2012 - Geoinformatics

Magazine for Surveying, Mapping & GIS Professionals
8
December
2 0 1 2
Volume 15
TerraGo Intergeo Report MapBox
Terrestrial Laser Scanning Specifications
Data Collection at the North Pole

I believe in reliability.
The Leica Viva GNSS – this exceptionally rugged,
easy-to-use instrument with a self-explanatory
interface is a fine example of our uncompromising
dedication to your needs. Reliability: yet another
reason to trust Leica Geosystems.
Reliability means peace of mind –knowing that
your equipment will never let you down.
Regardless of the situation, you want to be able to rely on your
equipment and the results you get. That’s why Leica Geosystems
places great emphasis on dependability. Our comprehensive
spectrum of solutionscoversall your measurement needsfor
surveying, engineering and geospatial applications. And they are
all backed with world-class service and support that delivers
answers to your questions. When it matters most. When you
are in the field. When it hasto be right.
You can count on Leica Geosystems to provide a highly reliable
solution for every facet of your job.
Leica Geosystems AG
Switzerland
www.leica-geosystems.com

GeoInformatics is the leading publication for Geospatial
Professionals worldwide. Published in both hardcopy and
digital, GeoInformatics provides coverage, analysis and
commentary with respect to the international surveying,
mapping and GIS industry.
GeoInformatics is published
8 times a year.
Editor-in-chief
Eric van Rees
evanrees@geoinformatics.com
Copy Editor
Elaine Eisma
Editors
Florian Fischer
ffischer@geoinformatics.com
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.com
Remco Takken
rtakken@geoinformatics.com
Joc Triglav
jtriglav@geoinformatics.com
Contributing Writers:
Cornelius König, Saviour Formosa, Elaine Sciberras,
Janice Formosa Pace, Luigi Colombo, Barbara
Marana, Bonnie Bogle, Henk Key, Jim Baumann,
Remco Takken, Gregory Marler.
Columnists
Raj Singh, Matt Sheehan
Finance
finance@cmedia.nl
Marketing & Sales
Ruud Groothuis
rgroothuis@geoinformatics.com
Subscriptions
GeoInformatics is available against a yearly
subscription rate (8 issues) of € 89,00.
To subscribe, fill in and return the electronic reply
card on our website www.geoinformatics.com
Webstite
www.geoinformatics.com
Graphic Design
Sander van der Kolk
svanderkolk@geoinformatics.com
ISSN 13870858
© Copyright 2012. GeoInformatics: no material may
be reproduced without written permission.
P.O. Box 231
8300 AE
Emmeloord
The Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0) 527 619 000
Fax: +31 (0) 527 620 989
E-mail: services@geoinformatics.com
GeoInformatics has a collaboration with
the Council of European Geodetic
Surveyors (CLGE) whereby all individual
members of every national Geodetic
association in Europe will receive the
magazine.
About Intergeo
In this issue you will find coverage on the biggest geospatial trade fair in the industry,
namely the annual Intergeo Conference and Trade Fair. The event has changed
a lot in the last few years and will, more than likely, continue to change in the
future. The event gives a good overview of the current state of the industry, which,
of course, is no different from how other industries are doing in the current economic
climate. There have been a lot of mergers and acquisitions by the major
surveying and GIS companies, which is reflected in the decreased number of
exhibitors. For example, the acquisitions of Trimble and Hexagon. Software companies
were a different story at Intergeo: only Esri had a large booth, whereas
Bentley Systems was no longer present at the trade fair at all. Autodesk used to
have a very large booth, but is it really appropriate for software companies to
have this sort of presence on a trade fair that is dominated by hardware for data
collection in the field
Software seemed to be less present overall, which resulted in a much smaller
OSGeo Park than in recent years. Is it possible that open source is imploding as
well – and, if so, why is this It would be interesting to know why this is. What I
sense is, that on the one hand the industry is growing in terms of players (organizations,
applications, markets, vendors and service providers), and on the other
hand, at the same time, is very fragmented. What I mean by this is that there are
more and more geospatial conferences and meetings, for example, but for a smaller,
specified or regional audience. Is this a bad thing I don’t think so, but to say
exactly what belongs to the geospatial market and what doesn’t, isn’t very easy.
It is unclear because geospatial companies are moving away from their core business,
to new markets such as business intelligence (Esri) and construction software
(Trimble). They are also incorporating new social media and, making broader use
of general IT. This kind of innovation is what sets these companies apart from
open source.
Intergeo is also wrestling with this phenomenon of fragmentation, which
is reflected in the topics discussed during the press conference and
which is covered in more detail in this issue. ‘When do we need a
surveyor’ This seems like an obvious question, but the reality is
more complex. What was striking was that in North America, the
cloud is already a technology that has been fully embraced, whereas
the complete opposite is true for Europe. Why is this so Is it
because the cloud is still a geographically located and static phenomenon,
as opposed to what we were told it would be For
more on this topic, please refer to the interview with Safe
Software’s Don Murray in this issue.
For the future, I think Intergeo has a great deal of potential,
since it combines the knowledge of professionals in the industry
with a large trade fair, which showcases the latest new
products. This doesn’t go unnoticed elsewhere, judging
from the increasingly growing presence from North
American media. The event seems to get more international
every year, attracting a more geographically
diverse crowd, which is a good sign. If the organization
can successfully capture the changing
nature of the industry as a whole, by
working together even more closely with
media partners, the industry itself, interest
groups, non-governmental organizations
and science, then the event can become even
more influential and important than it already is.
Enjoy reading,
Eric van Rees
evanrees@geoinformatics.com
Photography: www.bestpictures.nl
3
December 2012

C o n t e n t
At the cover:
The cover image uses data from the Township of Langley to illustrate how basic point
cloud data can be colored. The original uncolored data on the left side was colored by
using FME technology (www.safe.com) to overlay an orthophoto and apply RGB figures
from each raster pixel to the points within pixel extents (the colored output is on the
right).
A r t i c l e s
From 3D Point Clouds to CAD Map 10
Securing the Spatial Environment 18
Capturing Cape Town 20
Safe Software 22
Terrestrial Laser Scanning Specifications 28
Make Web Maps with MapBox 34
E v e n t s
Intergeo Press Conference 2012 32
Intergeo Trade Fair 2012 36
Partners and Best Practices 44
State of the Map 47
N e w s l e t t e r
CLGE newsletter 6
The ISPRS Foundation 42
C o l u m n s
Smart Cities and Cooperation 27
Mobile GIS in 2012 48
I n t e r v i e w s
Collecting Data Under Harsh Conditions 14
TerraGo 24
Long-Term Geospatial Data Storage 40
C a l e n d a r / A d v e r t i s e r s I n d e x 50

Scalypso is a new developed
software for the evaluation of
3D terrestrial laser scan data.
10
The software combines the experience
of 10 years work in
3D laser scanning and 3D modelling.
The evaluation of the
3D scan data will be done in a
photorealistic 2,5D view and
not in the point cloud.
Safe Software’s President and
Co-founder Don Murray talks
22
about recent releases and how
the company is wrapping their
heads around real-time data
feeds, LiDAR, non-relational
data tables and cloud
computing.
Getmapping,
20
a company that
produces its own vertical aerial
photography, oblique photography
and height data,
captured and delivered over
2500 km 2 of high resolution
(6.25cm) imagery covering
the entire City of Cape Town
Metropolitan area.
Last April, a team of researchers
went to the North Pole
14
for a scientific program, where
they performed data collection
and measurements of weather
data, ice-sea drift and plankton.
The area’s climatic conditions
required state-of-art
equipment.
The world’s most important
conference and trade show for
geodesy, geo-information and
land management attracted
36
around 16,000 Geomaticand
GIS professionals to
Hanover, Germany. A look at
this year’s trends and topics.
44
With as many as ten sessions
going on at once, every attendee
could choose his or her own
individual programme of
Technical Workshops and User
Presentations at Esri’s European
User Conference in Oslo.
32
Wednesday October 10 was
the date for the yearly press
conference at the Intergeo
Conference and Trade Fair,
organized by DVW e.V. - the
German Society for Geodesy,
Geoinformation and Land
Management.
Striving to develop a baseline
spatial information sys-
18
tem for cross-domain thematic
analysis, Malta has
embarked on a project
aimed at integrating the
environmental themes in their
wider aspect: the natural,
physical and social domains.

N e w s l e t t e r
Let’s fight the Baker Syndrome
CLGE and INTERGEO, an excellent Mix
From 8 to 14 October 2012, CLGE had a very busy and successful week. INTERGEO, the 3rd Conference
of the European Surveyor, the 2nd European Students meeting and the Ist European Students contest,
followed by the Autumn CLGE General Assembly.
Jean-Yves Pirlot opens the Award Ceremony of the Ist CLGE Students Contest
CLGE was indeed a major player at the
annual INTERGEO fair and following this,
has organized its second General
Assembly of 2012, including elections for the
appointment of a new Executive Board.
INTERGEO secured a lot of visibility for CLGE.
President Pirlot was invited to give an address at
the opening of this event. He insisted on the absolute
need for associations to cooperate and,
whenever possible, to join. He stressed the important
role of the Surveyor at a local, regional and
global level.
The ‘baker syndrome’ was introduced at the 3rd
Conference of the European Surveyor. While all
surveyors know exactly what a baker does, most
bakers do not really know what surveyors do,
although they are as important for society as bakers
are. CLGE’s aim must be to raise the profile
of the profession and to ensure they appear on
the radar of the policy makers and the general
public. The conference offered the ideal opportunity
to compare different systems of ownership
protection in Europe and to define the pros and
cons related to these approaches. Needless to
say, the German and Swiss systems were the most
appealing and many of the specialists who took
part in the discussions were assured in their belief
that a generalization of the legal cadaster in
Europe would have very beneficial effects.
The Conference was an ideal occasion for the
solemn adoption of the European Code for the
Measurement of Buildings. The code will be promoted
via the European Real Estate Area Label
(www.euREAL.eu). This topic will be covered in
one of our next editions.
Another highlight of CLGE’s participation in
INTERGEO was the second European Students
contest. Since 2009, CLGE has organized these
meetings, with the aim to motivate young surveyors
to take part in the shaping of their professional
future. This time, 280 students from 10 countries
were able to take part in the event. They
gathered at the first CLGE Students Contest
awards ceremony, where prizes were given to
the authors of two papers. The first was in the
field of Geodesy and Topography and the second
in the field of GIS and Mapping. For this first
edition 11 papers were sent in, which was a very
promising start. All the papers are available on
www.clge.eu. There was no ranking established
for the non-awarded papers, but all the participants
were, of course, warmly thanked by the
organizers. The support given by the DVW
President Thöne will allow a broadening of the
contest in the coming years. The students’ gathering
was the occasion for CLGE President Pirlot to
stress the extent of the benefits of INTERGEO. He
sees it as an ideal platform for the continuous professional
development of his members, as a platform
for business and networking and as a platform
from where initiatives can be launched with
the aim to increase CLGE’s and the European surveyors’
visibility.
The CLGE General Assembly was also very successful.
Once again, the organization of workshops
shaping the future of the association, were
very well received. Additionally, a new board
was appointed for the election period 2012 –
2014. The Bureau was unanimously confirmed
by acclamation and thanked for the work done
in the previous period. Vice-President Leiv-Bjarte
Mjøs of Norway, was also reelected. Danko
Markovinović from Croatia and Pedro Ortiz Toro
from Spain are the two incoming CLGE Vice-
Presidents, who complete the board.
6
December 2012

N e w s l e t t e r
4th International Training Course in Topography
for Young Surveyors
The course organized by CNGeGL in cooperation with S.P.A. Geoweb and with local support from the
Spanish Land surveyor’s Association took place in Madrid, from 17 to 28 September 2012.
Fotograph of the group in the entrance of the Royal Observatory Museum in Madrid.
Hello, Hola (Spanish), Ciao (Italian), Përshendetje (Albanian),
你 好 (Chinese), Zdravo (Montenegrin), Zdravo (Macedonian),
Bonjour (Belgium), Γεια σου (Greek), Tere (Estonian),
مالسلا (Danish), Merhaba (Turkish), Guten Tag (German), Goddag
(Russian), (Moroccan), Pozdravljeni (Slovenian), Привет مكيلع
Buna Ziua (Moldavian). We don’t think that any of you has ever
experienced such a wonderful greeting and it comes from young
surveyors in Madrid.
First of all we would like to thank all the people, associations and
authorities who made this two weeks long course possible. It has
been a great opportunity and a wonderful life experience for fifty
young surveyors from sixteen European countries.
Many of us did not know what to expect from this course, as it was
our first international community meeting involving different cultures
and professional habits and we weren’t sure if we could manage
to collaborate together.
After the opening ceremony and the official speeches, our study
programme began. During the first week we were mentored by
seven teachers from Italy, Greece, Spain, Turkey and the UK, who
taught us about different kind of instruments, techniques and applications,
within a variety of areas of the surveying profession.
Subjects covered included topographical and geomatic surveys,
orthophoto production, GNSS surveys and deformation, photogrammetric
and LIDAR survey, scanner and 3D photogrammetric
or survey of artistic and heritage assets.
For the first three days of the course classroom lessons were scheduled
and covered GNSS surveys and photogrammetry. We had the
chance to learn about some new technologies and applications.
Our first field surveying journey came on Thursday, and took place
at Debod Temple. It gave us an idea as to what an integrated survey
is and also brought the group closer, whilst increasing our
knowledge of surveying tasks. Debod is an Egyptian temple which
was a present from Egypt to Spain. It was moved in 1968 stone
by stone and it is located in downtown Madrid. Once the survey
was done, we still had time in the afternoon for a practical modelling
lesson with the data obtained. This linked with Friday’s topic,
which was LIDAR and aerial surveys.
On Saturday morning, we discovered how our colleagues in the
past worked, as we visited the Royal Observatory Museum in
Madrid. We saw the new Herschel’s telescope, the library, the
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
7

