Position 114 August-September 2021 by The Intermedia Group

August/September 2021 – No. 114

The Australasian magazine of surveying, mapping & geo-information

DMS + GIS

shaping the future of critical infrastructure operations

Official publication of

inside Repelling the invasion GIS in the battle against fire ants

Digital doppelgangers Will digital twins change the world?

Relishing a challenge Q&A with Hydro Tasmania’s Inga Playle

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contents

August/September 2021 No.114

features 13 Spatial data growing our green buildings Helping councils meet their greening, cooling and climate change targets.

14 Q&A with Inga Playle Making a contribution to society drives Playle’s work philosophy.

16 DMS + GIS Transforming asset data management with real time spatial insights.

18 Agriculture sets its sights on space Satellite imaging and connectivity will add billions to the economy.

22 Delving into digital doppelgangers Industry experts to give us a view into the future of digital twins.

24 DJI’s 1–2 punch

35 All systems go for Locate22

A long flight time and new sensor helps cut project times in half.

26 The view from above The strengths and weaknesses of Australia’s Earth observation sector.

Collaborative, data-driven solutions to national challenges will be the focus.

37 Where ethics and geospatial sciences meet Ensuring that geospatial and location data are used to help, not harm.

28 Using geospatial tools to combat fire ants Information capture, storage and analysis are vital in the ongoing battle.

31 Tackling the surveying and spatial skills shortage The government acknowledges the problem but a lot more needs to be done.

32 A new era of vertical datum determination

regulars 4 4 7 8 36 38

Upfront Upcoming events From the editor News New products SSSI updates

The AHD is beginning to show its age, so is it time for a new approach?

www.spatialsource.com.au 3

upfront ASA’s team members bring remarkable talents to their analytics work.

Upcoming Events 18–19 August: World of Drones & Robotics Congress 2021 https://www.worldofdrones.com.au/

25 August: Advancing Earth Observation Forum https://www.spaceindustry.com.au/ event/advancing-earth-observationforum-2020-brisbane/

3 September: 2021 SSSI Tasmania Surveying & Spatial Conference https://sssi.org.au/events-awards/ events/2021-tas-conference

Teamwork and talent define this social enterprise

ustralian Spatial Analytics (ASA) is a Brisbane-based data processing and analytics service provider with a difference — it is also a not-for-profit social enterprise that trains and employs people on the autism spectrum. Currently the only Social Traders-certified data analytics company in Australia, it has 25 staff (and growing), 19 of whom live with autism. “This is a social enterprise that embraces the strengths of a highly underemployed cohort,” said ASA’s general manager, Geoffrey Smith. “Our data analysts on the autism spectrum hold exceptional cognitive talents in visual pattern recognition, memory retention and concentration. Their ability to lockin and concentrate on data problems is incredible. They are faster and more precise analysts.” According to Smith, more than $1 billion of spatial analysis was offshored by Australian companies in 2019. “This work is increasingly needed to be carried out onshore to mitigate data sovereign risk and improve customer service,” he said. “With the Critical Information Security Act passed in 2018 and rising geopolitical tensions, it is time for our infrastructure to be analysed within Australia’s borders. ASA ASA tackles a wide variety of geospatial projects.

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provides government and corporations a new local outsourcing alternative.” The majority of ASA’s team members are not trained geospatial professionals — the company has geospatial and data advisors who train the analysts to conduct their work and advise on the best ways in which to achieve project outcomes. Most of the analysts perform relatively basic GIS tasks, however some have experience in IT and programming. ASA’s team has taken on a wide variety of projects, for instance asset location and management for one highvoltage electrical network operator and predictive analytics/BI for another such operator. They’ve also tackled a multitude of mapping projects, from farm and paddock locations to fibre optic networks in the suburbs, to deep intelligence and machine learning (identifying rubbish on beaches, swimming pools and changes in vegetation), to georeferencing and geolocation work to create orthomosaics. ASA is in the process of applying for grants for training and extra support for its team. “Some of our analysts were referred through the federal employment program and therefore can accrue wage subsidies for our social enterprise. These wage subsidies are no different from what any other business can receive,” said Smith, adding that “ASA would not exist without the support of social enterprise builder, White Box Enterprises.” “You’re missing out if you don’t consider neurodiverse people,” he said. “Mainstream employers are profoundly missing out on fantastic employees.” n

15 September: 3rd Australasian Exploration Geoscience Conference https://2021.aegc.com.au/

17 September: Spatial Information Day & APSEA-SA 2021 https://sssi.org.au/events-awards/ events/sid21

27 September–2 October: FOSS4G 2021 https://2021.foss4g.org/

11–15 October: 27th ITS World Congress 2021 https://its-australia.com.au/events/27thits-world-congress-2021-hamburg/

15 October: SSSI NSW & ACT 2021 Regional Conference https://sssi.org.au/events-awards/ events/sssi-nsw-act-2021-regionalconference

19–21 October: 12d Technical Forum https://events.12dsynergy.com/

22–23 October: 2021 NSW CSA October Conference https://www.acsnsw.com.au/ eventdetails/9118/2021-nsw-csa-octoberconference

27–29 October: HydroSpatial2021 Conference http://ahs.wildapricot.org/event-4262936

GET YOUR D I G I TA L E D I T I O N June/July 2021 – No. 113

April/May 2021 – No. 112

February/March 2021 – No. 111

The Australasian magazine of surveying, mapping & geo-information

MAPPING EVIL Shining a spotlight on the dark side of humanity

PUSHING BOUNDARIES

THE RISE OF AI

Geodetic modernisation in the Pacific Islands

Geospatial’s brave new frontier

Official publication of

inside 2030 space roadmap Getting serious about getting into orbit

Cross River Rail Combining GIS, BIM and mapping

The view from above Q&A with drone pilot Amy Steiger

inside Remote sensing resurgence Space boom perks

LiDAR downsized Survey of light LiDAR advancements

SIBA|GITA gets new GM Q&A with Danika Bakalich

inside GNSS showdown David and Goliath in the field

The Covid year Winners and losers in a year of change

Onshore and on-trend A changing market for LiDAR processing

Check out our collection of back issues online December/January 2021 – No. 110

October/November 2020 – No. 109

August/September 2020 – No. 108

The Australasian magazine of surveying, mapping & geo-information

Soaring through space and time with

SATELLITE IMAGERY

A WATERSHED MOMENT FOR UTILITIES Australia’s first intelligent water network

RTK FOR ALL New MiRTK internet enabled correction service

Official publication of

inside Ground truth Challenge & triumph with AR underground

Game of frames The latest news in Australian geodesy

Time is honey Machine learning, sap yields, honey harvests

inside Brave new world AR system to bring events back to life

Sensing from space The race for spacederived data

Bolts from the blue The past and future of lightning detection

inside Beyond the model Twinning of a new era

Tectonic shift Geotechnics and geopolitics intersect

As a subscriber, you can get exclusive access to the current edition of the magazine days before it hits your mailbox. Simply scan the QR code, or go to https://www.spatialsource.com.au/position-magazine-digital-edition

Optimising the plot Pushing agriculture forward

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from the editor The Australasian magazine of surveying, mapping & geo-information

Publisher Simon Cooper Editor Jonathan Nally jnally@intermedia.com.au National Advertising Manager Jon Tkach jon@intermedia.com.au 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

The Intermedia Group takes its Corporate and Social Responsibilities seriously and is committed to reducing its impact on the environment. We continuously strive to improve our environmental performance and to initiate additional CSR based projects and activities. As part of our company policy we ensure that the products and services used in the manufacture of this magazine are sourced from environmentally responsible suppliers. This magazine has been printed on paper produced from sustainably sourced wood and pulp fibre and is accredited under PEFC chain of custody. PEFC certified wood and paper products come from environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of forests. The wrapping used in the delivery process of this magazine is 100% biodegradable.

Facing the challenges of the present and future

he recent release of two major reports into Australia’s Earth observation sector is a welcome development, as they shine a spotlight on both the strengths and weaknesses of the nation’s EO ecosystem. Australia has long had tremendous expertise in the utilisation of EO data for research, development and applications — second to none, really. But the country lacks sovereign capabilities for the initial production of that data, ie. our own EO satellites. It’s great that there are moves afoot to address that vulnerability, as the reports make it abundantly clear how much we rely upon EO data for almost every aspect of our everyday lives. Yet until that capability gap is closed, and maybe even beyond, different kinds of weaknesses will remain. If you’re involved in the EO sector, or if you make use of EO data in any way, I encourage you to read our article in this issue (see page 24) and then download the reports and read them too. A constant theme that runs throughout all these kinds of studies is the concern over how the industry will be able to source enough trained and experienced staff. To that end, it is pleasing to see that the federal government has added surveyors, cartographers and other spatial scientists to its Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL). This move means that employer-sponsored nomination and visa applications for professionals in these categories will be given priority processing. And although the PMSOL is intended to be only a temporary measure, hopefully it will contribute to boosting Australia’s workforce in the relevant sectors. Of course, at the time of writing, the nation was still in the grip of more outbreaks of COVID-19, causing widespread disruption across many parts of society. It has been sorely affecting individuals’ ability to travel to distant work locations — particularly interstate or overseas — as well as their ability to work from home… trying to get your work done while home-schooling the kids can be incredibly difficult. So I do hope that you are managing to stay on top of things during these challenging days. Personally, I’m looking forward to a time when I can get out and about and begin to meet my new colleagues within the industry. Jonathan Nally Editor

October/November 2021 – Issue 115

NEXT ISSUE

Precision where it’s needed – the latest in high accuracy survey methods Intelligent planning and infrastructure – smart grids, IoT and a changing world Mining & Offshore – geo data for geological exploration Advertising booking date: 10 September 2021 Advertising material date: 15 September 2021 Publication date: 8 October 2021

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news CSIRO opens NovaSAR-1 tasking to researchers

Artist’s impression of NovaSAR-1. Courtesy Surrey Satellite Technology.

Australian researchers can now apply to direct the Earth observation satellite NovaSAR-1 by accessing Australia’s 10% share of the satellite. The move should be of immense benefit for those who work in fields such as agriculture and natural disaster management. It marks the first time Australia has been given the ability to manage its own source of Earth observation data, which traditionally has been at the mercy of foreign suppliers or partners. NovaSAR-1, developed by Surrey Satellite Technology in the UK, is a demonstrator project that produces medium- and highresolution images of Earth using S-band (3.2 GHz, or 9.4 cm wavelength) synthetic aperture radar. In September 2017, CSIRO purchased a 10% share of time on the satellite and operates that share as a national facility available to all Australian researchers. The agreement permits CSIRO to direct the satellite to collect data through a range of observation modes for the duration of the mission, with priority given for observations over the Australian region. In the same way as many other facilities such as astronomical observatories are operated, applications to use the NovaSAR-1 national facility will be assessed by an independent committee and allocated based on the scientific merit of the proposed research. “Although Australia is one of the largest users of Earth observation data, until now we have not had direct control over the tasking of an Earth observation satellite, so the opening of our NovaSAR-1 facility represents a step change for Australian

research and an important step forward for our space industry,” said Dave Williams, CSIRO’s Executive Director Digital, National Facilities and Collections. NovaSAR-1 data will be downloaded to a receiving station near Alice Springs owned by the Centre for Appropriate Technology (CfAT), Australia’s first and only Aboriginal-ownedand-operated ground segment service provider. Peter Renehan, CfAT CEO, said access to NovaSAR-1 could benefit many Indigenous communities, such as Indigenous rangers who could use its imagery to conserve both land and sea. “It’s important that we can build and own facilities like this right here in central Australia and feel proud that Aboriginal Australians are making such an important contribution to supporting the development of Australia’s sovereign capability in the space industry,” said Peter Renehan, CfAT CEO.

Euclideon announces biggest 3D geospatial platform Australian 3D data specialist Euclideon has announced plans to build what it says will be the world’s largest geospatial data platform, encompassing more than 100 petabytes of 3D data hosted on Microsoft’s Azure cloud. The visualisation as a service (VaaS) platform will leverage Euclideon’s high-speed udStream 3D render technology which,

the company says, is able to visualise petabytes of data within a second. “3D data represents the biggest big data,” said Daniel Zhang, Euclideon CEO, adding that it is “fundamental for applications such as digital twins or smart cities, and we are developing innovative tools and services to help maximise the value that customers can reap from their data. “Hosting in Azure ensures we have the performance, scalability and trusted security that we and our customers need and also positions us for rapid expansion here in Australia, and internationally.” “Euclideon has established an enviable reputation at the very forefront of 3D data management and visualisation,” said Phil Goldie, SMC Lead, Microsoft Australia. “We are proud to partner with Euclideon, and also to explore opportunities for ongoing collaboration between our two organisations.” The global geospatial analytics market was valued at $US58 billion in 2019 and is expected to be worth more than $US158 billion by 2027 as ©stock.adobe.com/au/Oleksii organisations increase their use of 3D data.

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news Image courtesy Esri

Esri releases 2020 global land cover map Esri has released a new high-resolution, 2020 global land cover map as part of its Living Atlas, built with Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and developed using a machine learning workflow developed by Impact Observatory and Microsoft. Users will be able to use the map in association with other GIS layers such as terrain and hydrology, available in the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. Impact Observatory was contracted to develop a deep learning, AI, land classification model using a training dataset of billions of human-labelled image pixels. The company then applied this model to the Sentinel-2 2020 scene collection, processing more than 400,000 Earth observations to produce the map. The machine learning approach used will soon be made available on demand, and will be of interest to land managers who need to monitor for annual changes and seasonal differences.

The map will be updated annually to support change detection and highlight land changes, especially those related to human activity. Esri is releasing the map under a Creative Commons license to encourage broad adoption. It will be made available in ArcGIS Online as a map service and will be freely available for use. It will also be available for downloading and viewing.

Planet Labs to become publicly traded in merger A Planet Labs image of flooding in the Hawkesbury River region in NSW. Courtesy Planet Labs.

Planet Labs has announced that it will merge with dMY Technology Group, a special purpose acquisition company, and become a publicly-traded company. The merger will value Planet at a post-transaction equity value of approximately US$2.8 billion. Planet has a fleet of around 200 satellites which the

company designs, builds, and operates in house. That fleet captures more than 3 million images per day, covering over 300 million square kilometres and generating approximately 25 terabytes of data per day. The company’s multi-year data archive contains, on average, 1500 images of every spot on Earth’s landmass. “At Planet our goal is to use space to help life on Earth. We have this huge new dataset — an image of the entire Earth landmass every day — which we serve up via a Bloomberglike terminal for Earth data, making it simple to consume and expanding reach to potentially millions of users across dozens of verticals,” said Planet CEO and Co-founder Will Marshall. “As the world shifts to a more sustainable economy and more companies and governments set their sustainability and ESG goals, the first step in achieving these objectives is measurement. Planet’s daily, global data is foundational to making that transition. “We’re excited to reach this important milestone of taking Planet public to significantly accelerate our mission, and to be doing so with dMY and other great investors.” Planet generated more than US$100 million in revenue in its last fiscal year ended January 31, 2021, serving more than 600 customers in 65 countries.

