April/May 2020 – No. 106
The Australasian magazine of surveying, mapping & geo-information
THE AGE OF AUTOMATION How an innovative approach to collaboration helped a community rebuild after the bushfires
Official publication of
inside Critical utility The dataset powering Covid-19 response
Through its paces Putting AUSPOS to the test
The next generation Building a love of survey
ROYAL INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE, BRISBANE QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA
14 - 16 OCTOBER 2020
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www.rotortech.com.au
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Participate in the largest helicopter and unmanned flight exposition in Australia and the Indo-Asia-Pacific region Meet with new prospects Develop your business network Showcase your products and services Catch up with existing clients Attend the AAUS Conference
FREE to attend three-day exposition and conference program. Hear from and network with commercial and government Unmanned Aerial System and Drone users, providers and suppliers from Australia and the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
• Australian Association for Unmanned Systems Conference – “From Maybe to Mainstream” • Australian Helicopter Industry Association Conference • Drones in Agriculture, Mining and Emergency Response • UAV Development and regulation
National Aerial Firefighting
National Airborne Law Enforcement Conference
Jason Harfield Airservices Australia
Drones in Agriculture
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Contact - Rodd Craig:- Phone: +61 (0) 457 848 104 or Email: rcraig@amda.com.au
contents
April/May 2020 No.106
26
14
22
features 14 Q&A with Gary Costa
32 AUSPOS performance in NSW
We sit down with Gary Costa of MapData Services to hear about the dataset powering the response to Covid-19.
18 Controlling the surge
Volker Janssen and Simon McElroy bring us a detailed rundown on Geoscience Australia’s free online GNSS processing service.
36 Locate lookahead with Maurits van der Vlugt
Smart infrastructure could change health monitoring as we know it. How do we leverage technology to safeguard public health whilst maintaining civil liberties?
22 Streams from the sky Jon Fairall on the dynamics underpinning growth in the industry-focused UAV sector.
26 Extraterrestrial horizons Nick Borroz writes that there’s a wealth of opportunity in Australia’s space sector beyond science and engineering.
30 Inspiring a love of surveying
We look to the future of Locate, discussing the 2021 event, and upcoming digital engagement strategy.
regulars 4 7 10 16 38
Upfront, calendar Editorial News Partner feature SSSI
The Get Kids Into Survey campaign expands its reach with new initiatives to excite schoolchildren about a career in surveying. www.spatialsource.com.au 3
upfront
Upcoming Events 14 April: Webinar: Native Title and the role of the Cadastral Surveyor, https://sssi.org.au/events-awards/ events/qld-conference-highlightswebinar-series-part-1
Tracing first steps
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esearchers from the University of Queensland have discovered Australia’s oldest plant foods and associated grinding tool technology at the Madjedbebe archaeological site in Arnhem Land. Preserved as charcoal, the fossilised foodstuffs were painstakingly extracted from the remains of ancient cooking hearths by a team of archaeologists and Traditional Owners, led by UQ archeobotanist Anna Florin. “The First Australians had a great deal of botanical knowledge and this was one of the things that allowed them to adapt to and thrive in this new environment,” Ms. Florin said. “They were able to guarantee access to carbohydrates, fat and even protein by applying this knowledge, as well as technological innovation and labour, to the gathering and processing of Australian plant foods.” Madjedbebe, a sandstone rock shelter and Australia’s oldest known archaeological site, is located at the base of the Arnhem Land sandstone escarpment. The place holds evidence for the oldest stone ground axes in the world, the earliest use of reflective pigments recorded, kilograms of ground ochre, and the earliest grindstone technology outside of Africa. The team of archaeologists and traditional owners discovered evidence of ten types of plant foods: fruit and nuts, underground storage organs such as tubers and roots, and palm stem, with evidence of extensive and labour-intensive processing. Ms. Florin said that there is very little data through which we can understand the use of plant foods by early human groups around the world, but implementing a systematic archaeobotanical recovery system for this research paid dividends. “We were able to recover a rich deposit of charred plant foods. Working with the
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16 April: The Outcome: SSSI National Bushfire Recovery Map-a-thon Webinar, https://sssi.org.au/eventsawards/events/the-outcome-sssinational-bushfire-recovery-map-a
Anna Florin, May Nango and Djaykuk Djandjomerr collecting plants (modern reference specimens) in Kakadu National Park.
Mirarr traditional owners, and especially co-authors May Nango and Djaykuk Djandjomerr, we were able to then not only identify the plants some of these pieces of charcoal came from, but also what preparation and cooking processes they represent,” Ms. Florin said. “Many of these plant foods required processing to make them edible and this evidence was complemented by grinding stone technology also used during early occupation at the site.” Ms. Florin said that the evidence suggested a different narrative to that previously proposed for early movement through this region, which posited that unexploited areas of calorie-rich resources drew people to the area. “The plants eaten at Madjedbebe 65– 53,000 years ago instead suggest the first Australians were using a range of plant foods, including those that required multistep and intensive processing to make edible. Not just those that provided a quick calorie hit for not much work,” she said. Ms. Florin said that finding suggested that this population had an excellent shared botanical knowledge, which was later applied to new species and environments encountered in northern Australia. “It was this inter-generational knowledge and ability to innovate, both new technology and new techniques, that allowed them to survive and thrive in this continent,” she said. n
23 April: Webinar: Marine & Coastal Policy, https://sssi.org.au/eventsawards/events/sssi-vic-marine-coastalplan-webinar 28 April: SICC Webinar: Reporting and Measuring Bushfire Mitigation Work, a Software Pilot, https://sssi. org.au/events-awards/events/webinarreporting-and-measuring-bushfire-mitigati 29 April: SSSI & HEI Webinar Environmental Applications of Spatial Technologies, https://sssi. org.au/events-awards/events/sssi-heiwebinar-environment-spatial-tech 15 May: Webinar: Driving towards our Digital Future: a practical Deep Learning Framework for Geospatial Applications, https://sssi.org.au/ events-awards/events/qld-conferencehighlights-webinar-series-part-2 12 June: Webinar: Retaining Walls/ Encroachments - A Queensland Perspective, https://sssi.org.au/ events-awards/events/qld-conferencehighlights-webinar-series-part-3 23 July: Webinar: Spatial Challenges for Cooperative Vehicles, https://sssi.org.au/events-awards/ events/qld-conference-highlightswebinar-series-part-4 14-16 October: Rotortech 2020, Brisbane, Qld 30 March-1 April, 2021: Locate 2021, Brisbane, Qld
ABOVE: A skin peeling, including the root abscission scar or ‘eye’, from an aquatic neophyte. LEFT: Regional map showing the location of Madjedbebe.
The Australasian magazine of surveying, mapping & geo-information
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April/May 2020 – No. 106
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Critical utility The dataset powering Covid-19 response
Through its paces Putting AUSPOS to the test
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Position covers the acquisition, manipulation, application and presentation of geo-data in a wide range of industries including agriculture, disaster management, environmental management, local government, utilities, and land-use planning. It covers the increasing use of geospatial technologies and analysis in decision-making for businesses and government. Technologies addressed include satellite and aerial remote sensing, land and hydrographic surveying, satellite positioning systems, photogrammetry, mobile mapping and GIS. Position contains news, views and applications stories, as well as coverage of the latest technologies that interest professionals working with spatial information.
How an innovative approach to collaboration helped a community rebuild after the bushfires
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from the editor The Australasian magazine of surveying, mapping & geo-information
Publisher Simon Cooper Editor Daniel Bishton dbishton@intermedia.com.au National Advertising Manager Jon Tkach jon@intermedia.com.au Graphic Designer Alyssa Coundouris Prepress Tony Willson Production Manager Jacqui Cooper Subscribe Position is available via subscription only. A 12 month subscription (6 issues) is AUD$76.00. To subscribe visit www.intermedia.com.au, phone: 1800 651 422 or email: subscriptions@intermedia.com.au website: www.spatialsource.com.au Position is published six times a year, in February, April, June, August, October and December by Interpoint Events Pty Ltd. ABN: 9810 451 2469 Address: 41 Bridge Road, Glebe NSW 2037 Ph: +61 2 9660 2113 Fax: +61 2 9660 4419 Reprints from Position are permitted only with the permission of the publisher. In all cases, reprints must be acknowledged as follows: ‘Reprinted with permission from Position Magazine’, and must include the author’s byline. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Supported by
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Out of the frying pan, into the fire
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e emerge from the horrors of the 2019-2020 bushfires into a new global reality, one to which we are racing to adapt, and whose effects will be known for the remainder of our lifetimes. Thankfully, a robust public health system and our small population relative to the size of our continent appear to have helped to set Australia up to avoid the scale of the human disasters unfolding in Italy, Spain and New York. We are in the midst of a critical phase pre-vaccine, time will tell. One thing is for certain – the global pandemic of Covid-19 has already changed life and work as we know it. Health measures and social interactions are changed, they will always be relevant from now. Drastic new circumstances are forcing adaptations, innovations almost overnight that will persist once the initial waves of the pandemic subside. The technologies, creativity and expertise of our industry have already proven their might in this crisis. An AI epidemiologist was the first to raise the alarm, analysing forum posts out of Wuhan before authorities acknowledged anything untoward. Drones were used to disinfect at scale, covering 6 million square metres of surfaces in affected provinces. Confirmed cases under quarantine were publicly monitored via mobile phone in South Korea, and in our own backyard, a computer vision algorithm is learning to identify elevated temperatures and heart rates in crowds. These advances to safeguard public health carry attendant risks to our freedoms and privacy, however. We chat with David Jones, foundation professor of planning and landscape architecture at Deakin about this exciting but fraught new landscape on page 18. On page 14, we learn about the University approach to building a geospatial dataset to inform frontline response across agencies from MapData Services’ Gary Costa. We hear from Nick Borroz about emerging dynamics in Australia’s burgeoning space industry on page 26, and here’s a hint – the time is ripe to get involved. Jon Fairall brings his experience to bear on the fundamental aspects powering the ongoing growth of industry-focused UAVs on page 22, and we chart another milestone in the campaign to imbue a love and fascination of surveying among school-age kids on page 30. On page 36 we sit down with Marits van der Vlugt of Locate Conferences to understand what’s ahead in the wake of Covid-19. Stay indoors, stay safe and enjoy Position 106. Daniel Bishton EDITOR
June/July 2020 - ISSUE 107 Open standards – why the big players are embracing openness
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Smart transport and logistics – the imminent arrival of autonomy Datums & dynamics – adapting for precision The shifting business of geospatial – leveraging latest tech and evolving business models Published: 10/06/2020 Advertising booking deadline: 15/05/2020 Advertising material deadline: 20/05/2020
www.spatialsource.com.au 7
news Covid-19 delays Rotortech 2020 until October Event organisers AMDA Foundation say that new dates of 14-16 October will facilitate industry recovery ahead of bushfire season. AMDA Foundation made the announcement following a consultation period with all stakeholders. CEO Ian Honnery said that the preservation of public health would always be their paramount commitment. “Although government restrictions on gatherings and travel may be lifted by our original June dates, we have decided to act early and delay ROTORTECH 2020 to October in order to provide clarity for our stakeholders,” he said. “This will allow industry to focus on managing through the Covid-19 crisis, with an October ROTORTECH 2020 then bringing the community together as a strong industry recovery event before operators are fully committed to the coming fire season.” The October event’s exhibition will showcase more than 100 helicopter and unmanned flight related companies, along with the Australian Helicopter Industry Association’s annual conference, a Maintenance and Repair Organisation (MRO) conference and sessions on recent aerial firefighting experience, airborne law enforcement operations and heli-mustering.
Locate21, digital engagement plan announced Locate’s organisers have announced dates for Locate 2021, and a digital engagement plan featuring Locate20 speakers and exhibitors. The next Locate will take place from 30 March – 1 April, 2021, following the postponement of the 2020 event due to the Covid-19 pandemic. ‘We have selected these dates to ensure we have the utmost confidence in the conference proceeding. In spite of our collective disappointment that this year’s conference will not be going ahead, we know we will be back bigger and better in 2021,’ the organisers said in a statement issued to delegates. The Locate committee has also announced a digital engagement plan to make material from the 2020 program available to delegates, some of which will qualify for CPD points. ‘The digital engagement plan will showcase an ongoing stream of digital materials generated from our 2020 speakers, panel sessions and exhibitors in the leadup to Locate21 in various formats such as live webinars, live interviews and Q&A, exhibitor talks/demonstrations, a multi-day/multi speaker mini-conference, and live panel sessions drawn from the interactive Hub agenda,’ the statement continued. These resources are available free to those registered for Locate20, and will be available at cost to those that are unregistered.