N e w s l e t t e r
windy morning, it didn’t stop us from surveying the park and then,
in the afternoon, we did the post-processing calculations.
Midweek we began to notice a feeling of sadness, as the course
was coming to an end. After a complete class dedicated to GIS,
some of us took advantage of our remaining time together and
attended a football match in Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Unfortunately, Christiano Ronaldo was not playing and some of the
girls were pretty disappointed. The match was great though and a
fabulous experience, which we will remember for the rest of our
lives. The rest of the group went to a local music pub guided by a
Spanish member of the class from Madrid and watched football
and enjoyed the traditional fulfilling tapas.
CLGE President, Jean-Yves Pirlot, addressing the students said “Please, when you go home, spread the word
that we need the commitment of all surveyors for the future of our beautiful and proud profession. Be
aware that during this course you are building a network of collegiality and friendship that you will never
forget… and keep in mind, we have to build on this for the best future of the Surveying Profession.”
meridian circle and clocks’ room, and watched some videos inside
the Science of the Earth and Universe room. As a conclusion to our
week-end activities, Sunday was spent sight-seeing and looking at
some of this country’s wonderful treasures in the imperial city of
Toledo.
After almost a week of work we could certainly say that this course
was achieving its target; once we had broken the ice everyone
managed to co-operate well and establish good social relationships.
We started the second Monday a little tired, due to the intense
weekend and a little too much curiosity about Madrid’s night-life!
Despite this, we started the week as a more connected group, and
with great enthusiasm; ready to learn more things together.
We had a long day in front of our laptops preparing for the next
day’s class. On Tuesday we were scheduled to practice measuring
with GPS in the Juan Carlos I park. Although it was a cold and
Thursday morning in the classroom was very interesting, as we were
looking at a lot of structural monitoring graphics examples. Having
finished lunch, the lesson on land registry and cadastre started. This
was an introduction to Friday’s class.
After we finished studying, we prepared a good-bye party, as some
of the participants were leaving a day earlier than the rest. We had
a party with guitar playing, singing, dancing and talked well into
the night. To make the evening even more special, everyone tried
to bring something traditional from their culture. Our Moroccan colleagues
brought some tea and small cakes from Meknes city. The
Spanish citizens introduced us to Rioja wine and their famous pipas.
We also had Belgian and international beers!
Finally the second Friday arrived and, after a visit to the Spanish
Land Agency, we returned to our hotel for a quick lunch and to rest
a little before attending the closing ceremony. After the officials had
given their speeches, we were surprised with a video of us in the
opening ceremony. This was closely followed by the presentation
of the diplomas. We stayed to talk to the officials in the hall of the
hotel, enjoying a beautiful cake, which had been prepared for the
occasion. We then had time to go up to our rooms to change into
our ‘Sunday best’ before leaving together to attend the closing dinner.
This was held in a very nice restaurant in the centre of Madrid.
Jamón, queso, paella and good wine were enjoyed by all.
Back at the hotel, sadness surfaced once again, as the time had
come to say good bye to our friends. This was our last opportunity
to see each other, as some of us had to catch planes early in the
morning. We were happy at the thought of seeing our families again
after fifteen days, but this was tinged with sorrow as these wonderful
two weeks together came to an end. Saturday arrived, of course,
and we left in the rain …
And now, a few days after this very pleasant and enriching experience,
we can say one thing for certain: Good bye dear friends.
You will see us again soon! These two weeks will never be forgotten!
In his opening address, CNGeGL President, Fausto Savoldi, pointed out “The presence of our international
organisation is important, because we have completely understood that this is an exceptional occasion
for the professional training of the young surveyors. Their competence must be homogeneous in each
part of the world.”
8
December 2012

®

A r t i c l e
Evaluating the Scan Project
From 3D Point Clouds to CAD
Scalypso is a new developed software for the evaluation of 3D terrestrial laser scan data. The software
combines the experience of 10 years work in 3D laser scanning and 3D modelling. The evaluation
of the 3D scan data will be done in a photorealistic 2,5D view and not in the point cloud. The 2,5D
view will be generated out of the diffuse reflectance data or out of the coloured point cloud.
By Cornelius König
Greystep picture
The 2,5D view makes it easy for other
office workers to evaluate the scan project.
In addition to that there is no need
anymore to navigate in the 3D point cloud.
This kind of evaluation helps you to save
time and money.
Scalypso consists out of four different programmes
and two modules and is build up
modular. By adding other modules you can
expand the software basis version for you
upcoming needs and projects. The main programme
is the Modeler. All coming evaluation
tools are combined in that programme.
Some of the main functions are the registration
and geo registration of sole scans via
bowl or measuring marks. Real time transfer
of 3D points, 3D lines, 3D circle, 3D polygons,
3D areas, cuboids into a CAD aim system
like Auto CAD or MicroStation. The
automatic mash of objects for the generation
of profiles along the coordinate axis is also
a very helpful tool for the upcoming evaluation.
It always depends on your needs which
tools suit your tasks and which of them are
necessary for your special assignment.
To work with the Modeler you first have to
convert your laser scan data into the
Scalypso format. However every scan format
can be transformed and in the uniform
workflow a fast and easy evaluation is guaranteed.
The Viewer is a free tool for the customers
to get an easy eye on the data. With
that, everyone involved in the assignment
can have a quick view on first results and
misunderstandings can be prevent right in
the beginning. If you want to navigate, manage
and select your scans easily, the
Navigator would suit well into your workflow.
The Navigator allows you to calculate
layers und draw maps of your scan project.
We also developed a pipe module and a
building information modelling (BIM) module.
The test campaign
In spring 2011 our company had the
assignment to measure and evaluate for the
Berlin City Cleaning Company (BSR) the east
pump.
The BSR is the largest urban waste disposal
contractor in the EU and has its main office
in Berlin-Tempelhof. The place of work was
the waste devaluation ground in Berlin-
Ruhleben.
The east pump is part of the large pumping
system in the BSR area. First of all we had
so survey the whole room with all its different
characteristics and in the following steps
we started the evaluation with our software
solution system Scalypso.
Our customer made clear, that he wanted a
CAD model with all details containing every
pipe, every room geometry and every other
useful detail. They needed an as-completed
drawing for an overview about all engines.
The aim was it, to develop out of the 3D
point clouds with the help of the evaluation
software Scalypso a CAD plan. Every window,
every door and every offset should be
10
December 2012

A r t i c l e
Map
Pumping system
evaluated and transformed into a CAD programme.
For our customers it was very important that
they had not to stop the machines and that
the surveying was done without any interruption
of the normal working process.
Therefore the use of a 3D laser scanner is
perfect. The contact free system allows all
machines to work and we received in a comparatively
short time all need able information.
No machine has to stop and nothing
has to be changed in the daily process.
The whole area contained about ten rooms
with the whole pumping systems. Because
of all the pipes and constructions the task
was perfectly to test all the software functions.
A two head measurement group
arrived in Berlin and started the work.
Firstly the workers allocated measuring
marks all over the rooms for the geo referenzatioin
afterwards. With the help of the
measuring marks the scans were transferred
into one common coordinate system. Shortly
after all necessary arrangements the survey
began. Seventeen different scan positions
later all data was captured and the workers
left the area and went back to the office. At
the end of the day lasting several hours of
measuring the workers left the BSR area and
went back to the headquarter to star the
evaluation.
Evaluation
Before we started the evaluation the row
data had to be converted into the software
own *.syo format. After uploading the scanner
files just start the converter and the programme
will work. All the established scanner
formats can be converted such as Riegl,
Faro or Z&F.
The evaluator Stefanie Peda said: “The BSR
project was in its volume quite large and the
whole evaluation took definitely a lot of
time.” For the evaluation of the east pump
two modules were especially important. The
Pipe Module and the building information
modelling module (BIM). Both modules were
used quite often during the evaluation
Detail picture
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
11

A r t i c l e
because of the large amount of pipes and
the BIM module because of the many different
rooms.
After we generated the pipe runs, we transferred
them in real time into our CAD system.
An *.xml interface could export the
data also into other plant construction applications.
Different functions simplified the
work with the pipe runs. Very helpful for our
tasks were the different fittings, T-pieces,
welding or flange connections. These connections
can be fit easily in the existing pipe
run.
The BIM module reconstructs complete building
geometries after you generated them
with your 3D laser scanner. With only a couple
of clicks we reconstructed the whole piping
rooms with all doors, windows and other
geometric openings.
Every evaluator has its own strategy to evaluate
such a project. Stefanie Peda said:
“First of all I mark all important pieces and
add polygons, rectangles or ellipses.
Afterwards I start to export room geometries
with the help of the BIM module to my CAD
air system. That makes it easy to have a first
overview about what to come. The ground
plan helps a lot to navigate through the
scans.”
After she made the ground plan she added
pipes and landing platforms into the CAD
model. “With all its constructions the evaluation
was a large and comprehensive task.
I needed about two weeks time to evaluate
the pipe room with all its details.” Miss Peda
tells. After two weeks of evaluation everybody
was convinced about the result. The
finished CAD plan was delivered to our customers
the BSR.
Conclusion
In conclusion the BSR project was a good
project to test nearly all software functions.
You always need good staff, good hardware
and also a good software to get a venture
like this to an good end.
“Working in such a huge complex is always
interesting and if everything works out and
everything was successful, we can say that
it was a good project.” The director Ralf
König said. “The pipe and BIM module
worked - like all other functions - really well
and everyone was happy with the result.”
In a short time the whole pipe area was surveyed
and the regular work could be continued.
Back in the office we evaluated all
necessary areas and exported them to our
CAD system.
Ralf König said: “All in all the assignment
in Berlin with the BSR was a great success
and everything worked out very well. The
project was for everyone a good experience
and we hope that we could suite all needs.”
Stefanie Peda reflects afterwards: “I can say
that I am very happy about how everything
worked out and we can be proud of the
result. That is what counts in the end.”
Dipl.-Hist Cornelius König, Scalypso Potsdam, Germany.
For more information, have a look at www.scalypso.com

I n t e r v i e w
North Pole Expedition
Collecting Data Under Harsh
Last April, a team of researchers went to the North Pole for a scientific program, where they performed
data collection and measurements of weather data, ice-sea drift and plankton. The area’s climatic
conditions required state-of-art equipment.
By the editors
First measurements at the North Pole
Measuring radioactivity
Study Area
The geographical North Pole, due to its location in the middle of the
Arctic Ocean, is a very relevant spot for studies for scientists. It is
important to follow the North Pole’ sea-ice coverage evolution, especially
its thickness, density and drift. What happens in the Arctic
Ocean affects the rest of the world’s weather. The location of the
North Pole, in the middle of this frozen ocean is also important for
other studies, such as mercury data, microbiology and more.
Last April, a team of researchers went to the North Pole to conduct
scientific research, where they performed data collection and measurements
of weather data, ice-sea drift and plankton. The team was
composed of a former polar logistics engineer for the French and
German Polar Institutes, Alan Le Tressoler and Julien Cabon, a journalist
who has previous experience of the Arctic.
The North Pole is a very difficult spot to go to and survive, says Alan
Le Tressoler: “the sea-ice is not flat, and is full of open-water that
needs to be crossed, either with the pulks or by swimming. You can
also find compression ridges, which are composed of blocks of seaice
that sit on each other, up to over 10 meters high.” Then there’s
the extreme cold; the position can be very windy and one can often
have polar bears as neighbors. Satellites are not exactly positioned
above the geographic North Pole, so there’s a black spot of no data
around the area, making human presence the only way to obtain
that data and to get the samples, says Le Tressoler.
Data Collection
Every day, the team performed many hours of data collection, consisting
of GPS data, taken as often as possible, as the sea-ice was
constantly drifting, due to the wind and sea currents. Weather data
was collected by a handy weather station. It was sometimes difficult
to do sampling of snow and sea-ice, depending of the weather situation,
says Le Tressoler: “we had to take off head protection in order
to put on a special mask, in order not to contaminate the samples.
We also had to change our “warm” gloves for scientific plastic
gloves”.
Collecting the plankton and sea water was also a bit difficult sometimes.
Le Tressoler: “First of all, you have to make a big hole in the
sea-ice in order to be able to put the big plankton net in the water.
In some areas the sea-ice thickness is 1, 5 meters and it’s very hard
14
December 2012

I n t e r v i e w
Conditions
Russian helicopter MI8
ice to drill through with a manual ice-drill. Then, we saw a big square
with a manual ice-saw. You have to cut it in many pieces, as one
big one would be far too heavy to take out or push down.” That job
could sometimes take almost a day. Using the same hole the day
after would require opening it again, since the sea-ice thickness in
the former hole would rise approximately 20 cm in 12 hours.
Water properties such as temperatures, salinity and density were
calculated. Then, we would put plankton nets in or a Niskin bottle
to take water samples from different depths. The equipment was put
down to different depths, with the maximum depth being 130 meters.
Each time the equipment was brought back manually, the team’s
trousers and gloves froze. Le Tressoler is optimistic about the weather
during the work: “by chance the weather was very nice during
the expedition, just a few days of wind and a record of “only” -
36°C.”
Data Analysis
This kind of data has been rarely collected in this area, some of it
almost never, and certainly not over such a long period. The expedition
lasted “only” 3 weeks, but that was the maximum possible given
the climatic and logistic circumstances.
The data was first analyzed ‘on-site’ in a tent immediately after data
collection thanks to the computer. If something “strange” or interesting
was collected, this data was sent to the scientists who could then
tell them what to sample for the next day. The most visual data on
the computer was the sea-water data, says Le Tressoler: “we could
see that there was a cold layer of sea just under the surface, then a
few meters of “warm water”, and then the water became colder and
colder into the deep. At some depths there were some changes,
meaning that it should have been a great place to collect a lot of
plankton.”
After the expedition, the data and samples were transmitted to the
lab directly. Le Tressoler says that the scientists studying the plankton
were happy with the samples, as they are species that were not
expected in this area so early, and in such a large quantity.
Technology use
For data collection, the team used the compact Algiz XRW ultrarugged
notebook, under conditions which tested not only human
endurance but also that of the quality and durability of the equipment.
According to Le Tressoler, the computer was key to the suc-
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
15

I n t e r v i e w
Scientific measurements with the Algiz XRW
cess of the expedition: “without the computer,
we could not have collected the scientific
data and wouldn’t have been able to send
daily pictures and comments about the expedition.“
The computer had also a very important
safety function: “we could directly connect
our satellite phone to the computer,
which would then work even with a flat battery.
It could also be used to send photos or
video of a possible bad injury to a doctor
in a hospital in order to help if first aid was
required.”
The expedition expected a lot from the
equipment: the team was looking for a powerful
computer that could endure very cold
weather and snow, without being too heavy.
It also needed to be readable sunlight, could
connect to the scientific instruments, and
have powerful batteries, since they could not
be recharged in the field. “The Algiz XRW
was perfect for the expedition, since everything
worked perfectly. The touch-screen of
the computer was also fantastic, as we could
work with the computer without having to
take our different layers of gloves.”
In cold environments, batteries are the main
problem: it takes only a few minutes before
they go down: “we needed batteries for the
computer that can hold power for a long
time when collecting water data. The batteries
of the Algiz XRW are very impressive.
They last forever in the cold environment,
much more than what we thought was possible.”
The next project
A new project has already been planned for
Spring 2013, on the west coast of Green -
land. It is scheduled to last until summer
2014. There is a lab onboard and different
scientific equipment which will be used to
mainly study sea-ice in this area. Two people
will be onboard all year long: Alan Le
Tressoler as skipper and expedition leader
and Elin Austerheim, a marine biologist and
scientific coordinator. Le Tressoler: “the boat
can take up to five scientists. Of course, the
Algiz XRW will be onboard as one of the
most important pieces of equipment for the
expedition: if outside temperatures should
drop down to -45°C, it will not be that warm
inside either, despite the heater; just above
0°C.”
Internet: www.handheldgroup.com
16
December 2012

