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INSIDE
CONTENT
ARTICLE
16 Understanding legalities
and tech convergence
Kevin Pomfret, Editor Policy, on
legal and policy challenges associated
with tech integration
VOLUME : 5 ISSUE : 10
INTERVIEW
24 Infrastructure>GDP>
Funding> Infrastructure
Paul A McRoberts, Vice President
Infrastructure Modelling and Platform
Product Group, Autodesk
CASE STUDY
40 Sticking together:
REGULAR FEATURES
CONVERGENCE
P | 20 Prof. Arup Dasgupta,
Managing Editor, Geospatial World
Disclaimer
Geospatial World does not necessarily subscribe to the views
expressed in the publication. All views expressed in this issue
are those of the contributors. Geospatial World is not responsible for any loss to anyone due to the information provided.
7 Editorial
45 Product Watch
8 News
48 Picture This
14 Vertical News
Geospatial World
Geospatial Media and Communications Pvt. Ltd.
(formerly GIS Development Pvt. Ltd.)
A - 145, Sector - 63, Noida, India
Tel + 91-120-4612500 Fax +91-120-4612555 / 666 Price: INR 150/US$ 15
International
Advisory Board
Ahmad Fauzi Bin Nordin Sr
Director General of Survey
and Mapping (JUPEM), Malaysia
Aida Opoku-Mensah
Special Advisor: Post 2015
Development Agenda,
UN Economic Commission for Africa
Kamal K Singh
Kumar Navulur
Barbara Ryan
Christopher W Gibson
Vice President & Executive
Committee Member, Trimble
Mark Reichardt
President and CEO,
Open Geospatial Consortium
Mladen Stojic
Derek Clarke
Dorine Burmanje
Ed Parsons
Jay Freeland
Sandeep Singhal
Greg Bentley
Mohd Al Rajhi
Stephen Lawler
Vice-President, Direct Traffic,
Amazon
Vanessa Lawrence
Secretary General,
Ordnance Survey International, UK
The Team
CHAIRMAN
M P Narayanan
Executive Editor
Bhanu Rekha
Publisher
Sanjay Kumar
Product Manager
Harsha Vardhan Madiraju
Publications Team
Associate Editor
Nitika Bajpayee Jha
Managing Editor
Prof. Arup Dasgupta
Editor Building & Energy
Geoff Zeiss
Editor Mining (Hon)
Dr. Hrishikesh Samant
Editor Policy
Kevin Pomfret
Editor Latin America
Dr Tania Maria Sausen
Editorial
Technology: Converging
together for a better future
NEWS
AMERICAS
Courtesy: USGS
Courtesy: NASA
NEWS
$30 mn
get a look at what kind of storm surges can take place in their surroundings
and which can be the possible damages. The preliminary model is based on
Charleston, South Carolina.
Courtesy: NOAA
10
NEWS
EUROPE
INSPIRE GWF 2015 launches
online networking platform
With less than a month until the highly-anticipated geospatial gathering,
Geospatial Media and Communications has launched the INSPIRE
Geospatial World Forum 2015 online
networking platform. The platform
will allow delegates to initiate contact
with other registered delegates prior
to the conference. It aims to build momentum towards the conference and
maximise networking opportunities
for all delegates. Scheduled between
May 25-29 in Lisbon, the forum expects
2,000 delegates from 80+ countries
around the world. The online networking platform can be accessed at
www.geospatialworldforum.org
EuroGeographics announces
new Chair for C&LR KEN
EuroGeographics has named
Cadastral Surveying expert
Daniel Steudler as the new Chair
of its Cadastre and Land Registry
Knowledge Exchange Network
(C&LR KEN). Dr Steudler, who holds
a PhD degree from the University of
Melbourne, Australia, is a scientific
associate at the Swiss Federal Office of
Topography, and works for the Federal
Directorate for Cadastral Surveying.
He also has extensive international experience consulting for land
Courtesy: oedigital
NEWS
11
ASIA PACIFIC
NEWS
Indonesia: Fujitsu
announces
app-based disaster
information-sharing
tool
Fujitsu and PT. Fujitsu
Indonesia have announced
the completion of a participatory disaster information-sharing system, created for Jakartas Regional
Disaster Management
Agency, BPBD DKI. The smartphone application receives real time information
from individuals as well as from BPBD DKI. People can upload pictures and
comments, which the app will assign to their locations, using the associated
GPS data. In case of a disaster, it also sends out warnings to all smartphones
that have the app installed.
