April 2012 : Photogrammetry

Pric

e:IN

R 1

50 /

US

$ 15

S

ubsc

riber

’s c

opy.

Not

for S

ale

R.N

.I N

o -

UP

EN

G/2

01

0/3

41

53

R

eg

istr

ati

on

no

: U

P/G

BD

-13

6/2

011

-13

Pu

bli

ca

tio

nP

ub

lic

ati

on

: 1

0:

10

thth

of

ev

ery

mo

nth

I

o

f e

ve

ry m

on

th

I P

os

tin

gP

os

tin

g:

15

: 1

5thth

/ 2

0/

20

thth

of

ev

ery

mo

nth

of

ev

ery

mo

nth

ISSN 2277 - 3134ISSN 2277 - 3134

APRILAPRIL 20122012 VOLVOL 0202 ISSUEISSUE 0909

www.geospatialworld.netYOUR GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

Ready for Take-off…with Hexagon Geosystems

For further information please visit http://di.leica-geosystems.comwww.ziimaging.com

Innovative and market-leading imaging technologies for all airborne mapping applications.

Hexagon Geosystems will continue to offer complete and

innovative end-to-end solutions, including

New Leica ALS70 LiDAR family

New Leica RCD30 Medium Format Camera (RGBN)

New Leica ADS80 SH9x Airborne Digital Sensor

New Z/I DMCII family with DMCII 140, 230 and 250

Complete and “Best in Class” Suite of Flight Planning,

Flight Management and Postprocessing software

Customers looking for dedicated solutions to generate

professional geospatial data and maps, to extract

features and information as well as to create highly

accurate 3D environments can now choose from one

vendor the sensor solution that best fits their applica-

tion and best suits their business model.

110463_Takeoff_Ad_7_75x10_25inch.indd 1 21.07.11 11:13

IS YOUR GIS AT A GRIDLOCK, LIMITED TO A FEW, CONTAINED AND LOCKED AWAY?

Between those working with a heavy and hard-to-use desktop GIS and a static lightweight browser-based GIS exists a large potential user base. GeoMedia® Smart Client makes your organization progressive, engaging individuals and departments to collectively ignite your dynamic GIS. Geographic changes are easily and interactively implemented across an enterprise-wide smart GIS, seamlessly integrating into configurable workflows. Users leverage advanced geospatial functionality via simple-to-use map-based tools, streamlining their processes and honing their expertise to build a smart GIS. Discover the power of geography and build a smarter organization with GeoMedia Smart Client.

www.intergraph.com/geospatial

Intergraph, GeoMedia Smart Client, and the Intergraph logo are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corporation. © 2012 Intergraph Corporation.

DYNAMICALLY JUMPSTART YOUR GIS

Building Permits

Urban Planning

Natural Resource Management

Cadastral Mapping

Inside...

Inside...

Geospatial World I April 20124

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

DISCLAIMERGeospatial World does not necessarily subscribe to the viewsexpressed in the publication. All views expressed in this issue arethose of the contributors. Geospatial World is not responsible for anyloss to anyone due to the information provided.

OWNER, PUBLISHER & PRINTER Sanjay Kumar PRINTED ATM. P. Printers B - 220, Phase-II, Noida - 201 301, Gautam Budh Nagar(UP) INDIA PUBLICATION ADDRESS A - 92, Sector - 52, GautamBudh Nagar, Noida, India

CORRIGENDUM: In the story “SMEs: Key to Geospatial Value Chain” in the March edition of Geospatial World, the acquisition“Trimble-Elcome Tech” in Table 3 (Primary and secondary objectives guiding acquisitions in geospatial industry) should read“Hexagon - Elcome Tech”. The error is regretted. – Editor

COVER IMAGE COURTESY: Draganfly Innovations

PRICE: INR 150/US$ 15

CHAIRMAN M P Narayanan

PUBLISHER Sanjay Kumar

PUBLICATIONS TEAMManaging Editor Prof. Arup DasguptaEditor - Europe Prof. Ian DowmanEditor - Latin America (Honorary) Tania Maria SausenSr. Associate Editor (Honorary) Dr. Hrishikesh SamantExecutive Editor Bhanu RekhaProduct Manager Shivani LalAssistant Editors Deepali Roy, Aditi Bhan, Vaibhav AroraSub-Editor Anand Kashyap

DESIGN TEAMSr. Creative Designer Deepak Kumar Graphic Designer Manoj Kumar Singh

CIRCULATION TEAMCirculation Manager Vijay Kumar Singh

07 Editorial 08 News

SPOTLIGHT

Geospatial Industry And Sustainable World Economy

Sanjay Kumar, CEO

INTERVIEW

'Leica and Z/I Imaging are complementary

rather than competing'

SENSORS - PRODUCT PROFILE

34

20

29

46

Advisory Board

Abbas Rajabifard President,GSDI Association

Jack DangermondPresident, Esri

Shailesh Nayak SecretaryMinistry of Earth SciencesGovernment of India

Mark ReichardtPresident and CEOOpen Geospatial Consortium, Inc.

Aida Opoku Mensah Director - ICT DivisionUN Economic Commission for Africa

Josef StroblDirector, Centre for Geoinformatics,University of Salzburg, Austria

Vanessa Lawrence CBDirector General and CEO,Ordnance Survey, UK

Matthew M O'ConnellPresident and CEO GeoEye

Bryn FosburghVice PresidentTrimble

Juergen DoldPresident, Hexagon Geosystems

Preetha PulusaniChairman and CEO DeepTarget Inc.

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

Kamal K SinghChairman and CEORolta Group

Cover StoryMore than information from imagery

Prof Ian Dowman, Editor - Europe

Juergen Dold

PresidentHexagon Geosystems

Jack Ickes

President, Geospatial Solutions DivisionHexagon Geosystems

&

ata is the fuel that powers geospatial systems. Acquisition of accurate and reliabledata thus becomes extremely important and this is where sensors play a signaturerole. While our eyes played this role for many years, today electronic sensors havewidened the observable spectrum. Satellites have brought in the capabilities of

synoptic viewing and repetitive coverage. From satellites, these versatile sensors havemoved back to aerial and then the ground, thus completing a cycle, as it were. Sensinghas also moved from proximate to remote and back to proximate as sensor networks.Multifunctional personal devices like cellphones and cameras now act as sensors, thusthe individual users have also become sensors. In another twist in this connected world, individuals are sensors in more ways than one. As we surf the web, 'like' and'unlike' items, 'share' and 'comment', we leave a trail which is assiduously followed by web marketers who now targetadvertisements tailored to our web presence. This is a kind ofsensing that is neither remote nor proximate, uses no spectralsignature but is nevertheless a very potent market force.

As sensors and sensing become more and more detailed andfine grained, they also run the danger of becoming insidious.Street view cameras are banned in many places due to privacyconcerns and individual preferences and spending patternslay bare our most personal details. On the flip side, we seethat this kind of sensing also lays bare the wrongdoer, be it ausurper of government land or a con artist running an online phishing scam. How do we balance these needs andconcerns? Do we shut ourselves up in a box or do we find waysof managing our information such that legitimate concernsare addressed and paranoia is avoided?

At national levels these are the concerns of many countries.With the coming of age of remote sensing and the Internet,each country has to balance its data needs against its nationalsecurity. The problem lies in the fact that the sensed data is now useful not only for government departments but equally for individuals and groups. Policies which deny andnegate are useless in this world of networks and communications. We need to look atnew paradigms of data management with as much attention as we pay to new paradigmsof data acquisition. Lawmakers and law enforcers need to be up-to-date with the new technologies as much as the scientists and engineers. Science, technology and lawcannot exist in watertight compartments. Technology will not allow it.

EditorSpeak

7Geospatial World I April 2012

Prof. Arup Dasgupta

Managing [email protected]

D

The dilemma of new age sensing

8 Geospatial World I April 2012

SOUTH AFRICA

Free access to LBS

APIs

mapIT announced free access to awide range of LBS (location-basedservices) application programminginterfaces (APIs) and services hostedin its data centre. Developers can getaccess of APIs during the develop-ment stage of an integrated digitalmapping, running on deCarta's LBSplatform. This offer is available forcompanies in sub-Saharan Africa.The LBS architecture is an integralplatform which allows developmenton J2ME, Android, iOS anddesktop/mobile Javascript platforms.In addition, the company announcedthat it can provide hosting servicesfor its production applications andresell deCarta's Drill Down Server(DDS) products.

ETHIOPIA

Climate change

impact to be mapped

Strauss Center, in partnership withAidData, developed an online map-ping tool as part of the ClimateChange and African Political Stability(CCAPS) programme. Based on Esri'stechnology, the tool aims to enableboth researchers and policymakersto visualise data specific to climatechange vulnerability, conflict and aid.It allows users to select any combi-nation of CCAPS data onto one map

to assess how myriad climate change impacts and responses intersect. It also enables users tolocate projects funded by the 27donors tracked in Malawi's Aid Management Platform.

CONGO

Natives to claim land

rights through mapping

With an aim to provide legal landrights to indigenous people ofAfrica's Congo Basin, the RainforestFoundation UK (RFUK) rolled out a"community mapping" project.RFUK's "Mapping for Rights" pro-gramme aims to train local people tomap their land using GPS devices,marking the areas they use for activi-ties such as hunting and fishing, theirsacred sites, and the routes they useto access these vital areas. The GPSinformation is used to create a defini-tive map of the land used by these

semi-nomadic communities, whichcan be used to challenge decisionsthat see them excluded from forestareas.

ZAMBIA

BongoHive maps

African tech hubs

BongoHive, an IT company, created auser-generated online map of thefast-growing network of technologyinnovation and entrepreneurship cen-tres across Africa. The map, titledHubs in Africa, uses online mappingplatform Ushahidi. 16 tech hubs havebeen plotted on the map from 13 dif-ferent countries, including the CairoHackerspace, iHub Nairobi, Co-cre-ation Hub Nigeria and Jokkolabs inSenegal. The map allows hubs to beplaced into different categories suchas business incubators, hackerspaces, technology hubs and univer-sity tech labs.

ALGERIA

President inaugurates ACSD

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, inau-gurated the Algerian Centre for Satel-lite Development (ACSD). Located inOran, the centre is an operational enti-ty of the Algerian Space Agency. Theopening of this centre is an activitycontemplated in the National SpaceProgramme - Horizon 2020. This infra-structure will allow the space agencyto build the third Algerian Alsat-2 Bsatellite, a twin of the Alsat-2 earth observation satellite. It will also provideappropriate technological environment to allow engineers and researchersto carry out activities in space technology and other related fields.

NEWS

Abdelaziz Bouteflika inaugurates ACSD

INDIA

SAC gets new

Director

Space Applications Centre (SAC),Ahmadabad, promoted A.S. KiranKumar, Associate Director of theCentre, as Director. He succeededR.R. Navalgund. Kumar joined theCentre in 1975 and contributed to the design and development of electro-optical imaging sensors for satellites in low-earth and geo-stationary orbits, starting from the television payload on theBhaskara satellites to the latest terrain mapping camera and hyper-spectral imager payloads for the Chandrayaan-1 mission.

Geospatial tech for

urban planning

Prithviraj Chavan, Chief Minister (CM)of Maharashtra asked the state'sUrban Development Department toextensively use GIS and other spatialtechnologies while creating the mas-ter plan for redevelopment, an Indiandaily reported. An exhaustive data-base of buildings (in urban areas)with exact location will be createdusing mapping software and thenuploaded on Google Earth for publicscrutiny. A senior official in the ChiefMinister's office informed that havinga complete database of these build-ings with the owner names, numberof tenants, area occupied by eachtenant and details of taxes will help make better policy decisions

regarding floor space index for redevelopment.

NORTH KOREA

EO satellite to be

launched in April

North Korea will launch Kwangmy-

ongsong-3, an earth observation (EO)satellite to mark the 100th birthanniversary of the country's founder,Kim II Sung. The late Kim was bornon April 15, 1912. A report publishedby local media observed that thesatellite would boost the country'sidentity as a peaceful space technolo-gy user. Meanwhile, the US dubbedthe satellite launch as "highly

First navigation sat to be launched this year

The first Indian navigation satellite(which will eventually form the IndianRegional Navigation Satellite System- IRNSS) will be launched this year,announced President Pratibha Patil,during a joint sitting of the Parlia-ment. The IRNSS will be a constella-tion of seven satellites having all-weather, round-the-clock coverageover the Indian landmass with anextended coverage of about 1,500 kmaround it. It will have a range of appli-cations including personal navigationand will be an answer to the US-oper-ated GPS, Russia's Glonass, European Space Agency's under-developmentGalileo and China's emerging constellation Compass.

GIS-based health info system to be set up

India will soon set up a GIS-based Citizen HealthInformation System (CHIS). It will helphealth authorities identify geographicconcentration of a disease. The bio-metric-based health information sys-tem will constantly update healthrecords of every citizen, according tothe Steering Committee on Health. Inaddition, as part of the 12th Five YearPlan (2012-17), all district hospitalswould be linked to leading tertiary carecentres through telemedicine, Skype and simi-lar audio visual media. The CHIS will make morbidity and mortality profileavailable, thus helping to estimate burden of diseases and facilitate policydecisions at state and national levels.


provocative," saying North Korea isviolating its international obligations.Previous satellite launches werewidely viewed as ballistic missile testlaunches in disguise. Japan has evenurged to abandon the launch, callingit a violation of a UN resolutionrestricting the North's use of ballisticmissile technology.