A r t i c l e
A Socio-Technic Enterprise
Securing the Spatial Environment
Striving to develop a baseline spatial information system for cross-domain thematic analysis, Malta
has embarked on a project aimed at integrating the environmental themes in their wider aspect: the
natural, physical and social domains. Targeting the full data-cycle, the project focused on various activities:
strategy drafting, data capture, information system development, acquisition of technologies, territorial
zone scanning and ultimately, the development of a Shared Environmental Information System
aimed at disseminating all the data for free to the general public.
By Saviour Formosa, Elaine Sciberras and Janice Formosa Pace
Figure 1: Aerial image depicting the Fort Chambray in Gozo
An initiative started in 2006 and
awarded in 2010, focused on the
spatial data enhancement of information
in the physical, social and natural environment
domains, leading to an integrated
monitoring system. The mechanism em ploy -
ed to finance such a major undertaking
formed part of a €4.6 million project, entitled
Developing National Environmental
Monitoring Infrastructure and Capacity. This
project was co-financed by the European
Regional Development Fund, which has provided
85% of the project’s funding and the
Government of Malta, which financed the
rest under Operational Programme 1 -
Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 - Investing in
Competitiveness for a Better Quality of Life.
The authors are implementing the project
through the Malta Environment and Planning
Authority in collaboration with the Malta
Resources Authority (MRA), the Department
of Environmental Health, the National
Statistics Office (NSO) and the University of
Malta.
The project was required to span the divide
between the theme-specific fieldworkers in
the natural-physical-social environments, the
relative information specialists, the thematic
analysts and the policy makers. The problem
to date has been garnered by the fear
of information by social scientists on one
hand and the society-phobic developments
of the techno-centric experts on the other.
The Maltese endeavor aims to create a
socio-technic environment that sits in the middle
and delivers high end technological
functionality for the technology knowledgeable,
whilst providing easily workable information
systems for the phobics.
Concentrating on creating a strategy and a
series of methodological requirements for
the environmental domains, the project
sought to create baseline datasets in the spatial
fields, through the ambitious launching
of a high resolution 3D terrestrial data coverage
for the Maltese Islands. This was
undertaken through a combination of
oblique aerial imagery (Figure 1) and Light
Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data (Figure
2), as well as through a bathymetric survey
18
December 2012

A r t i c l e
Figure 3: The Blue area depicts the bathymetric sidescan zone, the
brown depicts the bathymetric LIDAR zone and the green depicts the
terrestrial LIDAR zone.
of coastal waters within 1 nautical mile (nm)
radius off the baseline coastline, which
utilised a combination of bathymetric LIDAR
surveys, acoustic scans and a physical grab
sampling survey of the entire land area
(316.16 km.sq) and the immediate marine
area (361 km.sq) (Figure 3). The terrestrial
and bathymetric scans were entrusted to
Terraimaging and their subcontractors Aqua -
BioTech Group.
The main outputs to be disseminated to the
public within an accessible interface comprise:
• LIDAR Scan: Terrestrial (Topographic Light
Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)) Digital
Surface Model (DSM) and Digital Terrain
Model (DTM) (316 km.sq)
• Bathymetric LIDAR aerial survey - depths
of 0 m to 15m within 1 nautical mile from
the Maltese coastline (38 km.sq)
• Bathymetric Scan: Acoustic (side scan
sonar) Digital Surface Model and an
acoustic information map of sea bed
(361 km.sq)
• High resolution oblique aerial imagery
and derived orthophoto mosaic and tiled
ima ge ry of the Maltese Islands (316
km.sq)
• Satellite imagery (GeoEye, RapidEye,
Quickbird) (316 km.sq)
In addition to the service deliveries, a number
of supply technologies have been
acquired and implemented. These include:
• Remote GPS Cameras (Remote capture
GPS receiver)
• Integrated GI infrastructure (workstations,
servers, san and GI raster/vector –based
software)
• 3D scanner and 3D printer
• GIS Handhelds for field surveys
• Global Navigation Satellite System Sta -
tion
There are many ancillary spin-offs envisaged
from the activity, such as nautical charts,
viewshed analysis maps and cross-thematic
studies in the physical, social and environmental
domains. Of special interest is the
impact that the planning development has
on the health and socio-psychological fields
through shadow-analysis and other cross-thematic
studies. Users will be able to generate
digital terrain 3D models, which can be
used for various applications planned for
urban and transport planning, environmental
impact assessments, infringement analysis,
security review, green criminology, risk
maps, climate change and its socio-economic
impact, monitoring of and enforcement of
land use activities and predictive analysis
and migration, amongst others.
All this will be possible through the implementation
of an innovative product that
adheres to international directives, in turn
ensuring the free delivery of all project-related
data to the general public. This drive
effectively brings together the requirements
Figure 2: Lidar image depicting the Maltese countryside
as outlined by the Commission’s Com mu -
nication COM (2008) 46 Final “Towards a
Shared Environmental Information System”,
the INSPIRE Directive (Directive 2007/2/EC)
and the Aarhus Convention. The tool is
being developed by Epsilon International
through the creation of a viewing, analytical
dissemination tool employing a web portal,
which is compliant to the EU’s Shared
Environmental Information System (SEIS). It
will lead the way for voluntary geographic
input, for which a system is to be launched
in the coming months.
Saviour Formosa is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Malta. His
main area of research is in spatio-temporal analysis of crime and its
social and physical relationships using spatial information systems.
Elaine Sciberras is a senior projects officer within the Information
Resources Unit at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. She
is currently part of the team managing an ERDF project, which is
developing national environmental monitoring infrastructure and
capacity. Janice Formosa Pace is a visiting lecturer at the University of
Malta. Her main area of research is in the transmission of crime
across the generations with emphasis on the period between 1950
and 2010, in the Maltese Islands.
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
19

A r t i c l e
Aerial Photography
Capturing Cape Town
Getmapping, a company that produces its own vertical aerial photography, oblique photography and
height data, captured and delivered over 2500 km 2 of high resolution (6.25cm) imagery covering the
entire City of Cape Town Metropolitan area.
By the editors
existing budget, and deliver the data in less
time than it would have previously taken to
produce standard (12.5cm) imagery.
By using the A3, Geosense was able to overcome
the challenges posed by the area’s terrain
and airspace restrictions by flying at
approximately twice the height of a conventional
survey, with a footprint twice as large.
By flying higher, many ATC restrictions were
overcome, and by effectively flying half as
many survey lines, Geosense was able to
complete the project in a fraction of the time
it would otherwise have taken. The captured
imagery comprised 690,886 frames of
imagery captured across 13,025 sweeps.
Founded in 1999, Getmapping pioneered
the concept of nationwide coverage
of aerial photography. Today
Getmapping produces its own vertical aerial
photography, oblique photography and
height data.
Getmapping services a wide variety of business
sectors including central and local government,
utilities, the emergency services,
media and publishing, property and construction,
transport, communications and the
environment across Great Britain and internationally.
The Challenge
Getmapping, through its African subsidiary
Geosense, was commissioned by the City of
Cape Town (CoCT) to provide the most
detailed imagery of their municipality ever
captured. The challenge was to capture, process
and deliver over 2500 km2 of high resolution
(6.25cm) imagery covering the
entire City of Cape Town Metropolitan area.
CoCT is one of the most pro-active Local
Authority users of imagery in the world, and
Green Point Stadium in Cape Town
employs imagery across many of its service
divisions including planning, enforcement
and transport. CoCT is growing rapidly and
undergoing significant change every year.
As a result, CoCT requires regular surveys
of its entire region to support a wide range
of core services.
The CoCT region covers the City of Cape
Town, including outlying suburbs and the
Cape Peninsula. The region also includes
the world famous Table Mountain Park. As
a result, undertaking aerial survey of the
area faces a number of challenges created
by significant variations in the terrain, as
well as having to work around the busy
Cape Town International Airport.
The Solution
Geosense deployed the VisionMap A3
Digital Mapping System to meet CoCT’s
challenge. Prior to this project, CoCT has
mostly commissioned 12.5cm imagery for
their entire region. However, by deploying
the A3 system, Geosense was able to provide
CoCT with full coverage of their region
at high resolution, without stretching their
In total, the survey took approximately 45
hours including transits and occasional holding
patterns from ATC. This compared to a
similar number of hours for flying 12.5cm
imagery of the region the previous year
using a frame based camera system.
Processing high resolution imagery for a
project of this size would normally be very
labour intensive and time consuming, to
undertake aerial triangulation, mosaicing
and finalising. However, the A3 Lightspeed
Processing System automated many of these
tasks and reduced the amount of manual
effort by approximately 75%, delivering
huge time and cost savings. Geosense was
able to process all of the imagery rapidly
and deliver the finished accurate and seamless
imagery to the client within three months
of starting the capture. The final delivery,
consisting of a seamless, ortho-rectified
mosaic of the entire CoCT area, is now in
CoCT’s central GIS system and used
throughout the organisation.
For more information, have a look at: www.visionmap.com
20
December 2012

A r t i c l e
Data on the move
Safe Software
Data movers at Safe Software have been busy keeping up with the latest technology and data trends.
Safe Software’s President and Co-founder Don Murray talks about recent releases and how the company
is wrapping their heads around real-time data feeds, LiDAR, non-relational data tables and cloud
computing.
By Eric van Rees
Interoperability extension
Safe Software is known for its flagship
product FME (Feature Manipulation
Engine) for data transformation. Since
the release of FME 2012, the company
has been keeping up with new
technology and data trends. With a
new release of Esri’s ArcGIS, version
10.1, Safe Software has something to
share regarding that; for starters a
new version of the ArcGIS Data interoperability
extension. This is an
optional extension to ArcGIS that provides
support for over 150 GIS, CAD
and database formats. This update
provides two years worth of improvements
to the, which means a new
focus on LiDAR data. Murray: “the
ArcGIS Data interoperability extension
makes it really easy for people to get
LiDAR data into ArcGIS 10.1. LiDAR
data is everywhere – railways are
starting to put LiDAR scanners on the
front, so they can measure track
anomalies to better determine where
tracks need maintenance, for example.
Obviously, the data volumes are
through the roof.”
ArcGIS for Local
Government
The other big issue is local government. Esri
has the ArcGIS for Local Government systems,
which is essentially a data model.
Murray: “once local governments get data
into the data model, they’re able to leverage
a lot of apps and maps at Esri. It’s easy
to use our technology and, whether you’re
coming from ArcGIS or from other systems,
to get data into that data model, so that you
can leverage all those apps which just come
out of the box with ArcGIS for Local
Government.”
On the same ‘data moving theme’, there’s
Parcel Fabric, which is part of the tools for
Esri’s ArcMap. Murray: “it enables users to
Don Murray
manage their cadaster, for example, property
boundaries, but it has its own data
model. So in order to use that tool you have
to put data into that data model. Many cities
still use CAD for that, and then start moving
that into ArcGIS. The easiest way to get that
data in is to use cadastral XML. We’re showing
people how easy it is with FME to take
your cadastral fabric into the cadastral XML
model, so you can then simply load that XML
directly into ArcGIS.”
FME Server in the cloud
FME Server, Safe Software’s server product
for handling large data volumes, can be
deployed in the cloud now, says Murray.
But, at the present moment, it’s not ‘software
as a service’. Murray: “we have
a number of clients who have deployed
FME Server in the cloud: all of our FME
Server sites that you hit are running on
Amazon AWS. At this point we don’t
have a ‘pay for use service’ model, but
this will come out in the near future.”
Putting up your own server is not a
small task, says Murray, and that’s why
clients approach Safe Software for
doing this: “clients have specific tasks
they want to perform, but they don’t
want to go through the expense and
effort of buying the hardware, bandwidth,
security, and someone to manage
it. From an efficiency and cost
standpoint, there’s a good argument.”
The big thing though, is data and
where it resides. Murray:
“Organizations are very hesitant to put
their data in the cloud, because they
need to know where the data actually
resides. So if you’re in Europe for
example, you probably don’t want your
data stored in the US, because different
countries have different laws on
who has access to data.” Also, if the
data is closer to you, you’re going to
get a better response. The path is shorter
and, therefore, there’s less chance of finding
a bottleneck on the internet.
Real-time data
From the server side, Murray is seeing a lot
of movement into real-time data. Murray:
“there are sensors everywhere with real-time
data-feeds – people want to leverage these
live data-streams, combine it with their own
data and make better faster decisions than
they can with the traditional static data
approach. On the FME Server front, we’re
spending a lot of effort on that.”
On FME Desktop, ‘formats’ define which systems
we can work with. The more formats the
more systems we can work with. Formats
22
December 2012

A r t i c l e
Location of buses, ships, and planes in the San Francisco area displayed on Google Maps using FME Server to process the real-time data feeds.
cover everything from database, to files, to
web services such as WFS. On the server,
‘protocols” define the systems that our server
can connect. The goal here is to add support
for as many protocols as possible. Some popular
ones that we support are HTTP (REST),
FTP, email, UDP, and JMS. “The goal is to
have as many protocols as possible so it is
easy for people to get data into FME Server
so it can do its thing”, says Murray.
Big Data
As for the Big Data move, the company has
started looking at some of these things, for
example CouchDB, an open source data -
base system. Murray: “we’re experimenting
with it but haven’t come up with a great user
scenario at this point, but we want to make
sure that they can get data in and out easily.
And then we’re hoping to find somebody
who knows what they want to do with it and
grow the functionality to support that scenario.
“
It makes sense that datasets are, in general,
exploding, says Murray: “just think about
the size of a LiDAR dataset – the files are
measured in tens of gigabytes. At this point
we haven’t had a focus on big non-relational
data tables, but it’s coming – the same
goes for full-motion video.”
A point cloud was colorized by using FME to overlay an orthophoto on a point cloud with no color information.
Internet: www.safe.com
You can read more of Don’s thoughts at http://blog.safe.com.
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
23

