Geoinformatics 2010 Vol06

GHigh-end Total Stations G Esri and Cloud Computing
GRemote Sensing and Climate Change G ISPRS Symposium

Magaz i ne f or Sur veyi ng, Mappi ng & GI S Pr of es s i onal s
September 2010
Volume 13
6
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Kln 05. - 07.10.10 Halle 11.2
INTERGEO 2010

Conferences and Meetings
Returning from summer holidays, I find my desk full of unread magazines and flyers from
local business events. One of them is about cloud computing, but it is not a geospatial
event but an IT event. The flyer is full of buzzwords and promises no less than a revolution
waiting for the IT sector. I could be wrong but I have the impression that the IT sector, at
least in Holland, is not as up-to-date as the international geospatial community. This com-
munity has been talking about cloud computing for a while now and, after reading blogs
and magazines the first few days after my summer holidays, I get the impression things are
moving forward quickly. As some of you may have noticed, our story on how Esri manages
the cloud didnt come through the last time, but fortunately it is here now.
Also presented in this issue are a number of reports on recent geospatial meetings from the
United States, as well as Europe. This can be seen as an example of whats to be expected
in the coming months, always a busy time when it comes to conferences and meetings.
Especially since this magazine is distributed at Intergeo in Cologne (Germany), weve put
together more surveying-related articles than usual, such as a high-end total station review,
as well as an interview with the Turkish company Geomatics.
Talking about positioning and GPS, Ive noticed a lot of activity in the field of indoor posi-
tioning and navigation. This topic came across at the Location Business Summit a while
ago. Im happy to see that the follow-up to this event (named Tracking and Positioning
Europe) has more emphasis on companies such as Esri and Trimble, rather than discus-
sions about smart phones sales figures, app stores and roaming costs. Also on-topic, it
seems that currently the OGC is actively working on a number of new standards for the
geospatial community, like a standard for moving objects. But this also makes me wonder:
since the big GIS companies are moving towards the mainstream, what does this mean for
the work of the OGC? Will they follow suit?
Even before the Esri UC, this publication ran an article from Lawry Jordan, on GIS and imagery.
Not only was GIS and Imagery a central theme this year at the Esri UC in San Diego, but
this trend can now also be seen at all major GIS companies, so Im not that surprised about
Esris move. Since the imagery boom is still happening, critical voices are asking out loud
what this could mean for the future of remote sensing. Im happy to say that in this issue of
GeoInformatics, the contribution on remote sensing and climate change makes clear under
what circumstances remote sensing is preferred to aerial imagery. This also answers the
question about the future of remote sensing.
Enjoy your reading!
Eric van Rees
evanrees@geoinformatics.com
September 2010
GeoInformatics is the leading publication for Geospatial
Professionals worldwide. Published in both hardcopy
and digital, GeoInformatics provides coverage, analysis
and commentary with respect to the international
surveying, mapping and GIS industry.
GeoInformatics is published 8 times a year.
Editor-in-chief
Eric van Rees
evanrees@geoinformatics.com
Copy Editor
Frank Arts
fartes@geoinformatics.com
Editors
Florian Fischer
ffischer@geoinformatics.com
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.com
Remco Takken
rtakken@geoinformatics.com
Joc Triglav
jtriglav@geoinformatics.com
Contributing Writers:
Joc Triglav, Lon van der Poel, Kristin Kalian ,
Katharina Spannraft, Ulf Mnsson, Don Murray,
Gordon Petrie, Simon Jirka, Arne Broering, Alexander
C. Walkowski, Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk, Remco Takken,
Juliette van Driel, Willem Loonen, Marc Vloemans,
Ron Lake, Franz Steidler, Joris Goos.
Financial Director
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Geomatics
Geomatics Ltd is a Turkish company that specializes in land surveying by
optical and satellite-based positioning and its integration into geospatial
information systems. Since the company's inception in 1996, a lot of things
happened in the GNSS and geomatics market. Birol Gler is Engineering
Director at Geomatics. In this interview, he talks about how Geomatics
operates in the rapidly growing Turkish surveying market.
C o n t e n t
September 2010
Articles
Observation in the Alps
Remote Sensing and Climate Change 20
Challenges and Possibilities
ESRI and Cloud Computing 24
Possible Effects of Climate Change
Thinking Ahead 28
GNSS Update
Interface Control 32
Hands-on GIS Education
Learning by Creating 40
Building Productive Systems
Sensor Web in Practice 42
Historical Rotterdam
3D City Models 56
Getting INSPIRED
MapInfo Professional v10.5 62
Interview
A Turkish Pioneer in Satellite Positioning
Geomatics 6
Product Review
A comparison between Manufacturers
High-end Survey Instruments Overview 10
Conferences and Meetings
A Report on the ISPRS Commission V 2010
Symposium
Close-Range Imaging & Measuring Techniques 34
Esri User Conference 2010
Main Theme at the Fringes 46
A Launch Pad
Open Source GIS UK Conference 48
Goin Real Time
GeoWeb 2010 50
Where Railway GIS Users find they are in Good
Company
First European Rail GIS Summit 52
Page 6
Remote Sensing and Climate Change
An overview of the applications, as well as the limits, of remote
sensing used to determine climate change impacts in the Alpine
environment. Furthermore, it presents the outcome of the workshop on
the topic of optical remote sensing of the Alpine environment at the
EGEA Western Regional Congress in Steinach am Brenner/Austria.
4
Page 20
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
5
September 2010
On the Cover:
Orthophoto of Sweden' s Kvlinge Municipality. Given the relatively
flat terrain in Sweden' s Kvlinge Municipality, even small changes in
sea level could have significant environmental impacts, not only on its
sand dunes, forests, heath and marshlands, but also on existing com-
mercial and residential areas. See article on page 28.
A Report on the ISPRS Commission V
2010 Symposium
Close-range non-topographic photogrammetry used to form a very minor
part of the overall science of photogrammetry. However, with the advent
of digital imaging and laser ranging and scanning, the subject has been
completely re-vitalized. Now it is quite definitely in the mainstream of the
science with numerous commercial, industrial and scientific applications
as demonstrated at the recent ISPRS Symposium held in Newcastle.
The focus of Esris User Conference was, of course, ArcGIS 10, the major
new GIS release that puts (web) server use and imagery at the fore. While
most visitors had already had a sneak preview here or there, in San Diego
the whole of ArcGIS 10 could be seen.
Page 46
Calendar 66
Advertisers Index 66
Page 34
Page 28
A Turkish Pioneer in Satellite Positioning
Geomatics Ltd is a Turkish company that specializes in land surveying by optical and satellite-based positioning and its
integration into geospatial information systems. Since the companys inception in 1996, a lot of things happened in the
GNSS and geomatics market. Birol Gler is Engineering Director at Geomatics. In this interview, he talks about how
Geomatics operates in the rapidly growing Turkish surveying market. Also, the Turkish geospatial market profile in
relation to the European market is discussed, as well as the companys relationship with educational institutions
and a retrospective on the latest Intergeo East trade fair.
By Joc Triglav
Question: Your Company specializes
in land surveying by optical and
satellite-based positioning and its
integration into geospatial informa-
tion systems. What are the main
changes in the Turkish GNSS and
geomatics market that you experi-
enced since the establishment of
your company 15 years ago?
Fifteen years ago the geomatics mar-
ket in Turkey was in its infancy. Today, there
are vastly more users and applications.
Notable areas of dynamic expansion include
traditional land survey and cadastral survey-
ing, civil engineering, port, road, and railway
infrastructure development, municipal pro-
jects, utilities, and of course GIS. As Turkey
continues its fast-paced development, we
foresee a continuing rapid growth and evolu-
tion in the demand for geospatial data.
Since 1996, which is almost the starting date
for the Turkish professional GNSS market and
its integration with geospatial information
systems, our company, Geomatics Ltd., has
been a leader and pioneer in satellite posi-
tioning for professional markets. In those
early days, there were a few sensor units
capable of performing post processing opera-
tions in Turkey. With the establishment of our
company, we initiated integration projects
such as automated real-time GPS-based
hydrographical mapping and laser rangefind-
er-aided GIS data collection systems. These
developments made geospatial data collec-
tion easier, which enabled organizations to
see the benefits of geospatial data analysis.
The advancing evolution of technology
encourages many more people to use satel-
lite-based systems. In high precision applica-
tions, thanks to Turkish CORS network, the
number of network RTK users is increasing
very sharply. Most of the newly purchased sys-
tems are capable of processing multi-constel-
lation signals, at a very favorable perfor-
mance/cost ratio. In coarse precision (dm-m
level) applications, such as GIS data collec-
tion, thanks to SBAS performance in Turkey,
real-time single frequency code or phase
smoothed code devices are dominating the
market.
Q: How would you define the main
characteristics of the Turkish geo -
spatial market profile? How is it
related to the European market?
Because Turkey is a candidate country to
the European Union, it leads to the adoption
of many common rules and actions between
Turkey and the EU. Numerous geospatial data
and GIS applications are useful for docu-
menting and establishing the geo-economic
relations between Turkey and the EU. Precise
data are particularly important to establish
in order to get optimal subsidy and support
in the negotiations between EU and Turkey.
Geospatial data demand is growing day by
day in various applications and engineering
disciplines which are related to the earth:
Civil engineering and infrastructure building,
earth moving, geospatial systems for munici-
palities including network management
(water, oil & gas etc...) Precision farming
applications are growing as well, as a result
of land consolidation and report to EU.
Additionally, industrial applications like min-
ing are getting more profitable with the aid
of remote sensing and GIS or gravity mea-
surements.
Geospatial information systems are a part of
main planning both regionally and national-
ly. Although Turkey is a G20 member, it is cat-
egorized as a developing country which
means everything is developed with a plan
(data and analysis report). Also, the land area
of Turkey is quite large compared to other
countries in Europe. These are the main rea-
sons why geomatics activities and the need
for them are considerably vast and growing.
Q: What is your current market posi-
tion in Turkish geomatics business?
How is your network of dealers
organized? What are your main
goals for the future?
6
I nt er vi ew
September 2010
Geomatics
Birol Gler
With our integration and localization capa-
bilities, Geomatics Ltd is a unique company in
Turkey. To best meet local requirements, we
offer turnkey solutions by developing software
and hardware add-ons to standard solutions.
Our dealers each have a completely different
profile. This enables us to develop a more com-
plete picture of any application. It ensures we
understand the local flavour of each customers
needs. Our main goal is to keep the end-user
efficient and satisfied with our customized
products and services. In order to achieve this
goal, we develop short, mid- and long-term
plans for every project. For example we have
successfully developed dedicated systems for
Turkish forestry, mining, Army and utility orga-
nizations.
Q: Based on your vast business expe-
rience in the Turkish GNSS market,
how would you summarize the gene -
ric and the field skills of geomatics
professionals in Turkey? In which
business fields and market segments
in Turkey are the geospatial skills and
services needed most?
Except for mapping by land surveying,
geospatial applications in several disciplines,
including utility, mining, forestry, can still be
considered as untouched in Turkey. Geomatics
Ltd. is developing dedicated solutions to fill the
users needs in these markets.
Geomatics or Geospatial Information Systems
applications are governed by the Chamber of
Survey and Cadastre Engineers which publish-
es the regulations for large scale mapping pro-
jects. Members of this chamber are engineers
with at least a BSc degree in Geomatics. Any
official application in surveying must be per-
formed by licensed members of this chamber,
in all cases related to cadastral jobs. However,
geospatial information systems can be esta -
blished and maintained by any other organiza-
tion, which mostly employ geomatics profes-
requirements. How do you support
and service them?
Our approach is to consider every single
project unique. Our first step is to interview
potential customers to understand their
requirements, capabilities and opportunities.
The second step is to develop and present a
draft of the dedicated system to enable the
customer to see its benefits. The last step is
to make final adjustments according to the
customers feedback. After-sale support is also
very important for maintaining satisfactory
and optimal results in the field. To give an
example of a dedicated solution: our own
mobile GIS software running on Ashtech
MobileMapper products has been modified to
match forestry professionals requirements.
We have provided an easier user-interface to
increase productivity with less effort.
Q: What are your relations with the
Turkish universities and technical
high schools, which provide educa-
tional programs in GNSS and geo-
matics? Are these educational pro-
grams adapted well to the needs of
Turkish geospatial business? Do you
have any kind of co-operation esta -
blished with the universities, per-
haps in the form of unique projects
performed together?
sionals to direct and work with other engineers.
Turkey has a very big demand potential for pro-
fessional with geomatics skills in geo-spatial
data collection and analysis, land surveying,
civil engineering and GIS implementation.
Q: What is your business and pro-
fessional approach to the individual
geospatial market segments in
Turkey? Your customers in the seg-
ments of land surveying and land
cadastre, government organizations,
forestry, agriculture, geophysics,
municipalities, engineering, etc., cer-
tainly have their specific needs and
I nt er vi ew
7
September 2010
Geomatics Office Building
Ashtech Team in Instanbul, includes from left to right : William Carranza, Ashtech Regional Sales Manager.
Jean-Marc Ferre, Ashtech EMEA Sales Director. Mehmet Kocamanoglu, President of Geomatics.
Harita. Mh. ve Ms. Ltd. Sti. Jacek Pietruczanis, Ashtech Land Survey Product Marketing Manager.
Our outreach efforts to universities and
technical high schools are integral part of our
companys vision, since we have been doing
long-term planning. We are in continuing con-
tact and discussions with instructors and stu-
dents in several educational programs relat-
ed to geospatial study. We also support them
with hardware and software tools either for
free or at a very low cost. In addition to our
work with universities, we also develop rela-
tions with worthy councils and institutes that
may benefit from our help. Depending on the
need, we may assign our staff to develop soft-
ware tools or to train their staff.
We have been supporting the Middle East
Technical University, which is the leading engi-
neering science university in Turkey. Our sup-
port here ranges from lending GPS receivers
for field applications to providing software
training in lab sessions, and in lectures relat-
ed to spatial information systems.
Q: The global process of transition
from old-style national coordinate
reference systems to new ITRS-
based national coordinate reference
systems is in various phases in a
large number of countries world-
wide. How far has Turkey come in
this regard, and what are the crucial
GNSS-related considerations and
possible dangers in this process of
transition?
Transition to a new coordinate system is
not a very big issue in Turkey. Since 2000,
new maps have been produced in the new
coordinate system by most of the major orga-
nizations, thanks to a well-established new
network of ground control points. However,
of course, old maps need to be converted into
the new coordinate system. TUSAGA AKTIF, the
Turkish CORS network, will help us to do so.
Its really positive for us as this means that
we will continue selling more and more of the
Ashtech ProMark 500 network rover. The
ProMark 500 GNSS receivers are greatly
appreciated by our land survey customers;
they deliver reliable high-precision RTK posi-
tioning even in difficult environments.
Q: INTERGEO East geospatial trade
fair and conference for land manage-
ment, geoinformation, the building
industry and the environment came
to an end in Istanbul on 21st May,
after three successful days. Istanbul,
as the only city in the world that
spans two continents geographically,
managed to enable building of new
bridges in geomatics and geospatial
business. Please, share with our
readers your fresh impressions of
this event and its effect on your
business.
INTERGEO has justifiably become the
famous worldwide fair for geospatial tech-
nologies. Because this event is not organized
by a chamber with a special interest, it
remains neutral and builds bridges among all
communities with a stake in geospatial and
earth measurement. This broad and receptive
scope is important because it encourages vis-
itors with different profiles, which helps us all
by enlarging our businesses. In particular, the
Istanbul conference confirmed a growing inter-
est in professional GNSS mapping devices,
such as the MobileMapper for large GIS data
collection campaigns. We also met many sur-
veyors looking to move to high-end RTK GNSS
solutions, such as the ProMark 500 rovers
which are compatible with the TUSAGA AKTIF
real-time corrections network. We were very
happy to host such an important organization
in Turkey. I hope every visitor enjoyed their
trip to Istanbul, a historically unique city in
the world. Turkey is like a translator between
the developing and developed countries,
helping each of us to understand the other.
We are well-positioned to help in this effort,
since we have, in a relatively short time, expe-
rienced so many of the steps toward devel-
opment; that helps us to see the whole pic-
ture.
Joc Triglav jtriglav@geoinformatics.com
is editor of GeoInformatics. Geomatics Harita:
www.gpsturk.net
8
I nt er vi ew
September 2010
Promark 500 Field Test
Intergeo Training
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A Comparison between Manufacturers
High-end Survey Instruments
Overview
Professional surveyor and educator Lon van der Poel put together an overview of real high-end survey instruments.
The results are shown per instrument on the following pages.
by Lon van der Poel
Instruments Shown
This first issue of the high end survey concentrates on the real high-
end survey instruments. So only Total stations with an angle accuracy
of 1 second or better are shown in this overview. These instruments are
used for different kind of applications, the high accurate surveying,
industrial measurements and deformation measurements or monitoring
projects. In the past there where instruments for surveying and there
where instruments for industrial measurements but this difference is
not visible anymore for all manufacturers. Leica now even has a special
instrument for the monitoring projects. Some of the listed models do
not have motors and therefore can not be used for big monitoring pro-
jects. Of course they can be operated manually on small deformation
projects. The monitoring projects are sometimes small, using 1 total sta-
tion or can be big using dozens of total stations running 7 days a week
24 hours a day.
Growth
Why is this list with instruments bigger than it was 10 years ago? One
of the reason for the growth is the need to have data available real
time for risk management and to be able to prove that everything was
according to the plan. Also several total stations with camera included
are in the list. Interesting to see how different manufactures look at the
image. Topcon is using a coaxial camera, with not so many megapixels,
but a clear picture due to the lens system. Trimble is using a non
coaxial camera with a higher resolution, giving a clear overview picture
and the Leica system only provides a camera on the monitoring instru-
ment, with a coaxial low resolution black and white camera. This
camera is only meant to check for obstructions between the instrument
and the prism and does not have any other purpose.
Big Differences
From specification point of view it was a surprise to me that when I
compared the specs with an overview I made 10 years ago, the speci-
fications for angle and distance measurement were the same. One of
the big differences with 10 years ago is of course the reflectorless dis-
tance measurement and the accuracy you can achieve nowadays. The
first reflectorless instruments sometimes had a distance accuracy of 10
mm. In this overview some instruments already are able to get 1 mm
accuracy. What will it be in 2020?
Lon van der Poel info@leop-bv.nl is
a professional surveyor and educator.
10
Revi ew
September 2010
Revi ew
11
September 2010
Topc on GT S- 751
Angle accuracy in seconds (mgon)
Distance accuracy with prism in mm
(. mm +. ppm D) m.s.e.
Distance accuracy Reflectorless at 100 m in . mm m.s.e.
Distance range reflectorless (18% reflective Kodak grey) in m
Auto tracking yes/ no
Auto tracking accuracy at 100 m in mm
Color Screen yes/no
Graphic screen yes/no
Internal battery life under normal use in hrs
Weight of instrument including battery and tribrach in kg
Camera included in instrument if yes coaxial and megapixel
Number of i/o ports and short description
1 (0.3)
2 + 2
N/A
N/A
N
N/A
Y
Y
4.5
6.5
N
5: RS-232C, USB type A,
USB type mini B, CF
Card, Bluetooth
Instrument description
Windows CE .net based conventional total
station with dual display / backlit full
alphanumeric keypads. Comes with
Topcon advanced TopSURV OnBoard eld
data collection and stakeout with Roads
functionality preinstalled. Over 20 lan-
guages available. Smaller and lighter than
previous models, it also has a Class 1
laser for the ultimate in site saftey.
Topc on GT S- 7501
Color Screen yes/no
1 (0.3)
2 + 2
5
2000
N
N/A
Y
Y
4.5
6.5
N
USB type mini B, CF
Card, Bluetooth, SS
Radio and RC-3
Windows CE .net based reectorless total
station with dual display / backlit full
alphanumeric keypads. Comes with Topcon
advanced TopSURV OnBoard eld data
collection and stakeout with Roads functio -
nality preinstalled. Over 20 langua ges
available. Smaller and lighter than previous
models, it also has a Class 1 laser for the
ultimate in site saftey, and an incredible
and unprecedented 2000m non-prism EDM
range.