Geoscape launches on-demand service for distributed workforce Geoscape has launched an on-demand service for spatial data to support distributed engineering works. At a time when the entire world is battening down the hatches in response to Covid-19, flexibility in the workplace is essential. The sudden pivot to working from home is especially challenging for surveyors, planners and construction engineers and many others in the AEC industry, whose roles traditionally rely on being
8 position April/May 2020
on site to capture and access project data. Today Geoscape has launched an on-demand remote service for high quality building data, which the company says aims to reduce costs of data access for engineers by 90 percent. “We appreciate the challenges professionals, like engineers and urban planners, bear in the arduous process of sourcing data for their modelling and visualisations,” said PSMA Australia CEO Dan Paull.
“Significantly, as workforces become increasingly distributed, this new service enables businesses to easily access
consistently formatted data for modelling regardless of an employee’s location – whether they’re working in the office, on location or from home.”
Bathymetry mission sounds out limits of continental shelf A team of scientists led by the University of Tasmania’s IMAS has returned to shore in Perth after a two-month voyage on Australia’s blue water research vessel RV Investigator. The main objective of the voyage was to analyse the forces leading to the break up of two tectonic plates in the Indian Ocean — and in doing so, the scientists mapped over 100,00 square kilometres of the Southern Ocean, much of it for the first time. Data and rock samples collected on the mission could inform the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) on the issue of Australia’s entitlement to a continental shelf that lies over 200 nautical miles from the Heard and McDonald islands. The contested area is approximately the size of Switzerland, according to material released by IMAS. Professor Coffin said that the acquisition on this mission, which included seismic reflection, subbottom profile, gravity, and magnetics data, would demonstrate the processes that led to the current configuration of these major features on the Indian Ocean’s seafloor.
SOCCOM float 'Krakow Dragon' being prepared for deployment. Image: David Dieckfoss.
Come and join Positioning Australia’s 2020 webinar series and discuss the future of precise positioning in Australia. Tuesday 5 May 2.00pm AEST
Tuesday 12 May 11.00am AEST
Tuesday 19 May 2.00pm AEST
Tuesday 26 May 11.00am AEST
Tools for Working with the Australian Geospatial Reference System
GNSS analysis toolkit demonstration – our new analysis software
AUSPOS in the cloud: Q&A
Navigating the Positioning Australia GNSS data centre
Introduction to the Australian Geospatial Reference System and demonstration of geodetic Python software (GeodePy) with a brief tour of the DynAdjust repository
We’ll take you through latest release of the new open source GNSS analysis toolkit
Hear all about the new version of AUSPOS that is based in the cloud & RINEX3 compatible, plus we’ll answer your AUSPOS questions
More information and registration details www.ga.gov.au/positioning-webinars
We’ll provide an overview of the GNSS data centre, as well as information for those who have a need to ingest large volumes of data in an automated fashion
news Zoleo launches all-in-one satellite messaging device Zoleo Inc. has launched a global messaging and personal safety solution for smartphone users that automatically transitions between satellite, cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity. According to its manufacturers, the compact messaging device allows users to experience reliable global messaging even when they are outside mobile coverage. Users connect the device via Bluetooth to a free app on their smartphone or tablet to provide a unique messaging experience that utilises satellite company Iridium’s network of low earth satellites to ensure coverage outside the fringe of terrestrial coverage.
Morris Shawn, president of Zoleo, said that to date, no other company had conquered the ‘killer app’ of mobile communications — messaging. “Zoleo’s messaging capability reflects a deep integration of capabilities between the user’s smartphone, the Zoleo mobile app, the Zoleo device and a sophisticated back end messaging infrastructure,” he said. In their release this week, Zoleo emphasised the personal safety implications of the device, allowing users to check-in, access hyper-local weather forecasts, and 24/7 worldwide SOS alerting when venturing off-the-
grid. Users also receive a dedicated SMS number that can be shared with contacts that they want to be accessible to.
Fugro joins HydroScheme industry partnership panel Fugro has been selected as one of a panel of industry partners to acquire data for a $150 million initiative to ensure safe shipping routes in the Australian Charting Area. The HydroScheme Industry Partnership Program (HIPP) aims to boost Australia’s
hydrographic industry capability over the next five years, within which partners will acquire maritime survey data to produce digital maps of Australia’s seas and coastal areas. The HIPP replaces Fugro’s previous contract to support hydrographic data collection
via the RANLADS airborne laser bathymetry system. Paul Seaton, Fugro’s Director of Business Development, said that a strong hydrpgraphic sector supports more than maritime safety. “Having robust hydrographic data supports
sustainable development, trade and tourism, helps manage resources, and protects the environment. Being an independent provider of Geodata such as hydrography is a key component of Fugro’s vision to contribute to a safe and liveable world.”
University of South Australia developing ‘pandemic drone’ The UAV-based computer vision and sensor system will be able to detect sneezing and coughing actions of individuals in crowds, as well as detecting heart rate and respiratory rates and temperature. The researchers suggest it could be deployed in areas of congregation that present high risk of infection, such as offices, cruise ships, airports, and sporting matches.
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Dr. Javaan Chahl, Defence Chair of Sensor Systems at UniSA, said the system could be a screening tool for Covid-19. “It might not detect all cases, but it could be a reliable tool to detect the presence of the disease in a place or in a group of people.” “There’s a lot of engineering going on right now but the aspiration is to have this in some sort of initial capability within six months,” he said.
Leica calls its TS60 the ‘most accurate’ total station Leica Geosystems launches its newest TS60 robotic total station with a bold claim. The firm holds that the new Nova TS60’s vital specs — offering angular accuracy of 0.5″ with a distance accuracy of 0.6mm + 1ppm — support its statement. “We designed the TS60 for highly demanding surveying projects, requiring the world’s highest levels of accuracy and to reliably operate even in the harshest conditions” said Hans-Martin Zogg, business director at Leica Geosystems. “We integrated new capabilities to help surveyors save time and increase productivity with the fastest re-lock in case of interrupted line of sight – be it rain, fog, dust, sun, heat shimmer or reflections – and automatically measure instrument height.” This last feature — the imaginatively titled AutoHeight — does sound handy, along with the new station’s claimed ability to lock onto moving prisms via its new DynamicLock function.
Join 1Spatial online for the FME World Tour 2020! Join 1Spatial online, where we will talk you through the latest and greatest in the FME 2020 release, demonstrate its capabilities and get you involved. We will also showcase some amazing customer case studies to demonstrate the ‘art of the possible’, showcasing the power of FME. Finally we will welcome all of your questions, before wrapping up. Our FME Certified experts will also be on hand throughout the webinar to assist with any data challenges you may have. 1Spatial is a leading Platinum Authorised Partner of Safe Software and an FME reseller. Join our Australian FME Division on: • 14th May - online between 10am and 1pm AWST • 19th May - online between 10am and 1pm AEST • 20th May - online between 1pm and 4pm AEST Register now: https://bit.ly/AU-FME-WT-2020
www.spatialsource.com.au 11
news Infrastructure contributes to 70 percent of net emissions: report
Septentrio launches AsteRx SB ProDirect The Belgian firm’s new dual-antenna integrated heading receiver is aimed at applications in industry and precision agriculture. The firm’s latest high-precision GNSS receiver delivers accurate pitch or heading and roll information along with its highly accurate positioning, according to the firm. Material released by Septentrio states that the newest receiver is ‘designed as an ‘installand-forget’ device providing continuous positioning for demanding industrial applications. Machines and autonomous systems now have access to heading and pitch or heading and roll information immediately from power-up allowing trajectory path optimisation and fully informed navigation from mission start.’ In line with previous products like its lightweight Altus NR3 receiver and the singleantenna AsteRx SB, the AsteRx SB ProDirect is a minimal device in form and function, aimed at providing top shelf positioning performance at its price point, at the expense of a large feature set. “The AsteRx SB ProDirect brings the very essence of GNSS positioning and position independent heading, needed for robotics, machine control and similar applications”, said Chris Lowet, Product Manager at Septentrio.
Rethinking infrastructure will be critical in the transition to a net zero emissions future, according to a new report. The issues paper found that infrastructure contributes to around 70 percent of Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. The paper was published by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA), in partnership with ClimateWorks Australia and the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC). Ainsley Simpson, CEO of ISCA, said that infrastructure is facing pressure from both the public and
private sector to prepare for the 2050 emissions targets that state and federal governments have committed to. “Most infrastructure built today will still be operating in 2050. By this point, all Australian states and territories are aiming to be at net zero emissions,” she said. “In addition to state and territory commitments, private investors are increasingly aligning their portfolios with net zero emissions.” Infrastructure influences 15 per cent of Australia’s emissions directly and 55 per cent indirectly, according to ClimateWorks Australia.
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q&a
Q&A with Gary Costa Australian authorities are scrambling to contain the spread of Covid-19, a challenge unknown in living memory to most readers. Gary Costa of MapData Services has been doing some scrambling of his own – to develop a unique, robust dataset to inform response to this pandemic. He took some time out of triage to speak with us. DB: Gary, we appreciate your time to participate in these extraordinary circumstances. I understand that MapData Services has been working around the clock to develop datasets to inform response to the Covid-19 crisis. Could you briefly describe the core needs you were responding to, and the process of developing these resources to date?
1. Mapping traffic across Launceston throughout the day delivers insights for planners to understand community needs and deliver a better service. 2. H eat maps help businesses understand human movement before, during and after specific events and how they use facilities such as this golf course. 3. U nderstanding where things are happening is easier with maps and data.
GC: These truly have been extraordinary circumstances – and really highlighted for many just how critical having access to the right data is when it comes to making effective and informed decisions. What we’ve seen as the Covid-19 situation has unfolded, is that the challenge for the community and government alike is the shortfall of authoritative data. In the few months since this crisis began, there has been no single dataset available that provides a current and comprehensive perspective on the Coronavirus situation in Australia. Each state has their own data of course, but this is all stored in disparate files and systems with core differences in the type of information available between jurisdictions. We saw this gap and understood how critical it was for decision-makers in any industry — whether its government or commercial entities — to get their hands on a national Covid-19
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dataset. It’s not uncommon that there is a need for a dataset that doesn’t exist yet. Identifying these data needs and filling these gaps is a key focus for the team at MapData Services. To create the first comprehensive dataset of the known Covid-19 locations in Australia we partnered with Early Warning Network (EWN) to source, verify and map the information into a format that would be consumable – and valuable – for government entities, commercial organisations and the community at large. Outside the Covid-19 Local Cases dataset, we also have a broad range of other data that has proved crucial to understanding the associated implications of the virus. For example, as social distancing has become a reality, it’s been important for officials to understand human movement and how this may have changed as new measures have been put in place. Our human movement data is collected from mobile phone apps. It anonymously identifies the device from which the location record originated, consistent over time for a given device, which allows us to study aggregated movement of those devices. Insights you can glean include stay/linger time, local population movements, and travel distance.
2
We also have traffic data, which, when mapped and analysed against all these other layers of information, can also provide compelling insights into how people are responding to the virus. DB: What is the infrastructure supporting these resources, and what are some of the types of analyses this facilitates?
GC: The Covid-19 Local Cases dataset has been compiled based on media reports and government updates, to provide a national view of where cases are occurring with specific details about those cases. This is an unfolding situation, with discrepant data typically held between states and territories, so the aim here is to provide a national view that is as complete and up to date as possible. EWN has a team of data specialists who are checking and verifying the information before adding it to the map. If it's just an individual report, a small polygon is placed at the location where the case has been reported. If there are a number of cases in one location, we draw a larger polygon. From an infrastructure perspective, we’re using ArcGIS and FME software to integrate all the data and translate it into a consumable format including as an Esri Feature Service, GDB, ShapeFile or GeoJson file. DB: Who are the key stakeholders in terms of end users?