I n t e r v i e w
On Acquiring Geosemble, Product Integration
TerraGo
In July 2012, US-based TerraGo Technologies announced the acquisition of Geosemble Technologies.
Rick Cobb is President and Chief Executive Officer of TerraGo. Here, he talks about the complementary
product portfolios of both companies and what the future has in store.
By Eric van Rees
Rick Cobb
TerraGo is a software company that provides
a platform for the development of
geospatial intelligence applications and
reports. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, TerraGo
has more than 1,000 paying software customers
around the world. The company has
clients in sectors such as defense and intelligence,
homeland security, crisis planning and
response, public safety, natural resources and
energy. In July of this year, TerraGo an -
nounced the acquisition of the technology,
assets, and staff of Geosemble, a company
from Manhattan Beach, California. Why did
the TerraGo make this acquisition and what
does this mean for both product portfolios and
customer base Rick Cobb, President and
Chief Executive Officer of TerraGo Tech no -
logies explains all.
of course there are a couple of common customers,
as well, who use both of our solutions.”
Both companies also share the same investor,
In-Q-Tel, a non-profit venture capital firm “created
to bridge the gap between the technology
needs of the U.S. Intelligence Community
(IC) and new advances in commercial technology.”
Finally, Cobb discussed in earnest how both
firms can be brought together to develop synergistic
high-value applications, based on
each other’s strengths. Cobb: “our expertise
is heavy in bringing all kinds of different
geospatial data together, putting it into context
and delivering into the hands of the user
who doesn’t have expertise in geospatial technology.
Geosemble’s expertise is in the discovery
and analysis of unstructured content
from social media and more generally documents
from the Web and elsewhere, making
associations between that content and points
of interest, then providing tools to visualize
and find only that content which is relevant to
the user’s particular interest or application. We
bring the complementary technologies together
to provide solutions for customers who want
to discover geospatial information, package
it and provide it to the edge in collaborative
applications.”
GeoXray and MapStrata
TerraGo has a suite of software that supports
desktop, server and mobile applications. The
Geosemble technology comprises server-based
technology, says Cobb: “Geosemble is best
known for a product called GeoXray, a very
powerful solution that allows people to plug-in
to all kinds of unstructured data sources, like
social media, news blogs and then mine all
that data based on a topic, place and time.
When a user passes unstructured data across
a location or point of interest area in
Geosemble, only the relevant material sticks.”
GeoXray also lets people visualize on Google
Maps and Google Earth, as well as maps provided
by Web services, such as those provided
by Esri’s ArcGIS Online. Also, GeoXray
implementations enable visualization on enterprise
geospatial assets, and that’s why they
offer integration - with Esri software products.
Geosemble and TerraGo
When comparing the two companies, Cobb
mentions the synergy across both, as well as a
number of other common features: “both
TerraGo and Geosemble support the same
industries, and we have a similar mindset
because we’re young and emerging companies.
Through the acquisition, we got the
opportunity to bring an exciting new set of
capabilities to many more customers and then
GeoXray overview
24
December 2012

I n t e r v i e w
GeoXray screenshot
Cobb: “GeoXray is going to become a core
capability. We have been developing serverbased
and service-based technology to let
people access and combine GIS data and
other structured data and unstructured data
and documents for some time now. In addition,
we’ve been asked to tap into other
sources, such as SharePoint, so we’re working
on that. The goal is to be able to bring
almost any data together on the map. The
GeoXray capabilities greatly enhance our
ability to deliver a single, coherent solution.”
What a lot of people don’t know is that
TerraGo has been developing server technology
for a number of uses, such as homeland
security, GeoEye and others. Cobb: “Geo -
semble also has some interesting technology
that is not as quite as productized as GeoXray,
called MapStrata, which does conflation of
all kinds of different data with imagery. So,
for instance, users can take a satellite or aerial
image and take a vector map without any
geospatial registration and register the two
with some really clever pattern recognition
algorithms.”
Integration with ArcGIS Server
From an overall architecture functionality perspective,
the acquisition is a good fit for
TerraGo, says Cobb. How will the different
products be developed further and integrated
“The first thing we’re doing is integrating
GeoXray with ArcGIS for Server. There are a
growing number of sources of data for visualization
and analysis out there, but at the end
of the day, many of our customers want to use
their own assets, and much of that is managed
by Esri’s ArcGIS, so it’s a natural starting point.”
This integration enables the following workflow:
“if you do a search and identify a bunch
of interesting content and now you want to
create a mobile app, you push a button in an
ArcGIS for Server implementation and push it
out to TerraGo Mobile. Somebody in the field
can now get maps, structured and unstructured
data and content, add their own fieldcollected
data and content, share it with everybody
and send it back into the enterprise. “
The ArcGIS for Server integration also enables
access to GeoPDF maps, imagery and applications.
The term GeoPDF sometimes causes
misunderstandings. What is exactly meant by
GeoPDF Cobb explains that GeoPDF itself is
a trademark used to brand a suite of technologies
developed by TerraGo: “a GeoPDF
application has content, it has functionality, it
has digital rights, it’s interactive, and it works
in the TerraGo workflow. With TerraGo software,
I can make my own content, import
shapefiles, export KML and more, to personalize
my GeoPDF maps. To us, a GeoPDF is
a core set of technologies that represents
mobility and interactivity and collaboration.
What makes GeoPDF GeoPDF is not the georeferencing
technique, which we opened and
released through OGC and elsewhere, but
rather the creation, configuration, and collaboration
capabilities that are made possible by
our software.”
Roadmap of TerraGo
The acquisition has its consequences for both
companies’ release schedules. TerraGo issued
a major release last summer: “In July 2012,
we released Version 6 (V6), which spans the
core software products - Composer, Publisher,
the SDK and TerraGo Toolbar. These were
upgraded and more deeply integrated. We
added some neat technology like geoforms
for doing structured field data collection and
collaboration infrastructure to share near realtime
information in the field.”
The company also is planning a major mobile
release. Cobb: “we’ve completely written
TerraGo Mobile for Android from scratch,
including our own powerful rendering engine
because there’s really not much out there.
Over the past year and a half we’ve built an
entire front to back solution in the core
TerraGo technology products. Most exciting
of these is TerraGo Mobile for Android which
on schedule for a November release.”
As for Geosemble technologies, there are
already plans for how to work with them, says
Cobb: “they shipped the brand-new release
GeoXray Version 3 last April that includes significant
new functionalities and features. In
particular, we’re working on scalability and
usability, a few things that will solidify the current
offering and then we’ll start the initial integration
work.” This integration is not so much
between the product lines initially, but into the
workflow. Cobb: “The good news is we didn’t
have to rip anything apart to rebuild it, so
these are standalone solutions we get to integrate
at more of a services level, which is a
very powerful way to do it.”
GeoXray screenshot
Internet: www.terragotech.com
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
25

C o l u m n
Smart Cities and Cooperation
Futuristic scenarios will become reality as integrated standards platforms
enable cities’ and citizens’ information systems to integrate information from
GIS, BIM and civil engineering documents and services.
Smart City advancement depends on a platform
of communication infrastructure that
enables seamless interoperation of diverse
systems for representing the urban world, including
systems for design – CAD, BIM and Civil Engi -
neering software – and systems for observation and
management – sensors, imaging and geospatial
processing. These systems were created by different
professional communities to solve different kinds
of problems. The communities have different cultures,
vocabularies and worldviews, so they tend
to deal with their in-community interoperability
needs in different ways.
Despite these differences, progress toward interoperation
moves forward, because the Smart City
vision and the BIM vision become increasing compelling
for both governments and businesses, and
because at the same time cooperation in the standards
organisation ecosystem is advancing.
Some of the key players in the location standards
ecosystem are the Open Geospatial Consortium
(OGC), ISO/TC 211 (Geographic informa -
tion/Geomatics), ISO/TC 59/SC 13 (Organi -
zation of information about construction works) and
Building Smart International (bSI). In October, at
the Smart Geospatial Expo 2012 conference in
Seoul, Korea, the OGC organized an “Inter oper -
ability Day” along with the ISO/TC 211 ad hoc
group on GIS-BIM, ISO/TC 59/SC 13 and the
Korea Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime
Affairs. This Joint Workshop was titled “The
Challenge of GIS-BIM Standardization for
Ubiquitous Public Access”. Representatives of the
organizations made presentations and participated
in discussions designed to help each organization
understand the others’ problem sets, cultures,
vocabularies and worldviews.
Also in attendance were representatives from companies
such as Autodesk, Bentley, Leica and Trimble
who have much to gain from standards that will
expand the market for products like theirs.
Most of these companies have representatives who
participate in the standards work of two or more
of the four organizations. While written agreements
between the organizations set the stage for cooperation,
ongoing collaboration in technical meetings
allows standards organizations to dig into the
details, aligning their respective standards work
programs and providing a workable set of standards
that hide the differences among the systems.
The OGC has liaised with ISO TC/211 for sixteen
years (some OGC standards are now also ISO standards),
and the OGC also has a memorandum of
understanding with bSI. Several years ago, the
OGC and bSI’s American member organization,
the buildingSMART alliance (bSa), worked together
in the joint bSa-OGC Architecture/Engineering
/Construction/Owner/Operator Testbed (AECOO-
1). The AECOO-1 Testbed was an exploratory step
towards achieving service-based interoperability in
the AECOO world. Today bSI is working with
ISO/TC 59/SC 13 on matters related to the bSI’s
Industry Foundation Class (IFC) specifications.
Within the OGC, the 3D Information Management
Domain Working Group (3DIM DWG) has long
provided a forum to advance action to address
standards related to CAD/BIM/geospatial integration
as well as 3D information models.
The OGC City Geography Markup Language
(CityGML) Encoding Standard was built on top of
the OGC Geography Markup Language (GML)
Encoding Standard, and now CityGML is becoming
widely used for the storage and exchange of
virtual 3D city models.
Visualization is an important factor in communication
among the inhabitants of Smart Cities, and
therefore the OGC, working closely with the
Web3D Consortium, recently completed the 3D
Portrayal Interoperability Experiment (3DPIE) to test
and demonstrate different approaches for servicebased
3D visualization using two related candidate
OGC standards for 3D portrayal: the OGC Web
3D Service (W3DS) and Web View Service (WVS)
Interface standards. CityGML, and perhaps W3DS
and WVS, will play an important role in Smart
Cities, but they are not the whole solution.
It is within OGC’s mission to enable interoperability
between existing established workflows, to connect
the Civil, Geospatial and Building worlds and
to incorporate emerging technologies like Aug -
mented Reality and Sensor Webs for the Internet of
Things.
Raj Singh,
Director of Interoperability Programs
Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).
C O L U M N
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
27

A r t i c l e
A Specification Synthesis
Terrestrial Laser Scanning
In recent years, the use of terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) has spread rapidly throughout the world,
undoubtedly due to their survey speed and automation, but probably also for their novelty value. The
technology has certainly influenced the improvement of previous well-known techniques (for instance,
close-range photogrammetry), with the development of issues such as dense point-cloud generation,
process automation and large technique synergy. But, what specifications should currently be under
consideration for terrestrial scanning works With these points in mind, this article analyses the basic
themes connected with this technology and presents them as a specification synthesis, with examples.
By Luigi Colombo and Barbara Marana
Figure 1: The scanning step specifications
Scanning and imaging
Laser technology is the metrological basis of terrestrial measurement
systems for object description. They are transportable and reliable
devices, which record panoramic point clouds, with sophisticated
servo systems for movement control.
The point relative precision is usually higher than 1/10,000: it matches
an absolute precision < 10 mm inside a range up to 200 m.
The object scanning resolution (namely sampling)
is achieved through a combination of:
device-object distance, azimuthal and zenithal
laser beam slant and object surface morphology.
The point positioning precision (reflectorless
or with optical targets) is a combination
of: distance, beam divergence (the spot footprint),
object morphology, surfaces material
reflectivity (light, dark, mat, translucent, etc.)
and environment.
The scanning survey technique allows interactive
procedures without accuracy check
(redundancy is not assured) for the acquired
points, unless measurements are taken from
different locations. The surveyed surface is
reconstructed in an independent way and then
proper statistic comparisons are calculated.
Figure 2: Sampling grid and laser footprints
Figure 3: Scanners: a) phase-difference laser device with a superimposed photo-camera, b) and c) laser
scanner with the support for an external photo-camera, d) time of flight scanner with photo-camera
The new terrestrial device generation, based on phase difference
and width modulated waves, are highly versatile solutions to survey
built objects in medium range (100-200 m), allowing panoramic
scanning of good precision. The acquisition
rate is very high (up to 1,000,000 points per
second) and so it is possible to also provide
pseudo-dynamic applications.
The scanning field of view is nearly spherical
(360° horizontal and 305-320° vertical), the
points precision is accurate to a few millimetres
and a direct measurement can be realized
on natural surfaces, even dark ones, and
in reduced energy return conditions (at least
5 % of the emitted one).
By comparison, time of flight scanners allow
only sub-panoramic acquisitions (about 360°
x (60°-100°)), have medium speed, lower precision,
but quite a high range (up to some
thousands of meters); for this reason, they are
also suitable for land measurement.
28
December 2012

A r t i c l e
Specifications
Figure 4: Texturing: a) low resolution point cloud, b) good resolution point cloud, c) mesh with a
re-projected image
The acquisition time for a panoramic scan takes only a matter of
minutes, despite very dense sampling. The final 3D point-model can
be mapped with materic reflectance values or photo textured with
colour images, so as to provide a realistic depiction of the surveyed
object.
Specifications for acquisition
It is interesting to note that the following scanning specifications refer
to (and partially complete) some executive proposals suggested in
2006 by the English Heritage (www.heritage3d.org).
We know that the sampling step is highly influenced by the object
morphology and dimensions, by the required level of detail and,
obviously, by the expected precision, which limit the choice of the
most suitable surveying device.
A survey project always starts from definition of Level of Detail (LoD)
and required precision.
It is possible to proceed according to the following steps.
1) The dimension dr of the smallest object-element, to be recognized
in the reconstructed model, is assigned together with a level of identification
probability p%; then, the corresponding linear sampling
step s (to be kept constant horizontally and vertically) can be calculated.
From the English Heritage relationship:
identification probability = p% = (1 - s/dr) x 100;
set N = 1/ (1- p% / 100), it follows dr/s = N.
Given dr and p%, the value s of the useful sampling step is derived.
Figure 5: Image draping: the original photos (top) and the stitched panoramic image (bottom)
Figure 1 shows the relationship of the ratio dr/s with the probability
level.
2) The low noise of the points acquired over the scan demands the
fulfilment of the conditions s ≥b/2 or , preferably, s ≥ b (see fig. 2),
between the grid step s and the laser beam footprint b.
In fact, it is known that the laser beam footprint b follows the relationship
b = b 0 + dα, with b 0 = the sensor spot at emission, d the
working range and α the beam angular divergence.
3) Finally, the laser precision σ should satisfy the numerical relation
σ ≤ s.
Anyway, the real scanning step performed over the object depends
on the geometric conditions (normality or not) of the beam impact
and, generally, on the surface morphology.
To avoid loss of information or its decay, it is advisable to discard
cloud areas acquired with too many slanting points of view (normal
deviation > 45°, both horizontally and vertically).
According to survey occlusions, a scan is assumed to be globally
acceptable with data voids (holes) smaller than 5% of the whole surface;
data voids are areas without points, whose dimension is at
least 3 times greater than the sampling step s.
It is also possible to scan at different LoD, while decreasing both the
area of interest and the sampling step.
Some laser scanners are provided with auxiliary devices, such as a
GNSS positioning sensor, an inclinometer (to calculate the verticality
of the azimuthal rotation axis) and a compass for angular bear-
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
29

