Subscriber’s copy. Not for Sale INR ... - Geospatial World€¦ · Geospatial technologies have taken centre stage in urban design and an excellent exam-ple of this is the Lavasa

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SEPTEMBER 2010 VOL 01 ISSUE 02

T H E G E O S P A T I A L I N D U S T R Y M A G A Z I N E

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Geospatial World I September 2010 5

Cover Story

Market Research

India on a Roll It is well acknowledged that the Indian geospatial industry is witnessing agrowth rate significantly higher than worldwide average…

Theme: URBAN DESIGN

Urban Infrastructure

The Time for Change is Now Terry D. Bennett, Autodesk

3D Technologies

Unlocking the Potential of Urban Design Caroline Tasse, Vectuel Middle East

SMART Tunnel

Two Issues, One Solution Mohd. Noor b. Mohd. Ali, The Stormwater Management & Road Tunnel

Lavasa

Steering Future Indian CitiesAr. Anubandh M Hambarde, Lavasa Special Planning Authority Dr. GS Rao, Lavasa Corporation Limited

Public Transportation

Information on the move Sarah Liu, SuperGeo Technologies Inc.

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DISCLAIMERGIS Development does not necessarily subscribe to theviews expressed in the publication. All views expressed inthis issue are those of the contributors. It is not responsi-ble for any loss to anyone due to the information provided.

Printed and Published by Sanjay Kumar. Press M. P. Printers B - 220, Phase-II, Noida - 201 301, Gautam BudhNagar (UP) INDIA Publication Address A - 92, Sector - 52,Gautambudh Nagar, Noida, India Editor Sanjay Kumar

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Inside...

Advisory Board

Dato’ Dr. Abdul Kadir bin Taib

Director General of Survey and Mapping, Malaysia

Prof. Ian Dowman

Former PresidentISPRS

Prof. Josef Strobl

Director, Centre for GeoinformaticsUniversity of Salzburg, Austria

Kamal K Singh

Chairman and CEORolta Group of Companies

Mark Reichardt

President and CEO,Open Geospatial Consortium

Matthew O’Connell

CEO, GeoEyeUSA

Dr. Prithvish Nag

DirectorNATMO, India

Prof. V. S Ramamurthy

DirectorNIAS, Bangalore, India

KCM Kumar

Chairman & Managing DirectorSpeck Systems Limited

Brian Nicholls

General ManagerAAM

Shailesh Nayak

SecretaryMinistry of Earth Sciences, India

Prof William Cartwright

PresidentInternational Cartographic Association

Dr Derek. G. Clarke

Chief Director: Surveys and MappingSouth Africa

Bradley C Skelton

Chief Technology OfficerERDAS

Bhupinder Singh

Sr. Vice PresidentBentley Systems Inc.

07 EDITORIAL 08 NEWS

CHAIRMAN M P Narayanan

EDITOR & PUBLISHER Sanjay Kumar

PUBLICATIONS TEAMManaging Editor (Honorary) Prof. Arup DasguptaDirector Publications NirajAssociate Editor Bhanu RekhaAssistant Editor Deepali RoySub-Editor Anand KashyapProduct Manager Shivani Lal

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

CIRCULATION TEAMCirculation Manager Priyanka Ujwal, Vijay Kumar Singh

In the 1950's as the American Interstate

highways were being laid, Ian McHarg

lashed out at engineers as people who

'gouge and scar' landscape. I wonder if he

would have changed his opinion if he saw

the way urban design is implemented

today. GIS, the technology which he foresaw

through his revolutionary concept of overlay analy-

sis, is today an essential element in the urban

designer's toolkit. The urban designer has to work

with limited resources and conflicting demands on

those resources. Urban

designs have to factor in sus-

tainability and environmental

protection while meeting the

basic requirements of the citi-

zens. Luckily designers have

many other tools like 3D visual-

isation, Building Information

Models, GPS, GPR and integra-

tion with ERP and CRM.

Geospatial technologies have

taken centre stage in urban

design and an excellent exam-

ple of this is the Lavasa project.

The management of the entire

township from planning to con-

struction, maintenance and

operation is built around GIS.

Another example of the use of

geospatial technologies to

manage the urban environ-

ment is the SMART tunnel in

Kuala Lumpur. This tunnel not only provides a fast

access to the city centre but also prevents flooding

during heavy rainfall. This issue covers stories on

these projects. A question remains: how to revive

decaying cities planned hundreds of years ago for a

smaller population and for an easy paced way of

life? There is a need to preserve historical heritage

while opening up the city to modern urban conven-

iences. This is a challenge to the urban designer

because much of the data on existing structures

and facilities are dated or worse, lost. It would be

interesting to see how modern geospatial tools

could be adapted to meet the requirements of city

rejuvenation.

This issue also takes a look at the geospatial indus-

try scenario in India. The Indian geospatial industry

is on a healthy growth path. With a strong

outsourcing base and a growing internal demand,

the industry can look forward

to a bright future. Major

government projects like

R-APDRP for the power sector

and NLRMP for the land

records management are two

examples of the future growth

areas. It is interesting to note

that both projects are built

around geospatial technolo-

gies but their scope extends

much beyond these technolo-

gies to services and manage-

ment of services. This is a

measure of the maturity of the

marketplace which looks on

geospatial technologies as

essential tools for their work

and not as separate 'GIS proj-

ects'.

There are issues which need to

be addressed. The availability

of trained manpower is an issue and most projects

are being run by IT personnel rather than spatial

planners. The NSDI which should have been the

backbone of these projects still remains a govern-

ment showpiece. The regulatory environment is

uncertain. These issues are not insurmountable

and, given a push by industry, solutions will be

found.

IEditorSpeak

7Geospatial World I September 2010

India on a healthy growth path

Prof. Arup Dasgupta

Managing Editor (Honorary) [email protected]

SOUTH AFRICA

Free submarine

cable map

Durban-based software developer,Greg Mahlknecht, has built a mapshowing the world’s submarinetelecommunications cable systems.Mahlknecht used Microsoft’s Bingservice and Wikipedia’s submarinecommunications cables category. Inaddition, he visited each cable’shomepage and gathered alternativeinformation.

The map will be released underthe General Public Licence, thesame licence that governs therelease of most open-source soft-ware and will be available for free.

UGANDA

World Bank aid for

modern LIS

International Land Systems (ILS)has entered into a contract withWorld Bank to improve Uganda's

land administration systems (LIS).As part of the contract, the Design,Supply, Installation, Implementationof the Lands Information Systemand Securing of Land Records(DeSILISoR) supplementary projectwill establish a modern national LISto underpin future enterprise cre-ation and growth.

Geospatial World I September 20108

INDIA

India gets new

Surveyor General

Swarna Subba Rao has taken overas the new Surveyor General ofIndia. He was selected through an

open competi-tion held bythe UnionPublic ServiceCommission.Rao joinedSurvey ofIndia in 1983and super-

vised all disciplines of survey. Hehas been associated with GIS relat-ed work for the past two decades.

GAGAN in final

phase

India launched the final operational

phase of GAGAN, a satellite-basednavigation system to aid air trafficfrom Southeast Asia to Africa.

It is a joint initiative of the AirportsAuthority of India (AAI) and the Indi-an Space Research Organisation(ISRO). It will be operational in 2013.AAI officials said the system willenable airlines to chart out directroutes as they will be less depend-ent on the ground-based radar sys-tems, save fuel and increase effi-ciency. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel asked AAI to maximiseits investment and market the capability to other countries in theregion.

Collaboration for

earth observation

South Africa and Russia havesigned a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) on collaboration inthe area of earth observation. TheDepartment of Science and Tech-nology, South Africa, said that theMoU paves the way for South

Africa to access historic Russian satellite data collected over southernAfrica. It would benefit remote sensing applications towards addressingSouth Africa’s socio-economic problems that rely on the use of suchdatasets. Dr Sandile Malinga, Chief Executive of the South African Nation-al Space Agency (SANSA) and Professor Alex Perminov, President of theRussian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), signed the MoU.

INDONESIA

Maps for safer

infrastructure

The Public Works Ministry launchedsix new earthquake zone maps tosupport the development of earth-quake-resilient infrastructure.

The map-making processinvolved 11 experts from the Ban-dung Institute of Technology (ITB),the Indonesian Institute of Sciences(LIPI), the Climatology, Meteorologyand Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and the Public Works Ministry.

JAPAN

JAXA and ADB join

hands

The Japan Aerospace ExplorationAgency (JAXA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed tocooperate in promoting the applica-tion of satellite technology to disas-ter management, climate changemitigation and adaptation, forestmonitoring and water resourcemanagement.

ADB President Haruhiko Kurodaand JAXA President Keiji Tachikawasigned a Letter of Intent. JAXA isalso considering to assign person-

nel to ADB to facilitate future collaboration.

3D map shows

horror of A-bombing

A new website, "Nagasaki Archive"(http://nagasaki.mapping.jp/) hasbeen launched. It aims at helpingthe world learn about the horrorand destruction of the Nagasakiatomic bombing (A-bombing), usinga 3-D digital map. It also showsphotographic portraits of A-bombsurvivors and their stories. The 3-Dcityscape on the map can be seenfrom the sky and from horizontalangles as well.


Innovative minds

honoured

Innovations for rural marketsdesigned by Indian studentsbagged top honours at technol-ogy competitions organised byMicrosoft and Intel. At the 2010Microsoft Imagine Cup, a team led by Pranay Sharmaof National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan, emerged asthe winner. Sharma’s team used cloud computing andsatellite-imaging tools to provide real-time agricultur-al information to farmers using a mobile phone. On theother hand, at the ‘Intel India Embedded Challenge2010’, the top prize went to TractRobot an unmanned

tractor, developed by a four-member teamled by Sanjay Bansal that uses a combina-

tion of GPS, GIS,remote video

monitoringand artificialintelli-gence.

Satellite locates ancient

megaliths

Maharashtra Remote Sensing and Applications Centre(MRSAC) has located two burial sites dating back3000-3500 years. Though, the sites are known to thearchaeologists, but there is no update in the govern-ment's toposheets since 1930. Recently, discovered

megaliths are spread in an area of about 6-7 km, themegaliths have a potential to be converted into a her-itage site. The megaliths were located using "QuickBird" remote sensing satellite. Vinod Bothale, Director,MRSAC, said that the megaliths are made of basaltrocks. Basalt being black the megaliths appear assmall black rings on the satellite image.

SPAIN

Innovative water

conservation system

The team of VincentCaselles, professor atthe University ofValencia, has devel-

oped a remote sensingsystem for water conser-

vation. Vincent expects thatit would save 50% of the global irri-gation water. Recognising the inno-vative work, the World Meteorologi-cal Organization (WMO) has award-ed him the Norbert Gerbier-MummInternational 2010 award. Theaward distinguishes the best scien-tific article influential in meteorolo-gy. One can avail this methodthrough the research group’s website.