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news CASA plain-language guide for drone users The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is reminding operators of the availability of a plain-language guide to the aviation regulations that apply to commercial users of microaircraft and certain remotely piloted aircraft. While not reproducing the full regulations word for word, the Plain English Guide for Micro and Excluded RPA operations aims to help operators comply with requirements by covering all the major points in an easy-to-read format. The Guide “consolidates the applicable sections of Part 101 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR) and its Manual of Standards (MOS) that relate to the commercial operation of micro and excluded RPA,” according to CASA. This guide is aimed at all those “who do not hold a Remote Pilot Licence (RePL) and intends to use a drone (not more than 2 kg) for commercial or professional activities (i.e. hire and reward) for work, research, training, or community services”. It’s also for those who don’t hold a RePL but intend to fly a drone (not more than 25 kg) over their own land in certain activities such as aerial spotting, land surveying, agricultural operations and infrastructure inspections.

©stock.adobe.com/au/zephyr_p

The Guide is one of several issued by CASA, the others of which cover the operations of full-size aircraft. “If someone carefully follows a guide they can normally expect to comply with the relevant regulations,” wrote CASA CEO and Director of Aviation Safety, Pip Spence, in her June industry briefing email. “We have developed the guides after listening to feedback from the aviation community on the challenges of understanding the regulations with which compliance is required.”

Department of Defence using Maxar’s 3D data suite Maxar Technologies has announced that it has delivered 3D data products and high-resolution satellite imagery to the Australian Department of Defence under recent multi-milliondollar contracts.

“Maxar’s high-resolution 3D data and satellite imagery are integral for high-confidence mapping, planning and operational support, which can help end users make better decisions and save lives, resources and time,” said Tony Frazier, Maxar’s Executive Vice President of Global Field Operations. “Maxar is proud to expand our partnership with the Australian Department of Defence by providing our newest 3D data products.” The company’s 3D data suite includes a 3D Surface Model that provides a high-fidelity, positionally accurate and photorealistic view of terrain and surface features and textures. The suite’s Digital Terrain Model is a bare Earth elevation data layer generated with fully automated processing. The Department of Defence has been a Maxar Direct Access Program partner since 2018, and has the ability to directly task and download satellite imagery from Maxar’s current constellation in real-time to its ground station.

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news Artist’s impression of Gilmour Space Technologies’ Eris launch vehicle. Courtesy Gilmour Space Technologies.

Geo Connect Asia to return in March 2022

Gilmour Space Technologies has attracted an extra $61 million from global investors in what it says is the largest private equity investment raised by a space company in Australia. The Series C funding round was led by US-based Fine Structure Ventures and includes Australian venture capital firms Blackbird and Main Sequence, and superannuation funds HESTA, Hostplus and NGS Super. The round brings the company’s total funds raised to date to $87 million. Gilmour launched its first hybrid rocket in 2016, and is aiming to become a world leader in orbital-class hybrid propulsion technologies that use safer and lowercost fuels. “This new investment will give us runway to launch our first orbital rocket in 2022,” said Gilmour Space CEO and co-founder, Adam Gilmour. “It will help us develop multiple Eris vehicles, grow our team from 70 to 120 in the next 12 months, build our sovereign space manufacturing capability for rockets and satellites, and facilitate a commercial spaceport in Queensland, where we hope to launch the world’s first hybrid rocket to space.” The company recently secured launch contracts with customers such as US-based Momentus, Sydney-based Space Machines Company and South Australia’s Fleet Space Technologies.

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The international Geo Connect Asia 2022 conference and exhibition will take place on the 23rd and 24th of March at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore. The event will comprise both in-person and virtual segments, with the theme being ‘Geospatial and locational intelligence solutions for Asia – Underground, land and sea to sky’. Geo Connect Asia 2022 aims to bring together more than 80 international exhibitors and 2,500 professional visitors from the region and beyond. The 2021 event — constrained because of the COVID-19 pandemic — still managed to attract an impressive 53 speakers and more than 900 delegates, both in person and virtually. Leading sponsors included 3ds, Bentley Systems, Planet Labs, Synspective, Trimble and Up42. With a myriad of activities including technical seminars, keynotes, product demonstrations and more, Geo Connect Asia 2022 will be a must-attend event for those involved in myriad industry sectors, including: • Construction and infrastructure • Disaster response • Insurance and risk assessment • Ports and maritime • Precision agriculture • Rail and road • Retail and logistics • Smart cities • Utilities • Proptech and real estate The event organiser, Montgomery Asia, is now calling for expressions of interest from exhibitors. Potential attendees can register for updates and announcements at www.GeoConnectAsia.com.

Gilmour Space attracts $61m in extra funding

www.spatialsource.com.au 11

news NZ’s new cadastral survey rules one step closer New Zealand’s new Cadastral Survey Rules 2021 system is moving smoothly towards implementation later this year, following the conclusion of the draft consultation phase. Consultations closed on April 24, 2020. Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) received 36 submissions, including from the Cadastral Surveyors Licensing Board, Survey and Spatial NZ Cadastral Stream, Hawkes Bay branch, Institute of Cadastral Surveying and licensed surveyors. LINZ held a series of webinars in May to help inform the surveying profession as it transitions from the Rules for Cadastral Survey 2010 (RCS 2010) to the Cadastral Survey Rules 2021 (CSR 2021). LINZ plans to hold a second series of webinars before CSR 2021 goes live on August 30, 2021. Those seminars will outline the main changes that will need to be taken into account when preparing a Cadastral Survey Dataset (CSD) and when using Landonline, New Zealand’s online transaction centre for property professionals and local councils. According to LINZ, “There will be a transitional arrangement for surveys commenced under the Rules for Cadastral Survey 2010 (RCS 2010) to avoid rework for surveyors. Surveys commenced prior to 30 August 2021 may continue to be completed in accordance with the RCS 2010 until 25 February 2022. After that date CSDs can only be certified in terms of the CSR 2021. “During the transition period, CSDs may be certified and

©stock.adobe.com/au/Zerophoto

lodged in terms of either the RCS 2010 or CSR 2021. “Where a CSD is certified in terms of RCS 2010 and is requisitioned it may continue to be certified under RCS 2010, provided certification and rework is completed before the end of the transition period. “At the end of the transition period CSDs lodged and certified under RCS 2010, but not yet validated, would continue to be processed under the RCS 2010. In the small number of cases where a capture requisition is required, surveyors will need to convert the survey to be in accordance with the CSR 2021. For this reason, it is recommended that surveyors lodge CSDs in terms of RCS 2010 by 29 January 2022.” LINZ is putting together new guidance to help surveyors who are undertaking cadastral surveys and preparing CSDs. These guidelines will “integrate new guidance on the CSR 2021 with existing material from various sources to create a one-stop-shop of information”. The older Surveyor-General’s guidelines on RCS 2010 will remain available online until the end of the transition period.

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Spatial data growing our green buildings

from 713 to 1081 in the same period. The number of green facades has risen from 25 to 63. The City of Melbourne now has datasets to gauge their greening targets’ retroactive success and capacity to measure changes in future.

FINDING FUTURE GREEN ROOFTOP SPACES Aerometrex developed more data outputs to identify sustainable locations for rooftop gardens using area solar radiation maps, slope maps, and aspect maps from the 3D model imagery overlaid onto building footprint data. Solar insolation levels from the winter solstice, the lowest for the year, set the baseline sustainability measure for the potential rooftop green spaces. Adequate sunlight on the winter solstice, with the lowest solar insolation for the year, means the rooftop garden will survive year-round.

WHY GREEN BUILDINGS?

eospatial tech company Aerometrex has developed a way to identify and measure living rooftop green spaces, green building facades, and a process to determine viable new rooftop garden and solar panel locations. The latest data suite helps city councils meet their urban greening and cooling targets and implement more climate change mitigation activities with strong data backing. Cities globally are learning how important the urban forest is for livability and reducing the effects of climate change, and are exploring new ways to renew unused spaces. Aerometrex’s new capability is ready to meet the Australian market and apply the base methodology to any 3D city dataset the company has captured. This new data adds to Aerometrex’s Urban Forest Management Data Suite, which includes Urban Vegetation and Tree Canopy Reports, and Permeable and Impermeable Surface Mapping. Aerometrex’s full suite of services gives robust and repeatable data on urban climate change mitigation strategies.

GREENING MELBOURNE The City of Melbourne established the Green Our City Strategic Action Plan to set out the vision for increasing green infrastructure in the private realm as part of its response to address the effects of continued growth and urban densification. The City of Melbourne is working with the development industry to expand urban greening, making available relevant data to the public, and introducing changes to the planning scheme for green cover requirements.

Aerometrex’s project outputs give relevant information and data improve greening outcomes in new buildings and developments. The datasets will act as a demonstration and research tool for other local and state governments, and industry to learn from. Other benefits and future research that can follow from this project relate to humidity, aesthetics, noise reduction and local air quality improvement. Aerometrex and the City of Melbourne are confident that the private sector, industry, policymakers and researchers are better-placed to make decisions around urban greening for new buildings and development. Melbourne’s strategy puts it alongside cities around the globe, using the urban forest for climate change mitigation and increasing livability, and Aerometrex is building measurement systems to support this strategy.

MEASURING MELBOURNE’S GREEN ROOFTOPS AND FACADES Aerometrex used 7km2 of their 2013, 2017, and 2021 3D city models as the spatial data source. True ortho mosaics and digital surface models derived from the 3D models, and a combination of object-oriented imagery analysis and machine learning techniques were used to classify the surface cover into different categories. Final manual quality checks validated the data. Aerometrex’s data measured an increase from 18,930 m2 in 2013 to 37,472 m2 in 2021 of living vegetation, with the total number of green rooftops increasing

Rooftops and building facades are ideal greening spaces because of the high incident solar radiation levels that can sustain plants. Green building surfaces are a robust climate change mitigation strategy because they transform surfaces from heat sinks of reflecting light into a cooling space. Further, rooftop gardens absorb C02, filter storm water, and reduce a building’s use of air conditioning. As the built environment grows, the options for planting and green spaces typically reduce. Green buildings re-claim some of what is lost in urban development.

READY FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIES Aerometrex’s methodology for measuring living green rooftop garden area and change over time and identifying potential rooftop garden locations is replicable in any Australian city with multiple existing 3D city models. Aerometrex’s years of 3D modelling program means Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth are already candidates for the same Green Rooftop analysis and future planning. The data outputs leverage Aerometrex’s diverse expertise across AI, change analysis derived from 2D and 3D imagery, and 3D visualisation. That combined skill set makes Aerometrex uniquely positioned for developing and delivering new use cases for its data and insights derived from its 2D ortho imagery, 3D models, and LiDAR with full control of the process. n Information provided by Aerometrex. LEARN MORE Go to www.aerometrex.com.au to learn more about Aerometrex’s services. www.spatialsource.com.au 13

q&a

Q&A with Inga Playle Making a positive contribution to society and the environment is what drives Inga Playle’s work philosophy.

ydro Tasmania is the nation’s leading renewable energy generator, in charge of numerous critical assets that span the entire state, covering land and water. For such an operation, knowing where everything is and how it is performing is crucial. Which is why the company’s Inga Playle, a spatial specialist, so enjoys the contributions she is able to make. In this interview, Playle describes her background, education and employment, and the philosophy that has informed her career. POSITION: Please tell us about Hydro Tasmania and your role there. IP: We have a large portfolio of assets,

manage approximately 2% of Tasmania’s land and we are also Australia’s largest water manager. So you can imagine that we have a significant geographic footprint across the state. My job as Spatial Information Specialist is to identify and champion ways in which we can use spatial across our business. This helps us to make better decisions, enables our teams to collaborate and get their work done faster and smarter. We have more than 600 spatial data users in the organisation and we also use spatial to deliver information to our community, customers and stakeholders. It is great to be able to help people and to know that we are really making a positive contribution to Australia’s clean energy future. Outside of my paid employment, I am a Non-Executive Director of the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) and Chair of the Tasmanian Regional Committee. I’m also a mum to my two beautiful kids and a volunteer on the school soccer committee. It is a juggle, but I get a lot of value out of each of these different roles.

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POSITION: How did you get into this line of work? IP: I completed a Bachelor of Geomatics

with First Class Honours at the University of Tasmania. I chose this degree as it combined my favourite subjects at school: geography, maths and IT. The prospect of working out in the field or in the office, or in any country around the world appealed to me. I also love that I get to use a bit of creativity as well as technical skills. It has been a steady progression to get to where I am now, and I would say volunteering with the SSSI has opened a set of new career opportunities. I recently won a Women in Leadership Scholarship (an initiative of the Tasmanian Government) which allowed me to enrol in the Australian Institute of Company Director’s Foundations of Directorship course, with full fees covered. I look forward to developing my corporate governance skills through both this and my participation on the SSSI board. POSITION: Have you worked outside of Tasmania? IP: Straight out of Uni I wanted to travel,

so I went to North America and got a field job validating the roads of western Canada for a company that provided data to navigation systems. I was based in Vancouver and got to drive a large portion of the roads in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. One of reasons I chose to study geomatics at Uni was that it would provide different opportunities and I have certainly had that in my career. I have enjoyed working for different types of organisations and in different teams. I love a challenge and early on in my career I moved through a few different positions to get new challenges. Now I am very lucky to be constantly challenged within

my organisation. We are always looking to improve the way we work and think about how we can use spatial better. POSITION: Have you been involved in any particularly fulfilling projects? IP: I have a soft spot for any

environmental, sustainability or safetyrelated projects. Often the most fulfilling ones are the simplest. For example, saving someone a lot of time by simply enabling them to use maps and spatial apps, instead of juggling spreadsheets and databases. The Battery of the Nation project at Hydro Tasmania is a key user of spatial data within our organisation and a very exciting project to be involved with. Tasmania has significant potential in the future development of wind and hydropower, coupled with more transmission and interconnection. Through this project, we have the potential to generate even more green power and help Australia to transition towards a clean energy future.

“I have a soft spot for any environmental, sustainability or safety related projects,” says Inga Playle

“Technology changes, but I think core spatial foundations and principles stay the same.”

The Gordon River Dam is the tallest in Tasmania. All images courtesy Hydro Tasmania. Penstocks aim downhill at the Tarraleah Power Station, which has been in operation since the 1930s.