GC: There’s been a real demand for this kind of data across a broad range of government sectors, particularly those with a national outlook. Beyond that, banks have taken a keen interest in the Covid-19 Local Cases data, with one of the big 4 banks recently undertaking some exploratory work using the dataset to understand which of their branches are most impacted by the virus. Health services, such as doctors’ surgeries, have also looked to the data to understand what’s happening in their local area. DB: What are the most critical use cases?
GC: There are many ways this data can be used to support informed decisionmaking. I think understanding hot spots to enable decision-making is the most critical use case. You can clearly see where outbreaks are occurring across the country, and also access details on reported cases, including date, location and the number of people affected. You can discover how the spread of the virus may impact delivery services and assign appropriate medical supplies and health services to areas in need. You can also make data-driven business decisions on service continuity – something many people have been dealing with on a large-scale.
3 Our human movement data is collected from mobile phone apps. It anonymously identifies the device from which the location record originated, consistent over time for a given device, which allows us to study aggregated movement of those devices. DB: How do you anticipate these changing as the virus spreads and the numbers of casualties increase?
GC: Information is power, and like in any situation, having access to more data means better decisions can be made. DB: How might these resources be expanded in terms of partners and capabilities in future?
GC: We’ll continue to work closely with our partners to constantly refine what we’re doing and expand the types of datasets available. As I said earlier, it’s not uncommon for organisations to want access to data that doesn’t yet exist – and our job is to work with our global network of content creators and data custodians to source, build and create those datasets and make that information available. DB: Will this data be made available to the public via web interface or an API?
GC: For organisations looking to add this data capability into their systems, it can be accessed via an Esri feature service or a feed into your system in your required GPS format. Our team can also assist you to integrate it into your existing systems. We’re also working to have some freemium versions of this data shared publicly via the Australian Covid-19 Hub, available at: www.covid19-esriau.hub.arcgis.com. This
Hub is a really great resource for anyone wanting a starting point for data relating to Covid-19 in Australia. DB: Are there any ways that our audience of spatial professionals may get involved to assist with developing resources in the ongoing response to the Covid-19 outbreak?
GC: I encourage anyone who has data that may assist during this crisis to share it via the Australian Covid-19 Hub. This resource is being widely used by many government agencies and already features free data from Guardian Australia, ABS and others. As you’ll see in the Hub, there’s already lots of valuable, complimentary content you can access online – from government open data portals or public websites – however to undertake really valuable analysis, you typically need to complement this with specialised data. If there is data that is needed but doesn’t yet exist, please reach out to the team at MapData Services. We have an extraordinary network of data partners – from across the country and around the world – and can mobilise to source any kind of data required. Having access to the right data really is critical – especially when dealing with a pandemic of this scale. DB: Many thanks for your time Gary, and good luck. n www.spatialsource.com.au 15
partner feature
The age of automation
With the Australian bushfires and Covid-19 putting unprecedented pressure on communities and the economy, leaders have been forced to rethink how they share data and streamline workflows – leading to an inspiring new approach to collaboration.
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n late 2019 and early 2020, bushfires ravaged more than 70 per cent of Bega Valley Shire Council’s total land area. It was one of the worst hit shire councils in New South Wales and required an unparalleled recovery effort. Crews needed to be dispatched to broad-ranging areas to assess and repair damaged fire hydrants, water supply services, water mains, pipes and sewerage – all while ensuring they steered clear of the fast-moving fire front and many road closures. Resources were scarce and had to be deployed where they were needed the most. Bega Valley Shire Council’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Officer, Kellie Grady, said Council was in the process of replacing its diverse asset management systems with a centralised platform that allowed the GIS team to disseminate accurate and authoritative data across the whole organisation. “We were constantly coordinating between first responders and our field crews, sharing data on asbestos contaminated damaged buildings, the moving fire front, wind, road closures and providing live updates to support the recovery efforts,” Ms Grady said. Council’s team was also spending a considerable amount of time managing and responding to Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) enquiries which had spiked as a result of the fires — from one or two a day to nearly 100. “The volume of enquiries had increased in the recovery and our existing system involved a manual process and occupied the time of staff that needed to be directed to supporting the recovery efforts,” she explained. “It was unsustainable, so we needed to find a way to streamline the process.” Bega Valley Shire Council found the answer lay in automation. The GIS team mobilised rapidly to deploy SmarterWX
Automate – an automation platform that uses geospatial technology to seamlessly share data and facilitate automatic responses to queries. The system was in-place in just 36 hours, meaning DBYD responses could be completely automated – freeing up its staff to support the recovery efforts. “Being able to automate the response system took that workload completely off our shoulders during an extremely busy period of Rapid Damage Assessment and Repair,” Ms Grady said. Gary Johnson, Chief Innovation Officer for Esri Australia, said the efforts of Bega Valley Shire Council’s team – and their ability to quickly adapt their systems and processes to take advantage of the SmarterWX workflows – was inspiring. “We understood the value of the Council’s scarce resources in this emergency response situation, and our first goal was to help them deploy their resources in the most efficient way possible,” said Mr Johnson.
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7 Pipe Stormwater Rewater Pipe
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EMAIL RESPONSES Esri, HERE, Garmin, METI/NASA/USGS
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LOCATION
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SmarterWX Automate uses geospatial technology to seamlessly share data and facilitate automatic responses to DBYD queries.
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Seq # 30000001 Search
“To support the coordination of relief efforts, we implemented a portal that would help them overlay and visualise their asset information to support effective and systematic approaches to their assessment and repair operations. The team were very impressive in the way they saw the opportunity to improve traditional workflows, and mobilise quickly to implement the change at a time when every second counted.” Ms Grady said the systems Council put in place in response to the most recent bushfires has placed them in a stronger position for if disaster strikes again.
Powered by Esri
“This bushfire crisis highlighted the need for automation and collaboration within council and other government agencies,” she said. “Council has a critical resource in its GIS and it needs to be a platform that is accessible, sharable and automated to reach its full potential. Being able to track our key assets and contractors in the field will make us much more efficient when making support decisions. Looking to the future, instead of responding to a crisis, Bega Valley Shire Council will be ready.”
A paradigm shift in interorganisation collaboration Outside of crises, Mr Johnson says the approach also delivers longer-term value in improving collaboration across business as usual areas as well. “Picture this: a road near your home is being resurfaced and just a few days after work has been completed, it’s dug up again to lay down a new water main,” he said. “That’s something many of us have experienced. The inconvenience is not just to commuters and ratepayers, but the poor planning of these capital works projects also negatively impacts utility asset design, management and traffic. “The question many of us have is: why wasn’t the water main installed before the road was resurfaced? “The answer is invariably because the work is carried out by two separate entities who work independently of each other. And the solution to this lies in using technology to improve collaboration.”
“The bushfire crisis highlighted the need for automation and collaboration within council and other government agencies.” Kellie Grady, Bega Valley Shire Council.
Rethinking traditional processes on a national scale Capabilities such as these have seen the SmarterWX platform quickly gain traction across the country. Sydney Water – one of Australia’s largest water and wastewater service providers — took a similar approach to automating collaboration for their $50 million water main renewal program as Bega Valley Shire. Working with the NSW Streets Opening Coordination Council (SOCC), Sydney Water used the SmarterWX platform to create iWORCS™, a scalable Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that acts as a real-time repository of capital works plans across the city. iWORCS enables varying stakeholder groups to coordinate the planning and scheduling of capital works projects, minimise the cost of roadworks and address community concerns over disruption caused by repeat roadworks. Michael Bell, Esri Australia’s National SmarterWX Consultant, said that by leveraging the technology, Sydney Water ultimately created a central point of truth where planned works were visualised across multiple organisations in real-time.
“Over a period of 15 months, working with nine local councils, Sydney Water identified several opportunities to cut costs and inefficiencies, through sharing the cost of road surfacing and facilitating better timing of works,” said Mr Bell. Dial Before You Dig Victoria and Tasmania also moved this year to provide more than 250 organisations in the DBYD member network with access to SmarterWX Automate. This is expected to deliver significant time savings on more than 10,000 utility notifications for works that are received every day. DBYD Vic/Tas Chief Executive Officer, Ben Howell, said the introduction of SmarterWX technology into the DBYD portfolio has improved the user experience by providing an almost instant response to queries across its entire membership base. "This technology presents a new, smarter way forward for asset protection and damage prevention – and we are proud to be the first Dial Before You Dig entity in Australia to provide our members with access to a market-leading solution that makes it easier for them to operate and provides an exceptional user experience," said Mr Howell. "Dial Before You Dig Victoria and Tasmania continues to see significant growth and the introduction of SmarterWX software will further increase the availability and adoption of our service as we continue to work towards our goal of zero damage, zero harm." Mr Bell said benefits stemming from using technology to facilitate automation and collaboration can be applied across other industries and projects — from supporting state and federal agencies to coordinate large-scale response efforts around crises such as Covid-19, to enabling smaller utilities and councils to deliver better services to their communities. “While SmarterWX was built to facilitate collaboration and to support asset management workflows, we’ve seen an expansion of the definition of assets — from the typical assets like pipes and cables to include parks, trees and birds,” said Mr Bell. “We’ve worked with councils that needed to coordinate planned works in designated conservation areas in a way that would protect the biodiversity of the flora and fauna – all while facilitating the completion of these asset maintenance projects,” he adds. To learn more about the case studies contained in this article, visit: esriaustralia.com.au/smarterwx n Information provided by Esri Australia www.spatialsource.com.au 17
q&a DJ: The benefits lie in better understanding our technological and digital capacities and potentials to model and scenario plan changes. We have talked a lot about climate change in the last 20 years, and are increasingly using smart technologies like GIS with CommunityViz to micro-model change and foresee matters of urgent resilience planning, but the current situation is new in our research minds. That is, less, the modelling and digital mapping coming out of Johns Hopkins University on pandemic movements and infection mapping in the last two to three months. As demonstrated in the last weeks, if we had active GIS tracking systems working on self-isolation patients and ex-Ruby Princess passengers via their mobile phones we would be in better situation to manage the infection spread at a finer grain. DB: How might these be specifically leveraged in controlling an outbreak of an infectious disease?
DJ: We know these technologies exist. They just have to be enabled and accessed during times of declared emergencies (to address ethical and privacy protocols) in the same way as text messages arise during bushfires and the police can monitor car chase situations.
Controlling the surge How do we leverage technology for fast public health response whilst guarding against state overreach?
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s the world convulses in its attempts to monitor and contain the novel coronavirus 2019, smart infrastructure and sensors could be playing a critical role in keeping healthy populations safe from the pandemic. States of emergency are rightly declared, and attendant powers granted to state authorities. But with much technological capacity to respond as yet untapped, how do we balance responding to crises with retention of personal privacy and civil liberties? We seek the views of Professor David Jones, Foundation Professor of Planning & Landscape Architecture at Deakin University. DB: David, you’ve recently published in the journal Healthcare on the potential for ‘smart’ infrastructure, sensors and AI to remake urban healthcare, including in response to public health emergencies, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. What do you see as the key benefits to be realised?
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DB: Some of AI’s benefits have already proved invaluable in early detection and response to the novel coronavirus 2019. What might be key roles for neural networks in this space?
DJ: If we assume that neural networks are a set of algorithms, modelled loosely after the human brain, that are designed to recognise patterns, then patterns of travellers arriving via overseas flights, ocean liners, etc., could be better overseen. The current customs declaration of a ‘fill out the form’ and write down your arrival address – in dramatic contrast to its high-tech passport facial recognition system – means that everything is manual and has hampered tracking in the same way as requests by state government for passenger manifests has hampered immediate and timely tracking of people. Such has been a key aspect of virus spread mediation approaches in Wuhan due to China’s facial recognition technologies, and a similar less-invasive system has been successfully operating in Singapore to delimit virus intrusion into Singapore. DB: Beyond the open source and open data communities, the big players of the geospatial industry are starting to understand the power of open protocols and data standards. Are they critical to the type of healthcare opportunities you envisage? If so, how?
DJ: Yes, they are but the geospatial industry software more often lacks the seamless capability to equitably share digital friendly information (again recognising ethical and privacy protocols) due to their personalised software constructed platforms. The criticality in this instance is the need to track people to see patterns in their movements and places
over the last 14-30 days to identify correlations, patterns, nodes and clusters where and how infections have arrived and have been shared around. DB: What do you see as the key barriers to these developments in the Australian context – be they regulatory, technological or industry maturity, awareness in public institutions, or others?