UK

OS data accessible

to public sector

Public sector organisations in England and Wales will have accessto Ordnance Survey (OS) mappingdata under a single agreement forthe first time from April 2011. The new deal replaces the localgovernment Mapping ServicesAgreement, the Pan GovernmentAgreement for central governmentand the NHS Digital Mapping

Agreement. This new agreement,known as the Public Sector Map-ping Agreement (PSMA) for England& Wales, includes over 750 organi-sations, with provision for 1,000smore, and will result in significantcost savings for the public sectorand greater data sharing.

PBBI introduces

Geosk Platform

Pitney Bowes Business Insight(PBBI) introduced Geosk Platform,the geospatial industry’s first loca-tion-based Data-as-a-Service(DaaS) offering. It allows users toaccess and integrate the currentgeospatial data into business analy-ses, location-based marketing pro-grammes and risk managementcalculations. It provides access to acomprehensive data catalogue thatincludes both free and fee-basedgeospatial data from PBBI as wellas content from third-party dataproviders such as Ordnance Survey

and TomTom. Its new content man-agement service, Geosk Library,enables enterprise organisations tostore, share and manage geospatialdata from a cloud-based contentlibrary.

OS Insider launched

Ordnance Survey (OS) launched OSInsider newsletter. Available on theOS blog, the newsletter aims to

10 Geospatial World I September 2010

A joint front to fight disasters

A new cooperation between the Dutch Kadaster (cadastre) and the topo-graphical services of Nordrhein-Westphalen (Germany) facilitates to detectand act upon disasters like nature fires and floods faster. The German andDutch organisations are the first in Europe to making this way of sharingpossible. With this collaboration, sharing of geomatical knowledge hasbeen improved using a webservice, combining data of Dutch and Germanareas in a common set of co-ordinates. Hence, map images of TheNetherlands and Germany can be displayed in one view.

THE NETHERLANDS

Geospatial World I August 2010 11

keep everyone informed abouteverything that is happening insideGreat Britain’s national mappingagency. The first edition of OS Insid-er focuses on some of the innova-tive uses of OS data, including OSOpenData, OS OpenSpace and theGeoVation awards programme.

RUSSIA

Governmnet

promotes GLONASS

An import duty of up to 25 percenton GPS navigation equipment couldbe in place from January 1, 2011, asRussia seeks to promote its rivalGLONASS system, according toSergei Ivanov, Deputy Prime Minis-ter, Russia. However, the official

said there would be no ban ondevices working with the US GlobalGPS. "If GLONASS-GPS equipmentis imported than the duty willremain at zero level," Ivanov said."This way we will stimulate not onlydomestic but also foreign producers(to manufacture GLONASS equip-ment)."

FRANCE

ESSP enters

navigation business

European Satellite ServicesProvider (ESSP SAS) received a cer-tificate of Air Navigation ServiceProvider according to the SingleEuropean Sky Regulation2096/2005. The certification wasdelivered by the French NationalSupervisory Authority (NSA - Direc-tion de la Sécurité de l'AviationCivile) in cooperation with thenational supervisory authorities ofBelgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal,Spain, Switzerland, and UnitedKingdom. This is an importantmilestone towards making theEGNOS Safety of Life (SoL) servicesavailable to the aviation community.

AUSTRALIA

‘Virtual Brisbane’

launched

Brisbane City Council launched anew visualisation and planning tool,Virtual Brisbane. This innovative 3Dmodel aims to enhance some of thebusiness processes of the Council.It was built by AAM utilising aeriallaser data and Pictometry multi-angle oblique imagery. The modelspans an area of more than

100sqkm, contains models forabout 100,000 structures and is thelargest 3D city model in the south-ern hemisphere.

Robot tech for US

Marines

New South Wales (NSW)-basedMarathon Robotics, with the back-ing of New South Wales Govern-ment, has bagged USD 57 millioncontract with the US Marines to tri-al advanced robot technology for

training soldiers in live firing exer-cises. Marathon Robotics CEO, DrAlex Brooks, said, “The Rover usesa GPS and a scanning laserrangefinder for navigation, position-ing and obstacle detection andavoidance.” Brooks added, “TheRover system was developed at theARC Centre of Excellence forAutonomous Systems in conjunc-tion with the Australian Departmentof Defence.”

NEW ZEALAND

Contract for border

mapping

NZ Aerial Mapping Limited and theKingdom of Saudi Arabia represent-ed by the Minister of Interior andthe Government of the State ofKuwait represented by the Ministerof Interior, signed a contract in Jed-

dah. Under the contract, the com-pany will map the partitioned zone,dividing line and the boundary linebetween The Kingdom of Saudi Ara-bia and The State of Kuwait. It willtake 20 months to complete.

Quake sensors to be

deployed

New earthquake sensors will bedeployed across Canterbury andMarlborough in South Island, undera 45 million-dollar national project.From next year, GeoNet, a collabo-ration between the EarthquakeCommission (EQC) and GNS Sci-ence, will roll out a monitoring sta-tion network across the upperSouth Island.

The earthquake and deformation-recording equipment will include seismographs, strong-motion recorders and GPS equipment.


Mipela GIS merges

with GeoSolution

GeoSolutions Australia andMipela GIS announced mergerto form a new company – MipelaGeoSolutions.

The Board of Directors ofMipela GeoSolutions will consistof Mipela GIS Director HaydenMcDonald and GeoSolutionsAustralia Director MichaelKrome, with Hayden acting asManaging Director. The newcompany will be officiallylaunched at the AustralianPipeline Industry Association(APIA) Conference in Darwin on13 and 14 September.

Policy _______________

Apple collects

location info

Responding to questions from USlawmakers about what kind of loca-tion data it collects, Apple said itcollects GPS data daily fromiPhones running OS 3.2 or iOS 4.The phones collect GPS data andencrypt it before sending it back toApple every 12 hours via Wi-Fi.Attached to the GPS data is a ran-dom identification number generat-ed by the phone every 24 hours. Thecompany collects such data fromcustomers who have approved the

use of location-based capabilitieson the phone and who actually usean application that requires GPS. Ituses the data to analyse traffic pat-terns and density.


Business_________________________________

NGA awards billion dollar contract

The National Geospatial-IntelligenceAgency (NGA) awarded GeoEye andDigitalGlobe, 10-year contractsworth a combined USD 7.35 billion tofulfil intelligence needs of the USgovernment. DigitalGlobe enteredinto a USD 3.55 billion agreement,under the EnhancedView procure-ment. On the other hand, GeoEyehas won a USD 3.8 billion contract

award for increased commercial satellite-imaging capacity. The contractsupports the EnhancedView programme by providing products and serv-ices that will help meet the increasing geospatial intelligence needs ofthe Department of Defense.

Bing adds Open Street Map

Open Street Map of the world isnow available as a layer in BingMaps. Users who download theOpenStreetMap app (and MicrosoftSilverlight) can switch between thetraditional layers, which includebird's eye, aerial and standardstreet map views, and Mapnik, acolourful map that includes busi-nesses and landmarks labelled by users and devices through OpenStreet Map. The announcement of the partnership with Bing comes lessthan a month after AOL announced a USD 1 million investment in OpenStreet Map.

ITT VIS acquires CreaSo

ITT Visual Information Solutions (ITT VIS) has acquired Creative SoftwareSystems GmbH, (CreaSo). CreaSo provides software solutions for dataanalysis and visualisation and distributes ITT's IDL, ENVI and IAS soft-ware products in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and The Netherlands.The acquisition expands ITT’s ability to directly support the growing mar-kets for its software products in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and TheNetherlands and to deliver world class product and services to meet thegreater European demand for integrated software solutions that supportpan-European scientific analysis and remote sensing initiatives.


Application____________

GPS-based crash

avoidance system

Ford is developing a new andadvanced crash avoidance system.It is a GPS and radio-based wirelesssystem. It will provide a 360-degreeview and uses advanced engineer-ing algorithms to validate anythreats and react accordingly in realtime. The new technology warnsdriver of a potential collision andeven begins braking. Ford is bring-ing it to market within the next fewyears.

Laser backpack for

3D mapping

Researchers at the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, have developed

a laser backpack that scans its surroundings and creates aninstant 3D model. The outdoor version relies on GPS but one can'trely on GPS indoors. So, the team inthe imaging lab combined a newbreed of miniature laser with an

inertial management unit (IMU) like the ones that guide missiles.The IMU localises the backpack,lasers generate the geometry andcameras generate the texture map. All three are fused for precisenavigation.

Appointment_________________

Letitia A. Long to lead NGA

Letitia "Tish" Long become the first woman to heada major intelligence agency. Long began her careerin 1978 as a civilian engineer in training for theNavy. After a decade as an engineer, she joined thestaff of Naval Intelligence. As she climbed thecareer ladder, Long served a tour of duty at the CIA before holding a suc-cession of No. 2 positions: as the deputy to the director of naval intelligence, followed by the Undersecretary of Defensefor Intelligence and finally, at the Defense Intelligence Agency.

BRAZIL

RapidEye expands

market base

RapidEye’s distributor in Brazil, San-tiago & Cintra Consultoria expanded

its sales territory in South America.Now, it covers Argentina, Chile,Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru,Ecuador and Venezuela markets.Currently, RapidEye is expanding itsworldwide network of distributors inorder to facilitate easy access toRapidEye products in various region-al languages. Lara Musse Felix,Director of Santiago & Cintra Con-sultoria said, “RapidEye imagery isquickly available and information canbe derived from the data. This hascontributed to the success of a num-ber of important projects in Brazil.”

VENEZUELA

MoU to set up

RS centre

With the aim of promoting agricul-tural development, Venezuela and

Brazil signed five memoranda ofunderstanding (MoU). The memoran-da aim to develop a national remotesensing centre for agricultural pur-poses. It also focuses on the imple-mentation of national seed produc-tion of high strategic value, allowinga sustained increase in yields. Theagreement was signed by Juan Car-los Loyo, Minister of Popular Powerfor Agriculture and Land (MAT),Venezuela, and Celso Amorim, For-eign Minister, Brazil.

IGVSB launches

geoportal

Geographic Institute of VenezuelaSimon Bolivar (IGVSB) under theMinistry of Popular Power for theEnvironment (Minamb), Venezuela,launched a website, www.geopor-talsb.gob.ve, where Venezuelans canget access to national geographicinformation tools designed with thegvSIG software. At later stages,users can also get access maps ofminerals prepared by Institute ofGeology and Mines of Venezuela(Ingeominas).


CHILE

New approach to predict earthquakes

Alonso Arellano, a Professorfrom the Department of Min-ing Engineering, Faculty ofEngineering, Universidad deSantiago de Chile (USACH),along with GuillermoSanchez Arellano, has devel-oped a new approach toanalyse geotectonic activitythrough the study of satelliteimages. This has beenachieved through the obser-vation of the variation in the

density and orientation of the alignments observed in the sequence ofsatellite images Terra (Aster) for months before and after the event.