A r t i c l e
The point model can then be geo-referenced thanks to control points,
with a surveying measurement, inside the selected reference system;
the result is acceptable only if the residuals for each coordinate are
less than 2s (with a statistical confidence of 95%).
Figure 6: Point models of exteriors, with reflectance values, and
interiors, with photo-texturing
ing: all this can simplify the cloud registration and final geo-referencing.
Operating steps
The scanning procedure can be outlined as follows:
1 Set the scanner to the dimension dr of the smallest object element,
which is to be identified over the reconstructed model and then it
should be possible to gain the sampling step s.
For instance, if a probability level p equal to 67% is selected, then
it follows N = 3 and then s = dr/ 3.
Additionally, the precision for point positioning must satisfy the specification
σ ≤ s;
2 Define the range d of the surveyed area;
3 Choose the most fitting laser device according to precision, range
and speed;
4 Calculate the laser beam footprint b, according to the angular
divergence (b = b 0 + dα) in the interest area, which has to fulfil
the specification s ≥ b/2.
Point model construction
All point clouds, usually panoramic and well overlapping, are connected,
via software, to provide a 3D point model in a common reference
system (for instance, the one from the most barycentric scan).
The model can then be geo-referenced within an assigned coordinate
system.
The registration procedure between groups of clouds is initially
achieved with the support of control points (at least 5 common points),
which have been pre-targeted on the boundary and at the centre of
the overlapping area (targets of fitting dimension and shape).
Then, cloud registration is refined automatically, according to iterative
alignment techniques (such as ICP algorithm, etc.) which use
homologous features (points, lines and polygons) selected over cloud
groups, so as to estimate the transformation parameters.
In order to limit random errors, cloud connection is usually accomplished
according to a procedure which initially links each of them
to a pre-selected reference cloud and then minimizes the residuals
with a further global approach.
The result is only acceptable when the residuals Δx, Δy, Δz (among
clouds) are less than:
1 2s, for each coordinate, over the targeted control points (with a
statistical confidence of 95%);
2 s, for each coordinate, after accomplishing the matching procedure
over features (with a statistical confidence of 95%).
Photo-texturing
Photo-texturing, which allows the construction of a realistic model
(both for geometric and qualitative reading), is performed by draping
images over the surveyed model, with the support of the internal
and external orientation parameters.
It is important that the digital photo camera is calibrated and integrated
precisely with the scanning device. Doing this ensures the
point clouds are already “coloured”. Additionally, as integrated cameras
provide medium resolution images, it is often useful to acquire
additional images of higher resolution, with external cameras.
This means that photographs can be taken both on-line whilst scanning
(through an integrated photo-camera) and off-line with an external
camera. In addition, a series of shots are taken through wide
angle or fish eye lenses, from the same scanning positions, so as to
limit parallax errors (fig. 3). After this, each image is re-projected:
• directly over the point cloud if it has a resolution at least homogeneous
with that of the image: namely, if the sampling step s is
nearly equal to the image pixel over the object (Ground Sampling
Distance);
• over a surface model (mesh model), reconstructed from point
clouds, if the image has a resolution much higher than scans; the
aim being to preserve its quality (fig. 4).
In order to avoid having to manually re-project the images, one at a
time over the model, which would require the selection of a high
number of homologous points (to tie each image to the model); one
could use stitching software to produce a few panoramic images
from the acquired ones. (fig. 5).
In fact, the homologous point search for co-registration between each
image and the model is actually performed in a semi-automatic way,
due to the continued existence of insufficient computing reliability.
In any case, the results of the projecting process must be checked
by analysing the residuals over tie points.
The photos must be taken with a proper overlay, so as to minimize
the effects from the line of sight slanting and occlusion effects
(figure 6).
In fact, both dynamic and static occlusions limit the completeness of
the depiction. In order to overcome this problem, it is advisable to
start surveying only after careful consideration to identify suitable
shooting positions.
Output
Usually the following documentation, consistent with the customer
software packages, is requested:
1 a 3D digital coloured and measurable point model with phototextures;
it will provide the free software for the model viewing
and virtual visit, together with the tools for coordinates, distance
and area evaluations;
2 2D vector drawings, such as scaled orthographic views, horizontal
and vertical profiles, plans, sections, DTMs, contour lines, elevations.
Furthermore, in order to provide object elevations, it is possible to
start from a raw draw, acquired in a semi-automatic way, through
cut planes and angular-discontinuity-line extraction (according to the
evaluation of the Normal-direction variability over the recorded
points).
This first output can be integrated later by tracing over orthographic
views, direct survey and manual editing.
30
December 2012

A r t i c l e
Figure 7: The trade software
Geometric and qualitative testing
All the provided output has to be verified by sampling (≥10%), both
for metric and qualitative features.
In the beginning, a comparison is carried out between corresponding
distances measured on the model and on the object; they must
cross different clouds and should be easily identifiable, due to phototexturing.
The residuals between distances (model minus object) must fulfil (with
a statistical confidence of 95%) the condition Δd ≤ 2s .
The accuracy of the cloud alignment can also be enhanced visually
by colouring in, in complementary ways, the adjacent point clouds
and verifying the resulting chromatic effect in the overlapping areas.
It is important to check the continuity of the reconstructed entity
boundaries and those of the extracted section profiles (which must
be allowed despite occlusions and data voids), radiometric quality
and colour uniformity.
Examples
a) First case
Acquisition
1 with a selected probability level (for instance 67%), the smallest
detail dr is set to be identified over the reconstructed model: given
dr = 20 mm →s = dr/3 = 6.7 mm (≅ 7 mm) and the expected
precision σ ≤ 7 mm;
2 the maximum scanning range is prefixed to: d = 30 m;
3 the laser scanner choice is Z+F 5010; this instrument does not
have a built-in calibrated camera for direct photo-texturing. The
constructor precision for the selected range is σ ≅ 1 mm (therefore
σ ≤ s);
4 The footprint maximum value (data provided by the constructor):
b = 12.5 mm is checked;
5 the condition: sampling step s (mm) ≥ 12.5/2 mm is verified.
Model construction
6 residuals (with a statistical confidence of 95%) among clouds ∆x,
∆y and ∆z ≤ 2s (14 mm);
7 residuals (with a statistical confidence of 95%) among clouds,
after entity matching, ≤ s (7 mm);
8 geo-referencing residuals (with a statistical confidence of 95%) ≤
2s (14 mm);
9 testing residuals (with a statistical confidence of 95%) for distances
≤ 2s (21 mm).
b) Second case
Acquisition
10 with a selected probability level (for instance 80%), the smallest
detail dr is set to be identified over the reconstructed model:
given dr = 25 mm → s = dr/5 = 5 mm and the expected precision
σ ≤ 5 mm;
11 the maximum scanning range is prefixed to: d = 50 m;
12 the laser scanner choice is: Leica HDS 6100 or Z+F 5006h;
these instruments do not have a built-in calibrated camera for
direct photo-texturing. The constructor precision for the selected
range is σ ≅ 2 mm (therefore σ ≤ s);
13 The footprint maximum value (data provided by the constructor):
b = 14 mm is checked;
14 the condition: sampling step s (mm) ≥ 14/2 mm must be accomplished.
Point 5 is not true.
So as to provide a sampling grid at the established level of probability,
it is necessary to limit the scanning maximum range to 30 m
(then b = 9.6 mm), or to get the requested reliability level to a lower
value, such as 67%: then it follows s = 8.3 mm.
Steps 6), 7), 8) and 9) are as above.
Hardware and software
All current laser scanners are usually of good quality, in spite of different
operating features and costs. The provided hardware is certainly
of a higher reliability level, as compared to the processing
software currently available. This is still a sticking point for this emergent
survey technique.
In data processing, some steps are almost totally automated, such
as the acquisition phase, while others must still be improved, such
as for the model reconstruction and data co-registration. Other steps,
such as elevation and extraction, will probably remain semi-automated.
Furthermore, in order to provide the requested output and meet the
different end-user data management capabilities, technicians often
have to use different packages (scanning control software, general
processing, specific software).
A global overview of the present main trade packages is shown in
fig. 7.
Expectations
Nowadays, expectations for technology improvement are aimed
towards the growth of the degree of automation, reliability and
speed of data processing, in order to provide a nearly expert system
for applications.
To clarify, it would be prudent to enhance the following working
steps:
• cloud registration;
• spatial model texturing and image co-registration;
• production of satisfying 2D output, such as elevations, plans, vertical
sections, together with gridding and contour-line drawings.
Luigi Colombo is professor of Geomatics and Barbara Marana is assistant professor at the University of
Bergamo - Engineering Department - Dalmine (Italy).
References:
• Aguilera D., Gonzàlvez P., Lahoz J. (2009) - An automatic procedure for co-registration of terrestrial laser
scanners and digital cameras - ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 64 (3).
• Colombo L., Marana B. (2011) - Surveying buildings. GeoInformatics - vol. 7.
• Colombo L., Marana B. (2010) - Terrestrial laser scanning. GIM International - vol. 12.
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
31

E v e n t
Public and Private Sector Discuss Current Trends in the Industry
Intergeo Press Conference 2012
Wednesday October 10 was the date for the yearly press conference at the Intergeo Conference and
Trade Fair, organized by DVW e.V. - the German Society for Geodesy, Geoinformation and Land
Management. Representatives from the public and private sector discussed a number of international
trending topics in the industry.
By Eric van Rees
comes to standardizing quality of data, and
therefore ‘the question of quality is a relative
one’.
All speakers during the International press conference at Intergeo 2012, organized by DVW e.V. - the German Society for Geodesy, Geoinformation
and Land Management (source: Hinte Messe)
It’s a tradition that every Intergeo edition
features a press conference with national
and international speakers from the private
and public sector. Speakers present this
year were Prof. Ing. Karl F. Thone (President
DVW e.V.), Steve Berglund (President of
Trimble), Teo CheeHai (president of FIG),
Jean-Yves Pirlot (President of CLGE), Dr.
Andreas Scheuer (Parlimentary State
Secretary at the Federal Ministry of
Transport, Building and Urban Development)
and Arnulf Christl (President OSGeo FOSS-
GIS).
Topics discussed covered many issues pertinent
to the surveying profession, including
the changing nature of the profession, now
that new technology is enabling surveyors
to do their work differently. Crowdsourcing
is also raising questions within the profession:
when do you need a surveyor in the
field Surveying organizations such as FIG
and CLGE, who represent their members,
have requested more visibility in the political
arena, not only to support their members,
but to show the necessity for qualitative
data. The topic of free available data is
also proving to be a rather difficult one, as
the private and public sectors are often at
loggerheads with one another, as they have
different interests.
Geospatial data quality
Spatial data quality is a topic that popped up
a number of times during the one hour press
conference. The quality of crowdsourced data,
as opposed to authoritative data, was questioned.
As there are already many industry
standards, do we need more standards or
would one single industry standard be better
Steve Berglund summed it up best by saying
that there may not be a universal standard that
applies to all uses, but rather there may be
various standards as defined by the user and
within that context. Also, not all functions
require the highest attainable accuracy “if you
are using data to do a critical function in construction
or infrastructure, the quality of the
data needs to be perfect or as close as to perfection.
For another purpose, using geospatial
data, good enough is good enough.”
What will be a challenge though, is defining
the quality of huge amounts of data. Berglund
stated that Trimble, as a technology company,
works on building solutions relative to specific
circumstances of an industry when it
The surveying profession
As expected, surveying representatives’ organizations,
such as FIG and CLGE, discussed
the changing nature of the surveying industry
and pleaded for more organization with politicians
on a regional level and collaboration
on a local level.
Jean-Yves Pirlot mentioned the Third CLGE
Conference of the European surveyor, which
was organized together with the Intergeo
Conference and Trade Fair on October 11th,
as an example where European surveyors
shared national case studies and experiences.
He explained that one of the organization’s
tasks is to appear on the radar of policy makers,
but that in the case of Brussels, this is very
difficult. The good news is that Europe has recognized
CLGE as an organization representing
the profession as a whole, not only the private
sector, but also in the public sector.
Public and private sector views
on geospatial data
With organizations such as FIG and CLGE
functioning as a sort of intermediate between
the public and private sector, commercial companies
are forced to develop strategies in the
short term, whilst governments can make policies
for years ahead. The two are closely
linked, however, since it’s these indicators that
create an environment where commercial
companies have to operate. Says Bergland:
“there need to be clear indicators in terms of
what are the right behaviors, in other words
clarity and certainty of governmental regulations
– the more confused they are, the more
difficult it is for companies as Trimble to produce
practical solutions. The more clear and
certain, the better.”
As for the use of new technology, he stated
that technology enables solutions, but they are
32
December 2012

E v e n t
not the same thing: “the cloud and the internet
are enablers in some sense, the same way
that infrastructure development of a hundred
years ago – harbors and roads – were
enablers. They are enabling technologies that
lead us to solutions.”
The remainder of the discussion was about
free geospatial data. Should governments
give away their authoritative data for free
And who has to pay for creating this data
Unfortunately, there are still no easy answers
to this one. In the US, the assumption is that
the bulk of geospatially referenced data available
will not be coming from governments, but
that there will be multi-sourcing of data from
a number of different sources. Bergland mentioned
a regulated environment that will be
‘government-focused’ with the official certification
associated with it, as well as a lot of
other participants that will make their data
available. But then, there’s the question of the
quality of that data since there’s no quality
guarantee. In short: more free data, but without
the official certification.
Internet: www.intergeo.de

