mapping the developer’s toolbox · 2017-06-12 · i find the words of linus torvalds inspiring...

FEBRUARY 2008 VOL 12 ISSUE 2

AFRICA I AMERICAS I ASIA I AUSTRALIA I EUROPE www.GISdevelopment.net

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5RNI 68561/18/6/98/ISSN 0971-9377 UP/BR-343/2008

Price: INR 100 / US$ 10 Subscriber’s copy. Not for Sale

Mapping the Developer’s ToolboxMapping the Developer’s Toolbox

Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging has expanded to India!

Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging India Private Limited has created brand new headquarters in Gurgaon. To meet the needs of new and existing customers, Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging India will build customized and localized geospatial solutions. Also deployed throughout the region will be technical support, business development, marketing, software development and professional services.

This new subsidiary will be the only company in India to sell and support Leica Geosystems’ entire product portfolio. Extensive services and an expanded product suite will include a complete and powerful collection of remote sensing, photogrammetry, enterprise, data sharing and visualization solutions to this market.

For more information, please contact us at:

Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging Private Limited3rd Floor; Enkay Square;Udyog Vihar; Phase VGurgaon, 122016INDIAPhone: +91 981 0682791, +91 981 0428989Web: www.gi.leica-geosystems.com

Copyright © 2008 Leica Geosystems. All rights reserved. Geospatial Imaging Chain is a trademark, service mark and property of Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging, LLC.

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COLUMNS

Editorial 07

News 08

Navigation News 24

Publication 72

Events 74

COMPANY PROFILE

38 ROLTA GROUP:"We always look beyond ourimmediate opportunity asto what we can do…"

60 SPECK SYSTEMS:"Stay close to the customers' needs…"

ARTICLE

30 Usage of APIs and SDKs:An overviewManeesh Prasad

32 Agile Project Manage-ment for GIS Dave Bouwman, Chris Spagnuolo

42 CarbonTools PRO -Geospatial Interoperabilityfor Software Developers Jeff Harrison

48 GeoServer: A GeospatialServer for Everyone Justin Deoliveira

52 Trimble GPS PathfinderTools SDK: Leveraging fullGPS CapabilitiesPaul Manson

56 gmlSDKRon Lake

64 Cartographic & RemoteSensing Perspective of MtEverestBrig. R C Padhi,Mudit Mathur, Praveen Thakur

70 NEOGEOGRAPHY: Goodbye to GIS?Dr. Satyaprakash

INTERVIEW

66 Mark Steele Tele Atlas

69 Conference Report

5

President M P Narayanan Editor in Chief Ravi Gupta Managing Editor Maneesh Prasad Publisher Sanjay Kumar Editorial Team: Honorary Advisor Prof. Arup Dasgupta Sr. Associate Editor (Honorary) Dr. Hrishikesh Samant Associate Editor Dr. Satyaprakash, Sr. Assistant Editor Anamika Das, Assistant Editor Saurabh Mishra Sr. Sub Editor Harsha Vardhan Sub Editor Gaurav SharmaSales and Marketing: Regional Managers Middle East Swati Grover North America Annu Negi South East Asia Pacific Sunil Ahuja Regional Sales Managers Europe Niraj South Asia Prashant Joshi Dy. Managers Sales Middle EastSharmishtha Seth South Asia Anupam Sah, Vivek Rawat South East Asia Pacific Kavitha Seras Marketing Co-ordinatorMegha Datta Sales Co-ordinator Uma Shankar PandeyDesign Team: Sr. Creative Designer Deepak Kumar, Prashant K Sarkar Assistant Graphic Designer Manoj Kumar Singh Circulation Team: Arpita Majumder, Vijay Kumar Singh Software Development Group: Team Leader Kumar Vikram Team Member Viral Pandey Portal Team: Product Manager Shivani Lal Dy. Manager Anshu Garg Team Member Anjali Srivastava

Advisory BoardDato’ Dr. Abdul Kadir bin Taib

Deputy Director General of Survey and Mapping, Malaysia

Aki A. Yamaura Sr. Vice President, Asuka DBJ Partners, Japan

Amitabha Pande Secretary, Inter-State Council, Government of India

Bhupinder Singh Sr. Vice President, Bentley Systems Inc., USA

Bob Morris President, Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging,USA

BVR Mohan ReddyChairman and Managing Director, Infotech Enterprises Ltd., India

David Maguire Director, Products, Solutions and International, ESRI, USA

Frank Warmerdam President, OSGeo, USA

Prof. Ian Dowman President, ISPRS, UK

Prof. Josef Strobl Director, Centre for Geoinformatics, University of Salzburg, Austria

Kamal K Singh Chairman and CEO, Rolta Group of Companies, India

Prof. Karl Harmsen Director, UNU-INRA

Marc Tremblay Vice President, Commercial Business Unit, DigitialGlobe, USA

Mark Reichardt President and Chief Operating Officer, OGC, USA

Prof. Martien Molenaar Rector, ITC, The Netherlands

Matthew O’Connell CEO, GeoEye, USA

Prof. Michael Blakemore Emeritus Professor of Geography, University of Durham, UK

Dr. Milan Konecny President, International Cartographic Association,Czech Republic

Er. Mohammed Abdulla Al-Zaffin Director, GIS Centre, Dubai Municipality, UAE

Dr. Prithvish Nag Director, NATMO, India

Rajesh C. Mathur President, ESRI India

Robert M Samborski Excutive Director, Gita, USA

Prof. Stig EnemarkPresident, FIG, Denmark

Prof. V. S RamamurthyChairman, IIT, Delhi, India

G I S D E V E L O P M E N T | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 8 Vo l . 1 2 I s s u e 2

GIS Development is intended for those interested and involved inGIS related activities. It is hoped that it will serve to foster agrowing network by keeping the community up-to-date on manyactivities in this wide and varied field. Your involvement in provid-ing relevant information is essential to the success of thisendeavour.

GIS Development does not necessarily subscribe to the viewsexpressed in the publication. All views expressed in this issue arethose of the contributors. It is not responsible for any loss to any-one due to the information provided.

GIS Development Pvt. Ltd. Printed and Published by Sanjay Kumar.Press M. P. Printers B-220, Phase-II, Noida, GautambudhNagar (UP) INDIA Publication Address P-82, Sector-11, Gautambudh Nagar, Noida, India Editor Ravi Gupta

In this issue...

ABOUT THE COVER...

It’s time that we-the Geospatial Professionals-realise the potential that lies ahead of us, byexploring ‘The Geospatial Toolbox’, to producecustomised services and solutions...

OFFICESIndiaGIS Development Pvt. Ltd. A-145, Sector - 63, Noida, INDIATel: +91-120-4260800 to 808 Fax: +91-120-4260823-24

UAEGIS Development BranchDubai Airport Free Zone Area, P.O. Box No: 54664, Dubai, UAETel: +971-4-2045350, 2045351Fax: +971-4-2045352

MalaysiaSuite - 22.6, Level - 22, Menara Genesis, 33 Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 50250Tel: +601-72929756 Fax: +603-21447636

Email: [email protected]

Ifind the words of Linus Torvalds inspiring even today:``We're back to the times when men were men aandwrote their own device drivers.'' Today, I feel Geospa-

tial Professionals and the organisations using GIS are closerto writing their own custom application. Be it using APIs &SDKs or starting with embedding simple maps in their webapplications through Mashup.

What is the relevance of SDKs and APIs for a GIS Profession-al who is not even remotely associated with software pro-gramming?

Logically thinking, none! But, it is important to be aware ofthe tools and their benefits, even if we are not to use them atany point of time. The importance is heavily underlined bythe fact that, when the usage application starts maturingthe boxed products starts giving way to some easy to useand powerful, customised software applications each for aspecific domain. This leads to the statement that down thelane we will have application specific for the various verti-cals like electricity, agriculture, forestry, etc. Not that, thesesegments do not have domain specific software today, buteven if they are, they would start becoming more robust andprevalent. The nature and colour of this domain specific cus-tomised software would in all likely-hood be an integral partof the enterprise application software.

The software components are already reaching a stagewhere a small customisation of software application can bedone in few months. This coupled with new methods like'Agile', should increase the comfort level at both the ends:the service provider and the client for whom the customisedapplication is being developed. Hopefully this would alsoreduce the apathy of the developer and the client. For oftenthe client gets to know what he wants only after he has seenthe ‘first cut’ of the software application. By that time thedeveloper is far beyond the design stage and is the processwhere he is not willing to make much change, least to affectthe fundamentals of the base design.

Tools are not only for the technician, but for everybody. Ifnot as a user, you can certainly contribute more by littleunderstanding about these tools around us.

Just as they say, to drive a car you need not be an automo-bile engineer. But with little understanding of the tool box,which is lying in the boot, lot of pain can be avoided. Certain-ly, one should draw a line here and not get into the workingof engine and transmission of power.