SRI LANKA

Indian surveyors to

fill local shortfall

Sri Lanka's Minister of Irrigation andWater Management Nimal Siripala deSilva announced that 200 surveyorswill be called from India to survey theland that comes under the Mahawelischeme. Addressing a function heldin Mahaweli B zone (in Sri Lanka), heobserved that local surveyors failedto accomplish the Mahaweli landsurveying job and that private survey-ors also did not respond adequatelyto the government demand.

SOUTH KOREA

Telecom firms

accused of misusing

location data

Sub-contractors of two South Koreanmobile carriers sold location infor-mation of 200,000 customers, report-ed a local daily. The report observedthat this theft highlighted lacunae inthe protection of location informationand is a grave infringement of theprivacy of subscribers. The reportfurther stated that the data were soldto private detectives. Last year,

authorities used location technologyto trace 120,000 criminal suspects,although it is unclear whether theyused the information only in strictaccordance with the law.

BAHRAIN

GeoEye measures

inland area expansion

The overall inland area of Bahrainexpanded to 765.3 sq km last year, up from 759 sq km in 2010. "The newarea of Bahrain has been measuredby GeoEye satellite at 41-centimetreresolution," announced Dr KhalidAbdulrahman Al Haidan, Director,Central Informatics Organisation(CIO) Geographic Information Systems. Six years ago, the area ofBahrain was 741.1 sq km beforeexpanding to 757.9 sq km in 2009.The mapping exercise is helping the

country to explore ways to accommo-date the ever-increasing populationthat recently touched one millionmark and to keep track of urbanexpansion.

CHINA

'70 pc satnav devices

problematic'

Over 70 percent of satellite navigation(satnav) devices in the Chinese mar-ket failed to pass a recent sample


VIETNAM

VAST selects SPACEBEL for EO satellite

Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology(VAST) signed contractual pre-agreementswith Belgium-based SPACEBEL, for thesupply of an earth observation (EO) mini-satellite, VNREDSat-1B (Vietnam NaturalResources, Environment & Disaster Moni-toring satellite). The satellite is scheduled tobe launched in 2017. In addition, the countryalso signed Belgian Government's letter forthe provision of an additional EUR 3 millionto the EUR 63 million credit meant for theproject. Weighing 130 kg, the satellite willplay an important role in the field of naturalresources management and will also help detect pollution in the sea andminimise the impact of natural disasters.

Vietnam's first satellite, Vinasat-1

11

inspection carried out by experts,Chinese media reported. Out of atotal of 18 different devices, producedby 13 major firms, only 5 devices pro-duced by three different factories,could pass the inspection. Accordingto the report, the 54th ResearchInstitute of China Electronics Tech-nology Group Corporation carried outthe sample test of navigation devices,in accordance with the general speci-fication for in-vehicle GPS navigationsystem and certification rules forsatellite navigation devices, betweenOctober 2011 and February 2012across 19 regions of the country.

Expert calls for new

space policy

China needs its own space law toprotect its rights in outer space aswell as to regulate its domestic spaceactivities, said Hu Hao, Deputy Com-mander-in-Chief of the lunar explo-ration centre under the Commissionof Science, Technology and Industryof National Defence (COSTIND). Hu, adeputy to the country's top legisla-ture, the National People's Congress,made this call during the annual leg-islative session. Hu observed that thelaw should involve the regulation ofthe commercialisation of satelliteremote sensing data services, assome remote sensing data serviceproviders, including Google Earth,have exposed important and sensitiveinformation on the Internet, causingwidespread concern and controversy.

Reporting system gets

g-power

Wuda Geoinformatics (GeoStar)developed a map-based reportingsystem for the Changjiang - Pearl

River Watershed Rehabilitation Pro-ject (CPRWRP) MIS. The map showsthe location and type of differentplots and measures, as well as thestatus of implementation as an over-lay on topography, major roads,streams and administrative bound-aries, thus enabling on-site verifica-tion of project progress. The projectarea comprises of 180 mountainousor hilly sub-watersheds in 37 coun-ties in Hubei, Yunnan, Guizhou andChongqing. A USD 100 million loan byWorld Bank, European Union (EU)grant of 10 million Euros and a Gov-

ernment of China contribution of USD88 million financed the project.

New system for quake

prediction

China developed a system to monitorthe movement of the earth's crustand predict earthquakes, accordingto an official of the China EarthquakeAdministration. The system, worthapprox USD 83.2 million, is based onglobal navigation satellite system(GNSS). It involves a network of 260constant observing stations and 2,000part-time observing stations withdata processing technology. It willalso be used for weather forecastingand scientific research, among otherpurposes. The new network joins theUS Plate Boundary Observation sys-tem and Japan's GEONE as the mostadvanced means of observing themovement of the earth's crust.


PHILIPPINES

Cadastral survey to curb boundary conflicts

The Department of Environ-ment and Natural ResourcesRegion 4B commissioned aCadastral Survey Project inthe municipalities ofMagsaysay and Calintaan,Occidental Mindoro. The sur-vey will be implemented inthree phrases. The first phase will see installation of new geodetic controlpoints using the numerical computation of coordinates under the Philip-pine Reference System Series of 1992. The second phase will be theinstallation of the barangay boundaries and mapping of the municipalitieswhile the last phase will cover the identification of owners in all barangays.Project surveyor, Eng Polly Alberto, explained that the survey will help res-idents to get title of their lands smoothly and thus curb boundary conflicts.


FRANCE

Partnership for cloud

platform

A consortium of leading IT providersand three of Europe's biggestresearch centres (CERN, EMBL andESA) formed a partnership to launcha European cloud computing plat-form, Helix Nebula - the ScienceCloud. The platform aims to supportthe IT requirements of European sci-entists. During a two-year pilotphase, using Helix Nebula, the Euro-pean Space Agency (ESA), in partner-

ship with the Centre National d'E-tudes Spatiales (CNES), and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) will collaborate with the NationalResearch Council (CNR) in Italy, tocreate an earth observation platformfocusing on earthquake and volcanoresearch. This undertaking is done inthe framework of the Group on EarthObservations (GEO), a voluntary part-nership of governments and interna-tional organisations.

Satellite maps earth's

crust and mantle

The European Space Agency (ESA)released the first global high-resolu-tion map of the boundary betweenthe earth's mantle and its crust (theMoho). The agency used data fromthe GOCE (Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer)satellite. The GOCE Exploitation forMoho Modeling and Applicationsproject (GEMMA) plans to study theway the ocean moves and circulates.With a better understanding of oceancirculation, scientists hope to learnmore about the earth's interior, as

well as changes in sea-level and theway energy is exchanged globally viaoceanic movement.

Pol-InSAR sat maps

forest height

Scientists at the European SpaceAgency (ESA) revealed that Polari-metric InSAR (Pol-InSAR) satellitedata can be exploited to map forestheight, 3D forest structure and theirnatural or anthropogenic disturbancewith high spatial resolution and accu-racy. Pol-InSAR is a remote sensing

Astrium eyeing satellite firm

Astrium, a subsidiary of the EuropeanAeronautic Defence and Space Company(EADS), is "generally interested" inacquiring one of the two satellite imageryproviders, GeoEye Inc or DigitalGlobe Incand would look carefully at a deal if theprice was affordable, according to EvertDudok, Chief Executive of Astrium Satel-lites. In conversation with Reuters, Dudokstated that the company's parent, EADS, was actively looking for takeovertargets in the US, and either of the top two companies would be a good fitwith Astrium, which is ranked No. 3 in the geospatial information market.

'Space budgets hit

ceiling'

Euroconsult, a market researchfirm, announced that globalbudgets for space programmesreached a ceiling of USD 70 bil-lion. It also confirmed slowdownin expansion experienced by thespace industry in the last 10years, which will continue for thenext five years due to Europeanpublic debt crisis and theUS Budget Control Act2011. According to thereport, during 2011,earth observation &meteorology budgetwas USD 9 billion (15percent of total budg-et), which was 16 per-cent more than 2010.Similarly, budget fornavigation satellitewas USD 3.2 billion(5 percent of totalbudget), whichwas 5 percentmore than2010.

Cloud computing during Japan’s earthquake

Esri® CityEngine®

Create High-Quality 3D Content

Design urban layouts in 3D for analysis and review.

Model 3D environments for entertainment and simulation.

Quickly create 3D models using real-world 2D GIS data.

Copyright © 2012 Esri. All rights reserved. Esri, the Esri globe logo, and esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. CityEngine is a registered trademark of Procedural AG and is distributed under license by Esri. Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

Download your free 30-day trial at

esri.com/gswce

G52809_P_CityEngine_P0312.indd 1 3/20/12 10:58 AM


technique, based on polarimetricinformation in Synthetic ApertureRadar (SAR) images. For the firsttime, they assessed the performanceof Pol-InSAR over tropical forestenvironments of the Indonesianisland of Borneo.

TAJIKISTAN

World Bank to fund

cadastre project

Tajik officials recently signed anagreement with the World Bank (WB).As part of the agreement, the WB,through its International Develop-ment Association, will fund USD 10million to help register farmlandsand create a cadastre system in thecountry. This initiative will help thecountry in expanding the restructur-ing of farmland holdings and enableofficials to give farmers certificatesentitling them to use land. Comple-tion of these projects is scheduled forMarch 2015.

RUSSIA

Rosreestr to unify real

estate databases

The Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartogra-phy (Rosreestr) rolled out a project to unify real estate information systems in the Russian Federation. It will cover activities of all regionaloffices, subordinated institutions andrelated organisations in the Federa-tion's 81 subjects. The project will enable paper-free delivery of information from Rosreestr's datarecording systems to all interested

state and municipal institutions. It isdue for completion by 2014 and has received funding from the statebudget of the Russian Federation and World Bank.

GLONASS stations

planned in 34 countries

Ground support stations forGLONASS positioning system will be set up in 34 countries across the globe, according to RussianSpace Systems General Director andGeneral Designer Yury Urlichich. Inconversation with media, he said,"Negotiations with ten to fifteencountries are nearing completion,which include Australia." RussianSpace Systems has all the necessaryresources to install such stations innearly 20 countries and threeGLONASS stations are already operating in Antarctica, Urlichichinformed.

MALTA

MEPA to map

archipelago in 3D

In a bid to accurately map Malteseislands in 3D, the Malta Environmentand Planning Authority (MEPA) com-pleted a 3D aerial survey using LiDARtechnology. All data from this projectwill be available on a web portal,known as Shared Environmental

Information System (SEIS), which will be launched in June 2013. Following these surveys, MEPA will

GERMANY

Berlin Conference approves UNIDROIT

Protocol

Delegates of International Insti-tute for the Unification of PrivateLaw (UNIDROIT) and its 63 mem-ber states approved UNIDROITSpace Assets Protocol during theBerlin Conference. However, theEuropean Satellite Operators'Association (ESOA), the US Satel-lite Industry Association (SIA), the Space Industry Association of Australia,the Canadian Satellite and Space Industry Forum, the Cable and SatelliteBroadcasting Association of Asia and the Global VSAT Forum stronglyopposed it. They believe that the Protocol will increase the cost of satellitefinancing and make it extremely difficult for developing nations to benefitfrom the delivery of satellite services.

Cou

rtes

y: w

ww

.airl

iner

s.ne

t

Geospatial World I April 2012 15

be able to generate digital terrain 3D models, which can be used forvarious applications such as urbanand transport planning, environmen-tal impact assessments, modelling of runoff water and monitoring ofland use.

UK

OS to form

GI communities

Ordnance Survey (OS) launched anew professional accreditation pro-gramme. Under the programme, OSwill form two communities for theaccredited consultants and accredit-ed technical specialists. They willwork with the OS in supporting, andproviding technical advice to govern-ment, commercial and internationalcustomers. The accredited consult-ants will be independent experts witha track record in providing externalconsultancy on strategic planning,design and implementation. Similarly, the accredited technicalspecialists will be individuals with atrack record of providing technicalconsultancy.

'GPS personal tracking

market booming'

Global GPS personal tracking devicesand applications market will be worthUSD 1 billion in 2017. It will grow at aCAGR of 40 percent, claimed ABIResearch in its report, PersonalLocation Devices and ApplicationsMarket. Senior analyst Patrick Con-nolly explained, "The hardware mar-ket remained below 100,000 units in2011. However, it is forecast to reach2.5 million units in 2017." He added,

"We are also seeing the first signs ofleading consumer electronics com-

panies entering the market, such asQualcomm, Apple (via PocketFinder),Garmin, Cobra, etc. There will also be significant partnerships andacquisitions in this space as newentrants look to add tracking to theirportfolio."

SERBIA

Central system for

geospatial data

Serbia's Minister of Environment,

Mining and Spatial Planning Oliver Dulic inaugurated Infoterra Geo Information System(IGIS), a central geospatial data system, at the Serbian GeodeticAuthority centre. The French govern-ment's Investment Directorate hadawarded a loan of EUR 11 million,while the Geodetic Authority gaveEUR 5 million for the project. Dulic stated that Serbia is the first in

the region to open such centre and will provide assistance to neighbouring countries so that theycould develop a modern system forgeo information.