Courtesy: Propertyfinder
Courtesy: ABC
12
NEWS
Courtesy: Ifwn
AFRICA
Tanzania: New agency for
disaster risk reduction
Tanzania will create a new agency
for emergency response and disaster
risk reduction, both for man-made
disasters and disasters triggered
by natural hazards. The Tanzanian
Parliament has passed an according law establishing the agency.
The Disaster Management Agency
(DMA) will oversee efforts to prevent
damage, and deal with the impacts
of floods, drought, hail, storms and
hunger, as well as manage the stock of
supplies to aid effective response.
13
$43 mn
14
VERTICAL NEWS
AGRI
AgWorks Software partners with CDMS
INFRA
Indias first smart city under construction
in Gujarat
Even as India awaits the guidelines on what constitutes a
smart city, the countrys first-ever meticulously planned
metropolis is in the making in Gujarat. The Gujarat
International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), as it is called, is being
constructed in collaboration with IL&FS Engineering and
Construction. The Indian prime minister has declared that
500 Indian cities will be revamped, heritage cities will be
restored and refurbished, and 100 smart cities will be built
in the country by 2022.
VERTICAL NEWS
15
ENERGY
EnWin Utilities to use GIS to improve
operational efficiency
EnWin Utilities has received an Award of Excellence from Esri
Canada for its adoption of GIS technology to drive operational
efficiency throughout the organisation. Embracing GIS as a
key business system, EnWin has transformed the management of its hydro and water network assets by consolidating
data from numerous systems into the GIS. This has significantly improved the visibility and quality of data across the
utility and enabled them to better understand where to focus
maintenance and capital expenditures.
University of Leicester and High Efficiency Heating, automatically selects appropriate locations in Britains rivers to identify
a large range of micro renewable hydro-power turbines and
determines the environmental sensitivity of the location. This
innovative prototype software saves a lot of money in initial
survey costs.
LAND
The Netherlands assists Colombia to register
properties on land
Together with ITC (University of Twente), The
Netherlands land registry and mapping agency, Kadaster,
plans to assist Colombia to formally register their land
rights. The assistance consists of providing a method that
measures parcel boundaries and registers the properties
much faster. The method uses aerial photos and population surveys. Furthermore, a mobile phone app will
help owners to track the boundaries of their land parcel
themselves.
16
ARTICLE
Kevin Pomfret,
Editor Policy, Geospatial
World, highlights the legal
and policy challenges
associated with
technology convergence
in the geospatial industry
T
The integration
of geospatial
technology and
geoinformation
with other
technologies
opens up a number
of business
opportunities
Geospatial World May 2015
A practical requirement
ARTICLE
Legalities involve
understanding
17
18
ARTICLE
lem, that the legal and policy communities have been unable to keep
up with technology.
20
COVER STORY
Integration and
convergence are
two very important
processes for
the successful
implementation of
geospatial systems,
suggests Prof. Arup
Dasgupta, Managing
Editor, Geospatial
World. Read on to
gather more
Data Talk
and Geospatial
Convergence
eospatial
technology,
as we know today, has
evolved from many different sources. Surveying
is the core activity in geospatial
data acquisition, which has been
augmented by many new technol-
21
Courtesy: pointclouds
COVER STORY
Evolving further
COVER STORY
22
2014 did the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing recognise Spatial
Information Science as worthy of
a Commission! Please note the
marked avoidance of terms like GIS
or geospatial. Surveyors swore by
aerial photography for stereo imaging and consigned satellite stereoscopy to small-scale mapping. These
silos become more pronounced
when one leaves the traditional
arena of mapping. For example,
Business Intelligence (BI) may use
maps, but does not consider it to
be a geospatial application. The
matter is not helped by geospatial professionals themselves who
Geospatial World May 2015
Opportunities galore
COVER STORY
Courtesy: microaerialprojects
23
The addition
of analytical
capability took
GIS to a new
level where it
could be used in
many fields from
simple mapping
and decision
support systems
to modelling and
prediction
applications of technology, which
can upset the best of applications.