A r t i c l e
An Introduction
Make Web Maps with MapBox
New technologies have emerged that are making web mapping much simpler and more accessible to
cartographers, GIS specialists, and those with less specialized skills alike. Mapbox is one such a tool.
By Bonnie Bogle
A look at Washington, DC in MapBox Streets.
Mapbox is a platform for creating
beautiful interactive maps and
sharing them on the web and
mobile devices. It starts with a beautiful
world street map as a base layer, which you
can style and add location markers to
through a web-based interface. Then you
can add your own data using TileMill, a free
desktop application for web cartography.
Finally, share your maps on the web or
mobile devices through a scalable and fast
web service with embed codes and a robust
API. MapBox is designed to be easy to use
and flexible — new users can get started by
changing the color and style of a map and
adding points of interest to it, and more
advanced cartographers can experiment
with compositing, hexagonal binning, heat
maps, and other artistic techniques.
from a drop down. The
colors and saturations of
roads, areas, water, and
land can all be changed
using the color selector.
Markers showing points
of interest like museums,
res taurants, or bus stops
can be manually added
to the map. The design
of markers is flexible too,
with the wide variety of
icons and colors available
through the Maki
icon set.
Using just these features,
users can create custom styled maps that
match the interface of their website or the
look and feel they’re going for — with no
technical skills and very little time required.
Dive into advanced cartography
Beautiful maps and the flexible tools to make
them are at the heart of MapBox, and at the
very core of this is TileMill. TileMill is an
open source desktop application that simplifies
designing beautiful web maps and
adding custom, interactive data to them.
While theming out MapBox Streets and
adding data points is possible through the
MapBox interface, TileMill is for advanced
uses like adding large custom data sets to
the map, adding interactivity and hover
details, or experimenting with water color
or pirate map designs.
TileMill can pull data in from a range of popular
file formats and databases including
ESRI Shapefile, KML, GeoJSON, GeoTIFF,
PostGIS, and SQLite. It uses the rendering
engine Mapnik, a powerful, full-featured
library that supports features like RGBA
color, True Type fonts, rasters, patterns, and
SVG transforms. Within TileMill itself, users
can manipulate map design through an easy
to use editor using CartoCSS, a language
inspired by CSS the stylesheets used in web
design, that gives full control and flexibility
over map design. There are many built-in
examples to help new users grab code and
get familiar with CartoCSS, while power
users can dive in and hack away.
It’s also easy to add interactivity to maps
through tooltips and clickable pop ups,
revealing context, photos, graphs, and other
details when desired. TileMill uses UTF-8
grid technology to leverage interactivity for
hundreds of thousands of data points while
keeping maps fast.
Share maps online
Beautiful maps want to be seen. However,
getting interactive, zoomable maps online
is not an easy task. The final output of all
maps made in MapBox is a set of tiles —
Start with the baselayer
MapBox Streets is a street-level map of the
world and the primary baselayer used within
the toolset. It has a clean, bright design
that you may be familiar with if you’re a
foursquare user, but users aren’t locked in
to the design.
There are twelve different preset custom
styles for MapBox Streets - ranging from
Terrain showing topological features like
mountains and gorges, to Light providing an
easy to read grayscale style, to Nightvision
(yes, like the goggles) - that users can select
Pirate map designed in TileMill.
34
December 2012

A r t i c l e
By mapping fires in the last twelve years, journalists were able to show that they generally occur in
areas with the highest rates of deforestation.
Map of areas in food crisis and on the ground operations to offer relief.
256px by 256px squares that make up the
basis of the zoomable, pannable web maps
we’ve grown accustomed to seeing online.
Through MapBox you can publish these
maps in any website with embed codes,
such as iframes, or you can use the MapBox
API to take full control over the details of
your maps and adjust image compression,
layer compositing, interaction, legends, and
more. MapBox also has a series of open
source map site templates that serve as
wrappers for full screen maps, turning an
interactive map into a full-fledged microsite.
Flexibility is a core tenant of MapBox. Any
map designed in TileMill can be exported
in the open MBTiles format, allowing users
to export the millions of small tiles that make
up a map in a single file. MBTiles integrates
with many other map platforms, so it’s easy
to take styled maps to use elsewhere or host
them on private servers.
Back to the storytelling
The map-making space right now is flourishing.
The tools are more accessible than ever,
do more than ever, and are used by a wider
swath of people - cartographers, GIS specialists,
web developers, journalists, artists,
data analysts, teachers, NGOs, gamers,
and just about anyone who has a passion
for maps and data visualization. And this is
leading to some very interesting stories
being told with maps. These two examples
both were made with MapBox.
Deforestation in the rainforest
Journalists reporting on the Amazon
Rainforest came together to launch
InfoAmazonia.org, a collaborative project
mapping news stories on the most important
issues in the region — deforestation, extractive
industries, and the overall destruction of
land. The maps themselves are stunning, taking
advantage of some of the advanced cartography
features in TileMill like compositing
and heat maps to convey the essence of
the rainforest, the impact of deforestation,
and the terror of forest fires.
A food crisis and the world’s
response
Right now more than 18 million people in
the Sahel region of West Africa are facing
a food crisis. Drought, population movements,
and conflict are compounding the
problem. Recently nine international organizations
came together to share information
and collectively map the situation on the
ground and international operations to provide
food assistance, resulting in sahelresponse.org.
Above all, the map practical. It
clearly tells the story of why the food crisis
exists, where it’s affecting, and operationally
who is doing what on the ground to provide
relief.
Powered by open data and
open source
MapBox is made up of open data and open
source code. MapBox Streets and all of
Data harvested collectively shows deforestation in the rainforest and
the major infrastructure locations playing a role in driving forest
destruction.
MapBox’s baselayer maps are populated
with data from OpenStreetMap, the world’s
free, editable community map. Open Street -
Map first rose to prominence after the earthquake
in Haiti, when volunteers quickly filled
an almost blank map with streets, landmarks,
and points of interest - turning it into
far and away the most detailed map of Haiti
in existence. It continues to see exponential
growth in map content and people using it,
especially with recent additions of
foursquare, MapQuest, and Apple to its user
base. Its data quality in much of the world
shows that citizens can map their surroundings
with greater detail and focus than any
company has done.
The MapBox team works with several open
source projects to develop its toolset, notably
JavaScript and Node.js for application
development, Mapnik for rendering, the
community map client project Modest Maps,
and libraries like Wax, Easey, and markers.js.
TileMill itself is an open source project,
and can be freely downloaded and
forked.
By building tools in the open, we make sure
our tools are tested and working for our
users. As this is a rapidly evolving space,
we develop agilely with lots of public feedback
and collaboration.
Get started designing maps with MapBox
To get started designing maps with MapBox,
sign up for a free account at mapbox.com.
From there you can explore MapBox Streets,
download TileMill, and start making your
own custom maps. How-to guides are available,
and there’s a support forum for any
issues or questions that come up.
Internet: http://mapbox.com
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
35

E v e n t
A Review
Intergeo Trade Fair 2012
The world’s most important conference and trade show for geodesy, geo-information and land management
attracted around 16,000 Geomatic- and GIS professionals to Hanover, Germany. A look at
this year’s trends and topics.
By Henk Key
Figure 1: The open-air space
Figure 2: Six rotors, a hexacopter
The 2012 Intergeo conference and trade
show took place at the Hanover Messe
centre, which has a total of 26 halls and
pavilions. Apart from the stunning architecture
of the Exhibition Centre’s halls, it boasts a number
of other features, including a Convention
Centre with 35 function rooms, glassed-in
areas between halls, grassy park-like areas
and “chill-out” zones. The major exhibitions
attract somewhere in the region of 400,000
visitors, as compared to the figures of Intergeo:
3 halls, 16,000 visitors, 28,000 square meters
of exhibition space, 510 exhibitors including
co-exhibitors, manufacturers, specialist dealers,
consultants/service providers, public
authorities, associations, institutions and publishers.
After passing the entry-gates, visitors immediately
look out over the open-air space, dozens
of cars equipped with photogrammetric and
LiDAR instruments which are ready to roll, a
huge Topcon truck with a variety of instruments
on display and buzzing octocopters or similar
airborne flying objects.
About 1400 visitors participated at the
Intergeo conference and covered 40 subject
areas. The first national INSPIRE (Infra struc ture
for Spatial Information in Europe) conference,
the CLGE (Council of European Geodetic
Surveyors) and the Navigation conference
were included in the Intergeo conference programme.
Also, there were press conferences
organized by commercial companies as well
as a press conference from the Intergeo organization
itself, where a newly formed Intergeo
Advisory Board with Esri, Hexagon and
Trimble as partners was announced.
Trends and Topics
Last year, during the Nuremberg Intergeo,
there was a noticeable invasion of UAV’s
(Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), commonly known
as drones. This year many more types of UAV’s
were on display in several booths; Quad-.
Hex-, and Octocopters, named after the number
of rotors (Figure 2).
Planes, helicopters and gyrocopters
The number of UAV underlines the shift towards
exploring methods to gather huge amounts of
data in order to meet the needs of the market;
not only for 2D maps, but also for 3D computer-
and scale-models. UAV’s can also be very
useful for collecting information when the overlook
of a site is more important than the accuracy,
for example in crowd control and disaster
management.
Leading companies like Trimble and Leica also
presented UAV’s at their booths. Trimble
acquired Gatewing and Leica showed a two
rotor UAV by Swiss-drone (Figure 3), confirming
the potential of this technology. Spokesmen
from both companies talked about filling the
gap between traditional photogrammtry and
terrestrial technologies.
Many of these UAV’s have a number of limitations,
such as being unstable, limited payload,
36
December 2012

E v e n t
Figure 4: Full-size Bundeswehr drone
Figure 3: Two-rotor UAV by Swiss-drone
vibration issues and problems in connection
with all the necessary permits needed to operate
these drones, as some countries do not
allow private drones at all. However, in my
opinion, they will become increasingly important
in our profession.
Several companies are already offering very
small stabilizing devices for UAV’s to keep camera’s
stable and aligned and the payload problem
could be solved by using bigger UAV’s.
There is a military version, a full size drone,
on display in the Bundeswehr, German Army
booth (Figure 4) which would be ideal.
Another solution to these problems could be
the gyrocopter, also known as autogyro (Figure
5). According to the manufacturer these
machines are very stable, even better than a
helicopter and have sufficient payload for the
big photogrammetric cameras like Ultra-cam.
Additionally, the operational costs are very low
compared to manned helicopters and planes;
only € 60.00 per hour flight-time and, as they
are manned, there are less problems in getting
permits to operate them. The only thing you
need is an area the size of a football pitch for
take-off (100 m) and landing (10 m).
Surveying Instruments
Numerous manufacturers presented level instruments,
rotating- and line-lasers, theodolites,
tachymeters and other survey instruments in
their booths. As mentioned before, the demand
for these kinds of instruments for mass data collecting
is declining. It seems as if the development
of these instruments has stagnated. Of
course, software is improving, accuracy is
improving and performance is improving, but
I did not notice any really new developments.
There will continue to be a great demand for
these “classic” instruments on construction sites
and in gathering a limited amount of data, for
example, to keep maps up to date. The only
“traditional” surveying instrument which has
improved significantly over the last few years
is the laser scanner. Leica’s ScanStation P20 is
definitely a forerunner (Figure 6).
What is remarkable is the increasing number
of manufacturers producing low budget instruments.
The production numbers they mention
are incredible, but until now they have been
producing mainly for the home market.
Figure 5: Gyrocopter, an alternative
Figure 6: ScanStation P20. Also upright usable
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
37

E v e n t
Figure 7: Low-budget instruments
Figure 8: Used Leica laser scanner for sale
Exporting, selling and after sales service
abroad are still problematic, but the prices are
amazing (Figure 7).
Meanwhile some companies presented used
instruments; top instruments at budget prices.
Geotrade from the Netherlands, told me about
the sale of a used scanner in order to map
archaeological sites. In this case reliability and
accuracy are of primary importance and
speed is secondary, thus a used Leica scanner
was the perfect and affordable solution (Figure
8).
The development of GNSS systems is continual.
Within a few years four fully operational
GNNS satellite systems will cover our globe;
GPS from the USA, Glonass from Russia,
Galileo from Europe and the Chinese Beidou
system. India and Japan are also working on
GNSS systems, but these are planned to operate
locally. Many firms offer receivers to track
satellite signals from these systems or a combination
of them and to calculate coordinates
with or without the use of all kinds of augmentation
systems. The number of channels which
can be tracked simultaneously is increasing.
The record holder for this at this moment, as
far as I know, is Javad. One of Javad’s
receivers is capable of tracking and processing
over 200 GPS, Glonass and Galileo signals
simultaneously.
The next challenge will be to solve the problem
of indoor positioning. At the moment
GNSS signals are too weak to be received
inside buildings or tunnels. In densely populated
areas with high rise skyscrapers so called
‘urban canyons’ are created. They affect the
GNSS signal by reflecting and disturbing it.
Consumers are awaiting one system, usable
outside and inside. The first attempts at providing
this could be seen on this show; namely
small transponders inside buildings and tunnels,
to complement or enforce the GNSS signals.
Miscellaneous
A great number of exhibitors presented software
for all kinds of purposes; 3D modelling
and the use of tablets seems to have become
the trend in this field. The demand for 3D printing
is increasing; 3D models of buildings and
even complete 3D city-models were shown on
several stands (Figure 9).
To visit all 520 exhibitors, is almost too much.
One has to focus on certain aspects.
Additionally, in between visiting the stands,
there is the reunion function of a congress like
this. Time flies when meeting former colleagues
(Figure 10) and friends, and comparing
notes. Before you know it, the exhibition
doors are ready for closing.
Internet: www.intergeo.de
Figure 9: A 3D city model produced by a printer Figure 10: Colleagues back in 1985
38
December 2012

One Flight... One Solution
WIDE-AREA
MAPPING
CORRIDOR
MAPPING
URBAN
MAPPING
Lidars. Cameras. Action!
Please join us at:
ELMF 2012, December 4-5
Salzburg, Austria,
Stand #47
www.optech.com