SPAIN

Tool to retrieve georeferenced images

In a bid to make the best use of infor-mation available on social networkingwebsites during a crisis, researchersat the University Carlos III of Madrid(UC3M) developed the eStorys tool. Itallows people to retrieve georefer-enced images uploaded on a socialnetworking website, place them onmaps and organise them as a comicbook, to create visual perspective of a particular incident. The system hasbeen created in collaboration with the University of Rome and aims to helpprofessionals involved in emergency management to obtain data andimages to understand how citizens perceive such situations and detectfaults and areas for improvement.


Open Spatial acquires Munsys

Open Spatialannounced theacquisition ofMunsys, a lead-ing softwaredevelopmentcompany, and allits associatedtrademarks andpatents. As aresult of the acquisition, Open Spatial will now control thesales and support businesses of Munsys in North Ameri-ca, Africa and Australia. Anthony Jahshan, CEO of thegroup said, "Our new developments will focus on inte-grating Building Information Models (BIM) through CADinto asset management and GIS. Besides, it also aims toprepare customers for advanced network analysis, waterloss and leak detection by drawing on live informationfrom multiple sources in the field."

All buildings to be mapped in 3D

A group of publicand private bod-ies partnered tocreate the VirtualAustralia & NewZealand Initiative(VANZI), whichaims to create a3D virtual modelof every building.Under the initiative, apps will be provided to individuals tocreate data about their own properties. To maintain priva-cy, homeowners won't be able to see over their fence to aneighbour's backyard. VANZI's mission is to work withowners of spatial data and devise ways for more effectiveonline sharing. VANZI has been brought into existence bythe Co-Operative Research Centre for Spatial Informa-tion, the Victorian Partnership for Advanced Computing,the Australian Logistics Council, the Municipal Associa-tion of Victoria and National ICT Australia.


BUSINESS

Bentley acquires

elcoSystem product

line

Bentley Systems acquired theelcoSystem software business ofHannappel Software GmbH, based-inWiesbaden, Germany. Under a distri-bution agreement with Hannappel,the elcoSystem line of software forelectrical engineering is already afundamental component of Bentley'sRaceway and Cable Management andBuilding Electrical Systems offerings.This acquisition will further enhanceBentley's ability to deliver the next

level of intelligent and efficient elec-trical engineering workflows across awider range of use cases. BentleyRaceway and Cable Management V8iuniquely integrates functional designwith detailed physical design andincludes a wide range of 2D and 3Ddesign tools.

DigitalGlobe inks

deal with Baidu

DigitalGlobe signed a contract withChina's most influential Internetsearch portal, Baidu. As part of theagreement, DigitalGlobe will providethe search engine with high-resolu-tion satellite imagery of 344 Chinesecities. Hence, third-party developerswill get increased functionality in theBaidu Maps application programminginterface (API) for location-basedservices. It will also enable Baidu to

provide its end-users with a morerobust online mapping experience.DigitalGlobe considers China as oneof its most strategic geographic mar-kets and establishing this relation-ship with Baidu is an important stepin strengthening its position in theChinese consumer segment.

Demand for OSM

data surges

Recently, location-based service(LBS) providers, FourSquare andApple dropped Google Maps andembraced OpenStreetMap (OSM).FourSquare contacted MapBox tocreate maps using the OSM data in atechnology called MapBox Streets,which now powers Foursquare.com.This solution was deemed the bestbecause the maps are being con-stantly updated and there is moreflexibility for Foursquare to changethings like colours and fonts. On theother hand, experts found Appleusing OSM data (without attributingit) during the launch of its new iPad,which is embedded with lots of inno-vative features. One of the key fea-tures is the photo editing application,iPhoto. It can be used to geo-tag pho-tos by placing them on a digital map.

Baidu Map Satellite View (Tian'anmen)

GeoEye right on growth track

Amid speculations of a budget cut, GeoEye assured its investors that it fullyexpects to receive a USD 111 million payment from its principal US govern-ment customer by June. The payment will be made under the terms of acontract calling for the government to share the costs of the company'shigh-resolution GeoEye-2 optical earth observation satellite. Earlier, thecompany announced results for its fiscal year (FY) 2011. Total revenues forthe twelve months ended on December 31, 2011, wereUSD 356.4 million, an 8 percent increasefrom USD 330.3 million inthe FY 2010. In addi-tion, the companybagged a multi-year,multi-million dollar con-tract from GE Aviation,under which GE Aviationwill utilise GeoEye 3D Airportsand Terrain/Obstacle databas-es produced from GeoEye'sstereo satellite imagery.


POLICY AND EDUCATION

FBI shuts down GPS

trackers

A recent ruling on GPS trackingprompted the US Federal Bureau ofInvestigation (FBI) to turn off about3,000 tracking devices, according toFBI General Counsel Andrew Weiss-mann. He was addressing a confer-ence at the University of San Francis-co. The Supreme Court ruling on USvs. Jones, which found that placing aGPS tracker without a warrant con-stituted an illegal search, has appar-ently caused a "sea change" in theBureau, leading it to draft broaderguidelines for both GPS device useand related questions regarding theright to privacy.

Dilemma over

geographic education

In an era of widespread adoption ofgeospatial technology, dilemma overimportance of geographic educationcontinues in the US. Recently, the

Oklahoma State Department of Edu-cation withdrew funds from teachertraining programmes for geographiceducation. But, National GeographicSociety's education foundationoffered a USD 32,000 grant to theNew Mexico State University to boostgeography education across thestate.

According to Douglas A Hurt, Associate Professor at the Universityof Central Oklahoma, geography illit-eracy is pervasive in many Americanschools. A 2010 survey of more than26,000 students showed that onlyone-fourth of students in the fourth,eighth and 12th grades scored at a"proficient" level.

APPLICATIONS

NASA to upgrade

positioning systems

NASA is leading an effort to build aprototype station that will go beyondcurrent scientific requirements andserve the navigation satellites of thefuture, according to Herbert Frey,Head of the Planetary Geodynamics

Laboratory at Goddard and a mem-ber of the Space Geodesy Projectteam. With the 'vector tie' system,the agency will upgrade and interlinkGPS, very long baseline interferome-try (VLBI), satellite laser ranging(SLR) and doppler orbitography andradiopositioning (DORIS). 'Vector tie'system will use a laser to continu-ously monitor the reference points.

OR-SAGE to boost

power generation

Oak Ridge National Laboratory(ORNL) developed a technology tostreamline and strengthen theprocess for siting power plants. TheOak Ridge Siting Analysis for PowerGeneration Expansion, or OR-SAGE,aims to enhance the nation's energysecurity. It utilises GIS data in addi-tion to ORNL's LandScan database,examines millions of cells and simul-taneously determines their suitabilityfor the various types of power gener-ation. "OR-SAGE takes into accountavailability of water, identifies suffi-cient land areas that are suitable tomeet nominal requirements for thefootprint of the various types of plants

and impacts on siting future plants interms of increases in population anddemand for water," said Gary Mays,project manager at ORNL. "Ultimate-ly, the tool allows for the flexible useof screening criteria for candidate

Banking firm acquires LBS company

Green Dot Corp, a banking and payment services firm,acquired Loopt, a location-based-services com-pany, for a whopping USD 43.4 million.Loopt holds several patents that are appli-cable to mobile marketing in the context oflocation-based messaging delivered real-time to amobile handset. Green Dot believes that thesepatents will be important strategic assets as it pur-sues its mobile business opportunities. The bankingfirm is planning to integrate Loopt into its operationsto improve customer acquisition and retention of itscurrent prepaid debit cards.


site comparisons and enhances theability to assess energy needs."

Geospatial tech

exposes meth labs

Using geospatial predictive analyticstechnique, Max Lu and Jessica Burnum, from the Kansas State University, developed a novel methodof finding methamphetamine labseven before they open. They exam-ined Colorado Springs’ data collectedduring 2002 to 2005 on seized methlab equipment and where roguechemists dumped the toxic by-prod-ucts of methamphetamine manufac-ture.

Map data analysed over time successfully demonstrated thespread of meth labs throughout themetropolitan area--and even predict-ed where they would pop up next.Police departments such as Lowell,Massachussetts, and New Haven,Connecticut, are using similar meth-ods to Lu's to find blocks likely tohost discreet drug dealers or where

car break-ins will take place.

UN to develop

multi-scale datasets

The UN Cartographic Section (UNCS)is planning to develop global multi-scale geospatial datasets (or UNmap)for rapid map production and webmapping to support the SecurityCouncil and the Secretariat includingUN field missions. Currently, aninterim version of UNmap in scalesof 1:1 million, 1:5 million and 1:10million are in the final stages of completion. These maps are beingused as primary geo-databases forUNCS and UN field missions. Thepurpose of UNmap is to develop andmaintain a spatial data infrastructure(integrated with the datasets of UNinternational boundaries and SecondAdministrative Level Boundaries aswell as UN Gazetteer) for UN needsthat will provide a single homoge-neous dataset of global geospatialfeatures of the world for any mappingpurpose.

ForWarn to make forest monitoring easier

The United States Department ofAgriculture (USDA) unveiled For-Warn. It is a satellite-based natu-ral resource monitoring andassessment tool. It recognisesand tracks potential forest distur-bances caused by insects, dis-eases, wildfires, extreme weath-er, or other natural or human-caused events. The prototype version of ForWarn is using MODIS satelliteimagery to recognise and track changes in vegetation across the US, pro-viding a near-real-time view of potential forest disturbance and recovery. Ituses a web-based map tool, the Forest Change Assessment Viewer, to pro-vide an eight-day, coast-to-coast snapshot of the US landscape, interpretimages and create geographically relevant maps.

UNASUR agrees for

space agency

Defence ministers of the Union ofSouth American Nations (UNA-SUR) agreed to set up a SouthAmerican space agency during ameeting of the Defence Council ofUNASUR. The ministers alsoagreed to commission a workinggroup for the design, developmentand joint production of unmannedaerial vehicle (UAVs). The SouthAmerican Defence Council ofUNASUR comprises of Argentina,Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru,Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

National Cadastre

Project commences

As part of the '2010-2030 NationalDevelopment Strategy', DominicanRepublic commissioned firstphase of the National CadastreProject. It comprises 395,000cadastral units of the national dis-tricts. This initiative will create asource of urban real estate cadas-tral information and will run forthree years thus benefiting abouttwo million inhabitants of thetowns mentioned above. Underthis project, the National CadastreDirectorate is promoting an insti-tutional modernisation. The mod-ernisation includes: a new law onland registration, the adoption ofnew technologies, team training,and updating processes / method-ologies for cadastral activities.


PSLV C12 launching RISAT-2. Image Courtesy ISRO

SPOTLIGHT

oving forward with sustainability is no more a subject matter ofintellectual discussion.Instead, today, it is a

harsh reality of human civilisation.However, the scope and definition ofsustainability has expanded manifoldto include much larger issues andessential utilities and requisitions ofday-to-day life. The inherent con-sumerism of growth/developmenthas constantly evolved luxuries intocommodities causing incrementalper capita consumption.

Globalisation of economy

and polity

Globalisation of economy is another

reality today. There has never beenmore inter-dependency ofeconomies as now and the depend-encies are only anticipated to grow.Industrial processes are beingdesigned in such a manner that pro-duction is split in different economiczones and products are being mar-keted globally. This is making theproduction viable, simultaneouslymaking the products cost-effective.Today, every local action has globalreaction and every global challengeinfluences local living.

The trend is no different in thepolitical systems. One can very wellforesee how a few political systemsare determined to establish particu-lar political ideologies and culture

around the world, so as to create andpromote processes and practicessuitable to pursue their ideology of'one world.'

Increasing demand for

resources

Without getting into the merits anddemerits of the above, I would like toconcentrate on the globalisation ofresources and their judicious utilisa-tion by the citizens of the world. Considering ourselves as part of oneworld, each of us needs to worktogether and exploit/utilise our nichedomain expertise for the larger goalsof preserving world resources andmanaging the economies.

Several organisations around the

M

20

Geospatial

Industry And

Sustainable

World

Economy

Geospatial technology, in synergy with several other technologies, has the potential to play a critical role in suporting and sustaining the increasing global population with limited resources. Here's a snapshot of the immediate actions required on various fronts to harness thispotential and make geospatial industry a valuable industry contributing to the world economy

world,including

the UnitedNations, have been

busy making projectionswith regard to growing popu-

lation, their socioeconomic behav-iour and have been coming up withstatistical analyses and forecasts ofconsumption of resources. Theseprojections provide valuable, relevantand relative directions with regard tothe prospects and challenges of ourworld in the next few decades. Theprojections by different organisationsmay vary but the variation is not farfrom reality. The bottomline of allthese projections is that the chal-lenge of supporting and sustainingthe increasing population with limit-ed resources is only getting arduousby the day. Added to this is the constant increase in consumption,making the wedge between demandand supply even larger.

This challenge makes it impera-tive for us to effectively and judi-ciously use the existing (and fastdepleting) resources of the planet;

explore ways and also plan for theincreasing demand. Given that thereis no indication of migration of people and sharing of resourcesbetween and amongst the planets ofthis universe in the foreseeablefuture, human beings have to fendfor themselves!

Asking for better

understanding and

management of resources

So, what are our options? Should weattempt to halt the rise in populationor should we reduce the per capitaconsumption by making theresources prerogative of an exclusivefew? Truly speaking, there is enoughfor all of us and we all can cherishthese resources to our requirements(of course within the given principlesof economy of scale and affordabilityto consume). All we need to do is toput our acts together and makeeffective use of our scientific knowl-edge while having control over our

socioeconomic behaviour. What isrequired is to look at tomorrowthrough the lens of tomorrow's reali-ties and develop our strategies withan aim to sustain the coming gener-ations.