Technology is like our life, very simple and easy to under-stand if we have a simple approach to it. It can also becomecomplicated like rocket-science, if we start asking what,when, why, where, whom, whose etc. Factors leading spider-web is beyond the scope of the current discussion. What Iknow is many a times we get stuck in understanding theautomobile engineering rather than keeping our focus ondriving the automobile.

In the present context it is important that we understandthat there are options of customised software applicationwhich beyond the 'Out-of-Box' software we are familiarwith, like ArcGIS, Microstation, Autodesk Map, PB MapInfoetc. These solutions based on geospatial API’s and SDK’s areavailable from 'Brands' which you are aware of, and somethem being mentioned above. This means you just have toexplore the very 'stable', which you are so comfortable buy-ing from!

It is time we now explore the product portfolio of our GISvendors for they do have something very interesting!

7G I S D E V E L O P M E N T | F E B R U A RY 2 0 0 8 Vo l . 1 2 I s s u e 2

“”

Tools & Professionals

Maneesh PrasadManaging Editor & Chief Operating [email protected]

From Editor’s Desk

Guyana ForestryCommission integratesRemote Sensing formonitoring Guyana: The GuyanaForestry Commission (GFC)is implementing theRemote Sensing and Bar-Coding system into itsexisting log tracking pro-gramme in its promotion ofsustainable forestry devel-opment. The GFC project isfunded by the InternationalTropical Timber Organiza-tion (ITTO) at a cost of morethan $100M, a press releasefrom the GovernmentInformation Agency said. Ituses modern trackingdevices to combat illegallogging activities.

The GFC said the Bar-Cod-ing System is part of itsefforts to modernise itsmonitoring capacity since itwill feed into a central data-base linked to a nationalwide-area network. Thiswill allow for real-timetransfer of data and theavailability of trackinginformation for the regula-tory agency and operatorsin the private sector. Theproject will make detectionof illegal logging and othernon-compliant activitieseasier both in transit and atpoint of sale, by scanningbar code labels on log tagsto determine if the tagbeing used is valid,date/time last checked.

The GFC said this initia-tive will enhance the workof its Forest MonitoringDivision which scrutinizes

22 forest stations located atstrategic points throughoutGuyana. These include sta-tions at Canje, Springlands,Bamboo Landing, Kwak-wani, Soesdyke, Linden andBartica.

NigerianGovernment tocheck land fraudNigeria: The Abia StateGovernment has intro-duced Abia Land Informa-tion System (ALIS) projectto check anomalies in allland transactions in thestate.

"With this system in placeit will be difficult for fraud-sters to sell the same landto multiple buyers becausethe true ownership of anyland in Abia State can beinstantly ascertained," saidstate governor, Dr Theodore

Orji, adding that it wouldalso enable government toplan appropriately with theexistence of a central database of landed properties.

Commissioner for lands,survey and urban planning,Prince Paul Ikonneexplained that ALIS, is theroad map in Abia State landreforms involving full com-puterisation of the AbiaLands Deeds Registry with aclear view to completelydigitalise the operations ofthe registry.

He further stated that thebenefits derivable fromALIS project include the factthat information on landsin Abia State could beaccessed on internet "there-

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7News: Regional

South Africa: The UnitedNations Economic Com-mission for Africa has pub-lished a new report defin-ing fundamental geospa-tial datasets for Africa. Thereport is the first attemptto provide a continentalcommon definition ofwhat constitutes a mini-mally necessary core ofgeospatial data and infor-mation products to whichpolicy makers can add oth-er sectoral datasets toensure geographic consis-

tency in making decisionson socio-economic devel-opment issues.

The report comes follow-ing an exhaustive litera-ture review and wide-spread consultations withother institutions on thecontinent, details of whichwas compiled by EIS-Africaand the South AfricanHuman Sciences ResearchCouncil. It proposes the fol-lowing definition:

"Fundamental data setsare the minimum primary

sets of data that can not bederived from other datasets, and that are requiredto spatially represent phe-nomena, objects or themes,important for the realiza-tion of economic, socialand environmental bene-fits consistently acrossAfrica at the local, national,subregional and regionallevels."

Based on this definition,the report goes on to iden-tify ten fundamental datathemes, which are geodetic

control network, imagery,hypsography, hydrogra-phy, boundaries, geograph-ic names, land manage-ment units, transportation,utilities and services, andnatural environments.

ECA publishes report on Determination of Fundamental Datasets for Africa

UN Economic Commission for Africa report

8 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T

by making it possible forour people to obtain infor-mation on-line whereverthey may be while the newCertificate of occupancy"will facilitate the transfer-ability of title documents aswell as increase markettransactions in land."

Bangladesh ECto use GIS foroutliningconstituenciesBangladesh: The ElectionCommission (EC) ofBangladesh announced aplan for redrawing theboundaries of parliamen-tary constituencies in 61districts of the countrybased on densities of popu-lation in an effort to main-tain a consistency in thenumber of voters for eachseats.

The EC said the con-stituencies will be redrawnusing computerised GIS.Assistance will be soughtfrom the Centre for Envi-ronmental and GeographicInformation System, andfrom Local GovernmentEngineering Department inexchange for payment, andthe hired experts will alsotrain the EC staff to developthe commission's capacityfor running the system inthe future, the writtenwork plan of the commis-sion says.

China to finishupdating nationalgeographic infodatabase in 2010 China: China has finished 40percent of the updates of itslargest national geographicinformation database andwill complete the entireproject by 2010. The data-base, completed in February2006, is a 1:50000 nationalbasic geographic informa-tion database that covers thewhole country with thelargest scale and highestprecision up to date. TheBureau planned to finishanother 14 percent of theproject in 2008.

The 1:50000 database isthe digital version of papermaps and visual materialsshot from a high altitude,said Lu Xinshe, director-general, State Bureau ofSurveying and Mapping. Headded, the database willplay a role in the decision-making of the governmentsin land and regional plan-ning, resources surveyingand evaluation, disasterprevention and alleviation.

ASI, IIT-Kanpursigns MoUIndia: To equip itself withscientific methods that canbe used in archaeology, theArchaeological Survey ofIndia (ASI) has entered into aMemorandum of Under-standing (MoU) with theKanpur-based Indian Insti-tute of Technology (IIT) forterrain mapping and

archaeo-scientific investiga-tions of Ahichchhatra inBareilly, UP in which variousscientific applications likeGPS, Total Station and GISwill be put into use.

Sikkim has thelargest number ofglaciers in India India: Sikkim, comprising0.5 per cent of India's land-mass, has 84 glaciers, thelargest number as com-pared to any other state orunion territory. The presentnumber of glaciers at 84,with the mapping exercisestill underway to find aboutout more ice caps in thestate has grown by aboutfour times over the past sixyears as the figure of gla-ciers stood at 21 at thattime, a senior scientist ofthe science and technologydepartment, which hasbeen carrying out mappingof the glaciers and otherlandscapes of the state. Theglaciers have been mappedby using remote sensingapplication system andcapturing data throughsatellite, he said.

The rise in the number ofglaciers belied the impactof the global warming phe-nomena in this region withthe scientist pointing outthat the impact of globalwarming has never been afactor in the climate of theborder state with the statebeing landlocked and sur-rounded by the mountain-ous landscape on all sides.

G I S D E V E L O P M E N T

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9F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

ISRO plans satelliteseries for mappingand climatemonitoringIndia: As part of an effort to

increase its ability to map the

country through satellite imag-

ing, India plans to create a chain

of nine earth observation satel-

lites which will be used for civil-

ian applications such as identi-

fying potential fishing zones or

mapping streets in cities.

The Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO) will launch

the satellites over the next five

years beginning June with

Oceansat-2. The launch of these

civilian satellites will be preced-

ed by the launch, in February, of

Cartosat-2A, using a PSLV rocket.

India and France are jointly

working on two satellites, Saral

and Megha Tropiques, to track

climate changes in the ocean

and the tropics. ISRO is building

a family of radar imaging satel-

lites that carry synthetic aper-

ture radars, all-weather imaging

sensors that are capable of tak-

ing images in cloudy and snow-

covered regions.

Illustration of the deployed OceanSat-2spacecraft (image credit: ISRO)

Bharat GauravAward for DohaGIS engineer India: Shaik Kareem Basha,Hon Treasurer of QatarChapter of the Institution ofEngineers (India) has beenhonoured with Bharat Gau-rav Award 2008 in NewDelhi. Basha is working asSenior GIS Engineer for

Qatar Petroleum. He did hisBachelor of Engineering inComputer Science and Mas-ter of Science in Geo-Infor-matics. For his outstandingcontributions to GIS, he wasconferred with manyawards by governmentalauthorities in Qatar. He is afounder member and finan-cial controller of GIS Engi-

neers Society, Affiliated tothe Indian Cultural Centre.