DJ: The barriers lie in the ethical, privacy and corporate intellectual property knowledge realms. The initial answers lie in recognising that in times of ‘declared emergency’ some of these storages and mechanisms need to be accessed for human safety reasons. We have seen service providers like Facebook and Google digitally tracking, but can very quickly change their digital advertisements per customer searches and purchases, but also address inappropriate material being shared post-upload. The Christchurch massacre is a case in point. DB: There is a dystopian cast to some of these technologies, and a looming risk to civil liberties. We already have an Australian academic partnership working on algorithms for consumer drones to monitor the vital signs of individuals. History has shown how crises can erode rights. What are the imminent risks here?
DJ: The risks in this current arena are firstly the inadequacy of our current IT regimes to qualify and micro-track humans and watch for and identify movement patterns and infection spreads. It is clear
As demonstrated in the last weeks, if we had active GIS tracking systems working on self-isolation patients and ex-Ruby Princess passengers via their mobile phones we would be in better situation to manage the infection spread at a finer grain. in the last week that different patterns are occurring in each state, but that there is a very strong correlation back to individuals whom arrived from overseas as unknowing virus carriers. It is quite likely that the notional self-quarantine in Asian countries by Chinese students wanting to return to Australia for their tertiary studies may also prove unsuccessful. The second is how far are we prepared to go in surrendering part or whole of our individual citizen privacy rights, and also whether certain events need to trigger access protocols? At lot of us were brought reading literature like ‘Animal Farm’, ‘1984’, and the current generation lives inside the movie realms like ‘The Hunger Games’. There is a collective interest in these mystiques but a subtle recognition that perhaps we actually do not want to live inside these places despite their ‘magic’ narratives and or cinematic ‘fun’.
DJ: The forthcoming months will be a new realm to chart and consider these questions. Certainly the ‘disaster’ of the Ruby Princess two weeks ago and the government allowing mass de-socialdistancing at Sydney Airport this week demonstrates failure of holistic virus management and human tracking systems. The lessons will perhaps lie in the steps taken by Singapore and New Zealand to address the situation, the immediacy of actions, and these need to be subject to a post-Covid-19 review. We learnt a lot from SARS, Ebola and allied virus spreads, and the patterns appear to lie in better early monitoring and delimiting of human movements and contact engagements can lessen and mediate spread and infection.
DB: How can we remain sensitive to these risks, monitor the institutions and entities most likely to overreach, whilst permitting an appropriate level of agency to respond? Are there key areas of regulation and legislation that should be reviewed?
Professor David Jones is Foundation Professor of Planning & Landscape Architecture at Deakin University, and part of their Live+Smart Research Lab. His research activities span regional planning, smart cities, Indigenous Knowledge Systems and landscape architecture. n
DB: Many thanks for your input, David. Stay indoors and stay safe!
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Streams from the sky JON FAIRALL
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he more things change, the more they stay the same. It’s an old saying but a relevant one, nevertheless. Take industry-focused UAVs, for instance. Manufacturers will try to wow you with the latest sensors or aircraft developments – it’s their prerogative. But practitioners on the forefront of the industry will tell you the same thing their fathers did 20 years ago when the newest, latest gadget revolutionised the industry: it’s the data, stupid! Ben Harris is the director of National Drones, one of the largest operators of unmanned aerial vehicles in Australia, but he doesn’t talk about drones. Instead, he says their business is integrating data into companies so they can use the data to make the best decisions.
Ascent remains rapid Let me be clear – UAVs do make a difference on the job site in 2020. They are small, affordable and their use cases are multiplying. One measure of that is the number of operators in the field. In a speech to the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems last year, Luke Gumley, who manages Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems for the Civil Aviation Safety
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Authority (CASA), said that on current trends, CASA would have issued 24,000 remote pilot licences and about 3,000 operator certificates by 2023. Another measure of the increase in drone numbers is the amount of money involved. Drone Industry Insights (Droneii), a research company specialising in the drone market, reports that in 2019, for the first time, annual investment in the drone industry broke through the billion dollar barrier. This is even more remarkable since Droneii’s research suggests that this is a quarter of all the money invested in the industry in the last decade. The organisation found that $4.44 billion has been invested over the last eleven years. Of course, a lot of this cash is being spent on developing drones that have applications of little interest to the spatial industry. Drones to carry passengers are an area of special interest for the investor community, for example. Still, one of the most significant mergers in 2019 was the acquisition of platform-builder Aeryon Labs for $200 million by US-based sensor manufacturer, FLIR Systems. FLIR is primarily a provider of forward looking infra-red thermal sensors.
A UAV equipped with laser and optical camera sensors.
Driven by data It’s not hard to understand why investors are prepared to spend money on this scale. Drones reduce the cost of acquiring some kinds of data, but among practitioners and investors the talk is not of new airframes or sensors but about how the data is used; how to integrate it into the customers’ business. The metric that counts now, as it has always done, is the price/performance of the data and purveyors of UAVs have a good story to tell. Seen in that light, if drones are not a silver bullet, they at least have a rightful place among modern survey techniques. Most survey companies of any size now also offer drone services, and it’s not uncommon for a licensed surveyor to also be a licensed drone pilot. Having said that, a brief survey of the drone market illuminates hardware that sometimes seems akin to magic – and the advancements continue to come thick and fast.
Innovation full steam ahead Consider Emiscent’s Hovermap. Developed by a CSIRO spin-off, Hovermap is a fully autonomous drone mapping solution. Just press the Go button and it will create a 3D map all by itself—even in an underground mine or a building, well out of any satellite’s gaze. It draws on a decade of research by CSIRO Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group into simultaneous location and mapping technology. Another impressive tool is Edge, a 5 kilogram sensor payload from Astralite, containing a bathymetric laser capable of measuring water depths up to five metres with centimetre level depth precision. The unit comes with a Quanta geo-referencing solution from SBG Systems, and uses a GPS and an IMU to geotag the point cloud in real time. ➤
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The Little Ripper surveillance drone used by life-saving bodies continues to evolve, and can automatically detect sharks in the water, and deliver life preservers equipped with a radio magnetic shark deterrent device to people in the water.
New life into old techniques TOP: The use of drones for inspections is now routine. ABOVE: Data from Emiscent’s Hovermap drone, showing the inside of a cavern. It is capable of autonomous mapping and scanning underground environments. Image: CSIRO. RIGHT: A UAV with a minituarised bathymetric laser system. Image: Astralite.
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But in a sense, concentrating on such flashy products is to miss the point. As the technology matures, well-understood, standardised products and business models are becoming the norm. There is no shortage of products that fit this category. Drone photogrammetry packages are a case in point. By taking advantage of the drone camera’s ability to take images with 80 or 90 per cent overlap, it’s possible to routinely produce highly detailed, accurate, three dimensional maps of the surface under the drone.
Robert Kennedy, the chief drone pilot at veteran Australian survey company CR Kennedy, holds that drones have reinvorated photogrammetry. It was slowly falling out of favour; the data was difficult to process, so there was always a big wait for the completed job and that wait got exponentially longer as the area of interest increased. “The latest generation of VTOL aircraft, give us the ability to fly 10- by 10-km regions in a few days. With fast and efficient processing the resulting surface model is available very quickly,” he said. Over the last few years, a fairly standard sort of offering has emerged. A photogrammetry package is bundled with a flight planning package and some measurement tools to make sense of the resulting 3D maps. Products from companies such as Pix4d or DroneDeploy are typical. They make it possible to produce a relatively straight-forward control interface for the pilot. The operator sketches out an area of interest and pushes a button. The drones flies. Out pops a DTM. Alongside this, is a much clearer understanding of what drone photogrammetry is not good at. One problem is that accurate surveying still requires ground control. A second is that the range over which drones can fly is limited. If you have a large site, a manned aerial platform is cheaper, although this is, Kennedy remarks, a moveable feast. The effective range of drones increases year on year. Batteries get better. VTOL airframes have much better range than quadrocopters. Nevetheless, CASA rules insist that the drone operators must maintain visual line of sight with the aircraft – this was expanded in 2019 to allow a spotter to maintain line of sight, not necessarily the pilot. That still imposes a hard limit on flight range. Conventional aerial survey may also be the only alternative in highly populated areas or over traffic, where CASA rules prohibit drones.
Algorithms driving applications Another application that is developing rapidly is using drones for autonomous detection. Sophisticated video is available from drone cameras. Detecting some specific artefact in the imagery is then an exercise in machine learning. One of the most publicly visible significant applications in Australia has been in detecting sharks around swimming beaches. Surf Life Saving NSW currently operates drones, funded by a $16 million program from the state government. Laser scanning is also maturing. Companies such as Riegl or Faro, which started out producing terrestrial laser scanners, now have an entire ecosystem of products based on drones. Not only do they produce lightweight scanners that can be retrofitted to an existing drone, they produce a range of drones as well, all optimised for laser scanning. In general, scanning is more expensive than photogrammetry, but it may well be the only practical way to detect the ground. Tree canopies regularly fool even the best photogrammetric algorithm, a weakness that laser manufacturers have exploited. The latest generation of lasers can fire a million pulses a second and interpret half a dozen returns from a single pulse. As products have matured into standard offerings, so have companies. Delivery, mapping/surveying, and videography seem to be the most popular categories. The largest drone service provider is Zipline, a delivery specialist. The biggest service companies in Australia, Australian UAV and National Drones, specialise in mapping. More idiosyncratic offerings are available. Lee Hellen, the chief executive of consulting surveyor firm Land Solution Australia , says there is an industry with exciting potential in presenting drone-based crop and pasture mapping and monitoring solutions to farmers. “There is tremendous opportunity for the spatial industry to partner with agribusiness to generate the type of information farmers need to do their jobs more effectively,� he said. The key is in generating data that farmers actually want, when they want it, in a form they want it. Depending on the solution required, this can be distinctly non-trivial, but it also points to a major selling point of a mature drone industry: the value lies in tailoring the data so it is fit for purpose. Jon Fairall is an author and science journalist, and the founding editor of Position. n
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Australia’s space sector needs more than science and engineering NICHOLAS BORROZ
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he space industry is growing quickly, and the time is ripe for professionals with various backgrounds to get involved. SpaceX just launched another Starlink satellite to orbit, bringing the current tally to 300 – a number that will be dwarfed by the megaconstellation’s anticipated thousands. Investors are excited about space and are putting billions of dollars into firms in the sector. So much investment interest exists, in fact, that financial services firms are emerging that are totally focused on the sector – like Space Angels, for instance.
All systems go? The situation in Australia reflects what is happening globally. Since creating a space agency in 2018, the Australian
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government has repeatedly increased its support for development of the domestic space sector. It recently committed $150 million to fund Australian enterprises that are involved in NASA’s upcoming Moon mission. The new Launches and Returns Act, on the other hand, paves the way for launches in Australia by lowering insurance requirements for would-be launch service providers. Numerous space firms of significant size exist in Australia, and they occupy various niches throughout the sector. Gilmour is providing launches, Fleet is providing satellite-based IoT, and Arlula is providing imagery. These are just a few firms – there are many others. With such a rapidly growing competitive landscape, Australia may well succeed in meeting the
government’s goal of growing the space market to AU$12 billion by 2030. So, it’s a good time to enter the space business, right? Not necessarily. The truth is that many new space firms are facing difficulties. While there has indeed been a proliferation of new firms, those firms in fact face significant hindrances to successfully doing business. As in any quickly growing industry that is filled with new entrants, there is significant confusion and uncertainty. And it must also be said that there is something different about the space sector – many business plans seem sci-fi-inspired and appear to be farfetched. There is arguably an overabundance of ambition, in other words, tempered by a lack of concrete business plans.
All this is not to say that the space industry is doomed. On the contrary, it will likely continue to grow. The point is that as more firms enter the industry, they will need support services to succeed. And this has another important implication: opportunities are growing for business service professionals to participate in the space sector. Such professionals do not necessarily have backgrounds in science or engineering – they can be lawyers, financiers, investigators, auditors, management consultants, and more. As more individuals with such nonscience/engineering backgrounds get involved in the space sector, this will ultimately help advance sustainable growth of the space sector.