12
Revi ew
September 2010
Topc on GPT- 9001A
Color Screen yes/no
1 (0.3)
2 + 2
5
2000
Y
2
Y
Y
4.5
6.5
N
USB type mini B, CF
Card, Bluetooth, SS
Radio and RC-3
Windows CE .net based long range
reectorless / robotic total station
TopSURV OnBoard with Roads, Image
Scan and Monitoring functionality prein-
stalled. With over 20 languages available
for pan-European usage. Class 1 laser
offers a reectorless range of up to 2km.
XTrac7 tracking system, SS Radio and
optional optical link (RC-3) for reliable
one-man operation.
Topc on I S- 201
Color Screen yes/no
1 (0.3)
2 + 2
5
2000
Y
2
Y
Y
4.5
6.5
Y Coaxial 3
USB type mini B, CF
Card, Bluetooth, SS
Radio and RC-3
Topcon s ground breaking imaging station
featuring TopSURV OnBoard with Roads, Image
Scan, Monitor and adds Imaging functionality
including iSCAN and iDRIVE technologies.With
over 20 languages availble for universal usage.
Integrating a long range Class 1 laser EDM and
XTrac7 tracking system. SS Radio and optional
optical link (RC-3) optional for one-man opera-
tion. Two digital cameras, one wide angle and
one co-axial can be used to priovide live one-
man operation video feed to facilitate target
pointing and simple prism reacqisition.
Revi ew
13
September 2010
Color Screen yes/no
1 (0.3)
1 + 1
3
200 (Kodak white)
Y
1
Y
Y
3
7.6
N
5: RS-232C, USB type A
,USB type mini B, CF
Card, Bluetooth (optio -
nal)
With distance accuracy of 1mm to prisms
up to 3500m, and reective tape up to
300m, as well as angular accuracy of 1
second. The Windows CE based MS1A
has an environmental rating of IP64 mak-
ing it an ideal instrument for the toughest,
but highest accuracy LPS projects. Now
available with the latest TopSURV
Onboard version 8.0 for simple / intuitive
data collection and stakeout functionality.
Topc on MS05A
Color Screen yes/no
0.5 (0.15)
0.8 +1
1
100 (Kodak white)
1
2
Y
Y
4
6
Y coaxial 3
6: serial, usb, mini usb,
CF, Bluetooth, radio
Featuring the industry s most accurate
sub-millimeter EDM with 0.5mm precision to
reective sheet target up to 200m. Angular
accuracy of 0.5 , angle resolution of 0.1
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for the highest accuracy LPS projects such
as monitoring for deformation control,
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Topc on MS1A
14
Revi ew
September 2010
Tr i mbl e S8 Tot al St at i on
Color Screen yes/no
0.5 (0.15) / 1 (0.3)
0.8 + 1
3
120
Y
<1 with Trimble FineLock option
Y (Trimble TSC2 or Trimble TCU)
6
6.3
Optional non-coaxial calibrated 3.1
3 (on instrument):
usb, serial, BT.
6 (on controller TSC2):
usb host, usb client,
RS232, CFI, CFII, SD
The Trimble S8 is the world s most advanced
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Trimble Business Center ofce software or Trimble
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Tr i mbl e VX Spat i al St at i on
Color Screen yes/no
1 (0.3)
1 + 2
2
600
Y
<2mm@200m
5
6.3
Y non-coaxial calibrated 3.1
3 (on instrument):
usb, serial, BT.
6 (on controller TSC2):
usb host, usb client,
RS232, CFI, CFII, SD
Integrating technologies of advanced optical sur-
veying, imaging and 3D scanning, the Trimble
VX allows you to easily capture information you
need, from rich 3D scans and metric images, to
Integrated Surveying measurements, all in one
solution, and all faster than with traditional sur-
veying methods. With the Trimble DR Plus EDM
and Trimble VISION onboard, you measure and
scan further with fewer instrument set-ups. Com -
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ware, users have the power to create advanced
3D and image based deliverables.
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Uncover the secret.
16
Revi ew
September 2010
Sokki a SET 1X
Color Screen yes/no
1 (0.3)
2 + 2
3 + 2
500
N
N/A
Y
Y
14
6.9
N
5: Serial, CF card, USB-
A, USB-B, optional
Bluetooth
IP65 - the highest dust/water protection for
Windows CE based total stations, means
that the SET1X is able to withstand the
harshest of job ite environments.
Industry s smallest measuring beam spot
in reectorless mode, with beam size of
7mm x 9mm at 10m and 29mm x 24mm at
100m.
Sokki a SRX1
Color Screen yes/no
1 (0.3)
2 + 2
3 + 2
500
Y
1
Y
Y
3.5
7.7
N
A, USB-B, optional
Bluetooth
Full Windows CE based robotic total
station, with complete remote control using
search laser and directional sensor for fast
target lock. Industry s smallest measuring
beam spot in reectorless mode. Class 1
Bluetooth communication to pole based
controller offers quick and accurate data
transfer up to 300m, with auto pointing
from 2 to 1000m.
Revi ew
17
September 2010
Sokki a NET 1
Color Screen yes/no
1 (0.3)
1 + 1
3 + 1
200 (Kodak white)
1
1
Y
Y
3
7.6
N
A, USB-B, optional
Bluetooth
With distance accuracy of 1mm to prisms
up to 3500m, and reective tape up to
300m, as well as angular accuracy of 1
second. The Windows CE based NET1 has
an environmental rating of IP64 making it
an ideal instrument for the toughest, but
highest accuracy LPS projects.
Sokki a NET 05
Color Screen yes/no
0.5 (0.15)
0.8 + 1
1 + 1
100 (Kodak white)
1
1
Y
Y
3
7.6
N
A, USB-B, optional
Bluetooth
Featuring the industry s most accurate
sub-millimeter EDM with 0.5mm precision
to reective sheet target up to 200m.
Angular accuracy of 0.5 , angle resolu-
tion of 0.1 (0.02mgon) and environmen-
tal rating of IP64 make this an ideal instru-
ment for the highest accuracy LPS projects.
18
Revi ew
September 2010
L ei c a Geos ys t ems T S30/T M30
Color Screen yes/no
0.5(0.15), 1 (0.3)
0.6+1
2
>500
Y
1
Y
Y
9
8.4
Yes (TM30) coaxial 0.3
4: Serial, CF, Bluetooth,
Radio
To achieve maximum acceleration and speed
whilst maintaining optimal accuracy under the
most demanding dynamic conditions, new direct
drives using Piezo technology were developed
for the TS30. Highest angular accuracy paired
with unique high precision PinPoint EDM
SmartWorx - most complete Software Suite.
Supports all setup options of Leica Viva TPS. For
TM30 Monitoring Sensor :SmartEye Vision (3
km ATR, Target View) Leica TS30 supports the
new controllers Leica Viva CS10 and CS15.
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Figure 1: Soon just a pleasant memory?
A glacier in the Alps. (copyright: K. Spannraft)
Observation in the Alps
Remote Sensing
and Climate Change
Climate change resounds more than ever throughout the land, and remote sensing analysis is becoming a commonly-used
tool for geographers. This is particularly the case if the area of interest is large and not easy to access, such as in the Alps,
which shows one of the highest increases in temperature of the past decades. This article gives an overview of the
applications, as well as the limits, of remote sensing used to determine climate change impacts in the Alpine environment.
In addition, it presents the outcome of a workshop on the topic of optical remote sensing of the Alpine environment held
at the EGEA (European Geography Association for Students and Young Geographers) Western Regional Congress in
Steinach am Brenner/Austria.
By Kristin Kalian and Katharina Spannraft
The Alps Climate Change Hot Spot
The Alps are one of the most sensitive ecosys-
tems in Europe and serve as an early warning
system for ongoing climate change. Glacier
retreat, droughts, changes in precipitation,
floods, landslides and shifts of vegetation zones
these are typical terms used to refer to cli-
mate change in the Alpine environment.
Climatologists predict a local warming of +2C
by the year 2050. Scientists have calculated dif-
ferent scenarios and expect a temperature
increase of between +2C and +4.5C. Over the
past 100 years a temperature rise of +1.4C has
been observed in the Alps thats double the
worldwide average. The Alps host an immense
biodiversity and up to now have ensured
Europes water supply in months and years with
less precipitation thanks to storage mediums
such as glacier ice and snow.
Changes in the Alpine environment related to
increasing temperatures can become a threat
to humans, settlements and infrastructure,
whether due to mass movements or water
shortage These changes often lead to a loss of
biodiversity and the extinction of already rare
species in the highest vegetation zone.
Therefore, it is important to constantly monitor
ongoing changes in the entire Alpine environ-
ment. As the Alps are a vast region, with most
parts not easy to access, it is important to find
effective methods to survey the whole area sys-
tematically and automatically.
Airborne and spaceborne remote sensing, as a
non-contact technology, becomes more and
more important in monitoring Alpine space.
20
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
Long Time Series: The Great Advan ta ge
of Optical Remote Sensing Systems
The experience of longest standing in remote
sensing of the environment, as well as remote
sensing of the Alps, is optical remote sensing
in its airborne and spaceborne forms.
Aerial photos have long been used to moni-
tor the Alpine environment. But as airborne
air photos are not available for all times and
places in the Alps, it is desirable to use avail-
able spaceborne data.
Optical remote sensing systems measure the
reflection of the surface in visible, near and
middle infrared spectrums, and are used to
derive information about surface cover,
notably land use.
Climate change entails important surface type
changes such as glacier retreat, shift of vege-
tation zones, change of land use and erosion
of destabilized slopes. These can be moni-
tored with optical remote sensing. Due to its
long-standing tradition dating back to the
1970s, long time series are available that
allow change detections over time periods
that provide information about climate change
and represent trends rather than single
extreme events. As spaceborne civil Radar sys-
tems are much more recent, this advantage
is inherent to these optical systems. Normally,
scientists require a period of at least 30 years
to derive information about climate trends.
Such a period is covered by the optical sen-
sors.
High spatial resolution optical satellite images
allow the identification of unstable slopes and
potential risk areas.
Despite the various applications that optical
remote sensing offers in Alpine environ-
ments, there are some disadvantages which
very much restrict the use of optical remote
sensing in the Alps. Mountains are charac-
terized by high annual precipitation, and
thus clouds often cover them. Clouds com-
monly cover the information on the surface
for large parts of the year and suitable,
cloud-free images may not be available for
the desired time span. This reduces the tem-
poral resolution which is crucial for hazard-
prediction applications.
The general influence of the atmosphere is
hard to eliminate in the Alps: due to the
relief, the thickness of the atmosphere varies
a lot within small distances.
Geometric distortions represent another
important disadvantage in optical remote
sensing in the Alps, as some areas behind
steep summits can completely lack informa-
tion.
Significant disadvantages of optical systems
and endanger infrastructure and settlements.
Depending on the microwave used, glacier
structure characteristics and glacier surface
changes can also be observed with Radar.
While long wavelengths can penetrate glacier
ice and gain information about its structure,
short wavelengths are more suitable for exam-
ining the glacier surface.
Rising temperatures alter the composition of
the vegetation. There will be a shift of vege-
tation zones towards the summit. While annu-
al plants can move quite easily to higher
zones, perennial plants, especially trees and
bushes, can only react with a delay and will
cause a change in vegetation composition.
Supervision of this change can be performed
by multifrequent SAR systems, as the pene-
tration of the canopy is dependent on the
chosen wavelength.
Despite many advantages, Radar remote sens-
ing faces geometric distortion problems in a
mountainous environment. Slopes which face
the sensor are represented as being shorter
than they actually are. The averted slope is
often not reached by the transmitted waves,
resulting in incomplete information.
As Radar systems in spaceborne and airborne
contexts are a topic of current research, there
will be much development in the next sever-
al years. Notably, the launch of the two X-
Band systems TerraSAR-X and Tandem-X with
very good spatial resolution will provide many
enhanced applications.
Along with active Radar systems, there are
active laser scanning systems, which so far
are only airborne.
can be overcome by active remote sensing
systems: Radar and Lidar.
Radar Systems - Actively on the
Hunt for Mass Movements
The potential of Radar and Lidar in high-
mountain remote sensing systems is just
being discovered and is a topic of current
research. Two advantages of Radar systems
are their ability to operate during the night
and their ability to look through cloud as well
as light rain and snowfall. The backscattered
microwaves are measured by their intensity
and their runtime. The received signal thus
contains information about sensor-target dis-
tance and target characteristics such as rough-
ness and wetness.
The measurement of sensor-target distance to
the accuracy of one phase from exactly the
same point of view allows the determination
of vertical surface changes up to one cen-
timeter accuracy. The technique is called
Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Inter fe -
ro metry (DInSAR).
Vertical surface changes occur in mass move-
ments and landslides, and represent one
important group of high mountain hazards
related to climate change. Vertical surface
changes in the form of glacier melting and
permafrost creep can also be monitored if the
right circumstances are met.
In terms of climate change in the Alps, the
monitoring of permafrost, which can be found
over 2,500 meters, is especially important.
When temperatures increase, rock and soil is
destabilized and, due to the large relief ener-
gy, mass movements become more frequent
Ar t i cl e
21
September 2010
Figure 2: Plant vitality differences between August 2003 and August 2005. Vegetation-free and cloud-covered
surfaces are masked.(copyright: K.Spannraft)
Do Lasers Bring Light Underneath the
Canopy?
Laser scanning systems, also known as Lidar,
which work with laser rays have so far been
restricted to airborne systems. As in Radar, the
run time of the transmitted and then backscat-
tered laser ray is measured. The backscattering
of the Lidar signal takes place not only in one
main backscattering layer, but on different
levels. Thus, a digital elevation model as well
as a digital surface model containing buildings
and vegetation can be generated with laser
scanning.
Due to the split of the signal in different
backscattering levels, Lidar is suitable for iden-
tifying vegetation composition, especially forest
structure. Here scientists see great potential,
not yet fully known and still a topic of research.
Due to its high accuracy, laser scanning is also
used to monitor changes on the glacier surface,
such as the appearance of crevasses, which
indicate instability of the glacier tongue and can
represent a possible danger to people.
A disadvantage is that the laser beam has a
restricted range which comes up against its
limits in the Alpine environment. Additionally, it
is difficult, costly and dangerous to operate air-
borne sensors in the Alps.
Spaceborne and Airborne Remote
Sensing as an Early Warning System?
Neither Lidar, Radar, nor optical systems are
suitable for early risk warning systems. Due
to their limited temporal revisiting time, pos-
sible atmospheric and geometric problems in
the images, as well as the time necessary for
processing and analysis, remote sensing does
not fulfil the requirements of an early warn-
ing system.
However, it is very valuable in determining
risk potential and risk disposition, and iden-
tifying possible sources of high mountain haz-
ards. DInSAR can, for example, determine
unstable slopes while optical sensors are well
suited to detect periglacial lakes which are a
danger when the moraine dam breaks.
They are therefore suitable for identifying
places where an in situ early warning system
should be installed. Once damage to infras-
tructure and settlement has happened,
remote sensing is helpful in determining its
dimensions.
Resum
While optical remote sensing is a well-estab-
lished technique, Radar and Laser scanning
systems and their application are a topic of
current research that will provide many ways
of tracing climate change in the Alps.
Due to their long-standing availability and
limited temporal repetition rate, passive opti-
cal systems, notably multispectral, are more
suitable for looking at long-term changes in
surface cover and land use change. In terms
of surface cover changes, they have the
advantage of large time series and large
surface coverage as well as established tech-
niques of analysis.
Radar and Lidar systems have higher tempo-
ral repetition and reliability, and due to their
measurement of run time and sensor-target
distance, they are suitable for identifying loca-
tions at risk of mass movements. Comparison
of Radar data over a long period of time is
difficult due to reduced coherence.
Remote sensing cannot substitute for in situ
sensors for hazard prediction, but can contri -
bute to the assessment of the places where
these sensors need to be installed.
Both passive and active remote sensing sys-
tems have value and a future in the tracing
of climate change in the Alps and can com-
plement one another.
Essential for all kinds of remote sensing appli-
cations is available ground truth data to con-
firm the observations made with the help of
satellite images.
The Workshop
Within the framework of the EGEA Congress
in April 2010, a three-day workshop was held
on the application of optical remote sensing
in the Alps with regard to climate change. The
focus was on optical remote sensing, as the
participants were mostly novice and time was
short. In addition, the workshop used free-
ware and freely-available data, which is
easier to get for optical remote sensing.
The European Geography Association for
Students and Young Geographers (EGEA)
forms a network around Europe. The main
focus is to exchange information and know -
ledge for geography students and young
geographers. EGEA tries to promote geogra-
phy within Europe and encourages scientific
as well as cultural exchanges between differ-
ent countries and cities.
The topic of the workshop was chosen
because remote sensing is an important tool
in different areas of geography, especially
urban planning, land use classification and
natural hazards. The goals of the workshop
were gathering knowledge about climate
change and creating awareness of the impacts
of climate change in the Alps. The participants
would learn the basics of optical remote sen -
sing, be able to understand the behavior of
surfaces on multispectral images and learn
how to monitor the environment. The know -
ledge was imparted via two practical exerci -
ses, presented below. The workshop conclud-
ed with a visit to Dr. Marc Zebisch at the
Eurac, who emphasized the necessity of
ground truth in gaining valuable information
from remote sensing data.
Monitoring Vegetation Stress with
the NDVI
One topic related to the expected climate
change is an increase in hot and dry sum-
mers. Climate change predictions assume that
hot and dry summers, such as in 2003, will
become more frequent in Europe. Droughts
cause water stress to plants and have a neg-
ative effect on their vitality. A possible way of
measuring the vitality of plants is the norma -
lized difference vegetation index (NDVI) which
uses the red and near infrared (NIR) bands in
22
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
Figure 3: Growth of a periglacial lake in the Bernina Range between 1976 and 1999, derived from Landsat
MSS and ETM+ data. (copyright: K. Spannraft)
multispectral images. In a vital plant, reflec-
tion in red is low due to chlorophyll absorp-
tion and leaf structure high in NIR.
Assumptions about vitality can be made by
comparing these two spectral bands by ra -
tioning.
The NDVI is often used in remote sensing
analyses, as it can be used to monitor inter-
annual changes in vegetation growth.
To demonstrate the influence of drought on
vegetation, NDVI values in the drought sum-
mer of 2003 and in the normal summer of
2005 were compared.
The basis of the analysis formed a pair of
Meris data covering almost the whole Alpine
range. The acquisition dates were August 10,
2003 and August 30, 2005.
The maximal NDVI values were higher in 2005
(0.75) than in 2003 (0.71), which indicates
decreased plant vitality in 2003 (see Figure
2). The low plant vitality due to the drought
is even more significant given that in 2003
the Meris image was taken earlier in the year.
Having the same climatic circumstances in
both years, NDVI values in 2003 should
exceed those in 2005.
In the Alps, plant vitality almost everywhere
was lower in 2003. Unfortunately, some parts
quarters of all the glaciers in the European
Alps will be gone. To monitor high mountain
hazards related to glacier retreats such as
periglacial lakes, instability of slopes and
decreasing water storage, it is important to
monitor the glaciers retreat and its speed.
To analyze the development of the glaciers of
the Bernina group at the Italian-Swiss border,
multispectral Landsat images from 1976
(August 6) and 1999 (September 13) were ana-
lyzed. The glaciers of the Bernina group are
the highest glaciers of the Eastern Alps in
Switzerland. A supervised classification of the
images was performed with the aim of detec -
ting surface changes related to glacier mel -
ting.
The 1999 data is from the ETM + on Landsat
7, while the 1976 data was taken by the MSS
on Landsat 1.
The most striking result found in this analy-
sis is the growth of the periglacial lake at the
end of the tongue of the Roseg and Sella
glaciers (see Figure 3).
Use of Remote Sensing Freeware and
Free Satellite Data
The workshop held at the EGEA Western
Regional Congress used only free remote
sensing software provided by the ESA
(LeoWorks and BEAM). For glacier change
detection, freely available Landsat scenes
were used. The Meris data for the NDVI exer-
cise, as well as the ESA School Atlas, were
kindly provided by the ESA which we would
like to thank for their cooperation and sup-
port, particularly Juerg Lichtenegger from the
EDUSPACE team.
