as we’re seeing right now, with both the US and European Union taking promising steps to study and implement these critical technologies.”
Governments around the world are beginning to take steps to develop a complementary, resilient, PNT strategy.
Major focus lies in:
Increased focus on protecting PNT and denying hostile use.
Incorporated principles of responsible use of PNT
New direction on adding cybersecurity protections for PNT and federal user equipment to increasing resilience against disruption and/or manipulation
According
of GNSS signals.
New direction to protect the GPS spectrum environment.
“As an industry, we absolutely have to come together to ensure there are multiple complementary layers to PNT that address national and global security concerns. These are challenges we can address only when governments, infrastructure owners, and technology companies like ours work together to acknowledge the vulnerabilities and create and implement solutions,” said Ganesh Pattabiraman.
If the economic value considerations are made, evaluations confirm the overall industry value growing at an accelerated pace. For example the UK space strategy and UK satellite infrastructure – report Summary recently published by the UK Government indicates that as much as 17% of annual non-financial business GDP is now dependent on satellite services – an annual total of over £360 billion
While that includes all types of satellites, definitely a large part of it is satellite-based PNT.
The future of PNT is influenced by rapid technological advancements in AI, ML, and Internet of Things (IoT). These advancements can lead to increased accuracy and reliability, improved security and integrity, expanded applications and services, and the transition to the 4IR.
“According to a NIST study a few years ago, GPS is now responsible for more than USD 700 Billion annually, just in the US alone. Our current reliance on PNT (GPS) leaves numerous sectors of society vulnerable to outages, spoofing attacks, signal jamming and even natural interference from solar flares,” said Pattabiraman.
The recognition of the need for a resilient PNT service to be fostered heralds in formulation of appropriate strategies to pave the path to this desired goal. A key strategy is the formation of an industry alliance to ensure a collective and united approach towards all initiatives by relevant stakeholders.
A significant strength of industry alliance are their ability to educate consumers, regulators, and leaders of related industries on important aspects of their industry. They can aid in molding industry
standards and policies that impact their industry and are also able to solve problems and improve conditions within the industry. Strategic industry alliances are also able to advocate for a better future at the intersection of their industry sector and society.
In December 2020, infiniDome, Iridium Communications, Jackson Labs Technologies, NAVSYS Corporation, NextNav, OPNT, Orolia, Qulsar, Satelles, and Seven Solutions came together to create the Open PNT Industry Alliance (www. openpnt.org).
This coalition of PNT companies envisions strengthening economic and national security by supporting government efforts to accelerate the implementation of backup PNT capabilities for critical infrastructure. This important industry alliance aims to ascertain that national government requirements for GPS/ GNSS backup are sufficiently broad to include a range of technological solutions.
Securing national government commitments to policies and funding for long-term sustainability of diverse PNT solutions is yet another one of their visionary goal.
“Part of that is having standards across companies and industries that will help us scale GPS alternatives, and we’re proud of our track record and history of partnering with others to move the industry forward,” Pattabiramam added.
The coalition believes the Executive Order on “Strengthening National Resilience Through Responsible Use of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Services,” issued in February 2020 by the US administration began the process for a national alternative PNT policy.
This order directs federal agencies to take steps to reduce disruption of critical infrastructure that relies on PNT, including GPS and directs critical infrastructure owners and operators to strengthen their systems’ resilience. Some of the affected markets include the electrical power grid, communications infrastructure and mobile devices, all modes of transportation, precision agriculture, weather forecasting and emergency response.
Associate Editor, Americas Rituparna@geospatialworld.net
Nibedita Mohanta
Rituparna Sengupta Chief Sub Editor, GW Media Nibedita@geospatialworld.net
As an industry, we have to come together to ensure there are multiple complementary layers to PNT that address national and global security concerns. We can address only when governments, infrastructure owners, and technology companies like ours work together to acknowledge the vulnerabilities, create and implement solutions.
4IR technologies such as cloud computing, AI/ML, IoT, etc., will be a defining factor for various industries. With the help of these technologies, Hexagon supports these industries on their journeys toward an autonomous and sustainable future. The further we go, the more potential we have. And that's the trajectory of the geospatial industry as well.
It is an exciting time for the geospatial industry. New use cases are emerging, and existing users are finding innovative applications for the surveying industry, the defense sector, public safety, agriculture and forestry, disaster management, construction, and so on.
industry integrates, for example, with the automobile, construction, building and manufacturing industries to provide autonomous processes and insights to reduce inefficiencies and improve decision making.
Industry convergence is also a driving force behind the next wave of transformations. At Hexagon, we drive change with innovation, hence the geospatial industry’s contribution is crucial.
The world is on the cusp of a new era — climate crisis, geopolitical turmoil and economic slowdown hint at a major shift. However, the geospatial industry is poised to help a changing world deal with the challenges ahead. Convergence enabled by geospatial and accelerated by digitalization is a trend to look forward to.
Geospatial technologies encompassing digital reality solutions, sensors, software and autonomous technologies, along with
On the other hand, companies like Hexagon democratize geospatial technologies, which are beginning to make deep inroads into the entertainment, climate services, automation, insurance sector, and many more.
Over the past few years, industry convergence has created ripple effects across all industries. New business models and technology platforms will be required to meet evolving company needs, customer expectations and technology demands. Smart Digital RealitiesTM — where all data is digitally available, in one place, in real time, with 360-degree context — fuse the physical world and the digital world, and considerably accelerate convergence The geospatial
Amidst the changes and challenges around us, people are getting much more aware of the power of geospatial data, analytics and visualization. Customers' demands are more specific and they are looking for integrated solutions. Tech companies encourage customers to leverage the correct data to power new ways of thinking.
Hexagon assists customers in putting data to work and enables an autonomous and digitalized future. For instance, a few years back, Hexagon launched HxDR, a cloud-based storage, visualization and collaboration platform for reality capture and geospatial data. It seamlessly combines data from different sensors, and various stakeholders can access the data from anywhere in the world. Digital realities are helping to identify the errors and project pitfalls before they happen. Understanding deviations and impact early means increasing efficiency and safety, improving planning and saving costs.
Autonomy is not just about cars and robots, but can offer so much more. It will improve the climate, protect cities, and build a smarter and brighter future for the next generation.
It is an exciting time for the geospatial industry. New use cases are emerging, and existing users are finding innovative applications for the surveying industry, the defense sector, public safety, agriculture and forestry, disaster management, construction, and so on.
fledged digital twins encompassing a multitude of assets in an object-oriented environment.
The world is rapidly going digital – and Cyclomedia’s mission is to digitize the outside world, on a large scale, in 3D and with high accuracy, in order to help our customers gain useful insights. We are the global category leader in street-level imagery, cover major parts of Europe and the US and are driven by a strong belief that geospatial data is a key enabler for sustainability, efficiency and effectiveness across public and private sectors.
Trends to watch out for
We see a drive towards 3D visualization of digitized geospatial information enhanced by AI analytics. We are witnessing the first high-resolution meshes of entire cities, the emergence of the industrial metaverse, as well as the exponential multiplication of sensor data.
Access to true-to-life 3D
geospatial data is crucial for modelling accurate digital twins of industrial networks or processes and is one of the trends that will emerge over the next few years. There will be an increase in availability of geospatial data across ecosystems and platforms, from individual assets to fully-
Across all industries the exponential multiplication of sensor data (e.g., IOT) makes available a trove of useful information – and for optimum use of this information, it’s crucial to know where the info is coming from and locate the source on a map. Fusing these billions of data points onto a “geospatial canvas” is another emerging trend that will drive the need for true-toreality 3D geospatial data. In addition to this, algorithms driven by AI and ML will increasingly help make sense of the geospatial data available, extracting ever richer meaning out of a multitude of inputs.
Geospatial technology and data already play a very significant role for public and private organizations who manage large quantities of assets outdoors. Municipalities, road/highway departments, utilities and telcos all need to inventory those assets to understand their condition, manage them, expand the network, etc. This is where we come in; assets that need to be inventoried must be mapped, located, analysed and assessed. Our imagery and LiDAR point clouds enable this using AI algorithms to detect and analyse these assets. Based on our imagery and value-added asset information our customers derive a number of benefits: generating revenue (e.g., claiming rent for a surface of sidewalk used by a restaurant as a terrace); saving costs (e.g., improving maintenance planning and optimize the use of budgets
and resources); mitigating risks and liabilities (e.g., improving traffic security); and improving their carbon footprint (e.g., reducing emissions by cutting down on driving to inspect assets).