UNEP to addresswater supply, climatechange in Philippines Philippines: The Philippineprovince of Iloilo has signedMemorandum of Under-standing (MOU) with theUnited Nations Environ-

ment Programme (UNEP)for the application of Rain-water Harvesting Technol-ogy in the Tigum-AgananWatershed Area, to testeffects on water supply andmitigate adverse effects ofclimate change.

The MOU primarily aimsto enable the Philippines toadapt to the impacts of cli-mate change on water byassessing the rainwaterpotentials under differentclimate change scenarios,through six sets of GISmaps and by demonstrat-ing rainwater harvestingapplication for minimizingthese impacts.

Sri Lanka mappedfrom space fortsunami re-buildingSri Lanka: A mapping pro-gramme using satelliteimages will help Sri Lanka'sgovernment do better plan-ning and rebuilding in thetsunami-hit eastern andsouthern provinces, offi-cials said.

The French-funded GISproject using high resolu-tion satellite imagery costsalmost 100,000 USD. Thedetailed digital maps thatcan be prepared will alsohelp local authorities intheir work and eventuallybe available to the public,said L H Indrasiri, DirectorGIS at the Urban Develop-ment Authority (UDA),which is implementing theproject. The satellite imageswill be used to prepare


Japan: An advancedJapanese surveyingsatellite launched twoyears ago is proving to be a disappointment, producing images tooblurry for map-makers.The 457.8-million-dollar"Daichi" satellite wassent into space to createdetailed maps of remoteparts of Japan, but the images have notbeen of sufficient quali-ty, the government'sGeographical SurveyInstitute said.

The institute takes aeri-al pictures of Japan everyfive years for thoroughupdates of local mapsand had hoped the satel-lite would complementthe work. But officialshave so far used theDaichi satellite's imagesto update maps of just 52of 4,300 section imagesof Japan.

Engineers and officialsfrom the map institute

and the Japan AerospaceExploration Agency arediscussing ways toimprove the Daichi

images and how best touse the data," saidTakashi Hayashi, an offi-cial with the institute.

Japanese satellite flops at map-making

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

Daichi prior its launch

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detailed digital maps ofurban areas and the projectincludes preparation ofnew maps and also updat-ing old Survey Departmentmaps of the one inch:50,000 types made using

satellite images with a res-olution of only 50 metres.They will be used to helpreconstruction of the dam-age caused by the Decem-ber 26, 2004 Indian Oceantsunami.

Satellites helpcanegrowersidentify affectedpaddocksAustralia: Scientists areexamining how satelliteimagery can help sugar-cane farmers to identifyweaker parts of their canefields. Queensland'sDepartment of PrimaryIndustries (DPI) has fin-ished a pilot project thatinvolved analysing satelliteimagery of the Silkwoodand Upper Murray area inthe state's far north. DPIsenior agronomist DerekSparkes says, a poorer crop

will reflect less light in theimagery. "If we can isolatethat affected part of thepaddock and find out whatthe problem is, you canselectively treat that pad-dock with whatever itmight need to bring it up topar with the rest of thefield," he said.

Satellite imageryreveals disappearingforest birds Papua New Guinea: Analy-ses of satellite images haverevealed the extent ofdeforestation occurring onthe island of New Britain,Papua New Guinea, indicat-ing that many more birdspecies are threatened withextinction than previously

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Singapore: Where does the IPR on a map or spatial data end? Does valueaddition to a map change its ownership? Is state generated spatial datapublic property? These and a lot many questions will surface from the legalbattle between Singapore Land Authority and Virtual Map. Virtual Map,which operates streetdirectory.com, argued in court last week that it devel-oped its own framework to create its maps, but the Singapore LandAuthority (SLA) maintained that Virtual Map had copied those created bySLA. Last August, the court had ruled in favour of SLA, prompting VirtualMap to file an appeal.

Virtual Map said it may have used the Singapore Land Authority's maps,but only for the purpose of driving around Singapore to collect its own datausing global positioning system (GPS). Using that data, Virtual Map said itthen developed its own framework or backbone to create its maps. To that,the Singapore Land Authority was quick to disagree. SLA's lawyer, DedarSingh Gill, noted that if Virtual Map did not copy SLA's framework, VirtualMap would not have been able to produce the maps in the first place. MrGill added that this is why all the phantom features, planted on SLA's mapto catch copiers, also showed up on streetdirectory.com.

http://www.gisdevelopment.net/ezine/weekly/jan1408.htme-Qu

ote

Singapore LA Vs Virtual Maps -stalemate?7

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feared. Conservationists arenow calling for an effectivesystem to adequately pro-tect the crucial lowlandforests that remain on NewBritain. In the paper, scien-tists from the RSPB (BirdLifein the UK), BirdLife Interna-tional, Conservation Inter-national, an independentconsultancy and Instituteof Environment and Sus-tainability, EC JRC, analysed'before-and-after' high reso-lution images of NewBritain, showing thatapproximately 12% of forestcover was lost between1989 and 2000, includingover 20% of forest under100 m altitude, with sub-stantial areas cleared forcommercial oil palm plan-tations.

GIS for littermanagement inDublinIreland: Dublin city council-lors are expected to adopt alitter management planwhich will involveincreased use of video sur-veillance and so-called blitzpatrols by wardens. Thenew plan would involve

the expenditure of 54mUSD over the next threeyears and would use GIStechnology to identify litterblackspots. The plan wouldinvolve a commitment toempty litter bins up to fourtimes a day and washstreets once a day in busycity centre areas.

Royal BerkshireFire and RescueService selectsVectorCommandUK: Royal Berkshire Fireand Rescue Service havechosen VectorCommand'sCommand Support Systemas the command and con-

trol system for managingits new incident commandvehicles and fire appliancefleet.

The Command SupportSystem user interfaceallows non-technical usersto follow an easy-to-use,intuitive, touch screen-based decision-makingmodel (DMM) based onnationally agreed fire serv-ice command doctrine. Allcommand decisions - madeon electronic white boardsketch maps, using asseticons and GIS mapping,emails, video conferencing

and voice commands - canbe easily communicated toall relevant parties (andstored for analysis orenquiry purposes).

CGDI InteroperabilityPilot demonstrationCanada: The Carbon Projectannounces that its Car-bonArc and Gaia softwarehas successfully supportedthe Canadian GeospatialData Infrastructure (CGDI)Interoperability Pilot. TheCGDI Interoperability Pilotis sponsored by GeoConnec-tions, a Canadian partner-ship program led by Natur-al Resources Canada.

The program works withdecision-makers and tech-nology developers toincrease the use and shar-ing of location-based (or"geospatial") informationand technologies online,via the Canadian Geospa-tial Data Infrastructure. Inthe pilot, GeoConnections iscollaborating with provin-cial partners to test bettermechanisms for distribut-ing and updating frame-work data (geographicnames, national road net-work, administrativeboundaries, etc.), providingusers with access to themost current and authorita-tive data, avoiding versiondisparities, and minimizingduplication. The recent

highly successful pilot proj-ect demonstration featuredthe latest web and geomat-ics advances, includingWeb Feature Service (WFS)technology to distributespatial information nation-ally while simultaneouslymanaging it near provin-cial sources.

Malaspina Univ.researchers tapinto groundwaterstudyCanada: Vancouver IslandWater Resource Vulnerabil-ity Mapping Project willanalyze the susceptibilityof water quality to hazardsassociated with humanactivities and land use. It's acollaborative projectinvolving professors andstudents from Malaspina'sChemistry, Geology andGeography departments,plus expertise and fundingfrom the Ministry of Envi-ronment, Ministry ofHealth, Vancouver IslandHealth Authority, NaturalResources Canada, IslandsTrust and Vancouver Islandregional districts. Headed

G I S D E V E L O P M E N T12 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 8

Near extinct Yellowish Imperial-pigeon

VectorCommand: Command Support System

Vancouver Islands: Groundwater study area

News: Regional

up by Malaspina professorand GIS expert Dr. AlanGilchrist, the team will gen-erate a GIS map outlininggroundwater vulnerability.

Over the next four to sixyears, the study will focuson groundwater in theregional districts ofCowichan Valley andNanaimo. The researchteam will acquire, compileand assess geological andhydro-geological data froma variety of public and pri-vate sources, and test andadapt mapping methodolo-gies that are specific toVancouver Island waterresources. Eventually, sus-ceptibility maps will be pro-duced for the entire Van-couver Island region using

a GIS-based methodologycalled DRASTIC. The mapswill categorize aquifers onVancouver Island that aredeemed vulnerable.