We would also like to thank EGEA Vienna for
organizing this congress as well as our work-
shop participants for their enthusiastic partic-
ipation (see Figure 4).
Katharina Spannraft, kati.spannraft@t-online.de,
Dipl. Geographer, at the moment working
freelance in remote sensing.
Kristin Kalian kristin.kalian@gmail.com,
Cartography student at the University of Vienna,
also works in a map publishing company
Links:
ESA Eduspace: www.eduspace.com
European Geography Association: www.egea.eu
Beam homepage:
www.brockmannconsult.de/cms/web/beam
ESA School Atlas: www.geospace.at
of the Alps were covered by clouds or snow
in one or both images.
This exercise demonstrates the suitability of
the NDVI for vitality analyses on a large scale,
but also shows the limits of optical images,
notably in the form of areas covered by
clouds.
Observation of Periglacial Lakes
Another important and well-known problem
is glacier retreat and the building of periglacial
lakes.
Glaciers are indicators of climate change. The
mass balance is the most sensitive climate
indicator that controls a glaciers long-term
behavior. From 1980 to 2008 the mean repor -
ted cumulative mass loss of glaciers was 12
meters. This is 19 consecutive years of nega-
tive mass balances, and a glacier with
sustained negative balance is out of the equi-
librium line (firn line) and will retreat. Since
the year 1850, the ice mass has decreased by
more than 50%, from a volume of 200 km3
in 1870 to only 140 km3 in 1970. In the Swiss
Alps, the area shrank from 1,800 km2 to 1,300
km2, and many of the small glaciers in the
Alps melted completely. The general trend is
that glaciers are declining, with some excep-
tions. Scientists estimate that 50% of the
glaciers will have melted completely by 2035,
and by the middle of the 21st century, three
Ar t i cl e
23
September 2010
Figure 4: The workshop participants with their final poster. From left to right: Kristin Kalian (Vienna), Lena
Pschel (Osnabrck), Pol Martinez (Barcelona), Maike Metzkow (Berlin), Matthias Goerres (Mainz), Maria
Mller (Vienna), Marco Blank (Kiel), Stephanie Saal (Munich), Kristina Smolentseva (St. Petersburg) and
Katharina Spannraft (Munich) (copyright: K. Kalian)
Challenges and Possibilities
Esri and Cloud Computing
In her recent article The New Age of Cloud Computing and GIS, IT Strategies Architect at Esri, Inc. Victoria Kouyoumjian
writes about the risks and benefits of cloud computing, as well as Esris activities in the cloud.
By Eric van Rees
Security and Privacy Issues
Not only does cloud computing con-
sist of software as a service, data and
other content can be hosted external-
ly as well. However, this is not with-
out risk. Security and privacy are top
concerns when considering moving to
the cloud. Founded in 2008, the non-
profit Cloud Security Alliance (CSA)
seeks to address the lack of security
assurance standards for cloud com-
puting, working with the Open Grid
Forum, among other groups. Recently,
the CSA established a Trusted Cloud
Initiative for developing standards and
certification of cloud security, identity
management, and compliance. As
organizations and businesses consi -
der adopting cloud computing ser-
vices and solutions, vendor-neutral
associations will play a critical role in
identifying and defining reference
guides, certification roadmaps, securi-
ty guidelines, and the assurances
required to accelerate the adoption of
cloud computing.
Full Transparency is Critical
IT Strategies Architect Victoria Kouyoumjian feels that full transparency is
critical in order to address security and privacy issues in the cloud ecosys-
tem. Cloud consumers must understand and recognize all of the various
potential hazards and risks, as with any new or existing IT investment.
Concerns about security, inquiries around the cloud providers maturation,
reliability, and regulatory issues are all topics for discussion and clarifica-
tion in a service-level agreement (SLA). Although SLAs are not a guaran-
tee, to better ensure delivery of best practices in the cloud, SLAs with the
cloud vendor are recommended when consuming cloud services.
Realistically, these concerns are not too different from those that one would
address when choosing any third-party provider or service. Confidence in
cloud vendors will be established through repeated successful experiences,
testimonials, and proven reliability with respect to operating procedures
and performance.
Services or a Software Product?
While working in the Cloud, users may pay for the services they use or
they will pay for a software product. Or could it also be a combination of
both? Many of the drivers for moving to cloud-based solutions revolve
around the benefits to be realized, which assumedly outweigh the costs.
There are many variables that need to be evaluated and measured in order
to determine which applications or
data should be moved to the cloud
in order to gain cost efficiencies.
Independent of software license fees,
depending on the cloud solution,
cloud consumers will still need to fac-
tor in the cost of infrastructure per
hour, for hosted applications; cost per
GB of storage and data transfer in/out
(bandwidth); estimates on traffic vol-
ume which will dictate the number of
instances to be hosted; import and
export of data to/from storage
devices; and more.
For several years now, Esri users have
been consuming cloud map services
through ArcGIS Online perhaps not
even recognizing them as cloud-host-
ed services. Many are without fee and
seamlessly integrate with their GIS
platform. Through ArcGIS Online
Sharing, they have the ability to post
and share their geospatial maps, lay-
ers and tools to the ArcGIS commu-
nity, or create a select private group
to exchange content related to a spe-
cific project or common activity.
Recently, Esri announced the evolu-
tion of ArcGIS Online into ArcGIS.com as a website for ArcGIS users to
share and discover maps, web apps, mobile apps, and rich ArcGIS desk-
top documents and geodatabases. Any web user or mobile user can lever-
age the existing web maps and apps at ArcGIS.com, but most importantly,
with the ability to add their valued data, establishing a community cloud
for the diverse and global society of geospatial professionals. Esri is look-
ing at leveraging cloud platforms in different ways. For instance, Esri is
using the Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure to power part of
ArcGIS.com and provide an additional platform for ArcGIS Server, while
MapIt leverages the Windows Azure Platform and Microsofts SQL Azure.
Esri will also be looking at supporting specific components of ArcGIS Server
in Windows Azure in an upcoming release.
Financial Benefits
The cloud computing concept can hold a lot of financial benefits for orga-
nizations that use GIS. However, an easy matrix where all aspects can be
visualized against each other, is hard to produce. Kouyoumjian likes to
compare such a task with Amazon Web Services mentioned above. Amazon
Web Services (AWS) provides detailed calculations in order to compare
the annual cost of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) with an equiva-
lent deployment in co-located and on-site data centers. Using their cost
24
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
1a: Selecting only Windows operating systems, 300 standard small EC2
instances, with 75% annual utilization, no extra peak instances, and an average
monthly data transfer in and out of 10 GB and 20 GB, respectively, the annual
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) looks quite attractive when compared with equal
variables for costed on-site and co-location scenarios.
1b: However, modeling the same scenario but altering only the type of Amazon
EC2 instance -- from Standard Small to Standard Large -- the TCO changes
significantly.
comparison calculator, we can model the potential cost savings with
variable inputs. Kouyoumjian takes a tangible example: Selecting only
Windows operating systems, three hundred standard small EC2
instances, with 75 percent annual utilization, no extra peak instances,
and an average monthly data transfer in and out of 10 GB and 20 GB,
respectively, the annual Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) looks quite attrac-
tive when compared with equal variables for costed on-site and co-loca-
tion scenarios. However, modeling the same scenario but altering only
the type of Amazon EC2 instance -- from Standard Small to Standard
Large -- the TCO changes significantly. Of course, bear in mind that this
is also assuming, perhaps unrealistically, that there is an assumed 75%
utilization of each server in an on-premises data center, as the AWS
infrastructure claims to support.
In the end, each organization will need to perform these types of calcu-
lations based on their existing data centers, to determine if it is reason-
able to model for, say, 300 large instances, providing a 64-bit platform
with two virtual cores and high I/O performance, as we have in the
above example. Kouyoumjian: Of course, this begs the question do
organizations actually calculate the cost of efficiencies in their data cen-
ters right now? If not, then leveraging cloud infrastructure will certainly
force the situation, in order to garner accurate information on which to
make an informed decision.
The Elastic Cloud
Cloud benefits extend well-beyond simply examining the total cost of
ownership. There are other tangible and soft benefits to be realized
when consuming on-demand services through a cloud vendor or ser-
vice provider. For example, the elastic cloud paradigm provides the
ability to dynamically scale up, and quickly scale down, based on cloud
consumer traffic, affording rapid provisioning of systems, and offering
quick response times and the flexibility to handle cloud traffic fluctua-
tions and demand. Kouyoumjian explains: This is an attractive feature
for organizations that do not want to invest in additional hardware or
extra computing capacity only to satisfy an infrequent or unpredictable
customer load. In this manner, organizations with, say, seasonal or cycli-
cal requirements for more services are, in essence, renting cloud server
capacity and application access, paying only for the time used.
Cost and Scalability
Kouyoumjian is careful not to specifically outline the exact benefits in
terms of cost and scalability for smaller organizations with a low num-
ber of GIS licenses, against larger organizations with a high number of
GIS licenses. When examining the benefits of cloud computing, there
are several variables that must be considered. First, unless the GIS prod-
uct is provided without a fee, whether hosted in an on-premises or off-
premises data center, a software license is still a requirement for each
on-demand occurrence that is instantiated currently, as with Esris
ArcGIS Server for Amazon solution. However, given an organization under,
say, a site license agreement, the notion of counting licenses becomes
a non-issue, since these enterprise-wide licenses permit deployment of
unlimited quantities of selected products over the term of the agree-
ment. Quickly, then, it becomes evident that the majority of the tangi-
ble savings will be derived from the avoidance and reduction in capital
expenditure based on asset (hardware) procurement, and operational
expenses for full-time employee (FTE) administration and support.
Tile Caching in the Cloud
One of the most popular emerging uses of cloud computing for ArcGIS
Server is tile caching in the Cloud, specifically using Amazons Simple
Storage Solution (S3). Map caching increases the speed of GIS applica-
tions because it eliminates the need to request data from the database,
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process it, and then send it to the brows-
er on demand. A map cache can be creat-
ed with ArcGIS Server, and uploaded to an
Amazon S3 service as files. The ArcGIS
Server Silverlight, JavaScript and Flex APIs
allow developers to instruct applications
to point to different cache files, which do
not need to be on the same physical net-
work as ArcGIS Server. This scenario is opti-
mal for map layers that arent frequently
updated as base layers, combined with
dynamic map services for operational lay-
ers, providing users with a much more
responsive web map. This practical exam-
ple poses the question which types of
geoinformation will in effect move into the
cloud and what will not? Kouyoumjian: It
is important to understand that the cur-
rent attention to the cloud does not forego interest and investment in
on-premises desktops, servers, mobile devices, etc. Rather, the cloud is
another enabling platform to help complement and augment an organiza-
tions sales, marketing and technology portfolio capabilities. Indeed, for
those organizations who already have a robust, virtualized and optimized
data center that is running applications 24 hours per day, 365 days a year,
paying a cloud vendor rental fees for the same infrastructure and hosting
may not make economic sense.
Data Collection in the Field
In addition, mobile GIS users collect data in the field and then transform
those in a geodatabase using ArcGIS Server. With the release of ArcGIS
Server for the Amazon platform, Esri will support the deployment of pre-
configured ArcGIS Server and Enterprise Geodatabase machine images in
the Amazon cloud. This is an attractive innovation for GIS professionals
both in the field, and in the office. For a geospatial technologist, cloud
GIS can ideally mean that data is always available, always accessible. For
the mobile worker, the Cloud offers an expansive field to speed workflow
productivity and collaboration. Assuming network access, with connection
to the Cloud, mobile GIS professionals can access data that are generated
by others as well as themselves. Shared data in the Cloud can be imme -
diately accessed to discover, view, edit, save changes and invoke geopro-
cessing functions for on-demand results. These scenarios wont need a
ruggedized laptop in the field, nor will the worker be required to wait until
returning to the office to check-in changes and get results. These mobile
workflows need only require a connection to their network via smartphone,
netbook or other device. The cloud services can be customized for the
mobile worker, so all geoprocessing, routing, analysis and modeling is
performed as a cloud service on-demand when the field worker requests
it, using data specific to their scenario, event or current situation.
The Cloud, DBAs and the IT Department
When working in the cloud, not only will the work of the GIS professional
change, but also the role of the IT department and DBAs in relation to
GIS. Will these two fields, in connection with GIS, become superfluous?
Will GIS professionals be their own IT managers and DBAs?
Kouyoumjian: As organizations adopt cloud solutions as part of their
growing IT portfolios, the need for the IT department will not be rendered
obsolete. Again, I reiterate that there will still be on-premises solutions
hosted in data centers maintained, administered and managed by IT
departments. Many organizations are choosing to develop and adopt a
private cloud strategy - which admittedly has many meanings, depending
on your audience. Whatever the definition of a private cloud, the IT depart-
ment will play a critical role in ensuring virtualization and security plans,
among others, are implemented and man-
aged across the data center.
Once a cloud adoption and consumption
policy is established, there is still a need
for governance around this new platform
implementation. With such a low barrier
to enter into the Amazon cloud, for exam-
ple, individuals with an Amazon.com
account can immediately begin provision-
ing infrastructure and installing applica-
tions, without the existing impediment of
interfacing with other departments. Some
may be acting as their own DBA, IT pro-
fessional and GIS technologist, whether or
not they have the experience to do so.
Private or Hybrid Cloud?
In her article, Kouyoumjian writes about
cloud computing deployment models. Its possible that organizations who
are concerned about security may opt for a private cloud, or a hybrid
deployment model that combines elements from both private and public
clouds. The article continues: However, since this hybrid cloud solution is
commonly bound together by proprietary technology, it will only be
embraced by enterprise computing in the future as standards are devel-
oped. What standards exactly are being addressed here? Standards for
hardware, or software, or both? Who will be responsible for these stan-
dards? An organization such as the OGC? The National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST) proposes that standards be established, and
exchanges between hypervisors continue to be addressed by the
Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) standards body. By example,
the DMTF has established the Open Virtual Machine Format (OVF), an
import format for VMs adopted by the major virtualization vendors; and
most recently, the Open Cloud Standards Incubator, to address manage-
ability in the hybrid and enterprise data center environment. In addition,
open source projects such as Eucalyptus allow cloud developers to build
private cloud data centers that are compatible with EC2, thereby reducing
some of the friction in synchronizing hybrid workloads.
Vendor Lock-in
Kouyoumjian warns cloud consumers to be aware of vendor lock-in when
moving forward in the cloud ecosystem.
One of the most apparent examples of vendor lock-in comes from the
various virtualization technologies when consumed in a hybrid cloud
deployment scenario. The ability to federate the private and public data
centers in order to coordinate workloads, realize economies of scale, and
reach optimal efficiencies are extremely attractive drivers to cloud adop-
tion. The more seamless this new computing paradigm becomes, the eas-
ier the movement across vendors, and the greater the uptake of cloud.
Even Vint Cerf (the father of the internet) is quoted as recognizing that
inter-cloud interaction is a very rich area for exploration, and I dont think
there are a lot of answers yet. Kouyoumjian: 1 Indeed, we are truly at
the doorway of this new cloud expanse. Moving forward, I would like to
see the opportunity to leverage inter-cloud exploration, connecting the
many clouds. In concert, programming languages will need to evolve, in
order to best exploit the potentially unlimited processing and storage
power that cloud computing can offer.
Victoria Kouyoumjian vkouyoumjian@esri.com is IT Strategies Architect at ESRI
Her article The New Age of Cloud Computing and GIS can be found at
www.esri.com/news/arcwatch/0110/feature.html.
Instance types of Amazon Webservices are defined at
http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types
26
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
The Esri ArcGIS System relationship with the Cloud Computing
Deployment Models
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8
Possible Effects of Climate Change
The Kvlinge Municipality in southern Sweden hasnt experienced significant effects of climate change -- at least not yet.
But that has not stopped the historic coastal municipality from peering 25 years into its own future to see where and how
changes in temperature and sea level are likely to affect its landscape and the lives of its 29,000 residents.
The leaders of Kvlinge Municipality are wise to be thinking ahead. With the regions relatively flat terrain, even small
changes in sea level could have significant environmental impacts, not only on its abundant sand dunes, forests, heath
and marshlands, but also on existing commercial and residential areas. The more regional planners know about what
those impacts are likely to be, the better prepared they can be to mitigate or avoid them altogether.
by Ulf Mnsson and Don Murray
Updating the Master Plan
Nine different urban areas are scattered within the 154 square kilometers
that comprise Kvlinge Municipality. They range from the city of Kvlinge
itself, with nearly 9,000 residents, to the tiny coastal hamlets of Vikhg
and Barsebckshamn, known largely for their fishing, recreation and idyllic
natural beauty.
Maintaining the regions distinctive character has been paramount to local
leaders as they plan for future development. Also weighing on their minds,
however, is the erosion occurring in spots along the municipalitys 20-kilo-
meter coastline and the higher flows measured in its streams and rivers,
both of which are contributing to occasional flooding problems, according
to Tommy Persson, technical manager for the municipality. When updating
the municipalitys Master Plan in 2009, the leaders wanted to address both
the aesthetic and the environmental issues.
Kvlinge Municipalitys Master Plan describes how to manage and devel-
op land and water use for the coming 20 to 25 years, explained Persson.
Among other things, it should point out suitable areas for residential
development.
To make those kinds of assessments, however, the municipality needed
first to find answers to some critical questions, namely: if the sea level
were to rise, what areas of the municipality would be affected, and how?
Persson and other leaders also wondered what, if anything, could be done
proactively to prevent future problems and to protect existing develop-
ment.
Building a Data-driven Crystal ball
How climate change impacts a given locale depends largely on its particu-
lar geography. To better understand theirs, Kvlinge municipal officials
needed to create a data-driven crystal ball that would allow them to see
how a rise in sea level might eventually affect different points in the region.
Obtaining the information needed for this analysis would be fairly simple.
The municipalitys bigger challenge was to cost-effectively harness this
data, fill any missing gaps and transform the results into a usable, deci-
sion-making application designed to peer into the future.
To conduct such visualization, the municipality first needed to acquire
detailed information on the elevation of its terrain and the depth of its
water bodies. In practical terms, that meant obtaining LiDAR laser-
scanned data that measured the height of virtually every point of land
and water within a 15 km by 15 km area -- a single square-kilometer of
which included as many as 3.6 million three-dimensional point measure-
28
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
Figure 1: Kvlinge obtained LiDAR data that measured the height of virtually
every point of land and water within a 15 km by 15 km area, resulting in
approximately 700 text files and millions of 3D measurements.
Figure 2: To test the validity of the original data, SWECO created a terrain
model that used extruded lines to visually illustrate the relative height of each
measured point.
Thinking Ahead
ments. Kvlinge ultimately received approximately 700 text files -- each
one containing several hundred thousand measurements, including the X
and Y coordinates and height for each measured point. (See Figure 1)
To process and transform those millions of pieces of 3D geographic data
into something that its environmental consultants would find meaningful
and that would support planning and decision-making, the municipality
retained geographic information technology specialists from SWECOs
regional of fice in Malm, Sweden.
Their first task was to inspect the input data. This was done by creating a
simple a terrain model that used extruded lines to visually illustrate the
relative height of each measured point. (See Figure 2) To transform the
text files into the 3D PDF files needed to create the model, SWECO relied
on FME, a spatial data transformation solution that is capable of convert-
ing and integrating large volumes of 3D data from multiple formats. While
this did not yet result in usable information, the model enabled the geo-
graphic IT team to inspect and test the validity of the original data, mak-
ing sure it was reasonable and correct.
The Next Challenge: transforming Millions of Text Tiles
into a Usable Format
Once they were confident of the original datas quality, the IT teams chal-
lenge was to turn the text files of laser-scanned LiDAR 3D data into a for-
mat compatible with both ESRI ArcGIS and the MapInfo Vertical Mapper
extension for MapInfo Professional. Preferred and used by the municipali-
tys environmental consultants, MapInfo Vertical Mapper is a GIS product
that allows users to perform length and cross-section analysis to visualize
how land is formed.