In truth, all sectors benefit from the abundance of geospatial information, directly or indirectly: a better understanding through geospatial data of our planet or our immediate environment helps us all, businesses as well as consumers, on a daily basis.
We see an accelerating demand for geospatial and digital solutions that companies like Cyclomedia provide, driven by global challenges, for example, climate change and economic slowdown. Geospatial allows customers to significantly reduce the cost of their workflows. Assessing situations remotely instead of driving there reduces carbon emissions. We are constantly working to make high-quality geospatial data easily available. Our latest solution, Street Hive, allows users to capture images and LiDAR data themselves and generate data insights via Cyclomedia’s platform. The collected data and AI-powered insights are ready for use within 24 hours and help overcome budget overruns, project delays, or unsafe environments.
The future of reality is indeed digital and geospatial – in the sense that the layers of geolocated information extracted from a digitized reality enhance our perception and understanding of the world around us — and the true-to-life 3D visualization of reality allows us to perceive it in new and valuable ways.
We capture accurate visual data of the environment around you and transform it into valuable insights. Real data. True understanding. Big impact.
Some of the early mapmakers were from the ancient civilizations of the Greeks and Romans. They used basic symbols and drawings to describe geographical elements while drawing maps for navigation and defining territorial boundaries.
These early maps were largely utilized for attaining practical objectives such as commerce, taxes, and wars. The ancient Greeks made maps of their city-states and colonies, while the ancient Romans employed maps for military operations and land surveying and measurement for the collection of taxes.
Hand-drawn and elaborately painted, Middle Ages maps
primarily served military objectives. These maps were used for strategic planning and were not as precise as those made by the ancient Greeks and Romans.
The widespread availability of maps for use in navigation and commerce may be attributed to the use of the printing press in the 15th century. This advancement aided in the dissemination of information. This is when maps were first used for scientific and instructional purposes.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, cartography (the science and practice of drawing maps) evolved with the use of triangulation to calculate distances and
Scope of national mapping agencies is undergoing a seminal transformation, from a basic mapping mandate to providing digital services and solutions to all stakeholders.
By Nicholas Dugganthe introduction of the Mercator projection, which enhanced the portrayal of the earth's curving surface on flat maps.
Additionally, the introduction of aerial photography in the late 19th century and the development of photogrammetry technology in the early 20th century allowed more precise mapping of broad regions. Modern GIS, however, has its roots in the 1960s.
The Canadian government initiated a programme in the 1960s to better control the country's natural resources. The Canada GIS project was the pioneering effort in the history of geographic
information systems. In the 1970s, the first GIS software, the Computer-Generated Imagery System (CGIS), was created for the express purpose of storing, manipulating, and analyzing geographic data.
While early GIS initiatives did a good job of managing data and creating maps, they lacked the sophisticated analytical tools seen in current GIS. The emergence of computer technology in the 1960s and 1970s allowed for the storage and processing of massive volumes of data. The invention of relational databases in the 1970s made it easier to link and analyze diverse data sets.
Significant developments in vector-based GIS technology first appeared in the 1980s, making that decade a watershed moment in the development of geographic information systems. Before the 1980s, GIS largely employed raster data models, which represented geographic characteristics as a grid of cells, each storing a value.
In contrast to their suitability for presenting and evaluating continuous phenomena like elevation, temperature, and precipitation, raster data models struggled when it came to displaying and analyzing discrete phenomena like political borders, land use, and transportation networks.
However, geographic characteristics are represented as points, lines, and polygons in vector data models. Such data models not only improved the accuracy and precision of capturing spatial connections, but they were also more suited for representing discrete phenomena. Users of vector-based GIS had a more refined capability to design, alter, and examine geographical characteristics.
The creation of vector data models in the 1980s was an important achievement in GIS technology because it enabled GIS to represent and analyze a larger range of geographic characteristics, including some that were previously impossible to describe using raster data models. This expanded the potential fields of usage for GIS, including urban planning, transportation, and engineering.
Topological data models, which may express intricate spatial connections between features, were made possible by vector data models. This opened the door for more complex GIS applications such as spatial analysis and modeling.
Although other more specialized GIS firms existed in the 1980s, Esri was the first to offer GIS software for personal computers. Among the earliest GIS software programmes designed for PCs, the firm published ArcInfo in 1982. Since its inception, ArcInfo has been the tool of choice for professional GIS users, enabling them to do complex data manipulations and analyses as well as develop custom maps and other GIS products.
Esri developed ArcIMS (Arc Internet Map Server) in the 1990s as a web-based GIS programme
that facilitated the creation and distribution of interactive maps and geographic data. This dramatically enlarged GIS's reach and capabilities by allowing collaboration and data exchange across many organizations and individuals. Furthermore, ArcIMS enabled the development of web-based GIS applications that could be used for a variety of purposes such as land-use planning, emergency management, and natural resource management. Although it went unnoticed, it paved the way for the development of other web-based GIS software and services, such as ArcGIS Server, Google Maps, and OpenLayers, which are now widely used in the GIS and geospatial industries.
The new millennium 2000 saw the release of open-source GIS software that had been discussed throughout the 1990s, such as the US Army Corps GIS system known as GRASS, the US Geological Survey ETL (Extraction, Translation, and Load) tool known as GDAL, and the University of Minnesota web mapping platform known as Mapserver, as well as a GIS created by Gary Sherman known as Quantum GIS (QGIS). There were more than three open-source GIS and several open-source GIS tools available between the end of 1999 and the beginning of 2002.
In 1990, the average personal computer had just 40MB of memory, which was insufficient to hold a shapefile of the United States outline today, however by 2002, computers were being made with 60GB hard drives that operated at double the speed. This meant that far more intricate analysis could be completed much faster with considerably larger data sets.
The surveying sector welcomed the increase in storage because of the growing use of GPS to improve data accuracy. Although it was originally employed in the 1990s, it wasn't until the convergence of greater storage and more competent GIS for analysis that it became widely available and accessible to industry.
The resolution of global imaging data acquired by NASA satellites increased from 1km x 1km to 90m x 90m, allowing for additional information to be retrieved and used for worldwide analysis. By the early 2000s, wireless technology and the rise of mobile phones meant that bathymetry, forestry, and aerial images were becoming more precise and widespread at high resolution, with 1m or 5m gridded data not being unusual.
GPS was also utilized to track assets in transportation and logistics: To optimize operations and enhance efficiency, companies in this business deployed GPS-enabled asset monitoring systems to track the whereabouts of cars, trailers, and goods in real-time.
Manufacturing companies employed GPS-enabled asset monitoring systems to track the whereabouts of equipment and tools to boost production and decrease losses due to theft or downtime.
GPS-enabled asset monitoring systems are used in the construction sector to track the wherea-
bouts of heavy equipment and vehicles to boost production and decrease losses due to theft or equipment downtime. To optimize operations and improve efficiency, the public utility industry used GPS-enabled asset tracking systems to track the location of vehicles and other equipment. To optimize inventory management and reduce theft losses, the retail and wholesale industries began using GPS-enabled asset tracking systems to track the location of merchandise.
All of this was controlled using more complicated GIS, which began to assume multiple forms and move in different directions.
Whereas in the beginning, GIS was seen as a "one-size-fits-all" solution, there were now multiple strands emerging for different sectors of business to serve different tasks. This may be observed in Esri software, where new specialty extensions such as "Military Analyst," "Tracking Analyst," "Network Analyst," and "Business Analyst" would arise virtually biannually.
GIS in 3D & 4D
Cloud-based GIS services became popular in 2010, allowing storing and distribution of geographic data on distant servers, making GIS more accessible and scalable to users. It also saw the widespread use of Google Earth, which displayed 3D and 4D information as well as street views. It wasn't long until GIS demonstrated practical and useable 3D GIS as well.
Although some GIS could handle and analyze 3D vector data, it was sluggish and difficult, and could only display rudimentary 3D data. By 2010, it was possible to use GIS to create basic 3D scenes such as offshore wind farms, where depth and bathymetry, along with other data, could be drawn with some accuracy. For the first time, vertical coordinate systems and ISO time and date formats were employed in GIS for both 3D and 4D items.
The integration of GIS with other geospatial technologies such as remote sensing, LiDAR, and drone photography expanded as a result. Only a few years later, in 2010, did technologies such as Pix4D, Drone2Map, and other mapping tools become available for converting this survey data into shareable forms via GIS.