Real-Time mappingand analysis of USPresidential Election USA: Local and regionalwatchdog organizationswill be monitoring andreporting on the integrityof these democratic activi-ties like, the presidentialelection, that promises aseries of primaries, caucus-es and straw polls, culmi-nating in a general electionin November. Philadelphia-based Committee of Seven-ty in collaboration withAvencia Incorporated GIS

and software developmentcompany will help geo-graphically record, map,and analyze election dayincidents in real-time.

The primary challenge ofincorporating GIS into thisendeavour was to create asystem that would enableboth quick recording ofincidents and real-timemap generation. Avencia'sexperience with GIS tech-nologies and thoroughknowledge of the politicallandscape came handy totackle the challenge of cre-ating a variety of mapsthroughout the day, includ-ing not just point mapsshowing individual inci-dents, but also aggrega-tions by larger political

boundaries indicating bothrelative numbers of inci-dents and proportions ofdifferent types of incidents.

GISCI announcesMentoring ProgramUSA: The GIS CertificationInstitute (GISCI) has createda mentoring program tolink students and youngprofessionals up with certi-fied GIS professionals(GISPs). The mentored indi-vidual must be a student(undergraduate or above),non-traditional student(student attending schoollater in life) or young pro-fessional (1-2 years in thefield). The mentoring rela-tionship is meant to last fora minimum of six months.

USA: GeoDecisions' IRRIS technology was recently usedduring the Federal Emergency Management Agency's(FEMA's) participation in the Top Officials 4 (TOPOFF 4) ter-rorism preparedness exercise. The patented IRRIS technol-ogy incorporates the latest advances in information tech-nology (IT), GIS, and location-based services (LBS) to aiddecision makers in coordinating response, managingassets, and tracking equipment or personnel through aCOP. It incorporates and displays worldwide infrastructuredata, live-vehicle tracking, near-real-time weather, andactive route conditions in a map format.

The exercise required participants to make quick deci-sions and carry out essential functions by using a commonoperating picture (COP) during an incident. For this simu-lated response, IRRIS was used at the National ResponseCoordination Center (NRCC) to view simulated disasteroutcomes as well as track FEMA's mobile disaster recoveryvehicles. Data for the exercise was coordinated throughFEMA's GIS Solutions Branch within the Office of the Chief

Information Officer, responsible for the overall mappingsupport for the NRCC. The use of IRRIS helped FEMA deci-sion makers visualize and comprehend activities takingplace in response to the disaster scenario.

G I S D E V E L O P M E N T 13F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 8

GeoDecision IRRIS used during Emergency preparedness scenario

Display and Analysis of Information over GIS -Based Mapping for Enhanced Decision-Making

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Radical new labfights diseaseusing satellites USA: A group of atmospher-ic research scientists atNASA's National Space Sci-ence and Technology Cen-ter and University of Alaba-ma at Birmingham's Schoolof Public Health representa-tives are collaborating inproject which will lead to'forecasting public health'using data from remotesensing satellites. Both UABand NASA want to under-stand, using NASA satellitedata on how the environ-

ment is influencing the dis-eases and conducive condi-tions. This study's findingswill help health officialswith environmental expo-sure and health recommen-dations." This idea led UABto create a remote sensinglab - in fact the first U.S.dedicated remote sensinglab for medical and publichealth. Studies sponsoredby the lab have already ledto critical research in fight-ing malaria. Infraredimagery from satellites ishelping scientists locatewarm standing water - fer-

tile breeding ground formosquitoes.

ESRI offers $25,000cash prizes for ArcGISServer Code Challenge USA: ESRI invites develop-ers to share their creativityand expertise with GISdeveloper community bysubmitting original codesamples to the secondannual ArcGIS Server CodeChallenge at www.esri.com/codechallenge. TheCode Challenge is open toall developers, includingESRI business partners, pro-

vided the applicant or theapplicant's organization is alicensed user of ArcGISServer 9.2 or current ESRIDeveloper Network (EDN)subscriber.The developer communitywill vote for first-, second-,and third-place winnersand the prize is $15,000,$7,500 and $2,500 respec-tively. Winning applica-tions will be announced nolater than Thursday, March20, 2008, at the DeveloperSummit and will be show-cased on the ESRI.com andEDN Web sites.

14 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

USA: The 2007-2008 World Heritage Map, the third to be produced in collaboration with National Geographicand Hewlett Packard, is now available. The goal of thepartnership, signed at the end of 2005 for a period ofthree years, is to raise awareness of the World HeritageConvention, and the map is an essential tool for this pur-

pose. The partnership combines National Geographic'sunsurpassed cartography with HP's high technologyprinting to illustrate the location of World Heritage sitesacross the globe. The World Heritage map is above all aneducational visual tool, allowing UNESCO to communi-cate its work in this field on a large scale. It is especially

important since print docu-ments, accessible to everyone,are an essential communica-tion tool.

The map features the 851World Heritage properties,brief explanations of theWorld Heritage Conventionand World Heritage conserva-tion programmes, as well assuperb photos of World Her-itage sites with explanatorycaptions. A copy of the mapmay also be requested by registering on this websitehttp://whc.unesco.org/en/register

World Heritage Map 2007-2008 now available

News: Regional

851sites on World HeritageMap 2007-08

Innovation

Inno vation

©2007, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. Trimble and the Globe & Triangle logo are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited registered in the United States and in other countries. SUR-146

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Trimble Technology Road Show For info, email: [email protected] or phone : 09967007222, Limited places !

Optech appointsairborne surveyproducts GMCanada: Optech Incorporat-ed, provider of advancedlidar survey instruments,announced that it hasappointed Glenn Farring-ton as General Manager ofAirborne Survey Products.This new position gathers

the company's existingALTM, Gemini and SHOALSairborne survey systemsinto a single business unit,providing a better focus ofexpertise and strengthen-ing the overall team as newairborne products are intro-duced. In his new role hewill be responsible for man-aging all aspects ofOptech's Airborne SurveyProducts, ensuring that thiscore line of business meetscustomer requirements andoverall success withinOptech's expanding prod-uct offerings.

Galdos recruitsRichard Brownas VP Sales Canada: Galdos announcedthat they have recruited

Mr. RichardBrown tohead upthe compa-ny's salesdepart-ment. Prior

to joining Galdos, Richardheld the position of Direc-tor, International Saleswith DigitalGlobe for fiveyears. He also has spentfourteen years with Mac-

Donald Dettwiler, where heheld positions in businessdevelopment and projectmanagement.

CARIS achievesISO 9001:2000certificationCanada: CARIS, a developerof geomatics software, hasachieved ISO 9001:2000certification. NSF Interna-tional, an independent

leader in ISO certificationprocesses and services, con-ducted the audit. A globallyrecognized quality man-agement standard devel-oped by the InternationalOrganization for Standard-ization (ISO), ISO 9001:2000applies to organizationsthat design, develop, manu-facture, install and serviceproducts. To achieve certifi-cation, companies must

16

News: Business

G I S D E V E L O P M E N T F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

1 2 3 4 5 6

Germany: Data acquired by radarsatellite TerraSAR-X is now operationally available. InfoterraGmbH, the owner of the exclusivecommercial exploitation rights forthis data, has announced its com-mercial sales operations to be up-and-running.

With the beginning of the opera-tional business, Infoterra GmbH hasconcluded the TerraSAR-X promo-tional acqui-sition cam-paign: dur-ing the pastmonths,more than1.500 usersfrom aroundthe globehave placeda request fora total of3.000 Ter-raSAR-Xscenes, many of which could be recordedduring the commissioning phase. Thesescenes - provided free of charge for evalu-ation and trial purposes - are scheduled to

be delivered starting Feb-ruary 2008. Infoterra'sglobal marketing activities are significantlyenhanced by the extensive TerraSAR-X Distribution Partner Net-work spanning the six

continents: nearly sixty partners in asmany countries are available to supportcustomers with their distinct local knowl-edge and experiences.

TerraSAR-X Services now available

TerraSar X image: Giza Pyramids - Credit:Infoterra

TerraSAR-X: Noerdlinger Ries

Glenn Farrington

Richard Brown

have a comprehensivequality management sys-tem that addresses all areasof its operation. "This recog-nition communicates to ourcustomers, worldwide, thatthey are working with anorganization that pridesitself in incorporating the very best practices and processes in the indus-try to consistently meet orexceed their needs," said Dr.Salem Masry, President andChief Executive Officer atCARIS.

Ness Technologies to map PragueCzech Republic: Ness Tech-nologies, Inc., a provider ofinformation technology

solutions and services,today announced that itwas engaged by the SpatialInformation Division ofPrague Municipality toimplement the Digital Mapof Prague (DMP) project,worth $6 million. The proj-ect includes building a digi-tal map of the Prague areato be used as the referencesource for the division'sgeographical informationsystems, and flexible, oper-ational digital map man-agement to facilitate ongo-ing enhancement of qualityand content. DMP will sim-plify planning queries, sup-porting various authorities,and will benefit the Czechcapital's citizens.