POSITION: Is there a lot of variety in your work? IP: Yes, absolutely. This is one of the

many reasons I love my job. I work on lots of different areas, such as our spatial strategy and project management, spatial systems administration and design, web maps and apps, and of course data management and governance. I also work with many different groups of customers within our business. POSITION: What sort of technological changes have you seen? IP: Technology may change, but I think

core spatial foundations and principles stay the same. I don’t think technology makes the job easier, but it does enable us to achieve more and be more efficient. I’m really excited for the next few years as technology is changing rapidly, but some skillsets will remain vital. For example, foundation data principles such as governance, standards, accuracy and documentation are always key and I don’t see that changing. POSITION: What’s coming next in geospatial that you can’t wait to see? IP: Geospatial is only getting bigger. I

think we are on the verge of another disruptive phase where consumer-grade positioning gets more accurate, and spatial apps and maps become more immersive, realistic, integrated and user-friendly as the gaming and spatial industries collide. POSITION: You recently took part in a SSSI Women in Surveying webinar. What important points came out of it? IP: Having diversity and inclusion (D&I)

on the agenda is important. It has been shown in recent research that diverse perspectives and thought patterns lead to

more innovation and creative solutions. Valuing D&I means that people in underrepresented groups feel welcome and valued, instead of feeling like they are the odd one out, or that they must bring a different version of themselves to fit in. We have come a long way in the past 50 years. For example. We’ve gone from women having to resign once they married, to now having their superannuation paid while on parental leave (at my organisation anyway). This is great progress, but there is still work to do. I believe gender equity starts at home. Workplaces need to ensure everyone has the same opportunities to work flexibly. All parents need to be able to share parental leave and work flexibly without feeling this will somehow damage their career. This will enable everyone to share the load of caring for children, elderly parents and other family members who need it. A friend from another company who became a new dad once told me that taking his parental leave entitlement would be “career suicide,” which is sad to hear. We need to work to change these

perceptions. I am proud of the way SSSI and Hydro Tasmania value D&I. We have a lot of people working flexibly for different reasons, which is fantastic. And COVID-19 has taught us how to use technology to collaborate more effectively when we can’t all be in the same physical location, which is one good outcome from the pandemic. POSITION: Finally, are there any other points or observations you’d like to make? IP: One thing I get a lot of value from

is championing for and helping others get recognised for the work they do. This could be through nominating peers for awards, participating in mentoring programs, championing for early career talent and acknowledging great work when you see it. I also love learning. I think we all need to be constantly learning or we will get left behind in our careers. We need to be curious, have open minds and continually challenge the status quo, so we can improve and innovate. We are lucky to be part of such an exciting industry and I am very excited as to where the next five years will take us. n www.spatialsource.com.au 15

feature

DMS + GIS:

the integration transforming asset data management for critical infrastructure operators and complex asset owners with real time spatial insights.

s organisations progress down their path of digital transformation, the need for tighter integration between different technology stacks is becoming ever more critical. Asset managers for example, are acutely aware of the challenges of managing complex critical infrastructure assets, which are often geographically dispersed or located in remote areas. In many cases, the asset data and drawings which represent those assets are paper-based. Field crews cannot be certain they’re working on the most up-to-date drawing. This presents safety risks and also results in inefficient work processes. Updating paper drawings on-site often means those changes are never reflected in the version of the drawing held by head office. No longer does the organisation have an accurate view of its assets. Another challenge for asset managers is either not having accurate geospatial information about each asset – or not having this data in a format that makes it quick and easy to use when responding to disasters or urgent maintenance needs. For example, if a power utility had substations located in the path of a destructive bushfire, key stakeholders would ideally be able to pull up a map and drawings of the potentially impacted assets, assess the risks and take appropriate actions to minimise outages or damage. With many organisations storing their asset data across disparate systems and having asset management and GIS teams which may have different priorities, the ability to respond quickly to urgent or business-as-usual situations can be diminished without the right systems doing the heavy lifting.

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The logical integration of DMS and GIS In working with asset-intensive organisations around the world, Australian technology developer, RedEye, saw the growing need to support both asset managers and spatial teams in creating a single source of truth for asset data.

Providing a range of products that help manage critical infrastructure operations across the globe, their SaaS solutions help large complex asset owners and operators manage and maintain their assets throughout the complete asset lifecycle. From launching digital transformation and replacing paperbased asset data to connecting teams and contractors for efficient and compliant field maintenance work and optimizing asset operations with 3D modelling through digital twin representations right through to protecting built and natural assets with world first bushfire risk mitigation solutions.

Users can create geospatial boundaries on the map view within RedEye DMS and see related asset data from within that defined area.

RedEye’s cloud and mobile based technology platforms integrate with and compliment your exisitng ERP, EAM, safety and other core business systems. This new integration adds GIS to the mix, integrating with leading GIS solutions like Esri, 1Spatial and Seisan or any GIS based system, improving access to your asset information. RedEye’s configurable workflow engine, review and approval tools and visual timeline makes managing changes seamless and ensures your staff and contractors are always working off the correct and up-to-date version of your engineering drawings, maintenance manuals, safe work procedures and other critical asset information. The new GIS integration features extend RedEye’s spatial capabilities, allowing users to create geospatial boundaries on a map and search for drawings and documents within that defined area. Spatial information (points, lines, polygons) from the GIS is stored with relevant asset drawings and documents in DMS. Users can search for artefacts using a combination of a geospatial boundary and standard search filters. In the power utility example, an asset or GIS manager could now use RedEye DMS to draw a boundary around the scope of the fire threat, quickly zoom into the impacted area via the map, identify any assets, and see all of the associated drawings, documents and media related to those assets. Similarly, the geographic zoning feature could be used to improve safety on mining sites and any other sites where field workers need to be aware of hazardous or securityrestricted areas. If for example, an engineer arrived onsite to complete

maintenance work, they could use the RedEye DMS mobile application to quickly pull up relevant location-based isolation procedures, including drawings and other media. They could see at a glance, how to isolate a specific piece of equipment in order to work on it safely. Like any common mapping functionality, maps can be displayed through RedEye DMS in street, 3D, and aerial view. Organisations can choose to use the provided base maps and add their own map layers if they choose.

Drawing a seamless path to digital transformation This seamless integration of DMS and GIS provides real time spatial insights of critical assets, giving asset managers greater visibility and control of their assets. “Integration with core business systems has always been a focus for us. When organisations connect their core systems with RedEye, their asset data becomes more available, usable and valuable. Today we help our clients manage over $250 billion in assets,” RedEye Founder and CEO Wayne Gerard explains. “We understand the challenges asset managers face, as well as the drivers from a C-suite perspective to integrate business systems. Managing asset data is a critical first step in any digital transformation. Overlaying spatial capabilities provides an additional level of visibility which has exciting potential for use cases across all sectors.” To find out more about the power of DMS + GIS, visit www.redeye.co/GIS n Information provided by RedEye.

“This seamless integration of DMS and GIS provides enhanced operational oversight of critical infrastructure asset data with spatial insight for improved visibility and control.” RedEye Founder and CEO, Wayne Gerard. www.spatialsource.com.au 17

agriculture Floods in NSW, in the vicinity of Nowra and Jervis Bay. Courtesy USGS/NASA Landsat.

Australian agriculture sets its sights on space Agriculture’s use of satellite imaging and connectivity will add billions to the economy, according to a new AgriFutures report. SARAH ADAMS, BOB FURBANK, LUIGI RENZULLO, PAUL TREGONING AND MARTIN AMIDY

hat was the last thing you ate? Where did it come from? How often do we reflect on the processes that create the food on our plate? Imagine a sandwich made of bread, butter, lettuce and chicken. Each mouthful is a mix of produce from Australia’s broadacre farms, dairy industry, horticulture and livestock industries. Agriculture is a large and diverse sector. Farms cover 58% of Australia’s continental land mass and contribute over $65 billion to the Australian economy. Agriculture, including farms, fisheries and forestry, has an ambition of becoming a $100 billion industry by 2030 — a goal set by the Australian National Farmers Federation. That growth must happen within environmental constraints. This means increasing efficiency and productivity to make better use of the land currently available for agricultural production whilst minimising impacts on water resources and biodiversity. It’s a wicked problem.

Eyes in the sky Orbiting above the Earth are pieces of the puzzle. Satellites are already making major improvements to agriculture

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through remote sensing, geolocation and increased connectivity. For example, Earth and marine sensing adds an annual value of $37 billion to agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region. Historically limited by poor resolution, recent advances in machine learning, artificial intelligence and low-earth orbit satellites, are making satellite remote sensing a viable solution to an increasing number of agricultural challenges. Satellite remote sensing lends itself well to the large-scale nature of Australia’s broadacre crops (such as wheat, barley and canola) and extensive livestock farms. Horticulture, dairy farms and other intensive plant and livestock industries tend to have a smaller land footprint, and often are better served by drones or UAVs.

Position, precision and producers Australian farmers were world leaders in the application of GNSS for tractor autosteer in the mid-1990s. However, uptake of geolocation technologies has been limited to areas with reliable internet and cellular mobile coverage, as connectivity is required for precise point positioning. Farms with augmented positioning systems can steer tractors with the

fine precision needed to keep them on defined wheel tracks. This stops machines compacting soil beyond the tracks, making it easier to cultivate and improving crop yield. Recent upgrades of the geodetic datum of Australia to GDA2020 have helped in this regard. Fully autonomous vehicles are on the horizon, pending certain legal and regulatory frameworks, thanks to recent advances in robotics and machine vision. The planned Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) is expected to deliver approximately 10-cm realtime positioning accuracy across all of Australia by 2025. SwarmFarm, a business based in central Queensland, has developed an autonomous spraying platform that uses real-time kinetic (RTK) positioning and is controlled remotely via a tablet. It has an eight-metre spray boom with optical spot spray technology that identifies weeds and spot-sprays them, rather than covering the entire field… reducing herbicide inputs by up to 95%.

Remote sensing crops Space-based remote sensing technologies are increasingly being used to quantify many components of the Earth system including vegetation types, land cover and land use, soil moisture, on-farm water storage and crop water use. There is significant scope to improve the management of agriculture and forestry by exploiting the available data from satellites. Next-generation sensor systems aboard miniature satellites will soon be able to provide alternative high-resolution data streams (spatial and temporal). Visible light sensors are used to map crop distributions at a local and national scale. Infrared systems are used to monitoring biophysical parameters, such as vegetation moisture content and crop health. The Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), calculated from reflectances in the near-infrared and red part of the spectrum, is used in agronomy to identify areas in a paddock that show signs of stress. NDVI data can be collected by satellites but it is limited by low resolution and is more useful in large areas of pastures and crops rather than small-scale horticulture. There is scope for significant improvement in spatial and temporal resolution of this information if constellations of small-scale satellites are developed and launched. Barry Haskins, Director and Agronomist at Ag Grow Agronomy in New South Wales, uses remote sensing provided through DataFarming as one of several tools to help his farming

Creating a set of industry data standards and data system architecture could address the currently fragmented landscape.

Resolution enhancement techniques can bring out the detail (right-hand half of this image) hidden in lower-resolution images (left-hand). Courtesy ESA/CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

clients get the most from their land. “Sometimes you can see areas that fertiliser or sowing has missed, before we go out on the farm for crop scouting. When we are dealing with very large-scale farms and paddocks, it is useful to see the area by satellite,” said Haskins. “It doesn’t save us time, but it allows us to be more targeted and more strategic.” As well as crop scouting, Haskins uses satellite imagery to assist with precision agriculture — methods of making farming techniques more accurate through technology — for example by delivering different amounts of fertiliser across areas. Haskins says the return on investment is highest in paddocks with more variability. “In some paddocks we could increase yield by up to 20%, and for others we could get a cost saving of 15%. In this space, it is extremely dictated by the individual paddock.” Emerging in this space is the application of machine learning and AI to multiple sensor outputs. These algorithms form the basis of crop and pasture biomass predictors. For example, wheat breeders across Australia plant more than a million field plots annually to compare the performance of varieties. With increasing resolution of satellite images (down to 15 centimetres and Landsat spacecraft have been collecting imagery of the Earth’s surface for over 50 years. Courtesy NASA.

below) and more frequent imaging, satellite data is becoming pivotal for crop breeding. The improved spatial resolution means that instead of using expensive manual measurements, crop performance can be compared daily using satellitebased imaging.

From the forest to the trees Remote sensing assists with environmental monitoring. After the 2019–20 bushfires in New South Wales, data from Landsat satellites were used to map the extent of burned areas. Measuring colour change in vegetation before and after a fire provided a rapid way to support environmental management decisions and to understand impacts on forestry resources. Indufor, a global forestry sector consulting firm with offices in Australia and New Zealand, uses satellite data for forest data validation and due diligence. “When someone is selling a forest, we check the area to make sure it’s correct and ensure trees have not been lost due to fire or wind damage.” says Dr Pete Watt, Head of Indufor’s Resource Monitoring and Climate Change team. “Sentinel-2, a landscape-level satellite that covers large areas pretty frequently (every 5 days) is fantastic for forestry. Because it is a really well-calibrated

satellite, it is easy for us to process. We have a system that can cycle through multiple images and clear the cloud off it and identify changes.” Indufor uses Sentinel data to identify changes in forests. It splits the forest into discrete areas and measures the amount of forest cover in that area, then compares it to previous images to see how that area has changed over time. The areas that have changed are highlighted orange on the dashboard. “If there has been a wind damage event, you can compare before and after images and see where the damage has occurred. That saves time,” says Watt.

SBAS for farms and forests New space-based technologies and applications are expected to have a dramatic impact on the rural sector. Key among them is the SBAS coming in 2025, which will improve GPS accuracy from a couple of metres down to around 10 centimetres. The SBAS economic report predicted it will bring an additional $2.2 billion of value for agriculture over 30 years. SBAS is expected to unlock new applications such as virtual fences, which use GPS-enabled smart collars for cattle. Created by CSIRO and commercialised by agri-tech start-up Agersens, the eShepherd™ works by giving cows an audio cue as they approach the boundary of the virtual fence. If the cow continues, the collar delivers a small electric pulse that is less than the shock of an electric fence, but enough to act as a deterrent. A recent trial of the eShepherd virtual fence on a beef cattle farm in New South Wales found it was effective at keeping livestock where the farmer wanted them within a field. Most cows responded to the audio cue alone. One of the SBAS Test-bed Demonstrator Trials run by Central Queensland University showed that, in the case of dairy, enhanced pasture utilisation through virtual fencing could save producers up to $100 per cow per year — around $780 million for the entire Australian and New Zealand dairy sub-sector. www.spatialsource.com.au 19

agriculture Tracking the location of individual sheep, by GPS-enabled collars or ear tags, could reduce predation. When threatened by predators, flocks of sheep tend to move in a circling pattern. Real time location tracking could send alerts to farmers when an attack is happening, perhaps in time to intervene. The SBAS economic trail estimated that the technology could save approximately 39 million adult sheep over a 30-year period. In forestry, SBAS is expected improve the ability to manage hardwood native forests along riparian margins; the land near rivers. Riparian margins are protected through buffer zones to avoid adverse impacts on the environment. Forest owners often add a further buffer (known as buffer-on-buffer areas) to account for inaccuracies through GNSS. Higher spatial resolution through SBAS can reduce buffer-on-buffer areas and lead to improved yield. Other benefits include geo-tagging of trees to protect culturally significant sites, and geo-referencing to reduce time spent mapping on site and associated health and safety incidents.