There are several instrumentsexisting today, which when puttogether, can create a better tomor-row. It is a general belief that ourimagination is limited only by our

own knowledge which is again limit-ed by our ability to understand theworld we live in. However, develop-ments in the past one century havesurpassed our imagination manytimes. Information technology and itsadoption have allowed us to captureevery possible asset/resource andprocess the same for better utilisa-tion. Most important of all is to cre-ate awareness about the same tolarger groups of people through efficient communication networks.

I believe the only way to a bettertomorrow is to understand and man-

age world resources better; deployefficient, effective and productiveprocesses while harnessing theseresources and create better net-worked distribution systems of thesecommodities to global citizens andreduce wastage, pilferage and losses.

Geospatial industry:

A promising industry with

a potential role

Geospatial industry provides themost effective means to achieve thisscenario. In view of several existingdefinitions of geospatial technologyand industry, I put forward my viewto support my argument. 'Geospatial'encompasses in itself anything andeverything that is geo-referencedand spatial in its characteristic andcontent. 'Geospatial industry' is any-thing and everything that is associat-ed with science, technology and


55% increase in water demand by 2050

69% of world population will be inurban areas by 2050

application of geospatial data. Nothaving studied the subject ofgeospatial at major or masters’ level,I have no technical understanding ofthis wonderful technology. However,this has always made me think andact as a user. I have been quite fortu-nate to be associated with severalkey stakeholders of this community/industry for more than a decade atlocal, regional and global levels.

I am a firm believer that geospa-tial industry has the potential to bethe 'game changer' industry intomorrow's world order. Geospatialtechnology and its' synergy with sev-eral other technologies like informa-tion technology, design and engi-neering, wireless and telecommuni-cations offer the most appropriatesolutions in understanding and man-aging world resources. Major eco-nomic sectors including mining,exploration, energy, water, housing,transportation, infrastructure andtelecommunications are beginning touse geospatial technology to betterunderstand their business domains,processes and assets. They aredeploying essential geospatial tools

at enterprise level to make theirprocesses more efficient, productiveand viable. But what we have seen sofar is just the beginning. Therein liesthe true opportunity for geospatialindustry to play its due role and cre-ate an industry which can standtogether with other major industriesin creating a better and sustainabletomorrow. I would like to now touchupon some of the steps needed torealise the true potential of geospa-tial technology in managing worldresources better and contributing tothe world economy.

Defining and raising the

profile of geospatial

industry

There is an urgent need to define‘geospatial industry,’ which is at themoment compartmentalised intoGIS, surveying, imaging, laser scan-ning and so on. Fundamentally, theindustry deals with geospatial infor-mation and the different tools beingused to create/generate geospatialdata of different kinds at differentscales. The output of all these exer-cises is nothing but a 'map' whichadds value to several other associat-ed datasets that help users to under-stand and manage their businesses.Positioning these as separate andindependent businesses has shortterm benefits. However, all thesebusiness entities have 'geospatial' incommon and it is imperative thatthey come together to achieve thelarger goals.

Having defined the geospatialindustry, the next critical need is to

raise the profile of geospatial indus-try at all levels. Enough momentumhas been provided by several path-breaking developments like GoogleEarth, Bing Maps and several navi-gation products. They have createdawareness about spatial contentamongst masses. However, theyhave not been able to provide therequired push to geospatial industryper se. As of today, geospatial indus-try is yet to be seen as an industry initself, leave alone making a differ-ence/contribution to the economy.

Industry organisation is equallyimportant, if not more. Today, theworld industry does not recognise'geospatial industry' as a potentialvalue creating technology and indus-try. Every major economic domain iswell recognised as an 'industry',including information technology,engineering, energy, mining and oiland gas. These 'industries' includeall stakeholders like policy makers,users, academicians, technologydevelopers and solution/serviceproviders pertaining to the domain.However, 'geospatial industry' stillrefers to private companies only. Thisindustry has always been projectedmore as a sector providing technicalknow-how instead of an industry initself. However, over the past twodecades, 'geospatial' has alsoevolved as an industry wherein sev-eral companies have come forwardto deliver complete solutions andproducts for consumer and profes-sional markets. This definitely callsfor recognising and organising thisdomain as an industry.


There is an urgent needto define ‘geospatial

industry.’ The nextcritical need is to raise

the proffile of geospatialindustry at all levels.

As of today, geospatialindustry is yet to be seen

as an industry in itself

70% increase in demand for food in 2040 110% increase in oil demand by 205030% rise in global energy demand from2010 to 2040

GIS

www.UltraCamEagle.com

APAC Sales:

Singapore:

Beijing:

Xiang Yu,

Peace Map Co., Ltd.

Visit iFlyUltraCam.com

to see the PMC video.

Or scan tag and watch on

your mobile phone.

Download the free tag reader app at http://gettag.mobi.

Policy advocacy

Geospatial technology and industryfind their origins in defence sector.That's probably one of the reasonsfor the restrictive policies governinggeospatial data in many countries.The popularisation of geospatial datafor a common man's use has helpedin getting the same a bit liberalised,but in several developing countries,prevailing policies are quite outdatedand restrictive, impeding the growthof geospatial industry. There is anurgent need for geospatial industryto organise itself and develop ade-quate policy advocacy mechanismsto enable the evolution of better poli-cy environment. In view of the factthat geospatial information is a bitsensitive from defence perspective,this job is little difficult. However, itis worth mentioning that several oth-er industries like telecommunica-tions too have dealt with such issuesand have successfully broken themyth of security sensitivity.

Capacity development

Capacity development and funda-

mental research are other importantissues which require immediateattention. Despite having been pro-jected as a core technical industry,there is very little cooperationbetween and among the stakehold-ers of geospatial industry vis-à-vis

research and capacity development.Academic and research institutionsfollow their own course and direc-tion. They have very limited interac-tion with technology companies, useragencies and policy making authori-ties. In order to truly realise the val-ue of geospatial industry, it'sabsolutely vital for all the stakehold-ers to come together to discuss anddelibrate upon the issues pertainingto fundamental research and capaci-ty development. This would bring inmore relevance and appropriatedirection and enable the stakehold-ers to leverage each others'strengths for the overall develop-ment of the industry.

Connectivity with

mainstream economy

Several of us have talked andpreached about mainstreaminggeospatial technology in the past,but I think this is the right time towork together to mainstream thegeospatial industry and connect itwith world economy. During myinteractions with several companies

including those specialising in pro-viding geospatial solutions and serv-ices, one common concern aired fre-quently is that the companies find ithard to project to prospective buyersthe economic value and businessproposition of the technology. That'sbecause these companies have sofar been serving the customers withindividual tools which help them intheir business activity. However,geospatial industry is now ready toprovide turn-key solutions and cre-ate an economic activity for its users.

Geospatial World:

Connecting together

In a nutshell, the purpose and objec-tive of geospatial industry should beto organise itself, raise its profile andconnect itself with mainstreameconomy at local, national, regionaland global levels. I would like torequest and submit to every stake-holder of this industry, especiallythose providing leadership togeospatial institutions, geospatialcompanies, geospatial nodal agen-cies and large enterprise user com-munities, to get together and providethe necessary investments, attentionand momentum to organise andevolve geospatial industry and facili-tate the harnessing of its true poten-tial for world economy.

Geospatial World Forum 2012,being organised in Amsterdam, TheNetherlands from April 23-27 is anattempt to bring together the diversestakeholders of geospatial industryand the world economy to realiseand achieve the true potential ofgeospatial industry in meeting theneeds of tomorrow in a sustainablemanner.

Sanjay Kumar, [email protected]


There is an urgent needfor geospatial industryto organise itself and

develop adequateadvocacy mechanismsto enable the evolution

of better policyenvironment

30mn more housing units will be neededby 2050

2.5bn number of vehicles by 2050


DigitalGlobe I Advertorial

25Published by Geospatial World

DigitalGlobe

Revolutionizes

Nationwide

Topographic

Mapping

DigitalGlobe

Revolutionizes

Nationwide

Topographic

Mapping

THE WORLD AS WE KNEW IT

Topographic (Topo) mapping hastraditionally been a laboriousprocess. Several countries acrossthe globe have topographic mapsthat have been not updated indecades, but need to be, in orderto catch up with the developednations. It is indisputable that, his-torically, it has taken millions ofdollars and multiple decades tocreate acceptable topo maps. Buteven as the maps are being devel-oped, they are already perverselyout- of- date, so the financialinvestment and the value of thatinvestment are completely mis-aligned.

DigitalGlobe has the technicalability and proven performancerecord to drastically reduce costs,timelines, and improve the accura-cy of topo maps with our world-

leading, nationwide collectioncapabilities. Additionally, we canextend both the life and value ofthe initial investment in a topomap by leveraging our advancedtechnology to update the mapsregularly. For example, we cur-rently have underway a largenationwide mapping project for amajor national government inSouth America where we willdeliver 1:25000scale maps at afraction of thecost from just afew years agoand they canseamlessly andcost effectivelyleverage the ini-tial investmenttoward 1:10000scale maps as

their needs change.

THE WORLDVIEW REVOLUTION

AS WE KNOW IT

DigitalGlobe has pioneered thelaunch of next generation, high-resolution, earth observationsatellites that are changing theparadigm of traditional mapping.The launch of our WorldView-1satellite resulted in unprecedented

DG Constellation Daily Collection Totals


collection capacity, covering largeareas of the globe frequently.Today, WorldView-1 can collectover 1.2 million km2 of panchro-matic imagery every day or almost3 times the land mass of the earthevery year. When we add on thecollection capabilities of World-View-2, the DigitalGlobe constella-tion collects over 2.4 million km2of 50 centimeter or better resolu-tion, every day. Furthermore,WorldView satellites weredesigned with agility in mind,allowing collection of stereoimagery that can be used to produce high-accuracy elevationmodels. The figure below showsthe coverage of our constellationover the past decade.

DigitalGlobe's imagery archivecurrently has 2.2 billion km2 ofimagery of the world and is growing rapidly every day. This archive has existing stereo coverage of large areas that canbe exploited to create elevationmodels and contours for topo-

graphic maps.DigitalGlobe

has also devel-oped the capa-bility to producelarge area eleva-tion models tosupport nation-wide mapping aswell as creationof contours. Thefigure belowshows an exam-ple of an eleva-tion model cre-ated over Chile.

TRADITIONAL

TOPOGRAPHIC MAPPING VS

WORLDVIEW TOPOGRAPHIC

MAPPING

Traditional topographic mappingtechniques include surveying tech-niques coupled with geodetic net-works to create topographicsheets of large areas. The digitalage, enhanced by WorldView data,brings a new approach to mapmaking that complements tradi-tional surveying and allows cre-ation of country wide topo sheets,economically with faster turn-around times. Typical accuraciesof orthorectified images producedfrom WorldView satellite imagery

are now in the 6 - 8 meter rangeglobally, with few exceptions insteep terrain areas. Additionally,DigitalGlobe has developed tech-nologies that can leverage satelliteimagery, including imagery fromother commercial or governmentsatellites, to produce country wideorthomosaics.

TRANSFORMING PIXELS TO

TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS

DigitalGlobe has spent the last fewyears working on three criticalaspects of transforming pixels intotopographic sheets: 1. Accuracy 2.Age 3. Quality. We continuously

work on improving positionalaccuracy of our satellites as wellas developing technologies toimprove our overall orthomosaic

“

Published by Geospatial World

MEXICO WORLDVIEW-2 MOSAIC


accuracy. Through a strategic con-tent plan that uses a combinationof metrics including global popu-lation metrics, city extents, etc.,DigitalGlobe ensures the age ofthe orthomosaics is as current aspossible. Our in-house techniquesallow us to create high quality,visually pleasing mosaics.

The figure below reflects alarge area orthomosaic of thecountry of N. Korea.

DigitalGlobe has successfullyaddressed several image process-ing challenges such as large areabundle adjustment, radiometricbalancing over large regions andmost importantly, a unique tech-nique that minimizes the need forground control points on theground. This breakthrough tech-nology will result in significantcost savings for customers, aswell as faster turnaround timesfor creation of large area ortho-mosaics.

DigitalGlobe understands thevalue of authoritative data. Wehave developed strategic partner-ships across the globe that willallow us to work with local author-itative sources, such as surveydepartments, to ensure that ourprocesses conform to the bestpractices of the local country.

DigitalGlobe is developing

cutting edge technology of

EOS, and image processing

technologies that will

make traditional mapping

techniques more effective

and economical.

“

Published by Geospatial World

Dr. Navulur has over 18 years experiencein remote sensing and GIS. He receivedhis Ph.D in engineering from Purdue University and a Masters in Remote Sensing Applications from IIT in Bombay.He is the author of the book entitled,"Multi-Spectral Image Analysis UsingObject Oriented Paradigm". Dr. Navulur has experience in imageanalysis using imagery from multiple platforms, different sensors, and in analyzing both multi-spectral as well as hyper-spectral imagery. He is also familiarwith various image analysis techniquesincluding machine vision, neural nets,expert systems, sub-pixel classifiers, AFE,and pattern recognition. He is currentlyand adjunct professor at the University ofDenver and is Director of Next GenerationProducts at DigitalGlobe.