I n t e r v i e w
Stanford University’s Dr. Julie Sweetkind-Singer
Long-Term Geospatial Data
Stanford University’s Dr. Julie Sweetkind-Singer currently serves as both the assistant director of
Geospatial, Cartographic and Scientific Data and Services and the head of the Branner Earth Sciences
Library and Map Collections at the school. With her, Esri writer Jim Baumann discusses the importance
and impact of long-term geospatial data storage.
By Jim Baumann
Baumann: As a recognized
authority, please discuss the primary
considerations for archiving and
preserving digital information over
the long term.
Sweetkind-Singer: From a
librarian’s point of view, digital
data is very different and much
more difficult to preserve for extended
periods of time than paperbased
data. For example, a book
on acid-free paper can be kept on
a shelf in a cool, dark place for
100 years, and if it is well taken
care of, one would expect it to
remain in pretty good shape. With
digital information, you have to
implement a process from the very beginning that will allow you to
preserve it well into the future. This includes making sure that the
data is well managed technically, that metadata exists in order to
ensure someone in the future will understand what the data represents
and how it has been stored, and that legal documents are in
place indicating how the data may be used in the future. It’s important
for digital archivists to develop long-term preservation plans that
include both technical and legal stipulations. Unless digital files are
correctly preserved and documented, we run the risk of losing the
information, which is then unavailable to future generations.
Stanford University’s Dr. Julie Sweetkind-Singer
Baumann: How did the National
Geospatial Digital Archive [NGDA]
come about and what role does it
play in preserving geospatial data
Sweetkind-Singer:
The NGDA [www.ngda.org] is a
collaborative research effort
between Stanford University and
the University of California at Santa
Barbara, with funding from the
Library of Congress [LC], to examine
the issues surrounding the longterm
preservation of geospatial
data. The program funded by LC is
called the National Digital Infor -
mation Infrastructure and Preser -
vation Program [NDIIPP]. One of
the goals of the NGDA was to set up the structure for a preservation
network and eventually add more partners covering a variety of
regions around the United States including both libraries and state
archives. Maintaining geospatial data in various locations is one
important aspect for its long-term preservation in case of man-made
or natural disaster. In addition, I think it’s important to remember
that many organizations may produce geospatial data but aren’t
involved in its collection or preservation. However, the mandate for
libraries and government archives is to preserve valuable documents
for the future.
Baumann: From an educator’s perspective, what are some of the
key reasons to preserve geospatial data
Baumann: What procedures has the NGDA recommended to facilitate
the long-term storage of geospatial data
Sweetkind-Singer: For both educational and research purposes,
it is critical that we preserve data for the long term. For example,
the opportunity to trace the development of a region using historical
maps is useful to researchers who are studying population growth
or the change from an agriculture-based to an industry-based economy.
A historian may want to know when the railroad first reached
the study area; what effect the railroad played on it; what agricultural
crops formerly grew there; in which direction the area began
its expansion; when were major roadways built through it; and which
cities did they connect. You can analyze all this over time by studying
geospatial data, but only if you have the content to do so.
Preserving historic data and continually adding to that collection on
a regular basis is a critical part of change detection research.
Sweetkind-Singer: You have to assume that both the software
and hardware components that originally created the data will
change in the future. Given that, it’s important to have metadata
for all geospatial data that is archived including details about the
software that was used to create it and related white papers. We
developed a registry to track information about formats because
they will certainly change over time. This information was the basis
of the Library of Congress’ Geospatial Content section on its
Sustainability of Digital Formats website [www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/
content/gis.shtml]. Regarding the preservation
of remotely sensed imagery, you need to know which sensors were
used; when they were updated; and what software was used to
interpret the data format.
40
December 2012

I n t e r v i e w
Storage
Legal documents are another important part of the long-term data
storage process. We drafted agreements with the participating
NGDA members about collection development policies specifying
what each institution is going to collect and curate. There is another
contract that brokers the relationship between copyrighted or
licensed data and the university that wants to archive it. Data
providers want their data preserved, but as a university we have to
have assurances that our faculty and students can use that data for
research and educational purposes. So we have contracts that specify
the acceptable use of the archived data. I think long-term data
preservation is a matter of developing a plan that includes technical
solutions from the IT department, as well as recommendations
from librarians, archivists, and lawyers to make sure geospatial
data is properly and legally preserved for the future.
Baumann: Please describe some of the key datasets that you have
collected for the Stanford University archive.
Sweetkind-Singer: One of the first datasets we archived was
the David Rumsey digital map collection [www.davidrumsey.com].
David Rumsey is a map collector in San Francisco who has spent
many years building a fine collection of maps, atlases, and books
detailing the growth of cartography in the United States during the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. About 10 years ago, he decided
to enhance his collection by scanning it and making those
images available to the general public. Today, he has more than
29,000 items in the digital collection. David uses the digital maps
in a variety of ways that are impossible with the printed versions.
However, he doesn’t have a robust and secure way to store the
digital images for the future. Working together, we were able to
provide secure, long-term preservation of the imagery as well as
the accompanying metadata.
We also worked with the California Spatial Information Library
[CSIL], a government agency tasked with maintaining geospatial
data for the state of California. [CSIL collects] transportation data,
Landsat imagery, SPOT imagery, and other content. CSIL is the primary
source of California statewide data. In addition, we have
downloaded data from the USGS [US Geological Survey] Seamless
Data Warehouse. In conversations with John Faundeen, the
archivist at the USGS EROS [Earth Resources Observation and
Science] Data Center, he was happy to hear that we were downloading
high-resolution ortho-imagery of the San Francisco Bay
Area from the site and archiving it as part of our collection process.
Baumann: As Stanford continues to build its spatial data archives,
what do you hope to add to your collection in the near future
Sweetkind-Singer: We have collected a fair amount of high-resolution
orthoimagery for the Bay Area and recently added the elevation
data that goes along with it so that researchers can do threedimensional
modeling using the imagery sitting on top of the
elevation data. I would also like to collect more datasets for the
California National Parks and the state’s coastline data. Important
content for our collection is local data from places like the Hopkins
Marine Station, which is Stanford’s marine biology station in
Monterey [California]. [At Hopkins,] they’ve collected a large amount
of heterogeneous data types: imagery, fish populations, transect
information, and weather data. Our future data collection activities
range from very specific content such as the Hopkins Marine Station
data to very broad layers like the National Elevation Dataset for the
United States.
Baumann: Are standard procedures for the preservation of geospatial
data widely implemented in libraries and government archives
today
Sweetkind-Singer: I think that the long-term preservation of data
is something that is just emerging as an issue for libraries. While
many libraries and state archives are aware of the problem, they
don’t really know how to tackle it yet. It may seem at first like an
overwhelming task, but breaking the procedure down into its component
parts will make the process achievable. One important effort
that has emerged over the past few years, also funded by NDIIPP, is
the Geospatial Data Preservation Resource Center [http://geopreservation.org].
This site has been designed specifically to bring
together “freely available web-based resources about the preservation
of geospatial information.” It also gives practitioners a place to
start, discover best practices, and get their questions answered. As
we go forward, we will figure out sustainable methods to manage,
archive, preserve, and create access to digital information, but relatively
speaking, we’re in the early days. It’s a process that we’ll
develop and refine as we continue to work with this type of content.
Long-term data archiving is a very interesting and challenging area
for libraries because we are building the digital collections of the
future. Libraries have an important role to play in making sure that
we provide proper stewardship and preservation of geospatial data.
Jim Baumann, Esri Writer
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
41

N e w s l e t t e r
The ISPRS Foundation
The ISPRS Foundation was developed in 2004 by ISPRS to pursue
its philanthropic endeavours. Its goals are to provide grants for a
range of purposes that will assist those who wish to further their
knowledge, skills and experience in the photogrammetry, remote
sensing and spatial information sciences and technologies.
It is a non-profit entity, managed by a Board of 11 Trustees who
are responsible for fund raising, investment, management and
approval for grants of Foundation funds. Trustees do not receive
any salary or other compensation for their services. Examples of
activities supported by The ISPRS Foundation:
Sponsorship of International Workshops – to fund, support or cosupport
the education, training and technical program aspects of
international scientific workshops sponsored by the ISPRS and other
international organizations.
Research Initiatives - for advancing the capabilities and applications
of the ISPRS sciences, technologies and disciplines to the benefit
of the international community.
Travel Grants - to enable young authors, distinguished speakers,
and officially designated national Delegates, especially from developing
countries, to participate in ISPRS sponsored events.
Scholarships and Fellowships - to support professional development
in the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial
Information (P&RS&SI) sciences and technologies.
Awareness Education - to stimulate youth (K-12), public awareness,
and participation in the P&RS&SI sciences and technologies to help
meet the growing worldwide need for trained and educated practitioners
Tools and Literature - to solicit, assemble, translate if needed, underwrite
subscriptions, and distribute textbooks, technical publications,
and basic tools and equipment that include the ISPRS disciplines.
Awards - to provide international recognition for young authors,
research, publications, training/education, and significant achievements.
Since 2004 The ISPRS Foundation:
• Received more than $US210,000 in donations and grants that are being used to support The ISPRS
Foundation funding activities
• Received large donations of up to $US25,000 from major spatial information companies;
• The Foundation continues to receive regular sizable grants from the commercial sector.
• Is supported by leading representatives from academia, government and business in the spatial information
industry as Trustees of the Foundation Board.
• Provided grants to more than 50 individuals from developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America
to attend workshops and conferences to improve their knowledge and skills in spatial information sciences
• Funded prizes for CATCON (Computer Aided Teaching Contest) events in 2006, 2008 and 2012 to
encourage the development of freely available software for teaching in spatial information processing
and management.
• Funded major awards in 2008 and 2012 for outstanding performance by an individual in the spatial
information sciences
• Provided grants for Science Initiatives.
The ISPRS Foundation needs your donation to continue its work.
Go to: www.isprs.org/foundation/donations
42
December 2012

E v e n t
Esri European User Conference
Partners and Best Practices
With as many as ten sessions going on at once, every attendee could choose his or her own individual
programme of Technical Workshops and User Presentations at Esri’s European User Conference in
Oslo.
By Remco Takken
ArcGIS demos and previews
Esri CEO Jack Dangermond
On the main stage, David Cardella previewed
some ArcGIS Apps for iOS,
Android and Windows. A sneak
preview included Arc GIS Online on Win -
dows 8, so that attendees experienced the
‘no toolbars’ phenomenon for the first time
within a GIS context. Norwegian Esri partner
Geodata hosted a three day GIS revue
full of surprises, locally and internationally.
Jack Dangermond
In his traditional keynote speech, Esri CEO
Jack Dangermond notably used the word
‘footprint’ to his European listeners. In general,
ecological footprints of human activities
may be seen as a bad thing, meaning
that they degene rate the planet we live on.
As Dangermond stated, one can also view
it as a positive contribution to the world:
‘geographers make a great collective footprint
with their work’. Dangermond also
dwelled a few moments on Esri’s new focus
on developers. In fact, he alluded to the
acquisition of Geoloqi, a platform for location-based
services (LBS). The according
press release was issued the following day.
Geoloqi
Geoloqi will merge its staff and product
capabilities into Esri’s existing geospatial
platform and launch a new Esri Research
and Development (R&D) Center in Portland,
Oregon, where Geoloqi is headquartered.
Geoloqi enables rapid development of
cross-platform, geography-based applications
using a single API in any development
language. Geoloqi provides specialized
algorithms that help preserve battery life
while location runs in the background or at
stated intervals. “Geoloqi’s capabilities and
relationships with the developer community
will build on Esri’s already impressive suite
of ArcGIS products to create more dynamic
mobile and web applications”, said
Dangermond in an official statement, published
shortly after his keynote speech in
Oslo. The Esri R&D Center in Portland will
be focused on developing new tools and
functionality to create improved, integrated
products that accentuate the strength of a
combined platform.
Nordic flavour
A distinct Norwegian touch was added to
Esri’s European User Conference in Oslo,
and not only by featuring a highly blonde
Geodata GIS operator on the main stage.
With his bearded Norwegian colleague he
ably showed some locally developed applications
for safer ship navigation, published
in ArcGISOnline. Nordic examples on the
big screen: hot spots for oil, gas or fishing
activity, based on spatial analysis and made
for NCA Risk Assessment. Very impressive
was a ten meter deep 3D buffer deep down
in the sea. Vast improvements in fairway
design are the end result. Norwegian oil
and gas company Statoil summarized what
is easily forgotten: “GIS data management
may suggest it is all about routines and compliance,
but to end-users it’s about bringing
value.” Statoil presented a vast array of
44
December 2012

E v e n t
BlomStreet aka CycloMedia, with Streetview like imagery for professional use.
ArcGIS demos and previews
automated specialist geo data for mass web
use, notably employing SAFE Software’s
Feature Manipulation Engine FME for interoperability.
Last keynote by the Norwegian
Red Cross organisation showed a different
side of Northern Europe, it’s humanistic
view on life. Instead of boasting his achievements
in his own country, in a speech called
‘The Geography Of Risks’, Sven Mollekleiv
pointed out the need for access in troubled
countries in faraway continents.
Blom ASA
This year’s User Conference took place in
Oslo’s Congressenter, which is located opposite
of the Norwegian Labour Party. It’s also
near the heart of the infamous ‘Anders
Breivik Attack’ of last summer. Outside the
venue, building and renovation activities
could still be seen. Inside, Blom ASA presented
their BlomSTREET panorama pictures
made by CycloMedia, showing recent
‘before’ and ‘after’ bombing situations of
Oslo’s inner city. Also shown was the
GlobeSpotter application, with its measuring
possibilities. One of the examples featured
an ArcMap plug-in for street view pictures
by Belgian implementation partner SIGGIS .
Powel
Asset management requirements of water
powered energy utilities in Norway have
specific needs. Energy company Powel calls
its solution ‘ArcGIS for Smart Generation’.
Oftentimes, roads in the North disappear
under thick layers of snow or ice. Accurate
location information about unsafe ice for
skating and skiing is needed for maintenance,
during unforeseen outages and general
crisis management in mid-winter. For
its daily processes, Powel has detailed information
on water levels in their regulated
river courses. Added value of Powel’s data
is their flood warning system. The worst
case scenario for energy producers regarding
flooding is of course a dam break. In
some impressive visualisations, a number of
those scenarios were worked out.
Powel explained some of the differences
between its ‘emergency’ and ‘regular’
mobi le communication.
Exelis
In a live demo called ‘change detection based
on SAR data in ArcGIS’ by Exelis, ArcGIS
plus ENVI 5.0 and SARscape Modules for
ENVI showed some fast geocoding. A onepixel
accuracy proved good enough for flood
mapping, but the final map on display
impressed with real-time change detection
results between two ‘pictures’ at the live demo.
Geocom
Swiss Esri partner Geocom showed its wind
park data model within an elaborate infrastructure
management system and deploying
ArcGIS and Geonis as core geospatial products
Supporting Wind Park Projects.
AED-SICAD
AED-SICAD explained the functionalities of
their enduring ArcFM UTsystem along the
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com December 2012
45

E v e n t
fact that most German municipalities are
‘multi-utilities’. Field workers were also highlighted.
Dutch water utility Brabant Water
lets its people carry around 20-30 gB on
their laptops, enabling on the spot network
tracing and full GIS functionality, said AED-
SICAD’s Florian Brandi-Dohrn.
INSPIRE, SDI’s, Conterra and FME
German Esri Gold partner Conterra showed
its INSPIRE compliant SDI portal in Saxon,
which runs on out-of-the-box Esri software.
All WFS, Shape and CS-W data go
through an FME-driven translation schema to
get those files ready for search engines.
During a live demo, attendees saw csv-files
being turned into Shape (SHP). More than
once during this conference, the notion was
felt that successful data-interoperability within
traditional GIS often equals FME. The
folks at Conterra are good with it, too. In an
almost intimidating fashion Conterra’s Mark
Döring quickly built up a complete FME
Workbench. It looked rather convincing, but
then he said: “now, this isn’t INSPIRE compliant.”
His point: INSPIRE should just be a technical
thing in the background. “Com pare it
to how exactly GPS communicates with your
device: nobody knows exactly how it works.
And so it should be when dealing with
INSPIRE.”
Solutions in full swing
Paradoxically, in Oslo, the absence of a big
new ArcGIS release gave way to a plethora
of factual information on the actual, dayto-day
use of ArcGIS and its add-ons by
implementation partners from all over
Europe. It was great to witness all of those
solutions in full swing. Even during the closing
remarks, nobody stood up to enquire
about the possible contents of next year’s
version of ArcGIS. The absence of this halfexpected
ritual by hi-end users, was partly
due to a slightly disturbing Powerpoint slide
depicting some guy working with mobile
GIS in Lederhosen. The next edition of Esri’s
European User Conference will be in
München, Bayern, Germany, October 23-
25, 2013, right after the Octoberfest.
Internet: www.esri.com/events/euc/index.html
46
December 2012