Barriers to adoption While the number of satellite-enabled solutions available to Australian rural industries has increased with the emergence and rapid growth of agritech, wide scale adoption remains low. Satellites can have a greater impact on Australian agriculture if we can improve connectivity, make demonstrations more accessible, clarify the value proposition and simplify the way people can access data. Adoption of research and development outcomes in the rural sector is Sentinel-2 image of the Channel Country, a pastoral region in Queensland. The image was processed to include near-infrared, which makes vegetation appear bright red. Courtesy ESA/CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

multifaceted and complex. Some of the major barriers of adoption for spacebased technologies identified in a recent AgriFutures report are as follows. Lack of big data infrastructure. An avalanche of data presents problems for researchers and agronomists alike. Gigabytes of imaging data can be acquired every few minutes from different satellites. The volume is of the scale seen with the Square Kilometre Array, where petabytes of images are discarded after an initial filtering. What is required is not only a data repository but virtual laboratories and dashboards where data can be downloaded by GPS location. Lack of connectivity. Connectivity is an enabling technology. Without it, primary producers cannot access the data they need to make decisions and run operations. Australia’s wide-open spaces and vast marine estate represent a significant challenge to connectivity. Satellite connectivity helps to fill the gaps, but is expensive and does not always meet requirements. This is expected to change in the next five to ten years as new low-earth orbit megaconstellations of satellites are launched. Unclear return on investment. While reports have identified the return on investment of adopting satellite-based technologies, these studies have been at an industry or macro level rather than an enterprise level. Producers are using information from these technologies to make decisions that could return (or cost) hundreds of thousands of dollars. They need to know the information is reliable. One solution is to validate the technology at scale and demonstrate them in practice. For example, demonstration sites are an effective tool to show the technology working under onfarm conditions. Lack of integration. The lack of interoperability between services and platforms has created complexity and duplication. There has been an explosion of new offerings in the market, but generally they do not integrate with each other. An absence of industry data standards and data systems architecture is an ongoing impediment. Not meeting needs. A growing agri-tech ecosystem in Australia is bringing new ideas and products to the rural sector. Agile startups can rapidly bring new products to market, however the need to monetise quickly can mean products

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are released before they are refined. Producers are looking for solutions that are turn-key and deliver value out of the box, and are generally reluctant to invest in products that feel undeveloped. Need for consultation. Best practice for creating new products or services is ensuring that they meet a real need for potential customers. This means market research, workshopping, consulting, prototyping, testing and trialling with primary producers. Consultation fatigue has been identified as an emerging issue for producers. This is a challenging issue, as industry feels that solutions are not fit for purpose, but it also doesn’t have time to engage with the businesses making new products to define their needs and refine solutions. One way to address this issue is to collaborate with farming systems groups, consultants, advisors, suppliers and value chain partners, state primary industry departments, CSIRO, Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) and universities. These organisations have deep knowledge of the industry and experience working with producers, and can help to bridge that gap. There is a growing market for intermediary services like these. Just as producers require assistance to navigate the crowded technology market, tech companies need assistance to navigate networks in the rural sector. Need for new skills. To implement new technologies, often people must develop new skills. Large enterprises can hire staff with that skillset and spread the cost of training over a larger production base. This makes engagement with new technologies costeffective and viable. In smaller enterprises, taking time to re-skill and the associated opportunity cost does not always justify adopting the technology. They might find it more costeffective to use contracting services, for which there is a growing market. Need for local support. Historically, local dealers or suppliers have provided farmers with on-farm support. The move to city-based or virtual support services is a loss keenly felt by primary producers. Strong social networks in rural communities mean technology adoption is often driven at a local level. Companies can benefit by developing indirect pathways to market and on-selling relationships with local service providers who can offer valued inperson support.

Vision for the future The uptake of information from satellitebased geospatial data can help agriculture reach lofty goals, providing food security for a growing global population, strengthening regional economies and increasing export potentials. There is a wealth of interesting challenges in agriculture for geospatial researchers looking to make a difference, for example: How can we be confident that data is accurate, and communicate that confidence? To develop products suitable for on-farm application, it is essential that spacebased imaging data is ground-truthed to ensure it is appropriate for Australian conditions. Without calibration for local conditions, and confidence from farmers that data are accurate, products are of limited use and will continue to be under-utilised. How can we create systems that talk to each other? Creating a set of industry data standards and data system architecture could

address the currently fragmented landscape. A framework for data sharing between systems could create value that is greater than the sum of its parts. Where can we transfer technology from other industries into the rural sector? There are many geospatial solutions already operating in other industries that could be adapted for agriculture. Collaboration with consultants and RDCs would be a positive step to connecting the dots. As one of the largest industries in Australia, and facing increasing pressure from a changing climate, agriculture has a lot on its plate. The growth in the agri-tech and commercial space sectors is making satellite data more accessible than ever, making this a rich area to explore. Next time you sit down for a meal, think about where your food came from and whether your work could make a difference. The full AgriFutures report, Spacebased technology — opportunities for the rural sector, can be found at https://bit. ly/3hKKYvQ. n

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Virtual fencing systems use GPS satellites and collars on cattle, so that cattle hear a sound when they approach a ‘fence’ boundary. Courtesy CSIRO/David McClenaghan.

Sarah Adams and Martin Amidy are with the Centre for Entrepreneurial AgriTechnology (ceat.org.au); Bob Furbank, Luigi Renzullo, Paul Tregoning are with the Australian National University.

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digital twins

Delving into digital doppelgangers We speak with three industry experts to get a view into the past, present and future of digital twins.

JONATHAN NALLY

igital twins are now being widely used in both the private and public sectors for everything from designing ships, cars and aircraft to planning cities, from training AI systems to building virtual models of human bodies for bettertargetted healthcare. They promise easier design of complex systems and deeper insights into the workings of real-world objects and structures. So it’s no wonder, then, that they are being investigated or employed by pretty much every industry segment. But just how advanced are digital twins, what are they best suited for and who is currently using them? To find out, we consulted several industry professionals to get their views: Brian Middleton, Vice President, Global Business Development with Bentley Systems; Gordon Sumerling, Digital Twin specialist, Solution Engineering with Esri Australia; and Hong Tran, Chief Technology Officer with ScanX.

POS: What is the current state of play with digital twins? Gordon Sumerling: Digital twins are

expanding through Australia’s state and federal government space. In urban renewal projects such as Fisherman’s Bend in Victoria, digital twins are becoming increasingly important. We are also seeing local government starting to use BIM in 3D scenes to provide shadow and development assessment for proposed constructions.

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Hong Tran: The need to adapt to

COVID-19 has enabled users to access any site remotely from their head office. So accessibility to digital twins is the easy part. However, the hard part still exists in the form of the question: How do we add value to these digital twins? In 2021, at ScanX we have been focusing on automation to classify ground, buildings, vegetation, and infrastructure such as powerlines. Brian Middleton: Digital twin is a buzzword

“The next big development lies in the ability to stream the 3D models over the internet.” Gordon Sumerling, Esri Australia

“Our users understand digital twins but they have a limited grasp of its power and benefits.” Hong Tran, ScanX

and there is a lot of marketing spin just like we saw with BIM. Some industries are more advanced, such as process plant and manufacturing, whilst others like construction, utilities and cities are earlier on the journey. The good thing is that there is much to be learned from the earlier adopters. In the next year or so, Bentley expects to see much better informed buyers as they understand that the static digital representations that are provided in current siloed systems such as CAD, GIS, BIM, asset management etc, are not going to deliver the promised benefits of a continually synchronised digital twin.

BM: Personally, I haven’t seen many

POS: Which developments will take digital twins to the next level? GS: The next big development lies in the

exchange and digital twins. There is also a lot of work being done by OGC in this space to make 3D data interoperable. HT: At ScanX, we believe government agencies need to remove paywalls and move their policies towards open access for all. As a software company, we spend a significant budget on R&D, so an open access policy will enable a bigger shift to solving the real problems on the ground. BM: It is my firm belief that in a few years, every business will run on a digital twin and that openness will be critical to the value of data and digital twins in the long term. However, the only way to achieve this is through an industrywide transformation that focuses around solutions that are collaborative and open. This is a consideration which Bentley understands, and as such, we have opened up our source code, which is available on GitHub. If the digital twin is to be the ‘central nervous system’ of a business, it makes no sense to be locked down to a certain vendor or format.

ability to stream the 3D models over the internet. Beyond viewing, the ability to enquire, analyse and edit data in 3D across the web is making the digital twin more accessible for all. HT: Advancing data interoperability and deep learning. Developing machine learning to solve complex scenarios in data can get messy and clustered. Thus, we have developed solutions to efficiently clean and optimise datasets for digital twin platforms. POS: Do you think governments are on the right track with digital twins? GS: Yes, the concept of 4D cadastre is

fast becoming the buzz. Not only viewing data in 3D but being able to see how it changes over time. The ICSM recently called for tenders to develop a 4D cadastre interchange model.

government digital twin strategies that go beyond one or two data sources — and these are often GIS- or BIM-focused. It’s great that these conversations are starting but the reality is that GIS, BIM, LiDAR and photogrammetry are not digital twins. While these can all contribute to a digital twin, it’s important to that there’s an understanding that we can easily end up with a spaghetti of systems and interfaces if the data isn’t synchronised over time. POS: It would seem that open standards and open data will be needed. Do you agree? GS: Yes, standards are key for data

POS: Do your clients really understand the concept of digital twins? HT: Yes and no. Our users understand

“I haven’t seen many government digital twin strategies that go beyond one or two data sources.” Brian Middleton, Bentley Systems

digital twins but they have a limited grasp of its power and benefits. ScanX has processed terabytes of scanning data and we believe in the great value of the twins that we generate. Data needs to be processed in a way that is solving a solution, not just producing a pretty 3D model. GS: Digital twinning is still in its infancy. It is a description that is used widely without a full understanding of what it actually means. When most clients

talk digital twins, they are referring to 3D representation. Today most implementations are visualisations. The future is full 3D GIS where editing, design and analysis is occurring in the 3D space — it’s not just an afterthought for development of design ideas. BM: This is a hard one. I think most organisations have a concept of what a digital twin is at a departmental level but are struggling to get their heads around how to apply that at an organisational level. At its core, digital twinning is essentially Master Data Management where you need to synchronise data across information technology, operational technology as well as engineering technology. If you don’t have a synchronised digital twin, you essentially end up with a digital snapshot which immediately becomes less valuable over time. POS: Is there anything that could hold digital twins back? GS: Digital twins are about combining

many different data types together, with interoperability between these data types and the ability to view them all in the same location, then streaming them to the end user. Making the integration simple through effective web services is required for the future. BM: There needs to a broad willingness from people to change how they work today; information sharing and collaboration outside of their direct data silo will be critical for a true digital twin. This is particular challenging for business leaders driving change and will require clear communication and demonstration of value. Bentley believes that a low-risk, phased and modular approach will be key in helping organisations start this journey. Established and legacy processes which have not kept up with technological advancement are other potential barriers. Just a cursory glance at the number of organisations today that still do not accept electronic signatures is a great example as to how this can be a hindrance. Then there’s the notion of propriety technology as part of digital twins. Locking data in formats or systems which are not easily shared or integrated will only serve to delay and inhibit the realisation of benefits from digital twins. n www.spatialsource.com.au 23

partner feature

DJI’s 1-2 punch The long flight time of the Matrice 300 combined with the new 45 megapixel Zenmuse P1 sensor helps cut project times in half.

ew surveying outfits in Australia have more experience taking to the air than Linke and Linke Surveys. While they have many birds at their disposal – from a Robinson 44 helicopter on down – the firm’s James Linke says the real game changer for them has been DJI’s latest release: the Matrice 300 RTK drone. “You just have that confidence with DJI that when there is a new release, there will be significant improvements, and that was definitely the case with the Matrice 300,” Linke says. “The 55-minute flight time, modular payload and new safety features are major steps forward.” “Recently, the guys at CR Kennedy steered us toward DJI’s new Zenmuse P1, and that combination of all the features on the Matrice 300 with the massive sensor and Smart Oblique feature on the P1 has helped me reduce my time in the field by at least 30%,” he says. Aidan Chudleigh with CR Kennedy Geospatial Solutions says his surveying clients have been raving about the massive 45-megapixel full frame sensor on the Zenmuse P1, which allows them to fly at a higher altitude, capturing as much as six times the data in a single flight. “Like the guys at Linke and Linke, clients are seeing the value in this system especially for projects like

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stockpile analysis and non-vegetative surveys,’ he says. “The camera and long flight time can just cover a whole lot more area, often meaning that they can get the job done in one flight instead of four or five.” But James Linke says the P1 has more to offer than just a giant sensor. “I mean, the P1 is just unbelievable in terms of image quality, allowing us to fly at 100 metres and still the images are just crystal clear,” he says. “The fast shutter means there’s no motion blur, and then the Smart Oblique feature where it automatically does all your oblique flying from the same position has just completely changed my workflow,” he says. “It just flings the gimbal around and takes all the photos that you need in one flight – it is just incredible to watch,” he says. “And, then when you get back to the office the images are all there and you don’t even have to think about it.” In addition to cutting down the number of time-consuming passes they have to make in the air, Linke says there is less guesswork and worry about operator error back at the office because the system is so robust. “It’s bulletproof, and come to think of it, fool-proof as well,” Linke says. The team at Linke and Linke have been

running monthly flights at a couple of stockpile sites for EPA monitoring in the Newcastle area. With earlier systems this was a two day job – a half day of flying at each site and then processing the data the next day. “But now with the Matrice 300 and P1, I can go fly the sites and be back to the office and have the data all processed on the same day,” he says. And with the P1’s ability to take a photo every 0.7 seconds, they are capturing nearly six times the amount of data compared to previous setups. “But also, with the RTK of the Matrice 300 the geo-referencing of the images is so much more accurate that you’re not using so much processing power and you don’t need to fly as much overlap as you would previously have to have done,” he says. “So, you’re saving even more time in addition to going at six times the capture speed.” Additionally, Linke says that the safety features and the robustness of the Matrice 300 allow his team to have the confidence to fly the drone even in substandard conditions. “With the Matrice 300 you just don’t have the concerns you would with earlier models where you think, ‘Oh, it’s a bit misty’ and you have to worry about the drone falling out of the sky,” he says.

The Matrice 300 RTK sets a new standard for industrial drones by combining intelligence with high-performance and unrivalled reliability

“We just sat down with the guys at CR Kennedy and did the maths and saw that we could improve the workflow so significantly that it was almost a no brainer – it just made economic sense.” James Linke of Linke and Linke Surveys.

“Before, I might get halfway through a project and think, ‘I’ve got to stop because the rain is coming in’ – the 300 just has that much wider capability in terms of weather that it gives you the confidence to power through and get the job done.” At Linke and Linke Surveys, the Matrice 300 RTK combined with the new Zenmuse P1 sensor has now become their go-to system, basically replacing any need they had for fixed-wing UAVs. “We still have some fixed wings, but I don’t think I really ever see the need to use a fixed wing anymore because obviously this new system has all the advantages in terms of range and flight time as a fixed wing drone, but the huge advantage of vertical take-offs and landings,” he says. Linke says investing in the Matrice 300 RTK and Zenmuse P1 system was a very easy decision. “We just sat down with the guys at CR Kennedy and did the maths and saw that we could improve the workflow so significantly that it was almost a no brainer – it just made economic sense,” he says. The DJI Zenmuse P1 and Matrice 300 RTK are available in Australia through CR Kennedy. For more information call the team at CR Kennedy at +61 3 9823 1533. n Information provided by CR Kennedy.

Linke and Linke’s James Linke adjusting the 3-axis stabilised gimbal on the Zenmuse P1

Photogrammetry example from DJI Zenmuse P1

www.spatialsource.com.au 25

earth observation Australian Satellite Cross-Calibration Radiometers (SCRs) should be undertaken”. It goes on to say that “This space-based infrastructure would increase data accuracy and support Australia’s international supply relationships, ensuring the long-term supply of critical Earth observation data streams for Australian programs.” The report also says that the “development of a national small-sat program would help build trust in Earth observation data, mitigate long-term Earth observation data supply risks, bolster our growing space sector, and create new job and skill opportunities for all Australians.”

The view from above The strengths and weaknesses of Australia’s Earth observation sector are laid out in two recent reports.