Quantifying key challenges Today, there are three big hindrances to doing business in the space sector: price opacity, launch dependability, and (in)activity. These issues exist both in Australia and also globally, and they are especially problematic for new firms. It is these three hindrances, among others, that present opportunities for individuals in professional services to engage in the space sector. The first issue is price opacity. What this means is there is very little consensus or awareness about what appropriate prices are. This is true for everything ranging from a small 1N thruster for a satellite, up to the price per kilogram to launch a satellite to low Earth orbit. Firms are naturally secretive about their transactions, as is the case in many industries. Additionally, the space sector is changing rapidly – firm-to-firm transactions are becoming more common compared to firm-togovernment transactions. This all means that
price points are in flux and any particular firm’s sense of appropriate price points is based on limited knowledge. Is $1,000 an appropriate price for a 1N thruster? The thruster producer only has a sense of whether $1,000 is an appropriate price based off their own previous sales. They may have been selling 1N thrusters for $1,000 a piece and think that $1,000 is a fair price, but it is possible that other thruster producers sell to similar clients for $2,000. If that is the case, the thruster producer selling for $1,000 is losing out on potential profit – either by charging clients more for 1N thrusters, or by undercutting competitors’ price points and stealing their customers. Professionals can assist here. They can do market research to gather information about price points. In doing so, they can help firms to buy or sell services or products more intelligently. Professionals can gather such information from government contracts, industry publications, media citations, and human sources. Giving such market intelligence to firms in the space sector will give those firms a leg up in doing business. It is worth paying for. The second issue is launch dependability. Every firm in the space sector ultimately depends on launches. Of course, this is especially true for firms that operate satellites; satellites need to be on orbit in order to function. But this is also true for other businesses in the space sector. Firms creating cameras for satellites sell to satellite operators, for instance, but their ability to sell to those satellite operators depends on the operators getting their satellites to orbit. Imagery service providers, on the other hand, depend on imagery collected by satellites, but ➤
Starlink constellation satellites about to be released into orbit.
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SpaceX rockets under construction.
those satellites need to get to orbit in order to collect imagery. Ground station operators monitor and communicate with satellites, but they can only monitor and communicate with satellites that have gotten to orbit. So, the profitability of many companies, not just those building satellites, depends on launches. The issue with launch services is that they vary significantly in terms of dependability, and it is not exactly clear which launch firms are more dependable. Without spending time considering the various options and knowing different firms’ track records, then one has little understanding of the situation. The launch industry, perhaps more than any other industry in the space sector, is plagued by delays. From SpaceX down to the hundreds of aspirational launch services firms around the world (including in Australia), it is common to state a deadline will be met, only to later miss that deadline.
A sad exemplar The collapse of Vector Space Systems last year is a case in point. There were high expectations that Vector would be a new successful launch firm. But for years, despite the hype, it consistently fell behind deadlines. Financiers finally had enough, Vector shuttered its doors – in the process harming other companies that had business plans depending on the firm’s service commitments. Again, business service professionals can help. And their help is worth it. For many businesses in the space sector, it is worth spending thousands of dollars
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So, to the professionals of Australia: it is time to start interacting with the space sector if you are not already doing so. in consulting fees to know if a launch provider will likely delay its launches or development plans. Assessing the dependability of launch service providers does not require having an engineering or science background. A professional with a consulting background can review publicly available information about different launch firms, compare their history of meeting deadlines, and make an informed evaluation about which are more dependable. The third hindrance to doing business in the space sector is (in)activity. Due to significant hype about the space sector, there has been an explosion in the number of space-sector firms. They are promising to do everything from launch rockets to set up infrastructure on the Moon. The issue is that many of these firms are inactive. Yes, they have an interesting business plan. Yes, technically they may even be registered and have listed principals. But many of these companies have no capital and no customers. They have no research and development program. This is obviously a problem for firms in the space sector planning to partner with them. If a potential partner turns out to be inactive, that hurts your business.
Professionals can help clients in the space sector figure out which of their potential partners are actually active. This is essentially due diligence – Is the company registered? How many employees does the company have? Do those employees have relevant expertise? Does the company have an office, or does it just list a post box address? Has the company raised money? What is its reputation amongst peers and competitors? There are dozens of such questions that professionals can answer to assess whether a potential partner company is actually active. Such due diligence services are worth the price of admission for firms in the space sector – they need to know who is worth working with. A big opportunity for growth in Australia’s space sector is in this area of providing professional services. The three hindrances described above, as well as others, can all be addressed by such individuals. Yes, some of the space-sector consultants will be snake oil salesmen; there will be a fair share of space firms who spend more than they ought to for an unnecessary due diligence. But the services are genuinely needed. If a space firm has a plan to make millions of dollars, it ought to spend money to figure out if it is charging the right price, launching on the right rockets, and working with the right partners. If it thinks it does not need such business intelligence, then it will fail. The provision of such professional services will make for smarter, savvier space firms. On the one hand, the rise of professional services will likely make the space sector a bit more cutthroat, which is arguably regrettable. But in the process, it will also likely make business in the sector more efficient, and there is nothing regrettable about that – as science fiction gives way to profit margins as a source of inspiration for space firms, then the space sector overall will grow more quickly. This will ultimately advance space exploration, which, in a sector full of science-fiction nerds, is the fundamental interest that drives many of them in the first place. So, to the professionals of Australia: it is time to start interacting with the space sector if you are not already doing so. To individuals in the space sector: it is time to start interacting with professional service providers if you are not already doing so. This is an exciting, potentially historic era for engagement with space, both for Australia and for humanity more generally. Advance commercialisation, and in doing so advance humanity’s ability to become a spacefaring species. Nicholas consults for the space sector and is also an international business doctoral candidate at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. n
partner feature
Do Surveyors Really Own the Work They Create? The short answer to this important question is that “yes in Australia they do now”. However, this wasn’t always the case. In this article, we talk to Jack de Lange, Director of The Surveyors’ Trust, and Caroline Morgan, Secretary General and Chief Executive of the International Foundation of Reproduction Rights Organisation, about the evolution of copyright ownership in Australia and the challenges and opportunities this has created for surveyors nationally. Q: Hello Jack – can you start by telling us what is the current copyright ownership situation for surveyors in Queensland as well as the rest of Australia?
Jack de Lange: Surveyors throughout Australia own the copyright in their cadastral plans that are lodged in the various titles registries in each State and Territory along with other original works. Q: When did this new situation take affect and how?
JDL: It has always been the case but it was confirmed by a decision of the High Court of Australia in 2008 following actions by the Spatial Industries Business Association in Queensland and New South Wales, and Copyright Agency Limited. Q: What would be the situation in the present day if surveyors’ intellectual property was not recognised?
JDL: We would be in a situation where the recognition of surveyors as a profession continues to decline. Recognition of the profession was the main driver behind the push for confirming the surveyor’s ownership of the copyright in their works. Q: What are the potential implications of this for the sector?
JDL: There is now the opportunity to raise the profile of surveyors and also to collect royalties from governments and other institutions who regularly copy those plans for commercial gain. In Queensland, Surveyors have done this collectively through the Australian Copyright Trust (trading as The Surveyors’ Trust), an entity set up specifically to aggregate those small amounts and use the funds for industry development projects. There is scope for surveyors in other jurisdictions to join the Trust and benefit from that opportunity.
Q: Hello Caroline – as one of the parties instrumental in bringing about positive change for surveyors in Australia, can you tell us about the significance of this copyright ownership win?
Caroline Morgan: Surveyors in Australia have been the only ones around the world who have been able to assert their copyright and then put in place mechanisms to manage that copyright to the benefit of industry as a whole. It is a world-leading example and one that all surveyors should be proud of. Without this win, there would be no money flowing to surveyors for the investment and contribution involved in making survey plans. Q: What are some of the new copyright challenges facing surveyors?
CM: Surveyors are facing new challenges from the impact of technology on the surveying industry. This includes big data, text and data mining. Some of the implications of database use is affecting the value chain for surveyors. When you look at the ways the plans are created and then fed into a database and how the data points are extracted it creates the questions – how do surveyors control those uses going forward and who owns the data once the plan is blended with other data and re-used? Q: Is it practical for a surveyor to believe they own their own works in perpetuity?
CM: Surveyors should remember they own the plan but ownership is not always the same as control. Surveyors need to think about new ways to use their plans among other plans and with other data where royalties flow to the original owner. Information provided by The Surveyors’ Trust
For more information, please visit www.thesurveyorstrust.org.au www.spatialsource.com.au 29
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DAVID MASSINGHAM
Finding a way to inspire a love of surveying I n Australia and around the world, surveying as a profession in the middle of a skills shortage. As such, students stepping into this area of study can expect more job opportunities following graduation, and an extremely competitive starting salary. That said, for students to want take advantage of these benefits they need to know enough about the profession in the first place. Of course, the world is currently also reeling from the impact of Covid-19. With more time spent in the home for young people and educators, there will be a greater call for in-home educational tools, and one surveying and spatially themed resource may be able to play a role in that.
Get Kids into Survey In 2019, the Get Kids into Survey poster series hit Australian shores for the first time. Designed to efficiently and literally illustrate the ins and outs of the fascinating area of surveying with colourful colours and a Where’s Wally? feel, these posters were developed in the UK by Elly Ball Marketing. They’d made their way across the Atlantic to the United States, and it was only a matter of time before they found their way to Australia.
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The series has been successful to date and has been effective in engaging a younger audience. Previous surveying career resources have focused on retaining the interest of an exclusively secondary school audience. Get Kids into Survey, however, strives to inspire an interest in spatial studies at a younger age. If we can convey to grade three, four and five students what location-based data can achieve, by the time they are older and beginning to think about their future career paths, surveying and spatial studies would already be embedded in their mind. The second benefit of these posters is their efficacy as an educational resource for the home. Due to the unique impact of the novel coronavirus Covid-19, students are increasingly learning in home environments. Parents and tutors will be happy to know too that the posters are freely accessible on the website for use at home on their device of choice. As a colourful and engaging item, each Get Kids into Survey poster is a far cry from a dry and dusty school textbook, making it a fun diversion for young learners. They unpack what it is that surveyors and spatial specialists do, how their work relates to other fields, and what sort of projects they work on.
Putting Sydney on the map The newest edition of the Get Kids into Survey poster series had its official launch online on Global Surveyors Day – March 21st 2020. Sydney Harbour is the backdrop to the new poster. Iconic images such as the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House will provide an enticing hook for Australian primary school students. As a flexible resource that can be viewed on laptop, desktop, tablets and mobiles, it is hoped that the Sydney poster will find its way to many homes and schools throughout the nation. The Australian distributor for the Get Kids into Survey posters is Michelle Brooks, and she sees the educational opportunities the new poster affords. “It’s a fun way to get young people excited about maths and geography from an early age,” she said. “This poster is filled with colourful characters and is a wonderful educational aid that helps students see the connections between their school subjects and a real-world profession of surveying.” Additionally, on the Get Kids into Survey website you can access a Question and Answers teaching resource in the ‘Quizzes’ section that directly unpacks the education content of the Sydney poster. You can also access other themed Get Kids into Survey posters that drill down further into surveying and geospatial professions.
Getting the word out There are spatial and surveying professionals who are already making use of the Get Kids into Survey posters as a unique educational tool.
Some, like Laren Collen of Land Surveys’ Chatswood office in New South Wales, have put up their hand to promote surveying in the classroom. As part of a STEM Professionals in Schools initiative, Laren began a dialogue with a St Ives North Public School teacher about the current curriculum topics the students were studying. It was clear the opportunity was there to highlight surveying more readily in the students’ coursework. The two of them developed a surveying presentation that not only ably demonstrated the connections between STEM and surveying, but also related directly to the students’ current
learning level. The final classroom session comprised of a slide presentation, a runthrough of demo data of point clouds, and a scan of the students in the middle of the room. Laren and the teacher also conducted a scan of the school courtyard, an area measuring 20m by 20m. The resulting point cloud was supplied to the school students and they were then challenged to use this resource to design a piece of play equipment to go in the courtyard, with the point cloud provide spatial context for the design. Laren returned to judge the results – and awarded the winners hardcopy versions of the Get Kids into Survey posters. As this case study shows, educational resources like these posters can encourage students to wrestle with spatial and surveying concepts in their classes. It’s learning experiences like this that can even lay the seeds for future passionate careers in surveying and geospatial science.