E v e n t
OpenStreetMap’s 6th International Conference
State of the Map
At the start of September, a wide mixture of people headed to Tokyo for OpenStreetMap’s 6th annual
international conference known as “State of the Map”(SotM). The conference first ran in 2007 as a
way for the dedicated volunteer mappers and early adopters to meet, having known each other online
as they added to a very bare map and programmed the initial tools needed. The OpenStreetMap(OSM)
user base has grown exponentially now beyond 650,000 registered users, and so the conference
has grown to include people with various interests in the project, several having never made a contribution
to the map or previously met the community.
By Gregory Marlor
Waste Map, (source: OpenStreetmap)
OpenStreetMap to the
Rescue
OpenStreetMap rocketed in international
awareness following the
devastating earthquake in Haiti at
the start of 2010. Many SotM
2012 delegates represented the
efforts of HOT (Humanitarian
Open Street Map Team) and other
aid organizations. The first conference
day was given the title “OSM
To The Rescue”. We were updated
on continued work and support for
Haitian mappers, and projects in
countries that include Afghanistan,
Indonesia, and Cambodia. Not
forgetting the host country, Japan,
which also held a stream of talks
in the native language. Topics covered stories
of events that had been organized, new
tools, methods, and resources being used,
and upcoming projects looking for support.
A standard question at the annual conference
was “When will OpenStreetMap coverage
be complete” until everyone moved
onto the question “How much detail counts
as complete”. We now see the road network
and associated facilities complete
across most of the developed world, even
surpassing coverage by national mapping
agencies in some areas. Large users of map
data have started to become interested and
focus is turning to navigation applications.
The SatNav business is fast paced at the
moment, so it’s good to know what’s happening
and who else is working with community
created data. Technical issues are the
main concern, dealing with such vast information
and ever growing calculations.
Discussion wasn’t just limited to car navigation,
but reached over to include emergency
routing, and public transport systems.
This area has a range of complete new-comers
to SotM regulars such as Raul Kraut -
hausen of WheelMap.org. It’s great to see
an update on how the website is helping
people in more countries find step-free
access to shops, buildings, and neighbourhoods.
We watched a TV advert filmed and
funded by Google that showed Open Street -
Map to advertise WheelMap.org.
Mapping In Memory
Last summer, at the the State of the Map EU
conference I had listened to Kinya Inoue
(known as Ikiya), a resident of Fukushima,
tell how he had gone out to map the
changes to the road network. He showed
screenshots of a residential area he had surveyed
and the whole area covered by the
sea. It would be easy to look at the frustration
of time consuming work being wasted,
but Inoue’s thoughts are with those
who have lost their homes and perhaps
loved ones. He hopes that with
time his GPS traces will be able to
provide a memory of places that can
now longer be visited. The talk was
repeated this year and despite hearing
it before I struggled to hold in
my tears. Continuing on the recalling
of events, Kinya pointed out he
was aware the coast line moved by
several metres and this would need
resurveying. A beautiful coastline
and landscape, in his talk last year
not mentioned but now he revealed
to us how he had been unable to
visit the places he knew and loved
for over a year following the devastating
work of the tsunami. Not confidently
fluent in English, yet the whole room was
captivated and gripped on each word read
out. With time, OpenStreetMap and its need
for resurveying was part of the grieving process.
If there is one talk to watch, it is this
one that took place at midday on Thursday.
Gregory Marler is a web developer, data lover, and geospatial consultant.
When he’s not having fun working or singing, he’s getting lost
creating a map and blogging at LivingWithDragons.com
The full schedule of the conference, complete with video recordings
and slides is available at http://wiki.osm.org/SotM12
Events across the world are happening each week, a calendar is
shown on the OSM Wiki homepage. http://wiki.osm.org
The main map (not including all the different subject-focused renderings)
can be seen at www.openstreetmap.org
Latest News Visit www.geoinformatics.com
47
December 2012

C o l u m n
Mobile GIS in 2012
Since this is the last column for 2012, I thought it might be good to reflect on
the year. Mobile remains driven by consumers. Smartphones and tablets, are
replacing PC’s and laptops. A slew of new products have been released; from
the iPhone 5, and the new smaller iPad to the entrance of Microsoft into the
tablet market with the Surface. The map wars began in earnest, as both Apple
and Amazon entered the fray. And venture capital money continues to pour
into any startups with ‘geolocation’ in their mission statement.
Matt Sheehan is Principal and Senior
Developer at WebmapSolutions. The company
build location focused mobile applications
for GIS, mapping and location
based services (LBS). Matt can be
reached at matt@webmapsolutions.com.
C O L U M N
Business adoption remains slow. The public sectors,
both local and national, have been quicker
to explore the possibilities mobile brings to their
organisations. The old paradigm of pen and paper use
by field workers remains solidly in place. This is partly
an organisational fear of new technology, but also the
tendency of (often older) field workers to be late
adopters. Surprisingly in many organisations GIS
remains a desktop application only. Many organisations
in disaster management for example rely on desktop
GIS apps generating paper maps for distribution to
field workers. Presumptions that mobile technology will
end the days of non-digital means of gathering data for
example, may be wide of the mark. In many cases
mobile may compliment non digital field processes.
The Term GIS
The GIS industry is coming from out of the shadows.
That has long been the hope. To broaden its application
and appeal. Increasingly there is discussion that
the term GIS should be retired. With the launch of platforms
like ArcGIS Online, with its wider appeal to a
broader spectrum of users, there may be a point to this
argument. There is little doubt mobile is changing the
playing field. We have a fragmented geospatial marketplace.
Location based services(LBS) are consumer
focused and the main driver of new players like Apple
and Amazon. Money and media attention is centered
here. Esri talk often about ‘non-GIS users’. With story
maps and embedding maps in documents, certainly the
emphasis is broadening the user base. Back end integration
with other business systems such as SAP, is also
high on Esri’s radar. Again appealing to the business
non-GIS community. So we live in changing times. A
time of churn and emergence of a new immature
paradigm; which is mobile.
ArcGIS Online
After being broadsided by Google maps in 2006, Esri
have fired back with ArcGIS Online. This is a truly innovative
cloud based cross platform, cross device solution
for publishing and sharing maps. Organisations with
an ArcGIS Online account can now publish data from
multiple different sources; shapefiles, ArcGIS endpoints,
KML, CSV, GRX. Data access can be controlled by
ArcGIS online account administrators, and map groups
48
set up with open or restricted access. Solution templates
are being built by Esri and development companies.
These are web or mobile applications which are easy
to implement from within ArcGIS Online, and configure.
Some are designed for GIS users others a broader
audience. Published, so called web maps, are easy to
load into mobile apps, they can also be embedded in
documents such as Word and Excel. ArcGIS Online has
been in development for over 4 years. It is a truly innovative
product, whose impact has only just begun to be
felt.
Expectations for 2013
Looking into the crystal ball, what do we anticipate for
2013 As a mobile geospatial development company,
extrapolating from 2012:
1) The continued growth of interest from larger organisations,
looking to build end to end mobile geospatial
apps or initial prototypes.
2) Even given tight budgets, but with established GIS
departments, growing public sector adoption of
Mobile GIS.
3) The evolution of true offline mobile apps. Esri and
others are feverishly working on disconnected solutions.
4) Increasing popularity of ArcGIS Online, broadening
the appeal and reach of geospatial data.
5) More focus and discussion on the performance of
mobile web GIS apps versus hybrid.
6) The increasing convergence and competition
between the major providers of geospatial solutions;
Esri, Google Maps, MapQuest, Apple, Amazon.
7) Increasing popularity of responsive web design.
Where a single application can be styled based on
the device loading the app.
Final Thoughts
Mobile is increasingly more popular. New smartphones
and tablets have been regularly launched throughout
2012. Ever more mobile apps are being released for
both browser consumption and via the various app
stores. Private sector business adoption has been slow.
The geospatial mobile market remains fragmented. But
with the release of new platforms such as Esri’s ArcGIS
Online, we anticipate mobile geospatial technology will
see both broader and wider adoption.
December 2012

C a l e n d a r 2 0 1 2 / 2 0 1 3 /
A d v e r t i s e r s I n d e x
December
03-05 December European Space Solutions ‘Discover
what space brings to your life’
Central Hall Westminster, London, U.K.
Internet: www.space-solutions.eu
04-05 December European LiDAR Mapping Forum 2012
Salzburg, Austria
Internet: www.lidarmap.org/ELMF
10-14 December FIG Commission 3 Workshop
‘Spatial Information, Informal Development,
Property and Housing’
Athens, Greece
E-mail: sagi.dalyot@ikg.uni-hannover.de
Internet: http://bit.ly/FIG3_Athens2012
11-12 December MapInfo Professional Foundation
Level Training Course
CDR Group, Hope, Derbyshire, U.K.
E-mail: sales@cdrgroup.co.uk
Internet: www.cdrgroup.co.uk/train_mi2info.htm
13-16 December Gi4DM 2012
UT, Enschede, The Netherlands
E-mail: info@gi4dm.net
Internet: www.gi4dm.net/2012
Januari 2013
21-23 January 9th Annual Defence Geospatial
Intelligence (DGI) Conference & Exhibition
QEII Conference Centre, London, U.K.
E-mail: dgi@wbr.co.uk
Internet: www.wbresearch.com/dgieurope/home.aspx
24-25 January GeoDesign Summit
Esri, Redlands, CA, U.S.A.
Internet: www.geodesignsummit.com
Februari
06-08 February CEGeoIC Conference 2013
Bogota, Colombia
Internet: http://CEGeoIC.net
11-13 February International LiDAR Mapping Forum
2013
Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Internet: www.lidarmap.org/ILMF.aspx
14-15 February IV International Conference
“Geodesy, Mine Survey and Aerial Photography.
At the turn of the centuries”
Novotel-Hotel, Moscow, Russia
Internet: http://con-fig.ru/r=indexen
27-28 February International Workshop “The Role of
Geomatics in Hydrogeological Risk”
Padua, Italy
Internet: www.cirgeo.unipd.it/geomatics4risk
March
06-08 March GeoViz_Hamburg 2013: Interactive
Maps That Help People Think
Hamburg, Germany
E-mail: geoviz@geomatik-hamburg.de
Internet: www.geomatik-hamburg.de/geoviz
07-08 March EUROGI Conference 2013
Dublin, Ireland
Internet: www.eurogi.org/conference-2013.html
11-13 March “Wavelength 2013”
Glasgow, U.K.
E-mail: andy@rspsoc-wavelength.org.uk
Internet: www.rspsoc-wavelength.org.uk/wavelength2013
24-28 March ASPRS 2013 Annual Conference
Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Internet: www.asprs.org
April
15-17 April 19th Annual CalGIS Conference
Westin Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.
Internet: www.calgis.org
21-23 April Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event
(JURSE 2013)
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Internet: www.inpe.br/jurse2013
23-25 April ENC 2013 ‘The European Navigation
Conference’
Vienna, Austria
Internet: www.enc2013.org
25-26 April 3D Documentation Conference
Marina Mandarin Hotel, Singapore
Internet: www.3d-documentation-conference-2013.com
May
13-16 May Geospatial World Forum
Beurs/ World Trade Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
E-mail: info@geospatialworldforum.org
Internet: www.geospatialworldforum.org
21-22 May Location Intelligence + Oracle Spatial
and Graph User Conferences 2013
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center,
Washington, D.C.
Internet: www.oracle.com
21-24 May ISPRS Workshop “High-Resolution Earth
Imaging for Geospatioal Information”
Hannover, Germany
Internet: www.ipi.uni-hannover.de/isprs_hannover2013.html
29-31 May UDMS 2013, 29TH Urban Data
Management Symposium
University College London, London, U.K.
E-mail: info@udms.net
Internet: www.udms.net
June
03-06 June Hexagon 2013 (ERDAS, Intergraph,
Leica, Metrology)
Las Vegas, NV, U.S.A.
Internet: http://2012.hexagonconference.com
16-22 June 13th International Multidisciplinary
Scientific GeoConference & EXPO SGEM2013
Albena Resort & SPA, Bulgaria
E-mail: sgem@sgem.org
Internet: www.sgem.org
17-21 June FMEdays 2013
Berlin, Germany
E-mail: info@fmedays.de
Internet: www.fme-days.com
18-20 June MundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica 2013
São Paulo, Brasil
Internet: http://mundogeoconnect.com
25-27 June RIEGL International Airborne, Mobile,
Terrestrial, and Industrial User Conference 2013
Marriott, Vienna, Austria
E-mail: userconference2013@rieglusa.com
Internet: www.riegl.com
02-05 July GI_Forum 2013
Salzburg, Austria
Internet: www.gi-forum.org
July
08-12 July Esri International User Conference
San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, U.S.A.
Internet: www.esri.com/events
August
25-29 August SPIE Optics + Photonics 2013
San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.
Internet: http://spie.org/opticsphotonics.xmlWT.mc_id=RCal-OPW
25-30 August 26th International Cartographic
Conference
Dresden, Germany
E-mail: manfred.buchroithner@tu-dresden.de
Internet: www.icc2013.org
September
04-06 September Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in
Geomatics (UAV-g)
Rostock University, Rostock, Germany
Internet: www.uav-g.org
04-06 September RSPSoc 2013
Glasgow, U.K.
E-mail: rspsoc@nottingham.ac.uk
Internet: www.rspsoc.org
09-13 September AGSE 2013 “The Geospatial
Momentum for Society and Environment”
CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India
Internet: http://applied-geoinformatics.org
Please feel free to e-mail your calendar notices to: calendar@geoinformatics.com
Advertisers Index
CHC www.chcnav.com 21
DATEM www.datem.com 12
ERDAS www.erdas.com 52
Esri www.esri.com 13
FOIF www.foif.com.cn 49
GMA www.con-fig.ru 46
Global Geo Supplies www.softmouse3d.com 51
Leica Geosystems www.leica-geosystems.com 2
Microsoft UltraCam www.iFlyUltraCam.com 17
Optech www.optech.com 39
Pacific Crest www.pacificcrest.com/adl 9
SuperMap www.supermap.com 43
Geneq
www.geneq.com
33
Topcon www.topcon.eu 26
50
December 2012