Network of seismic stations

The Chilean authorities will invest USD 18 million to install a network of 65seismic stations in Santiago. "There are 65 modern broadband seismic sta-tions for measuring ground vibrations and seismometers that indicate thespeed of ground motion," said Sergio Barrientos, a seismologist at the Uni-versity of Chile. Sergio added, “These stations are also GPS-based acceler-ation measuring instruments. Each station will be connected to a satellitedish to send the data directly via satellite to our centre.”


MARKET RESEARCH

18

INDIA on a roll

IT IS WELL ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE INDIAN GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY IS

WITNESSING A GROWTH RATE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN WORLDWIDE

AVERAGE OR THAT OF ANY OTHER COUNTRY. SEVERAL SURVEYS HAVE TRIED

TO MEASURE THIS GROWTH TRAIL WITH NOT MUCH OF SUCCESS. IN THIS

EDITION, GEOSPATIAL WORLD BRINGS A SCIENTIFIC MARKET RESEARCH WITH

DETAILED QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE INDIAN INDUSTRY DYNAMICS IN

ASSOCIATION WITH DAVE SONNEN, CONSULTANT, IDC

ll


India's 'Vision 2020' envisages the nation evolvinginto an information society and knowledge econo-my built on the edifice of information and commu-

nication technology (ICT). ICT including geospatialtechnologies is being integrated into planning andmanagement of natural resources, utilities, infra-structure and urban development and transport sec-tors. Geospatial information technology (GIT) is beingassimilated into planning and management to moni-tor, evaluate and apply spatial planning and decisionsupport systems (SPDSS) and is also a front runningagenda for major government agencies.

MARKET POTENTIAL

The Indian geospatial industry's current annual produc-tive capacity is about ̀ 3,944 Cr (39.44 billion) (`representsIndian Rupee). The industry is expected to grow at acumulative average rate of 8.1% to a productive capacityof `5,818 Cr. (58.18 billion) by 2014. The total allocation forvarious projects incorporating geospatial technologyamong other components in different sectors is`623,494.8 Cr and considering that even 1% of this alloca-tion is meant for geospatial technologies, the geospatialcomponent works out to be `6,234 Cr.

MARKET OVERVIEW

The Indian geospatial industry consists of two distinct butmutually supporting segments. The larger, internationalsegment is geared to provide geospatial data and soft-ware development services for international organisa-tions, primarily in North America and Western Europe.The other segment, the domestic segment, caters to pro-

viding geospatial capabilities to the Indian dataproviders/users. This segment is funded, managed andcontrolled largely by national and state governments. Anumber of Indian firms are contracted to provide servicesfor government initiatives. India's bimodal industry struc-ture creates high market potential and worrisome con-

19

}Indian government is trying to bringe-Governance and g-Governance together.Geospatial technology is fast becoming anengine of growth for businesses and isready to become a formidable driving forccein the global as well as Indian economy.

Prithviraj ChavanMinister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Govt of India

Table 1: Budgetary Allocation in 11th Plan for GeospatialProjects (2007-12)

SchemesAmount(`Cr)

Water Resources

Water Resource Information System 230

National Hydrology Project 150

Hydrology Project - II 180

Environment and Forest Resources

Forest Information Management and Resource Assessment 300

Strengthening of Computer/GIS Centre 5

Land Resources

National Land Records Modernisation Programme/National LandResource Management Programme (NLRMP)

1000

Agriculture

Development of National Database and Information forNatural resource Management

798

Climate Change, Risk and Disaster Management, Agro-climaticResearch Programs

170

Development of Crop Potential Maps 10

Irrigation

Application of GIS/GPS in river inflow/discharge measurements, Flood Forecasting etc.

1.5

Major and Medium Irrigation - Design, Surveys and Investigation 350

Urban Development

National Urban Information System 9.47

Transport

Maintenance of National Waterways - Setting up of DGPS 52

Railway Information System, LRDSS, MIS and other IT applications 52

Remote Control and automation of lighthouses 2.5

R-APDRP - Part A (Core Geospatial) 1500

Space Applications

DMS, VRC, NR Management, etc. 1752

Grand Total 6562.47

What's in…

Market potential

Market overview

Policies, standards & best practices

Productive capacity

Way ahead

represents Indian Rupee

Cover Story

straints. While India's geospatial market potential hasnever been higher, realising this potential would be chal-lenging. The Indian growth rate is significantly higher thanworldwide geospatial industry growth. This can be attrib-uted to the following factors.

Economic recovery

The macro economic recovery is still fragile, volatile butpositive. Assuming continuing improvement, the Indianeconomy is poised to grow about 6.5% in 2010, one of themost robust GDP growth rates worldwide.

Growth of India's international geospatial businesswill depend largely on the economic recovery of interna-tional economies and businesses. Right now, recoveryrates in North America and Europe are at least positive, awelcome change from 2009's contraction. Plannedspending on internal Indian geospatial projects is almostas high as India's total productive capacity. So, internal

geospatial growth will depend on two interrelated factors:how the GOI spends its planned budgets; and how theindustry develops capacity to meet internal demand.

Economic recovery will create another interestingmarket potential. In a recession, customers questionexisting processes and cut all but essential elements. Aseconomic conditions improve, customers have a freshperspective of what was possible with less. When theybegin to invest again, users will jump on innovations thatprovide a major advance cheaper, faster or better.

Outsourcing of data acquisition and software develop-ment to India will still be considered a proven way forcompanies to do more. It is expected that the outsourcingbusiness will increase at a brisk rate as the worldwideeconomic recovery continues unless hampered by protec-tionism in certain geographies.

Government initiatives

The Government of India (GOI) has budgeted wide range ofinitiatives that have a significant geospatial component.These initiatives, along with state and local level initia-tives, have the potential to motivate a much strongerinternal capacity for Indian geospatial technologies.

The geospatial data usage in India is supported to alarge extent by initiatives set out by the Federal govern-ment through its ministries and various departments.While defence is the major user of geospatial technolo-gies, the initial lead for the usage of geospatial technolo-gies in India was taken by the natural resources sector.Now, solutions such as decision support systems, assetmanagement, enterprise wide risk assessment etc. haveopened up avenues for this technology in almost everysector. The recommendations of the steering committeesand the working groups for the 11th Five Year Plan for themajority of sectors highlight the importance of usinggeospatial tools in proper functioning of the sector andindicate the commencement of a new phase for thegeospatial sector. As shown in Table 1,in the 11th FiveYear Plan, majority of the sectors have emphasised on theusage of geospatial data in their current functioning andlaunched various new schemes which mandate the use ofgeospatial technology.

In addition to the schemes highlighted in Figure 1,there are various other schemes which are not essential-ly geospatial but will use geospatial tools and technolo-gies as an aid, such as schemes for construction andmaintenance of roads, railways and waterways, civil avia-


{The next new IT revolution will not just bean IT revolution but will be an IT-GISrevolution, becaause IT is at the heartof geospatial technology. Geospatialtechnology presents us with an entirelyynew and far more attractive medium ofdata or information sharing.

Kapil SibalMinister for Human Resource Development

Government of India

Space Applications

Land

Water

Irrigation

Urban Dev

Figure 1: 11th

Plan Allocation (%) for Geospatial Projects (2007-2012)

Power

Agriculture

Env & Forests

Transport

tion, public utility services, education, health, commandarea development, flood management programme, floodcontrol, urban renewal, urban water supply, rural watersupply, Integrated Watershed Management Programmeetc. , as shown in Figure 2.

IT transformation

Information technology (IT) is transforming into a founda-tion-level capacity for world economies. In the geospatialarena, transformational influences will come from threedirections - advances in information and communicationstechnologies (ICT); advances in worldwide geospatialtechnologies; from cultural and political changes, includ-ing the open movement and a compulsive push towardsbroad economic development.

The rate of change in Indian geospatial capacity tendsto be slower than in North America and Europe and partsof Asia for two basic reasons:

First, the acquisition and dissemination of Indiangeospatial data (particularly aerial remote sensing) issubject to certain policies of the Government of India(defence/internal security). While the Indian capabilities inthe area of Earth Observation (EO) are world class, datadissemination, particularly to private organisations isagain subject to these policies.

Second, in view of the above 'restrictions to growth' inthe domestic market, Indian geospatial capacity has beendeveloped, to a large extent, to address the requirementsof international businesses. These requirements are like-ly to undergo paradigm changes brought about byincreased automation/ technological innovations. Thusthe current capacities, built on the requirements of theexisting international markets, may not be sustainable.Today, India's geospatial industry is well-equipped tohandle current requirements. But, asthe pace of IT transformationaccelerates, geospatial dataacquisition and programmingwill be increasingly automat-ed, reducing the demand forcurrent capacities. Geospa-tial capabilities will becomean important but invisibleelement in most informationsystems.

To keep pace, India will haveto develop substantial new

capacities for design, development and deep systemsintegration. These capabilities are likely to be substantial-ly different from those required to meet current marketrequirements.

The Indian geospatial industry, however, could likelybe constrained by the following factors:

• Lack of skilled manpower and inadequate education/ train-ing for geospatial technologies

• Policies and planning for GOI geospatial projects not beingadequate in certain sectors

• Competition from other Asian countries

• Security impediments to data acquisition/dissemination andlack of accountability in the government which comes in theway of rapid deployment of new technologies

• Technological innovations which may shrink demand fortraditional geospatial data acquisition and software program-ming services.

POLICIES, STANDARDS AND BEST PRACTICES

It is often said that, "If you don't get governance right, it ishard to do anything right." This truism certainly applies toinformation systems. As earlier mentioned, the Indiangeospatial industry has adapted well to international poli-cies, standards and best practices conforming to thenorms of offshore services. Now, India requires a signifi-cant geospatial capacity, conforming to the domestic

market requirements fostered by forward looking poli-cies.

Current GOI initiatives offer little guidanceabout geospatial standards, data reuse oraccess. Policy makers and the industry willhave to cooperate on these

}The political system is fully behindthe industry, interested in developing thiscapability in the country as a businessproposition and providing leadership to theworld in this area

Dr. K KasturiraanganMember, Planning Commission

Government of India


important matters building models for effective utilisationof available funds in a time-bound fashion.

Fortunately, one can take advantage of the consider-able expertise and established standards that are avail-able from organisations like the Open Geospatial Consor-tium (OGC). How well the Indian policy makers and theindustry are able to implement the advice of OGC and oth-ers will have a significant impact on the growth prospectof the industry.

PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY

Due to the service oriented nature of Indian geospatialindustry, it is pertinent to look at productive capacity tounderstand the current geospatial industry, predictgrowth rates and assess the impact of future market fac-tors. The estimated total productive capacity for 2009 isshown in Table 2, while Table 3 shows the estimatedgeospatial revenue capacity for 2010-2014.