How you can help
If we can convey to grade three, four and five students what locationbased data can achieve, by the time they are older and beginning to think about their future career paths, surveying and spatial studies would already be embedded in their mind.
Now that the Sydney Get Kids into Surveying poster have been launched, opportunities to start surveying conversations in the classroom and the home will only increase. Efforts are in place to promote this resource to parents, home tutors, career advisors and teachers – but if you have any school or educational contacts in your community, you can also help by spreading the word to your community and social networks that the poster can be accessed at www.getkidsintosurvey. com. For families and community groups, this free and accessible resource is ideal during a time when educational outcomes may be best achieved at home. The poster launch is a key cog in the ongoing plan to raise the surveying profession’s profile further in homes, schools and in the general community. To find out more, reach the Try Surveying marketing team at trysurveying@alifewithoutlimits.com.au. David Massingham is the communications coordinator for the Try Surveying campaign. n
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AUSPOS performance in New South Wales DR. VOLKER JANSSEN AND SIMON MCELROY
A
USPOS is Geoscience Australia’s free online Global Positioning System (GPS) processing service. It has successfully processed more than 1 million jobs worldwide over the last ten years and was ranked highest in a global comparison of free online post-processing services. This article quantifies AUSPOS performance across NSW, showing that it routinely delivers Positional Uncertainty (PU) at the 0.02-0.03m level for horizontal position and 0.05-0.06m for ellipsoidal height. These results show that AUSPOS is a very handy tool to have in your toolbox and another option to establish, propagate and strengthen the NSW Survey Control Network.
Using AUSPOS Static, dual-frequency, carrier phase and code data of at least 1 hour duration (recommended minimum 2 hours, maximum 7 consecutive days) is observed, and then submitted to the online web service, usually in 30-second RINEX data format. The user’s antenna type (IGS naming format) is selected
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from a drop-down menu, and the height of instrument (measured vertically to the Antenna Reference Point, ARP) is manually entered. AUSPOS then employs International GNSS Service (IGS) station data and products to compute precise 3D coordinates, using GPS data only. GDA2020, GDA94, ITRF2014 coordinates and an Australian Height Datum (AHD) height are contained in a report (pdf) emailed to the user, generally after a few minutes. The report also includes the computed coordinate uncertainties, ambiguity resolution statistics, and an overview of the GPS processing strategy applied. For advanced users, Solution Independent Exchange (SINEX) files containing more detailed information are also available for download.
How AUSPOS processing works The best available IGS products and services are used. Up to 15 surrounding IGS and Asia-Pacific Reference Frame (APREF) stations are selected as reference
b.
stations, generally the 7 closest IGS sites and the 8 closest APREF sites. All CORSnet-NSW stations contribute to the AUSPOS service. Hence in NSW, this provides a relatively dense network for generating a reliable regional ionospheric delay model and tropospheric delay corrections to support ambiguity resolution. A precise solution is then computed using double-differencing techniques. IGS station coordinates are constrained with uncertainties of 1mm for horizontal position and 2mm for ellipsoidal height. Lower-tier Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) coordinates are constrained with uncertainties of 3mm for horizontal position and 6mm for the vertical, due to the shorter CORS operation time span, lower data quality or lower-grade monumentation. The GPS data is processed in ITRF2014 and then transformed to GDA2020 via the Australian Plate Motion Model. Derived AHD heights are computed by applying AUSGeoid2020 to the GDA2020 ellipsoidal heights. Legacy GDA94 coordinates are obtained from GDA2020 by transformation.
a. Positional Uncertainty (PU) is calculated according to SP1 version 2.1. The coordinate uncertainties of East, North and ellipsoidal height are scaled using an empirically derived model, which is a function of duration, data quality and geographical location, and expressed at the 95% confidence level.
Evaluating AUSPOS performance in NSW We used 2,618 GNSS datasets observed by Spatial Services, a unit of the NSW Department of Customer Service, over the last 5 years (November 2014 to August 2019). Data was collected under typical conditions generally encountered in the field, with observation session lengths ranging from 2 to 48 hours. Each dataset was processed individually with AUSPOS version 2.3, using final IGS products. Some AUSPOS solutions were rejected for this analysis due to warnings in the AUSPOS report, referring to poor ambiguity resolution and/or large uncertainties. Overall, 154 sessions (5.9%) were rejected, including 121 (10.1%) of the 2-6 hour sessions and 33 (2.3%) of the 6-48 hour sessions. Upon investigation of site photos and other metadata, this was generally attributed to ambitious attempts to observe survey marks in locations with substantial tree cover, resulting in poor sky view conditions. As expected, shorter observation sessions were more prone to be negatively affected by these unfavourable conditions. For all 2,464 successful AUSPOS solutions, descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the uncertainties of the resulting GDA2020 coordinates. PU is defined as the uncertainty of the horizontal and/or vertical coordinates of a point, at the 95% confidence level, with respect to the defined datum. A description of the practical implementation of PU in NSW can be found in Position 103 (October 2019). We performed three tests:
1) Analysing Horizontal PU (HPU) and Vertical PU (VPU) of the AUSPOS solutions for GDA2020 horizontal coordinates and GDA2020 ellipsoidal heights, respectively. 2) Analysing the repeatability of AUSPOS solutions for reoccupations on the same mark. 3) Analysing AHD results by comparing the AUSPOSderived AHD height to levelled AHD heights on public record and investigating the AHD-PU reported by AUSPOS.
b. The results of two further tests can be immediately summarised:
• Whilst AUSPOS PU values are known to be affected (scaled) by latitude, the variation is negligible for user results within NSW. • Whilst IGS products have continuously improved and CORS density has increased, AUSPOS version 2.3 performance has remained stable, predictable, repeatable and of high quality within NSW.
Figure 1 (bottom left): Positional Uncertainty (PU) vs. duration for (a) 2-6 hour data, and (b) 6-24 hour data. Figure 2 (above): Cumulative distribution of PU for (a) 2-6 hour data, and (b) 6-24 hour data.
PU of AUSPOS solutions First, we investigated the AUSPOS-derived HPU and VPU values. Descriptive statistics (i.e. minimum, maximum, range, median, mean and standard deviation) were examined for the entire dataset of 2,464 successful AUSPOS solutions (2-48 hour duration). To allow examination of the effect the observation session length has on the resulting uncertainties, we also investigated these descriptive statistics for the 2-6 hour and 6-24 hour subsets. Figure 1 presents a graphical visualisation of the results, showing PU as a function of observation session length for the 2-6 hour and 6-24 hour datasets. As expected, a longer observation span generally improves PU. Most of the improvement is gained by increasing the observation length from 2 hours to about 4-5 hours, with minor but not insignificant improvement when it is increased to 24 hours and beyond. Observation sessions exceeding 12 hours provide AUSPOS solutions of substantially higher quality in the vertical component. An investigation of site photos and other metadata attributed the larger VPU values evident for several solutions greater than 15 hours duration to poor sky view conditions caused by substantial tree cover. In spite of these poor conditions, AUSPOS solutions generally achieve acceptable HPU and heights with a VPU of better than 0.1m.
Cumulative distribution The cumulative distribution allows us to quantify the percentage of AUSPOS solutions meeting a particular PU threshold. Figure 2 visualises the cumulative distribution in regards to HPU and VPU for the 2-6 hour and 6-24 hour datasets, indicating the relationship between uncertainty and reliability achievable with AUSPOS. The reader can use these graphs as a simple ‘lookup’ tool to determine the likelihood of achieving any specified HPU or VPU threshold with 2-6 hour and 6+ hour observation sessions. ➤ www.spatialsource.com.au 33
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Figure 3 (below): Difference in horizontal and vertical coordinates vs. duration for (a) short-session pairs, (b) short-long-session pairs, and (c) long-session pairs.
a.
Across the entire dataset (2-48 hrs), 70.6% of AUSPOS solutions have HPU values of 0.02m or better, i.e. these solutions have an absolute reported horizontal accuracy slightly larger than the size of a 50c piece (radius of 16mm) with respect to the national datum. This includes 38.6% of the 2-6 hour AUSPOS solutions and 95.2% of the 6-24 hour solutions with HPU values at this level. Similarly, 95.7% of all solutions have HPU values of 0.03 m or better, including 90.8% of the 2-6 hour solutions and 99.5% of the 6-24 hour solutions. Regarding ellipsoidal height, 61.0% of the AUSPOS solutions have VPU values of 0.05m or better across the entire dataset. This includes 23.3% of the 2-6 hour AUSPOS solutions and 89.7% of the 6-24 hour solutions with VPU values at this level. Similarly, 71.8% of all solutions have VPU values of 0.06 m or better, including 42.7% of the 2-6 hour solutions and 94.3% of the 6-24 hour solutions. These results are impressive, remembering that the uncertainties are stated at the 95% confidence level. As expected, a longer observation span improves PU, particularly in the vertical component.
Repeatability b.
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We investigated repeatability by comparing independent reoccupations on the same mark. Where possible, independent pairs of sessions on the same mark were selected for three scenarios: two short sessions (2-6 hrs), one short (2-6 hrs) and one long session (6+ hrs), and two long sessions (6+ hrs). In each scenario, each session was only paired once. Since it is necessary to consider coordinate differences of opposite signs, the Root Mean Square (RMS) is appropriate to quantify the average agreement in the vertical component. Figure 3 visualises the results graphically, referring to the horizontal distance between the two AUSPOS solutions, as well as the difference in ellipsoidal height (shorter minus longer session). Again, it is evident that AUSPOS produces high-quality positioning results with good repeatability. While longer observation sessions improve the precision (repeatability) and reduce the risk of outliers (range), shorter sessions provide suitable results. The median values indicate that no significant offsets caused by possible outliers are present.
Figure 4 (top left): Difference in horizontal and vertical coordinates vs. duration for TS3663 Panorama (37 reoccupations). Figure 5 (top right): Difference in horizontal position from 48-hour solution for TS3663 Panorama (37 reoccupations).
TS3663 Panorama In July/August 2019, trigonometrical station TS3663 Panorama (located in Bathurst, close to NSW Spatial Services) was occupied 38(!) times, providing an opportunity to investigate the repeatability of AUSPOS solutions on this high-quality, concretepillared mark with excellent sky view. The longest observation session (48 hours) was assumed ground truth, with the AUSPOS results of the shorter sessions being compared against it (Figure 4). The average agreement is 0.006m Âą 0.003m (1 sigma) in the horizontal component, and the RMS in ellipsoidal height is 0.010m (1 sigma). This shows that observation sessions of less than 6 hours in length have high reliability and repeatability under good sky view conditions. A bullseye plot of the difference in horizontal position from the 48-hour solution is shown in Figure 5, providing a spatial perspective and illustrating the high precision of these results.
AHD Results For a subset of marks, we compared the derived AHD height determined by AUSPOS (using AUSGeoid2020) to levelled AHD heights of sufficient quality (class LC or better) on public record, ensuring full independence from the data used to produce AUSGeoid2020. Figure 6 visualises the results for the 2-6 hour and 6-24 hour data, referring to the difference between the AUSPOS-derived AHD height and the levelled AHD height on public record. The AUSPOS solutions are consistent across all marks and observation durations, delivering AHD heights with an RMS of about 0.040 m (1 sigma) or
a.
0.078 m (95% confidence level) and a range of about 0.35 m (-0.20 m to +0.15 m). The derived AHD-PU reported by AUSPOS appears to be overly conservative for the data investigated, providing a mean AHD-PU of 0.182 m, which is more than double the RMS for the difference to the levelled AHD height at the 95% confidence level (i.e. about 0.078 m). This can be explained by the conservative AUSGeoid2020 uncertainty grid values applied. The best-case official AUSGeoid2020 uncertainty in NSW is about 0.14 m at the 95% confidence level. It is pleasing to see that AUSPOS provides a much better connection to AHD across NSW than reported.