For the IT team to achieve optimal data processing efficiencies in ArcGIS
and MapInfo Professional, it needed a simple, accurate way to query and
display massive datasets. While it would have been possible to divide the
material into sub-areas and manually open them one by one, the process
would have been both labor-intensive and time-consuming.
Instead, the firm again chose to restructure the files using FME. Not only
could it transform the data from a text file into Vertical Mapper format, it
could also transform the coordinate systems of both the LiDAR data and
background maps making it possible to present the information togeth-
er. In Sweden, its common to find different coordinate systems used on
input data, a problem commonly resolved by using FME.
Using DEM Tiles to form a Continuous Map
To prepare the data for Vertical Mapper, FME was initially used to create a
Digital Elevation Model (DEM) tile for each source file that was read. A
DEM raster tile is a file where each pixel holds a height value that can be
color coded.
Creating detailed DEMs covering a large area is usually done in sections
so that computers can manage the enormous files. FMEs sophisticated
batch capabilities make this possible. By processing in a tile-based way
reading data from 9 tiles/text files at the time -- the team managed to
interpolate DEM tiles that were continuous even across tile-borders.
During this same process, the tiles where resampled as well. High-resolu-
tion data with original measurements that were taken every square foot
were generalized from one foot to 10 feet. Total file size after resampling
was thereby cut by a factor of 10, making it possible for other systems to
process this data and greatly improving drawing speed.
Then and only then could all the tiles be mosaicked together in a single
large file to form a continuous map of the entire study areas elevation. A
dark area meant that an area was at sea level; the lighter the square, the
higher the elevation. (See Figure 3)
Visualizing and predicting the Flow of Water
The next step involved using FME Desktop to transform the DEM tiles into
the operational binary format used by Vertical Mapper. Vertical Mapper
color codes the resulting map to illustrate elevations, allowing users, for
example, to identify creeks, mountains and other land forms. The conver-
sion also included the production of TIFF files of Raster DEMs for back-
ground, and the use of Shape and Tab for background maps and support
files. While MapInfo obviously cant predict if the water level will rise, it
can be used to illustrate where the water will go if it should. MapInfo Tab
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
Figure 3: Tiles were mosaicked together to form a continuous map of the entire
study areas elevation; the lighter the area, the higher the elevation.
Figure 4: This flood analysis, made possible by utilizing the Raster Operation
Model in FME, makes it possible to check each pixel on a map to see if it is above
or below the flood level.
Figure 5: The study identified coastal and inland areas that were at particular
risk as the sea level rises.
29
files were created with zones showing possibly affected areas.
FME provided the input for these files by generating zones for different
water levels, allowing them to plot the impact according to whether the
water level rises by 5 cm, 50 cm or some other designated increment.
This flood analysis, developed by SWECO, was made possible by utilizing
the Raster Operation Model in FME, which was used to automatically mea-
sure the impact of a one-meter rise in sea level. The analysis makes it
possible to check each pixel on a map to see if it is above or below the
flood level. (See Figure 5) The environmental team, including experts in
water resources and environmental analysis, had meanwhile been con-
ducting their own research on the changes in sea level that might be antic-
ipated as a result of climate change. With that information in hand, addi-
tional maps could then be easily generated using GIS tools like ArcMAP
and MapInfo to identify areas that may be in need of protective measures
to prevent future flooding. While it might have been possible to create
these maps manually, area by area, based on the available data, the pro-
cess would have been both tedious and time-consuming. The map crea -
tion process would also have to be started all over to demonstrate the
impact for each incremental rise in sea level. The automated process made
possible by FME, on the other hand, allows the geographic IT team to
change tolerances and parameters during the project. This flexibility was
particularly valuable when working with DEMs, where changing algorithms
and tolerances can significantly impact the final model.
The Findings: Risks are greater than expected
When the climate change study was complete and final reports presented,
what did the municipality of Kvlinge learn? Quite a lot.
Perhaps most significantly, the study identified places along the coast, as
well as inland areas near the Kvlinge River and other waterways , that
were at particular risk as the sea level rises, as the color-coded map illus-
trates. (See Figure 6) The study indicated that the problems can become
bigger than we expected, said Persson. Areas relatively far from the coast
can be flooded when the sea level rises. Even some existing residential
areas can be affected by flooding. The municipality is now using this
information to guide the zoning of new residential and commercial devel-
opment. When new residential areas or other areas with human activity
are planned, we are using the results to determine if problems can arise
and if more detailed surveys should be conducted, Persson said. And the
price tag for this information? It cost the municipality of Kvlinge approxi-
mately $60,000 US for the aerial photography and LiDAR data of the region,
plus approximately $15,000 for the climate change study itself, according
to Persson. But the cost of NOT completing the work, he believes, would
be much greater. A poorly placed residential development that floods will
cost the municipality and its citizens much more than that, he said. The
study also makes it possible for us to prepare and implement protective
measures in areas with existing developments that are at risk of experi-
encing problems in the future. While climate change impact studies are
growing more common in southern Swedens coastal regions, said Persson,
the municipality of Kvlinges study was among the first to so precisely
detail the landscape throughout the municipality. When our survey was
carried out, we do think that the resolution of both the bathymetric and
land elevation data was quite exceptional, said Persson. That level of
detail allowed the municipality to identify potential trouble spots that might
well have been missed had its consultants been unable to transform and
resample the millions of data points into something compatible with their
traditional GIS software. Spatial data transformation and other technologi-
cal advances, in other words, are making it possible for communities to
truly gaze into their own futures and to pre-emptively make plans to change
the course of their histories. Now that these technologies are in place,
Persson offers some simple advice to communities located in coastal
regions and to others concerned about the effects of climate change on
their locale: dont wait.
My advice is to carry out careful surveys at an early stage so that possi-
ble problems are detected in time -- that is, before you begin to build new
houses in an area or before the floods reach an already settled area, he
said. No one knows exactly when and by how much the sea level might
rise. Thats the bad news. The good news: for forward-thinking municipali-
ties like Kvlinge, there will be few surprises when it does.
Ulf Mnsson, Project Manager at SWECO, has more than 15 years of experience in
GIS consulting and Systems Analysis, including more than a decade of experience
working with FME, for which he is a Certified Professional and Trainer.
Don Murray is Co-founder and President of Safe Software, based in Surrey,
Canada. With business partner Dale Lutz, Murray created Safes FME platform,
the industry standard for spatial data transformation.
30
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
Fig 6/7/8: Given the relatively flat terrain in Sweden s Kvlinge Municipality,
even small changes in sea level could have significant environmental impacts,
not only on its sand dunes, forests, heath and marshlands, but also on existing
commercial and residential areas.
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GNSS Update
Interface Control
A joint workgroup from the US and EU announced in early August that combined GPS plus Galileo receivers offer
significant benefits when compared to single-system receivers. That said, the benefits will of course only materialize when
both systems are operational. According to the latest news, that moment may still lie more than a few years in the future.
Meanwhile, development of Compass / Beidou in China progresses with two new satellites and the publication of the new
signal structure.
By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
The last Compass / Beidou satellite was
launched on July 31 and achieved geosyn-
chronous orbit on August 5. Unlike other navi-
gation systems such as GPS, Glonass and
Galileo, Compass / Beidou will have a mixture
of both geosynchronous and medium orbit
satellites. The system should provide the
Pacific region and Asia with navigation using
10 satellites around 2012, and global naviga-
tion using 35 satellites following in 2020. In
the end, a positional accuracy of 10 meters
should be possible from the open, free service.
Development still seems fully independent from
the other navigation systems, however, leading
to serious doubts about signal compatibility,
especially in the military bandwidth. During the
GNSS summit in Munich early this year, a
representative from Beidou said that the
basic principles of Beidou will be:
openness: China will widely and
thoroughly communicate with other
countries on satellite navigation
issues.
independence: China will develop
and operate Beidou independently;
Beidou can independently provide
services for global users and partic-
ularly provide high-quality services
in the Asia-Pacific region.
compatibility: China will pursue solutions
to realize compatibility and interoperabili-
ty with other satellite navigation systems.
gradualness: The construction of Beidou
follows a step-by-step pattern based on
technical and economic evolution in China.
Beidou will provide long-term continuous
services for users, improve system perfor-
mance, and ensure a smooth transition
during all life cycle.
However, at the same summit the Beidou re -
presentative promised an English text version
of the websites which has not happened so
far. This is important as the design documen-
tation (Interface Control Document) will be
released from this website.
In the meantime, Septentrio has analyzed sig-
nals from the single medium orbit satellite cur-
rently operating. From the analysis it was deter-
mined that there may be problems with the
signal generator on board the satellite giving
spikes every 2.5 minutes. There has been no
reaction from China so far on this discovery.
GPS
After several delays, one of which involved a
cancellation six seconds before launch time,
the first of the new block IIF satellites (PRN25)
was successfully launched on May 28. The
satellite is the first to transmit both the new
L2C and the L5 signals.
The previous satellite to broadcast L5 was the
IIR-M satellite with PRN01, mentioned in the
last GNSS update. After lots of discussion about
the anomalous behavior of the satellite, it may
be that it is never to be set healthy. According
to some critics it may have been that the
primary role of the satellite was claiming the L5
frequency with the International Tele com -
munications Union (ITU) in a similar manner as
happened a few years ago with GIOVE-A in
Galileo. If the US had failed to transmit the L5
frequency then probably both Galileo and
Compass / Beidou would have bid for this
frequency, while at the same time the US had
multiple L5 payloads ready to go for the new
satellites such as the launched IIF
(PRN25). Solutions to the anomalies
detected with regard to the satellite
have been proposed but no implemen-
tation has been reported yet.
On June 17 the first ranging signals were
transmitted from the new PRN25 on the
L5 frequency. The L5 on this satellite
has more power than normal signals
and should be receivable indoors. The
signal should also be compatible with
Galileo, Glonass and the Japanese
32
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
GPS, Galileo and Compass signal overlap (source: www.positim.com)
Compass / Beidou ground track (source: www.gpsworld.com).
QZSS. During the first tests a small problem
leading to position inaccuracies of around 5
centimeters was noted by DLR (German
Aerospace Center).
If all goes well, the satellite should be set
healthy by the time you read this article. The
full advantage of L5 will, however, not be avail-
able until at least 2018 by which time a 24
satellite constellation is foreseen.
The L2C signal has been included in satellites
since September 2005 and is now operational
on eight satellites. Full operational capacity (24
satellites) for L2C should be achieved in 2016.
The advantage of the L2C signal is that it will
provide an unencrypted signal on the L2 fre-
quency where there currently is none.
Although L2 is already used in carrier phase
GPS applications such as RTK, this is done with-
out the coded signal. Addition of the code on
L2 should also enhance the accuracy of GIS
grade receivers currently operating only on L1.
Adding L2 allows for ionospheric corrections
which in turn should improve stand-alone posi-
tioning from the current 5 - 15 meters to the
2 - 10 meter range.
While new signals are being launched into
space, development of the third generation
The development of the next generation of
Glonass satellites (Glonass-K) has come one
step closer to reality with a mock-up under-
going testing. The K-generation, which is the
first series to be unpressurized, should have
a significantly longer lifespan than the three
years of the current M-generation.
Augmentation Systems
There are a variety of space-based augmen-
tation systems under development around the
world. Probably the best known are the
American WAAS system and the European
Egnos system. Egnos was finally declared fit
for aviation use on August 2 after years of try-
outs and testing. Other developments are the
Japanese MSAS, Russian SDCM and Indian
GAGAN systems. It seems that all but Egnos
and SDCM have developed serious problems
over the last few months.
The first problem was the failure of one of the
two WAAS satellites in April leading to
reduced service in northwest Alaska. It seems
it will take at least 12 to16 months for service
to be restored. April also spelled disaster for
the Indian Gagan program. The Indian-
designed rocket that was to launch the first
two satellites failed and crashed into the Bay
of Bengal. In June it was decided to postpone
the launch of the first QZSS satellite for the
Japanese MSAS system. The new launch date
of the satellite, dubbed Michibiki (guiding
light), is now in September.
For the Russian Differential Correction and
Monitoring System (SDCM) the launch of three
geostationary satellites in the period 2010-
2013 was announced, with the first one to be
operational in 2011. With these satellites there
should be full coverage of Russian territory
and effectively almost the entire earth surface.
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.comis a
freelance writer and trainer in the fields of
positioning and hydrography.
of GPS (GPS III) still continues. In mid-June
Lockheed Martin, which is working on the GPS
IIIB requirements, announced that they were
finished. The first batch of satellites, the GPS
IIIA series of 12, is already under construction
by Lockheed Martin with the first launch pro-
jected for 2014. Additions for GPS III over the
current II-F series are the inclusion of the L1C
signal which is similar to the L2C as described
as well as a new military code (M-code).
Galileo
On April 27, ESA celebrated the second year
in orbit of GIOVE-B. After two years it is still
functioning. The passive hydrogen maser clock
on board has now operated continuously for
400 days and the ESA claims it to be the most
stable clock to have ever flown in space. In
the meantime the payload for the first of the
four in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites, as they
are termed, is now paired to its satellite. The
other four satellites are also at Alenia Space
facilities in Rome waiting for pairing with their
respective payloads. Launch for the first two
is now scheduled for early 2011 from Kourou
(French Guyana).
Another major step forward in the develop-
ment of Galileo has been the publication of
the Signal in Space Interface Control Docu -
ment (SISICD) which described the Galileo sig-
nal structure and allows manufacturers to
start development of GPS equipment. At the
same time the EC announced that it will
charge no fees to manufacturers of Galileo
receivers for either development or produc-
tion. The industry is, however, not happy with
the way the control document is written as
there are major issues with the intellectual
property rights which the EC does not seem
able to solve.
Glonass
At the end of March yet another three satel-
lites were launched, now bringing the total of
active Glonass satellites to 21 operational
satellites and 2 spares, or almost a full con-
stellation. With the predicted launch of yet
another three at the end of 2010 that could
give us full operational capability before the
beginning of the new year if the existing satel-
lites hold out.
Ar t i cl e
33
September 2010
Component Carrier
frequency (MHz)
Service
type
Chip Rate
(cps)
Bandwidth
(MHz)
Modulation
Type
B1 (I)
1268.52
B1 (Q)
B2 (I)
B2 (Q)
B3
1561.098
1207.14
4.092
2.046
2.046
2.046
10.23
10.23
Authorized
24
24
QPSK
QPSK
QPSK
Open
Open
Authorized
Authorized
Compass signals as planned (source: www.gpsworld.com)
Intelsat Galaxy 15 WAAS satellite that has failed
(source: www.gpsworld.com)
Glonass K satellite mock-up
(source: www.gpsworld.com)
A Report on the ISPRS Commission V 2010 Symposium
Close-Range Imaging & Measuring
Techniques
Close-range non-topographic photogrammetry used to form a very minor part of the overall science of photogrammetry.
However, with the advent of digital imaging and laser ranging and scanning, the subject has been completely
re-vitalized. Now it is quite definitely in the mainstream of the science with numerous commercial, industrial and
scientific applications as demonstrated at the recent ISPRS Symposium held in Newcastle.
By Gordon Petrie
Introduction
During each four-year period between its
full-blown International Congresses, each
of the eight technical commissions of
ISPRS holds a major mid-term sympo-
sium between the previous Congress
(the last of which was held in Beijing in
2008) and the next Congress (which will
be held in Melbourne in 2012). ISPRS
Commission V is concerned with close-
range imaging and measuring tech-
niques and their applications and is cur-
rently held by the U.K. for the current
four-year period (2008-2012). Thus the
Commissions mid-term symposium was
held in the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
in north-east England between 22
nd
and
24
th
June 2010. The event was extremely well supported with more than
240 participants and over 100 technical papers being presented over
the three-day duration of the meeting. The symposium was held in the
excellent conference facilities that are available within St. James Park,
the very modern stadium that is the home of the Newcastle United foot-
ball club [Fig. 1]. The actual meeting was organised in exemplary fash-
ion by Professor Jon Mills (President of Commission V) and his team
from the geomatic engineering section of the School of Civil Engineering
& Geosciences of Newcastle University.
The detailed scientific activities and technical developments of
Commission V are conducted by its six working groups (WGs) and by
the two inter-commission working groups (ICWGs) that it shares with
Commission I (which covers airborne and spaceborne imaging). The
two largest of these working groups are WG V/1, which covers the sys-
tems, best practice and applications of vision metrology, and WG V/2,
which is concerned with cultural heritage data acquisition and process-
ing and its applications. Both of these large working groups had been
allocated three technical sessions over the course of the meeting, each
session allowing four or five papers to be presented. However this did
not begin to cope with the large number of papers 19 in the case of
WG V/1 and 30 in the case of WG V/2 that had been submitted to
and accepted by these working groups. As a result, a large number of
these papers were only presented in the lunch-time poster sessions.
This was rather unfortunate, given the quality and interest of many of
them, especially on the cultural heritage side.
WG V/1 Vision Metrology
Currently there is a high level of inter-
est in industrial metrology in general
and in the specific applications of vision
metrology for quality control, deforma-
tion monitoring and reverse engineer-
ing purposes. As one would expect, cur-
rent vision metrology systems are
based almost exclusively on digital cam-
era technology. The resulting images
allow the dimensions of industrial com-
ponents to be measured to a very high
degree of accuracy, often employing
retro-reflective targets. The use of this
type of target allows both their location
and the actual measurements to the
targets to be made in a highly auto-
mated manner, often using template matching techniques. The specific
applications that were described at the symposium were extremely var-
ied including (i) the development of a robot-guided multiple optical
sensing system to inspect the cylinder heads of automobile engines;
(ii) the testing of textile-reinforced concrete components both for crack
detection using photogrammetric methods and for the inspection of
their internal structure using the images acquired by a scanning elec-
tron microscope; (iii) the industrial testing of marble tiles using images
acquired by a tri-linear CCD colour scanner; (iv) the modelling and the
detection of deformations in tunnels; and so on. The full list of indus-
trial applications that were covered by this working group was really
very impressive.
At one time, it was difficult to find many applications of close-range
photogrammetric techniques outside (i) architectural photogrammetry,
which involved the use of metric film cameras, and (ii) accident record-
ing, which was based on the use of specialized stereo-cameras and
stereo-plotting instruments. Now there are an almost bewildering range
of possibilities being offered through digital imaging. Most of the appli-
cations make use of digital SLR cameras and consumer grade digital
cameras rather than cameras that are designed specifically for pho-
togrammetric applications. This meant that a considerable number of
the WG V/1 papers were concerned with camera calibration and with
the camera configurations, orientation strategies and processing algo-
rithms that are required in the often unusual circumstances of specific
vision metrology applications.
34
Event
St. James Park stadium which is the home of the Newcastle
United football club was the venue for the ISPRS Commission V
Symposium. The conference facilities are located within the main
stadium building at the bottom left corner of the photograph.
September 2010
WG V/2 Cultural Heritage
With regard to the WG V/2 programme, it was very obvious from the
large number of papers and their content that the development of the
new digital imaging and laser ranging and scanning technologies are
having a huge impact on the recording, measurement and analysis of
cultural heritage sites and objects. Indeed architects, archaeologists
and museum curators are now using these technologies quite widely
on their own account besides employing professional surveyors and
photogrammetrists to undertake these tasks. A new technique that is
engaging the attention of a number of institutes and practitioners in
both WG V/1 and WG V/2 is (PTM). This
uses multiple images captured by a fixed camera but with a moving
light source to capture the different reflectance properties of a given
surface that are acquired on successive exposures. This allows the con-
struction of a detailed surface model of the object that is being pho-
tographed. Within the cultural heritage domain, the PTM technique is
beginning to be applied to a wide range of architectural features and
archaeological objects. The use of to create
3D models of museum artefacts and objects such as sculptures is also
becoming widespread [Fig.2].