WAY AHEAD

It is expected that the annual growth rate will slightlyexceed GDP for 2011 and 2012 as global economies con-tinue to recover. Figure 3 highlights the percentagegrowth for the Indian geospatial industry vis-a-vis world-wide growth, while the projected revenue capacity for theIndian geospatial industry is shown in Figure 4. There is asignificant increase expected in productive capacity after2012 as India's geospatial industry builds out capacity fornew international and internal markets. Like India's GDP,the growth of India's geospatial market will outpacegrowth rate for geospatial markets in the rest of theworld. The market assumption and impacts are shown inTable 4. There are several ways in which vendors andusers can gear up to realise the full potential of theexpanding Indian geospatial market. With the Indian


Transport and Infrastructure

Rural Development

Irrigation and Water Resources

NRE, Agriculture and CClimate

Urban Development

Power

Education

Health

Figure 2: 11th

Plan Allocation (%) for Projects using Geospatial

technologies in different sectors (2007-2012)

Note: There is a wide variance in productivity factors between different organisations. Theproductivity factor used in this analysis is typical, but may not apply to a given organisation.

Note: The worldwide (WW) growth rates are a consensus of growth rates for the geospa-tial industry from IDC and other analyst firms.

Table 2: Estimated Total Productive Capacity: 2009

Turnover category No. of EmployeesRevenueEstimate (crore)

1) < ` 10M 1,710 191.5

2 ` 10-25M 2,091 247.0

3 ` 25-100M 2,661 314.4

4 ` 100-250M 3,969 468.8

5 ` >250M 23,049 2,722.6

Total 33,480 3,944.4

US$ 870,620,874

Typical Productivity Factor

3.5

Table 3: Estimated Revenue Capacity Forecast: 2010-2014

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 CAGR

Revenue capacity(in `crore)

3,944.4 4,244.1 4,621.8 5,181.1 5,818.4 8.1

India Growth (%) 6.5 7.6 8.9 12.1 12.3

WW Growth (%) 2.3 3.4 6.8 7.1 7.9

Figure 3: Percentage Growth

14.00

12.00

10.00

8.00

6.00

4.00

2.00

0.00

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

India Growth (%) Worldwide Growth (%)


geospatial industry being bi-modal, one segment servic-ing international markets, and the other segment servinginternal needs, it is prudent to address the two segmentsseparately.

Recommendations

International geospatial service industry

Prepare for global IT and service transsformation. Infor-mation technology is transforming to an always-on, real-time phenomena that pervades every aspect of businessand social life. In the past, IT involved the maintenance ofmainframe systems that were connected to PCs. Now, ITis about a complex network of computers, phones, build-ing automation, sensors and mobile devices that aredeeply imbedded in the fabric of business and industry.Web 2.0 and real-time business analytics are drivingapplications directly to the customer or employee andbecoming mission-critical on the way.

In the transforming IT environment, the geospatialinformation part of IT infrastructure will be constantlyupdated by location-specific transactions and sensors -automatically. Open standards and increasingly openaccess will make geospatial information an integral, butinvisible part of customer and business experience. Thistransformation may take a decade to realise. As IT trans-formation progresses, traditional project-based geospa-tial services are likely to become increasingly less neces-sary and may eventually diminish. Indian businesses/geospatial industry needs to adapt to this transformationby building deeper design, innovation and service deliverycapabilities, so that they are ready for new IT demands.The key is to continue to remain relevant and viable in thisdynamic environment.

Prepare for increasing competition from other Asiancountries. India has firmly entrenched its position in pro-viding off-shore geospatial services and IT services gen-

Market Force Assumption Impact

Macroeconomics

EconomicRecovery

Global economies will continue to recov-er at generally slow rates for 2010 and2011. After 2011, worldwide GDPs willreturn to near-normal rates in mostcountries.

High (+) A down economy affects businessand consumer confidence, investment andinternal funding. Geospatial markets will beinhibited worldwide through 2011.

India's GDP

India's economy will outpace most othereconomies, achieving a growth rate of6.5% in 2010. India will see robust GDPgrowth for the rest of the forecast period

High (+). Indian Geospatial markets will growat relatively high rates for the forecast period

Other Asianeconomies

Most Asian countries are developingtechnology service capabilities. Thosecapabilities will continue to grow duringthe forecast period

Moderate(-) Other Asian countries will be ableto compete with India on price, forcing Indiantechnology service providers to differentiate inother ways

Protectionistpolicies

As unemployment remains high, somecountries may enact protectionist poli-cies that inhibit outsourcing to India.

High (-) If one or more of the countries thatoutsource to India enact protectionist policies,the Indian outsourcing industry will diminishproportionately

GOI initiativesThe Government of India will continue tofund significant economic and civil infra-structure initiatives at planned rates.

High (+) Most GOI initiatives will require significant additional geospatial capacity.

Technology/Service Developments

Geospatial & IT Standards

Standards will continue to grow in impor-tance within IT systems. OGC standardswill become a common requirement formany IT systems that incorporateGeospatial capabilities.

High(+)The intelligent use of standards accel-erates IT development and lowers implementa-tion risks, making Geospatial technologiesmore attractive and less risky to implement.

ITtransformation

IT transformation and ICT convergencewill continue and are likely to accelerate

High(+/-) Geospatial capabilities will increas-ingly become an element within transformedICT environments, broadening markets, butrequiring new skills and business models.

Mobility

User interfaces and computing aremigrating to mobile devices at the edgesof the network. This migration will occurquickly and will change the dominantdesign of information systems. Mobiledevices generate volumes of geospatialdata that can be analyzed and used.

High(+) Mobility and mobility devices will cre-ate a whole new range of Geospatial applica-tions and business. However, those applica-tions will be completely different than the traditional. Vendors will have to retool to meetdemand. After a period of adjustment, mobilitywill sharply increase Geospatial opportunities.

Cloudcomputing

Cloud computing appears to be a disrup-tive technology. Early clouds will simplyduplicate current IT approaches. Butgoing forward, clouds will become plat-forms for a new generation of enterpriseIT capabilities. Geospatial technologieswill become an invisible and often mar-ginal element in those clouds.

High (+/-) Cloud computing will decrease theneed for traditional systems integration andwill change the requirements and profitabilityof established service providers. In the shortrun, vendors will see decreased revenue andincreased competition. In the longer term,cloud computing will open significant new markets.

Labor Supply

Supply ofskilledGeospatialworkers

India's educational systems are not providing a sufficient number of skilledGeospatial workers. Many of the currentcurricula are training people for yesterday's jobs.

Moderate (-) The lack of skilled workers willconstrain the development of new Geospatialcapacity and will drive labor costs higher.

Capitalization

Venture capital The lack of venture capital and otherfunding mechanisms for new ventureswill persist.

Moderate (-) Few new Geospatial startups willbe able to break out of their initial niches. Mostnew business will accrue to established firms

Market Characteristics

GovernmentPolicies

Indian policies are likely to continue toconstraint the access to Geospatial information and hence not likely to foster the use of standards or design for integration.

Moderate (-) Policy constraints likely to impede the acquisition and dissemination ofGeospatial data and thus limiting developmentof new Geospatial business

Open SourceOpen Source software will continue tobe a strong influence in enterprise andconsumer-facing systems.

Moderate (+/-) Open Source software tendsto drive prices lower and also tends to broadenthe reach of IT systems. Open Source willbecome an important tool in keeping Indiantechnology costs competitive

Convergingconsumer andenterpriseexpectations

Increasingly, enterprise users expect thesame simple interfaces, sophisticatedsearch and free access that they experience as consumers.

High (+/-) Geospatial systems will have toadopt interfaces and capabilities found in consumer applications. Applications thatrequire extensive training will fare poorly.Meeting these user expectations will requireretooling many development processes

Market Ecosystem

User as participant &data provider

Users will take an increasingly active role as participants, data providers andco-designers of the information systemsthey use.

High (+/-) The user's changing role will obso-lete many current practices and conventions.Vendors may be able to benefit from moreactive user participation.

Table 4: Market Assumptions and Impacts

Figure 4: Revenue Capacity (`Cr)

6,000.00

5,000.00

4,000.00

3,000.00

2,000.00

1,000.00

0.00

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Revenue Capacity (Rs. Crore)

erally. Emulating India's example, most other Asian coun-tries are developing their own IT service capacities. Manyservice firms are developing "multi-shoring" capabilitiesand are working on ways to standardise technologies /production methods, deliver services online, and expandinto business services. These capabilities can make theservice firm an integral part of their customers' opera-tions. That is good news for some service firms, but this islikely to diminish the project-based work.

The remaining work will likely be picked up by lower-cost service firms elsewhere in Asia. Understandably, themargins here would be lower. The response to this evolv-ing situation is similar to the response needed for thebroad IT transformation discussed earlier. Indian compa-nies will need to develop the capabilities required tobecome an integral, always-on part of their customer's ITinfrastructure. This will require new skills, capabilitiesand business models.

Importance of open standards and open source. Therehas often been an adversarial relation-

ship between IT vendors and theopen community. But now, openstandards and open sourcehave established their valueand can no longer be ignored.Open standards, like thosedeveloped by OGC, enabledata sharing, reduce develop-ment costs and lower imple-mentation risk. Open sourcesoftware can provide a power-ful way to extend informationsystems to much broaderaudiences and can increasefinancial returns. Open

approaches can also lowershort-term profits, so new busi-ness models and customer rela-tionships are required. But, the

returns from open, standardised approaches almostalways outweigh the costs.

Internal geospatial servicee industry

India's international geospatial industry is mature, effi-cient and well-organised. India's internal geospatial situ-ation appears in sharp contrast - at crossroads, emergingfrom a 'closed' environment to a gradually 'open' environ-ment. Initiatives like the Association of Geospatial Indus-tries (AGI) are expected to transform the parties into acohesive body, geared up to address the emerging(geospatial) challenges in the country. The formation ofthe OGC India Forum also bodes well for the industry.

These initiatives are timely, as the potential for India'sinternal geospatial markets is enormous. Current GOIplans call for geospatial capabilities that are larger thanthe geospatial industry can currently provide. As India'seconomic development unfolds, geospatial capabilitieswill be an integral part and will grow at vigorous rates.

Indian vendors and governments could consider thefollowing actions to build needed capacity and capture theemerging markets' full potential:

Gain from the experience of others: India's geospatialsituation is quite similar to Europe's twenty years ago.The European Union (EU) recognised the value of consis-tent, standard geospatial information and created a policyframework that facilitates the best use of geospatialinformation for economic development. The EU initiative,INSPIRE, has taken years and endured lot of political tur-moil to establish. INSPIRE is still a work in progress, butit works. INSPIRE has become an integral part of the EU'spolicy and legal framework. INSPIRE is dynamic andbuilds on the ongoing efforts of standards groups like theOGC, national security agencies, and many diverse map-ping agencies. There is no good reason for India to incurthe costs, time and political expense that the EU hasalready paid. While India's situation is unique, the princi-ples that the EU has developed will be valuable and canreduce the time and costs of GOI geospatial projects.