Following the develop-ment and implementationphase of the complex solu-tion, which began on Octo-ber 1, 2007, Ness will pro-vide ongoing enhance-ments and support over thenext five years. Ness willalso provide project man-agement and analyticalconsulting services for theproject as a whole, in itsrole as integrator.

Ness' partner in the proj-ect is T-Mapy, a GISprovider in the CzechRepublic backed by T-Kar-tor, a Swedish-basedgeospatial company. Theproject employs well-proven technology plat-forms - ESRI and Oracle.

eSpatialappoints UKSales Manager Ireland: eSpatial, enterprisegeospatial software andtechnology companyannounced the appoint-ment of a new Sales Man-ager, Mr. Ian Holmes, whowill take responsibility forthe UK market as part of anaggressive expansion plan.Ian will lead business andrevenue generation as wellas management of existingUK customers.

Ian has over 20 yearsexperience in the globalEngineering and IT indus-tries including 10 yearsSales & Business Develop-ment experience within the

1 2 3 4 5 6

GIS Sector. Before joiningeSpatial Ian headed up GISSales for Swift-LG. Ian willalso take the lead on eSpa-tial's aggressive expansionin delivering solutionsdesigned specifically for UKLocal Government.

HP India appointsJaideep Dahiya India: The Graphics Artsdivision at the Imaging &Printing Group of Hewlett-Packard India appointed

JaideepDahiya asthe com-pany'snew Coun-try Catego-ry Manag-er for

Large Format Printers.Jaideep will work withParesh Shetty who recentlyjoined HP as the BusinessManager of the Graphicsand Imaging Division.Jaideep has been workingwith the Imaging & Print-ing Group at Hewlett-Packard since July 2005 asthe Category Manager forthe Ink Supplies business inIndia. Prior to joining HP,Jaideep has been associatedwith sales and marketingdivisions of leading compa-nies in the FMCG and Foodand Beverages segment.

Trimble appoints newSurveying Distributionand support partnerPhilippines: Trimbleannounced the appoint-

ment of Rope Systems Cor-poration as the new distri-bution, service and supportpartner for Trimble surveysolutions in the Philippines.Rope Systems Corporationwas incorporated in 1978and is a supplier of naviga-tion and communicationsequipment.

"We are pleased to sign abusiness partnership withTrimble, we are confidentthat with our strong techni-cal expertise, the partner-ship will benefit the sur-veying community in thePhilippines" said NelsonOng, the Vice-President ofRope Systems Corporation.

According to Ronald vanCoevorden, the Asia-Pacificregional manager for Trim-ble Survey Division, "Inaddition to having access to

the latest Trimble surveysolutions, Rope Systems'proven support and techni-cal background means thatTrimble customers in thePhilippines will receivehigh-quality and reliablesupport. We are excited toteam up with Rope SystemsCorporation to strengthenTrimble's commitment inthe Philippines."

OrdnanceSurvey appointsMark Alexander UK: Mark Alexander willhead the national mappingagency's finance, procure-ment and programmedelivery teams.

He has over 20 years'experience in all aspects offinancial management inboth the private and public

sectors, most recently withthe construction groupBovis Lend Lease.

He has also held seniorroles at train operator LaingRail and in the technologysector at science and engi-neering group AEA Tech-nology.

"Mark brings a wealth of talent and experiencefrom different industries,"says Ordnance Survey'sDirector General and Chief Executive, VanessaLawrence CB.

"He will offer us added

1 2 3 4 5 6News: Business

18 F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

India: Euromap GmbH, a wholly ownedsubsidiary of GAF AG, and ANTRIX Corpo-ration Limited of India announced theirnew agreement to expand Euromap's par-ticipation in the IndianRemote Sensing satelliteprogram with the recep-tion and distribution ofhigh-resolution stereoimagery from the Cartosat-1 (IRS-P5) satellite.

Under the terms of thenew three year agreement, Euromap willhave the exclusive distribution rights inEurope to receive and distribute Cartosat-1data collected over Europe and NorthAfrica. Euromap represents the only

receiving and distribution facilities for IRSsatellite data in Europe.

The new agreement marks the continua-tion of a successful cooperative partner-

ship between Euromap,ANTRIX and the GermanAerospace Center DLR,which started in 1996 whenEuromap began receivingand distributing imageryfrom India's IRS-1C and 1Dsatellites. Euromap's ground

station in Neustrelitz, Germany is ownedand operated by DLR-DFD and has beensuccessfully upgraded and added to theworld-wide network to receive, processand distribute data from Cartosat-1.

ANTRIX and Euromap expand cooperation

Jaideep Dahiya

Mark Alexander


strength in strategic plan-ning, business analysis andmanagement as we go for-ward with delivering thebenefits of our digital map-ping data and other geo-graphic information."

Infotech and InformedSolutions awardedOGCbuying.solutionsCatalist frameworkagreementUK: Infotech Enterprisesand Informed Solutions inseparate announcementsaid that it has been select-ed by OGCbuying.solutions,the Government's procure-ment services organisationfor the UK, along with six-teen other leading serviceproviders, to provide abroad remit of GeospatialInformation Services andSolutions for public sectorcustomers under the newCatalist GISS frameworkagreement.

The two companiesachieved the award acrossall lots of the frameworkagreement; includingGeospatial InformationSolutions, Mapping Ser-vices, and Data Services.

The inclusion of geospa-tial services to the Catalistframework agreement is areflection of the increasingdemand for cost-effective,scalable, and expertgeospatial services andresources required to sup-port IT programmes drivenby the TransformationalGovernment and Efficiency

Agendas. Catalist providesan EU compliant procure-ment catalogue that sup-ports the Transforming Pro-curement initiative callingfor greater centralisation ofbuying and reuse of experi-ences, and lessons learned,between projects.

New FinanceDirector atGetmappingUK: Simon Holmes ACMAhas been appointed thenew Finance Director ataerial photography andmapping product companyGetmapping Plc. Holmeswho officially joined thecompany on 1st January2008 will drive the busi-ness forward throughadvanced financial systemsas well as providing finan-cial reporting and an advi-sory service to the mainboard. He will also beresponsible for commercialagreements and investorrelations.

Holmes, has had exten-sive experience working insenior financial roles with-in businesses from SMEs tomultinationals. Prior tocoming to Getmapping hewas employed as GroupFinance Controller for lead-ing Channel Island basedinsurance provider TheRossborough Group.

Fugro acquires FalconTechnologyUSA: Fugro Airborne Sur-veys Pty Ltd, an operating

company of Fugro N.V., hassigned a term sheet withBHP Billiton, to acquireBHP Billiton's proprietaryFalcon geophysical tech-nology. Under the terms ofthe sale agreement the Fal-con assets are to be sold toFugro with BHP Billitonretaining exclusive use andpriority access to the tech-nology for minerals explo-ration until March 2010.Final completion of thesale is subject to the satis-faction of conditions prece-dent and it is anticipatedthat execution of the saleagreement will be com-pleted by March 2008. Fal-con is an Airborne GravityGradiometer (AGG) tech-nology and was jointlydeveloped by BHP Billitonand Lockheed Martin. Sincedeployment in 1999, tech-nology enhancement hasled to improved opera-tional efficiencies and dataquality.

Dr. Russell GCongalton namededitor-in-chief ofPE&RSUSA: Dr. Russell G. Congal-ton has been named Editor-in-Chief of Photogrammet-ric Engineering andRemote Sensing (PE&RS),

the jour-nal of theAmericanSociety forPho-togram-metry and

Bushnell ONIX GPS touse AccuTerra MapsUSA: Intermap Technolo-gies Corp. announced at theConsumer Electronics Showin Las Vegas, an agreementwith Bushnell OutdoorProducts that enables recre-ational enthusiasts todownload AccuTerra out-door map content for thenew ONIX series of hand-held GPS devices. Throughthis agreement, Bushnellcustomers will be able toaccess digital terrain data,roads, trails, and points of

interest for most recreationareas in the United States.Intermap's AccuTerra map-ping data will provide richcontent for the contiguous48 states and Hawaii. Digi-tal maps for geographicspecific regions - small orlarge - will be availablefrom Bushnell in early2008.

AccuTerra will featureseveral layers of geospatialinformation including ele-vation data, trails, paths,roads, and outdoor-specificpoints of interest, such ascampgrounds, service facil-ities, and trail heads.

19G I S D E V E L O P M E N TF E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

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3D AccuTerra Mapping data

Dr. Russell G. Congalton

Remote Sensing (ASPRS).Dr. Congalton replaces Dr.James Merchant, who hasperformed outstandingservice in that role since2001. The transition ofresponsibilities begins Jan-uary 15th with receipt ofnew manuscripts forreview.