JONATHAN NALLY

ustralia, like all nations, is heavily reliant on remote sensing data and becoming more so every day. We rely on the information generated by satellites to keep us safe, build our cities, grow our food, find our minerals and protect our environment. Access to Earth observation (EO) data and services is considered a critical and growing element of our national infrastructure. But along with this dependence come a number of vulnerabilities and challenges, such as reliance on foreign suppliers, ensuring the quality of data and defending against cybersecurity threats. These and other challenges are the subject of two recent major reports into Australia’s EO sector, each looking at different aspects of the industry and its strengths and weaknesses. The AusCalVal: Establishing Australia as a Global Leader in Delivering Quality Assured Satellite Earth Observation Data report (https://frontiersi.com. au/AusCalVal) was compiled by Earth Observation Australia, FrontierSI, SmartSat CRC and Symbios Communications. It “outlines Australia’s requirements for quality assurance of satellite Earth observation data and the infrastructure needed to ensure the operational success and achievability of reliable, enduring, and high-quality satellite Earth observations”. Meanwhile, a Deloitte Access Economics study, Economic study into an Australian continuous launch small satellite program for Earth observation (https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/ economics/articles/economics-earth-

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observation.html) looks at the financial aspects of the EO sector and some potential risks and weaknesses, such as denial of service attacks and Australia’s heavy reliance on data produced by other countries’ orbital assets. The Deloitte report aimed to: • Estimate the economic contribution of the EO sector and its benefits to end users of EO data across the economy • Estimate the impact of a denial of service event (DOS) to the EO sector and its end users • Estimate the potential economic impact of a hypothetical EO satellite program.

Quality assurance The AusCalVal report makes a number of observations about the current state of Australia’s EO sector. For example, it points out that satellite EO and other types of remote sensing contribute more than $5 billion to Australia’s annual GDP. Another example: approximately 95% of the observations used in Bureau of Meteorology weather, hydrological and ocean models come from about 30 international satellites. AusCalVal calls for the establishment of an ‘Australian Centre for Earth observation Quality Assurance (ACEQA)’. “The Centre would leverage existing quality assurance infrastructure and bring online new capabilities under one umbrella, providing a centralised access point to grow the Australian satellite Earth observation industry,” it says. Furthermore, “To augment groundbased quality assurance infrastructure, development of a continuous series of

The economics of EO The Deloitte report found that in the 2019– 20 financial year, the Australian EO sector directly contributed $283 million in value to the Australian economy and employed 1,570 full-time equivalent employees. Not only that, but it produced $2.5 billion worth of benefits for EO end-users, the biggest of which are the agriculture, mining, construction and severe weather management sectors. In fact, the report notes that this is a conservative estimate, given the uncertainty in assessing EO’s wider impact. The bad news is that “Australia’s EO sector, and the benefits EO data generates for other industries, is exposed to a significant sovereign supply risk: Australia does not own or operate any EO satellite systems,” the report notes. “At the same time, the threat of a DOS [denial of service] event is becoming increasingly real, particularly in the context of Australia’s role in the Global Observing System (GOS).” The report’s authors find that should a DOS event occur: • 81% of activity in the EO sector would almost immediately cease to exist as we know it. This equates to $226 million in lost (direct) value added. • The Australian economy (GDP) would contract by $1.9 billion due to the disruption in activity by end users of EO data. It goes on to point out that Australia’s defence sector has invested in “precautionary measures” through JP9102 and DEF799 “to establish resilient satellite communications and Earth observation systems to reduce the industry’s exposure to a catastrophic DOS event”. It also notes that the Australian Space Agency’s Earth Observations from Space Technology Roadmap “considers a hypothetical investment in Australia’s EO sector that will signal to the international community Australia’s intention to play a larger role in the GOS…”

“This hypothetical program considers an investment in the manufacture, launch and maintenance of a sovereign end-toend EO satellite and cross-calibration data program at an annual cost of $36 million…” which would “…stimulate activity in Australia’s space sector and its supply chain, increasing Australia’s GDP by $141 million in present value terms between 2023 and 2040”.

Industry views Since the private sector would be a vital component of any comprehensive EO capability plan, we reached out several industry experts to get their views of the current state of EO in Australia, as well as their responses to the reports’ conclusions. FrontierSI, which was involved in producing the AusCalVal report, agrees that “additional calibration and validation infrastructure is required to support Australia in developing a sovereign satellite EO capacity,” according to company’s CEO, Graeme Kernich. “Australian space entities must work together to deliver a trusted and collaborative quality assurance program for space imagery data. Currently, expertise and access to infrastructure are spread amongst different government agencies, research institutions and the private sector,” he said. “The current fragmented approach maintains the status quo, which inhibits the change needed to coordinate access to the data, knowledge and infrastructure required for quality assurance. It will be challenging to achieve a high-quality service offering without collaborative effort between agencies,” he added. “Data quality assurance is certainly an area that will grow in importance as we become more reliant on satellite EO data and it becomes more utilised in highly critical activity,” said Martin Rowse, Key Account Manager, Australia, Airbus Defence and Space. “In the coming decade, we’ll start to see more very-high-resolution imagery and more accessible video from space of earth too. This will open up a large number of opportunities to utilise that data. Of course, it would also open up more threats and potential of data spoofing,” he added. “Australia may wish to consider taking a proactive approach to data quality assurance, and also get ahead in terms of the utilisation of the data.” The establishment of a space imagery data quality assurance program with the necessary infrastructure is a great idea, says Rafael Kargren, Director Oceania & Pacific with Maxar. “CalVal activities

Should a DOS event occur, 81% of activity in the EO sector would almost immediately cease to exist. require hundreds of calibration locations across the continent, therefore coordinated efforts of all major space players is the only way forward to succeed. It is a very workable proposition and brilliant idea, especially in the context of lack of similar initiatives from other countries,” he said. As for the Deloitte report’s assessment of risk and reward, “Denial of service will always be a risk to Australia while we do not have a sovereign EO capability,” said Kernich. “It is riskier for some applications, such as defence and natural disaster management. Australia is taking the right approach here to develop its capability in launching and operating EO satellites, which will mitigate the risk of such a denial of service event.” Rowse sees promise in Australia’s growing expertise in quantum technology. “Airbus is currently working with Australia’s Q-Labs through the SmartSat CRC and investigating how quantum could be used for future space capability,” he said. “Australia has a unique geographical advantage of largely cloud-free skies and areas that would facilitate laser communications from space to ground,” Rowse added. “Utilisation of laser communications from space and between spacecraft will add another layer of protection, with laser links being almost impossible to interfere with without being noticed.” Kargren says that “as recent examples in other industries show, nobody is safe and we need to always stay two steps ahead of bad players. Risks are especially

real for smaller commercial players and start-ups as they don’t have resources in place to protect themselves.” Kargren points out that “A few commercial players have set up a Space Information Sharing and Analysis Centre, but Australia can take global leadership role in this area, leading inter-agency dialogue and efforts to establish set of regulations and requirements.” Finally, there’s the ever-present matter of developing a skilled workforce to make all of this happen. “Education programs should reflect the need to combine business, engineering, IT and data analysis skills in their technical training programs,” said Kernich. “The universities are making great strides in these areas right now.” “But more can be done; for example, education offerings should also integrate expertise from our international partners with existing space programs, with targeted research and service exchanges offering a potential knowledge transfer mechanism to onshore,” he added. Rowse says that “We are starting to see more Australians returning from Europe and the US to work in the space industry. This is a great indicator and shows a growing interest in the domestic space industry,” but more will need to be done by government and industry. “Australia will need a mix of skills and experience to provide a ‘rocket boost’ for the industry and allow it to make a strong impact on the existing global market,” he said. n

AusCalVal ESTABLISHING AUSTRALIA AS A GLOBAL LEADER IN DELIVERING QUALITY ASSURED SATELLITE EARTH OBSERVATION DATA

Economic study into an Australian continuous launch small satellite program for Earth observation

AN INITIATIVE OF THE AUSTRALIAN EARTH OBSERVATION COMMUNITY 27 MAY 2021

2021

www.spatialsource.com.au 27

environment Red imported fire ants are serious threat to the Australian environment. © iStockphoto/toktak_kondesign.

Using geospatial tools to combat fire ants State-of-the-art geospatial information capture, storage and analysis is vital in the ongoing battle against invasive red fire ants.

eospatial information and tools have played (and may further play) an important role in identifying potential sites of fire ant infestations and, at the same time, have lent a hand in modelling and predicting the spread of these invasive pests. The methods used by local or state agencies and authorities to control the spread of pests varies depending on the type of pest, severity of infestation, and in some cases, local regulations and policy regarding the use of chemicals and pesticides. Education is also a significant focus in any eradication initiative by alerting the public to the problem, advising how to limit the spread of the pest by reducing or eliminating potential breeding habitats, and how and when to report sightings. Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that using a combination of education, preventative measures and control techniques, the pest control agencies can fulfil their task of reducing and, better still, eliminating

problems caused by pests. One of the keys to reaching this goal is the requirement to carefully track and monitor sightings and incidents. However, estimating range boundaries of infestations is challenging because monitoring or surveillance methods are imperfect, the region might be infrequently or only partly surveyed and the species may have sporadic distributions. Monitoring is costly, time consuming and requires the use of innovative approaches. The lack of reliable data often results in an underestimation of the range and extent of boundaries of the pest infestation.

Meet the enemy The identification of fire ants’ (Solenopsis Invicta) actual and/ or potential nesting areas is crucial for many reasons. It is not just another invasive ant; it is a pest that, without an eradication program in place, will have an impact that can exceed the combined effects of many of the other pests presently regarded as very dangerous imported species (Fire Ant Biosecurity Zone

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Changes, Queensland, July 2020, https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=TmjQKdaRdCk). In Queensland, fire ants were first discovered near the Port of Brisbane around 20 years ago. Infestations have now been found across the Greater Brisbane area, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley and the Gold Coast. South American in origin, the red imported fire ant has been accidentally introduced in Australia, New Zealand, several Asian and Caribbean countries and the United States. Red imported fire ants are small, with workers ranging from 2 to 6 mm in length. They are a shiny brown/red colour, with abdomens normally darker than their heads. They are aggressive and rush to the surface to protect their nests whenever they sense a disturbance. With strong mandibles they can deliver very painful stings (like a bee sting). In countries where they have become established, people have died due to stings because of severe allergic reactions (ie. anaphylactic shock). Fire ant infestation areas

GABRIEL SCARMANA AND KEVIN MCDOUGALL can expand naturally each year as nests produce queens to start new nests. They can fly as far as a couple of kilometres from the parent colony, but can be carried further on the wind. However, the biggest problem is that nests often get moved in soil and plants by businesses in the building, landscape and agriculture industries. Home owners can also move nests unwittingly during renovations and landscaping. Recently in several areas of the Gold Coast, a substantial number of infestations were identified. As a consequence warning signs have been erected and pamphlets have been distributed to the general public to indicate the presence and hazards posed by this species. If they become established, not only will they affect the local environment, they will impact the Australian way of life, reducing the use of local parks, sports ovals and even our own backyards due to the risk of injuries or fatalities. Similarly, devastating impacts and costs have been reported in many sectors, such as agriculture, communications,

Redbank Creek

G:\BQ\BQCC\SEQ\ProgramSupport\SpatialServices\05_RIFA\0501_RIFA_Projects\RIFA_18002_Monthly Report\Suburb_Detections\13_2021_June_03\RIFA_18002_Suburb_Detections_2021_Mar_May.mxd Produced by: simmsa - Produced on: 4/06/2021

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electrical, tourism, the importance and not limited to): environment, infrastructure • Visual surveillance by field (eg. roads, airports) and Ipswich City teams Logan schools and hospitals. • Odour detection dog teams City • Remote sensing surveillance Gold GIS to the rescue • Community surveillance Coast Lockyer Valley City TheRegional map shown here and reporting represents an indicative These methods and example of a GIS output applications are defined in the showing the extent and Ten-Year Eradication Program detection of the red imported (South East Queensland fire ants on the Gold Coast 2017–18 to 2026–27) by the for the period March 2020 to Queensland Department of May 2021. The map is based Agriculture and Fisheries Scenic map shows the extent and detection of the red imported fire ants Rim This Regional Southern on the percentage of the total (https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/ on the Gold Coast for the period March 2020 to May 2021 – white Downs properties for each individual business-priorities/biosecurity/ indicates no detections, dark brown indicates a high level of detections. Regional © The State of Queensland, Department of Natural Resources and suburb as related to the invasive-plants-animals/ants/ Department of Agriculture & Fisheries 2021. highest number of detections fire-ants). According to this occurred during the above thorough and publicly available period (1% to 10% - Low to material, the usefulness and dictionary, or data structure, surveillance/treatment tasks High). The absence of reported need for each of these methods to be pre-defined. This ensures and therefore improving the detections does not imply the are expected to be reviewed that the correct information is detection and reduction of complete absence of fire ants on a regular basis during the collected, and in a way that is the spread of infestations. in the area. Likewise, this ten-year plan to guarantee compatible with the selected GIS site suitability analysis does not denote that the areas that the most proficient and GIS database. Some GNSSincorporates the development covered or shown by the map effective techniques are used. based systems also enable and refinement of land are overrun with fire ants. In addition, new surveillance upload of existing GIS data classification/aptness methods Note that all new detections methods will be investigated and descriptive imagery. This that relate to the identification are effectively destroyed, either as they emerge over the life of enables the user to accurately of preferred nesting habitats. through the implementation the plan. navigate back to treatment Suitability analysis can also be of treatment procedures or GIS is an ideal tool for areas for monitoring and used to assess potential spread through planned eradication managing data about the further scrutiny. patterns of the species. or suppression treatment. nature, location and spread Attribute information can Fire ants nests are difficult of pests. Storage of vast be easily updated in the field, The battleground to spot, especially when they amounts of data about the with changes automatically Since there are several GISare in their early stages. But type of pest, including reports logged, to enable accurate based site suitability and when they become bigger they on where it has been spotted charting of the results of selection processes, it is have a number of distinctive and when, enables tracking a treatment or preventive important to recognise when features: a small dome shaped and predictive analysis and plans. GNSS systems that are to use one method rather than mound (up to 40 cm high), allows for timely preventative specifically designed for use another. For instance, fuzzy and a pile of loose dirt with measures to be deployed. in GIS data collection provide logic site selection can be a no obvious entrances often GIS can also be used to extensive functionality — viable choice as it is mostly found on open grassy areas track the success of such capturing more than just an utilised in projects that have an or next to objects on the actions, such as monitoring accurate position, they provide element of uncertainty or where ground (poles, fences, rocks, the results of a treatment the ability to record exactly the user cannot state specifically pavers, pavement). program. However, accurate what is happening in the field. where a site would be, such as Since first being detected in information about the nature As part of mobile mapping in the case of a potential site of Queensland in 2001, attempts and location of the problem technology, there are a number infestation. Fuzzy analysis also to eradicate this biological must first be collected. GNSS of integrated (GNSS-GIS) field reduces some of the constraints invader have not been entirely systems provide an ideal data collection systems that that can lead to uncertainty in successful, despite concerted solution for collecting such can assist in detection and the results. efforts and surveillance data, as they allow accurate surveillance. In particular, choosing methods. There exist several position information to be By the same token, GIS and weighting criteria can surveillance practices which gathered along with necessary site suitability analysis be tricky, because decision have been implemented descriptive data. methods may also be makers are not perfect and for their eradication. These GNSS-based data collection considered a complementary can influence the results with comprise (not in order of systems typically enable a data method for optimising the personal preferences. In other

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Upper Brookfield

Vernor

Tarampa

Brightview

Bunya Ferny Hills

Camp Mountain

The Gap

Fairney View

Lockrose

Glenore Grove

Lake Clarendon

Ringwood

Lowood

Kentville

No Low Med Hig Ver

Zillmere

Upper Kedron

GIS is an ideal tool for managing data about the nature, location and spread of pests.