{Geospatial data plays a vital role in India,underpins the nation's domestic econom-ic activities, aids our national competitive-ness and supports a large array of gov-ernment socio-economic initiaatives

K K SinghChairman and Managing Director

Rolta India Limited

}So far, we have been producing thematicdata, but with Census 2011 we are nowevolving to offer a GIIS-based decision sup-port system for policy makers by bringingspatial and non-spatial data togetheer

Dr. C. ChandramouliRegistrar General and Census CommissionerGovernment of India


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Planning for data integration and reuse. GOI's plansfor geospatial projects offer little guidance for data inte-gration and reuse. Today, most geospatial projects aremanaged by local groups with little thought given to howthe outputs can be reused. GOI's projects are large andstill gaining experience, so certain shortcomings are to beexpected. But, in the long run, the current lack of long-term planning, design and data architecture is likely toforce the government to rework the current projects,before the state and national governments can realise thebenefits of integrated systems.

Training new geospatial professionals. Current GOIgeospatial projects will require more skilled workers thanare available or will be trained by the current educationsystem. This situation will create a skilled manpowershortage and will drive up labour costs unnecessarily. Thegeospatial industry would need to consider ways/means

to improve the educational system for geospatial workersat skilled and semi-skilled levels.

Organisationall mechanism to effect policies, stan-dards and best practices: In North America and the EU,professional geospatial organisations play an importantrole in defining policies, setting standards and recognis-ing best practices. These organisations represent users,vendors and government, often in the same forums. Theworking relationships and social connections developedwithin these groups are the basis for effective action at alllevels. In this arena, the recently formed Association ofGeospatial Industries (AGI) and the OGC India Forum aretimely. It is hoped that the emerging geospatial communi-ty will participate and strengthen those organisations. Ifthat does occur, those organisations can become a valu-able channel for policy makers, vendors and users alike.

Analysis of return on investment ((ROI): Often geospa-tial projects are implemented without any ROI assess-ment. Many projects include some cursory assessmentdone as a gesture toward "good management" and for-gotten soon after. Without any clear understanding of realvalue, geospatial projects are often seen as just an exer-cise in spending money. People managing effective proj-ects, measure returns constantly. The reason is simple:Unless the project's value is understood, the project haslittle value. This simple and clear lesson from successfulorganisations is often forgotten in the rush to "get thework done."

CAPACITY BUILDING

Capacity building is key to capitalise on the opportunitiespresented before the Indian geospatial industry. India istaking due note. India has well defined courses in variousdisciplines of geographical information science at under-graduate as well as post graduate levels. The courses arerun as an allied subject to geography or as stand-alonecourses in GIS, Remote Sensing, Geoinformatics, Geomatic Science, Surveying etc. Public-private partner-ship is also making its presence felt. Recently, Roltasigned a formal MOU with Central Board of SecondaryEducation (CBSE) as the resource partner for providingGeospatial Technology Vocation Course, for XI & XIIstandard students. This course is an initiative of theHuman Resource Development ministry under the lead-ership of Minister Kapil Sibal as a part of its vision foreducation sector and to provide employment for a largenumber of youth in the country.


{Though started with data conversion serv-ices, the Indian geospatial industry movedup the value chaain in client engagementand is in a strong advantageous positiontoday. Geospatial content is now a criticalasset of governments and corporates

Rajesh C MathurVice Chairman

NIIT GIS

GIANTS AMONG THE PROJECTS

Re-structured Accelerated Power Development & Reform Programme (R-APDRP)

KEY ACTIVITIES

• GIS mapping, metering of distribution and feeders

• Automatic data logging for all distribution transformers and feeders andsupervisory control and data acquisition/document management system

FUND ALLOCATION

1500 crore for Part A (Core Geospatial) in 11th Five Year Plan.

National Land Records Modernisation Programme (NLRMP)

PROJECT OBJECTIVE

Ushering in the system of conclusive titling.

MAJOR COMPONENTS

• Computerisation of all land records including mutations

• Survey/re-survey and updation of all survey and settlement records includ-ing creation of original cadastral records wherever necessary

• Computerisation of registration and its integration with the land recordsmaintainence system and development of core GIS

FUND ALLOCATION

`1000 crore in 11th Five Year Plan.


Growth in human populationand economic developmentstrain the world's finite

resources such as land, water,materials, food and energy. Tomaintain and in some cases,improve our quality of life, we needto develop sustainably - such thatour development meets our needsfor natural resources, industrialproducts, energy, food, transporta-tion, shelter, and waste manage-ment; conserves environmentalquality (indoor and outdoor) andreduces growing social and economic inequities. With urbani-sation estimated to grow fromaround 53% as of this writing to64% by 2020 and 70% by 2050 andclose to 6.3 billion people inhabit-

ing our urban settings in the nearfuture - how do we do it? Intrinsicto sustainable urban infrastructuredesign is the planning, design, construction, operation, mainte-nance and disposal of a city's infra-structure.

How do we address urbanisa-tion, existing infrastructure and newinfrastructure in a synergistic man-ner? The question that will continu-ally be asked is - Can we fix it,can we change it to match ourfuture needs or is it more costeffective to raze and start over?Which option gives us the best longterm ROI? And finding thoseanswers will be an exercise in 3-dimensional (3D) geospatial deci-sion-making.

Traditional industry challenges

Within infrastructure construction,the diverse set of disciplinesinvolved may include infrastructuredevelopers or owners, surveyors,architects, civil and structural engi-neers, environmental and geotech-nical engineers, heating and ventila-tion specialists, utilities and roaddepartments of local governments.Each discipline has traditionallymaintained its own professionalstandards, and has conducted itswork independent from the others.As a result, each discipline hasmaintained an island or silo of tech-nology related to planning, designand engineering information andthe eventual work product. The truequality and accuracy of the designs

URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE I Terry D. Bennett

30

Here's a look at the role of

geospatial technologies in

urban infrastructure design for

sustainablle development

The time

for change

is now


is never really known until the uni-fied construction of the projectbegins in the field.

However, the lifecycle of infra-structure is being compressed dueto economic reality. Owners andoperators are concerned about thecosts of operating and maintainingthese structures. The result is a veryinefficient process characterised bydata redundancy, redundantprocesses, and poor data quality.

With our current understandingof the critical nature of climatechange that is converging with themigration of the world's populationto urban environments, concernwith sustainable urban environ-ments, or "green cities," has cometo the forefront. Succeeding in

developing sustainable and eco-nomically efficient urban environ-ments for our growing communitiesrequires a rethinking of digital datawhich underlie infrastructure andbuilding design approaches and thatmovement is underway.

Uniting GIS/geospatial & BIM

Traditional CAD drawings lack intel-ligence because they are designedto produce a paper drawing and soGIS information used in planningneeded to be converted to CAD inorder to facilitate design. Now withthe emergence of building informa-tion modeling (BIM) this can change.

BIM is an integrated, collabora-tive process that enables engineers,architects, contractors, and clients

to work from a single, digital projectmodel so they can share reliable,coordinated information at everystage of a project lifecycle-fromplanning to design through con-struction and ultimately into opera-tions and maintenance. But GIS inthe traditional sense has alsochanged during this time, evolving ifonly in name in many cases togeospatial and the understandingthat users (designers, managers,analysts and the like) are no longerjust interested in GIS as technology,but more so in applying geospatialinformation as a backdrop to specif-ic vertical sectors workflows andprocesses like BIM for intelligentand exacting urban planning and

design and the analysis required todetermine if a particular designapproach is more sustainable longterm than another while still in thealternative selection phase. Startingwith surveying and all the waythrough to supporting constructionprocesses and into operations, BIM

31

Developing sustainableurban environmentsrequires a rethinking ofdigital data which underlieinfraastructure and buildingdesign approaches

supported by a geospatial dataallows the extended civil engineer-ing team to extract valuable datafrom the model to facilitate earlierdecision making, more sustainabledesigns, and faster, more economi-cal project delivery. But it doesn'tjust stop there - once the infrastruc-ture in our urban centers is built, itmust be maintained and we are see-ing a need to take these future con-ditions and make them an input intodesign as a design parameter help-ing to future-proof as much as pos-sible the design based on its intend-ed life expectancy.

The development of mainte-nance plans have been well under-stood for many years from the con-struction aspect. Going forward,planners and designers will berequired to optimise an infrastruc-ture design solution to reduce lifecycle costs over say a 50-60 or evena 75 year horizon.

More open sharing of informa-tion using BIM allows for the visual-isation simulation and analysis of adesign, addressing clashes, errors

and better understanding of how itwill perform occurs prior to con-struction. This effort is aimed atmore efficient and less error proneconstruction while also allowing forbetter designs that are more alignedto meet our future needs, not just onthe day construction ends. Sharingof information means we mustchange to accommodate this newway of collaborating between pro-fessionals, and how the independent"silos" of information can be inte-grated for improved sustainableimpacts.

A vision for intelligent urban

environments

The time for change is now. Thereplacement and repair of urbaninfrastructure represents opportu-nities to integrate sustainable prac-tices. Visionary green cities arebeing announced.The design con-sultancy of Arup was hired by theChinese government to lead theconstruction of Dongtan nearShanghai, a green city which willimplement techniques for recycled

water, alternative energy fromcogeneration and biomass, with ahigh degree of carbon neutrality.The city of Greensburg, Kansas isrebuilding its entire community tothe highest LEED rating standardafter being completely devastated bya tornado in 2007. The growing listof inspiring projects suggests acompelling move toward greenbuilding and city design on the partof the AEC industry.

This move drives increasedcommitment to retool as an indus-try, with innovative approaches toprofessional collaboration, a moreintegrated flow of geospatial infor-mation into design, increased pro-ductivity, workforce skill andsophisticated data integration.There is a critical need for sustain-able urban environments around theglobe, and the AEC industry is evolv-ing to meet this challenge.

Terry D. Bennett

Senior Industry Manager - Civil Engineering and Heavy Construction, Autodesk [email protected]


Sustainable city urban planning analysis Underground utility model

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3D TECHNOLOGIES I Caroline Tasse

34

UNLOCKING

THE POTENTIAL

of urban design



Whatever be theurban strate-gies imple-

mented by the govern-ments, the need tounderstand andexchange information isessential to enable asustainable urban designand planification dedi-cated to a better qualityof life for the citizens.The 3D technologies andexpertise developed byVectuel aim to supportmajor urbanism andarchitecture projects ateach stage of their devel-opment: from the designto the support of decision-makers in the project pro-motion.

From this perspective,the 3D technologies- 3Ddata, tools and 3D virtualsimulator - strongly con-tribute to a better under-standing of the existingenvironment as well as amore efficient urban plan-ification of the territory.These tools also enable amutualisation of the infor-mation and an innovatingcommunication on thefuture projects. Visualis-ing, simulating and com-municating, that is theambition of urban design.