Conclusion In NSW, AUSPOS routinely delivers PU values of 0.02-0.03m (horizontal) and 0.05-0.06m (vertical). PU is substantially improved by increasing the observation length from 2 hours to 4-5 hours. Observation sessions exceeding 12 hours provide much higher quality in ellipsoidal height. AUSPOS results have a high degree of predictability/repeatability throughout the State at sites with good sky view, over at least the last 5 years. At sites with substantial tree cover, acceptable HPU and ellipsoidal heights with a VPU of better than 0.1 m can be achieved. These results show that AUSPOS is a very handy tool to have in your toolbox and another alternative to establish, propagate and strengthen the NSW Survey Control Network. Dr. Volker Janssen and Simon McElroy work at Spatial Services, a unit of the NSW Department of Customer Service. n
Figure 6 (below): Agreement to levelled AHD vs. duration for (a) 2-6 hour data, and (b) 6-24 hour data.
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q&a
Locate Postponed - Q&A with Maurits van der Vlugt As novel coronavirus Covid-19 continues to upend people’s lives and cause devastation around the world, the spatial industry is regrouping and adapting. While much of the industry would typically be gearing up for the Locate Conference in April, the biggest event on the Australian geospatial calendar has had to postpone until next year. The organisers have pivoted to planning their 2021 event, whilst sprinting to make a digital program of content and talent from the 2020 event available to delegates. We sat down with chair of Locate Conferences Australia, Maurits van der Vlugt, to find out more. Position: Maurits, it must be a mammoth effort to close down an imminent event as big as Locate – let alone locking in the details of a new one. When and where will Locate21 take place?
MV: It’s been a challenging few months, not just for us – but for the entire world. We’re focused on the future though, so delegates and industry professionals save the date –Locate21 will be held in Brisbane, from 30 March -1 April 2021 at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. We are already working hard to make Locate, bigger, stronger and more vibrant than ever in 2021. We’ve also announced the launch of a digital engagement plan designed to keep delegates engaged and connected with Locate until the actual event next year. If you’ve already registered for Locate20, we encourage you to retain your registration to receive full benefit of our digital material in the lead up to the 2021 event. Hosted online, the plan is free to registered delegates, and between now and Locate 21, will deliver program highlights to you in the form of webinars; podcasts; short videos; interactive sessions (such as those presented at The Hub); demonstrations from exhibitors and sponsors; and selected keynote presentations.
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If you haven’t yet registered, a special early registration package that combines Locate21 registration with the digital engagement plan is now available until 30 June 2020. The cost is the same as the 2020 registration price, including free access to the digital content. Position: How are you managing this transition – should delegates expect the same program that was designed for 2020 in 2021?
MV: Locate21 is retaining this year’s theme: Convergence, Collaboration and Community – Towards a Stronger Economy. Delegates who browsed and earmarked events on the 2020 program won’t be disappointed with Locate21, and we’re working to make much of the Locate20 program will be available in the digital engagement plan. Geospatial is a fast-moving field, which is rapidly responding to the societal changes and challenges posed by Covid-19. Expect some changes to next year’s program, which will feature more current and updated content, making it as exciting and relevant as it will need to be for that date. In the meantime, we’re focused on delivering really rich and relevant content via our digital engagement plan for Locate20. In adversity there is also
opportunity, and I for one, am looking forward to coming out at the end of these difficult times in twelve months. As a result of Covid-19 forcing us to think and work differently, I believe the industry will undergo a reset and relaunch. It really does resonate with our conference themes of convergence, collaboration and community. There’s increased importance placed on creating a sense of community and collaboration. We have the digital tools to achieve this, which we are all learning to deploy much more effectively. Position: Can you give us a preview of the highlights of the 2021 program?
MV: Through Locate21, we’re increasingly bringing construction and urban planning into contact with the surveying and geospatial industries, which is really exciting. Our Young Professional Symposium is about bringing the old guard together with new and up-coming young professionals, and each will benefit immensely from it. Undoubtedly, we will see a raft of showcases, collaborations and innovations that will have sprung up from the Covid-19 crisis. There will also be plenty of debate, workshops, link-ups with keynotes and plenary sessions.
A newly announced digital engagement plan aims to engage delegates with Locate until the actual event next year.
We’ll also maintain the strong Locate foundations that have been proven over the last series of conferences. The public are invited to attend a free market day where they can see, touch and interact with existing and emerging geospatial technologies such as self-driving cars and sophisticated drones. The Hub, where ideas and technologies are put to the test, will be even bigger and better than what was experienced at Locate in Melbourne in 2019. It will continue online in 2020 as part of our digital engagement plan and will be even more amazing in person in 2021. We’re also curating exciting tours where delegates and the public can step outside the Convention Centre and see geospatial technologies in operation at
locations around Brisbane. It really is a festival of ideas and activities. There’s so much on offer. It’s not only a great forum to meet like-minded people, but each delegate can individually tailor their own event within an event based on their personal interests. There really is something for everyone. Position: What do you see as the best examples of location and geospatial technologies being employed to help fight Covid-19?
MV: Location and geospatial technologies have been effective in managing the Covid-19 pandemic. We’ve seen a mushrooming of mapping applications used by everyone from the WHO (World Health Organization) to state governments,
companies and individuals who are putting very rich data online to map where outbreaks are spreading over time. When you relate this data to other socio-economic trends, it creates a very clear and useful picture for managing the disease. Also, countries like Singapore are already making use of location technologies we carry in our pockets, namely smartphones. The Singaporean government is using text messaging to alert people if they come into contact with environments where Covid-19 cases have been detected. The use of drone and drone technologies is another arena where location and geospatial technologies are exploding. They’ve been used for monitoring distancing between people, spraying disinfectant, surveying, and scenarios where you can’t put people in close contact together in the field. Position: Any closing comments in this extraordinary time?
MV: I really believe that Locate21 can only emerge bigger and stronger at the end of Covid-19. We’re really buoyed by the encouragement we’re getting from industry, delegates and sponsors to get through this. We really couldn’t have done it without their support. We’re all looking forward to reconnecting with each other in person at Locate21, there is a real hunger to come together as people and celebrate in 2021. Position: Thanks for your time, Maurits. n www.spatialsource.com.au 37
sssi
News and views from the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute President’s report SSSI Board – 2020 President – Dr. Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse President-Elect – Paul Digney NSW Director – Wayne Patterson NT Director – Rob Sarib QLD Director – Lee Hellen SA Director – Michael Grear TAS Director – Paul Digney VIC Director – Richard Syme WA Director – Dr. Lesley Arnold ACT Director – Nicholas Brown Hydrography Commission Director – Neil Hewitt YP representative (Observer) – Roshni Sharma Company Secretary – Jonathan Saxon
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"For every challenge comes an opportunity", I heard this mentioned by one of the corporate CEOs during Global Financial Crisis in 2008. We are taking the pandemic as a challenge and digitally transforming it into an opportunity: remotely connected to the workplace, video-based client communications, virtual networking, webinars, e-CPD, digital discussion panels, digital classes for school children and universities and virtual conferences. The whole world is navigating a new way of living, doing business and ultimately surviving. I like to bring to your attention the ANZLIC Strategic Plan 2020-24 released last week: www.anzlic.gov.au/anzliccouncil/anzlic-strategic-plan-2020-24. SSSI was invited and has provided inputs as part of the stakeholder consultation for the ANZLIC Plan. I also wish to inform that FIG 2020 Working Week to be held in Amsterdam during May has been cancelled, and the General Assembly will meet in ACCRA, GHANA during May 2021. Similarly, the XXIV ISPRS Congress to be held in Nice, France during June has been rescheduled to 4-10 July 2021. Our Locate Conference is postponed to 30 MARCH – 1 APRIL 2021 and will be held in Brisbane. The conference organising committee has proposed a digital engagement plan for delegates between now and the next conference, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, take the opportunity to listen to the Locate podcast: https://www.locateconference. com/2021/home/podcasts/
In respect to Covid-19, the surveying and spatial science community keeps people informed, provides the tools to help the government make essential decisions and keeps track of the decisions made to ensure they have the desired outcome. Our profession has used its expertise to track Covid-19 and the subsequent impact the virus has had on the environment. We are captivated by the Johns Hopkins Arc-GIS based Coronavirus Covid-19 dashboard which has been tracking the international spread of Covid-19 since its outbreak. And we are intrigued by other maps which are showing the impact lockdowns, and social distancing has had on reducing carbon emissions around the world. SSSI has a vital role to play in ensuring our members continue to be connected to the profession and each other. Though we cannot meet in person, we can meet virtually, and I encourage you all to register for one of the many SSSI webinars currently available. If you miss one, don’t worry, all Webinars are recorded and can be viewed in your own time. I would encourage you all to join SSSI via LinkedIn so you can keep updated on the latest industry news and Webinars. We are also working on other initiatives to ensure you maintain your connection and contribute to the profession. Another important issue during the times of the crisis and pressure is the mental health of our peers. Please stay connected and talk to each other and extend support; a simple phone call will help raise the morale of our peers. During my presidency, I have learnt that the surveying and spatial community always rally together in times of need. We support each other and the profession. SSSI is here to assist you through this time – let us all stay connected. Stay well, safe and connected. Dr. Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse FRGS FSSSI PRESIDENT, SSSI
SSSI sustaining partner
Goyder Day 2020
Commission Chairs
IAN ANDERSON
G
oyder Day commemorates the arrival of the Northern Territory Survey Expedition under South Australia’s Surveyor-General, George Woodroffe Goyder, to survey land for a settlement that has since evolved into the City of Darwin and places beyond. This year, 30 people attended the annual National Trust / SSSI Goyder Day event at Roadmasters House on 5th February. Trevor Menzies, curator of the SSSIsponsored Roadmasters House Museum, opened the proceedings by welcoming the guests and outlining the program for the commemoration which comprised displays, talks and a walk to Goyder Park. The displays included material on the land survey and botanical work carried out by members of expedition. National Trust director Tim Dixon spoke about the Trust’s involvement with Goyder Day, which it initiated in 2008 in keeping with its mission to promote and protect our cultural heritage – the stories, the people, its land and its buildings. Russell Dempster from the Top End Native Plants Society outlined the work of the expedition’s naturalists Frederick and Alfred Schulze, and artist William Hoare, who collected, described and illustrated many specimens of flora and fauna. Some of this work was on display. Trevor Menzies then led a walking tour to Goyder Park via Travellers Walk, the Esplanade and Hughes Avenue visiting historic sites along the way. Travellers Walk, also known as Chinamen’s Walk, provided a pedestrian link from the wharf to old Chinatown and the town centre. The path was well used in the days when all arrivals and departures to Port Darwin were by ship.
Hughes Avenue was the first road constructed in the settlement to provide access from the main camp on the waterfront to the townsite above the coastal escarpment. At the start of Hughes Avenue, near the base of the escarpment, a plaque was unveiled in 1969 by Goyder’s grand-daughter, Margaret Goyder Kerr, to commemorate the 100th anniversary. Goyder Park was opened on Goyder Day 2017 on the site of the expedition’s main camp at Fort Point now at the intersection of Hughes Avenue and Kitchener Drive. Various structures in the park show the location of the principal camp buildings. Six pillars around the site display information outlining aspects of the experiences and achievements of the members of the expedition. One pillar describes their interaction with the local Larrakia people. Relations were initially friendly but deteriorated over time as the survey parties penetrated the interior. A low point was the spearing of two members of the expedition in a remote camp at Freds Pass near the Adelaide River. One was draftsman John Bennett who later died from his injuries. He is now commemorated in Bennett Park on Bennett Street, Darwin. Over a seven-month period in 1869 the expedition surveyed 4 townsites and 2,200 rural blocks. This notable achievement led to the foundation of Darwin and the subsequent European settlement of the Northern Territory. After about an hour walking through this historic part of Darwin, the group returned to Roadmasters House ready to enjoy the refreshments on offer and view the displays.