LEGEN

Deagon

Boondall

Albany Creek

Enoggera Reservoir

Lake Manchester

Fernvale

Mount Tarampa

Samford Valley

Highvale

Moreton Bay

Sandgate

Bracken Ridge

Eatons Hill

Draper

Banks Creek

Wivenhoe Pocket

Rifle Range

Lockyer Waters

Spring Creek

West Haldon

Patrick Estate

Atkinsons Dam

Churchable

Mount Nebo

England Creek

Bald Hills

Brendale

Clear Mountain

Yugar

Banks Creek

Split Yard Creek

Coominya Palmtree

Veradilla

Closeburn

Cedar Creek

Brighton

Strathpine

Warner

England Creek

Toowoomba Regional

Seventeen Mile

Cashmere

Mount Samson

Mount Glorious

Merrimac

Tallai

Robina

Mudgeeraba

Reedy Creek

Illinbah

Beechmont

Cainbable

Numinbah Valley

O'Reilly

Binna Burra

Austinville

Springbrook

Bonogin

Tallebudgera Valley

www.spatialsource.com.au 29

Disclaimer: W data sets, all d no representat completeness all responsibili in negligence) or consequent as a result of t and for any rea within are subj (Geo-Spatial In Program, Bios Acknowledge © The State o © The State o

environment Remote sensing and GIS technologies have been used to detect and catalogue red fire ant next locations. © iStockphoto/Tim Bingham.

words, fire ants don’t make decisions based on discrete variables and/or polygons like the ones we see in maps. Thus, fuzzy logic can assist in considering unsuspected areas which still have a risk of fire ants’ presence. Suitability site analysis is part and parcel of well established GISbased software such as ESRI ArcGIS, MapInfo or QGIS (open source). To carry out this suitability analysis, it is crucial to obtain accurate geospatial data and be guided by the expertise of those working to eradicate the pests, as well as research findings on the factors or variables that determine preferred nesting locations and potential spread patterns. Once this data is available, the next stage is to combine and overlay the geospatial data using the criteria relating to the preferred habitat. In terms of the factors or criteria selection, the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program provides the following advice to assist land managers in prioritising areas for proactive treatment/ surveillance of fire ants: New developments. Fire ants have been known to prefer open, disturbed habitats, with numerous studies indicating they spread to recently cleared areas, such as new developments, ie. where the land has been disturbed in the last one to three years. Disturbance

can include activities such as excavation/earthworks, vegetation clearing, and replacement of fill, turf or gardens. For example, in May 2021 several active nests were detected in the Gold Coast suburb of Yatala within an industrial estate under development. Waterways. Nests are often found around bodies of water such as lakes and dams. Waste management facilities. These are high risk sites for fire ant infestation. They not only provide ideal habitat (open, regularly disturbed areas) but also receive waste materials that may bring in the ants. Low vegetation cover. Fire ants are more likely to inhabit open, sunny spaces as opposed to areas with high tree or bush coverage. Priority treatment should be focused on land with less than 25% vegetation cover. Proximity to other active or previous treated sites. Fire ants are known to fly up to five kilometres to find an area to build a new nest. Priority should be given to suitable habitats within this radius of a known infestation. Topography. Relatively flat and pastoral areas are at risk. These characteristics

30 position August/September 2021

can be included in a fuzzy overlay analysis, reclassified and weighted to produce a suitability map depicting the most suitable and least suitable habitats. Modelling techniques, like humans, are not perfect and need to be continually reviewed and refined to improve accuracy. Comparing predicted habitats to actual sightings and infestations enables not only calibration of the model but also the potential to train it. Artificial intelligence and machine learning can enable a suitable model to improve its predictions by adding rules and learnings, similar to how we learn from our mistakes.

Aerial observation Ground surveillance and detection is costly and labour intensive, so remote sensing technologies using airborne cameras have been used to capture large areas quickly and efficiently. For instance, with cameras mounted beneath a helicopter (which flies over the target area at an altitude of approximately 150 metres) it is possible to capture up to 750 hectares per day per camera. These images are captured at visible, near-infrared and thermal wavelengths. Nests have a distinctive size and shape, but, more importantly, in suitable weather conditions they are approximately 10°C hotter than the surrounding ground.

However, the technology requires fine weather to be effective and can only be used during the cooler months, when soil temperatures are low enough to provide contrast with the nests. Based on Bureau of Meteorology records, the necessary weather conditions occur about 100 days per year. Remote sensing is often prioritised at the edges of the infestation where expansion could potentially take place. Like fuzzy logic modelling, remote sensing is not perfect and may throw up false positives and false negatives. That is why careful calibration and ground truthing are needed to improve the accuracy and reliability of the system to ensure its results can be used with confidence. In summary, using a combination of the above geospatial methods of land suitability analysis and field data collection techniques, detection and surveillance have the potential to further improve turnaround time on reporting while reducing operating costs. Field staff can be used more productively as they are able to visit more sites in a day, and accurate positional information allows easy relocation of treatment sites for re-inspection and monitoring. Utilising state-of-theart geospatial information capture, storage and analysis enables accurate monitoring of pest management activities and the timely application of preventative measures. Financial savings are also realised, as spraying and poisoning methods can be used more wisely and efficiently. In addition, public safety issues can be addressed as the spread of pests can be more accurately predicted and controlled. n Gabriel Scarmana and Kevin McDougall are researchers at the University of Southern Queensland. Scarmana maintains a research interest on site suitability analysis and modelling using GIS-based spatial multi-criteria evaluation.

training

Tackling the surveying and spatial skills shortage The government acknowledges a shortage of surveying and spatial professionals, but more needs to be done to solve the problem.

anberra has moved to address the shortage of skilled professionals in the surveying and geospatial fields, but gaps remain. In June the federal government added surveyors, cartographers and other spatial scientists to the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL). The PMSOL is a list of skilled occupations that the government considers are needed to help Australia recover from the economic effects of COVID-19. A listing on the PMSOL means that employer sponsored nomination and visa applications for those categories will be given priority processing. The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alex Hawke, said the government had consulted widely with industry and “received valuable feedback from Australian business stakeholders on critical skill vacancies, which has been

considered together with data from the National Skills Commission…” The PMSOL list is a temporary measure introduced in September last year, and does come with some strings attached. For instance, during the current COVID situation, temporary visa holders still have to obtain a travel exemption before coming to Australia. The move has been welcomed by surveying and geospatial industry, but it doesn’t plug all the gaps and is not a long-term solution to Australia’s critical shortage of skilled professionals. For instance, surveyors — Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) 232212 — are in currently high demand. But despite several ongoing initiatives, such as the Surveying Taskforce, Life Without Limits, Destination Spatial and Get Kids into Survey, “we as an industry seem to be making little progress in attracting more young people to enrol in

JONATHAN NALLY

surveying courses,” said Tony Wheeler, CEO of the Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI). There is “pressure on the universities and TAFES to maintain their funding for surveying related courses, and yet we have seen the number of courses on offer nationally decrease,” he added. “At universities, all schools within faculties around the country have lost their independent status and become integrated into schools of other disciplines.” The government lists cartographers (ANZSCO 232213) and other spatial scientists (ANZSCO 232214) as not being in shortage but subject to strong future demand. “The use of quality location data and Earth observation imagery has increased dramatically over the last decade and will continue to increase even more rapidly in the future decades,” said Wheeler. Hydrography is a particular problem. According to the government, there is currently

no shortage of hydrographers (ANZSCO 311415) and only moderate future demand. But this does not gel with the chronic global shortage of hydrographic surveyors, which in Australia has been exacerbated by the HydroScheme Industry Partnership Program (HIPP). Under HIPP, the Department of Defence and industry are to deliver a $150 million national program investment over five years to have Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (approximately 10 million square kilometre) covered by high-quality bathymetry by 2050. With 98% of all Australia’s trade carried by sea, ongoing hydrographic efforts clearly are critical to the national economy. Ports and harbours need to be continually surveyed and those surveys needing to be signed off by certified hydrographic surveyors. HIPP’s goals cannot be achieved with current efforts and methodologies, therefore more emphasis must be put into training and development to build this capacity within Australia. That’s why one of its aims is to build capacity in the nation’s hydrographic industry. Yet hydrography is not taught to an adequate level in university or TAFE surveying courses, resulting in surveying graduates with little-to-no hydrographic training or knowledge. It can take five to 10 years post-graduation to train to become a certified hydrographic surveyor. HIPP has certainly increased the demand for hydrographic surveyors, in particular certified hydrographic surveyors. But ironically it has put pressure on smaller hydrographic companies and ports, which are losing surveyors to fill the gaps on HIPP projects. Overall, says Wheeler, “a lot more needs to be done by the industry, including an industry wide strategy” to encourage students to enrol in surveying and spatial courses. n www.spatialsource.com.au 31

surveying

iStockphoto/FrankRamspott

A new era of vertical datum determination The Australian Height Datum is beginning to show its age, so is it time for a new approach? VOLKER JANSSEN AND SIMON MCELROY

he Australian Height Datum (AHD) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and it remains Australia’s first and only legal vertical datum. This article is the second in a series celebrating the AHD’s golden jubilee, with a focus on NSW. In the first article, we outlined the history, achievements and longevity of the AHD, while also noting its shortcomings. This article looks ahead to a new era of vertical datum determination,

based on GNSS and airborne gravity, culminating in the Australian Vertical Working Surface (AVWS).

The shortcomings of the AHD The era of GNSS technology ushered in the development of geoid or quasigeoid models to convert GNSSderived ellipsoidal heights to physical heights, including the AUSGeoid models for Australia. This conversion is often needed because

32 position August/September 2021

positions obtained by GNSS include heights referred to a reference ellipsoid. These heights are based purely on the geometry of the ellipsoid and therefore have no physical meaning. They cannot be used to predict the direction of fluid flow because they do not consider changes in gravitational potential. In practice, however, heights are generally required that correctly reflect the flow of fluids, for example in drainage and pipeline design.

Addressing the shortcomings of the AHD in an era of ever-increasing usage and availability of GNSS and airborne gravity measurements, options for a potential new vertical datum were investigated at the national level. This culminated in the development of the Australian Vertical Working Surface (AVWS) as an alternative for users requiring higher-quality physical heights than those the AHD can provide. The AVWS enables early adopters to realise the full potential of modern technology, making height determination and transfer more efficient than with the traditional techniques employed in the 1970s and 1980s. Several countries have used, or are about to use, (nationwide) airborne gravity measurements to develop high-quality gravimetric quasigeoid models to modernise their national vertical datums. For example, this includes the Canadian Geodetic Vertical Datum 2013 (CGVD2013), the New Zealand Vertical Datum 2016 (NZVD2016) and the North American-Pacific Geopotential Datum 2022 (NAPGD2022). The reasons for moving to vertical datums based on gravimetric quasigeoids can be summarised as follows: The maintenance of national levelling networks is no longer viable (too costly, too time consuming), and the results are too short-lived in countries subject to significant surface displacement. Gravimetric quasigeoid models are far more cost effective to maintain and less susceptible to surface movements. Their complete spatial coverage provides significant efficiency gains for industry when accessing the datum because propagating height from the nearest levelled benchmark(s) is no longer required. Basically, the datum is available everywhere, so there are no more black holes as in the AHD. However, digital levelling is still considered the most

Gravimetric quasigeoid models are far more cost effective to maintain and less susceptible to surface movements.

Figure 1: Targeted airborne gravity survey areas in (a) South Australia and (b) Victoria (courtesy of the South Australian and Victorian governments).

accurate technique for height transfer across short distances and will retain relevance in surveying for height-critical, local-scale projects. Since a model can only ever be as good as the data that informs it, the systematic acquisition of nationwide airborne gravity has proven to significantly benefit these quasigeoid models. In Australia, efforts are underway to collect airborne gravity data over targeted regions, including in South Australia and Victoria (Figure 1), to improve the Australian gravimetric quasigeoid model. In Victoria, such airborne gravity surveys have already been successfully completed across coastal Gippsland (2011), south-west Victoria (2019) and near Bendigo (2004 and 2019). DCS Spatial Services, a business unit of the NSW Department of Customer Service (DCS), is responsible for the maintenance of the NSW survey control network. It is currently preparing a business case for the modernisation of the Foundation Spatial Data Framework (FSDF), which includes an option to secure funding for airborne gravity surveys across the entire state. New airborne gravity data will significantly improve the gravity (and gravimetric quasigeoid) model and thus the accuracy of GNSS-derived physical heights. It will also be used by geoscientists to further their understanding of Australia’s geological architecture and how it has

evolved over time, as well as advance the geoscience that assists management of earth resources, infrastructure and natural hazards.

The Australian Vertical Working Surface The AVWS is a new reference surface for physical heights in Australia, released on 1 January 2020. It provides an alternative for users requiring higherquality physical heights (current accuracy about 4–8 cm) than those the AHD can provide (accuracy about 6–13 cm). GNSS users can access the AVWS by applying the Australian Gravimetric Quasigeoid (AGQG) to their GDA2020 ellipsoidal heights, just like AUSGeoid2020 is used to obtain AHD heights (Figure 2). In practice, this means simply picking AGQG rather than AUSGeoid2020 as the geoid model in your GNSS rover or postprocessing software. The initial version, AGQG_2017, is the gravimetric component of AUSGeoid2020, providing the offset between the ellipsoid and the quasigeoid without being contaminated by the distortions inherent in the AHD. The current version of AGQG (AGQG_20201120) differs from AUSGeoid2020 by between -1.8 m and +0.7 m across Australia, resulting in AVWS (normal) heights differing from AHD (normalorthometric) heights by the same amount when determined via GNSS and the respective models.

In NSW, users can expect differences of between -0.5 m and +0.1 m (Figure 3). Geoscience Australia is working with all jurisdictions to continuously improve AGQG as new gravity data (particularly airborne gravity) is included and modelling techniques are refined. Recently, a FrontierSI project (Next Generation Height Reference Frame) investigated current and future user requirements for physical height determination and transfer in Australia. It found that the AHD is still deemed fit for purpose over short distances (less than about 10 km) for applications such as cadastral surveying, civil engineering, construction and mining. However, users working over larger areas wanted access to higher-quality heights to reap the full benefits of modern technology for environmental studies (including flood or storm modelling), LiDAR surveys, geodesy or hydrography projects. The study recommended a two-frame approach for heights, with the AHD remaining as Australia’s legal datum and the AVWS being provided as an alternative, analogous with the two-frame approach taken with GDA2020 and ATRF2014. In practice, the surveyor and client would choose which one to use for a particular job, considering relevant legislation that may apply. From a user perspective, the AVWS provides improved access to physical heights,

higher accuracy, increased efficiency, a surface without the known errors of the levelling network, better alignment with GNSS, and national consistency including a seamless onshoreoffshore transition. Given that AVWS heights are not (currently) provided for benchmarks on public record in NSW, these AVWS heights can then be used as reference heights or starting points for spirit levelling surveys. While normal corrections should theoretically be applied to levelled height differences, this can generally be neglected in practice at the cost of introducing a small amount (sub-mm) of error. Multiple height reference surfaces have been used in Australia for a long time to cater for certain applications, for example the Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT) used for hydrographic applications. The introduction of the AVWS simply adds to the spatial professional’s toolbox but also highlights the importance of metadata clearly specifying which datum or reference surface you are working in.