Understanding the

environment for a better

planification

The rapid development ofdigital technologiesenables fully building acity in 3D in high defini-tion.

Thanks to a detailedand interoperable data,the analysis of a city canbe done in different ways:technical analyses andcalculations thanks to GIStools, visualisation in highdefinition on VStory, dis-play on the web globeswith worldwide visibility,edition through urbanismsoftware - the choice iswide and meets all needsof the stakeholders of citymanagement. The resultsof these analyses will sup-port the town planners in their design of new projects in the pur-pose of improving theurban living area.

Simulation and

visualisation, ssuccess keys

to plan and design the

future

Crossing the world of GISand architecture is themission of Vectuel. Takinginto consideration theexisting environment forthe urban design andincluding the future devel-opments in the spatialanalyses opens new doorsin planification and urbanmanagement.

That was the motiva-tion of the Fujairah Emi-rate (United Arab Emi-rates) in the creation of a3D detailed database andin the acquisition of a vir-tual 3D simulator VStory.Its objective is to take intoconsideration the existingcities to design and planin a harmonious way the

future developments of itsterritory.

The 3D virtual simula-tor VStory enables theinsertion of architectureprojects to visualise"before/after project":what are the impacts ofmy new development onthe existing environment?What are the changes tomake? Thus we are talk-ing about the 4th dimen-sion - 4D - with the dis-play of the future: whatwill my city look like in2020 or in 2030? What arethe different phases ofconstruction of my futurecity?

This simulation andvisualisation tool is adapt-ed for architecture com-petition. In a fair andtransparent way, one canassess the different proj-ects and choose the onewhich will best meet one'sexpectations and require-ments. Although the proj-ects are varied - revitali-sation of a parking into apublic garden, develop-ment of an accommoda-tion building, insertion ofa tramway line downtownor creation of a new city -the main need is common:to be understood by allproject stakeholders, whosometimes have differentwork culture and diverseexpertise, in the purposeof easing an efficient com-mon work. That is the rea-son why they are interest-ed in tools and datausable by all in order to

mutualise the information,exchange their work andcapitalise on experiencefor the future projects.

Interoperability of

the GIS and architecturee

world for a better

information mutualisation

Being able to displayarchitecture projects inGIS tools and an existingurban environment indesign software is todayavailable for all with theRCP technology. It enables

35

3D technologies-

3D data, tools

and 3D virtual

simulator -

contribute to

a better under-

standing of the

existing environ-

ment as well as a

more efficient

urban planifica-

tion of the

territory. TThese

tools also enable

a mutualisation

of the informa-

tion and an

innovating

communication

on thee future

projects

’

“

usage of one single datain diverse applications andto exchange it with part-ners. At the scale of a city,this mutualisation of datacoming from diversesources benefit thedepartment of buildingpermit: the use of 3D toolsand data enables the sim-ulation of the future proj-ect into the existing envi-ronment for validation

after analysis. Makingdata available to all andsimplicity of use requiressome specifications: thedata should be geometri-cally accurate and detailedand benefit from a high definition texture in astandard format. Withsoftware like RCP, onecan optimise and convertdata for all businessapplications.

3D dedicated to wide

communication of the

territory

Such 3D data also offersadvantages beyond thetechnical circles and thetraditional businesses. Itoffers the possibility ofbetter communicating tocitizens about the choicesand future developmentsthat they do not alwaysfully understand.

It can also serve as apromotion tool when usedvia the Web. The virtualvisit in 3D high definitiongives the possibility to dis-play, as close to reality aspossible, the tourist pointsof interest, the economicattractiveness or the realestate offerings of the ter-ritory. This asset is funda-mental to attractinvestors, tourists, citi-zens and to build theimage of its territory. Inthis regard, the 3D virtualsimulator VStory has beenchosen by the Abu DhabiFuture Energy Company(Masdar) to promoteamong diverse publicincluding general public,companies, investors,decision-makers, etc. thefuture city of Masdar dur-ing the World FutureEnergy Summit in theUAE. Introducing a newcity goes beyond a simplepresentation.

The needs are numerous: making thevisitor understand theconcept of Masdar, thedesign of the new city withits advantages and syner-gies, experiment thefuture lifestyle, etc. Thistechnology enables a realexperience of the futureproject by walking and fly-ing freely into the virtual city.

Caroline Tasse

Branch ManagerVectuel Middle [email protected]


Objets3D®


Kuala Lumpur is a boomingcity and a nerve centre for

Malaysia’s economy. Topographi-cally, Kuala Lumpur was builtalong the flood plains of the KlangRiver and thus, since the earliestdays it was subjected to flooding.In 1971, the flood lasted for five

days and resulted in extensivedamage. About 445 hectares ofland in the city were inundatedand the cost of damage was esti-mated to be in the region of RM36million. Over the past decades,incidences of flooding havebecome more rampant and

according to a recent study, thecost of damage due to floods tothe whole country is around RM1billion a year out of which RM100million is borne by Kuala Lumpurcity centre alone. Besides the riskof flooding affecting the city centre,Kuala Lumpur has also been experi-encing road congestion issue due tothe booming growth in its economicactivities. One of the critical roadalignments heading towards andfrom the city centre is the southerngateway link that connects the cityto the southern part of the country.The traffic volume on this stretch

The Stormwater Management andRoad Tunnel (SMART) in Kuala Lumpurserves the dual purpose of floodmitigation and easing road congestion

38

Two issues, one solution

SMART TUNNEL I Mohd. Noor b. Mohd Ali


has seen a huge growth and analternative route to cater to furthergrowth was greatly needed.

To address both these issues,MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture pre-sented the idea of incorporating twomajor infrastructure componentsinto one mega structure to the Gov-ernment of Malaysia which gave theproject a go ahead in 2003.

Smart features

The Stormwater Management andRoad Tunnel, better known asSMART, started construction workin January 2003. The projectdemanded the effort and expertiseof many - from supply of two slurrymixshield tunnel boring machines(TBMs) of more than 13 metre diam-eter to solving the complex engi-neering issues of combining two dif-ferent uses in one tunnel, from sup-ply of bentonite and M&E fittings toemploying the workforce and theservices of international anddomestic leaders in their field. Partof the challenge was dealing withthe soil condition of Kuala Lumpurwhich mostly consists of karsticlimestone and alluvium with manycavities and pinnacles.

Hence, managing advance of thetunneling machines and progress-ing major surface and open cutworks to refining the operatingstandards and protocols for thesafest operations of the dual pur-pose facilities were of utmostimportance.

Early results of the 3D modellingof reflected features at up to 40 mahead were promising but the nec-essary sensors on the rotating cut-

terhead didn't survive the harshenvironment of the limestone exca-vation process and had to beremoved and improvement wasmade onto the casing for better andmore robust protection. Being ableto "see" ahead of the tunnel facehowever remained a high profileobjective and therefore other meth-ods of geotechnical survey tech-niques were also applied, such asmicrogravity, cross hole seismicsurvey, ground penetrating radarand 2D resistivity tomography. Themost beneficial of these was resis-tivity, a technique that detectschanging resistivity of features with-in the ground to identify potentialanomalies such as karst voids andfissured rock.

Mechanical and electrical

components

Smart Tunnel is a dual purpose tun-nel, incorporating a double deckmotorway within the middle sectionof a stormwater tunnel. It was com-pleted on 30 June, 2007. The com-pletion of the Smart Tunnel is attrib-uted to the implementation of inno-vative technologies and skilled teamplayers. Being the first of its kind inits concept as a whole, there wereindeed many firsts for the Smartteam. In dealing with the dual pur-pose tunnel, amongst the mostimportant components are the M&Eequipment that can withstand thedual environment conditions - bothwet and dry.

Smart operations

Smart Tunnel is designed first andforemost for flood control and as

such stormwater operation modewill always over-ride the motorwayoperation mode. To ensure this pro-tocol is maintained, the decision toclose the motorway section for floodoperation has been retained withthe Government through its agency,Department of Irrigation andDrainage, Malaysia (DID).

Three modes of operation:

Mode 1 - no storm. For most time ofthe year, there is no storm or lowrainfall, which means no diversionof water flow from the upstreamconfluence of the Klang River andAmpang River through Smart infra-structure to the attenuation ponddownstream in Taman Desa. Duringthis mode, the road section operatesnormally and the traffic is able touse the tunnel from Kuala Lumpurcity centre - Seremban Highway andvice versa. There is no discharge ofwater into the tunnel in this mode.

Mode 2 - minor storm. Whenthere are moderate or minor stormsand the river flow at the confluenceexceeds 70 cumec (cubic meter persecond), the Stormwater Tunnel is

39

Smart Tunnelincorporates a doubledeck motorway withinthe middle section of astormwater tunnel

activated to "semi-open" status byallowing diversion of water flowfrom the confluence of Klang andAmpang rivers to the storage pondlocated upstream in Kg Berembang,Ampang, thereafter into the tunnel,and through the lowest channel ofthe road tunnel section and into theattenuation pond downstream inTaman Desa.

The flood detection system(FDS) operated by DID continuouslyand closely monitors any changes inweather conditions. The motorwaysection operates normally wherethere is no traffic disruption forthose driving through the tunnelsince only the lowest channel isbeing used at this juncture.

Mode 3 - major storm. When theFDS detects a reading at the riverconfluence of more than 150 cumecand predicts heavy and prolongeddownpour, the Stormwater tunnel isactivated to "fully open" status. Theradial gates at the diversion weir arelowered to divert water flow in full

capacity from the confluence of tworivers into the holding pond. At thesame time, the entrances to themotorway section are closed to traf-fic while all vehicles in the tunnelare evacuated.

This is to ensure that both theroad decks are empty and ready forflood water to be channelledthrough the tunnel to the attenua-tion pond. Sufficient time is allocat-ed to ensure that all traffic is evacu-ated before all the relevant gatessuch as the road gates, servicegates and emergency gates are acti-vated to allow the water to be divert-ed through the tunnel.

Once the FDS indicates that theMode 3 status is over and theweather is back to normal, floodwater is pumped out of the tunnelinto the attenuation pond and the tunnel is cleaned of mud andsmall debris. In normal process ofcleaning and inspection of the tunnel condition, Smart tunnel isreinstated within 48 hours after the

water channelisation is made andtraffic for the motorway section isallowed back for usage as normalthereafter.

Smart benefits

After operating for more than threeyears, Smart tunnel has proven tobe a success in meeting its primaryand secondary objectives. Throughthe Smart tunnel, areas such asMasjid Jamek area, Dataran Merdeka, Leboh Ampang and JalanMelaka have witnessed no floodingincidence since 2007.

In monetary terms, the tunnelhas managed to save around RM112million, based on the number ofpossible major floods that couldaffect these areas should there beno such infrastructure in place forKuala Lumpur city centre.