Engineering & Mining Surveying Chair Andrew Edwards chair.emsc@sssi.org.au Hydrography Commission Chair Neil Hewitt chair.hc@sssi.org.au Land Surveying Commission Chair Lindsay Perry chair.lsc@sssi.org.au Remote Sensing & Photogrammetry Commission Chair Petra Helmholz chair.rspc@sssi.org.au Spatial Information & Cartography Commission Chair Angus Scown chair.sicc@sssi.org.au
Regional Committee Chairs ACT Regional Chair Noel Ward chair.act@sssi.org.au NSW Regional Co-Chairs Mary-Ellen Feeney chair.nsw@sssi.org.au NT Regional Chair Rob Sarib chair.nt@sssi.org.au QLD Regional Chair Paul Reed chair.qld@sssi.org.au SA Regional Chair Graham Walker chair.sa@sssi.org.au TAS Regional Chair Paul Digney chair.tas@sssi.org.au VIC Regional Chair Andrej Mocicka chair.vic@sssi.org.au WA Regional Chair Darren Mottolini chair.wa@sssi.org.au SSSI National Office 27-29 Napier Cl, Deakin, ACT 2600 (PO Box 307) Phone: +61 2 6282 2282 Email: support@sssi.org.au
Thirty people attended the annual National Trust / SSSI Goyder Day event in February.
www.spatialsource.com.au 39
sssi SSSI 2020 Mentoring Program Launch ROSHNI SHARMA, JASON HERITAGE AND DONNY DARMAWAN
What is mentoring? Mentoring is the opportunity to learn from someone who has a wider and broader experience than you (for the mentee, the one receiving the mentoring) and to share learnings, reflections, guidance and accumulated wisdom (for the mentor, the one giving the mentoring). It can be a formal or informal process, that takes place over a defined time or just through natural relationship development with colleagues and peers.
Why is it beneficial? The mentoring process is valuable to both parties involved, the mentor and the mentee. The immediately obvious benefit is that the mentee receives guidance around decision-making, career pathway visibility and thinking outside the box about what is possible for their short, medium and long-term future. What is perhaps not as obvious is that the mentor also gains just as much – the chance to reflect upon their own choices and learn new insights that could help them, but also the opportunity to make a real difference in the career of another person. This is often reported to be a very fulfilling and rewarding experience, and one which is tinged with fresh inspiration and insights into the industry as seen from the perspective of the mentee, which can be transformational in itself.
Why does SSSI offer a mentoring program? One of the ways in which Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute strives to serve its
members is by strengthening the Australian geospatial and surveying industry through the intergenerational transfer of knowledge, experience and inspiration for a brighter future in a global context. The mentoring program is an important way of supporting the future of our profession. SSSI is the peak national body for all custodians of quality spatial data creation, storage, maintenance and use in Australia. SSSI exists to serve the evolving needs of this community. What sets SSSI apart is it’s unique national reach, which enables a number of significant strengths: stronger and broader advocacy, the ability to break down geographic silos and build stronger technical excellence, the ability to offer a plethora of events that allow a broad and diverse network of professionals with strengths in many areas the ability to network and collaborate, certification to strengthen the core of the Australian geospatial and surveying industry for a future where it is even more strongly positioned in an international context and more.
What have the previous SSSI Mentoring Programs been like? SSSI has been offering various mentoring programs for a number of years, with regional programs and events in many states and a National Mentoring Program having been available from 2018. In the 2019 program, we had a huge 300% increase in numbers from 2018 significant numbers in expected regions
(VIC, NSW, QLD, SA) but also increasing numbers in WA, TAS, NT and ACT. It was excellent to see that there was a huge spike in participants specialising in surveying, remote sensing and photogrammetry, hydrography and even from engineering and architecture. Each year, we have had increases in the number of female participants, as well as a more even distribution in participants from all age brackets. There was an overwhelming majority who agreed that every topic was useful to very useful, which validates the program’s focus on soft skills rather than technical skills – an area that is traditionally not taken very seriously in technical industries. Overall participants also rated the program very highly.
What did previous participants have to say? SSSI has received some excellent feedback on the program: What have you enjoyed most about the 2019 Mentoring Program as a Mentor?
• The opportunity to engage with and share my experiences with bright, enthusiastic, talented young people, passionate about the industry and excited about the next phase in their lives. It has been a privilege to participate and rewarding for me personally. • Witnessing the interest and thirst for information from our 'younger' surveyors. Also, it has helped me reflect on a few things that I have taken for granted.
The 2020 SSSI Mentoring Program This year’s program will cover the following topics: Stream A - Students
Stream B - Emerging Leaders
Key dates for the 2020 Program are:
Industry trends and career goal setting
Industry trends and career goal setting
18 May
Applications close
Teamwork and communication
Emotional intelligence and leadership 7 June
Networking
Networking with peers and clients
Mentors and mentee pairs connected by Program Coordinators and conversations begin
Applying for a job
Managing up and working relationships
21 June
Program formally kicks off
Personal/professional development
Time and priority management
30 November
Program closes
What it's like in the real world / Yes, I've got a job, now what?
Win-win: Adding value for your employer while adding value to yourself
Mid-October to Mid-November
Graduation ceremon
40 position April/May 2020
SSSI sustaining partner
What have you enjoyed most about the 2019 Mentoring Program as a Mentor?
What has been the most surprising insight you have had from the program?
• The entire program has been very insightful. It covered all topics related to career, personal and professional development and also pointed me to the most important things at different stages of my development. I have learnt a lot from my mentor. The program has also helped me to reflect on various areas of improvement for me. It's been a great journey so far. • Learning from someone with 30 years experience. How to 'talk business' and the type of language to use. The scope of the spatial industry.
• How diverse we are but still it is a close-knit industry • Maybe not surprising, but just how important it is to take a step back and reflect on how I am travelling - get a good strong set of goals and the right headspace to become a leader • That I need to slow down and understand that meaningful connections take time to build, that its ok to find your way and to not have all the answers • I had no definite career goal before now • I should do more with the knowledge
I have. Knowing a lot doesn't make sense without application. • I found that this program gave me more confidence in my role but also opened my eyes to how much more I have to grow and learn. • I take the struggles of being a female too lightly • A reminder to constantly review what I know, or knew, and be prepared to modify my traditional thinking.
Want to get involved? Visit the mentoring page on the SSSI website to find out more and register! www.sssi.org.au/mentoring
Australian Geospatial Community Comes Together for Bushfire Disaster Recovery on International Scale LESLEY ARNOLD
S
ince September 2019, bushfires have burnt over 18.6 million hectares of land and killed 34 people. An estimated one billion animals have been killed and it is feared that some endangered species may be driven to extinction. Major bushfires have heavily impacted regions of New South Wales, eastern and northeastern Victoria, Canberra and Kangaroo Island in South Australia, and large areas of forest have been burnt. Reinforcements from all over Australia responded to assist fire fighters and relieve exhausted local crews. The Australian Defence Force was mobilised to provide air support to the firefighting effort and to provide manpower and logistical support. Firefighters and equipment from New Zealand, Singapore, Canada, Fiji and the United States, among others, helped fight the fires, especially in New South Wales. Geospatial teams mapped fire and modelled fire trajectory scenarios for the firefighters. Many of these teams were assisted by local volunteer mapping groups trained in disaster response GIS activities. As the fires reached their peak late December 2019, SSSI was inundated with calls from our surveying and spatial sciences community, asking what they could do to help their fellow Australians. Calls came from individuals and companies offering support. SSSI consulted with Commonwealth and State Government agencies, the newly formed National Bushfire Recovery Agency (NBRA), industry peak bodies and NGOs, seeking advice on how our profession could contribute. Understanding, the location of burnt infrastructure was the main priority.
The map-a-thon was held at six locations across Australia provided by GHD, Hydro Tasmania and Aurecon, and refreshments generously supported by Veris, Leica, Hexagon, Jacobs and Hydro Tasmania. There were 600 registered participants, 300 joined remotely from home, and 44 teams took part from other locations. There were 100 overseas participants from 26 countries - Albania, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Fiji Islands, Germany, Ghana, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Qatar, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, USA, and Zimbabwe. FIG Young Professionals and URISA were very active supporters. Map-a-thoners were fortunate to have had access to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of aerial imagery on the day, and SSSI is grateful to supporters Nearmap, Planet and Airbus. Their postfire imagery was crucial to success. Almost 3 million hectares were mapped, with over 15 thousand detailed edits and just under one thousand
damaged buildings mapped to date. Since notification of the Map-a-thon, several NGO’s, government departments and community groups have reached out asking for specific mapping support to enable them to better respond to emerging needs within our community and future preparedness efforts. Requests range from data analysis, address validation and specific data collection themes. There is also significant interest in disaster preparedness tasks to better understand future high-risk areas and where ground volunteers may potentially be needed in the future. Community organisations have also sought data to gain a better understanding of social and economic impacts in the wake of damage to crops and orchards, and the loss of wildlife and farm animals etc. A second initiative, SSSI Bushfire Recovery StoryMap is currently in development with support from NGIS Australia and ESRI Australia. Volunteer surveyors are also engaged in supporting government on the ground to identify where survey marks need replacing and boundaries re-establishing. Map-a-thoners in Brisbane were among 600 participants in the effort to help bushfire disaster recovery efforts.
www.spatialsource.com.au 41
sssi
Why being certified makes good business sense
W
e work in a competitive and dynamic environment. In today’s business world, a competitive advantage is now a necessity or work opportunities will pass by both as individuals and as organisations. One proven way of demonstrating your value in the market and your competitive edge is to become certified. Being certified provides you with a ‘badge of quality’ that easily and quickly demonstrates to your employer, your clients and any prospective employers that you have not only completed relevant tertiary qualifications, but you have the practical skills and experience to be recognised as a competent professional. They are able to very easily ascertain that your skills and experience meet high standards and are therefore able to have confidence in your ability to get the job done well. Being certified also has the potential to increase your earning potential as well as career prospects and opportunities. Certification gives further validation that a person is able to perform the task at hand – and increasingly, employers are looking for solid proof that an individual possesses the skills to perform their role. Employers are increasingly looking for staff who hold certifications when recruiting, and also promoting certified employees to their clients and to potential clients when tendering for new work. Once you become certified, your learning continues over time. To retain your certification each year you will be required to maintain your competency through continued professional development, such as courses, workshops, seminars and relevant professional. These are an enjoyable way of keeping your knowledge base up to date so you are aware of any technological
developments and industry innovations and trends. They are also a great way to continue to build your diverse professional network and keep up to date with the conversations that are being had about how the industry is developing, how the technologies and methods can be used in emerging ways for business benefit and social good, and to understand future directions. Certification is available for professionals working in the following specialist fields: • Spatial Information & Cartography, • Hydrography, • Engineering Surveying, • Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing For more information, visit the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) website at https://sssi.org.au/get-certified.
Launch of the NSW Spatial Digital Twin
O
n Monday 24 February 2020, the Minister for Customer Service, Victor Dominello, along with Bruce Thompson (Executive Director Spatial Services) and Wayne Patterson (Director, Spatial Operations) launched the NSW Spatial Digital Twin. To access the Digital Twin or for more information go to www.spatial.nsw.gov.au/what_we_do/projects/digital_twin. Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the NSW Spatial Digital Twin, delivered in partnership with CSIRO’s Data61, will provide 3D and 4D digital spatial data and models of our built and natural environments, that will improve planning and community engagement.
“The Spatial Digital Twin will allow us to better plan infrastructure, precincts and communities by providing realtime information and visualisation of buildings, roads, hospitals, schools and libraries, even before construction begins,” Mr Dominello said. “A picture paints a thousand words – being able to visualise a project before it starts means we can plan for and predict future outcomes. The interactive tool includes 22 million trees with height and canopy attributes, almost 20,000km of 3D roads, and 7,000 3D strata plans and 546,206 buildings. “Western Sydney is an economic powerhouse with a pipeline of projects underway including the aerotropolis. This new tool will be a game changer for all stakeholders by enabling projects to be digitally planned before shovels hit the ground.” The digital workbench will allow all parties to visualise both historical data whilst also preparing for future infrastructure by using above and below ground modelling from data obtained through water, energy and telco utilities. The Spatial Digital Twin will initially support the Western Sydney City Deal covering the councils of – Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Penrith and Wollondilly. It will continue to be developed in collaboration with local, state and federal government agencies and industry partners to expand its capacity beyond just Western Sydney. Image courtesy of NSW Spatial Services.
42 position April/May 2020
Leica Pegasus:Two Ultimate Mobile Reality Capture Digitisation of city infrastructures, planning, and resources is the foundation of the Smart City. The Pegasus:Two Ultimate will enable your growth and ability to offer the best solution for this market. Seamless 360° imagery calibrated to the digital point cloud will help you to deliver easily realised data assets. Visit leica-geosystems.com/products/mobile-sensorplatforms to learn more or request a demo.
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