Precision agriculture and farming industries grew as it became possible to map and manage the agricultural estate using a GIS-based system, along with crop, yield, and meteorological information, as well as new IoT (Internet of things) sensors that could provide real-time feedback for areas such as pest control.
The next geographical development was triggered by a marketing effort and advancements in an online capacity. The Guardian newspaper launched the "free our data" campaign in 2006, to hold the UK government accountable and make public data available. In 2010, the UK government stated that all public data will be made free and accessible (within reason), as well as data from the UK national mapping agency (Ordnance Survey), just like the US had done.
By the early 2000s, wireless technology and the rise of mobile phones meant that bathymetry, forestry, and aerial images were becoming more precise and widespread at high resolution, with 1m or 5m gridded data not being unusual.
To be able to distribute data over the web, infrastructure modifications were required, and individuals all over the world realized the possibility of using the cloud for data storage and sharing. While many large businesses enabled their on-premises servers to share data, a company called Amazon Web Services (AWS) was providing cloud PostGres databases at an hourly cost, eliminating the need for businesses to invest in their infrastructure up front, as well as pay for IT engineers and electricians.
The advent of cloud computing enabled massive sharing and interaction potential. Transport and asset-tracking businesses might upload realtime data to the cloud, which could then be analyzed instantaneously. Farming and agriculture might supply real-time information about crops and yields, which retail and supermarket corporations could utilize to deliver micro efficiency. Construction companies were now able to provide data straight from the site so that it could be quickly analyzed against the designs, which led to the boom of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and later GeoBIM, in which GIS is utilized to manage various BIM projects.
Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have been the most disruptive technologies in the last decade. Initially used to extract patterns in data and geometry, it evolved to be capable of detecting characteristics in aerial photography and LiDAR data, as well as identifying faces and the area where they were collected. Other methods include:
Data analysis automation: AI and
machine learning techniques may be used to automate the analysis of massive volumes of geographic data, such as satellite images, LIDAR data, and other forms of geospatial data. This enables faster and more accurate data analysis, as well as the ability to extract insights that humans would find difficult or impossible to discern.
Predictive modeling: Using AI and ML algorithms, predictive models may be created that can be used to forecast future trends and patterns in geographical data. This may be used to forecast future occurrences such as natural disasters as well as to optimize resource management and planning.
AI and ML algorithms may be used to handle and evaluate enormous volumes of picture and signal data, such as satellite imaging and LIDAR data. This may be used to extract environmental information, such as changes in land usage, as well as to spot patterns and anomalies that people would find difficult or impossible to notice.
Location-based services: Using AI and ML algorithms, location-based services such as
tailored recommendations and real-time traffic updates may be created based on a user's location and other data. This can enhance GIS application functionality and user experience, making it more accessible and valuable to a broader variety of users.
Smart Mapping: AI and ML algorithms can be used to generate, update, and analyze smart maps, which can then be used to provide real-time information and insights about various aspects of a location, such as traffic, weather, and crime rate.
Emergency Response: Using demographic and deep learning data, AI and ML can anticipate the shortest routes combined with the most efficient ways, as well as offer accurate predictions regarding regions of developing concern.
Indoor Mapping has been popular in recent years. Although Google demonstrated it nearly a decade ago as a potential way to navigate around a store, it never caught on due to the difficulty of mapping indoor areas and the inability to guarantee a precise location both horizon-
tally and vertically. However, advances in mobile navigation, such as the introduction of VPS (Visual Positioning System) algorithms, more precise SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithms, WIFI triangulation, and mobile communication cell location (General Packet Radio Services - GPRS), have made it a more accurate and reliable solution.
Businesses are beginning to include indoor navigation into their meeting room request systems and hot desk systems to provide the shortest paths and clear information about where
rooms are situated. One of the fastest expanding sectors is on educational campuses, where you may not only route yourself to the next class but also acquire vital health and safety information such as the location of the nearest fire assembly point from where you are.
The phrase on everyone's lips right now is quantum; in the previous 10 years, it has progressed from something that may be feasible to real-world testing of quantum navigation by the Navy aboard the HMS
Prince of Wales. Although it is yet to gain traction, the potential is enormous and will revolutionize the face of GIS as we know it.
Quantum sensors can detect and quantify signals with far more precision than traditional sensors. This may be used to build more comprehensive and precise maps, as well as discover patterns and abnormalities that people would find difficult or impossible to notice.
Quantum computers are much faster than classical computers at calculations, allowing faster and more accurate analysis of large amounts of geospatial data. This may be used to build more detailed and precise maps as well as real-time data analysis.
Quantum communication offers substantially improved security and dependability in information transfer than traditional communication. This may be used to secure sensitive geospatial data like satellite pictures and LIDAR data.
Quantum positioning systems employ quantum technology to deliver far more exact and accurate positioning data than conventional systems. This may be used to increase the accuracy of GIS data and applications, as well as to add new features to existing technologies like indoor navigation and tracking.
Gartner predicts that the next advances in GIS technology will be in cloud/edge computing, AR, and IoT, whereas Esri predicts that AI, automation, and 3D mapping will empower urban planning, GeoBIM, and Smart Cities.
Quantum computers are much faster than classical computers at calculations, allowing faster and more accurate analysis of large amounts of geospatial data. This may be used to build more detailed and precise maps as well as real-time data analysis.
It is more likely to be a convergence of cutting-edge technology working together than any of these things. We will witness an average 30-50% energy efficiency and the capacity to make the technology smaller with the new 3nm chips, which have recently gone into production (December 2022). Since the chips are 16-20% smaller, even if they deliver 25% more. When combined with AI and ML, breakthroughs in 5G technology, and mobile LiDAR (as shown in current Apple products), we might see significant advances in indoor mapping, AR, and possibly the metaverse.
If quantum technology advances, it may be integrated with AI and machine learning to tackle global environmental and urban concerns through quicker big data computing and large geographic analysis.
In the short to medium term, smart cities with GIS capable of handling massive, live data could become a reality for every city on the planet; this could even be generated off the back of current information captured for the metaverse.
We are now installing satellites around the moon, so lunar navigation and spatial will be possible. Also, governments globally are investing in green infrastructure, so GIS will drive efficiency in sustainable infrastructure.
Although it is exciting to think about what we can achieve in the future, it is unattainable without some non-technical labour. This means that organizations and rules will need to be in place to guarantee important sectors are governed and empowered.
One of the challenges for GIS is the requirement for precise and high-quality data. GIS must ensure that data is correct and up to date. Although this may be achievable in modest amounts, growing this internationally will necessitate thought.
Another problem for GIS is the requirement to combine data from many sources, formats, and systems. GIS relies on data from several sources, including satellite images, GPS, and survey data. It can be difficult and time-consuming to integrate this data. Standardizing data formats through steering committees and global policy will be critical to ensuring that GIS data can be shared and used effectively across systems.
Concerns around data security and privacy are becoming increasingly serious as GIS technology gets more widely used. GIS data frequently contain sensitive information, such as location data, therefore its protection is critical.
GIS development and implementation need a high degree
of technical skill. It is a huge difficulty to ensure that there are enough trained experts to create and maintain GIS systems. Additionally, establishing and maintaining GIS systems may be costly, and obtaining financing and resources for these systems can be difficult.
Standardizing data formats is critical to ensuring that GIS data can be effectively shared and used across multiple systems.
GIS has had a significant influence on both the planet and society. It has improved our understanding and management of natural resources, as well as our ability to plan and construct cities and infrastructure, as well as respond to emergencies and catastrophes. GIS has also played an important role in assisting organizations to make better decisions by delivering detailed location-based data.
GIS is projected to play an increasingly vital role in society as technology advances. GIS integration with other technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing is expected to create new and intriguing capabilities in areas like autonomous cars and smart cities. However, issues such as data quality and management, data integration, data security and privacy, technical expertise, funding and resources, scalability, and standardization will need to be addressed in the future to ensure that GIS remains effective and impactful.
Nicholas Duggan Consulting Editor Spatial Analytics and Location Intelligence
GIS is projected to play an increasingly vital role in society as technology advances. GIS integration with other technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing is expected to create new and intriguing capabilities in areas like autonomous cars and smart cities.
Over the past few years the value of geospatial computing has become more evident outside the geospatial community! There are examples of using geospatial in the insurance industry, climate financing circles, autonomous vehicles and even the Metaverse!
Such industries making sense of the huge volumes of heterogeneous spatial data has become possible because of advances in AI/ML, the proliferation of cloud storage and processing, and the increased uptake of geospatial standards.