As for the traffic relief, SmartTunnel has been widely accepted asone of the preferred alternative byroad users for their journey into theKuala Lumpur city centre from thesouthern gateway and vice versa.The major reason for that is thetravelling time which has been min-imised from the normal 20 minuteswhen using the federal road to onlyeight minutes when using the SmartTunnel.

Besides these benefits, SmartTunnel project has also managed todevelop more experts in the tunnel-ing job where from the projectalone, it has groomed up to 200 localengineers who are now capable oftaking up any tunneling challengesanywhere in the world.

Mohd. Noor b. Mohd Ali

Head - Toll Ops & Public Relations

Syartikat Mengurus Air Banjir & Terowong SDN

BHD (The Stormwater Management & Road Tunnel)

[email protected]


Operational modes of the SMART

Holding Basin

Mode I:No Storm

StorageReservoir

Sg Kerayong

Inlet600,000m3

NorthernSection

Motorway Tunnel250, 000m3 Southern

Section

Outlet1,400,000m3 3,000,000m3

8%

750,000m3

Total Storage Capacity3 million cubic meters at 3 main components

Mode III:Major storms

Mode III:Moderate Storms

Sg Klang

CONNECTIONS THAT WORK FOR YOU.

To fi nd out more about Dimensions 2010, visit www.trimbledimensions.com

Don’t miss Trimble Dimensions 2010—the positioning event of the year! It’s the one place where you can make connections and gain insight into positioning solutions that can transform the way you work. Be inspired by our panel of visionary guest speakers. Increase your knowledge base from hundreds of educational sessions that focus on surveying, engineering, construction, mapping, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), geospatial, infrastructure, utilities and mobile resource management solutions. Register now and you’ll learn how the convergence of technology can make collaborating easier and more productive to gain a competitive edge.The Mirage, Las Vegas

November 8–10, 2010

©2010 Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. PN# 022540-039 (5/10)

India's success on the economicfront has not only made it oneof the hotspots on the global

economic landscape but alsobrought about social changes inthe country. It has fuelled aspira-tion among people about quality oflife and quality of space they useincluding private and publicspaces. Architect and urbanistCharles Correa once said "I wouldlike to live in a city which is a greatcity and a great place. Modern Indi-an cities are great cities but terribleplaces." Most of the cities in Indialack the availability of safe,approachable, livable and associa-tive public spaces.

Lavasa, a hill city currentlyunder development near Pune, issetting up the benchmark for future

Indian cities. The core idea ofLavasa master plan is to create ahill city to Live - Learn - Work - Play.Lavasa is pioneering in providingexcellent quality of life to its resi-dents. A well designed public realmis the hallmark of Lavasa. GIS hasenabled Lavasa to sensitively incor-porate the natural features in themaster plan, paving the way to asustainable and livable town. Plan-ners in Lavasa have realised that thepotential of GIS is limited not only tomaster planning and overall devel-opment strategy but it is also essen-tial for the next level of detailing ofpublic realm. Thus urban designbenefits significantly from GIS whichallows design innovation to not onlyachieve the desired effect regardingpublic realm but also analyse

scientifically pre- and post-design situations.

Relationship between GIS and urban design Understanding patterns, be it ofactivities in public realm, land use,façade styles, value of property orjust movement pattern, is one of thekey factors which helps urbandesigners evolve design strategiesfor a given place. All these patternsmust be understood spatially sincethe solution is governed by spatialdesigns. GIS comes handy to urbandesigners in studying patterns. GIScan map various such patterns onthe same spatial reference and canoverlay these patterns to draw criti-cal inferences which become aguide for urban designers to takeinformed decisions.

The four elements of geodesign:sketching, spatially-informed mod-els, fast feedback and iterationmake GIS very useful to spatialdesigners working at multiplescales.In Lavasa, urban designershave used the analytical capabilities

LAVASA

Steering future Indian cities

Lavasa, a hill city currently under devel-

opment near Pune in India, is integrating

GIS in all stagees of planning to offer

enhanced quality of life to its residents


of GIS extensively to solve urbandesign tasks. GIS provides criticalmapping and overlay analysis tomaster planners from the veryinception stage of master plan. Sub-sequently, various layers resultingfrom the master plan are provided tourban designers in required formatto understand the patterns better.

GIS helps designers map thedesign decision to understand thepattern anticipated to evolve as aresult of those decisions. GIS alsohelps designers get feedback fromvarious stakeholders on the designdecision by posting it on the intranetGIS portal.

Quick 3D visualisation ofbuilt formThe primary output of any urbandesign exercise is the well visu-alised character of buildings of the

town. The most effective tool to cre-ate homogenous built form is toprescribe the common architecturalelements across the buildings in thetown. Depending on the geographicexpanse, one town may have thesame architectural character or avariety of different districts. Thus,the prescription for architecturalelements may also remain the sameor may differ. The designer, in orderto understand the relevance andappropriateness of the built form,must get a quick 3-dimenstionalvisualisation of the suggesteddesign. In order to zero in on thebest built form, several iterationsmay be required.

Pedestrian walkwaysThe basic concept of Lavasa masterplan is based on the principles ofnew urbanism. It configures the

land use distribution in such a waythat concepts like "Walk to Work,""Walk to School" and "Walk to Park"become a reality. The town centre isthe hub of all work places, educa-tion, leisure and socio-culturalactivities. Care has been taken thatmaximum permanent residents staywithin walking distance of theirworkplaces. In July 2009, Lavasamanagement took a decision tostrengthen "Walk to Work" by build-ing pedestrian walkways in Dasvetown in Lavasa.

With the help of GIS, the patternof population density and work placeresultant of land use was mapped(Figure 2). It was overlaid on theslope map, natural ravine patternand proposed parks. Due to the hillyterrain, the streets were on differentaltitudes. The overlay analysisshowed the need to connect thesestreets. The projected populationdensity mapping also determinedthe number of people who are antic-ipated to use the pedestrian walksand thus the frequency and width ofsuch connections was determined.The walkways were categorised intoformal and informal walks keepingin mind the slopes, amount of peo-ple and frequency of usage (Figure2). Finally the well executed, safeand robust walkways were con-structed and will provide quick andsafe access between workplacesand homes in Dasve (Figure 3).

Internal bus transportnodesTaking the next step of creating asafe and livable city, it is imperativefor Lavasa to have an efficient, reli-able and viable public transport sys-tem. Lavasa initiated a study forinternal bus routing system. This


Figure 1 Figure 2

44

Figure 4Figure 3

study was in continuation with the overall traffic model-ing study for the entire Lavasa. The bus system was cre-ated to cater to the permanent resident population aswell as the tourist population. The traffic study used GISextensively by utilising the capabilities like shortest pathand scenario generation.

The designed bus system used all the analysis donefor traffic study and was overlaid on the population den-sity pattern. The results helped to determine key factorsof a viable bus system: the bus routes, frequency of tripsand density of bus stops. The location of bus stop wasbased on the factor that maximum amount of popula-tion has to be within reach of 5 minutes walk from busstop. GIS was used for analyzing the proposed bus stopsfor their proximity to houses and work places. In gener-al a distance of 360m to 450m was considered to bewithin 5 minutes walking distance. Post design GISanalysis showed that with the help of pedestrian walk-ways and road sidewalks, 85 to 90% of population waswithin 5 minutes walk and 90 to 100% of the populationwithin 8-10 minutes' walk (Figure 4).

Collaborative process of designThe most significant aspect of urban design, which setsit apart from all other design processes, is that thedesign product is not and cannot be conceived by a sin-gle stakeholder or a single discipline. In Lavasa, it is acollaborative process involving town planners, urbandesigners, architects, landscape architects, productdesigners, branding teams, engineers, execution andoperation experts, security experts and most important-ly the user. It is the consensus and creative inputs of allthese stakeholders which makes the design and result-ant created space a success. Lavasa GIS provides theessential platform to disseminate the concept and col-laboration of all the inputs at a rapid pace. The future ofgeodesign and other GIS-based design technologies willbring far more flexibility and speed in design decisionand make our cities a much better place.

Ar. Anubandh M Hambarde

Sr. Manager – Urban Design, Lavasa Special Planning [email protected]

Dr. G S Rao

Vice President Geographic Information SystemsLavasa Corporation [email protected]



With the rapid developmentof information and com-munication technologies,

Intelligent Transportation system(ITS) is emerging as an efficienttool in solving urban transportationproblems. The Advanced PublicTransportation System (APTS), anITS subsystem, employs electronic,communication, and computer

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION I Sarah Liu

Information on the move

A public transportation system in

Taipei, Taiwan aims to help commuters

get real-time bus informatiion easily

and enhance their experience with

city transport

46

technologies to assist publictransport operators in raisingefficiency and service levels. Anexample of APTS is the Bus Infor-mation and Transit System, devel-oped by SuperGeo Technologiesusing the Internet Map Server Soft-ware SuperWebGIS, for the PublicTransportation Office, Taipei Gov-ernment.

INTEGRATION OF DATABASES

WITH GIS PLATFORM

The Bus Information and TransitSystem is an integrated platformproviding real-time bus informationbased on WebGIS technology toconstruct an advanced and com-plete bus dynamic information sys-tem. It has numerous GIS tools andeasy-to-use interface for com-muters to easily and intuitivelyquery the bus information beforetaking a bus, thereby facilitatingthem in planning their route. Byachieving reliability, safety and con-venience, the quality of service of

public transportation can beimproved. The information providedis collected through devices on thebuses which record movementinformation such as coordinates,speeds, directions, time, etc. andsend the data to the databasesaccording to their property. Variousback-end software analyse theinformation and transfer the analy-sis results to the front-end users toquery.

MAIN FUNCTIONS

The Taipei Bus Information andTransit System provides the follow-ing five functions for bus users:

GIS Bus Route: The functionprovides information on bus lines,bus stops, landmarks and cross-roads. GIS Trip Planner: This func-tion integrates scenic spots such ashistoric sites, museums, hotsprings, hotels and bikewayentrances, making it convenient forbus users and tourists to clearlyunderstand the locations, informa-

tion and bus linesof scenic spots bychecking theoptions. In addi-tion, this functionalso helps themplan a route fromthe assigned startpoint to the desti-nation.

Quick Search:The Trip Plannerfunction in QuickSearch provides

information on the conditions Stop,Landmark, Address, Crossroad andMetro & Bus for users to set thestart point and destination. Besides,Quick Search is also available forusers to get information on com-plete bus routes by stop names, buslines or districts. Therefore, thesystem will display the route resultsclearly for users to choose.

Related Info: The function pro-vides complete information on allbus terminals and other usefultransportation links.

My Bus: To use this function,users need to have a log-in.Through this feature, commuterscan set the warning information asthe bus approaches the assignedstop, thereby saving on the waitingtime.

CONCLUSION

The Bus Information and TransitSystem not only integrates infor-mation on Taipei's bus system andscenic spots, but also providesdiverse and real-time information.While users and tourists can planthe best route conveniently, govern-ment sector can also utilise WebGIStechnology for better design andplanning of urban transportation.