The future of the AHD P.H. Blume, a surveyor with the NSW Maritime Services Board, noted nearly half a century ago: “With the adoption in New South Wales of the Australian Height Datum (AHD) 1971 as a new levelling datum, the previously used Standard Datum has www.spatialsource.com.au 33

surveying

been superseded. The small difference between the two datums has resulted in many surveyors being vocally critical of the new datum and the It remains to be seen what opinion has been expressed that the introduction of AHD the future holds for legal was an unwarranted alteration heights in NSW and Australia. to a long established and acceptable system.” He continued: “Further investigation in connection with AHD is certain to continue and as a result of such research into tides, levelling, mathematical adjustments and revision, new values and possibly datums will arise. Because of the ever-changing level of the sea, any new datum would not necessarily agree with AHD, just as AHD did not agree with Standard Datum, which in turn did not agree with former datums based on sea levels. However, the need to replace AHD will doubtless require deep consideration in order to produce very strong and compelling reasons.” These sentiments from 1975 are just as true today, Figure Converting ellipsoidal heights to AHD heights (light Figure 10:2: The AUSGeoid model (dark blue) enables users to(green) convert ellipsoidal heights (green) to derived AHD heights (light blue). The AGQG model (dark enables users to convert ellipsoidal (green) to AVWS heights (lightand Blume’s crystal-ball blue) by subtracting the purple) AUSGeoid model (dark blue) heights and to AVWS purple). (light purple) by subtracting the AGQG model (dark purple), heights wisdom about the debate the taken from ICSM’s AVWS technical implementation plan. profession will soon begin in 6.6 Computing AVWS heights from levelling regard to the AHD and the To determine AVWS heights via levelling, a 𝜁𝜁𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 reference point/s must first be established AVWS is visionary. A testimony AGQG_20201120 minus AUSGeoid2020_20180201 to its true quality and immense from GNSS height/s ℎ and AGQG model value/s. 140° 142° 144° 146° 148° 150° 152° 154° −28° −28° expense, the AHD has long ∗ 𝐻𝐻𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = ℎ − 𝜁𝜁𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 outlasted its horizontal datum Heights can then be transferred via levelling. Formally, normal corrections should be applied tocounterparts (AGD66, AGD84, the relative levelling heights. The normal correction applied to levelling height differences at GDA94), and it is unlikely −30° −30° points A and B, is given by, that GDA2020 will still be ̅𝐴𝐴 −𝛾𝛾0 ̅𝐵𝐵 −𝛾𝛾0 𝑔𝑔−𝛾𝛾0 𝛾𝛾 𝛾𝛾 𝐵𝐵 𝑁𝑁𝐶𝐶𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = ∑𝐴𝐴 𝛾𝛾 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 + 𝛾𝛾 𝐻𝐻𝐴𝐴 − 𝛾𝛾 𝐻𝐻𝐵𝐵 operating in another 50 years. 0 0 0 Acknowledging that there where 𝑔𝑔 are surface gravity measurements between 𝐴𝐴 and 𝐵𝐵 and 𝛾𝛾̅𝐴𝐴 and 𝛾𝛾̅𝐵𝐵 are the average −32° −32° normal gravity along the curved normal plumbline, between the ellipsoid and telluroid. Incan be only one legal vertical practice this requirements can generally be neglected at the cost of introducing a small amountdatum, it remains to be seen of error (c.f. Filmer et al. (2010)). what the future holds for legal −34° For example: Suppose we have two points A at (-24.65,153.16667) and B at (-24.6167,−34° 115.3333)heights in NSW and Australia. with uncorrected normal heights 𝐻𝐻𝐴𝐴 = 180.8741 and 𝐻𝐻𝐵𝐵 = 181.1234. DCS Spatial Services does The differential height of the points is 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = 0.2493 𝑚𝑚. The average gravity between the pointsnot expressly advocate or is 𝑔𝑔 =9.7885607011. The average normal gravity of point A is 𝛾𝛾𝐴𝐴 = 9.7890357117 and thelegislate adoption of the AVWS −36° −36° average normal gravity of point B is 𝛾𝛾𝐵𝐵 = 9.7890125308. With 𝛾𝛾0 = 9.8061992115 the normalin NSW at this time (currently gravity at 45∘ degrees latitude, the normal correction applied to the differential height between it is neither implemented nor A and B is supported in the state’s survey −38° −38° control database, SCIMS). 140° 142° 144° 146° 148° 150° 152° 154° However, we are collecting and maintaining new ellipsoidal −0.6 −0.5 −0.4 −0.3 −0.2 −0.1 0.0 0.1 metres height datasets with the aim to investigate and contribute Figure 3: Differences in N values between AGQG_20201120 and to future applications of AUSGeoid2020 across NSW, which is equivalent to the differences between GNSS-derived AVWS heights and AHD heights. the AVWS.

34 position August/September 2021

Conclusion The AHD remains Australia’s first and only legal vertical datum and is still deemed fit for purpose for most applications. It has been the only vertical datum for most spatial professionals during their entire careers. That some should raise an eyebrow at even the thought of changing it, is quite understandable. But it is, like some of us, showing its age and deteriorating, despite the best efforts to maintain it. As the sun has set on the age of long level runs across towns, cities, shires, states and the nation, users want physical heights delivered at the push of a button, anywhere and anytime. Positioning tools and sensors now collect data over larger and larger swaths, at increased precisions, and local distortions or warts in the fundamental datum can no longer be tolerated. There can be only one legal vertical datum, and currently there is no planned push to replace the AHD. DCS Spatial Services has yet to implement the AVWS but continues to investigate and contribute towards it. The successful uptake of any alternative height surface(s), such as the AVWS, will be decided by its users and their clients. You will soon play a key role in deciding the future of the AHD and whether it will be able to celebrate its 75th or maybe even its 100th anniversary. Helping us celebrate AHD’s golden jubilee, we have discussed the dawning new era of vertical datum determination. The third and final article in the series will outline the datum maintenance and modernisation efforts undertaken in NSW through our ongoing Saving AHD projects. n Dr Volker Janssen and Simon McElroy work at DCS Spatial Services, a unit of the NSW Department of Customer Service.

conference

All systems go for Locate22 Collaborative, data-driven solutions to crucial national challenges will be the focus of Locate22.

he next iteration of Australasia’s premier event for the surveying and GIS sectors will be held from 24 to 26 May 2022 at the National Convention Centre Canberra (NCCC). Locate22 will be hosted by Geoscience Australia (GA), with the Australian GeospatialIntelligence Organisation supporting as a local co-host. The three-day conference will comprise plenary and keynote addresses, dedicated theme sessions, panels, workshops, thought leadership sessions and colocated meetings. At this stage it is expected that Locate22 will be a faceto-face event, but, if there are COVID restrictions in place at the time, consideration will be given to streaming certain sessions online. The organisers will use their experience from Locate21 and apply the lessons learned in case such virtual content delivery is needed. The theme for Locate22 will be ‘Location in Action: Positioning the nation for a brighter future,’ reflecting the vital role spatial data and location services play in all aspects of modern society. “Locate22 will provide the national spatial and surveying forum for government, industry, academia and stakeholders to learn, share and connect as part of a digital and knowledge ecosystem that supports a sustainable economy, society and environment for the benefits of all the Australian and New Zealand community,” said Dr Zaffar Sadiq MohamedGhouse, Chair of the Locate22 board.

“Recent national emergencies such as bushfires, drought, floods and COVID-19 all have long-term effects on our cities, towns, land, environment and people,” added Alison Rose, Geoscience Australia’s Chief of Place, Space and Communities Division and Convenor of Locate 22. “These national, place-based challenges require collaborative solutions that must be datadriven, provide insightful analysis, and be easy for anyone, anywhere to use. “Location in Action is about how we learn, share and connect as a community and with end-users to drive insights into the societal, environmental and economic challenges we face as a nation,” said Rose. “Locate22 will reach out to clients/users of spatial data and also bring in speakers from outside the spatial sector to share their problems in their respective domains. We will also aim to involve allied professional bodies and business associations, such as the Space Industry Association, Engineers Australia, the Planning Institute of Australia and many more,” added Mohamed-Ghouse. The event will include a trade show on the first day, bringing opportunities for business networking and displays of the latest technologies. The trade show will also include targeted technical sessions, as well as career and capacity building interactions with universities to help them attract prospective students. “Canberra has a lot to offer such as technical tours to see the progress of technology at

GA, CSIRO and various space initiatives; the organising committee will be considering whether to value add along these lines for delegates,” said Rose. The core program should be available before the end of 2021, at which time there will be a call for abstracts and the opening of registrations. Abstract submissions will be invited on set topics that align with the themed sessions, which is a different approach to that of Locate21. “We would welcome prospective delegates and presenters to consider how they can share their experiences and knowledge in three key areas: developments within their discipline, use of location services within

specific industries (eg. natural disaster risk reduction, agriculture) and how they are leveraging advancements in technology,” said Rose. “The Locate22 board and stakeholders also have a serious commitment in bringing diversity and gender balance to the conference and always strive constantly to improve it,” added Dr Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse, who noted that Locate’s speakers, panels, program leadership, governance team and professional conference organiser are from diverse backgrounds and provide diverse input. Outreach will soon begin for sponsors and exhibitors, with a prospectus and strategy currently being finalised. n

Alison Rose

Dr Zaffar Sadiq MohamedGhouse

Back on board The organising board for the Locate22 conference has been set, with the positions filled as follows: Chair — Dr Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse, Executive Director – Strategic Consulting, Spatial Vision (appointed by SSSI) Vice-chair — Maurits Van der Vlugt, Director, Location Solutions – Mercury Project Solutions (appointed by SIBA|GITA) Directors — Glenn Cockerton, Managing Director, Spatial Vision (appointed by SIBA|GITA); Paul Digney, Survey Technical Director, Jacobs Australia (appointed by SSSI); Mary-Ellen Feeney, Director Delivery – Projects & Services, Yokogawa Australia and New Zealand (appointed by SIBA|GITA); Melinda Borg, Senior Spatial Consultant, GHD Digital (appointed by SSSI) Company secretary — Tony Wheeler, CEO, SSSI Observer — Danika Bakalich, General Manager, SIBA|GITA www.spatialsource.com.au 35

new products Ground surveying mobile app

AI-enabled UAV connects via 4G Parrot has announced the ANAFI Ai, which it claims is the first drone to use 4G as the main data link between the drone and the operator, enabling control at any distance. A 48MP main camera and a stabilised 4K 60fps/HDR10 camera (14 EV of dynamic range) produces detailed images and smooth video footage; the 6x digital zoom can pick out 1 cm details at a distance of 75 m. Parrot says the quad Bayer sensor delivers survey grade 2D and 3D models while offering the same precision as drones with a 1-inch 20MP sensor, while flying 1.5 times higher. It has a controllable gimbal tilt range of -90° to +90° and hybrid image stabilisation on 6 axes (3-axis mechanical, 3-axis electronic), providing sharp images in crosswinds of up to 12.7 m/s. And its obstacle-avoidance system uses stereo cameras to sense objects in all directions and automatically avoid them.

The KlauPPK Phone App enables surveyors to leverage the KlauPPK hardware and software solution from their drone to do regular ground surveying. The app sends the information to the operator’s computer for processing with the raw GNSS data logged in the KlauPPK unit on the pole. After post-processing, the survey data can be brought into CAD software to create points and line strings. The app also takes a photo of the point being captured, in case there are any uncertainties back in the office. Metadata is collected in the project — point name, description, feature code and antenna height are logged for each point. The user can not only place a few GCPs or check points with this system, they can also do pick up as-built data like roads and utilities and perform basic surveying. The system is compatible with the hybrid PPP/PPK MakeItAccurate postprocessing service to give high absolute accuracy anywhere without a base station.

Dual-window laser scanner

Wingtra launches the WingtraOne GEN II Wingtra (available in Australia through CR Kennedy) has announced the availability from 3 August of the WingtraOne GEN II drone, its most advanced VTOL drone yet. The company says the WingtraOne GEN II brings next-level worksite reliability and mapping versatility, while its oblique payload and advanced reliability algorithms enable mapping larger, faster and anywhere. The WingtraOne GEN II is the result of six years of development and 100,000 flights. PPK is integrated on every drone — including with multispectral payloads — and the next-level electronics infrastructure and self-diagnosis, fail-safe algorithms and services result in highly dependable operations.

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The Maptek XR3-D mkII laser scanner with dual-window arrangement cuts scan acquisition time in half, according to the company. Conventional terrestrial laser scanners capture data from one window, spinning to achieve a 360° field of view; the XR3-D captures data from both sides simultaneously, with the scanner head needing to spin only 180°. Maptek says this enables, for example, mining survey crews to incidentally scan surrounding terrain in both directions while they’re on their way to capture highwall and stockpile data, meaning there’s no need to return to the pit later, as the haul roads, gradients and infrastructure have already been acquired seamlessly. The XR3-D joins the extra-long-range XR3 (standard and cold climate configurations) and SR3 (for short-range underground applications) models in the R3 mkII series.

data principles

Where ethics and geospatial sciences meet Efforts are being made to ensure that geospatial and location data are used to help, not harm.

n 2019, Geovation — the UK Ordnance Survey’s start-up accelerator — formed a partnership with the Omidyar network to raise awareness of the potential risks and harms that might arise from using location data, and to identify solutions that realise benefits while minimising negative impacts. This program of work became known as the Benchmark Initiative, which has delivered a series of public thought leadership events and an entrepreneur program. In parallel with Benchmark, the American Geographical Society (also in partnership with Omidyar Network) launched EthicalGEO in the USA, which has supported research fellows investigating issues at the intersection of ethics and geospatial sciences. The Benchmark dialogues have investigated: bias, transparency, privacy, imbalances of power, anonymity, contact tracing, managing social distancing in public areas and workspaces, smart cities, designing for accessibility, data colonialism, tracking waste, and data relating to human migration and humanitarian crises. Looking at location data ethics in practice, four entrepreneur teams were funded to develop solutions in transport, mobility, development and mobile technology (see box).

EthicalGEO has supported new research into emerging challenges and opportunities, including: high-tech survey tools to empower informal land rights activists; providing low-tech training for communities experiencing environmental injustice; evaluating individual concepts of privacy; and providing educators with resources to teach students about geoprivacy. EthicalGEO has also assembled an online knowledge repository of resources for researchers working to understand ethics and geospatial technology. When these initiatives got started, the ethical use of location data was not a common topic in public policy or media discourse. But all that changed in early 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased global interest in the use, effectiveness, and fairness of different applications for contact tracing, for monitoring activity in public spaces and workplaces, and for enforcing social distancing. This focus on location data use served to highlight the importance and relevance of the Benchmark and EthicalGEO work, and supported the joint mission to bring location data into the global data ethics debates and data ethics into geospatial practice.