DR. KUMAR NAVULURDirector Next GenerationProducts, DigitalGlobe, USA

”

New Haven Coast , Bel ize New Haven Coast , Bel ize ErgChech DeserErgChech Deser t , Alger ia t , Alger ia

Banks PBanks P eninsula , New Zealand eninsula , New Zealand Galapagos Is landsGalapagos Is lands

WORLDVIEW ADVANTAGE:

FROM TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS TO

EGOVERNANCE

DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2 satel-lite, with its 8 spectral bands, isuniquely suited for creating othernationwide GIS layers includingLanduse/Landcover, WetlandsInventory, and others. WorldView-3, our next generation system, willadd continuity to the WorldViewsystem, assuring customers' con-tinued service for years to come.WorldView imagery has alreadybeen used by various governments

to create cadastral maps/parcelmaps, forest inventory calcula-tions, natural resources manage-ment and other authoritative GISlayers for eGovernance activities.DigitalGlobe has developed prod-uct offerings such asLanduse/Landcover that take

advantage of our spectral superi-ority, to create high value informa-tion layers as shown below:

CHANGING THE PARADIGM OF

TRADITIONAL MAPPING

DigitalGlobe is developing cuttingedge technology of Earth Observa-tion satellites, and image process-ing technologies that will maketraditional mapping techniquesmore effective and economical.These technologies enable ourcustomers to do countrywidemapping at 1:10000 scale or bet-

ter, and mapping withscales up to 1:5000 orbetter on cities andurban areas with groundcontrol. DigitalGlobe isactively engaged innationwide mapping pro-grams for select coun-tries across the globe. Asgeospatial technologybecomes the core fabricof day to day life, Digital-

Globe is establishing itself as theleader in this geospatial evolu-tion/revolution.

In summary, DigitalGlobe is amajor catalyst in facilitating thetimely building and maintenanceof topo maps in a cost effectivemanner. This makes best-in-classtopo maps a reality for all coun-tries and particularly those thatare challenged by time and finan-cial resources.

Published by Geospatial World28

www.digitalglobe.com/topomap I [email protected]



Post the Intergraph acquisition, how is Hexagon-Geospatial Solutions Division building synergiesbeetween Leica Geosystems and Z/I Imaging in termsof technology and business reach of independentcompanies?

Dold: After Hexagon's acquisition of Intergraph in late2010, Z/I Imaging and Leica Geosystems' AirborneSensors Business Unit joined forces. In 2011, bothmanagement teams combined 80 years of pho-togrammetric history, which ties back to the well-known brands of Zeiss and Wild Heerbrugg whostarted these businesses in the early twentieth cen-tury. Today, both companies profit from thestrengths of the other. Together, under theumbrella of Hexagon's Geospatial Solutions Divi-sion, we have a global presence. We are also theonly company with the complete portfolio of air-borne sensors that includes medium and largeformat imaging sensors, large format push-broomimaging sensors, low and high altitude LiDAR sen-sors, premium stabilising sensor platforms and acomplete workflow, which covers the process frommission planning and flight control to innovative post-processing and image generation. With an increas-ing focus on software development, we are alsonow in a position to offer vertical workflowsolutions such as fully automated rapid

29

INTERVIEW

'Leica and Z/I

Imaging are

complementary

rather than

competitive'

Juergen DoldPresident

Hexagon Geosystems


orthophoto production, point cloudgeneration from imagery and spe-cialised remote sensing applications.

How are you dealing withsimilar/competing products in theproduct portfolios of both thecompanies?

Dold: I think looking at the obviousone, the imaging sensors, we canconfirm today that our respectivetechnologies are complementaryrather than competing. Even if onelooks only at the frame cameras, the

Leica RCD30 and theZ/I DMC serve

very differ-ent mar-

ketsand

applications. The synergies of bothcompanies' product portfolios lie inmission planning, flight manage-ment, stabilising platforms andworkflow software. Naturally, wehave been spending a significantamount of time examining existingsolutions and combining the best ofboth worlds into innovative productsthat serve our combined customerbase. The recently launched LeicaMissionPro is proof that this can bedone successfully. This new multi-sensor software enables both Z/IImaging and Leica Geosystems cus-tomers to conduct mission planningand expands on the existing offeringby including a 3D Globe View as wellas business analysis tools toincrease and measure productivity.From a marketing perspective, we, ofcourse, have to adhere to both LeicaGeosystems and Z/I Imaging productbrand guidelines, which is why wemay, at times, launch a productunder the Leica brand even though itwill serve both our Leica Geosystemsand Z/I Imaging customer bases.However, our product strategy, whichwe have communicated across ourmarkets, will not change. Whilst wewill work towards exploiting syner-gies in and around aircraft installa-

tion and workflows, we remaincommitted to our main prod-

uct lines and will furtherdevelop and innovate

our medium andlarge format

frame imagingsensors (RCDand DMC),our largeformatpush-broomimaging

sensor (ADS) and our LiDAR (ALS)solutions. In addition, we continue tosee an increasing demand to inte-grate third party sensors with oursuperior peripheral products andworkflows.

How is Hexagon Geosystemsleveraging on the products andstrengths of other divisions of thecompanyy including HexagonMetrology and Hexagon Technolo-gy to build more comprehensiveand value added prroducts andsolutions?

Dold: Hexagon Geosystems collabo-rates with all other Hexagon divi-sions. For instance, with HexagonMetrology, we share technologyacross our high-precision total stations and laser tracker productlines. With NovAtel, part of the Hexa-gon Technology division, we collabo-rate on GNSS technology and innova-tive processing algorithms for bothterrestrial and airborne applications.With Intergraph Process, Power &Marine (PP&M), also part of HexagonTechnology, we contribute our scan-ning technology and total stations foras-built and maintenance surveys inthe process plant industry.

Ickes: In the past, Leica Geosys-tems' airborne sensors workedclosely with ERDAS, and Z/I Imagingworked closely with Intergraph.Under the new structure withinHexagon, these collaborations havenot only continued, but intensified.The new Geospatial Solutions Division works with the IntergraphSecurity, Government & Infrastruc-ture (SG&I) and Geospatial teams ona number of combined workflow ini-tiatives such as photogrammetricproduction and mapping workflows.One specific example of this is the

30

Jack IckesPresident, Geospatial Solutions DivisionHexagon Geosystems

31

innovative DSM extraction capabilityinside Leica XPro, which is based onthe SGM algorithm, currently exclu-sive to Leica ADS customers. Thiswill be available to all of our frame

customers inside IntergraphImageStation in Q3 of 2012.

What can we expect in the LiDARsegment?

Ickes: Our latest release, the LeicaALS70, has been very well receivedin the market, particularly due to itsinnovative beamsplitter technology.Whilst we, of course, continue todevelop innovative LiDAR technolo-gies for the future, our current focusis on adding to the post-processingworkflow solutions.

What are the new and emergingapplication areas HexagonGeospatial Solutions Division islooking at??

Ickes: Over the past several years,

the application has increasinglyinformed the technical design of ourproducts. Visualising, mapping andupdating our world digitally is a keydriver for innovation in the geospatialcommunity today. Whilst digital air-borne camera technologies are nowfully accepted around the world, it isthe combination with innovative pro-cessing concepts, algorithms andcomputing technologies that enablesrapid automated orthophoto produc-tion and increased data throughput.In the past, the production of highlyaccurate orthophotos for 2000 km2

took weeks. Today, it can be done ina matter of hours. Creating surfacemodels from imagery is not a novelidea, but with new approaches suchas SGM technology, we can create


We remain committed toour main product linesand will further developand innovate our mediumand llarge format frameimaging sensors (RCD andDMC), our large formatpush-broom imagingsensor (ADS) aand ourLiDAR (ALS) solutions

Image-derived high-resolution pointclouds with spectral attributes (infoclouds)


these attributed point clouds, or infoclouds, as we call them, moreeffectively. This produces 3D dimen-sion in very high resolution withspectral information, in a very shorttimeframe. Similar drivers will alsobe important when looking at obliqueworkflows, UAV technologies andwhen creating intelligent informationfrom these infoclouds, which willrequire intelligent segmentation andautomated feature extraction.

What are the regions/countries ofinterest for Hexagon GeospatialSolutions?

Dold: With well over 100 employees,Hexagon Geospatial Solutions has apresence around the world and aleadership role in many of the established markets. Naturally,whilst emerging markets alreadyrepresent more than 30 per cent of

our geospatial business, there areincreased opportunities to providecomplete mapping solutions fromour sensor portfolio in those countries.

The combined strengths of LeicaGeosystems and Z/I Imagingunder the new banner of HexagonGeospatiaal Solutions Divisionaccounts to about 90% of allairborne cameras ever built,according to an estiimate. Thisbrings with it a huge responsibilityas well - in terms of consolidatingon the position and technologydevelopment to build solutionsthat the world would requiretomorrow. What is your sstrategyin this direction?

Dold: Well, Z/I Imaging, with its rootsin Zeiss, and Leica Geosystems, withits roots in Wild Heerbrugg, havedemonstrated an impressive and

successful journey in photogramme-try over the past 80 years. Today,under the Hexagon umbrella, theyare the clear market leader in theindustry. The Geospatial Solutionsteam, under the leadership of JackIckes, is well aware of the responsi-bility we have not only to our long-standing and loyal customer base,but also to our new customers. Ithink that whilst past achievementsare comforting and, no doubt, signify a certain degree of expertise,they are no guarantee for future success. It is this understanding that motivates our team to continueto focus on our strengths and todrive innovations for our customers.We are determined to continue offer-ing best-in-class sensors, a seam-less workflow and outstanding sup-port in our mission to innovate thegeospatial industry.

32

Leica Geosystems airborne sensor test plane

COVER STORY I PHOTOGRAMMETRY & SENSORS


Photogrammetry is now being integrated intomany activities involving geospatial data. Thisis partly due to the nature of digital data which

encourages convergence of data from differentsources and partly due to the explosion of differentsensors and platforms to collect images. Imaging sys-tems range from traditional aerial photography toLiDAR and radar. Platforms now include unmannedaerial vehicles (UAVs), mobile terrestrial vehicles andsatellites as well as the traditional aircraft. Handheldconsumer cameras are also a valuable source andimages from this type of camera, uploaded on socialnetworks, are also becoming an important source ofvolunteered geographic information (VGI). Software isnow reliable and user friendly and there is a divisionbetween high-end software from established vendorsto less expensive products from new entries in thephotogrammetry software market. Many mappingcompanies are finding life difficult at the moment, giv-en the weak economic conditions, but the range ofapplications of photogrammetry is increasing and newcompanies are emerging to exploit these markets.This article will look at the current situation and dis-cuss the challenges facing mapping companies nowand in the future.

WHAT IS PHOTOGRAMMETRY?

Twenty years ago the answer to this question would havebeen technical in nature, explaining that photogramme-try is the science of deriving accurate three-dimensionalinformation from images. Now the answer is more com-plex because, although the principle is exactly the same,


Diagram 1: Basic operations of photogrammetry

Evolving beyond

deriving three-dimen-

sional information from

images, photogrammetry

is now being iintegrated

into various activities

involving geospatial

data. Here’s a look at

factors bringing aboutt

this change and the

increasing applications

of photogrammetry

photogrammetry is embedded in many different process-es and the user may be quite unaware of what pho-togrammetry involves, or what it is. There is less distinc-tion between different branches of geomatics and organi-sations pick and choose the technique which best suitstheir purpose. Diagram 1 shows the basic operation ofphotogrammetry. The central green boxes represent thecore component of photogrammetry which requires anunderstanding of the geometry of images, the principle ofcollinearity and the importance of accuracy.

The situation is further complicated by the fact thattechnology has produced new sensors which do notinvolve images but are processed in a manner similar toimagery. Laser scanners actually measure distance anddirection and produce a point cloud which is identical to apoint cloud generated from matching stereo images.From these point clouds we can compute digital elevationmodels at scales ranging from macro, with accuracies ofless than 1mm, to global. The point cloud can beprocessed in the same way, whatever its source; howeverit is generated by different techniques. Laser scanning isdone from airborne platforms, often referred to as LiDAR,and from terrestrial scanners. We will consider bothlaser scanning and image systems as part of photogram-metry. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) also measures dis-tance and can be used to generate DEMs and orthoim-ages, so we will also touch on it, but in less detail.

Diagram 2 shows the different sensors, data types,processes and products which we may consider as part ofthe general area of photogrammetry.

The diagram shows the stages in product generation.

Note the differentiation between georef-erenced images and other products -georeferencing is done in two-dimensionand does not require full orientation or aDEM and is not a rigorous product. Orthoimages can be accurately registered withorthoimages generated from other datasources and with maps.

ECONOMIC BACKGROUND

There is an undisputed need for accurateinformation from images. The latestindustry survey carried out by the Amer-ican Society for Photogrammetry andRemote Sensing in 2008 (Photogram-

metric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 74(11)) revealedthat of the 512 responses from 58 nations (mainly fromNorth America and Europe), the majority require geo-locational accuracy of better than 1 m and that the needfor this is greater than the supply, as shown in Graph 1.