UAVs are being used to survey
the earthquake-hit areas of Nepal
where access is difficult at normal
times and has become well nigh
impossible with landslides.
Yet, UAV usage is not allowed
in most countries in the light of
perceived dangers to aviation,
secrecy and privacy. The rapid
growth of technology has outpaced
regulations and this sometimes
restricts meaningful applications.
Given the level of integration
achieved within the geospatial
ecosystem and the convergence
with many applications, geospatial
systems should become a major
component of the Internet of
Things (IOT). Let it remain IOT and
not g-IOT.
May 2015 Geospatial World
24
INTERVIEW
Infrastructure
GDP
Funding
INFRASTRUCTURE
In conversation with Paul A McRoberts, Vice President
Infrastructure Modelling and Platform Product Group, Autodesk
Inc., Geospatial Worlds Executive Editor, Bhanu Rekha, understands why
an agnostic approach to data is healthy for the industry...
INTERVIEW
25
Paul A McRoberts
26
INTERVIEW
infrastructure, especially in
utility networks?
Utilities and the public go hand in
hand. In an emergency situation,
or when a natural disaster strikes,
public support becomes apparent.
In such a situation, people can snap
pictures of the location and tie it
to a model based on location and
then enter the information. They
are not relying on hand notes being
put in around the particular GIS object. Instead, they can capture information at the location with mobile
devices and submit directly to the
model. This way, I can have the information directly fed in to my BIM
infrastructure model and send it
out or have people on the field look
at the heat map and understand
where the problems are and go directly to access that information.
What is the roadmap of
Autodesk to address the massive
business opportunity available?
I believe infrastructure improves
GDP and GDP improves funding.
Increased funding automatically
leads to improved infrastructure. So,
the best thing we can do is to actually help improve the economy to improve the infrastructure. Take China
for instance their GDP growth
has less to do with export and more
to do with fetching raw material
from the rural environment and
bringing it to the cities, manufacturing the complete product and
trading it off to some other country.
If you look at their transportation
plans, the amount of roads and rail
and everything else, you feel the
growth of the country. Getting into
the macro and micro dynamics of
the economy is the key.
ConneCting geospatial
25 27 JaNUaRy, 2016
Dubai, UAE
$VLD
1 3 MaRch, 2016
Expo Centre, Greater Noida
Smart infraStructure
Asia Pacific
1 Oct, 2015
Putra World Trade Centre
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
AGRI
Latin America
11 12 NOveMbeR, 2015
Hotel Hilton Reforma
Mexico City, Mexico
11 NOveMbeR, 2015
Hotel Hilton Reforma
Mexico City, Mexico
MINING
Smart infraStructure
Africa
19 aUgUst, 2015
Birchwood Hotel and O R Tambo
Conference Centre
Johannesburg, South Africa
19 aUgUst, 2015
Birchwood Hotel and O R Tambo
Conference Centre, Johannesburg
South Africa
25 29 May 2015
10 11 deceMbeR 2015
www.geospatialmedia.net
eUROPe
18 19 aUgUst, 2015
Birchwood Hotel and O R Tambo
Conference Centre
Johannesburg, South Africa
africa
2015
afRica
10 12 NOveMbeR, 2015
Hotel Hilton Reforma
Mexico City, Mexico
2 3 MaRch, 2016
Expo Centre, Greater Noida
2015
SMART
2015
asia Pacific
11 12 JUNe, 2015
JW Mariott, Aerocity
New Delhi, India
ASIA
Smart infraStructure
sOUth asia
NOveMbeR, 2015
Muscat, Oman
aMeRicas
16 17 aUgUst, 2015
Hotel Al Bustan Rotana
Dubai, UAE
2016
Smart infraStructure
2015
Middle east
28
CASE STUDY
Tech alliance
for greater
opportunities
Tech convergence
CASE STUDY
Simplifying workflow
29
working closely
with clients &
customers,
tech companies
can create
streamlined
solutions
for difficult
challenges
and photos. In the office, blended
solutions combine software-based
technologies ranging from 3D po-
30
CASE STUDY
Cloud-based productivity
Software like
field hardware
is evolving to
blend more
functionality into
single packages,
leading to reduced
transfer time and
data loss
databases and enterprise management tools. By using Web interfaces, stakeholders in multiple
disciplines and locations can access
project data and collaborate on design and project decisions. With
cloud-based tools and services,
changing field conditions are visible to design teams, and field crews
are confident that they are working
with up-to-date project data. This
smooth movement of information
is a large step in the effort to create
streamlined processes and represents a major advantage of blended technologies.