Evolution of geospatial technologies through climate change disruptions Today geospatial technologies can accelerate our collective understanding, preparation, response, adaptation to disruptive events be it natural or man-made. As the geospatial community, we have been preparing for these moments. We have always dealt with large complex data, integrated data across organizations and domains, and built on the power of open standards for collaboration and innovation to
address disaster and emergency management.
Now we are at a time where those at the policy levels are also seeing that and that’s further pushing the need for interoperability. This has been a main driving force in OGC these days – to enable and accelerate innovation and problem solving by lowering the barriers so that ANYONE can leverage geospatial information via consensus-based user-friendly standards.
OGC is perceiving a few key trends. We are focusing on domain-specific best practices, standards, and community resources – hence our focus on disasters, climate, and the marine domains. It’s become less about geospatial technologies (the what) and more about the problems they can solve (the why)!
On the technical front, there’s demand for cloud-native geospatial standards because a lot of the geospatial data collected (from space to sensors to IoT, from imagery to tabular) is hosted on the cloud.
The drive to deliver developer-friendly OGC APIs to the world is at its maximum. It’s our responsibility to deliver easy to use building blocks for geospatial use and those are the OGC APIs to easily get Maps, Tiles, Routes, Features, and even Environmental Data!
We continue to support the growing EO ecosystem by providing the standards for tasking, ordering and comparing data quality and develop the standards for space including space Coordinate Reference Systems!
From an abstraction perspective, the transition is requiring open consensus-based models to represent the world around us and to support urban digital twins which is accelerating the development of standards related to underground infrastructure, indoor mapping, and cities at various levels of abstraction.
The growth of the geospatial imagery market is intensifying the need by customers to have open standards for imagery tasking and ordering, and for data quality/fit-for-use comparison as customers increasingly need to mix and match imagery from multiple sources.
We are also seeing the rise of interest in standardizing Analysis-Ready-Datasatellite data that have been processed to a minimum set of requirements and organized in a form that allows analysis with a minimum of additional user effort and interoperability both through time and with other datasets.
There’s a rise in professional services offering geospatial know-how to more industries than ever! Also given the expansion of geospatial usage, there’s a rise in businesses offering services to help customers from data acquisition and integration to building analytics platforms. We are seeing an ecosystem where the services are built on building blocks (pieces of the solution). Hence our drive to ensure that the building blocks are interoperable via open standards.
Today geospatial technologies can accelerate our collective understanding, preparation, response, and adaptation to disruptive events be it natural or man-made.
best solutions that EO can offer to solve the problem across urban planning, disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, forestry, energy, water resources, agriculture and others.
With ESA, we have a program called Global Development Assistance. The partnership is between ESA, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank. We design the use cases, co-design the solution with ESA for any country that requires EO data based solution. Besides, we build finance capacity and skill transfer in the country where the solution was developed for. ADB works also with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and KIOST (Korean Institute of Ocean Science and Technology.
These partnerships are aimed at offering state-of-the-art prototypes to meet client demand. We procure data with the help of service providers and other geospatial industries. AI, ML, IoT and cloud technology are going to be the drivers of our future work in Asia.
Asian Development Bank
(ADB) uses EO data for better planning, and intervention before and after disaster strikes, as well as to prevent the negative effect of climate change, stimulating adaptation. We showcase and discuss with our DMCs (Developing Member Countries) the
Developing countries need an infrastructure to either store this data or to process the data, because at the moment everything that ADB provides them is cloud-based so that they don’t have to move terabytes of data across the continents.
The possibility given by Copernicus, the free and open data is a game changer, but at the same time it's also posing some challenges such as storing huge amount of data. In order to extract information from that data, tools equipped with AI/ ML is required – for instance, mapping coffee cultivation and
agriculture indices in Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Cambodia and Vietnam.
We make efforts in linking the digital solution to something tangible, which is the priority of the particular country.
For instance, in a country struck by disaster or at the brink of climate change, we use EO satellite data to help them build better infrastructure, and prepare better strategies for climate adaption.
We expect some new developments in digital twin by the end of this year in some cities and regions in Asia.
We have strong interest in Armenia, especially in connection with the National Spatial Data Infrastructure, which can be opportunity to augment the 3D component. Our goal is to increase the capacity in our DMCs because if you build different layers of information, you do better planning and better revitalization of the city.
Digital twin can give you a lot of the opportunity to involve people who are not necessarily experts in EO satellite. For example, if we start with Digital Twin, 3D model and drones, and with the proper training at the municipality level, there is a huge opportunity. It can create the conjunction between focused experts on EO satellite and the end-user. ADB is in discussion with Indonesia to explore a regional Digital Twin to evaluate investments and planning beyond a single city approach. This will help cities to economically interconnect among themselves as well as with the rural areas.
PAOLO MANUNTA Senior Digital Technology Specialist (Earth Observation) Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, Asian Development BankDigital twin can give you a lot of the opportunity to involve people who are not necessarily experts in EO satellite.
YASMEEN AL HASHMI
port sector but will also be helpful for security and emergency evacuation. It will also serve as an interactive source of information for tourists. A virtual tour of the emirates will boost tourism.
To stay ahead of the curve in innovative solutions, we are hiring companies as solution providers, and at the same time, we are building our capacity. Our role as a Department of Municipalities and Transport is to provide approvals and ensure that all these companies are licensed and follow the best practices in the industry. For example, we provide the developers with the data submission standards for them to follow while submitting data for building permits.
The Department of Municipalities and Transport has guidelines for data classification and sharing. For instance, if we are dealing with open data, we will share it. However, if the data is for limited or secure use, we deal with it differently.
We have developed in-house tools and are working with private companies such as Esri. We are licensing the engineers and the surveyors for the project. Thus, all companies have to keep up with the requirements and regulations of the government.
As a part of the Smart Mechanical Solution, the Digital Twin Solution, we have introduced a couple of tools related to AI for counting trees. We are using 10-centimeter imagery as well as drones for farms and ranches. The exact mechanism is also being used for vehicle detection.
Director,
SpatialData – Operations Support Sector, Department of Municipalities and Transport, Abu Dhabi
Today, everybody talks about virtual reality and the Metaverse. However, to live in that environment, 3D mapping is essential. We are working on the Abu Dhabi Digital Twin Project, which is in coordination with our affiliated entities. The aim is to develop a 3D model of Abu Dhabi combined with various operating systems to assist decision-makers, engineers, and planners.
The project is not only for municipalities or for the trans-
In 2012, we started the initiative to link the transactional data of the building permits to get the architectural drawings and convert them into a proper GIS format. We are also digitizing all the pre-2012 archival legacy data and converting it into the same format.
We make sure that everybody updates data regularly from their end onto the platform or the solution so that the planners and decision-makers can access it whenever they want, conduct analysis, and visualize different scenarios.
Most of the buildings were developed in 2016-17, so we are thinking about how we can use mapping or other advanced methods to redraw them. A 3D mapping project will help us fill this gap. We do not just own the Digital Twin; it will be shared with all the stakeholders and eventually with the public, albeit with some customizations. In due course of time, Google 3D navigation of Abu Dhabi can be enabled.
There are also specific challenges, but we are trying to overcome them. With the right solution, challenges can always be managed. We have already done over 50% of the 3D mapping of buildings for the Digital Twin project.
The aim is to develop a 3D model of Abu Dhabi combined with various operating systems to assist decision-makers, engineers, and planners.
Emerging technologies such as AI, ML and IoT have been driving the technology market as well as the geospatial industry strongly. These technologies have provided data processing and analysis on fingertips of the people.
For instance, mapping out an area earlier used to be a challenge and required a great deal of effort – from surveying and fetching the data to various compliances and government permissions. Whereas now, one can just fly a drone and through AI and ML applications, an analytical dataset becomes instantly available.
RAGHU BOYAPALLY Founder & CEO Marvel Geospatial Solutions
Hence, these evolving technologies are revolutionizing the industry and there is a scope for many new opportunities in this industry.
With the new geospatial policy in India, IoT and ML are going to get a boost and play a major role in creating applications and datasets to transform the geospatial sector in entirety.
Moreover, a transition from service to solutions will also be witnessed. The policy again will play a major role in improving the quality of data from different sources which will make the shift inevitable.
From the government’s perspective, we are seeing an increase in participation when it comes to using and applying geospatial. Many government departments are using geospatial technologies to enhance their workflows.