The ASPRS Industry Forecast was based on a surveyin 2007, but still gives a good idea of the current situation:

Previous Forecast reports highlight that demand for the highest

levels of resolution was clearly nott met; data users wanted

higher resolution content. Phase V shows that this trend

continues in the global market. Digital aerial sensors, as well as

the continued operation of high-resolution satelliite systems,

have expanded the global demand for better than half metre

data. Provision of data lowerr in spatial resolution than half metre

is now an area of potential overcapacity. LiDAR, hyperspectraal


Graph 1: Geo-locational accuracy: Current use versus need

Diagram 2: The stages of generating photogrammetric products

and IfSAR were identified as the three data sources that need

exceeded current use. Data fusion appeears to be considered

more in these results than reliance on a single sensor or data

source. Satellitte sources of data versus aerial sources are used

more in developing regions of the world. Restrictioons on remote

sensing data were viewed as a hindrance in every region of the

world. However, the survvey indicated that respondents from

East and South Asia, Africa and Oceania felt that effects of

resttrictions on data, licensing and governmental controls most

limiting on their activities. The most significant issues that con-

tinue to represent large challenges and opportunities with the

industry aare: the demand versus cost in an uncertain economy

for high spatial resolution and new sensor data, both aerial and

satellite, meeting the increase in demand for higher levels of

education in GIS and newer imaging technologies, and the

conflicting roles of national governments in developing remote

ssensing platforms and products while limiting access and use

of data.

Although this forecast is four years old and the pho-togrammetric industry is suffering in the present eco-nomic climate, the forecast should still apply to the futureas of today.

CURRENT TECHNOLOGY

Sensors are evolving all the time, driven by the equip-ment manufacturers; users respond to this and softwaredevelopers follow with improved software packages. Hereare the main sensors and software packages.

SensorsImages now come from many sources, ranging frommobile phones to highly sophisticated digital camerasused on aircrafts or satellites. In addition, the use oflaser scanning is now widespread. Radar is still the pre-serve of specialist users, although companies such asIntermap have used airborne SAR to generate theirNextmap products and the private public partnership ofAstrium and DLR is producing global DEMs from Tan-Dem-X. These sensors are used from many types of plat-forms, ranging from handheld and small UAVs to mobilemapping vehicles carrying cameras and LiDAR to surveyaircraft and satellites. Although images are still the mainsource of data for mapping, a source in Leica says thatLiDAR is now a more important source of revenue thancameras.

Digital camerasDigital cameras are now mainstream, although there hasbeen significant diversification from the original camerasfrom Leica, Z/I, and Vexcel. The use of smaller, lessexpensive cameras is also widespread. Table 1 shows thecharacteristics of the large and medium format cameras.These are cameras which replace the 230 x 230mm filmcameras from the 1990s. They typically have 9000-12000pixels across track and collect data in panchromatic andmultispectral bands. These large format cameras arecomplemented by smaller cameras from companies suchas Trimble and Optech. All of these companies now offera suite of products acquiring image data and LiDAR.Tobias Toelg from Trimble GeoSpatial tells of a companywith a small plane in Africa which first bought a smallcamera and gradually upgraded to have a full navigationsystem with a camera and LiDAR.

Satellite sensors are an important source of imagesfor photogrammetric processing and have been dis-cussed extensively in previous issues of Geospatial World.A full review of sensors and description of techniques canbe found in 'High Resolution Optical Satellite Imagery' byDowman, Jacobsen and Konecny to be published by Whit-tles Publishing in April.

Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) or LiDAR Airborne laser scanners, often referred to as LiDAR, pro-duce a point cloud which is generated from the measureddistance and orientation of a point from the sensor. Sen-sors for ALS all have similar characteristics - all collect anumber of returns from each pulse and also record theintensity of the return signal. The important parameterswhich affect accuracy and density of points are the scan


Diagram 3: Trimble modules with upgrade path


rate or scan frequency and the pulse rate of pulse fre-quency and the flying height. Most systems allow selec-tion of these parameters and manufacturers also offer arange of systems for different applications depending onthe flying height. Most systems also record the waveformwhich allows detailed analysis of the vegetation coverwhich is very useful for forestry applications.

Table 2 shows some of the airborne LiDAR systems,including the Hawkeye system used for bathymetricmeasurement.

Terrestrial laser scanning Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is one of the big suc-cess stories of recent years, with a range of scannersin the market now from the major companies,including scan arms that reach difficult placesand are capable of close range scanning with0.2mm accuracy. A major new application oflaser scanning is to provide data for build-ing information models (BIM). At themoment, the main use of TLS is toprovide point clouds of interiors fromwhich as-built drawings can be gen-erated, but within the BIM conceptthere are other applicationsincluding site detail during plan-ning and as-built survey duringconstruction.

Other sensorsThere are new sensors now on the market such as Pho-tonic Mixer Device (PMD) "Smart-Pixel" sensors whichare able to capture a complete 3D scene in real timewithout any moving parts. The sensor works by transmit-ting a modulated optical signal which illuminates thescene to be measured. The reflected light is detected bythe PMD sensor, which is able to determine the time-of-flight per every single pixel. There are also cameraswhich record texture which would assist interpretation ofimages.

Another new device is the SpheronVR SceneCam™

Manufacturer Leica Geosystems Leica Geosystems Intergraph Ultracam Trimble Optech

Model Leica ADS80 Leica RCD30 Z/I DMC II DigitalMapping Camera

Eagle Trimble Aerial Camera IQ180

D-8900 Aerial Digi-tal Camera

Type of sensor Pushbroom Frame Frame Frame Frame Frame

Format size (pixels)across track xalong track

24000 pixelsHigh Res 12000std resolutionAcross track

8956 x 6708 pixels single head13216 x 8956 pixels dual head

12096 x 11,200pixels

20010 x 13080 pixels

10,328 x 7,760pixels

8,984 x 6,732 pix-els

Spectral bands Panchromatic,RGB, Near-infrared

RGB NIR PAN, RGB, NIR PAN, RGB, NIR RGB RGB

Field of view 64° across track(swath angle)

Range of focallengths available

50.7°(across track) - Range of focallengths available

Range of focallengths available

Data storage Removable up to980Gb

- - Solid-state disc pack.Unlimited with use ofmultiple data unitswith approximately 3.3terabytes (3,800images) per unit

- Removable storageunit~500 GB solidstate drives, 8,000images

Forward motioncompensation

na Yes Yes - True FMC True FMC

Other cameras inrange

- - - UltraCamXp, Ultra-CamXp Wide Angle, UltraCamLp

- D13000T7200T4800

Table 1. Large & medium format Imaging sensors


which uses high dynamic range imagery and takes twopanoramic 360º images from which a 3D scene can begenerated. The SceneCenter™ database can be used tomanage and archive the images and is used for manyapplications such as forensics and indoor mapping.

Other techniques which have been around for sometime but have not yet been fully exploited are thermalimaging, images sequences, video theodolites and alsocombinations of sensors in sensor networks.

PLATFORMS

Mobile mapping platforms Mobile mapping systems were first developed in the1980s using fairly coarse navigation systems and cam-eras. The navigation systems have improved using GNSSpositioning systems and inertial navigation systems. Asthe technology has improved, laser scanners have beenadded to the platform. Some examples of mobile map-ping systems are shown in the images.

Cyclomedia has its own camera systems and has 30

years of experience in developing its camera systems. Ithas a partnership with the University of Delft in develop-ing the camera systems and already has a ninth genera-tion recording system. Companies like Navteq also oper-ate their own vehicles but the new data source which maybe called a sensor is data collected by users on theroutes which they are driving which can be used forupdating: this is volunteered geographic information (VGI)or crowd sourced data.

Oblique imagery Developments in inertial navigation systems and sta-bilised mounts have allowed the use of oblique imagery.Pictometry is a patented system which captures aerialimages of all sides of a building as well as a verticalimage from above. These perspectives can then be joinedtogether to form 3D models from which measurementscan be taken of dimensions and areas on the building.Swiss company Helimap System SA operates a versatilehelicopter to capture oblique images. This has foundapplications in many areas such as ski resorts and

Manufacturer Optech Leica Trimble Hawkeye Reigl

Model number - ALTM PegasusHD500

ALS70 Harrier 68i HawkEye™ II RIEGL VQ-580

Scan frequency [Hz] 0-140 Hz 60 - 200Hz 10 - 200 Hz 13Hz 25 - 190 Hz

Pulse frequency (min-max) [Hz]

100-500kHz Max 500 kHz 80 - 400 kHz 4 kHz for bathymetricmeasurement

50 - 380 kHz

Max. scan angle (FOV) [deg]

65° 0° - 75° 45°-60° - 60° (+30° / -30°)

Max. no of recordedechoes/ pulse

4 Unlimited - - unlimited

Full-wave form digitisation

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Recording of intensityof return signal

Yes Yes Yes - Yes

Data storage Removable SSD Removable 500 GbSSD

Portable - -

Platform types Fixed wing a/c, helicopter, UAV

Fixed wing a/c, helicopter

Fixed wing a/c, helicopter

- Helicopters or UAVs

Maximum flying height [m]

2500m ALS70-CM: 1 600mALS70-HP: 3 500mALS70-HA: 5 000m

1600 m 250 - 500 m 5 000 m

Comment Other systems avail-able

Different models fordifferent applications

Other systems avail-able

Dual wavelength forbathymetric measur-ment

Range of systemsavailable, can be inte-grated with camera.

SSD - solid state disk

Table 2. Airborne Lidar

mountain management, cliff mapping as well as themore conventional infrastructure mapping.

Unmanned aerial vehicles The use of unmanned aerial vehicles is having a bigimpact on photogrammetry. Professor Armin Gruen ofETH Zurich says "It is safe to say that in the years tocome, we will see an increase in UAV making activities,both in terms of hardware and software development, amost interesting and challenging area for research,development and practice. This makes a clear transitionfrom toys to tools.' [Geoinformatica 1-2012]. What hasmade this transition possible are small digital camerasand powerful software which enable large numbers ofsmall format images to be calibrated and orientedthrough use of photogrammetric block adjustment. UAVshave significant advantages over traditional air photogra-phy, including being highly transportable which allows forrapid mobilisation. UAVs can also typically operate belowcloud coverage, making them less dependent on weatherconditions. Systems such as Gatewing and the SenseflySwinglet Cam come as a complete package, providingmissions planning and processing software. They canoperate at a flying height of 150 metres above ground lev-el and can achieve a ground sampling distance (GSD) of 5

cm. UAVs however are not without problems. The need toobtain permission to fly in many countries and ensuringsafe operation and the safety of the public are importantissues which require close attention. Academics andamateurs have been using UAVs for a long time, but theUAVs are now being used for commercial mapping.

SOFTWARE

A number of software packages exist for photogrammet-ric processing. All basic photogrammetric operations canbe performed, including automatic interior orientationand automatic aerial triangulation with automated blun-der detection and self-calibration. Some automation offeature extraction will be provided, although most of thisrequires human input. Table 3 lists the main packageswith key features.

Recent improvements in software packages includeimproved speed using new architectures and new graphi-cal processing units (GPUs). A key feature of many ofthese packages is their interface with packages such asArcGIS and Autocad which enables users of these pack-ages to integrate accurate imagery into their workflow.

Image matching is an important component in pho-togrammetric software and this is constantly beingimproved. The semi-global matching method, whichmatches every pixel and assesses the quality of everymatch, has given improved results. Remote SensingSolutions GmbH and its associate company 3D RealityMaps are using semi global matching on satellite imagesto produce spectacular 3D visualisations which are widelyused by the tourism industry, overlain with useful infor-mation about walking trails, ski runs and hotels, forexample.

Another key development in software has been theintroduction of bundle adjustment packages which can


The use of unmanned aerialvehicles is having a big impact on

photogrammetry. What has made thispoossible are small digital cameras andpowerful software which enable largenumbers of small format immages to becalibrated and oriented through use of

photogrammetric block adjustment

Examples of UAV used for mapping


handle large blocks collected by UAVs or basic digitalconsumer cameras. Photosynth is a software applicationfrom Microsoft that can take large numbers of imagesand generate a three-dimensional model from the photosand a point cloud of a photographed object. Bundler is asimilar package.

MAPPING ORGANISATIONS

Companies like Blom, EuroSense, COWI and Fugro con-tinue to produce data for a wide range of clients. Themain activities of mapping companies have not changed alot in a long time, and the demand is still for DEMs, digi-tal orthoimages and the generation of data from stereorestitution. However, the techniques for doing this havechanged and LiDAR is used for larger scales, particu-larly corridor mapping, often using helicop-ters. Mapping from terrestrial sen-sors is becoming more importantand many companies reportincreased demand for detailedsurvey using terrestrial laserscanning and mobile mapping.Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ralf Schroth, CMDand Operations Manager, East-ern Europe, BLOM RomaniaSRL sees UAV technology clos-ing the gap between terrestrialand airborne mapping.

National Mapping Organi-

sations (NMOs) are major users of photogrammetry.NMOs such as OSGB are important in developing newmethods for national mapping by working with hardware and softwareproviders to meet their specific requirements in a rapidlychanging environment. China has just completed anupdate of the 1:50,000 coverage of the whole countryrequiring the use of many data sources, primarily images,and the integration of these data to form a high accuracy,quality checked product. This, in turn, required tech-niques of image matching, semantic integration, general-isation, data base management and conflict resolution.Automatic processing could be used in many cases, butintelligent human interpretation and judgment remainedessential.