There are other benefits as well.
Some of the most difficult problems
an organisation faces stem from long,
complicated workflows. By blending
technologies, solutions can combine
multiple steps in a workflow or value
chain, saving time and eliminating
potential sources of error. For example, wireless Internet technologies
can automate the seemingly simple
step of transferring geospatial data
CASE STUDY
31
32
ARTICLE
Adapting to the
Climate change is here. Simon Thompson, Director of Commercial Industry,
Esri, shares how geospatial tools are helping us adapt to the new normal
ARTICLE
33
e New Normal
and risk reduction need to be made
at all levels: global, national and local. To do this, we need a framework
that can provide consistent, aligned
information for better understanding. Concepts like geodesign
designing with nature in mind
are already in place to help forge
consensus and negotiate the path to
implementing action. GIS and spatial analytics can help.
GIS is the most powerful and
intuitive tool for making reasonable, informed and congruent decisions that balance the needs of
all individuals and actors from the
wealthiest nations to the poorest,
and those most likely to be impacted as booming populations flock to
coastal cities.
At its core, GIS helps people to
discover, make, use, and share geographic knowledge. Esris ArcGIS
platform lets people connect with
anyone, anywhere, and on any device. It provides sophisticated, highly accurate and scientifically robust
tools which precisely quantify and
categorise risk, yet, are intuitive and
provide easy-to-author templates
to communicate and inform.
If we are to protect our lives and
livelihoods, our infrastructure and
financial assets, we need a tool like
this to test, compare, and evaluate
all available options. Better account
for risks in financial systems can be
taken into consideration through
such tools. We can make information about extreme weather more
usable and suitable for users needs.
Improved risk
understanding
provides more
accurately
modelled
impacts and
relevant
information for
decision-makers,
particularly at
regional and
local levels
May 2015 Geospatial World
34
ARTICLE
Visualising models with apps based on ArcGIS, like WSNs XtremeGIS, gives risk managers
a better idea of what may happen during and after a storm
The Coastal Resilience decision support tool is well-positioned to support a vast array of local and regional
governments and institutions that
are either responding to disasters, or
preparing and planning for current
and future climate conditions.
Coastal Resilience helps users
assess risk and vulnerability to
storm surges and erosion along
the coastlines of the United States,
Mexico, and Central America and in
the Caribbean. It also gives them
ways to identify how to restore
damaged or eroded land and
adopt new techniques to protect
vulnerable communities. Local
and regional government officials, as well as the general public,
can use Coastal Resilience to respond to and prepare and plan for
changing climate conditions and
coming disasters.
Insurers are on the GIS bandwagon as well. Aon eSolutions uses GIS
to help companies take steps to mitigate loss and develop contingency
plans. Aon eSolutions is the client
36
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
37
A unique address
means that
the 4 billion
unaddressed
people of this
planet can now
be visible
in multiple languages, including
English, Russian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, Swahili and
Arabic. And more languages are on
the way.
38
INTERVIEW
Table.chair.lamps, curiosity.
peach.deconstructs arent
these sets of words quite strange
in a world which relies on
latitude and longitude?
Each of our wordlist is curated to
ensure that the words are meaningful and used daily in local
language. There are, occasionally,
some odd combinations, but we
believe the benefits of a precise and
simple address outweighs these.
Can you tell us about the
technology and related infrastructure behind w3w?
An algorithm and wordlist underpin our service. The system is
not a database, but an algorithm
of less than 10Mb in size, so it fits
on any device. The wordlists have
25,000 words in each language,
and 40,000 in English. We have
covered the sea, as well as the land.