Sarah Liu

International Marketing DivisionSuperGeo Technologies [email protected]

The System is anintegrated platformwith numerousGIS tools andeasy-to-use interfacefor commutters


System Structure

IIS

Windows Server 2003

Linux

Oracle Spatial

SuperWebGIS

Microsoft Server SQL 2005


Technological advancements are turning theworld into an intelligent, instrumented andinterconnected place. With these changes come

amazing opportunities for society - for every business,institution and individual.

Today, there are around 4.6 billion mobile phonesubscribers worldwide. Hundreds of satellites orbitingthe earth are generating terabytes of data everyday. At

the same time, we are heading toward onetrillion connected objects in the Inter-

net. There are as many as 30 billionRadio Frequency Identification (RFID)tags produced globally, embedded inproducts, passports, buildings andeven animals.

They are becoming smarterbecause they are smartly 'intercon-nected', using the Internet, GPS,RFID tags and other means to com-municate with

devices around. They are 'instru-mented,' have the ability to sensetheir environments and monitortheir performance. Furthermore, asSam Palmisano, CEO, IBM says,Smart systems are becoming thebasis of competition between nations,regions and cities. They are changingeverything from organisations' businessmodels to how they enable theiremployees to collaborate and inno-vate.

SMARTER

PLANET

It is well knownand acknowledged

that companies, citiesand the world is indeed a

system of systems. IBM hasevolved a three step agenda for

building smarter planet. "This consistsof a building system which is 'instrument-

ed' to collect precise information at the righttime, 'interconnected' to integrate information across

any end-to-end system and 'intelligent' which yields newinsights that drive action to improve the ultimate out-come. IBM brands this usable information as InformixDatabase," according to an IBM spokesperson. He addedthat some of its characteristics such as embedability,continuous availability, real time data management, spa-tial data support, scalability and extendibility make it the

FOCUS - IBM SMARTER PLANET

48

AN INGENIOUSway to connectedtomorrow


database of choice for customers implementing smartersystems.

GIS support: IBM Informix database introduces twodatablades for GIS support viz. Spatial Datablade andGeodetic Datablade. The Spatial DataBlade brings all thesignificant features and benefits of IBM Informix to loca-tion-based data. It can transform both traditional and

location-based data into essential information. It man-ages spatial data using GIS technologies, ensures

precision and accuracy treating Earth as a globe,uses the R-tree index on integrated space, time

and numeric dimensions, includes databasereplication of geospatial data and provides aclean C-language API that's handy to buildnew functions that use the same data struc-tures and interfaces.

Real-time data management: Much of thedata generated by real life systems are timeseries - such as flow data or metering data

from utility systems such as water or energy dis-tribution. Informix brings a technology called as

"TimeSeries" and "Real Time Loader" for managingreal time data with great efficiency. This technologyshows up to 33 times better performance and up to 70%disk space saving as against the traditional relationaldatabase technologies for time series data.

EXECUTION OF THE CONCEPT

So far, IBM proved itself successful in its ambitioussmarter planet project with the support of Informix data-base. Here are a few testimonies.

DEHEMS Project: The core aim of Digital EnvironmentHome Energy Management System (DEHEMS) had todevelop and test a home energy management system toreduce CO2 emissions and electricity bills. The projectinvolved installing small, low-cost energy monitoringdevices at groups of homes in five European cities. Thechallenge was the sheer volume of data. Using GIS onInformix TimeSeries, energy monitoring for three millionhomes or more became a practical proposition. TheInformix TimeSeries technologies created a single data-base object for each data-source, and then simply updat-ed it with the latest readings whenever a new pulse ofdata arrived.

Trafficmaster: Trafficmaster's UK services rely ondata feeds collected from black boxes in the vehicles ofaround 80,000 customers, numerous vehicle licence plate

recognition cameras and 7,500 roadside sensors. Thedata collected constantly provides information on the flowof traffic on the national road network. To further inno-vate its services, the company needed to start collectingdata from vehicles every 20 seconds.

It became a real challenge to extract greater valuefrom the increased data volumes. To address this chal-lenge, Trafficmaster took to geospatial technology. Aspart of this process, IBM and IBM business partner, Inte-gres implemented the IBM Informix database technologyand software which receives and processes the vast vol-umes of vehicle location data.

CONCLUSION

A smart planet requires a smarter communications infra-structure. Only high-speed broadband doesn't make anetwork smart. We need smart networks to be multi-directional and must have the ability to get infused withadvanced analytics and intelligence.

(Based on inputs provided by IBM)


The three-day 15thAnnual GeospatialSolutions Confer-

ence organised byGeospatial Informationand Technology Associa-tion (GITA) Australia/New Zealand in Bris-bane, Australia from 2-4August 2010 offered anexcellent opportunity tosee how important it isto understand the com-plexities and dynamicsof user domain.

Each user domain hasits own unique set ofbusiness processes,issues, challenges anddynamics. In oder toserve those industries, itis fundamental to enableonself and understand

as much as possibleabout their domain.

Having Smarter Infra-structure for SustainableFuture as its theme, theGITA Australia/NewZealand conference pro-vided exactly this kind ofopportunity for thegeospatial industry bybringing some of the topleaders from utilitiesand infrastructuredomain.

The conference beganwith an inspiringKeynote by CouncillorCampbell Newman,serving his second termas Lord Mayor of Bris-bane City. He outlinedhis priorities and pro-

grammes which areunderway to make Brisbane a smart think-ing, easy living andworld class city.

Terry Effeney, CEO ofENERGEX provided avery detailed overview ofthe energy sector withspecial emphasis on priorities of his owncompany.

He further added that amajor challenge beingfaced by ENERGEX isdecarbonisation of theenergy sector and envi-ronmental compliances,which is putting addi-tional burden of costsleading to price rise.Peter Birk, Chief Tech-nology Officer of EnergyAustralia stressed uponbuilding smarter gridnetwork to ensure opti-mum utilisation of everyamount of electricitybeing generated andreducing the losses. JonBlack, Chief Executive ofUnityWater raised analarm on increasingdemand of water andadvocated building bet-ter infrastructure for

water treatment today toavoid major water crisistomorrow. Another veryinteresting presentationwas delivered by PeterFerris, General Managerof Planning and Designof Australian NationalBroadband Network,responsible for designand planning of fiber,terrestrial radio andsatellite networks forNBN Co.

He mentioned thatalthough 93% of Australia can be verywell covered by the proposed fibre to homenetwork, the remaining7% is much more diffi-cult and economicallyunviable.

GITA - Conference report

50

UNDERSTANDING USERS

Key to successful implementation


GIS Development and The Institutionof Surveyors, Malaysia (ISM) jointlyorganised Map Asia 2010 and the

International Symposium and Exhibition onGeoinformation (ISG) to foster the growth ofgeospatial sciences and spread its benefitsfor the community through discussions anddeliberations among academicians,researchers, policy makers and industryrepresentatives. With the theme "Connect-ing Government and Citizen through Ubiq-uitous GIS," Map Asia and ISG 2010 turnedout to be a phenomenal success wherethere was an active and dynamic participa-tion of over 1358 members of GIS commu-nity from over 41 countries.

Plenary sessions The first plenary witnessed speakers fromreputed organisations talking on ways toconnect the government with citizensthrough ubiquitous GIS. Assoc Prof DrSomchet Thinaphong, Chairman, Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Develop-ment Agency, Thailand, discussed howThailand NSDI is connecting with peoplethrough its services. Margaret Coughlin,Chief Marketing Officer, DigitalGlobedescribed the new features of WorldView-2and the application of various satellites inDigitalGlobe constellation. Dean Angelides,Corporate Director, International Opera-tions, ESRI analysed how a geospatial plat-form is emerging on the Web, creating adistributed network of data and services.

Dato Dr Ahmad Sabirin Arshad, CEO, ATSB,discussed how space technology can beutilised in a high income nation. Dato Dr.Ahmed added that to be an effective eco-nomic contributor, space and related tech-nology development is not a miracle cureand needs to be nurtured properly.

Joel Campbell, President, ERDAS, whiletalking in the second plenary on the chang-ing landscape of remote sensing, said thatthe government demand for commercialimagery will double and the market for spa-

tial information management software/services will grow from USD 3.2 billion to5.7 billion. Discussing the societal applica-tions of earth observation systems, PGDiwakar, Scientist and Associate Director,Earth Observation System, ISRO, listed sev-eral space-based applications India hasdeveloped. Opening up the world of LiDARto the audience, Brian Nicholls, GeneralManager, AAM explained how LiDAR and

MAP ASIA 2010 - Conference report

52

Connecting government

with citizens


integrated GIS can expedite infrastructuredevelopment.

Panel discussionAn interesting and interactive round of pan-el discussed the prospects and challenges

of geospatial industry in the AsiaPacific. Assoc Prof Dato MohdIbrahim Hj. Abu Bakar moderatedthe panel. Eminent speakers inthe session included Dr NoordinBin Ahmad, Deputy Director Gen-eral, ANGKASA and Dr Chih HongSun, Chairman, Taiwan GIS Cen-tre and Dr Bill Shephard of ESRI-

Singapore.

Parallel sessions Several parallel sessions on a wide range oftechnologies and verticals and meaningfulinteraction with exhibitors kept the dele-gates and visitors busy. The India Technolo-gy Summit, organised in association with

the High Commission of India inMalaysia and the Ministry ofEarth Sciences in India, broughttogether a spectrum of technolo-gists and industry personnel todemonstrate the commitment ofthe Indian government to theAsian community and help themdevelop and grow in terms of

their geospatial capabilities. Another themewhich was of much interest to the geospa-tial community of the region was utilities

and infrastructure. Informative presenta-tions, inquisitive audience and a packed hallmade this session interesting to one andall. Sessions speakers included Geoff Zeiss,Director of Technology, Autodesk and AbuBakar Hashim, Director-IT, MalaysianHighway Authority. The session discussedseveral organisational initiatives by BintuluPort, Gas Malaysia and Indah Water Kon-sortium.

Technical sessions The last day of Map Asia 2010 and ISG 2010witnessed a plethora of technologies andapplication verticals discussed in packedhalls. While the ISG seminars discussedcore technologies like GPS, GNSS and GISwith several interesting papers from theregion, Map Asia seminars took up issuespertinent to the region like ocean informa-tion services, urban planning and develop-ment, geospatial for development sector,SDI and last but not the least a discussionforum on capacity building.

Another round of interesting presentationscaught the attention of the delegates inUrban Planning and Development session.The 2010 edition of Map Asia witnessedabout 186 paper presentations and severalposter presentations. The exhibition toowitnessed visitors throughout understand-ing the latest technologies available forthem. The best exhibitor awards werebagged by Fugro and Getac, DigitalGlobeand ESRI.

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Map Asia seminars took upissues pertinent to the regionlike ocean informationservices, urban plaanning anddevelopment and geospatialfor development sector

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