What was also quite noticeable at the Newcastle symposium were the
large number of contributions to this particular working group that are
being made by various Italian institutions which might be expected
given the extent of the cultural heritage from Roman times onwards that
is so prominent in that country. However the large Italian contribution
to WG V/2 was almost equalled by that from Turkey. In particular, a num-
ber of departments (of architecture, geomatics engineering, media and
communications, etc.) at Selcuk University, located in the city of Konya
in Central Anatolia, appear to be making a concerted effort to record
numerous prominent heritage sites and objects in Turkey. The host coun-
try (U.K.) also made a substantial contribution to this working group. In
summary, the numerous papers highlighted the fact that cultural her-
itage has become a most successful area for the application of modern
close-range photogrammetric and laser scanning technologies.
WG V/3 Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS)
This working group had 14 papers, nine of which were presented in the
two sessions that had been allocated to the group, while the remain-
ing five were poster papers. By far the largest number of papers that
were given within this group were concerned with the application of
terrestrial laser scan data to help solve . These
included the monitoring of the exterior fabrics of buildings (including,
once again, historic buildings) and various other structures such as
bridges and certain large modules forming parts of offshore platforms.
Further papers in this engineering subject area were concerned with
indoor surveys within buildings and with the application of laser scan-
ning to hydraulic modelling. Another much smaller group of papers
were concerned with instrumental aspects of terrestrial laser scanners,
including their self-calibration and their performance in different atmos -
pheric conditions. Finally there were also a couple of papers that were
concerned with algorithmic aspects of TLS. These covered (i) the auto-
mated extraction of break lines; and (ii) the automatic feature match-
ing of the images captured by digital frame cameras with a 2D repre-
sentation of a 3D point cloud that had been acquired by a terrestrial
laser scanner. Once again, without question, the TLS technology is now
very well established and, as the symposium papers showed, it is
becoming a standard method to be used in numerous different civil
engineering applications and situations.
Event
35
The hand-held Handyscan series of 3D laser scanners is manufactured by the Creaform
company which is based in the Quebec city area of Canada. The instruments twin laser scanners have
a convergent configuration and generate a pair of overlapping linear scans that are set at an angle to
each other in order to generate a crossed scan pattern. Each of the two optical windows has a set of 4
LEDs placed around it. These illuminate the area that is being scanned, while the optic at the foot of
the operators handle projects a guidance pointer. The locations of a suitable set of adhesive reference
markers (targets) that have been placed on the object need to be determined before scanning takes
place. The images of these targets are used to determine the orientation and the 3D (X, Y, Z)
coordinates of the scanner continuously during its scanning operation. (Source: Wikipedia)
This Handyscan 3D instrument is being used to generate a 3D model of a cultural object. (Source:
Creaform)
The photos show the assembly and positioning of the vertical telescopic
pole with its attached boom carrying the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III camera (and
its counterweight) to provide very low-altitude near-vertical photography of an
excavated archaeological site. The pole itself is mounted on a wheeled tripod.
(Source: Turin Polytechnic)
[a] [b]
September 2010
WG V/4 3D Modelling
This working group covers both image-based and range-based 3D mod-
elling. Ten papers were offered in its programme, most of them at a
very high level of quality and interest. Nine of the papers were present-
ed in its two sessions, while the tenth was a poster paper. Quite a
number of the papers were concerned with developments on the algo-
rithmic side, including one from Prof. Clive Fraser and two colleagues
from the University of Melbourne on the use of improved feature-based
matching for automated surface reconstruction using a convergent cam-
era network. Two other papers in this group (from UC London and TU
Dresden respectively) were concerned with the speeding up of the com-
putational process needed to carry out image matching and to con-
struct 3D tree models, in each case through an appropriate sub-divi-
sion of the task and the use of parallel processing. However, two among
the several excellent papers really caught my attention. One was by Dr.
Remondino from the Bruno Kessler Foundation and his two collabora-
tors from Milan Polytechnic which set out in a very clear way the whole
process of the automated 3D reconstruction of blocks of close-range
photographs, often with a complex geometry, using feature based image
matching. The other, from a group at Turin Polytechnic, outlined the
methodology used and the experience gained in undertaking rapid sur-
veys and 3D modelling of archaeological excavations. This technique
uses a Canon EOS small-format digital camera mounted on a pole and
boom that is set at an angle over the excavation site [Fig. 3]. In turn,
the pole is mounted on a tripod with wheels that is placed in a loca-
tion external to the actual site being surveyed and allows the camera
to be placed in the appropriate position to take the next overlapping
photograph. The whole system mimics the classical aerial photographic
configuration used for mapping purposes. and provides very large-scale
photography as required for the recording of archaeological excava-
tions. Furthermore it does so in a flexible and convenient manner and
at a low cost. DEMs and orthophotos can be generated rapidly from
the resulting images using the automated procedures that are com-
monly used in aerial photogrammetric operations nowadays. As I can
testify from my own experience, it is great fun and very satisfying to
undertake this type of archaeological surveying and mapping work!
WG V/5 Image Sensor Technology
Eight papers were presented by this working group, five of them in the
single session allocated to WG V/5, while the other three were deliv-
ered as poster papers. No less than five of the eight papers came from
Germany, with four of them originating from DLR (German Space Agency)
and Humboldt University in Berlin. These were heavily oriented towards
, including the tracking of nearby objects while dri -
ving; real-time navigation of robotic vehicles; and traffic monitoring.
The remaining papers were concerned with different aspects of
. This included one of the DLR papers that outlined a unified
approach to the calibration of non-standard cameras, including fish-eye
cameras. The remaining paper from a German source came from Jade
University in Oldenburg and was concerned with the geometric calibra-
tion of thermal IR cameras a topic of extreme interest to the present
writer since he and two of his graduate students have in the past under-
taken similar research work in Glasgow. Still another calibration paper
came from the University of Nottingham in the U.K and was concerned
with the effects of temperature changes on the calibration of digital
SLR cameras. A really important paper was yet another by Prof. Fraser
from Australia which considered the self-calibration of the long focal
length lenses that are available with digital SLR cameras. Small changes
to the normally used calibration model overcome the instabilities and
poor accuracy values that are often encountered when calibrating ca -
meras using these long focal length lenses. It is also worth noting that
a paper from the University of Berne given in WG V/6 that was con-
cerned with the repeated calibration of SLR cameras over a period of
time should really have been included in this group of papers. In sum-
mary, this working group contributed a really interesting and valuable
set of papers to the symposium.
WG V/6 Earth Sciences Applications
Rather surprisingly, there were only six papers presented by this work-
ing group, one of which was in fact concerned with TLS and could (or
should) have been given in WG V/3. Another was concerned with kite
aerial photography (KAP) and could well have been included in the
ICWG I/V programme that will be discussed below. Four of the six papers
were given within a single session, with the remaining two being poster
36
Event
This propeller-driven Robofoil UAV vehicle is under development at
the University of Essex. It utilizes a parafoil configuration and is powered by a
tiny four-stroke engine. The Robofoil UAV can carry a compact lightweight
camera that can be used for environmental monitoring applications.
(Source: University of Essex)
A Raptor radio-controlled mini-helicopter that can carry twin lightweight
Panasonic cameras and can be operated autonomously to acquire low-altitude
airborne imagery of remote areas with poor access. (Source: University of
Padova)
This hyperspectral imager developed by the Finnish VTT research
organisation has been mounted and integrated on a Draganfly six-rotor
mini-drone that is being operated by the Flemish VITO research agency.
(Source: VITO)
An electrically-powered Mikrokopter quad-rotor mini-drone equipped with
a camera that is being used for close-range aerial imaging applications.
(Source: Mikrokopter)
[a]
[b] [d]
[c]
September 2010
papers. The most interesting paper (at least to the present writer) con-
cerned the photogrammetric determination of the velocity of surface
features on the San Rafael Glacier on the North Patagonia Glacier in
Chile carried out by a team from TU Dresden. This used a small-format
digital camera to acquire monoscopic images automatically at timed
intervals together with an ingenious use of various photogrammetric
techniques to establish the velocity values. Another paper from a
Spanish group gave details of the procedures that were used to map a
rock glacier comprising a body of rock and sediment that is being trans-
ported by underlying ice, again using the images acquired by a small-
format digital camera. The TLS application involved measuring the trans-
port of sand over a period of time along a beach on the coast of
Holland, while the KAP application involved the mapping of a crater
lake in Turkey. A final paper involved the use of photogrammetric meth-
ods to establish the volumes occupied by the canopies of tomato plants
and their corresponding leaf area index.values. By any definition, this
did not seem to qualify as an Earth Science application! My own per-
sonal opinion is that this working group has a lot of work to do to
bring it up to the level of activity of most of the other groups. There is
plenty of activity going on within this particular application field, but
this was not evident at this symposium.
ICWG V/I Mobile Mapping Systems
This group had seven papers, four of which were presented in the single
session allocated to this group, with the remaining three being offered as
poster papers. Two of the papers were concerned with the modelling of
trees and with measuring the defoliation of trees from mobile laser scan-
ning data. The remaining papers were a quite disparate group, mainly
from academic institutions, that were concerned with mobile scanning
configurations; the merging of data sets; the refinement of 3D building
models; and the extraction of road edges using mobile laser scan data.
When one considers that mobile mapping is currently one of the most
vibrant areas and probably the fastest developing segment of the survey-
ing and mapping industry, it was really disappointing not to have any of
this huge professional activity reflected in the working groups programme
at this symposium. Some reports from the
Tele Atlas, NAVTEQ and Google companies,
which are massive users of mobile mapping
technology, or from the numerous service
providers that supply the image and range
data of the road and rail infrastructure that
is needed for engineering maintenance and
management purposes would have been
much more relevant and brought this groups
activities into the real world. To your reporter,
the programme that was offered by this
working group simply dealt with peripheral
matters rather than the mainstream activities
and applications of this exciting technology.
ICWG I/V Unmanned Airborne
Vehicles (UAVs)
This working group is concerned with the use
of unmanned airborne vehicles for imaging,
mapping and monitoring applications. Of the
five papers that were presented, two from
the universities of Essex (U.K.) and Padova
(Italy) were concerned with the actual devel-
opment of unmanned airborne platforms for
use in imaging operations. The former utilized
a powered parafoil configuration [Fig. 4(a)],
while the latter used a powered single-rotor
model helicopter [Fig. 4(b)]. A third paper reported on the joint develop-
ment and integration (i) of a six-rotor mini-drone (by the Flemish VITO
research organisation) and (ii) of a novel hyperspectral imager based on
the use of a Fabry-Perot interferometer (by the Finnish VTT research organ-
isation) [Fig. 4(c)]. The first of the two remaining two papers was con-
cerned with application of UAV technology for the monitoring of the very
large and dangerous Super Sauve landslide [Fig. 5] in the French Alps that
was carried out principally by a group from the University of Stuttgart
using a quad-rotor mini-drone [Fig. 4(d)]. The remaining paper from the
ETH in Zurich covered the successful use of UAVs in Bhutan, Peru and
Honduras for the recording of archaeological excavations. The first of these
utilized a quad-rotor mini-drone, while the other two projects in Latin
America made use of a petrol-engined mini-helicopter. The users of UAVs
are all enthusiastic and are having a great time, besides achieving useful
results. However the regulatory side of operating these very small UAVs
within the context of stringent national air traffic control and safety proce-
dures appears to be a thorny and as yet unresolved question in many
developed countries. This uncertainty is now stunting the growth of what,
over the last few years, was a rapidly expanding and highly useful profes-
sional activity.
Special Sessions
There were also three special sessions to cover topics that did not fall
into the areas of the working groups. The first of these had three papers
that covered human body measurement and motion analysis. The second
session comprising six papers gave a platform for students to present
papers on a wide variety of topics. The third session was concerned with
. The development of this technology appears to
have reached the stage where it has caught the attention of the close-
range photogrammetric community, such that eight papers were present-
ed on this topic at the Newcastle symposium. Four of these were given in
the single session allocated to this topic; the other four were poster
papers.
Each range imaging camera has an illumination unit comprising an array
of LEDs that can emit amplitude modulated
(AM-CW) signals. These strike the objects
within the cameras field of view and the
reflected signals are then picked up by the
pixels in the cameras focal plane array. Each
pixel can measure the phase shift of the
received signal and hence derive the distance
to the recorded object, together with the sig-
nal amplitude, from which an intensity (grey
scale) value may be derived. All of the pixels
in the focal plane array acquire this data
simultaneously at video frame rates (30 to
40 frames per second). This results in a three-
dimensional model of the object field being
derived directly from a single camera station.
This contrasts with the two or more images
acquired from different locations that are
required to implement stereo-photogrammet-
ric methods, followed by a substantial data
processing stage to form the 3D model.
Several of these range imaging cameras are
now available commercially from Mesa
Imaging (SR3000 & 4000 models) in
Switzerland [Figs. 6 (a) & (b)]; PMD
Technologies (CamCube) in Germany [Fig.
6(c)]; and Canesta (CADP200 & XZ422 mod-
els) in the U.S.A. [Fig. 6(d)].
Event
37
The active and highly dangerous Super Sauze land-
slide is located in the southern part of the French Alps. It
extends over 850 m in length and 365 m in elevation with an
average slope of 25 degrees. The landslide is estimated to
contain 750,000 m
3
of material. (Source: University of
Stuttgart)
September 2010
At the present time, these cameras have a rather poor resolution and a
very small format size in the order of 200 x 200 pixels together with a
limited range of 30 m or less and a measuring accuracy of several cen-
timetres. However it is hoped that these limitations will be overcome as
the technology develops. Indeed cameras with VGA image formats and
resolution values (640 x 480 pixels) are expected to become available in
the medium term. All of the papers presented in this part of the sympo-
sium were concerned with the calibration of these new cameras and with
establishing the characteristics and accuracy of the resulting coordinate
and image data. Within this latter context, most of the authors were con-
cerned about the errors in distance that can occur due to the multi-path
effects that take place, mostly within the range imaging camera itself.
These result in an individual pixel receiving signals from two or more (e.g.
foreground and background) objects simultaneously causing errors in the
measured range to a specific object. It really is a most interesting and
potentially useful technology combining both imaging and ranging that is
however only in the very early stages of its development.
Conclusion
This was a really excellent symposium, very well organised and with over-
all a very high standard of presented papers. The symposium fully reflect-
ed the fact that, with the widespread adoption of digital cameras and ter-
restrial laser scanners, this area of close-range photogrammetry is really
buzzing with numerous interesting applications in a wide range of disci-
plines. The complete set of papers is available for download from the
ISPRS Commission V Symposium site at the University of Newcastle -
www.isprs-newcastle2010.org/papers.html
Gordon Petrie is Emeritus Professor of Topographic Science in the Dept. of
Geographical & Earth Sciences of the University of Glasgow, Scotland,
U.K. E-mail - Gordon.Petrie@ges.gla.ac.uk;
Web Site - http://web2.ges.gla.ac.uk/~gpetrie
38
Event
The SR3000, and the SR4000 range imaging cameras, that are
produced in Switzerland by Mesa Imaging. (Source: Mesa Imaging)
The CamCube range imaging camera which is manufactured by PMD
Technologies based in Siegen, Germany. (Source: PMD Technologies)
The XZ 422 range imaging camera is manufactured by Canesta Inc. in the
U.S.A. (Source: Canesta)
[a] [b]
[c]
[d]
September 2010

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GIS and remote sensing technologies for 20
years, had a research and teaching position
with the University of Puerto Rico and worked
as a consultant before moving to New Jersey to
start the program.
Instead of copying existing GIS curriculum, the
program was designed to create one that would
match up to the needs of the marketplace. That
started with two courses: Intro to GIS and
Geospatial Data Collection.
As Olivieri considered the technology needs for
the courses, he knew that simple GPS units
were sufficient for the introductory course. But
they wouldnt do for data collection; he need-
ed to find something more suitable. In his
words, he wanted to put students in the field
using a real handheld device with more capa-
bilities than a basic GPS unit.
Comparing, contrasting and buying
I wanted accuracy to 3-5 meters, real-time con-
nection capability and a good camera, Olivieri
explains. And it had to run Windows Mobile,
because we were using ESRI ArcPad software.
And finally, ruggedness was very important.
Finally, the school bought 10 X7 units.
Integrating new technology into real-
world education
Olivieri saw an opportunity to accomplish two
important goals with the Geospatial Data
Collection course. He and the course instructor
believe students need real-life experience, not just
book learning. And a recent Safe Campus Initiative
program called for developing a support system
at Atlantic Cape to effectively respond to poten-
tial emergencies and manage crises.
Voila: a class project to develop a data-driven
emergency response management system.
Heres how it works: The GIS students spread out
across the campus and gather data. When theyre
outside, students use the Nautiz X7s GPS geo-
referencing capability to enter data, supplement-
ing the GPS coordinates by cross-referencing loca-
tions on aerial campus photographs pre-loaded
on the X7.
Inside buildings, theyre able to note locations on
building floor plans, also loaded on the handheld.
(Theyre also cross-checking building floor plans
against actual layout to find any changes or dis-
crepancies.)
As they establish where they are, they note the
location of building entrances and emergency
exits; classrooms, laboratories and offices; fire
extinguishers, sprinklers and alarms; electrical
shut-offs; hazardous materials anything an
emer gency responder would benefit from know-
ing.
They enter their notations directly into the X7
using the ESRI ArcPad program, and also take
contextual photos with the handhelds 3-megapix-
el camera.
After students gather data and store it on the X7,
they take the handheld back to a central lab and
upload the data to a central server using ArcPad.
The next step is to distribute the data. The goal
of the program is straightforward: In an emer-
gency, time is very important. It could be the dif-
ference between life and death, Olivieri says.
We are putting together the data required for
emergency personnel to act in the fastest possi-
ble way.
Preparation for worst-case situations
Olivieri provides some examples worst-case
scenarios, but the kind of situations schools,
government facilities or businesses have to be
ready for even if the odds are long that theyll
ever occur. Lets say that theres a shooting in
a campus building. Before the SWAT team gets
there, they know the location of the building
and the access points, they have pictures of the
inside of the building, they can pinpoint the
location where the shooter might be, they know
the number of students in the classroom, they
have a list of names of the students who are
supposed to be in the room then, and they
might even have pictures of the students.
In case they have to open a door, they know
which key they need to use to unlock it.
Because they have the floor plan of the build-
ing and actual pictures taken within the build-
ing, they know about potential places where
the shooter can hide.
He sums up the usefulness of the system like
this: Typically emergency responders get to the
scene and start asking: Who has the floor plans,
can we get class lists, what resources do we
have. With this system, its like going there the
day before something happens you already
know what youre going to find when you get
there.
Internet: www.handheld-us.com.
40
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
Nautiz X7 in school GPS project
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Building Productive Systems
Sensor Web in Practice
Sensors are becoming an increasingly important basis for many applications such as environmental monitoring, public
security, risk monitoring, disaster management, traffic management and health. As most sensors rely on
manufacturer-specific interfaces, users have to deal with a large number of heterogeneous data formats and access
mechanisms to sensor data. Due to this variety the flexible integration of sensors into application systems is a challenging
task. Facilitating this integration is the aim of the Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) framework of the Open Geospatial
Consortium (OGC). Based on real-world use cases, this article shows how the SWE framework can be applied in practice.
Finally, this article gives an outlook on future developments.
By Simon Jirka, Arne Broering and Alexander C. Walkowski
Sensor Web Enablement
In recent years, Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards for acces -
sing and exchanging geospatial data over the Web have gained greatly in
popularity. The basic goal of these standards is the geo-enablement of
the World Wide Web, which has led to the creation of what is known as
the Geospatial Web. Broadly-used OGC standards include the OGC Web
Map Service (WMS) for accessing maps, the OGC Web Feature Service
(WFS) for accessing geospatial data, the Geography Markup Language
(GML) for encoding geographic features and the OGC Catalogue Service
for discovering geospatial resources on the Web. These standards have
become the foundation for many spatial data infrastructures on regional,
national, international (e.g. INSPIRE) and even global (e.g. GEOSS) levels.