"We are very pleased thatDr. Congalton was chosento join our outstandingPE&RS editorial staff," saidASPRS Executive DirectorJames Plasker in announc-ing the appointment. "Con-galton follows an excellentrole model in Dr. Merchant,and Russ' experience and

professional credentialswill enable us to continueto serve the Society reader-ship, as well as the broadergeospatial community ofPE&RS subscribers, withthe highest journalisticstandards without inter-ruption."

Trimble acquiresCrain EnterprisesUSA: Trimble hasannounced that it hasacquired privately-heldCrain Enterprises, Inc., Illi-nois, in an all-cash transac-tion. Crain is a manufactur-er of accessories for the geo-matics, surveying, map-

ping, and constructionindustries. Financial termswere not disclosed.

The purchase of Crainallows Trimble to providethe necessary accessoriesthat can be offered as partof its positioning solutionsused in the Engineeringand Construction markets.In addition, Crain and Trim-ble will be able to leveragedistribution channels.Steve Crain and the staff ofCrain Enterprises will joinTrimble and operate as awholly-owned subsidiaryas part of Trimble's Engi-neering and Constructionsegment.

OGC calls forparticipation inECO8 OGC PilotUSA: OGC has issued aRequest For Quotations andCall for Participation(RFQ/CFP) to solicit propos-als in response to require-ments for the Empire Chal-lenge 08 Pilot (EC08 OGCPilot). The EC08 OGC Pilotwill examine the suitabilityand performance of OGCSensor Web Enablement(SWE) and OGC Web Ser-vices (OWS) standards forproviding open manage-ment of and access to sen-sors of varied types andWeb service access by ana-lysts to the resulting dataand products.

Several use cases and sup-porting workflows are pro-vided to enable under-standing of the design ofthe pilot. The use casesinvolve both sensor man-agement and exploitationby a targeting analyst.

ATK to acquireinformation systemsand geospatialbusinesses of MDAUSA: Alliant Techsystemsannounced that it hasnegotiated definitiveagreements with Canadi-an-based MacDonald, Det-twiler and Associates, toacquire its Information Sys-tems and Geospatial Infor-mation Services businessesfor $1.325 billion (CDN).

The company expects thatthis acquisition will pro-

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G I S D E V E L O P M E N T20 F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

News: Business

DigitalGlobe Announces General Availability of Worldview-1 Imagery

USA: DigitalGlobe, providerof high-resolution commer-cial satellite imagery andgeospatial information prod-ucts, announced that World-View-1 has reached Full Oper-ating Capability (FOC) for allcustomers.

The general availability ofWorldView-1 imagery marksthe final milestone for thesatellite which launchedfrom Vandenberg Air ForceBase on September 18, 2007, delivered itsfirst sample set of high-resolution imageson October 15 and began supplyingimagery to the National Geospatial-Intel-ligence Agency (NGA) on November 26,2007.

"Following a successful roll-out with theNGA as part of the NextView program,DigitalGlobe is now taking orders for

WorldView-1 imagery from its globalresellers, partners and customers," said Jill Smith, chief executive officer of DigitalGlobe. "General availability ofWorldView-1 imagery allows us to more aggressively serve the growingglobal demand for accurate, high-resolu-tion satellite imagery and geospatialinformation."

WorldView-1: Yokohama, Japan

vide a higher growth andearnings profile, and beneutral to earnings pershare (EPS) in fiscal year2009 (FY09) and accretivethereafter.

The transaction, which issubject to regulatory andMDA shareholder approval,is expected to close early inthe first quarter of the com-pany's FY2009.

This acquisition willestablish ATK as a full-spec-trum international spacecompany, providing launchservices, next-generationsatellites, robotics, and theground systems that willprocess and deliver missioncritical information solu-tions. It will also provide anentry point for MDA'sproven high-performancetechnology to the U.S. mar-ket, creating significantsales growth opportunities.

ESRI joinsEUROGIUSA: ESRI has joined theEuropean Umbrella Organi-zation for Geographic Infor-mation (EUROGI), an inde-pendent non-profit organi-zation dedicated to maxi-mizing the availability andeffective use of geographicinformation (GI) through-out Europe. EUROGI-

believes that its efforts willhelp promote good gover-nance, economic and socialdevelopment, environmen-tal protection, and sustain-ability.

Jack Dangermond, ESRIpresident, said, "We arehonoured to join EUROGIand wholeheartedly sup-port its stated goal of pro-moting geographic infor-mation as a 'fully integrat-ed component of the Euro-pean knowledge-basedsociety.'"

Intermap Technologiesbecomes AutodeskISV Partner USA: Intermap Technolo-gies Corp. announced itspartnership with Autodeskas an Independent Soft-ware Vendor (ISV).Intermap's 3D elevationmodels for the UnitedStates will be combinedwith AutoCAD Map 3D andAutodesk MapGuide Enter-prise applications to enableusers to gain access to ter-rain mapping data essen-tial in a wide range of appli-cations and markets. Thesehigh-resolution models willenhance a myriad of solu-tions, including back-ground referencing, siteplanning, visual impactpresentations, and manag-ing natural and civilresources.

The bundled products willbe available in 2008 fromthe Web sites of Intermapand Autodesk.

Michael F. Horn, Sr.appointed as GeoEyeBoard of Directors USA: GeoEye, Inc., providerof satellite, aerial andgeospatial information,announced the appoint-ment of Michael F. Horn, Sr.to its Board of Directors.

Matthew O'Connell, Geo-Eye's chief executive offi-cer, president and directorsaid, "Mike will serve on

GeoEye's Audit and Strate-gy Committees and providefinancial guidance to theexecutive managementteam. This is especiallyimportant as we completeour remaining financialmilestones to prepare ournext-generation GeoEye-1satellite for launch andbegin to plan the develop-ment and financing of Geo-Eye-2."

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T 21

4 5 6321

USA: More Americans view more maps online nowthan they did a year ago, and Google Maps has gainedpopularity to narrow MapQuest's lead as the mostpopular mapping Web site, according to a companythat analyzes Web traffic. Heather Hopkins' researchshowed that U.S. visits to mapping Web sitesincreased 10% overall in the last year or so. MapQuestreceives most of the visits, but Google Maps is catch-ing up. Last year, MapQuest drew 429% more U.S. vis-

its than Google Maps. Earlier this month, it drew 126%more. Yahoo Maps and Local Live (MSN) ranked behindGoogle Maps in third and fourth place, Hopkins said.Hopkins had pointed out that in March, Google'ssearch engine began sending more of its traffic to itsown map application than MapQuest.

Google Maps closing in on MapQuest

ESRI and EUROGI

Google Maps

1Spatial releasesvalidation tool forOracle-based spatialdatabasesUK: 1Spatial have releasedRadius Check Lite, a heath

check tool for Oracle-basedspatial databases. Workingon both Oracle Locator and

Oracle Spatial this tool pro-vides a simple and easy-to-use way of validating theset-up of a spatial database.It is suitable for any userfrom a DBA through to theGIS user, and has the addedbenefit of actually educat-ing the novice user aboutthe conditions required fora spatial database. RadiusCheck Lite connects fromdesktop to Oracle Spatialdatabase and assesses thespatial data looking for spe-cific validations (presenceof metadata and spatialindexes). It then returns adata health check report in

a simple colour coded for-mat so the user can targetand rectify any potentialproblems.

PB Group 1Softwareintroduces newfunctionalitiesUSA: Group 1 Software, Inc.,a Pitney Bowes Company,introduced Centrus Points,a geocoding solution tocombine parcel centroid-level geocoding precisionwith Assessor Parcel Num-ber and elevation attrib-utes specifically designedto meet property informa-

tion and risk analysisneeds. And it also intro-duced, Centrus Parcels, toidentify the propertyboundaries for each parcel,removing ambiguity relat-ed to the location andextent of the actual proper-ty. By attributing bothproducts with address, loca-tion, APN and elevationinformation, this solutionprovides a coordinated dataset to meet the needs of allLocation Intelligence appli-cations.

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

News: PRODUCT

Radius Check Lite: Health check tool

USA: The Forest Service's Eastern Forest EnvironmentalThreat Assessment Center (EFETAC) recently launchedits forest threats summary viewer, a tool that will pro-vide images, threat distribution maps, additionalforestry contact information, and brief descriptionsabout forest threats throughout the eastern U.S. EFETAC

partnered with the Uni-versity of North CarolinaAsheville's National Envi-ronmental Modeling andAnalysis Center (NEMAC) to develop the tool.

"The forest threats summary viewer is an excellent toolfor individuals concerned about environmental threatsto healthy forests, or how these threats affect trees intheir backyard," says Danny C. Lee, EFETAC Director. "Theviewer will make forest research more relevant and use-ful to forest land managers and homeowners by con-necting them with resources to help address their con-cerns." The viewer is a user-friendly, Web-based toolsearchable by forest threat or by State. Threats are cate-gorized by today's familiar forest concerns, includinginvasive plants, insects and diseases, loss of open space,climate change, and wild land fire.