We are home to a dedicated and immensely skilled crew of geospatial professionals. Our team is known for its vast experience and technical expertise in various functions, including GIS/CAD, photogrammetry, drone data acquisition and processing, LiDAR (satellite/aerial, UAV, mobile), data processing, and analytics.
With the new geospatial policy in India, emerging technologies will get a boost and play a major role in creating applications that will transform the geospatial sector in entirety.
representation of the built and natural environment. The use of AR and VR will also contribute to this by providing more immersive experiences and supporting decision-making in areas such as urban planning, emergency response, and environmental management.
We anticipate an increasing use of 3D data models in geospatial applications, and this trend is expected to continue into 2023 and further. Capturing 3D reality supports various applications such as urban planning, construction, autonomous navigation, and smart farming.
The use of remote sensing data such as drone photogrammetry or LIDAR scanning will continue to grow, providing high-resolution, high-accuracy geospatial data, offering better insight and timely updating of assets in the field.
software and hardware, some companies are moving to offering their products and services on a subscription basis wherein customers pay for access on a recurring basis, rather than making an initial investment.
Geospatial technologies such as geographic information systems, satellite imagery, and global navigation satellite systems will continue to evolve in the future. The transition we foresee is multifaceted with the increased integration of different data sources such as drones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Geospatial technologies will likely become more adept at integrating and analyzing multiple data sources to provide greater accuracy and details with higher reliability.
In addition, the more widespread use of 3D modeling becomes common in geospatial, as it allows for a more realistic
The integration of Machine Learning and advanced algorithms will be used in tasks such as image analysis, feature extraction, data processing and decision making to cope with the increasing amount of data being generated and collected.
More advanced geospatial analysis techniques for extracting valuable information are also part of CHC Navigation’s R&D efforts. Progress in sensor technology has led to the development of higher resolution and more accurate imagery, which has made 3D geospatial modeling more valuable for a wide range of applications.
In the industry, there is a shift to subscription-based models, but we have seen mixed feelings, as well as some reluctance from customers. Rather than selling
On the other hand, such business model changes are driven by the growth of cloud computing, which makes it easier and cost-effective to deliver software applications, as well as the growing demand for location-based services. CHCNAV sees this transition as new opportunities for growth and innovation with the need for flexible and cost-effective options for its customers.
As technology progresses, the demand for end-to-end solutions is evident. Many of our customers are looking for complete solutions that address their specific needs or problems as a whole, rather than just a single service. This saves them time and money by not having to mix and match different hardware and services from different vendors.
One example is the current trend for comprehensive data acquisition of waterways involving the combination of various platforms such as USV for bathymetric data, terrestrial LiDAR for riverbanks, and drone photogrammetry for 3D models of surrounding areas.
The transition we foresee is multifaceted with the increased integration of different data sources such as drones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Data-based insights enable planners, policy-makers, and government agencies to gain actionable information for combatting multiple challenges.
By Sanjay Singh
Space and geospatial information applications have played an important role in handling COVID-19 pandemic in the past, both with respect to its epidemiology and its socio-economic impacts. The results have been achieved in tandem with other innovations, such as big data and artificial intelligence.
Many countries leveraged digital innovations in multiple ways to provide crucial insights to national and regional decision-making, and to engage citizens in managing and responding to the pandemic.
The affected countries launched their own national or subnational dashboards to leverage geospatial data and applications to provide updated, on-demand statistics for their citizens. Such online data-sharing tools were vital in providing citizens with up-todate information on pandemic at the national level.
In addition to these online dashboards, countries also used artificial intelligence (AI) and big data tools and created several monitoring and health apps. Such applications continued to be developed throughout the
pandemic and gave affected countries the critical tools for monitoring cases and administering vaccines.
One such app was the Aarogyasetu app developed by the government of India. It uses contact tracing to record details of all the people you may have come in contact with, as one goes about normal activities. Till now it has total download of 21,82,00,000.
Aarogyasetu has transformed into National Health App, brining a whole plethora of digital health
services powered by Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). One can leverage the app for interaction with participating healthcare providers, and allows you to receive your digital lab reports, prescriptions, and diagnosis seamlessly from verified healthcare professionals and health service providers.
It also helps you to schedule online doctor appointments powered by eSanjeevani OPD Application. One can schedule doctor appointments and consult with doctor from the comfort of your home. Your ePrescription will be readily available once synced.
Aarogyasetu helps to schedule/ reschedule/cancel appointments for COVID-19 vaccination. Using Aarogyasetu one can download the vaccination certificate or can request for changes in certificate as well. Your certificate will be readily available once synced.
Maximum countries in South-East Asia maintained data visualization platforms and applications to report COVID-19 cases and the vaccination status of their citizens over the course of the pandemic. Thailand created the COVID-19 iMap Dashboard, which was used to monitor cases within each province.
Such data innovations from South-East Asia are examples of the rapid digitalization that countries adopted to respond to the dynamic requirements of the pandemic, and help policymakers make informed decisions on response and management. This was achieved by making geospatial data accessible and actionable at all levels.
Using data for sustainability is not new to the world. According to Vipul Singh, Professor of Environmental History, University of Delhi, “The study of trade winds, monsoons, and cyclones piqued the curiosity of many explorers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. However, they were still apprehensive about the unexpected weather shift in the midst of the ocean. The tropical cyclones that unexpectedly erupted in the Indian Ocean sank many their ships. Its strength and devastation compelled trading businesses in Europe to create meteorological models. An
Data innovations from South-East Asia are examples of the rapid digitalization that countries adopted to respond to the dynamic requirements of the pandemic, and help policymakers make informed decisions on response and management. This was achieved by making geospatial data accessible and actionable at all levels.
amateur meteorological observations and records gave birth to a more methodical examination of cyclones in the Indian Ocean in the nineteenth century.”
Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand have begun to strengthen their capacity to capture the socio-economic benefits of space applications through institutional and policy developments and reforms. While technological developments figure prominently in these efforts, they all have remarkable and strong
user orientation to support development objectives.
Recognizing that progress varies across countries, the latest UN report on sustainability says, “Given the current pace of progress by countries in the subregion, South-East Asia is not on track to achieve any of the 17 goals set by the UN by 2030.”
Space applications and geospatial information are critical part of the
tools needed by decision makers and policymakers to develop and execute evidence-based policies and make decisions to address the multidimensional challenges that are undermining progress in achieving the goals.
The recent policy and strategic level reforms in South-East Asia demonstrate the importance that countries have accorded to strengthening of capacities to capture the socio-economic benefits of space science, technology, and its applications for achieving the developmental objectives.
Prof. P K Joshi, Chairperson Special Center for Disaster Research (SCDR) and Professor School of Environmental Sciences (SES), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi said, “By mapping and analyzing data on parameters such as population density, land cover, and natural resources, geospatial technology can provide insights into the potential impacts of development projects on environment, economy, and society.”
SDG goals by UN
High human and economic losses due to disasters and how space applications can help accelerate progress. Geospatial and satellite data can be very useful in disaster preparedness, risk reduction and emergency response, reducing both economic and social losses. This was done very effectively to achieve the results in Vietnam.
No poverty: High human and economic losses due to disasters. In addition, geospatial data can supplement census data to map spatial distribution of poverty and guide development and targeting of poverty
Geospatial 3D data models and applications can also combine cross-sectorial data to model and predict different scenarios, from road traffic management to disaster modelling within urban environments. This was done very effectively to achieve the results in Singapore.
programmes. This was done very effectively to achieve the results in Indonesia and Thailand.
Sustainable cities and communities: Accidental deaths on roads and loss of lives and property from disasters can be minimized by the application of satellite-based data in conjunction with data from road emergency stations to map road traffic accident hotspots, observe traffic conditions and analyze driving behaviour. This was done very effectively to achieve the results in Singapore and Cambodia.
Geospatial 3D data models and applications can also combine cross-sectorial data to model and predict different scenarios, from road traffic management to disaster modelling within urban environments. This was done very effectively to achieve the results in Singapore.
Responsible consumption and production: Regression in improving efficiency in use of natural resources.
Geospatial technology can help to optimize resource allocation and improve the efficiency of public services. One key aspect of sustainable development is the efficient use of resources. For example, by analyzing patterns of traffic flow and population density, planners can determine the most effective locations for public transportation routes and facilities.
Similarly, by mapping the distribution of natural resources, policymakers can make more informed decisions about how to allocate resources such as water and energy.
“The technology can help by
providing accurate and up-todate information on the distribution and availability of resources such as water, minerals, and timber. This information can help decision-makers allocate resources in a more sustainable manner and identify areas where conservation efforts are needed,” said Prof. P K Joshi.