The field of use of 3D data is already very wide andcovering a lot of applications. A great breakthrough of anynew application is not in sight, according to Ralf Schroth.There is still a debate about the use of 3D city models.Ralf Schroth sees the market for 3D city models asalready mature as many cities have their own data andcommercial Internet suppliers like Google, Microsoft orBlom are even partially delivering these data for free.

There has also been an increase in the number ofcompanies primarily concerned with collecting imagesover wide areas as a speculative venture andselling finished products, usuallyorthoimages, off the shelf tocustomers. Theseinclude

Company Product Key features

HexagonIntergraph /ERDAS

LPSERDASImagine

Leica Photogrammetric Suite (LPS) andERDAS Imagine are part of the Hexagonrange.

Trimble Inpho

Well developed InPho software, workswith ArcGIS, Microstation and Auto-CAD. eCognition is also in the Trimblerange

BAE SystemsSOCETGXP

GXP XplorerTM data managementrecently introduced.

PCI GeomaticaIncludes GXL professional production,geoimaging tools for ArcGIS and GXLGeoimaging Accelerator

DAT/EMSummitEvolutionProfessional

Based on DAT/EM workstation; the software generates data for ArcGIS, Microstation and AutoCAD.

Table 3: The principal photogrammetric software packages

satellite operating companies who provide visualisationand image analysis services. The products which thesecompanies offer make use of photogrammetric software.Saab Rapid 3D Mapping™ is of particular note because ofthe near real time production of 3D models. Many ofthese products are aimed at the defence market. Compa-nies such as Astrium offer special services. Astrium hasrecently announced Go Monitor which will detect changesanywhere in the world using satellite imagery and imageanalysts from different thematic areas.

THE FUTURE

Research in photogrammetry is still focussed on automa-tion; the large volumes of data which are available makethis necessary and the cloud assists in making it possi-ble. A number of areas of research have been active for along time, such as building reconstruction: these are dif-ficult areas and will probably not move to production inthe near future. There is also a lot of research beingundertaken in automatic building reconstruction andextraction of road networks. Processing of point clouds isa continuing area for intense research. Data fusion, ofimages and laser scanning data, is another importantresearch area. Registration of data sets is important as aresult of the many sources of data available.

The rapid generation of photorealistic 3D scenes hasbeen made possible because of new image matchingsoftware. While development of this will continue, one ofthe challenges which users face is whether to use laserscanning to collect point clouds directly or to use photo-graphs and image matching.

We have seen that UAVs are emerging as a veryimportant source of data. The development of this tech-nique will continue. The use of a swarm of such plat-forms is one possibility and the improvement of accuracyusing new techniques for camera calibration and bundleadjustment will be developed.

VGI will also develop. Professor Dieter Fritsch of theInstitute for Photogrammetry, University of Stuttgartopines that VGI will become increasingly important andwill be able to meet NMOs' accuracy standards; data willbe stored in the cloud and software will be developed toconflate VGI data from different sources. VGI will extendto 3D and Professor Fritsch is developing an 'app' for 3Gphones and tablets which will allow a 3D model to begenerated from photographs taken of the building orobject. It is not clear how VGI will fit into existing businessmodels, nor whether the information will be used byNMOs. The new catchphrase for photogrammetry is 'thecrowd and the cloud'.

New applications are being developed all the time.Bathymetric LiDAR of coastal waters is well establishedbut work is now on to use LiDAR over inland streams toobtain accurate channel depth to enable modelling of river flow to obtain in-depth understanding of hydrologi-cal processes. LiDAR can also be used to determinewater level in turbid reservoirs and to obtain informationon forest structure.


The new data source which may becalled a sensor is data collected by users

on the routes which theyy are drivingwhich can be used for updating. The newcatchphrase for photogrammetry is 'the

crowd annd the cloud'

Least squares matching Dynamic programming Semi-global matching

Results from different techniques of matching Ikonos images.

GLOBAL BASEMAPWith Global Basemap, imagery consumption is easy. Global Basemap provides the most accurate and up-to-date imagery available and ensures seamless coverage of every square kilometer of the Earth’s landmass. DigitalGlobe is responsible for all processing, updating, and hosting, enabling users to focus on understanding and analyzing their area of interest.

LARGEST ONLINE IMAGE LIBRARY

FAST AND EASY ACCESS

www.digitalglobe.com/qualitygbmMERCEDES-BENZ MUSEUM & ARENA, STUTTGART, GERMANY

COMPLETE GLOBALCOVERAGE


CHALLENGES

The basic principles of photogrammetry are well estab-lished and an essential part of extracting informationfrom images and data from laser scanning and radar. Itseems unlikely that there will be major changes in thetechniques and implementation of photogrammetricprinciples. There will undoubtedly be improved sensorsand improved software and research will be needed toimplement these. The standard mapping programmes forphotogrammetry applications will be reduced in their tra-ditional markets like Western Europe but will still berequested in developing areas like the emerging marketsin Asia and Latin America and where no general cadastreinformation is available.

The challenges in doing this are summarised as:» Restrictions on data collection, for example restrictions onflying photographic missions, collecting information on roadsfor in car navigation and flying UAVs.

» Continued supply of data from earth observation satellitesat an affordable price.

» Availability of software which can be used by users unfamil-iar with photogrammetry to generate their own specialistinformation, alternatively to sell photogrammetry as a com-modity: users giving data to bureaus to produce the necessary

products such as orthoimages and visualisations.

» Responding to emergencies and other urgent needs to provide data in real time.

» Educating students on the principles of photogrammetryand preventing the reinventing of photogrammetry.

» Expanding the applications of imagery.

Lawrie considers that these challenges and the enormous potential of integrated GIS, photogrammetryand image processing software make this a very excitingtime for geospatial data professionals and that theprospects for the future are very positive. We can see thatphotogrammetry is an essential component in new devel-opments in imagery, the use of UAVs and 3D VGI dependsupon accurate rigorous photogrammetric models; manyapplications using terrestrial laser scanning, such asBIM, require the rigorous processing deriving from pho-togrammetry and of course there is a universal needfor orthoimages and 3D data derived from images.

Ian Dowman, Editor - Europe, [email protected]

The author would like to thank the following for their valuableinputs in writing this article: Professor Dieter Fritsch, ProfessorChristian Heipke, Ralf Schroth and Lawrie Jordan.

The view from Redlands, California

This is a very exciting

time for photogram-

metry and GIS and

the use of photogrammetry

in processing geospatial

data is essential. The GIS

industry continues to grow.

Imagery has accelerated

that growth, and is the new

face of GIS. The reason

for this is that imagery

allows GIS to become

more dynamic and allows it

to move into real time

monitoring. For this to hap-

pen, photogrammetry is

essential. It is essential to

allow accurate and reliable

registration of different

sets of data. This means

that Esri is incorporating

sensor models into its

software, but at the same

time is providing a simple

user interface so that the

photogrammetric process-

es are invisible to the user

while still providing a

robust, rigorous solution.

For the more demanding

users, additional modules

will be available to allow

integration of hyperspec-

tral and radar data. There

will no longer be pho-

togrammetric software,

GIS software and image

processing software: it will

all be bundled into a single

package.

Volunteered Geo-graphic Information (VGI)offers exciting possibili-ties. This new source of

data can be integratedwith other data to provideground truth, details foremergency response anddata to supplement moreconventional imagery.Again, VGI imagery mustbe registered and all databrought together in anintelligent web map.

The future forgeospatial data is veryexciting and offers usersa multitude of options toproduce the informationwhich they want from themass of data available ina simple, easy-to-usepackage.

Lawrie JordanDirector of Imagery, Esri

7/18/2017/18/201

LeicaGeosystems

Leica Geosystems offers acomprehensive portfolio of airborne imaging solutions.

ADS80

From flight planning withLeica FPES software and dataacquisition with the sensorheads SH91/92 to data deliv-ery with Leica XPro, LeicaADS80 represents a digitalairborne imaging solution thatis easy to use and fast toimplement. Leica Geosystems'line sensor technology consti-tutes a viable and simple digi-tal alternative to those familiarwith the traditional analogworkflow. Depending on thedesired product, two availableconfigurations, SH91 andSH92, acquire co-registeredimage data with equal resolution in panchromatic,colour and colour-infrared.The improved data throughputof the control unit CU80 facilitates simultaneous dataacquisition of imagery, offeringmaximum flexibility.

RCD 30

The Leica RCD30 series ofmedium format camerasoffers features of large-formatairborne sensors at a lowercost, thus making digital multi-spectral photogrammetryavailable to a wider range ofusers. Some of the features ofLeica RCD30 include

mechanical forward motioncompensation along two axis;ruggedised and thermal sta-bilised lens system with inno-vative bajonet mount and userreplaceable central shutterwith automatically controlledhigh precision aperture; mod-ular concept for single stand-alone and multi-head configu-rations and full integrationwith Leica ALS LiDAR andother third party sensors.

RC 30

Leica RC30 is an aerial filmcamera system capable ofacquiring aerial photographswith black and white, colourand false colour aerial films.There are two lens options,with 6-inch and 12-inch focallengths. Standard featuresinclude forward motion com-pensation, automatic exposurecontrol and film data record-ing. A comprehensive range ofaccessories includes filters,navigation sights and videointervalomers. The camera ispart of an overall system,which may comprise of theLeica PAV30 gyro-stabilisedmount, the Leica ASCOT aeri-al survey control tool, a GPSreference station, a GPS/IMUposition and orientation sys-tem and an optical window forpressurised aircraft.

Optech

Optech offers a large range ofcameras that can be usedindependently or in combina-tion for increased efficiencyand multiple data acquisition.

D-8900

Optech offers D-8900 aerialdigital camera for corridor/small area mapping. With a

footprint of 8,900 pixelsacross by 6,700 pixels alongthe flight line, D-8900 is suit-able for LiDAR integration orto perform small engineeringsurveys. D-8900 delivers theaccuracy and clarity obtainedthrough true forward motioncompensation technology.With a wide range of lens andfilter options, it is easily con-figured for specialised proj-ects and applications.

T-7200

Aerial digital camera T-7200can be used standalone orintegrated with LiDAR or oth-er sensors for corridor andsmall area mapping. It has afootprint of 7,200 pixelsacross by 5,400 pixels alongthe flight line. T-7200 featuresa patented and proven field-replaceable shutter, providingrapid field replacement withno impact on camera geome-try. Its interchangeable lenscapability, based on Optech'spatented kinematic mount,offers stable operational flexi-bility while maintaining geo-metric accuracy. T-7200 canbe combined with otherOptech camera heads forsimultaneous colour infrared(CIR), true independent chan-nel multispectral, or thermalinfrared data collection.

T-4800

With a footprint of 4,800 pix-els across by 3,200 pixelsalong the flight line, the T-4800 can be combined andintegrated with numerousOptech products. Based on aplatform product line concept,the T-4800 offers a fast cycletime, an electronic shutter,interchangeable lenses and ametric quality data set. The T-4800 is a stable, scalable andversatile camera in a smalland reliable form factor.

CS-10000

Optech has recently intro-duced the aerial camera CS-10000. CS-10000 introducesmany new features whileretaining technologies such asthe original True FMC (for-ward motion compensation).CS-10000 offers a field-replaceable shutter and inter-changeable lenses to alloweven greater operational effi-ciency. Its 80-MP format pro-vides greater image radiome-try and accuracy to deliverenhanced image quality.

Trimble

TRIMBLEAERIAL CAMERA

The Trimble Aerial Cameraprovides high-performance,trouble-free operation andadvanced features in a com-pact package. Purpose-builtfor aerial metric photogram-metry and easily integratedeither standalone or integrat-ed with direct geo-referencingor laser scanning, this camerais suitable for project mapping,spot updates and corridormapping. Interchangeablelenses provide the flexibility toselect the best flight altitudeand field of view for each proj-ect. The camera is available in39, 60, and 80-megapixelmodels with lenses from35mm to 100mm. The camerafeatures metric lens with inter-nal iris shutter that precisely

GeospatialWorld I April 201246

PRODUCT PROFILE

Large & medium format sensors

maintains the correct focallength to the CCD sensorplane. The camera allows forthe lens to be easilyunscrewed from the camerabody to allow the user in thefield to exchange for anotherfocal length or replace a shut-ter with minimum downtime.The focal lengths of the cam-era vary from 35 mm to 100mm and the fastest shutterspeed is 1/1000th second.The camera body has no mov-ing parts. To enable metricimagery, it is calibrated as aunit with the lens and digitalcamera back.

An electronic controller connects Trimble Aerial Camera to aircraft power and computer controller. The camera features front-side connections to light metre, lens and flashconnector and back-side connections to shutter releasesignal, system power, RS232Cconnection to computer controller, electronic sensorconnection and event (shutterrelease) pulse connection.

Ultracam

UltraCam photogrammetric digital aerial mapping systemsfrom Microsoft include theUltraCam Eagle, UltraCamXp,UltraCamLp, UltraCamXpWA.

ULTRACAM EAGLE

UltraCam Eagle features amodular housing concept incomponent integration, which

reduces sensor head size andbalances weight. The updatedsensor head includes anexchangeable lens systemwith two different focallengths and is specificallydesigned for high-resolutiondigital aerial photography.Embedded in the integratedcomponent package is Ultra-Nav, a flight management andgeoreferencing system thatincludes state-of-the-artGNSS-Inertial technology,pilot displays, and flight-plan-ning software.