The user is also provided current and credible Web linksto other Federal, State, and local resources that offeradditional in-depth information. This initial version ofthe multi-phased tool will be continually updated withenvironmental threats as well as additional search fea-tures.


User-friendly viewer with web-based tool searchable by forest threat or State

Tar Spots- photo by Robert Anderson, USDA Forest Service

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US Forest Service launches web-based forest threats viewing tool

GE Energyreleases Oracle-based solutionfor utilitiesUSA: GE Energy announcedthe availability of its newgeospatial network designand maintenance productportfolio built using OracleDatabase, Oracle Spatialand Oracle Fusion Middle-ware.

GE Energy's SmallworldElectric Office powered byOracle is designed specifi-cally to meet the needs ofthe North American electricdistribution market. Oracle is providing thegeospatial database and

application server mappingsoftware and GE Energy'sSmallworld business is pro-viding the industry applica-tion layer for a solution thathas significant impact forcustomers.

TatukGIS releases GISSDK Edition forCompact FrameworkUSA: TatukGIS announcedthe release of the .NET Com-pact Framework edition ofthe TatukGIS DeveloperKernel toolkit product fordevelopment of custom GISapplicastions for Pocket PCtype applications for Win-dows CE/Mobile operating

systems. The DK-CompactFramework supports Win-dows Compact Framework2.0 development with Visu-al Studio 2005 and CompactFramework 2.0 and 3.5development with VisualStudio 2008.

Columbus launchesnavigation solution foremergency and rescueservicesUSA: Columbus GeographicSystems has launched navigation and GIS solutionfor emergency & rescueservices. The new solution,based on the Company'sSmart View product, is

specifically designed tomeet the unique needs ofpolice, fire, and other serv-ices dealing with emer-gency events such as acci-dents, natural disasters,and forest fires.

Key features include:• Analysiss of geographicalconditions and topographyof the emergency site

• Tracks exact location of allresources involved, con-tributing to better coordina-tion between all teamspolice, fire, ambulance etc.

•Supports real-time decisionmaking, including allocatingmissions to individual teams,vehicles & other resources.

Gaurav Sharma, Sub [email protected]

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

USA: Google's Engineering DirectorAndrew Moore announced a new versionof Sky in Google Earth. Sky now includesseveral new features that provide scientists, students and amateur stargaz-ers with new tools to explore the millionsof stars and galaxies visible in Sky get up to date on current sky events, learnbasic concepts of astronomy. Featuresinclude-

Earth & Sky Podcasts: podcasts aboutstars, galaxies, planets and events comingup in the sky from the NPR program Earthand Sky. Current

Sky Events: provides timely updates onrecent cosmological events fromVOEventNet

Featured Observatories: images fromNASA observatory satellites including X-ray images from NASA's Chandra satel-lite; infrared images by the Spitzer SpaceTelescope and the Infrared AstronomicalSatellite (IRAS); ultraviolet images by theGALEX Satellite; and a microwave map of

the sky by the Wilkinson MicrowaveAnistropy Probe (WMAP).

Historical Sky Maps: David Rumsey's his-torical maps of the sky date back to 1792and illustrate how conceptions of the skyhave changed over time.

Sky community: The best content pub-lished by the Sky community on the Skydiscussion forums.

Sky API, that will enable developers todevelop their own sky mash-ups using theextensive sky imagery was also introduced.

G I S D E V E L O P M E N T 23

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Introducing the next generation of ‘Sky in Google Earth’

Crab Nebula as seen in Sky- Google Earth

Orange Group choosesTelmap as local search& navigation provider International wireless carri-er Orange Group has select-ed Telmap, UK to offer alocation based experience

to its mobile customers.Orange was already work-

ing with another provider,Webraska, for off-boardnavigation in France and inthe United Kingdom.

The partnership withTelmap is the off-boardsolution "Map and Go" thathas been released as a betaversion in France and is freeuntil April 15.

This solution is based onthe latest version of TelmapNavigator which offerscapabilities such as a free"search box" (type "sushi" tofind the nearest Japaneserestaurant) and "Locationmessaging", a feature usingtext messages to send and receive the name,attributes and location of aplace.

Magellanunveils Maestrowith Googlemobile search Magellan, US unveiledMagellan Maestro Elite5340+GPRS personal navi-gation device that inte-grates a two-ways connec-tivity and features GoogleLocal Search. Google's real-time local search enablesMagellan's users to searchthe Web for businesses in aspecific neighbourhood,providing detailed internet-based information aboutthose businesses - not justthe business name or cate-gory.

The new device also deliv-ers real-time traffic infor-

mation, local weather fore-casts, and makes it possiblefor users to wirelessly sendaddresses and notes to theGPS device directly from aPC with an internet connec-tion.

The user can send destina-tion addresses to the Mae-stro Elite in advance of thetrip or have someone athome or back in the officesend information from theMagellan website directly.

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24 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

“Map and Go” solution by Telmap

Google local search on Magallen MaestroElite 5340+GPRS

Navigation

While in-car navigation will remain the most importantapplication of GPS technology, the use of GPS in many oth-er consumer, business, and industrial environments suchas telematics and asset tracking will continue to grow, saysABI Research.

The GPS modernisation project and the arrival of addi-tional Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) such asGLONASS, Galileo, and Beidou/Compass will increase theavailability, reliability and precision of satellite positioningand stimulate the location ecosystem, expanding the mar-ket to more than 900 million units by 2013.

According to ABI principal analyst Dominique Bonte,PNDs for in-car use will be increasingly complemented byconverged solutions based on GPS-enabled handsets forpedestrian navigation and Location Based Services. How-ever, he adds that GNSS technologies will have to be com-bined with other positioning solutions such as A-GPS, Wi-Fi, and dead reckoning to address the indoor coverageissue. Advances in GPS chipset development will enablelow-cost integration of GPS technology in all mobile

devices by 2013. This will drive new applications such asthe automatic geo-tagging of pictures taken with digitalcameras. Other innovative applications include road tollsystems and tourism. Mobile location-based social net-working features will be an important driver for the uptakeof GPS devices and applications in the consumer market.

Location ecosystem market to be 900+ units by 2013Personal Navigation device marketto grow many fold by 2013

Destinator launchescontent platform forPNDs and cell phones Destinator Technologies,US a navigation softwareprovider, has announcedthe launch of "tobe", a plat-form for personalized loca-tion-based content forPND’s and wireless deviceusers worldwide.

Initially, “tobe” users canaccess a wide range of serv-ices including: major citymaps, local search, travelguides, user generated con-tent on the best restau-rants, clubs and bars thatcan be shared with otherusers, point of interest shar-ing, buddy-finding, safetycamera information, realtime traffic alerts as well aslocal events updates.

Region-specific serviceswill also be featured intobe. For example, in China,Destinator has developedthe Public TransportationPlanner, which allows usersto find best route for busand subway travel. InNorth America, tobe willinclude a gas price compari-son service - automaticallysearching for the gas sta-tions within the 2.5 kilome-

tre radius for the lowestprice. “tobe” will be offeredto Destinator's partners inboth the PND and wirelessmarket as a value addedservice.

Network InMotion unveilsturn-by-turnnavigation viaWiMAX

Networks In Motion(NIM), the wireless naviga-tion and location-basedservices (LBS) company ofUSA, unveiled a WiMAXconnected navigation sys-tem solution. This 'proof ofconcept' is similar toinstalled auto navigationdevices, but with the abilityto access real-time locationassisted search and travelinformation.

The AtlasBook turn-by-turn GPS navigation appli-cation, which runs on theAzentek in-dash computerrunning Windows Vista(R);and uses WiMAX for wire-less data access, will soonbe available on touch-screen PCs installed intovehicles.

The proof-of-concept alsointegrates NIM'sNAVBuilder(TM) platform,which uses a client-serverarchitecture to provide afast, easy-to-use solutionon mobile phones--andnow PCs--with 'off-board'data that sends maps, localsearch results from serversto the device.

The technology also uses

NIM's AtlasBook(TM) prod-uct to provide maps, localsearch and turn-by-turndirections with voice guid-ance, 3D moving maps, andvisual instructions. It alsofeatures navigation basedon real-time and historicaltraffic information, auto-matic trip recalculation,and 3D perspective view. Itwill also allow users tosearch for points of interest(POIs), such as restaurants,hotels and ATMs, alongtheir route or around aselected location and willdisplay traffic incidents andweather conditions.

iPhone gets Wi-Fi positioningfrom SkyhookWirelessBoston based SkyhookWireless unveiled a newversion of the Map applica-tion for the iPhone and IpodTouch using cell ID andWiFi positioning. With thisnew version users are ableto locate themselves on themap using a com-bination of WiFiand cell towertriangulation.The cell towerpositioninghas beenprovidedbyGooglewhile theWiFi posi-tioningsystemis

provided by Skyhook Wire-less. Using Skyhook Wire-less iPhone's users will beable to narrow their loca-tion in a precise way thanin using only cell tower tri-angulation. When the loca-tion is requested a SkyhookWireless server sends backa position. But because inurban area there are manymore Wi-Fi access pointsthan cell towers it greatlyenhance the accuracy of theposition.