The Association for Geographic Information (AGI), a UK body working in the geospatial sector, has recently supported a government report on how location data can drive the rollout of electric vehicle infrastructure.
The report says, “Charge points must be rolled out where they are needed. Location data is key to building the right infrastructure at the right places, giving confidence to current and future EV owners that they can efficiently reach their destination.”
The report identifies how location data can help model future demand, select suitable sites, create a seamless consumer experience, and track rollout. This application of geospatial technology is being used very effectively in India’s move towards geospatial technology.
This technology also plays an important role in marine spatial planning and thus supporting sustainability. Common marine spatial planning challenges
include lack of data on the marine environment, high mobility of both animals and humans, and plan implementation challenges including lack of enforcement and compliance with regulations along with monitoring deficiencies. These can be potentially addressed using geospatial technologies such as remote sensing, GPS and GIS.
For aqua farming database collection and the real-time monitoring of different working functions of aqua farming, it’s essential to enhance and digitalize aqua farming.
Data collection and real-time monitoring are done using technologies, which are useful for the conservation and advancement of traditional aquatic farming, particularly in hilly areas with sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Geo-tagging and geo-mapping of the aqua resources will play an important role in monitoring the species in the aquatic environment and can track the real-time health status, movement, and location, and monitor the foraging behaviors, of aquatic species.
This is again an area in which not much has been done and there is a lot of scope of using marine resources for human sustainability.
Sanjay Singh EditorGeo-tagging and geo-mapping of the aqua resources will play an important role in monitoring the species in the aquatic environment and can track the real-time health status, movement, and location, and monitor the foraging behaviors, of aquatic species.
Climate change threatens the economic, social and environmental stability of the Pacific Islands. Both on land and sea, there are significant pressures impacting island ecosystems. Vulnerable systems upon which the Pacific region depends are at risk.
Water supply, agriculture, biodiversity, fisheries and whole communities are being heavily impacted by rising sea levels and shifting weather patterns. Space and spatial technologies play a vital role in analysing and detecting areas impacted by climate change.
Changing ocean temperatures, salination of land, declining wetlands and mangroves, coastal erosion, floods, drought and extreme storms threaten the health of Pacific nations. These issues reduce agricultural productivity, cause water shortages, impact tourism, put coastal communities at risk, damage important animal habitats and alter atmospheric carbon storage.
Increasingly, Earth Observation is being used to monitor changes in ecosystem health. Mapping the changes in mangrove canopy enables us to understand the degree of changes over the years.
Using this information, governments can monitor environmental degradation or recovery and plan mitigation or rehabilitation efforts.
Remote sensing techniques are transforming the way we see the planet. The Pacific region has committed to an operational earth observation system (“Digital Earth Pacific”) that will collate the data and support the development of advance analytics to map, quantify and understand the rapidly changing Pacific environs.
Building resilience to climate change across the Pacific is urgently needed. Due to the exposure to extreme weather events and the significant proportion of land within the modelled sea-level rise elevations, the region is already showing significant signs of the climate crisis and impact.
Developing a cooperative community where there is a shared understanding of priorities, and where skilled resources have
the tools to access and apply critical data is a step toward change.
Pacific nations can benefit from the improved availability of fundamental and actionable geospatial data, appropriate policy frameworks, development of human resources, shared spatial infrastructure, geospatial technology investment and national geospatial strategies.
Increased geospatial capacity strengthens national and regional resilience. The development of geospatial tools and services leads to improved preparedness by being able to direct mitigation actions and responses.
The geospatial community must work together to build capability and strengthen capacity for effective climate change-related planning. Cooperative approaches are necessary to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing Pacific communities. Helping nations
Spatial Vision• Improved geospatial intelligence and tools
• Evidence-backed policies
• Knowledge sharing and capacity building
• Development of essential spatial infrastructure
• Enhanced geospatial maturity www.spatialvision.com.au
Geospatial strategies
Digital transformation roadmaps
International capacity building
to build their own capable and skilled workforces and call less on others is essential.
Spatial Vision collaborates with organisations internationally to build capability and capacity by guiding the development of critical spatial infrastructure, upskilling resources, shaping policy and providing detailed investment roadmaps. Our view is that the entire planet can benefit from the adoption of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as both an overarching set of goals, and as a reporting framework for measuring progress. Geospatial data and technologies play a vital role in this reporting.
We encourage adoption of the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF) to strengthen geospatial information management. This framework is particularly important in developing country-level action plans and supporting economic development. Working in consultation with stakeholders, we help to develop country-level or organisational action plans and communicate the importance of geospatial information for meeting sustainability goals. We encourage a process which develops individuals and organisations to take ownership over their initiatives and strategies.
Stronger together
We are seeing an urgent call to action from many island nations. Pacific nations have joined forces to create the Pacific Geospatial and Surveying Council which sets out to support sustainable development enabled by geospatial and survey services. With the intent of sharing knowledge and promoting understanding of geospatial infrastructure, the Council will help to articulate priorities for the region and develop capacity.
Cross-sectoral geospatial collaboration is growing in countries such as Fiji, with national consultation on location-based policies and infrastructure to support natural resource management and land development.
Consultation has revealed gaps in geospatial information that need to be addressed to tackle climate change. Satellite imagery and remote sensing technology is being used to better understand Fiji’s environment. Data sharing frameworks are being put in place so they can better develop disaster risk reduction strategies.
The Australian government is demonstrating its commitment to addressing regional challenges through the support of critical infrastructure and human resources contributing to stability and prosperity. Recently, Australia’s development assistance to the Pacific has received a significant boost.
Looking toward COP28, the Pacific Island countries will demand significantly increased global climate action from the international community. Pacific nations will need flexible data access licensing agreements, open data policies and clear governance structures. Institutional arrangements need to be implemented to enable this information to be distributed widely without unnecessary barriers.
Conditions such as these need to be supported by close working relationships between governments, as well as with research and educational bodies and the private sector. The development of regional geospatial capacity will deliver substantial benefits to each island nation and the entire region.
Geospatial maturity is a step toward resilience. Growing a cadre of in-country geospatial skilled resources, building awareness and understanding of the impact of geospatial to decision makers is fundamental to regional and national security, protection of communities and assets and planning for future food protection. Through the collaboration of people, governance, infrastructure and policy, sustainable development can be supported.
Spatial Vision is committed to supporting sustainable development across the Pacific. We are Australian geospatial industry leaders and have significant experience across marine management, fisheries, agriculture, environment and biosecurity.
We support nations by helping to create geospatial frameworks, develop critical skills, improve understanding and implement evidence-based policies, strategies and roadmaps that deliver lasting change.
Geospatial maturity is a step toward resilience. Growing a cadre of in-country geospatial skilled resources, building awareness and understanding of the impact of geospatial to decision makers is fundamental to regional and national security, protection of communities and assets and planning for future food protection
Geospatial technology plays an important role in promoting sustainable development. It refers to the use of geographic information and technologies, such as satellite imagery, Geographic Information System (GIS), and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)/ Global Positioning System (GPS), to collect, analyze, and visualize data related to the earth's surface so as to analyze and visualize spatial patterns, trends, and relationships.
One of the main advantages of geospatial technology is its ability to help policymakers and planners make informed decisions about land use, resource management, and infrastructure development. By mapping and analyzing data on parameters such as population density, land cover, and natural resources, geospatial
technology can provide insights into the potential impacts of development projects on the environment, economy, and society.
In addition, geospatial technology can help to optimize resource allocation and improve the efficiency of public services. One key aspect of sustainable development is the efficient use of resources. For example, by analyzing patterns of traffic flow and population density, planners can determine the most effective locations for public transportation routes and facilities.
Geospatial technology can be used to identify areas that are at high risk for natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes, and to develop strategies for mitigating those risks. It can also be used to identify areas that are vulnerable to climate change and to develop plans for adapting to and mitigating those impacts. In fact, it is essential for the effective management of natural disasters and emergencies.
By providing real-time information on the location and severity of events, such as floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes, geospatial technology can help emergency responders and relief organizations coordinate their efforts and provide timely assistance to those in need. There are multiple location-based services (LBSs) available and need to be enhanced and prepared with such objectives.
Another important aspect of sustainable development is the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Herein, the technology can help by providing accurate and detailed information on forest cover and other land uses, which can help identify areas where carbon sequestration and other climate-mitigation strategies can be implemented.