However, these existing standards do not offer support for the specific
requirements related to the provision of sensor data within spatial data
infrastructures. For example, sensor data requires specific metadata mo -
dels (e.g. for describing the measurement process), access mechanisms
taking into account the dynamic character of sensor data, and completely
new functionality (e.g. controlling the measurement process and alerting
based on measured values). In order to close this gap, Sensor Web
Enablement (SWE) architecture has been developed by an OGC working
group of the same name.
The design of the SWE framework has been driven by the following func-
tionalities and requirements:
Access to sensor data
Alerting based on sensor measurements
Mechanisms for tasking and controlling sensors
Provision of a common data format for sensor data
Provision of a metadata model for sensors and the associated mea-
su re ment processes
The SWE framework addresses the full integration of sensors into spatial
data infrastructures by offering two sets of standards. The information
model of the SWE framework offers data models and formats for enco -
ding sensor data as well as metadata. Complementary to the data for-
mats, the SWE service model provides a set of web service interfaces that
offer the necessary functionality of the Sensor Web. Figure 1 gives an
overview of these specifications.
The SWE information model, which comprises the data and metadata
encodings used within the SWE framework, consists of the following ele-
ments:
In order to provide a common basis of data elements,
the SWE Common specification offers elementary data building blocks
that are re-used by all other standards of the SWE framework.
42
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
Figure 1: Overview of the SWE framework
Figure 2: Screenshot of the web-based 52 North client for displaying
time series sensor data
When exchanging sensor
data a common data format is a core requirement. Such a data format
is provided by the O&M standard. It allows encoding of the measured
values and also related information such as the observed property, time
and location of a measurement.
For interpreting sensor data the
provision of corresponding metadata is essential. Such sensor metada-
ta can be encoded using the SensorML standard. A SensorML descrip-
tion of a sensor allows clients to understand the underlying measure-
ment processes, gather information about data quality and assess the
suitability of a certain data set for a specific task. As well, metadata is
an essential requirement for enabling the discovery of sensors and sen-
sor data.
TML is an additional data format
within the SWE framework offering a means of encoding sensor data as
well as metadata that is optimized for streaming data. In practice, how-
ever, TML is only rarely used.
Based on this information model, SWE incorporates a service model
consisting of specifications for web service interfaces which provide the
required functionality for accessing, tasking and alerting. It comprises
the following parts:
Sensor Observation Service (SOS): The most fundamental functionality
within the SWE framework is the access to sensor data and metadata
which is offered by the SOS. It includes operations to request the data
sets a user is interested in (i.e., based on thematic, temporal and spa-
tial filter criteria). The returned data is encoded using the data formats
of the SWE information model, usually O&M for the sensor data and
SensorML for the corresponding metadata.
Sensor Planning Service (SPS): Several sensors can be configured to
match the needs of a user. This can comprise simple settings (e.g. the
sampling rate of a thermometer) but also more complex parameters
(e.g. the field of view of a surveillance camera). Providing a common
mechanism for controlling the measurement process is the core func-
tionality of the SPS.
Sensor Alert Service (SAS) and Sensor Event Service (SES): In many
cases sensors are used for building monitoring systems that dispatch
alert notifications in the case of predefined conditions. The SWE frame-
work contains a means for defining such alert criteria and for subscrib-
ing to these alerts. The specification process for an alerting mechanism
is not yet finished but the SAS and SES specifications represent the
current state of discussion on this topic.
Web Notification Service (WNS): In several SWE applications there is a
need for asynchronous communication patterns. A common example is
alerting: a user subscribes to a certain kind of alert and as soon as a
corresponding condition occurs (potentially months after the subscrip-
tion) an alert message must be delivered to the subscriber. Such func-
tionality for asynchronous message delivery on various kinds of trans-
port technology (e.g. e-mail, FAX, or SMS) is provided by the WNS.
In summary, the SWE framework offers several basic data formats and
web service interface specifications that allow the full integration of sen-
sors and their data into spatial data infrastructures.
The amount of open source as well as closed source software support-
ing the SWE standards is continually growing. The SWE applications
described below were built using the implementations of the open
source initiative 52 North (www.52north.org). The 52 North SWE frame-
work supports all SWE specifications with server as well as client imple-
mentations.
Sensor Web in Hydrology
The conceptual background of SWE architecture was introduced in the
previous section; the following paragraphs describe how SWE compo-
nents are deployed in practice in order to build productive systems.
To illustrate the use of the SWE framework, three different use cases
from the hydrology domain are described in detail. It should be noted
that these use cases possess a high degree of domain independency
so the deployment patterns can easily be transferred to other applica-
tion areas.
The presented system was first deployed in practice for the
Wupperverband, a public authority responsible for water management
in the area of the Wupper River in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. An
extended version of this system is currently in development for a pro-
ject undertaken by 52 North together with the Information Technology
Service Centre of the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and
Urban Development at the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research
Institute (DLZ-IT) and the Wupperverband.
In their daily business, both the Wupperverband and the DLZ-IT deal
with a broad range of sensor data. However, the structure of these sen-
sor networks is very heterogeneous which makes their integration into
the internal spatial data infrastructures and application systems a cum-
bersome task. To overcome the difficulties created by this heterogeneity
the SWE framework was applied.
In particular, the following three use cases had to be resolved:
1. Access to sensor data (i.e., time series data) and visualization of this
data
2. Dispatching of notifications (via e-mail or SMS) if certain user-defined
measurement value combinations occur
3. Controlling the sensors (in the specific case the focus was on the
control of pan-tilt-zoom surveillance cameras)
The next three paragraphs illustrate how these requirements were
addressed, relying on the different elements of the SWE framework.
The first requirement, access to sensor data, was realized using the
Sensor Observation Service (SOS). Using the SOS, a common access
mechanism to the existing sensor data archives was established. This is
a core benefit of using standardized access mechanisms: as soon as a
sensor is accessible through an SOS it can be linked to every SWE-com-
pliant client application without needing further customization. The prac-
tical link to the sensor data archives is use-case specific. In the case of
Ar t i cl e
43
September 2010
Figure 3: Schematic illustration of the SOS deployment
the Wupperverband an infrastructure for collecting the sensor data and
storing it in a database was already in place. Thus, the SOS was
customized to be linked to an existing ArcSDE database. Also in
the DLZ-IT scenario, an existing infrastructure was available
(www.pegelonline.wsv.de). However, in this case the SOS was not direct-
ly linked to the database. Instead access to the sensor data was pro-
vided through an existing legacy SOAP web service which was then
encapsulated by the SOS. Thus, the SOS acted as a proxy making the
existing infrastructure SWE compliant. Figure 3 illustrates the deploy-
ment of the SOS in the two scenarios. On the left (Scenario A) the SOS
acts as an interface to an existing sensor database. On the right
(Scenario B) the SOS acts as a proxy to a legacy service providing access
to the sensor data.
As the data is now accessible through the standardized SOS interface,
any SWE-compliant client (e.g. GIS, web-based clients) is now able to
access the sensor data and to create corresponding visualizations. Figure
2 shows an example of a client capable of visualizing time series data
as diagrams.
The next use case comprises alerting based on user-defined criteria. In
the first version developed for the Wupperverband a set of basic alert-
ing rules is supported. By using a web form users are able to define
alerting conditions such as:
- Send an e-mail to jirka@52north.org if the water level at gauge X
falls below 100 centimeters
- Send an SMS if there is more precipitation than 20 millimeters with-
in one hour at weather station Y
To implement the system a Sensor Alert Service was deployed based
on the same data as the SOS of the Wupperverband. The SAS manages
the subscriptions and filters incoming sensor data automatically based
on the submitted alerting criteria. When an alert condition is fulfilled, a
notification is dispatched. For sending notifications a WNS server is
used which translates the incoming notifications from the SAS to human-
readable SMS or e-mail messages.
For the DLZ-IT a new version of the alerting system is currently under
development. The main feature of this system will be the support of
more complex rules. Besides the logical combination of simple rules
(e.g. water level above 500 centimeters AND wind speed above 80 kilo-
meters/hour AND wind direction north-west), temporal aspects (e.g. dif-
ference of measured values per time period) will also be supported. In
order to achieve this more sophisticated functionality the system relies
on the Sensor Event Service which can be considered as the successor
to the SAS.
The third required functionality is sensor tasking. Several facilities man-
aged by the Wupperverband are located in remote areas. Surveillance
cameras are deployed to monitor these remote facilities. The pan, tilt
and zoom settings of these cameras are remotely controllable. To ensure
a seamless integration with the developed SWE-based system and to
encapsulate different camera interfaces, the Sensor Planning Service is
used. This allows control of the cameras via one single interface. In this
case the benefits of interoperability through standardized interfaces can
also be seen: if a sensor is controllable via an SPS, it is possible to re-
use existing SPS clients rather than building a new control application
for each single sensor type. Figure 5 illustrates the deployment of the
SPS.
An additional requirement regarding camera control arose from privacy
issues. In order to ensure the privacy of places in the vicinity, the
cameras had to be made incapable of pointing towards locations out-
side the areas being monitored. For this purpose, the ability of the SPS
to restrict the value ranges of the pan, tilt and zoom was used. Thus,
the field of view of the surveillance cameras was restricted so that any
kind of privacy violation was avoided.
Conclusion and Outlook
The example presented in this article shows how the OGC Sensor Web
Enablement framework can be used in practice to build productive
sensor-based application systems. The example from the hydrology
domain and other deployments of SWE technology show its flexible
applicability.
Other typical examples of SWE-based systems can found, especially in
the field of environmental monitoring. Applications in this context
include the provision of air pollution data or measurements of water
pollution. Several projects have shown how SWE services can be used
not only for accessing the measured data but also for providing inputs
to environmental simulation models. Other projects are using SWE com-
ponents to investigate the impact of environmental factors (i.e., weath-
er data and environmental pollution) on human health.
44
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
Figure 4: Overview of the alerting system Figure 5: Overview of the SPS-based camera control system
The versatility of the SWE framework makes it possible to support not
only technical sensing devices but also humans acting as sensors. For
example, SWE technology was used to build a system for monitoring
the water supply in Zanzibar. This system enables humans to report all
water supply problems using their mobile phones so that water infras-
tructure operators are able to react quickly and resolve the issues.
To conclude, the SWE framework has now reached a stable and mature
state. Except for the alerting functionality, all important data formats
and interfaces have reached the status of an official OGC standard in
version 1.0. The availability of solid SWE implementations, such as those
provided by 52 North, has been increasing continually over the last
several years. Practical experience from deployments of SWE technolo-
gy has matured the existing implementations and led to a solid foun-
dation of software components that can be used for building SWE-based
systems.
Currently the OGC standardization process for the 2.0 series of SWE
standards is ongoing. These standards will include the practical experi-
ences gained with SWE 1.0 to provide an optimized baseline of stan-
dards. As these standards follow an evolutionary rather than revolution-
ary approach it is ensured that systems based on the 1.0 versions of
SWE will still fit into the SWE framework without needing to switch to
completely new implementations. Later updates to the 2.0 versions of
the SWE standards will be done in such a way that current usage of
SWE 1.0 can be recommended.
In summary, the OGC Sensor Web Enablement framework provides an
efficient tool for integrating sensors and their measurements with the
Web and spatial data infrastructures. Deployments of SWE-based
systems in a broad range of domains and use case scenarios have
shown its flexible adaptability to specific requirements and its practical
suitability for building productive systems.
Simon Jirka jirka@52north.org leads the Sensor Web Community of the Open
Source Initiative 52 North. For several years he has been working in the field of
Sensor Webs. He has extensive experience in both the practical application of
Sensor Web technology and research projects advancing Sensor Web concepts.
Arne Broering arne.broering@wwu.de works as a research associate at the
Institute for Geoinformatics of the University of Muenster and as a software
engineer for 52 North. He is involved in OGCs Sensor Web Enablement
initiative, chairs the SOS Standards Working Group, and is the editor of the SOS
2.0 specification.
Dr. Alexander C. Walkowski a.walkowski@conterra.de works as Senior Software
Engineer in the spatial data infrastructures unit at con terra. He is co-author of
the SOS 1.0 specification and designed the architecture of the 52 North SOS
implementation, which was the first OGC reference implementation.
Links:
www.52north.org
www.conterra.de
http://ifgi.uni-muenster.de/~arneb
Ar t i cl e
45
September 2010
Main Theme at the Fringes
The focus of Esris User Conference was, of course, ArcGIS 10, the major new GIS release that puts (web) server use and
imagery at the fore. While most visitors had already had a sneak preview here or there, in San Diego the whole of
ArcGIS 10 could be seen.
By Remco Takken
In essence, having more than 14,000 atten-
dees each year guarantees that every edition
of Esris User Conference turns out to be the
main event in the GIS World. In San Diego this
year, between July 10 and 16, the general feel-
ing was that everybodys here. Therefore, it
seems significant when a longtime business
partner isnt on the list for the plenary sessions,
or fails to show up at the expo or present a
project at the map gallery. It also works the
other way round. The decidedly fun applications
of a newcomer like CitySourced got huge expo-
sure thanks to Jack Dangermonds decision to
present them to his audience.
Ez-ree
Without a doubt the most downplayed news
coming out of this years user conference was
the official name change from ESRI (pronounced
Ee-Es-Are-Aye) to Esri (pronounced Ez-ree).
Spatial software developers DTSAgile thought
up a great viral campaign with T-shirts you
could win saying Dude, its Ez-ree. This was
strictly unofficial, though. The first time
Dangermond made a slip of the tongue during
his speech, he mumbled something along the
lines that it really wasnt that important to him.
And that was basically it.
But it is big news. In addition to the fact that
all logos and merchandise had been restyled
just before the conference, it says something
about the current status of the Environmental
Sciences Research Institute. Not only have end-
users been using the term Esri as a word for
years now, but representatives of really big busi-
ness partners like Microsoft kept saying the
name wrong, i.e., not as an abbreviation. This
ongoing embarrassment has now been put to
an end. In Europe, though, nothings changed,
because the name change is already compliant
with de facto pronunciation.
ArcGIS 10 as a System
During his opening speech, Esri CEO Jack
Dangermond emphasized the idea of ArcGIS
10 as a system. He connected the notions of
working on the desktop, mobile and web
with, respectively, local, enterprise and
cloud. Among the many improvements, a sig-
nificant number point to consumer markets:
user communities and mash-ups have found
their way into professional GIS. Publicity-
friendly slogans like GIS for Everyone to
iPhones and open viewers for any app or
website might want to imply that your friends
and neighbors will want to use GIS to deal
with all kinds of issues in daily life. The truth,
however, is that most of the real improve-
ments in ArcGIS 10 affect the hard core pro-
fessional.
While the exact number of full-time desktop
users attending the User Conference is not
known, public wisdom asserts they (still)
make up the vast majority. Esri Inc. currently
situates those users in the realm of Ad-hoc
Projects, Analysis / Modeling and Mapping.
The common patterns of ArcGIS 10 imple-
mentations thus put the desktop user up
front, followed by server users. This second
46
Event
September 2010
Jack Dangermond at the Plenary Session
group of users works with Shared Databases,
Fixed Applications and Transactions. A third
user group finds itself close to the currently
hyped cloud / Web GIS. This federated user
is comfortable with Shared Services, Inte gra -
tion and Collaboration.
19.20.21
Keynote speaker Richard Saul Wurman spoke
about his project 19.20.21 (19 cities and 20
million citizens in the 21st century) which tries
to get hold of the phenomenon of the big
city. Jack Dangermond introduced Wurman by
saying that many of the previous speakers
were fairly green in their subject matter,
meaning that they dealt with the environment,
agriculture, sustainability or the preservation
of our planet. Wurmans decidedly urban focus
was indeed fresh, although the keynote
speech itself proved to be as under-rehearsed
as it was charming. More information about
the project can be found at www.192021.org.
CitySourced
Admittedly, the most attractive plenary ses-
sion presentation came from CitySourced. If
its up to them, reporting irregularities in pub-
lic spaces will soon boom via the iPhone,
Android and Blackberry. CitySourced uses
GSM cellphones as sensors to detect graffiti
and pollution. The platform empowers every-
day citizens to use their smartphones to
report these problems to city hall. Versions
for Windows Mobile and Palm are coming
soon.
Awards
Both Richard Tomlinson and Esri CEO Jack
Dangermond received the Bell Award from
National Geographic. It was presented by Gil
Grosvenor, editor-in-chief of National Geo -
graphic and great-grandson of mastermind
Alexander Graham Bell. Dangermond himself
presented the Making A Difference Award to
His Excellency Mohammed Ahmed Al Bouardi,
head of the government of Abu Dhabi.
Dangermond focused especially on humani-
tarian programs for Afghanistan and Haiti by
the United Arab Emirates. And, on the third
day of the conference, a staggering 200 SAG
awards were presented to exceptional projects
being carried out by Esri users all over the
world.
Imagery and ENVI
Lindsay McGreevy is a stage personality who
is well known to anyone who has ever attend-
ed Esri demos in the past. With great enthu-
siasm, she showed on the main stage how
imagery and GIS fit together nowadays on one
screen. McGreevy said: Integrating imagery
and GIS has been a very challenging prospect.
Center. Although it was a mere four minutes
walk from the main stage, attendance was not
very good. In organizing this big event, Esri
clearly upscaled one step too far here. Most
of the regular visitors didnt bother to go out-
side of the Congress Center. Keynote speaker
Jan Van Sickle (of Van Sickle, LLC) could have
entertained a couple of thousand more listen-
ers with his hilarious stories from the imagery
world than the 80-something he got at the
Omni Hotel.
De Facto GIS Event
Without a doubt, the Esri User Conference is
THE GIS event of the year. With some of its
activities (like Imagery @ Esri UC 2010) spilling
out of the venue where more than 14,000
interested attendees buzz around like bees,
it could very well be a good time to reconsid-
er its structure and scale. Instead of filling
more than fifty rooms with everything GIS, a
well-chosen theme might bring a tighter focus
for the audience. This year, the Imagery theme
lost out; it should have been the main theme
which all attendees could take home for con-
sideration in their own GIS workflow. Instead,
it all happened on the fringes of the biggest
gathering of GIS users ever. On a different
note: it has always been the case that the
most interesting and innovative stuff happens
in peripheral zones. The real question then is:
were you there when it happened?
Remco Takken rtakken@geoinformatics.comis a
contributing editor of GeoInformatics. For more
information, have a look at:
www.esri.com/events/user-conference/index.html
Until now. She made a regular ArcGIS desk-
top look like an imagery workstation, extract-
ing imagery data and even downloading it to
a mobile device. Technologically, this integra-
tion was made possible due to collaboration
with ITT, makers of ENVI software. It is pure
ENVI software that runs natively in the ArcGIS
Toolbox. Overall, ITT was a prominent fixture
at the conference. Not only did they present
their ENVI and ENVI EX products in their
booth at the Expo, but they also presented a
day-long pre-conference workshop where they
dived deep into remote sensing, imagery and
the combined use of ArcGIS and ENVI EX. On
top of that, ENVI organized a press breakfast
where the collaboration on integration with
Esri products was further explained. At this
press event Lawrie Jordan, Esris director of
Imagery Enterprise Solutions, called ITT a key
partner. Jordan, one of the original founders
of ERDAS, went to work for Esri in 2009. To
see him rubbing shoulders with the people
behind the ENVI product line was slightly
strange but at the same time very logical.
Imagery @ Esri UC 2010
Naturally Lawrie Jordan was present again at
the extensive side event sessions of Imagery @
Esri UC 2010. While he stated in his opening
speech that imagery is the next phase in GIS,
he also acknowledged that this was at least
partly due to the role of the defense / intel /
public safety world. Typically, these are govern-
ment-ruled sources of imagery that is not pub-
licly available, but that nevertheless has a
positive influence on commercially-available
innovations. It can be expected that this field
will boast great new products in the near future.
Imagery @ Esri UC 2010 took place at the
Omni Hotel close to the San Diego Congress
Event
47
September 2010
Plenary Session
A Launch Pad
Open Source GIS UK Conference
On June 22 the University of Nottingham organised and hosted for the second time the annual Open Source GIS UK
Conference. With around 200 delegates from government, the academic world, the (inter-)national GIS-industry and open
source communities, the conference is rapidly reaching the limits of its present venue. A full day program of industry
presentations and an additional day of hands-on technical workshops provided attendees with numerous opportunities
to gain valuable insight and experience.