DENISE MCKENZIE Throughout our work, there has been a great deal of interest among users of geospatial data to address and find solutions to the challenges. However, it became clear that users of location data had no shared principles, guidelines or frameworks specific to geospatial data. Put simply, there was a lack of clarity on what questions to ask and how to discover where risks and harms could occur from uses of location data. Existing data ethics guidance tends to be silent about location data or consider it as only relating to privacy, being just another type of personal data can be used to identify individuals. After many discussions with geospatial practitioners and organisations around the world, we concluded that shared ethical principles could improve clarity, trustworthiness and trust,

and help to realise greater overall benefits from the use of geospatial data technologies. This is why we embarked on writing the Locus Charter, the 10 principles of which are: • Realise the opportunities that location data can bring to the world • Understand impacts of the use of location data particularly for individuals and communities. • Do no harm • Protect the vulnerable • Address bias • Minimise intrusion, into people’s lives • Minimise data, only collect what you really need • Protect privacy • Prevent the identification of individuals • Provide accountability The full Charter and preamble can be found at https://ethicalgeo.org/locuscharter. There will always be different priorities in ethics for geospatial in different regions, countries, groups and contexts. As the Locus Charter community builds, users of location data are encouraged to join the community and help to evolve both the ethics dialogue and practice. n Denise McKenzie is chair of the board of the UK Association for Geographic Information, co-author of the Locus Charter and serves on the Steering Committee of Women in Geospatial+.

Making data ethical The Benchmark Initiative funded four teams to develop solutions at the intersection of ethics and geospatial sciences: Measuring representation in mobility data and protect people’s privacy https://benchmarkinitiative.com/blog/PBIF_Summary Identifying location-based sanitation data to improve decision making https://benchmarkinitiative.com/blog/eir-gather Clear your tracks https://www.emergingfield.co.uk/work/clear-your-tracks Transport Data: Maintaining privacy while generating insights https://benchmarkinitiative.com/blog/Travelai_Pt1 www.spatialsource.com.au 37

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News and views from the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute

SSSI Board – 2021 Paul Digney President Dr Lesley Arnold President-Elect & Director – WA Wayne Patterson Director – NSW Dale Atkinson Director – Qld Nicholas Brown Director – ACT Michael Grear Director – SA Neil Hewitt Director – HC Andrej Mocicka Director – Vic Inga Playle Director – Tas Dr Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse Company Secretary Roshni Sharma YP Observer

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President’s Report

or this issue, I start my column with some very good news — SSSI has won the bid for Australia to host the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) 2025 Working Week in Brisbane. FIG is the UN-recognised global organisation for the profession of surveying and related disciplines, and it is an honour to be selected by our international peers to be the host country for 2025. Now, 2025 does seem a long time away, but events of this magnitude take considerable time, energy and people to organise. I would like to thank all those who have been working behind the scenes for nearly three years for their efforts in preparing and finally, tendering our bid. We do hope that by 2025 our borders are open, international travel is possible and we can start welcoming colleagues and friends back to Australia. There is a lot of planning to be done (and a pandemic to conquer) to ensure we successfully showcase our innovative profession. I also wish to acknowledge both Ryan Keenan and Rohan Bennett for being appointed the Chair-Elects of FIG Commission 5 – Positioning and Measurement, and FIG Commission 7 – Cadastre and Land Management, respectively, for the period 2023–26. It’s an outstanding achievement to have two representatives from Australia being appointed Chair-Elects. Congratulations

to you both. It is fantastic seeing Australia and our region have such a strong presence on the international surveying stage. Have you participated in the Space+Spatial dialogue yet? A coalition of leading Australian space and spatial organisations are convening a series of dialogues for space, surveying and spatial professionals to develop the Space+Spatial Industry Growth Roadmap 2030. This Roadmap will aim to facilitate accelerated mutual growth of the space and spatial industries looking out to 2030. SSSI is thrilled to be part of this conversation. As part of the dialogue, we are seeking feedback on three big questions: 1. Which focus? Three areas of focus have been identified: national security, economic growth and societal/ environment benefit. Are these the right parameters to use to view opportunities for the Space+Spatial sectors? 2. Which priorities? Do the 24 priorities already outlined represent the right priorities for Australia? 3. What else? Which issues are overstated, understated or missing? To shape the Roadmap (and to make sure we are heading in the right direction), we need your feedback on the work already done. All feedback is welcome. To find out how to

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Commission Chairs

The Space+Spatial Roadmap will set the scene for the industry to the year 2030. Make sure you have your say.

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 Lee Hellen chair.lsc@sssi.org.au Remote Sensing & Photogrammetry Commission Chair Petra Helmholz chair.rspc@sssi.org.au Spatial Information & Cartography Commission Chair Robert Campbell

chair.sicc@sssi.org.au

Regional Committee Chairs participate in the dialogue, please visit www.2030spaceandspatial.com. SSSI is also proud to be part of the Space, Spatial & Surveying Diversity Leadership Network (SSS-DLN). This network is focused on promoting sectorlevel actions that support greater diversity and more inclusive workplaces to grow the capabilities and skills of our sector for the future. Diversity in the workplace brings forward new ideas, innovation, different perspectives and encourages a new way of thinking. All are essential to maintaining a competitive advantage in the business world. A key initiative of the SSS-DLN network is to establish a survey that measures diversity and inclusion within the space, spatial and surveying sectors. From this, a report will be published that provides an evidence base for the industry to diversify its workforce and measure the impact. The biennial Inclusion@Work Index developed and run by Diversity Council Australia has been chosen for information gathering and reporting. We will be calling on the surveying and spatial profession to participate in the Index starting in August. In its own way, SSSI is being more proactive in highlighting individuals who are championing diversity and inclusionary workplaces within the profession through our Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards (APSEA) this

year. A new category called the Diversity & Inclusion Award will celebrate those who have actively improved opportunities for those with diverse backgrounds and actively campaigned for a more inclusionary workplace or industry. I look forward to hearing more about our regional champions over the coming months. To help us progress the space, surveying and spatial profession, we need your contributions to the Space+Spatial dialogues, and the Inclusion@Work Index is vital. SSSI is here to best represent the needs of the surveying and spatial profession. For us to effectively do this, we need to know your thoughts, ideas and opinions. As I end my column, it is with not such good news. Sadly, all of NSW, Victoria and South Australia are in lockdown as the more serious Delta variant of COVID-19 tries to make its way around our country. My thoughts go out to all who are once again being tested and have had to put businesses and livelihoods on hold as they wait for infection rates to decrease. I encourage you to stay connected, reach out to friends and colleagues who are in lockdown and take care of yourself. The surveying and spatial community is resilient. We will get through this again. Stay safe. Paul Digney President

ACT Regional Chair Noel Ward chair.act@sssi.org.au NSW Regional Chair Mary-Ellen Feeney chair.nsw@sssi.org.au NT Regional Chair Rob Sarib chair.nt@sssi.org.au QLD Regional Chair Noel Davidson chair.qld@sssi.org.au SA Regional Chair Graham Walker chair.sa@sssi.org.au TAS Regional Chair

Inga Playle 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: info@sssi.org.au

www.spatialsource.com.au 39

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Digital twins – the new dimension in infrastructure Record investment in digital twin technology for Victoria

ictoria has taken its digital twin expertise and location-based intelligence to the next level by investing a record $35.2 million to develop a virtual model of the state over the next three years. Led by Land Use Victoria, part of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, the Digital Twin Victoria program brings together digital twin technology, rich spatial data, artificial intelligence, real-time sensor data and more, to visualise and model places virtually. “Through Digital Twin Victoria, we are leveraging the State’s vast and longstanding capabilities in digital innovation in the land, spatial and environmental areas to harness the global digital revolution right here in Victoria,” said Melissa Harris, Chief Executive of Land Use Victoria. “We have seen really exciting advances in location-based intelligence adding transformational value to our decision making in cities and regions. “Digital Twin Victoria brings all these threads together on a state-of-the-art platform and data hub creating a rich digital ecosystem that spans government, industry, education and community — it will revolutionise how we manage our built and natural environments and transform how Victoria plans for a liveable, sustainable and resilient future.” The program is set to become a part of the state’s foundational digital infrastructure of the future, while delivering early benefits for priority precinct planning and design and the state’s major construction and infrastructure projects. Planners, engineers, builders and more will be able to model different project scenarios, test the feasibility of proposals, troubleshoot potential issues, and share complex information across sectors and workplaces more easily before shovels hit the ground. The Digital Twin Victoria platform is currently being developed by CSIRO, Australia’s peak science and technology body, as part of the pilot, which was funded $2.2 million in the 2020/21 State Budget. While still in development, the platform already hosts thousands of datasets from across Australia, Victoria and local government agencies, with hundreds of new datasets added each week and more to come. According to Jon Whittle, CSIRO’s Datat61 Director, digital twins enable us

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Digital Twin Victoria’s new platform enables users to visual plans in place before construction begins, meaning old paper-based systems that used to take weeks, months or even years to process, can now be achieved in a matter of seconds.

The DTV platform can also support us to manage our natural environments better to prepare for emergencies. For example, the Twin holds 20-years of flooding data, so that we can prepare for the future by understanding the past — shown here are areas of impact caused by the Kerang floods.

Planners, developers, policy makers and the community can see an area view in place — such as the Fishermans Planning Zones — to make decisions quicker and easier.

SSSI sustaining partner

The program is set to become a part of the state’s foundational digital infrastructure of the future.

Digital Twin Victoria combines trillions of data points in one, online space. It can also link to open national datasets, such as the electrical transmission network from Queensland to Victoria as shown here, with data provided by Geoscience Australia.

Digital Twin Victoria’s technology draws on a massive library of aerial imagery to show the State in a new way.

to visualise and represent data in a way that enables practical applications and outcomes for cities and communities. “By partnering with government and industry, we can harness siloed data and transform it into a collaborative, interactive piece of technology that shows the bigger picture of what’s happening to our cities over time,” he said. “Digital Twin technologies can offer real-world benefits to not only governments and industries, but communities and individuals, and we are very pleased to now be bringing together our world-leading technologies to create Digital Twin Victoria.” The pilot has already demonstrated how artificial intelligence and digital twin technology can unlock efficiencies to the planning approvals process through eComply, an innovative new tool already on the DTV platform. eComply does this by instantly checking digital house designs compliance with building codes. Early indicators are showing the tool can knock seven weeks off the planning process. “This is just one example of the benefits we are already realising with the Digital Twin Victoria’s pilot – there is tremendous scope to create even more value for planning, construction and infrastructure investments to reduce cost and risk for projects, and unlock significant productivity gains across the whole asset lifecycle,” said Carys Evans, Digital Twin Victoria Director. “It will also open up a new world for community engagement as people will be able to see plans take shape virtually, creating a more open and transparent tool for communicating about changes.” “This significant investment truly recognises how geospatial technology can accelerate government, industry, education and community’s collective problemsolving capability and foster greater collaboration to help tackle Victoria’s biggest challenges,” added Harris. The Digital Twin Victoria program builds on the Department’s 2018 pilot to create a digital twin for Australia’s largest urban renewal project, Fishermans Bend, and complements the Victorian government’s once-in-a-lifetime $45 million investment in modernising its digital cadastre. Other Australian digital twin projects include NSW’s Western Sydney precinct which was launched in 2019. The 2021–22 Federal Budget announcements included a four-year $40.2 million investment in a National Digital Atlas. Digital Twin Victoria is expected to be widely accessible by late 2021. n www.spatialsource.com.au 41

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In Conversation G

raeme Kernich is the CEO of FrontierSI, a collaborative research and innovation not-for-profit company that has been operating for three years across Australia and New Zealand, following 15 years of existence as the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI). From the outside, FrontierSI’s evolution from CRC into a growing company appears to have been seamless — something not universal in the world of CRCs. SSSI’s CEO, Tony Wheeler, spoke with Kernich to find out how it was done. TW: What are the key reasons for FrontierSI’s successful transition?

GK: The collaboration component of the CRCSI was highly valued by our partners, and other key factors which made us successful remain today — proven success in building and maintaining relationships to provide the connection point, partnerships, a trusted collaborative model, and industry expertise to deliver high-impact solutions for complex, multistakeholder challenges. While there has been a shift in the way we operate, we keep to our core mission. We remain aligned to our partners and their strategic directions. We focus on useful outcomes, we remain truly collaborative, and we are always planning around what is next and how we can lead the industry to achieve success. For me the key ingredient to achieve our vision is our staff. We have a terrific team of space and spatial people

who are purpose-driven, intent on making a difference, and believe that innovation and technology will improve our way of life and better protect our environment for future generations. TW: What will be your biggest challenges in the next 3 to 5 years?

GK: Whether it be climate resilience, hazards mitigation, meeting carbon targets or planning and building better infrastructure, we need agile and strong leadership, coordination of effort and a clear plan. Within the next five years there will also be the reimagining of a ‘new normal,’ post-COVID. I am optimistic the world will galvanise around these shared problems. While FrontierSI has successfully brought people together to address large and complex challenges within the spatial sector, our challenge is to extend it into other areas such as the space industry. In collaboration with our partners, we have begun this journey and in five years’ time we would like to be known for demonstrating leadership, building strong collaborations and delivering on the challenges before us. TW: What will be the key drivers of the space and spatial sectors?

GK: The 2030 Space+Spatial Industry Growth RoadMap is a timely opportunity to reflect on how far spatial has come in the last 20 years, and how much we all rely on locationbased technologies, imagery and data infrastructures. We will see more pervasive use of

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Earth observation and location technologies across all sectors. And it is an opportunity for spatial services organisations to become space businesses. My observation of spatial organisations is that they are pragmatic and focused on the application of useful technologies. They know how to work with government and industry and develop services that are useful. Spatial technologies have a clear value proposition, are based on sustainable data sources and can be delivered efficiently and economically. A growing space sector will need to build capability that can be applied in the same user-focused and cost-effective way. We also have a lot to learn from the space sector; it is excellent at bold, visionary missions. I am a firm believer that the spatial sector could do with a bit more of this ‘big picture’ thinking. TW: How can Australia compete in the global space industry?

GK: There are several key advantages that Australia possesses. We have been one of the world’s largest 10–15 economies for over 50 years and as a result have globally recognised industry sectors such as agriculture and mining. We are highly educated, diverse, politically stable and the world’s best at deploying new spatial technologies. We have a lead role in working with the world’s space industry based on our location (eg. ground stations, view of the sky), advanced industry capabilities and proximity to market.

Our challenge is to get better at using these strengths to forge great partnerships. As a country, we need better collaboration within our borders, clearly defining our respective strengths, and defining how — collectively — we will play a role in developing new capabilities and reinforcing current strengths. TW: Which new technologies will be important in the coming years?

GK: There will be significant advances in the fusion of data in real time, or near real time, whether it be point cloud data, imagery or other types. On-board processing and the delivery of analysis-ready data, from either satellite or drone platforms, is beginning to happen. The increase in sensor data means integration into existing workflows is a focus, and for FrontierSI, the emphasis will be on trusted data. Interoperability and data management will be as important as ever. AI-based models are developing, and the use of machine learning in operational workflows and service delivery is with us today. But we need new and less costly methods of collecting high-quality training data to better train algorithms for wider use. And these data sets need to be accessible to business so that they can innovate and make use of it. With this, we will see even more widespread adoption into information chains, and broader and better use in decision-making and risk management. n

The Australasian magazine of surveying, mapping & geo-information

August/September 2021 – No. 114

The Australasian magazine of surveying, mapping & geo-information

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