With the contribution of machine learning methods and algorithms, the potential and capabilities of geospatial technology to support sustainable development have gone beyond human expectations. Given the cost-effectiveness pertaining to data acquisition on a variety of spatial-temporal scales and information richness, the modes to analyze, process and visualize the scenarios provide a deeper understanding of the relationships among the pillars of sustainable development.
The progress of the technology also lies in the critical factors of accountability, transparency, and tractability, which are reinforced through geo-enabling projects and thus gaining widespread influence. Though there will always be a need for newer methods and datasets, the geospatial technology strongly provides the platform to integrate and use them.
Overall, geospatial technology is a valuable tool for promoting sustainable development by enabling policymakers and planners to make informed, evidencebased decisions that consider the long-term impacts on the environment, economy, and society. By leveraging the power of geospatial data and mapping, one can work towards a more sustainable and equitable future for all.
PROF. Special Center for Disaster Research (SCDR) and Professor School of Environmental Sciences (SES), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.With the contribution of ML, the potential capabilities of geospatial to support sustainable development have gone beyond human expectations.
Climate change has now been identified as one of the biggest threats to human civilization as we know it. World over, there are calls to align investment decisions with Sustainable Development Goals.
One of the key drivers of any programme is the way investment decisions are arrived at and the milestone monitoring during the life span of the asset. The principles for responsible investment (PRI) recognize that institutional investors have a duty to act in the best long-term interests of their beneficiaries and that environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues can affect the performance of investment portfolios1. Private Equity (PE) investors have been traditionally using the risk-ratings-based approach for making investment decisions.
Most Equity Investment tools are now actively seeking to quantify the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) risks. The
ratings from these tools are used as one of the key decision-making parameters against the investment value chain which starts with ESG Risk Assessment and ends with ESG reporting.
Consistency in the quantification of risks and opportunities to advise the PE investor in building a resilient portfolio is the objective of all ESG risk rating systems. Currently, there is no agreed industry wide methodology for the identification, classification, and assignment of risk ratings2. It is proposed that any risk future ESG rating methodology that is standardised across the PE investment should include Geospatial data for decision-making.
The decision-making tools are invariably digital and have three major layers; 1. Data layer 2. Rating Layer 3. Data Visualisation layer.
The data from multiple sources, ranging from internal business data to data crawled over the internet, is collected and aggregated. It is here that the Geospatial and Climate databases, free or paid, can be integrated into economic and social data.
The datasets that are available
from the likes of UNEP, NASA, and ESA (European Space Agency) cover a wide range of observation data that have reliable data accuracy and temporal consistency. Output and insights generated from these datasets would depend a lot on the temporal and spatial resolution of these datasets.
By definition, a lot of ESG data would be non-spatial and unstructured. This calls for the aggregation layer to be designed and deployed as a Data Lake. This would ensure all the data is stored in the native format and Schema on Write will be implemented at the time of data parsing. Data currency and Data security aspects should be thought through at the design stage as they would impact the quality of insights and the overall vulnerability of the system.
The main purpose of the Rating layer is to churn the datasets and come up with an order of importance based on the methodology of risk rating.
AI-driven rating engines are the choice of the day. As much as the AI engines can comb the data for trends, the key challenge is to Train the Machine Learning (ML) engine to generate the insights. The textural data for Social and
The data from multiple sources, ranging from internal business data to data crawled over the internet, is collected and aggregated. It is here that the Geospatial and Climate databases, free or paid, can be integrated into economic and social data.
Governance risk is relatively easy to train.
The Geospatial AI poses a specific challenge, where all the social and governance will need to be linked to the Geographical coordinates. Since most of the PE investment decisions are about identifying underlying risks of the acquisition of potential assets, it makes sense to tag the geolocation of the assets. The geocoded asset data can then be parsed to run buffer analysis and can be aggregated using the Geospatial AI. The business process for quality control of final risk ratings should also include human intervention and moderate the risk scores.
Geoscientists would easily identify themselves with the visualisation layer for representation of the data and insights. Even though usage of the Geo-visualisation layer as a Common Operational Picture for all the stakeholders is a common practice in the geospatial community, it is still not a preferred view in the PE world.
Most of the PE investment is directed at acquiring and/ or maintaining the physical assets that are geo-located. With a better UX (User Experience), it should be possible to introduce geo-visualisation to the PE investors. The existing users in the PE world range from analysts to decision makers and there is a strong case for providing the Geo dashboards to all the personas.
The UX trends suggest that the visualisation layers that offer data editing capability are adopted faster than the layers that do not have editing capabilities. This calls for the integration of the tools that
would display the graphical data over a geographic backdrop to offer GeoInsights. A visualisation tool offering GeoInsights is potentially a Decision Support System and would command better value in the ecosystem.
This system of GeoInsights will also be a common language between multiple businesses to ascribe values to multiple assets. The Single version of visual truth presented by the ESG data presented on a geographical backdrop would form the backbone of Data-Driven Decision Making.
The ESG risk ratings system is not a complex one in terms of architectural design but a few notes in this regard are called for. While coming up with the architecture the recent trend is to host the data on the cloud and consume the infrastructure, data and application services that are available as IAAS/PAAS/SAAS.
One of the key benefits of embracing the cloud model is to be future-ready for scaling by design. In past, the applications thrived on mutual exclusivity, but the future is collaboration. An API first approach will allow collaboration between various tools and systems being used at the customer organisation. Digitalisation and standardization of all the business processes and deliverables would ensure interoperability between all three components.
Finally, future software developers specialising in Geospatial technology would need to be part of a wider and multidisciplinary team operating in the DevSecOps model. Embracing the newer technology trends will not only allow the Geospatial professionals to make themselves relevant to more business areas but would also create more economic value.
energy used to fuel this is derived from clean energy sources, this will exacerbate our already unsustainable consumption and emissions dynamic on Earth.
A crucial facet of this topic is the hopeful shift towards a clean energy transition: the massivescale global shift from using non-renewable energy sources to mainly using renewable energy sources. Over the next few decades this will result in a very drastic increase in the global demand for minerals such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, graphite, copper, and many others, because of their use in the energy storage, EV batteries, equipment, and hardware requirements associated with renewable energy technologies and formats.
Various sources, such as the IEA, state that global coal emissions are expected to peak within the next two to ten years. However, unless extremely drastic and disruptive changes are made towards emissions reductions globally, this will not have a significant enough mitigation impact on the progression of climate change. Climate change is not a question of ‘if’, rather it is a question of ‘how extreme’ the changes will be. Some of the environmental changes and challenges that will occur are:
Continued arctic ice melting.
Continuously more extreme weather, and more climate refugees as a result of this.
Building and maintaining the hardware that will be necessary for an increasingly digital world, and the energy that will be required to power it, poses a great challenge to environmental sustainability going forward.
Unless the minerals and other materials required for the hardware are sustainably extracted and recycled, and the additional
Because mineral extraction and processing is itself quite a disruptive and polluting process, this adds a paradoxical element to the goal of the clean energy transition. On one hand, these minerals can facilitate the functioning of renewable energy technologies. On the other hand, however, unless the supply chain of these minerals is managed sustainably, their environmentally damaging production and end of life management could undermine the environmental benefits they stand to provide.
Worse water shortages/ droughts/flooding.
Sea level rise, sea temperature rise, ocean acidification.
There are many aspects of the Russia-Ukraine war that pose environmental challenges, both on a large scale and on a smaller scale. Outside of Russia and Ukraine, a large-scale issue is that coal production and use in Europe is expected to increase as a result of reductions in Russian natural gas imports. In the short-term,
Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions worldwide from 1975 to 2021 (in billion metric tons)
Estimated change in GDP due to potential Western sanctions in Russia in 2022, by target sector
the use of fossil fuel energy and the resultant carbon emissions are expected to increase in Europe because of the energy crisis-related supply disruptions that have resulted from Western sanctions on energy imports from Russia.
Over-investments in new natural gas infrastructure in Europe as a knee-jerk reaction to the energy crisis may result in higher natural gas consumption rates in the near term due
Largest export commodities of Russia 2021, by export value (in billion US dollars)
to being financially ‘locked in’ to make the infrastructure investment worthwhile. Otherwise, redundant fossil fuel infrastructure might eventually be the result of this potential response.
Overall this crisis has resulted in a push for more renewable energy production in the European Union, for example through the REPowerEU Plan, which emphasizes energy savings strategies, as well as plans for
Increased carbon removal as well as carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, and the further implementation of emissions trading systems, for example EU-ETS.