By Marc Vloemans
Various international speakers were
invited to illustrate the latest technical
and commercial developments in a new
and fast moving industry sector. As
such the international nature of the
conference mirrored the increased inter-
est in and acceptance of open source
GIS worldwide. Judging by the many
local attendees this is rapidly becom-
ing the case in the UK. A conference
such as this one is therefore a much
needed gathering of the tribes, both
in terms of benchmarking the local
developments with international exam-
ples and with regard to strengthening
the professional network.
Property Thresholds
During the day, various speakers referred to the origin and track record of
their chosen applications. Others were more interested in showcasing rela-
tively new solutions in search of a wider user base. The way open source
software is developed and maintained is of course a highly innovative way
to harness the continuing input of generations of users and developers.
Developers from academic institutes, (non-) governmental institutions, soft-
ware companies and other disciplines collaborate in so called communi-
ties. Everyone is allowed to make contributions and enhancements to the
body of code uninhibited by restricting licenses and intellectual property
thresholds. An official project group is tasked with determining and moni-
toring the development road map. The principal difference, when com-
pared with traditional software development, is that usually no money
changes hands; contributors work for free on the software. However, large
(international) corporations increasingly act as sponsors who either donate
huge chunks of code to the world or pay developers directly for contribu-
tions.
Open Source GIS acceptance in the market benefits from the use of open
standards, according to Steven Ramage, Executive Director of the Open
geospatial Consortium, which has almost 400 members worldwide and is
the most important industry platform for geospatial and location stan-
dards. He stressed that open standards create a true level playing field for
GIS-solutions from different suppliers, effectively helping customers to
avoid vendor-lock in and the need to store the same data simultaneously
in different databases and systems. Open source software has an advan-
tage with regard to open standardization, because it traditionally uses
open standards in order to be able to communicate with existing closed
systems. Being the New Kid on the
Block has thus proven to be a unique
selling point.
Maturity
The Open Source Geospatial
Foundation (OSGeo), as co-host of the
conference, was represented by its
President, Arnulf Christl. OSGeo has
been created to support and build the
highest-quality open source geospatial
software. In line with this mission the
Foundation facilitates the use and col-
laborative development of community-
led projects. Unfortunately or fortunate-
ly (depending on ones view) his rather
unique and humorous style of presenting managed to engage the public
but he spent relatively little time on the OSGeo stack for open GIS solu-
tions. This stack of components has become the de facto international
open source GIS industry standard, with enough alternative components
to satisfy the most exotic demands for functionality. This begged the ques-
tion why some speakers insisted on promoting their own substitutes.
Presentations by delegates from Italy, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands
illustrated the fact that these countries are at the forefront of open GIS
adoption. Whereas, not so long ago North America was well ahead of the
rest of the world, the principal hub of activity in the open GIS world is
now shifting to Western Europe and the Far East. Besides the usual large
amount of technical presentations, new topics competed for time on the
agenda e.g. strategy, marketing and community building, and the term
business model was used in every other presentation. It shows that the
open GIS sector has reached maturity; the technology is finally ready and
waiting to be marketed to the main market place. Open source GIS is
moving up the S-curve, as one speaker observed, moving from a niche
market towards the mainstream.
In hindsight the one-day conference may not be enough to satisfy visitors
from various backgrounds and make it truly a tribe gathering. Nevertheless,
Nottingham University has promoted itself successfully as a national hub
for (local) open source GIS development. After last years rather academic
first start, it has this year bravely accepted contributions with other than
pure technical topics, a direction that will certainly ensure well-visited,
interesting and valuable future editions.
More detailed information about the conference can be found on
http://cgs.nottingham.ac.uk.
48
Event
September 2010
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Going Real Time
GeoWeb 2010
Judging from participant feedback, GeoWeb 2010 Going Real
Time continued its track record of quality talks and innovative ideas
and discussion on developing trends in information integration. From
my perspective, this GeoWeb conference seemed to mature the con-
cept of the GeoWeb, as we were readily able to see requirements for per-
manent, real time integration across a number of application domains.
By Ron Lake
The week opened with a view of real time
GeoWeb from the perspective of ESRI. This talk
was given by Alex Miller, the President of Esri
Canada. Alexs talk centered on three themes:
making geography accessible to everyone, con-
necting users to timely information, and mak-
ing everyone a volunteer geographer. He cov-
ered a wide range of geoweb applications from
smart grids to urban planning and design to
environmental monitoring and emergency
response, each richly illustrated with maps (of
course) and real world Esri systems. More
importantly, he speculated on the scaling up of
geographic information management and pro-
cessing from a local activity, involving tens of
specialized people, to a global one involving
hundreds of millions or billions of people. He
talked further about how this was a multi-
faceted challenge, depending not only technol-
ogy, but also fundamental developments in
education and government policy. I believe that
he saw meeting these challenges as fundamen-
tal to the empowerment of individuals on the
one hand, and to our ability to face the prob-
lems of climate change and environmental
degradation on the other. As always, Alex was
interesting and reflective.
The real time theme was, of course, picked up
in several invited talks. Steven Piotrowicz, the
ARGOS program manager from the U.S. NOAA,
outlined an operational project to monitor the
state of the oceans in real time, and provided
several illustrations of how data can be mis-
used and misinterpreted. This underscored the
importance of metadata (about the sensors,
measurement techniques, procedures, etc.) in
interpretation of raw measurements. The ARGO
program is a multi-national research project
lead by the U.S. (NOAA) which has placed some
3500 intelligent buoys in the ocean to monitor
key oceanographic properties at a depth of
2000 meters, and along profiles from that depth
to the surface. The buoys drift in the ocean and
are programmed to sink every 10 days, mea-
suring profiles of temperature and salinity on
their return to the surface, at which point they
telemeter their data via satellite to one of two
ground receiving stations, one in the United
States, and one in France. The buoys are made,
launched, and monitored by several different
countries including Canada, France, USA, Japan,
and several others. The program provides a real
time (every 10 days) evaluation of the state of
the oceans, something which is critical to the
understanding of global warming.
NextGen
Many of you may be unaware that there is a
major transformation underway in the manage-
ment of global aviation, one that will make it a
highly automated system, able to support far
more air traffic, and enabling more fuel and
emission efficient routes, while maintaining or
enhancing the level of passenger safety and
security. The U.S. component of this global
undertaking is called NextGen (the Next
Generation Air Traffic Management System).
GeoWeb 2010 was fortunate to have Patti
Craighill, Assistant Director-Defense, Joint
Planning and Development Office, provide us
with an overview of NextGen. This is clearly a
part of the GeoWeb writ large. It involves thou-
sands of computers, which will be widely dis-
tributed geographically (around the globe). A
significant component of the information is
geospatial (e.g. flight paths, location of
50
Event
September 2010
GeoWeb 2010 Held in Vancouver
NavAids, obstacles, flight zones, etc.). The
information must be delivered securely and
in real time, and the cost of failure to meet
data delivery deadlines in such an environ-
ment is likely to be very very high.
Patti outlined the structure of the project,
and it is clearly complex. She appealed to
the audience to contribute their skills and
expertise to making this transformation a
reality. With the depth of problems con-
fronted by NextGen such as automated
data QA, database synchronization on wide
area networks, making standards based
web services work on a large wide area
scale, and providing bullet-proof data secu-
rity (to name only a few) it will certainly
provide sufficient challenges for all of us.
In many ways, NextGen is a poster child for
GeoWeb. It is global in scope; it involves a
rich variety of geographic information; it
must get information from many sources
outside of NextGen itself; and it must be
readily etensible and performant while
meeting stringent requirements for data
security.
Smart Grids
Geoff Graham provided yet another illustra-
tion of the GeoWeb in his presentation on
Smart Grids. As Geoff noted in his talk,
Smart Grids have received lots of attention
but, in many cases, the expenditures have
been anything but smart. It seems that
there is still much to be learned about what
makes an electrical grid smart! It clearly is
a lot more than smart meters. Geoff illus-
trated his talk with three test cases: one
from South Asia, one from Canada, and one
from the USA. Each illustrated different
approaches to Smart Grids from a technol-
ogy and business perspective. The
Canadian example showed that people
might be willing to spend a lot of money
on advanced measurement technology
without having a clear concept of how this
will improve network performance and save
energy. The South Asian example, on the
other hand, driven by a new found imper-
ative to deliver reliable and consistent
power, was quite willing to embrace
advanced concepts for the entire system.
Geoff emphasized the importance of infor-
mation sharing to any notion of smart grid,
and it was clear in his talk that the shar-
ing part was of equal, if not greater, impor-
tance than the geo part.
I also found Geoffs discussion of how
power generation was changing, and had
to change, fascinating. It was not just a
matter of making an existing system more
efficient; in fact, that might turn out to be
the smaller part of the story. An age of high-
ly centralized big power producers with
huge and relatively homogeneous distribu-
tion systems is giving way to widely decen-
tralized power generators (wind, run of river,
gas turbines, etc.), and a more complex dis-
tribution and management system. Smart
Grid is not just about increased efficiency,
but about making such systems work in
practice.
Technical Presentations
The ideas and themes of the keynote and
invited speakers was, of course, also car-
ried forward into more than a dozen work-
shops (Flex anyone? SDI architectures?
Emergency management protocols? Model
a city in CityGML? etc.), and some 50+ tech-
nical presentations. These presentations
looked at many angles of the GeoWeb,
some with traditional Web focus, such as a
talk looking at real time geo-data technolo-
gies using GML (of course), but also others
that looked at technologies such as XMPP
(and XMPPubSub), GeoRSS, GeoJSON,
Atom Streaming, and PubSubHubBub. I
suspect we will hear more and more about
all of these in the geo-sharing context. One
talk looked at existing and emerging tech-
nology for geo-data display in the web
world, and contrasted Flex vs HTML5 vs
Javascript. I would expect HTML5 to make
a big impact in GeoWeb land. Still another
talk looked at the use of peer to peer data
sharing in the context of a discrete global
grid, an idea pioneered by a previous
GeoWeb invited speaker, Michael
Goodchild. I expect we will be hearing more
about discrete spatial data structures at the
global and local level.
Conclusion
The GeoWeb is clearly maturing. We are
seeing people grappling with data sharing
in vertical domains on local, national, and
global scales. We are beginning to see peo-
ple peek under the curtain to see what the
other domains are doing. Whether it is
smart grids, the future of commercial avia-
tion, or the understanding and protection
of our environment, we are all beginning
to understand a common underlying
thread. The sharing is indeed as important
as the Geo part. After all, isnt sharing what
the web is all about?
Ron Lake, CEO and Chairman,
Galdos Systems Inc.
For more information on GeoWeb,
have a look at http://geowebconference.org/
Event
51
September 2010
Argo bouys cover the world
Monitoring the Oceans with floating bouys
Information exchange is key to aviation
NextGen Architecture selecting the thread
Where Railway GIS Users find they are in Good Company
First European Rail GIS Summit
On June 4, the First European Rail GIS Summit was held, a one-day conference where participants
shared information on the use of GIS in the railway sector.
By Juliette van Driel and Willem Loonen
The UIC
The event was host at the UIC (International
Railway Union or Union International de Chemin
de Fer) in Paris. The goal of the UIC is to pro-
mote rail traffic worldwide and sustainable devel-
opment in the area of mobility. For this reason,
the UIC is developing international railway stan-
dards and exchanging technical know-how and
changes in the railway sector.
The Immediate Cause
Nearly all railway companies in Europe are using
GIS to some, extent and some have begun to
deploy GIS across the enterprise. While each
national railway has many unique characteristics,
within Europe there are many similarities. Esri
recognized that organizations working in the rail-
way sector feel the need to share their objectives
about the possibilities and challenges of GIS, and
learn how GIS can be used in business process-
es integrating data through the power of loca-
tion.
This was clearly a worthwhile initiative, judging
by the number of participants, which exceeded
expectations. In total, over 72 participants from
14 countries were present at the event. This one-
day meeting was held immediately following the
Third Annual French Rail GIS Day (Journee du Rail)
organized by Esri France, which attracted nearly
200 participants.
The Conference
The day started with a few words from Jean-Pierre
Loubinoux, director general of the UIC. He noted
that the railway sector is special, but the same
goes for GIS, and this was a day when the two
niches united. Europe has a complex network of
railways. Different rail widths, deviating voltage
on the tracks and dozens of independent admin-
istrators impede cross-border transporters. On a
five to six hour trip from Amsterdam to London,
you travel the rails of no fewer than ten network
administrators. The European Railway Agency
(ERA) of the European Union briefly presented
the state of railway interoperability across
Europe, and pointed to GIS as a powerful tech-
nology for network modernization.
Differences by Country
Despite the many similarities, there are signifi-
cant differences between railway administrators.
Here are some examples of how GIS is being
applied:
France
The railway network of France (RFF) spoke about
the management of data quality in a multi-part-
ner context. They demonstrated the use of GIS
as an interactive information platform used for a
wide range of applications. In France, a lot of
experience has been gained with the electromag-
netic fields that occur when a high-velocity train
passes. These fields are caused by the large
amount of flow that is taken from a 25kV over-
head line. As a result of this, garage doors can
open spontaneously and telecommunications
disrupted. The Netherlands railway is also affect-
ed by this phenomenon, and consequently a
cooperative effort has been undertaken involv-
ing several visits from a number of SNCF experts
to share their experience and knowledge. In
France, GIS is deployed to determine where prob-
lems from this radiation are to be expected.
The Netherlands
Arcadis has deployed Insite to generate tree
counts in an automated way, so that the num-
ber and location of trees that should be cut
around the railways can easily be determined.
Insite is a GIS application with desktop and field
modules, developed to record listing and pro-
cessing in the field. In the past, inspectors did
this in the field with pen and paper. The data
had to be processed in the office afterwards, but
now processing takes place directly so the whole
procedure happens faster and more accurately.
Sweden
Mapping network declaration is a pre-eminent
subject for a European rail conference. The de -
claration describes the national railway infra -
52
Event
September 2010
Space for sharing information and networking
structure and the circumstances under which
transporters can get access to the railway net-
work. European countries are obliged to arrange
and publish a network declaration every year.
Trafikverket, the newly merged Swedish Tran sport
Administration demonstrated how it switched
from delivering maps in PDF to map services.
This offers the advantage that maps are always
up-to-date and the user can utilize basic GIS fun -
ctionality (zoom in/out, identify). An interesting
topic for a future European Rail summit would
be a comparison of network declaration mapping
in different countries.
Trimble
Some nice examples of how to capture data in
the field with mobile GIS applications were
shown by Trimble. During maintenance on the
tracks, the controller enters modified data about
switches and signals with his hand-held system.
In the office, the data is checked and processed
in the master database and eventually analyzed
by a GIS analyst, so the data is always up-to-
date. Trimble pointed to the parallels between
the Positive Train Control (PTC) initiative in the
US with the European Rail Traffic Management
System (ERTMS).
Esri
The transportation industry manager of Esri start-
ed his presentation with a number of remarkable
survey results in the field of data management.
With correct, up-to-date data and efficient data
management, a lot of money can be saved. The
rail infrastructure has a lifecycle that consists of
planning, design, preparation and construction,
use and maintenance and ends with renewal,
before starting all over again with the planning
stage. Every phase in this lifecycle creates and
uses geographical information. To make optimal
use of geographical information, an architecture
is necessary that meets the requirements of the
organization and accommodates the different
components such as technique, data, applica-
tions and organization. This is an iterative pro-
cess which needs time for the development of a
GIS-based information infrastructure.
IBM
The use and maintenance phase takes many
years to develop in the rail sector. In addition,
the European railway network is used more inten-
sively and with greater complexity. Safety require-
ments are also increasing. On top of that, the
European Commission wants railway traffic to
compete with motorway and air traffic. Effective
asset management is one of the ways to keep
the railway network competitive and low cost.
Linking an ERP system (Enterprise Resource
Planning) such as Maximo with GIS can con-
tribute a lot. By combining two important data
sources, the quality of both can be improved. It
becomes possible to plan maintenance more effi-
ciently and relate location connections through
the power of location. Linking ERP with GIS
makes the invisible visible.
Galigeo
Galigeo spoke about the value of a bi-direction-
al link between business information and GIS,
turning corporate data into geo-related multi-
dimensional information for online geo-analysis.
Conclusion
It was a very interesting day with many presen-
tations and opportunities to network and share
information. Of special interest were the GIS solu-
tions for complex railway problems. Examples
from Europe were of particular interest because
of our complex and intensively-used railway net-
Event
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work which includes high-velocity trains. What
would be interesting for the next European Rail
GIS Summit, is how geographical information pro-
vision is organized by different European rail
administrators. In other words, what does the
ideal geographical information provision look like
and how can we work together to make it a
reality?
Juliette van Driel juliette.vandriel@prorail.nl is
Geospatial Business Information Analyst ProRail
Inframanagement.
Willem Loonen willem.loonen@prorail.nl is GIS
Consultant at ProRail Inframanagement.
For information about the next European Rail GIS
Summit to be held in June 2011, contact
Ian Koeppel ikoeppel@esri.com.
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3D City Models
Historical Rotterdam
Historical images taken in 1934, 1943 and 1954 were used to generate 3D city models. The idea behind this project was a
comparison of the development of the city at the different epochs. The resulting 3D models will be used in two ways.
Firstly, they will bring back memories and help collect stories, photographs and other materials related to Rotterdam
during the Second World War. Secondly, they will be used in an online computer game to teach young inhabitants of
Rotterdam about the citys history and the value of online information.
By Franz Steidler and Joris Goos
56
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
An example of
1934 1943 1954 images
1934
1943
1954
Introduction, Task Definition
The historical images were located in scanned
form in the archives of the Netherlands
Topographical Survey, which is now part of the
Dutch Cadastre. For each of the years 1934,
1943 and 1954 a set of stereographic images
was found that almost completely covered the
area of Rotterdam known as the brandgrens.
This area, right at the heart of Rotterdam, was
heavily bombed on May 14, 1940. Though the
bombing lasted for only 15 minutes, the city
center was almost completely destroyed. The
bombing led to the capitulation of the Dutch
Armed Forces.
The event shaped Hollands future and that of
Rotterdam, as the citys topographical layout
was dramatically changed.
Nowadays, the Rotterdam city archive provides
a window to the past, and simultaneously aims
to teach new generations how to value and use
information. Both goals have merged in this
effort to recreate the Rotterdam of the periods
before and after the bombing, and Rotterdam
after the first several years of rebuilding.
Original Data
For this project, stereo pairs in the form of
blocks were made available as scanned
images taken from the original film. It is not
In this case the camera was clearly a Wild RC5
but calibration was not available. Five images
as a strip with 65% overlap were obtained.
Estimated camera parameters were: focal
length 210 millimeters; flying height 4,000
meters; scale 1:19,000; a scanned pixel size
of 18 microns.
Aerial Triangulation (AT)
For the AT, 20 ground control points were
measured by the Gemeentewerken Rotterdam
on some of the locations, mostly surrounding
the area of interest, that have not seen
changes since 1934. Horizontal information
was obtained from current detailed city maps,
while vertical information was obtained from
a Dutch national Digital Terrain Model (DTM)
dating from 2001 (AHN). Older and therefore
more suitable height information was not
found. Geometric quality was assumed to be
1 meter in the horizontal plane. Since
Rotterdam experiences a significant amount
of subsidence due to soil conditions, the ver-
tical data is believed to be of poorer quality
than the horizontal data.
It was sometimes difficult to identify ground
control points on the old images. Because of
their relatively recent date of capture, the
known how or when the scans were pro-
duced. The pixel size was estimated to be 18
microns. Unfortunately the original pho-
tographs were not available to us and could
not be delivered. Camera information was
also missing and had to be assumed for some
imagery. It was possible to determine that a
Wild RC5 was used for the imagery from 1954,
but calibration data could not be found. For
the 1943 imagery, the camera is unknown; it
was probably a military camera without fidu-
cial marks. For the 1934 imagery a Zeiss RMK
was used, but even making enquiries of the
manufacturer could not reveal more details
about the camera.