The lists go through multiple automated and human review processes to remove homophones (like
Geospatial World May 2015
Application Seminars
Industry Forums
CONNECT Edition
LEARNing Day
2015 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley and the B Bentley logo are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems,
Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
40
CASE STUDY
Sticking together
GIS and Cement industry
A holistic technological roadmap that encompasses IT, automation
and geospatial technology is empowering Reliance Cement Company
to efficiently monitor and manage its mining operations
he indigenous Indian
cement industry is almost
a century old. By virtue of
the ever-increasing demand for infrastructural growth in
the nation, our limestone resources
are depleting at a rapid pace. Con-
sequently, it has become imperative for the industry to make effective use of process innovations,
technology and automation to
create a scalable and sustainable
business model. And that is exactly what Reliance Cement Company
CASE STUDY
The roadmap
A broad understanding of the critical business challenges, technology and interrelated disciplines has
enabled RCC to create a comprehensive technological roadmap
for managing mining operations
at its various plants. This roadmap
comprises of interrelated components contributing to the overall
proposed solution, which (as illustrated in the schematics) follows
a holistic approach involving incorporation and integration of the
following:
High-resolution satellite image
(Cartosat-2) interpretation and
analysis.
Differential GPS (DGPS) based
surveying and mapping.
GIS-based map data creation,
overlay and plotting.
3D subsurface modelling, geological correlation and block
model creation.
ERP (SAP PP and PM) based production planning, monitoring
and maintenance.
High-precision GPS (HGPS)
based real-time asset location,
equipment scheduling and synchronisation (for example, shovel
and dumper coordination), and
dispatch monitoring.
Electronic Control Module (ECM)
integrated equipment health
monitoring and maintenance.
Algorithm based automated
mine planning, scheduling and
blending.
Automated sampling and re-
41
CASE STUDY
42
Visualisation
Analytics
(Production &
Web GIS
Quality)
Production
Blast hole
Planning
Excavation &
Blending
Short-Term
Planning
SAP-PP
Enterprise
Data
Long-Term
Planning
Geological
mapping &
3D
Geoprocessing
Spatial
Database
Hi-Res Satellite
Images
DGPS Survey
Data
Monitoring
and Mgmt.
SAP-QM
Automatic
Sampling
Crushing
& Transport
Topographic
Data
Pit Planning
Quality
Block
Modeling
GIS
Application
Ancillary Maps
& Attributes
Bore-hole
data
Third-party
Map Data
multi-temporal,
panchromatic
and multispectral satellite images, geo-referenced topographical
map data, DGPS based precision
surveys and accurate geo-tagging have helped RCC to create
44
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
44
PRODUCT WATCH
45
46
PRODUCT WATCH
48
PICTURE THIS
After
A 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck central Nepal on April 25 and reduced it to rubble. The quake
caused major damage in Kathmandu and remote, rural parts of the country. Acting immediately
after the disaster, the geospatial and mapping communities started mapping Nepal to identify the
damage and assist humanitarian organisations.
The first set of satellite images released by DigitalGlobe and Airbus Defence and Space
have helped the world to understand the level of damage and human displacement.
Images 1: Dharahara Tower in Kathmandu, as seen from DigitalGlobe WorldView-3 on Oct 25, 2014,
and the Tower Reduced to Rubble as seen from DigitalGlobe WorldView-3 on April 27, 2015.
Images 2: Tundikhel area from Kathmandu, as seen on Oct 25, 2014; the same area as on April 27,
2015, where relief camps after the earthquake can be seen.
The background map depicts the earthquake affected areas in Nepal and North of India.
Map credits: European Commission, Joint Research Centre
PICTURE THIS
49
Nepal Earthquake
Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team [HOT] has initiated its
mapping tasks related to identifying major and minor roads,
residential areas, including buildings, leisure spots and camp
areas. The mapping activities are aided by imagery data from
various sources, such as Bing, DigitalGlobe, MapBox and
MapGive HIU. The maps come as handy help in aiding delivery and search and rescue efforts by identifying earthquakedamaged buildings and displaced populations. The first image on the left shows village areas and the houses mapped as
part of the task, where the map data was missing.
DigitalGlobes Tomnod mapping projects Earthquake in Nepal
and Help locate remote Nepali villages have started to take pace.
Around 39,914 taggers have searched over 97,436 sq km area to assess
the damage on Tomnod platform, as part of the first project that took
off immediately after the earthquake. The second image on the left
shows damaged houses in rural Nepal, identified by a volunteer.
A 3D model of the earthquake damaged Durbar Square,
Kathmandu, is shown below. The model was created using aerial
video, shot by with a drone by Kishor Rana and Matthew Schroyer
of the Professional Society of Drone Journalists
You got to be
HERE
www.geobuiz.com