Electrification increases using renewable energy to replace fossil fuel consumption. More specifically, renewablesbased electrification of energy-consuming sectors (transportation: heavy transportation, maritime transportation, and aviation,
heat and power consumption in industry, heat consumption in buildings), using clean hydrogen as an energy carrier and energy storage medium. This should be combined with enhanced energy efficiency of the electricity grid, infrastructure, and buildings.
Nuclear fusion – if this technology develops to its potential, this could be a breakthrough in global low carbon energy production.
increased clean energy production and the diversification of the EU’s energy supplies.
In Ukraine specifically, infrastructure and natural resources have already been destroyed to an extent, which will only continue as the war goes on. As infrastructure is eventually rebuilt, this will bring additional emissions and require the extraction of more natural resources.
The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines have both sustained damage, resulting in gas leaks that have been called one of the worst methane leaks in history. Fossil fuel consumption for military vehicles, such as tanks and aircraft, represents another environmental issue associated with this war. The mass transportation of refugees also has a carbon footprint, from the emissions caused by the innumerous flights, train trips, and car trips undertaken by those seeking safety. Moreover, even the weapons manufactured and used for this war have a negative environmental impact.
The study of trade winds, monsoons, and cyclones piqued the curiosity of many explorers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. However, they were still apprehensive about the unexpected weather shift in the midst of the ocean.
The marine cartography and nautical charts have helped humans comprehend the oceans and weather in several ways. In the seventeenth century, ocean currents had a significant impact on South America's colonisation. To sail to their colonies in South America, Spanish and Portuguese navigators kept meticulous charts and maps. The use of a compass and nautical charts transformed trips. Some Spanish naval
commanders learned how to use the wind's force for marine navigation in the sixteenth century, even though they didn't fully know how it worked.
These early Spanish and Portuguese expeditions immensely aided British navigators, who were very active in the Indian Ocean. They also began maintaining wind records on their expeditions from the early seventeenth century. The commanders of the ships started keeping a note of the trade wind direction, which was crucial for sailing, in the ship's logbook.
However, monsoon winds continued to be the least understood winds, and for a very long period, their origin and nature were unknown.
In the latter half of the seventeenth century, as maritime trade between Europe and the Indian Ocean increased, navigators began to develop a better understanding of the monsoon.
Matthew Fontaine Maury, an American navigator, developed techniques to identify the prevalent wind patterns in 1855. Using observation charts from more than a hundred ships in the Indian Ocean, Maurey was eventually able to produce the monsoon and trade wind map of the Indian Ocean at the request of the East India Company. The Company believed that by developing wind and monsoon charts, the British fleet's trip distance would be reduced, bringing down the cost of cargo shipping.
By the final decade of the eighteenth century, the British East India Company had already built observatories in the coastal regions of Madras, Bombay,
and Calcutta. Realizing that India has a climate significantly different from their own, they started making and documenting amateur meteorological observations. A meteorological register that allowed for the daily recording of observations was created by Goldingham in 1793. At all of the major observatories, including Madras, Bombay, Calcutta, Shimla, and Trivandrum, hourly meteorological observation started in 1848.
Even if these observatories were designed to explain the weather patterns in India, the colonial authority may have been more interested in solving the enigma of storms in the Indian Ocean, where much of its commercial activity depended. The first ocean storms were noted by Henry Piddington in the Indian Ocean in 1839, and he was able to connect them to the name cyclone, which he invented after being inspired by a Greek word that meant snake coils. In response to his observations of the ocean storms between 1839 and 1851, he wrote Sailor's Handbook of Storms. However, one of the difficulties during those years was finding skilled individuals to record the data.
The government didn't start giving instructions to train two troops from each station until after 1856, but most of the time the work was handed to medical personnel who weren't aware of the need for timeliness and accuracy of observations. As a result, up until the middle of the nineteenth century, no modelling or forecasting could be done using meteorological information.
Due to the numerous tropical cyclones, the Bengal coast has historically been the most
susceptible area in the Indian Ocean. They often occur in October and November and bring extremely high winds, heavy rain, and storm surges that cause flooding and damage to standing crops in the eastern states of India.
Most often, they caused enormous harm to crop fields, moored ships, property, and the lives of people and animals. The years 1831-85 saw some of the most severe storms ever recorded in nineteenth-century British chronicles. Among these, the storm in 1864 wreaked immense destruction. Both those moored at the coastlines and those in motion suffered damage.
Therefore, the British colonial scientists in India were eager to provide seasonal weather forecasts that may assist in the justification and expansion of the British empire. In order to send out early warnings about impending storms, weather forecasting became crucial.
India provided a perfect natural laboratory for meteorology for meteorologists like
Henry Blanford since it was more unpredictable than other places than the regularity of atmospheric and meteorological events.
Various navigators' reports on the winds from throughout the world revealed that some regions of the oceans have consistent winds, named as trade winds. The navigators discovered that if they put their ships in the normal trade winds' courses, they could easily travel.
William Ferrel, an American, developed a hypothesis of trade winds in 1859 after reading several observational data from various regions of the world. Ferrel's hypothesis quickly spread around Europe, but it received little attention. Until his 1889 book A Popular Treatise on the Winds offered a fresh perspective on trade wind issues.
Ferrel also provided a thorough explanation of the factors that lead to tropical cyclones that form near the equator in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Arabian Sea, and the Bay of Bengal. Ferrel concluded that tropical cyclones that form over
the Indian Ocean above the equator and migrate over to the coastal regions of Bengal are more likely to affect the Bay of Bengal.
Prior to Ferrel's explanation, Henry F. Blanford had created a table of Bay of Bengal cyclones based on the records that were accessible up until 1876. He noticed that the trade winds from the northern and southern hemispheres congregate during October-November. Because the two trade winds had distinct moisture contents and air temperatures, a severe low-pressure system developed that quickly intensified into a cyclone.
The Bengal Hurkaru, which is an account of the Bengal Cyclone of 1864, stated that because telegraph line construction was still ongoing at the time, Calcutta was unable to get enough warning to make adequate preparations. Blanford came to the conclusion that the bulk of the cyclones formed in a line parallel to and immediately to the west of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands based on the data collected by the meteorological stations and
observatories of Calcutta and Madras.
The ships' logs of days before October 5, 1864, when the storm really slammed the Calcutta coast, provided him the information. Atmospheric pressure and wind speed were once monitored by seagoing ships. They saw that the southerly wind began blowing in the Bay of Bengal on October 1st, four days prior to the storm making landfall, and that it progressively shifted its path to the north.
Information on wind pressure and humidity was gathered from observatories at Kandy, Madras, Calcutta, and Agra. They also noted that a stormy current entered the Andamans from the south-west, expanded gradually, changed its path to the southeast, and then returned to its original course on October 1 with heavy rain. The rapid changes in
air pressure and wind direction were also noted in the records of ships sailing in the Bay of Bengal.
It was also observed that the Bay of Bengal cyclone primarily happens when the monsoon is shifting. The majority of these take place near the end of the southwest monsoon in October and November rather than at its start. The storms that originate in the north of the Bay of Bengal often move toward the north-west, those that originate close to the Andaman islands typically go toward the north-west, and those that originate in the south of the Bay typically move toward the west.
However, this understanding of the cyclone courses would only have been helpful if it had been possible to warn India's coastal communities. Blanford’s observation-based model proved to be very useful during those years. He had deduced that the
barometer was lower than usual and that the cyclone was usually preceded by a strong, stormy, wet wind coming from the southwest of their site of origin.
Additionally, he advised that warnings should be sent to the interiors of Bengal if the wind was blowing from the south-east and moving to the north-east with a dropping barometer. He also requested the establishment of setting up meteorological telegraph stations in Ceylon and Port Blair, and their connection to stations in northeastern Bengal.
Despite having access to a tremendous amount of data and a big number of weather stations and sensors giving the inputs, meteorology is still by its very nature probabilistic. Due to data gaps, it is still not regarded as a precise science, particularly when it comes to gathering data from the huge seas, which make up 70% of the Earth. The ability to perform real-time forecasting has been made possible by meteorologists feeding computer data every minute.
They input these data into models to comprehend how nature behaves. However, due to the gaps, there is still some unpredictability and uncertainty, which is why meteorologists utilise probabilities when making forecasts.
Two centuries ago, the availability of data was not at this level due to technological and meteorological station restrictions. However, meteorologists could still create models based on observations in the nineteenth century by collecting statistical data using inexpensive instruments like thermometers, anemometers, and barometers.
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