For the 1934 epoch, a block with nine images
was available with an overlap of approximate-
ly 70/40%. Approximate camera parameters
were estimated: focal length 160 millimeters;
flying height 3,200 meters; scale:1:20,000.
The scanned pixel size was 18 microns and
the camera was a Zeiss RMK. Figure 1 shows
images from 1934, 1943 and 1954.
For 1943, one strip of six images covers the
area of interest with overlap approximately
80%. Focal length is 230 millimeters; flying
height 4,400 meters; scale 1:19,100; a
scanned pixel size of 18 microns.
Ar t i cl e
57
September 2010
Buildings (yellow) 1934 within Brandgrens, orthogonal projection
images from 1954 were used in the first
adjustment and taken as a basis result. For
the adjustments of the other blocks, more
points could be extracted from the AT of the
strip from 1954 and used as additional con-
trol in the images from the other epochs.
For the final definition of the orientation
parameters, transformations by DLT (direct
linear transformation) with additional param-
eter sets and projective transformation were
used and then further iterative AT was per-
formed until the results appeared to be rea-
sonable. For all AT computations, PATB soft-
ware was used.
The final results showed acceptable values.
For the 1954 block, the biggest differences
for the check points were about 1.2 meters
in planimetry and a maximum of 2.5 meters
in height. For the 1934 block, the biggest
deviations were up to 4 meters. The 1943
block was the most difficult in which to iden-
tify the control points and we thus got final
results of about 7 meters. Points with de -
viations of more than 2 meters were not
used in the final AT calculation.
The errors didnt show a systematic pattern
and a general problem in the work was the
use of the scanned images rather than the
original images. The scanned images proba-
bly contained the effect of not being perfect-
ly flat during the scanning process. Because
of this, the building models were ultimately
transformed iteratively again to fit to each
other. This approach has the advantage of
good relative geometric quality between the
three epochs which will simplify the build-
up of a digital gaming environment.
Data Processing, DTM and 3D City Modeling
For generation of the 3D buildings it was
decided to measure all visible buildings with
a ground area of more than 6 square meters.
The main roof structures were captured and
processed and in cases where the substruc-
ture was seen, these were measured. In
other cases, where the image quality was too
poor, block structures had to replace the
details.
The planarity condition as well as the neigh-
borhood condition (connectivity) were con-
sidered. This meant that each surface was
planar and there was no overlap or gap
between adjacent buildings.
The building shapes were derived from the
measurement of node points along the bor-
der of the main roof clockwise or counter-
clockwise. Internal points on the roof were
then measured, as long as they were visible.
From these points, substructures on top of
the roof were formed. For generation of the
walls, the edge of the main roof was pro-
jected down to the DTM (AHN, 2001). For
each of the epochs the DTM was adapted
around the building area visible on the
respective imagery.
The data then went into a visual quality
check, whereby the finally-computed vectors
were overlaid on the original images. Any dif-
ferences were adjusted by additional trans-
formations.
Finally, the data was transformed to differ-
ent output formats such as dxf, shapes and
kml, kmz. For a first check for visualization
the data was put into Google Earth using the
kmz format.
Visualization
For visualization at the first step, Google Earth
was used. Google Earth shows current aerial
images of the area, which means that all exis -
ting buildings are visible at ground level on
the underlying orthophoto. This also gives an
impression of the changes which have taken
place up to now. Figures 2 to 4 show visual-
ization results of the processed models in dif-
ferent epochs.
Generic Texturing
During the second phase of the project, gener-
ic textures are being created. A group of stu-
dents from the citys graphical design college
(Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam) are combining a
rich resource of dated photographs, maps,
building plans and writings to recreate the
city during the different epochs. The project
aims at providing a realistic and detailed 3D
model representing the current appearance of
Rotterdam (Figure 5).
All textures are generic, but the generic
images were modeled from original pho-
tographs of the time and written into a library
so that the final result very closely resembles
the actual historic situation. During the pro-
cess, the data was simultaneously prepared,
if necessary, for implementation in an online
3D gaming platform. Some work has been
done on the walls, and models have some-
times been changed to a height that is more
suited for rendering. Furthermore, a few his-
toric buildings that survived the bombing
were represented in slightly different forms in
each of the 3D models. In those cases, the
best-suited 3D model was selected and used
for the visualization in all three epochs.
During texturing, several color schemes are
being tested to provide the models with a
representation that reflects the epoch. Tests
are ongoing, but the final results will possi-
bly use black-and-white, sepia and colored
representations of the same generic texturing
to simulate a sense of the epoch a game play-
er would experience.
Applications of Final Results
The resulting 3D models will be used in two
ways. Firstly, they will be presented in a web
browser. It will bring back memories and help
the Rotterdam city archive collect stories, pho-
tographs and other materials that tell of
Rotterdam during the Second World War.
58
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
Perspective partial view 1934 Buildings 1943 after bombing, orthogonal view
Although the archive possesses a great many
stories of citizens who experienced the years
before and after the bombing and the bomb-
ing itself, more stories will help to keep the
memory of the events in Rotterdam alive
while allowing the Rotterdam city archive to
enhance the quality of its documented mate-
rials. The browser experience will be inter -
active, allowing users to walk through Rotter -
dam during the different epochs, and allowing
vity. The serious game that will result will
most likely be played using an internet brows-
er and plug-in.
Franz Steidler franz@steidler.ch is general manager
of GIS Spectrum AG in Bellikon, Switzerland.
Joris Goos j.goos@gw.rotterdam.nl is currently a
consultant for the city of Rotterdam.
them to add comments and perhaps include
photographs or stories themselves.
Secondly, the 3D models will be used to teach
young inhabitants of Rotterdam about the
citys history in an online game. Taking on the
character of a journalist, players will learn
about separating fact and fiction when using
online sources of information. In order to do
this, the 3D models will be complemented by
a gaming engine with appropriate interacti -
Ar t i cl e
59
September 2010
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Getting INSPIRED
MapInfo Professional v10.5
The release of MapInfo Professional v10.5 is the latest version of the companys flagship application for business mapping
and analysis, Tom Probert, Desktop Product Manager EMEA at Pitney Bowes Business Insight, takes us through the prod-
ucts new capabilities, which include a powerful user interface, new metadata searching and editing options that support
EU INSPIRE regulations, integration with Bing Maps, and a new way of finding, accessing, managing and maintaining
geospatial data on-demand.
By Tom Probert
With over half a million users across pub-
lic and commercial sector organisations using
MapInfo Professional to help them easily visu-
alise and harness the critical relationship
between data and geography, Pitney Bowes
Business Insight relies on the valuable feed-
back it receives from its worldwide customer
base. The enhancements in MapInfo
Professional v10.5 have been made in
response to close consultation with over 400
customers through various user conferences
held around the world, beta testing pro-
grammes and ongoing contact with customers
that use the product on a daily basis. As such,
they are designed to deliver real business
benefits to any professional using location-
based data in their day-to-day roles.
Direct Access to Geosk; the iTunes
for geospatial data
MapInfo Professional v10.5 provides direct
access to Geosk, the location intelligence
industrys most comprehensive data-as-a-ser-
vice offering. Geosk helps organisations over-
come the problems and inefficiencies tradi-
tionally associated with sourcing and
managing geospatial data. Identifying, navi-
gating and reviewing the various types of data
available in different formats from multiple
geospatial data vendors via CD or DVD-based
62
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
World Map
data delivery methods typically takes hours
or days depending on the size and complexi-
ty of the required data. As an online platform
that offers both free and costed data from
Pitney Bowes Business Insight and third-party
data providers such as Ordnance Survey and
Tele Atlas, Geosk cuts down on this time sig-
nificantly.
As the iTunes for geospatial data, Geosk rep-
resents a new model for sourcing and organ-
ising location-based information. Using Geosk,
any geospatial data user can quickly and eas-
ily identify the specific data required, in the
right form and at the right level of aggrega-
tion. This is then delivered to the user in as
little as 60 seconds, ready to be transformed
and customised in the specific format of
choice. With the potential to store, manage
and share data from a cloud-based content
library, either hosted in the cloud or delivered
by an appliance stored behind a companys
own firewall, the Geosk library enables organ-
isations to manage multiple files proactively,
freeing up time to focus on analysing data as
opposed to searching for it.
MapInfo Professional v10.5 when it is made
available from the server or is available on
the Internet. This can be done to directly
access files such as MapInfo tables or to
access web services such as Web Mapping
Services (WMS), Web Feature Services (WFS),
or Tile Server links.
Integration with Bing maps and Tile
Servers
MapInfo Professional v10.5 provides access to
more data than ever before with out of the
box background imagery provided through
integration with Microsoft Bing maps. Bing
maps includes vivid, photorealistic images
and data for geographies across the globe,
which means that users can easily incorpo-
rate satellite imagery to add additional clarity
and enhanced detail to their maps.
In addition, MapInfo Professional v10.5 allows
for easy access to available data through a
number of other Tile Server technologies
including MapInfo Developer, MapInfo
MapXtreme, and .NET as well as publicly avail-
able tile servers. Consequently, users benefit
EU INSPIRE Spatial Data Regulations
Supports
As the EU INSPIRE directive changes the way
in which public sector organisations have to
share and manage their geospatial data, new
capabilities in MapInfo Professional v10.5 help
users and organisations to search for data
within an organisation or around the world.
With the new metadata catalogue browser,
which is incorporated into MapInfo Pro fes -
sional v10.5 as a dockable or floating window,
metadata is easily collected and shared with
industry-standard data catalogues available
from PBBI and other vendors. This includes
the Open Geospatial Consortiums (OGC)
Catalogue Services WEB (CSW) standard,
which is required for meeting INSPIRE data
sharing requirements.
One or more catalogues can be searched at a
time and these data catalogues might refer-
ence an organisations own internal data or
could be catalogues of data offered by other
organisations that are on the internet. Users
are also able to create and edit metadata for
their tables and to view the actual data in
Ar t i cl e
63
September 2010
29
th
-30
th
September 2010, Vienna InterContinental, Vienna, Austria
The event will provide a unique forum to discuss and debate
the development of GIS capabilities across the globe.
Geospatial Intelligence Summit
Ask for more information: +421 257 272 110, events@jacobeming.com
from the central management of, and access
to, terabytes of data with nothing to install
on local systems.
Support for Googles KML format and the abi -
lity to open KML data also means users have
easy access to this popular format in which
many organisations now choose to share their
data.
Creation of Interactive Maps
MapInfo Professional v10.5s easy styling
options allow for the rapid creation of dynam-
ic maps while maximising the use of comput-
er screen real-estate at every zoom-level. The
new multiple style override capability allows
map creators to quickly define zoom-level
specific styles, labels and label expressions.
Both existing and new users will quickly and
easily generate great looking inter active maps
in record time and will be more productive
than ever before.
Publishing Intelligent Maps
With MapInfo Professional v10.5, sharing
insightful maps has never been easier. Users
can choose between a suite of PDF publish-
ing options including standard PDF, Layered
PDF and now Geo registered PDF. A new, easy
Print to PDF button streamlines PDF creation.
There is also support for translucency within
the layers of the PDF file to enable users to
produce more visually pleasing PDFs. No spe-
cial plug-in is required to view PDFs produced
with MapInfo Professional v10.5.
By including coordinate information in the PDF
file, a map-like environment is provided for
non-technical users. Location-based searching
can be enabled with an easy tool that can find
a specific coordinate location in the PDF.
Attribute Information lets users publish intelli-
gent map objects that carry specific attributes
which can then be searched based on textual
information and shown on the PDF map.
Publish Maps to the Cloud
Many organisations have the requirement to
share the maps and analysis produced by
their MapInfo Professional users with others
in the organisation or with the general pub-
lic. For the first time, users can share and
leverage maps via the cloud using MapInfo
Stratus, the companys first completely
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) based solution
for spatial location-based data and services.
As a result, MapInfo Professional users with
a need to share corporate data via a map
either internally across the organisation, or
externally to communicate with customers,
can visually share live information about the
location of customers, citizens, assets and
services via a map.
New Table List Window
The table list window, shown as either a float-
ed or docked window, remains visible during
the entire mapping session and provides
quick and easy access to all open tables. A
number of commonly used menu commands
are just a right click away. The ability to
search the list of tables by name or type, to
drag and drop tables to add them to your
maps, to quickly create a new map window
with a few chosen tables, to update values
or the table structure and export content with
a minimal number of clicks.
Tom Probert, Desktop Product Manager EMEA at
Pitney Bowes Business Insight.
64
Ar t i cl e
September 2010
UK Postal Districts by Population Density
Calendar 2010
66
September 2010
Advertiser Page
ASPRS www.asprs.org/orlando2010 60
BAE Systems www.baesystems.com/gxp 54
Dimac www.dimac.eu 59
ESRI Inc. www.esri.com 9
Geodis www.geodis.cz 45
Geomax www.geomax-positioning.com 39
Geospatial Summit www.jacobfleming.com 63
Handheld www.handheldgroup.com 49
Leica Geosystems www.leica-geosystems.com 31
Novatel www.secretofsix.com 15
Optech Inc. www.optech.ca 19
PacifiCrest www.pacificcrest.com/ADL 53
RACURS www.racurs.ru 18
Riegl www.riegl.com 25
Safe www.askFME.com 67
Sokkia www.sokkia.net 68
Spectra Precision www.spectraprecision.com 27
Supermap www.supermap.com 65
Surveyors-Express www.gpsgeo.com 38
Topcon Europe BV www.topcon.eu 2, 55
Trimble www.trimbledimensions.com 61
VEXCEL Imaging www.microsoft.com/ultracam 41
Advertisers Index
September
06-09 September FOSS4G Conference 2010
Barcelona, Spain
Internet: http://2010.foss4g.org/index.php
13-15 September 2010 BAE Systems GXP Regional User
Conference Europe, Middle East, and Africa
Cambridge, Clare College, U.K.
Internet: www.gxpuserconference.com
13-17 September 15th ARSPC
Alice Springs, Australia
Tel: +61 (414) 971 349
Internet: www.15.arpc.com
14-17 September 10th International Conference on LiDAR
Applications for Assessing Forest Ecosystems
Freiburg, Germany
E-mail: silvilaser2010@felis.uni-freiburg.de
Internet: www.silvilaser.de
September 15, COMPASS10
Alexander Hotel, Dublin, Ireland
www.compass.ie/Events/Compass10AnnualConference.aspx
15-17 September International Conference on Spatial Data
Infrastructures 2010
Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
E-mail: sdiconf2010@gmail.com
Internet: http://sdi2010.agisee.org
17 September E.H. Thompson Centenary Seminar
London, U.K.
Internet: www.cege.ucl.ac.uk/events/uclgeo60
19-21 September G-spatial EXPO
Yokohama, Japan
E-mail: g-expo@gsi.go.jp
Internet: www.g-expo.jp
20-23 September SPIE Remote Sensing
Toulouse, France
Internet: http://spie.org/x6262.xml
20-23 September Xth Anniversary International Scientific
and Technical Conference From imagery to map: digital
photogrammetric technologies
Gaeta, Italy
E-mail: conference@racurs.ru
Internet: www.racurs.ru
21-24 September ION GNSS 2010
Portland, OR, Oregon Convention Center, U.S.A.
Tel: +1 (703) 383-9688
E-mail: membership@ion.org
Internet: www.ion.org/meetings
22 September International Rail Advisory Council
Tube Lines, Canary Wharf, London
Internet: www.intergraph.com/global/uk/
transport/IRAC.aspx
22 september, LI GeoCloud 2010
Washington DC, United States
email: info@locationintelligence.net
Internet: www.locationintelligence.net/index.php
22-24 September GEO India 2010
New Delhi Expo XXI, India
Internet: www.oesallworld.com
23-24 September Tutorial on 3D City Modelling
Skudai, Johor, Universiti Teknologi, Malaysia
Tel: +607 553 0806
Fax: +607 556 6163
E-mail: alias@utm.my
Internet: www.fksg.utm.my/Research_Group/3dgis/activities/
3DGIS%20Brochure.pdf
28-30 September AGI GeoCommunity 10
Stratford-upon-Avon, Holiday Inn, U.K.
Internet: www.agigeocommunity.com
28 September-01 October GIS-Pro 2010: URISAs 48th
Annual Conference for GIS Professionals
Orlando, FL, U.S.A.
E-mail: wnelson@urisa.org
Internet: www.urisa.org
October
04-08 October Latin American Remote Sensing Week 2010
Santiago, Chile
E-mail: lars@saf.cl
Internet: www.lars.cl
05-07 October INTERGEO 2010
Cologne, Cologne Exhibition Centre, Germany
Internet: www.intergeo2010.de
17-20 October 2010 ESRI Electric & Gas User Group
Conference
Dearborn, MI, USA
Tel: +1 909-793-2853, ext. 4347
E-mail: egug@esri.com
Internet: www.esri.com/egugconference
18-20 October 2010 ESRI Health GIS Conference
Denver, CO, USA
Tel: +1 909-793-2853, ext. 3743
E-mail: healthgis@esri.com
Internet: www.esri.com/healthgis
19-21 October ENC GNSS 2010
Braunschweig, Germany
Tel: +49 (228) 20197 0
Fax: +49 (228) 20197 19
E-mail: dgon.bonn@t-online.de
Internet: www.enc-gnss2010.org
19-22 October GSDI-12 Global Conference
Singapore
Internet: www.gsdi.org
25-27 October HDS Worldwide User Conference
San Ramon, CA, U.S.A.
Internet: http://hds.leica-geosystems.com/en/
Events_6441.htm?id=6896
26-28 October ESRI EMEA UC 2010
Rome, Italy
E-mail: info@esriitalia.it
Internet: www.esriitalia.it
November
03-04 November 5th International Workshop on 3D
Geo-Information
Berlin, Germany
Internet: www.igg.tu-berlin.de/3dgeoinfo
07-10 November Carlsons 3rd Annual User Conference
Louisville, U.S.A.
Internet: www.carlsonsw.com/CarlsonConference3Home.html
08-10 November Trimble Dimensions 2010
The Mirage, Las Vegas, U.S.A.
Internet: www.trimbledimensions.com
15-17 November Joint FIG Comm3 and Comm 7 Workshop
Information and Land Management
Sofia, Bulgaria
Tel: +359 (2) 855 8752
E-mail: fig-meeting@kig-bg.org
Internet: www.conference.kig-bg.org
15-18 November ASPRS 2010 Fall Conference
Orlando, FL,Doubletree Hotel,U.S.A.
Internet: www.asprs.org/orlando2010
17-18 November Tracking and Positioning Europe
Amsterdam, Marriott Hotel, The Netherlands
Tel: +44 (0)20 375 7196
E-mail: osman@thewherebusiness.com
Internet: www.thewherebusiness.com/tracking
19-20 November SMARTdoc Heritage Recording and
information Management in the Digital Age
Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
E-mail: info@smartdocheritage.org
Internet: www.smartdocheritage.org
23-25 November Map Africa 2010
Cape Town, Cape Town International Convention Center,
South Africa
Tel: +91 9313292284
Fax: +91 1204612555/666
E-mail: vaishali.dixit@gisdevelopment.net
Internet: http://mapafrica.gisdevelopment.net
24-26 November Tri-Organisation-Conference
Geo-Information and Information Management for
Farms, Agribusiness and Administration
Bonn, Germany
29 November-03 December 5th International Congress
Go-Tunis
Tunesia
Internet: www.geotunis.org
30 November-01 December European LiDAR Mapping
Forum
The Hague, The Netherlands
Tel: +44 (0)1453 836363
E-mail: info@lidarmap.net
Internet: www.lidarmap.org/ELMF
December
02 December StreetMapper 2010 International User
Conference
The Hague, The Netherlands
Tel: +44 (870) 442 9400
E-mail: info@3dlasermapping.com
Internet: www.3dlasermapping.com
www.lidarmap.or
07-08 December SPAR Europe 2010
Amsterdam,RAI Convention Center, The Netherlands
Internet: www.sparllc.com
Please feel free to e-mail your calendar notices to: calendar@geoinformatics.com
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INTERGEO 2010

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