ULTRACAM XP

With an image format of 196 megapixels (17,310across track x 11,310 alongtrack) and a smaller pixel size of 6µm, the UltraCamXphas one of the largest PANframe image footprint of large format cameras, result-ing in fewer necessary flightlines. In doing so, UltraCamXpsaves time and lowers cost,without sacrificing radiometricperformance. Increasedonboard storage capacityallows for longer flights totake full advantage offavourable flying conditionsand the collection rate of 2.5Gbits per second allows forcollecting more data in lesstime. Post-processing of thedata can be started on boardand finished on the groundwith a group of PCs for evenfaster turnaround.

ULTRACAM XP WA

Microsoft UltraCamXp WideAngle (WA) photogrammetricdigital aerial camera featuresa new proprietary, digital, high-performance, high-resolutionlens system with a shorterfocal length. It allows thisUltraCam sensor to deliver thesame ground sample distance(GSD) as the UltraCamXp, butat lower flight altitudes. Analternative to the UltraCamXpand at the same price, theUltraCam Wide Angle pro-vides small-scale mappingcapabilities to customers with

lower-flying airplanes. Thissensor is fully compatible withthe existing DXp and CXpsystems, permitting customerswho already own the Ultra-CamXp and the UltraCamX topurchase the sensor separate-ly and add small-scale map-ping capabilities to their busi-nesses.

ULTRACAM LP

Based on the UltraCamL, theUltraCamLp features thesame advanced technicalspecifications, but with a larger image footprint of 92megapixels (11,704 x 7,920pixels pan) compared to theUltraCamL 64 megapixel format, making it suitable forsmaller aircraft and local projects that require a rapidresponse. With new electron-ics, the UltraCamLp allows fora larger footprint than theUltraCamL without sacrificingcycle rates. The result is 43% more image at the sameframe rate, allowing for thefollowing possible benefits:data collection at higher flightspeeds; increase of potentialforward overlap for a givenGSD and speed; and data collection at higher resolutionswith the same forward overlapand speed.

Z/I Imaging

In addition to offering prod-ucts such as the RMK-topseries and the DMC (DigitalMapping Camera), Z/I Imag-ing now offers DMC II seriesof digital mapping cameras.

DIGITAL MAPPINGCAMERA (DMC)

DMC is a turnkey large formatdigital frame camera system,using solid state disks as air-borne data storage. The sys-tem delivers digital imagesenabling direct production of awide range of mapping andimage analysis products,including orthophotos, digital

terrain models (DTMs) andvector maps. This combinationof innovative componentsmake DMC ideal for capturingdata for all mapping applica-tions, including agriculture,cadastral mapping, cartogra-phy, forestry, land use/landcover mapping, environmentalstudies, natural hazardassessment, flood risk management, transportationengineering, urban planning,civil engineering, oil and gasexploration and geology.

RMK-D

The RMK-D is a medium format aerial imaging systemdesigned to meet the high-accuracy/high-resolutionrequirements of engineeringmapping and remote sensingtasks. It comes at a much low-er price point when comparedto large-format cameras,offering more organisations totake advantage of advancedimaging technology. Becausethe RMK D has four colourchannels (red, green, blue, andnear-infrared) at 1:1 full-colorresolution, it is also a suitablesolution for vegetation classifi-cation and other remote-sens-ing applications.

Four camera heads allowusers to simultaneously capture RGB and NIR images.The camera's compact designrequires minimal space, so itcan be installed in smaller aircrafts.

Z/I DMC II 140

DMC II 140 is one singlepanchromatic camera conebased on one large CCD toproduce extreme wide-ground

GeospatialWorld I April 2012 4747

GeospatialWorld I April 201248

coverage. The DMC II 140'sinnovative design conceptincludes a monolithic cus-tomised 12.2k x 11.4kpanchromatic CCD that nolonger requires image stitch-ing and thus offer high geo-metric accuracy and imagequality. Performance indicatorsinclude: nadir-looking viewand a single-lens projectioncentre; time synchronous

release for all camera heads;no requirement of CCD stitch-ing or image mosaicking inpost-processing; monolithicpanchromatic 144 MP CCD(12240 x 11418 pixels) with7.2 micron pixel size and 92 mm focal length; four multispectral cameras for red, green, blue, (RGB) andnear-infrared (NIR) with 42MPixel CCD (6846 x 6096

pixel) with 7.2 micron pixelsize and a dedicated color filter; and use of a uniquepiezo-driven customised air-borne shutter with self-calibration and maximumsynchronisation and 2.2 second frame rate by eachcamera head to maintain high-air speed for high-for-ward overlap and high resolu-tion. It has a two-second

frame rate to maintain high-air speed for high-for-ward overlap and high resolution (at 80 percent forward overlap and 10 centimetre ground sample distance [GSD], maximum air speed is 218 knots). ThePAN/colour ratio of 1:2 provides high-radiometricquality images for RGB andcolour infrared (CIR).

Airborne laser scanners

AirborneHydrography AB

Airborne Hydrography AB(AHAB) develops and marketsairborne laser survey systemsfor hydrographic and topo-graphic surveys.

HAWKEYE II

Hawk Eye II is one of the keyproducts from AHAB, which isdesigned for bathymetric surveying. It delivers bathy-metric LiDAR data with a den-sity ranging from 1.7x1.7metres to 3.5x3.5 metres. Itfulfils the IHO order 1b forsea charts with less than 25cm rms. Measurement depthsfor the system range from 0.3,to about 3 times the secchidepth. Sea floor topographydata is captured with a datadensity ranging from 4 to 1point per square meter, typi-cally with a higher accuracythan 15 cm rms.

Moreover, it can simultaneous-

ly collect 4000 bathymetricmeasurements (full waveform)and 64,000 topographicmeasurements (up to fourreturns per shot). HawkEyeutilises two lasers, one greenand one infrared, providingtwo separate reflections (theIR-laser is primarily reflectedfrom the surface of the water,while the green penetratesthe surface). Using this infor-mation, it is simple to differen-tiate between the differentbodies in the survey data.

FARO

FARO designs, develops andmarkets portable, comput-erised measurement deviceslike measuring arms, laser scanners and laser trackers and software.

FOCUS3D

It is a portable 3D laser scan-ner. It can be used in applica-tions ranging from 3D building

documentation, constructionsupervision, reverse engineer-ing, historic preservation toforensic crime scene docu-mentation. It is also useful inpower industry, especially inproduct design and verifica-tion. It can also be employedin accident research. Focus3Dis one of the smallest andlightest laser scanners. Atdimensions of just 24 x 20 x10cm and a weight of only 5kg, it offers easy mobility. Withthe phase shift technology, ituses a sophisticated methodof data capture: a laser beamis projected onto a surfaceand reflected back to theportable scanner, which usesan advanced software totranslate this laser echo into3D images and measurementdata. 3D objects can be repre-sented as 3D point cloud data,which can be used to con-struct CAD models.

Optech

With the iFLEX™ technologyat the core, Optech is a maker

of rugged and innovativeLiDAR survey products.

LYNX MOBILEMAPPER

The Lynx Mobile Mapper isdesigned to collect engineer-ing/survey grade LiDAR dataover large areas that areimpractical with static LiDARsensors but require an accura-cy and resolution that exceedairborne technologies. Withsystem accuracy better than 5cm and a resolution of up to 1cm, the LYNX Mobile Mapperoffers precise 3D detail - allfrom a vehicle moving atspeeds up to 100 km/hr.

The LYNX Mobile Mapper isan IEC/CDRH Class 1 LiDARsolution under all operatingconditions. Class 1 designa-tion ensures that the opera-tional functionality is neverlimited by risks associatedwith potential eye safety haz-ards. The invisible eye-safebeam also eliminates thechances of distracting driversand onlookers in populatedsurvey settings.

ALTM PEGASUS HD500

Pegasus is designed for appli-cations that require maximumcollection efficiency in a widefield of view (FOV) design,while maintaining enhancedtarget detail and maximum

GeospatialWorld I April 2012 49

ground density with highrange accuracy and precision.It is equipped with dual outputlaser system for maximumdensity capability. It offershigh laser sampling rate forenhanced efficiency in XYpoint distribution. Its "Drop-in"sensor design enables unre-stricted use of advertised FOVin deep portal installations. Itis powered by Optech'siFLEX™ technology, whichprovides high accuracy andprecision independent ofpulse rate.

Leica Geosystems

Leica Geosystems is knownas the developer, manufactur-er and distributor of products,systems, and software thatcapture, visualise and process3D spatial data through theemployment of advancedtechnologies. LiDAR-basedsensors and solutions are oneof its core expertise.

LEICA ALS70

It is available in three models,Leica ALS70-CM, LeicaALS70-HP and Leica ALS70-HA. Leica ALS70-CM isdesigned for city and corridormapping applications fromlower flying heights. Ultra-high-density can be achievedby flying in small aircraft ormounted in helicopter pods,taking advantage of the low-profile scanner. Leica ALS70-HP is designed for general-purpose mapping at the flyingheights most widely used andcan accommodate greater ter-rain relief due to its highermaximum flying height. And,

Leica ALS70-HA is a high-altitude variant, allowing themarket's highest flyingheights, for wide-area map-ping on a state or national level.

LEICA HDS7000

Phase-based scanners areknown for their ultra-highscan speeds and their highlevel of detail. Adding to thisbasic speed capability (> 1million points / second), theHDS7000 phase-based scanner provides "next level"performance features fordemanding professionals.Advances in the HDS7000laser technology now enableusers to achieve high qualitydata at longer range. TheHDS7000's maximum rangeof 187 m is best-in-class forphase-based scanners.Demanding professionalsneed their tools to work indemanding environments. TheHDS7000 delivers anunmatched 55 °C operatingtemperature range (-10 °C to+45 °C).

Trimble

Trimble is known for advancedpositioning solutions. Its solu-tions include fast automaticlaser scanner data filtering toclassify the point cloud intoterrain, buildings and vegeta-tion.

TRIMBLE VX

Today's surveyors need inte-gration of advanced opticalsurveying, metric imaging and3D scanning; the Trimble®

VX™ Spatial Station offers

these options. With the abilityto capture metric images withthe Trimble VX in the field,users are also able to makeadditional measurements andattribute the data back in theoffice.

HARRIER 68I

The Trimble® Harrier 68i is anadvanced corridor mappingsystem with a 400 kHz blast-ing pulse repetition rate togenerate extremely densepoint clouds in combinationwith high-quality, georefer-enced ortho images. The integration of wide angle fullwaveform digitisation laserequipment, medium-formatdigital frame camera, directgeoreferencing and flightmanagement make the Harri-er 68i a suitable solution forwide area mapping, powerlinemapping, pipeline monitoring,corridor mapping, aerial surveyand other demanding remotesensing operations The built-in full waveform digitisationfeatures of the Harrier 68ienable comprehensive verticalinformation to be extractedfrom the acquired echo signals.

RIEGLRIEGL is the manufacturer oftime-of-flight based opticalradar systems. Its products areused for tripod, airborne sur-vey, industrial process control,altimetry, aerospace, mobile,hydrographic and bathymetricapplications.

RIEGL VZ-4000

This 3D VZ-Line laser scanneroffers superior long rangemeasurement performance ofup to 4000 m reflectorlesslywhile still maintaining com-pletely eye safe operation(Laser Class 1). RIEGL'sunique V-Line technology isbased on echo digitisation andonline waveform processingand is the key to enabling

such extreme long rangemeasurements. The VZ-4000operates even in poor visibilityand demanding multi targetsituations caused by dust,haze, rain, snow, etc. which arefrequently found in difficultenvironments such as minesites.

RIEGL VQ-580

The V-Line Airborne LaserScanner RIEGL VQ-580 pro-vides high speed, non-contactdata acquisition using a nar-row near-infrared laser beamand a fast line scanningmechanism and is especiallydesigned to measure on snowand ice. High-accuracy laserranging is based on RIEGL'secho digitisation and onlinewaveform processing, whichallows achieving superiormeasurement results evenunder adverse atmosphericconditions.

The scanning mechanism isbased on a fast rotating multi-facet polygonal mirror,which provides fully linear, uni-directional and parallel scanlines. The RIEGL VQ-580 is acompact and lightweightscanner, mountable in any ori-entation and even under limit-ed space conditions on heli-copters or UAVs. The instru-ment needs only one powersupply and provides line scandata via the integrated LAN-TCP/IP interface. The binarydata stream can easily bedecoded by user-designedsoftware making use of theavailable software libraryRiVLib.

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

Bentley Map is the choice of infrastructure professionals around the globe. It has all the power of MicroStation to make workflows efficient, and includes innovative and comprehensive map finish-ing functions as well as advanced parcel management functionality.

Featuring an extended API, the latest version of Bentley Map is optimized for developers and en-terprise deployments alike. It comes in three editions to meet a range of user needs – from light editing and review, to 2D and 3D spatial information creation and analysis, to advanced raster image management and long transactions using Oracle Spatial.

To find out how Bentley Map is advancing GIS for infrastructure, visit www.bentley.com/GT. For inquiries contact Malaysia: +60 3 2054 7000, Singapore: +65 6225 6158.

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

www.bentley.com/GT

ADVANCING GIS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE

CHECK OUT THE NEWBENTLEY MAP EDITIONS

Data courtesy City of Quebec

8007_8007_ 2222

Documents

April 2012 : Photogrammetry