By mapping known Wi-Fisignals throughout entiremetropolitan areas, Sky-hook has built a database ofover 23 million Wi-Fi accesspoints with their locations.The patented technologybehind WPS leverages thatdatabase to provide loca-tion information. Skyhook’ssoftware-only systemoffershigh accuracy indoors andthe ability to make locationmore precise for users.

Wi-Fi positioning worksfine as far as the Wi-Fihotspots are correctly and


1 2 3 4

“tobe” homepage

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

Apple iPhone with WiFi Positioning

1 2 3 4

extensively mapped. Sky-hook is said to have a data-base that represents overseventy percents of theAmerican population andmore than 2,500 cities.

SiRF introducesSiRFInstantFixIISiRF Technology, USA aprovider of GPS semicon-ductors, introduced SiRFIn-stantFixII, a softwareenhancement to its GPSchipsets that is designed toimprove the start-up timesof portable navigationdevices (PNDs) and othermobile navigation devices.SiRFInstantFixII canachieve GPS start-ups in aslittle as five seconds.

It uses patent-pendingalgorithms that enable thePND to model the behaviorof visible GPS satellites dur-ing the day and predicttheir position in the sky forup to three days in thefuture. The new enhance-ment continuously refines its calculations based on the latest data it receivesfrom the satellites beingtracked every time the PNDis used. It performs thesecalculations completelyautonomously, withoutever needing updates ofany kind from a network.This technology was initial-ly developed by Centralitynow a SiRF’s concern.

Via Michelin to stopits PND business Facing business losses, ViaMichelin, France, stop pro-duction of its portable navi-gation systems. In the innercircles of European PNDmanufacturers it was wellknown that the brand, sub-sidiary of the tire maker,was losingmoney due tothe lack ofreal marketshare. In 2007its Europeanmarket sharewas belowfive percent everywhereexcept in France, its histori-cal market, where the com-pany had a market share of

more than ten percents.Additionally Via Michelinstarted to sell its productsin 2007 in the United States,but its distributionremained limited.

The company would refo-cus its activities on provid-ing services (real time traf-fic data, points of interests

from the digi-tal edition ofthe famousMichelinguide, etc…) toother PNDmanufactur-ers. However,

the company is looking fora manufacturing partner tokeep its brand alive on themarket.

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What do we do when we are into con-struction of a house? We get aplan/architecture of the house pre-pared. Ask for a civil engineer whoworks out the material requirements.Than we proceed with the constructionof the house, for which we start withthe procurements of raw materials likeiron, cement, bricks, stone chips etc if itis a brick and mortar house. Rarely, weask for getting the stone custom-chipped and bricks custom-baked asper our requirements.

In short what we are using raw materials which are a processed output other agencies. This process issimilar to a software application developer using SDKs/APIs. As the civilengineer does not go around gettingthe bricks baked or iron ore processedin the blast furnace, similarly theapplication developer will use soft-ware libraries which are designed forperforming specific functions, ratherthan worrying about writing codes forthose functions from scratch. Specifi-cally talking about geospatial industry,the custom software application devel-oper will not worry about the coretechnology to render map or read spa-tial data files. He will simply use anApplication Programming Interface(API) which helps him read spatial datafile or render the map on computerscreen.

But, as the requirement of raw mate-rial, will vary with what kind of con-struction we want as the end productlike: residential house, business com-plex etc., similarly the APIs are notsame for all the vertical segment appli-cation to be developed. They are

domain specific most of the time, if weleave aside the APIs from platformdevelopers like Microsoft etc.

Application Programming Interface APIs are a kind of software librarieswhich are developed for certain appli-cation. Hence an API will not serve theentire gamut of application softwaredevelopment requirements. As men-tioned before, for every specificdomain of software application devel-opment, we would need a set of APIs.

Similarly for the geospatial domainwe have specific set of APIs or softwarelibrary. These APIs will perform certainset of commonly known functions forus. Like map rendering (reading a mapfrom the hard disk and displaying it onthe computer screen), zoom in, zoomout pan, etc.

Following are some of the definitionsof an API:

• Application Programming Interface orAPIs are a set of interface definitions(functions, subroutines, data structuresor class descriptions) which togetherprovide a convenient interface to thefunctions of a subsystem and whichinsulate the application from the minuti-ae of the implementation. (http://www.taggly.com)

• An API is a set of commands, func-tions, and protocols which programmerscan use when building software for aspecific operating system. The APIallows programmers to use predefinedfunctions to interact with the operatingsystem, instead of writing them fromscratch. (http://www.iwebtool.com)

• An application programming interface(API) is a source code interface that anoperating system or library provides tosupport requests for services to bemade of it by computer programs.[1]Advanced programming interface is anear synonym with wider application

that predates the current commonusage. In the original term the conceptis meant to represent any well definedinterface between two separate pro-grams. (http://en.wikipedia.org)

Need for an APIThe benefit of this process is that theperson who is making iron rods hekeeps on specialising in his domain ofmaking good quality iron rods, contin-uously taking feedback from the con-sumers and doing his own researchand development to strengthen theproduct. Similarly in Geospatialdomain the application developmentand the product developer are segregated.

To begin with, if you are a starterwith GIS you do not need to break yourhead with geospatial APIs. But if you oryour organisation has been using GISfor some time and you/your organisa-tion understands the set the geospatialfunctionalities which would berequired by the people in your organi-sation, than you can have a softwaredeveloped, which would be customisedto the needs of the organisation andmoreover the look and feel would be intune with the practise followed by theorganisation.

Software Development Kit (SDK)Continuing the analogy of house con-struction, SDK would stand for a ware-house which has most of the rawmaterials required. It is important toknow that SDK too are specific for theirdomain, for which we are going towrite the application software. SDKscan also be visualised as a "SwissKnife", which can perform variety of functions.


APIs and SDKs Primer


By definition:• A Software Development Kit (SDK) isa set of tools used to develop applica-tions for a particular platform. An SDKtypically contains a compiler, linker, anddebugger. It may also contain librariesand documentation for APIs.(http://kyapoocha.com)

• SDK is a programming package thatenables a programmer to develop appli-cations for a specific platform. Typicallyan SDK includes one or more APIs,programming tools, and documentation.(http://webopedia.com)

Usage of Geospatial APIs & SDKs Some of the platforms where we seethe SDKs/APIs being used for are:

Mobile PlatformUsage of geospatial SDKs/APIs arewidespread for the mobile platforms.In this segment, last year "Android"was released. It is an open sourcemobile application development plat-form, under the umbrella of OpenHandset Alliance (OHA).

The OHA has is an outcome of partnership amongst over thirty technology and mobile companies.Android is not an exclusive geospatialmobile SDK. But it has geospatial components and would have animpact on the location based applica-tion development.

Few months before the launch ofAndroid, Magitti was launched whichis positioned as an intelligent mobileapplication development platform.Although it will not be there in thepublic domain for the developers, itdoes provide an indication of directionwhere the mobile platform is heading.The traditional geospatial softwaredevelopers like ESRI, MapInfo, Mani-fold, Tatuk and others too have SDKsfor the mobile platform.

Web PlatformIn this segment open source SDKs,

MapServer, from University of Min-nesota, and Google Maps API are quitepopular. In addition to them we havemany tools in the open source andcommercial domain. Off late, Mashupshave become quite popular which hasprovided the power to embed themaps into a website even to a generalpublic not into software programmingand code writing.

Desktop PlatformDesktop geospatial APIs, had evolvedwith the APIs themselves. Today morethan a decade since they came intoexistence, they continue to fuel thevertical segment application software.What started with MapObjects fromESRI, MapX from MapInfo etc havebeen joined by many APIs including

some which comes along with sourcecode in the commercial domain. Whichmeans, you get code to tweak andservice assurance along with it.

The SDK tools are further fragmentaccording to the core GIS functionali-ties, image processing facilities, satel-lite navigation and positioning receiv-er tools customisation, 3D image tools,database tools etc. On the applicationfront we have a long way to go beforewe have large numbers of geospatialSDKs for a specific segment. Also itappears that the geospatial elementsalong with the vertical segment engi-neering tools required for a verticalsegment available to the softwaredeveloper would evolve in more tight-ly equipped manner.

Maneesh Prasad, [email protected]

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 87 31

Agile (http://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Agile_software_de

velopment) refers a set of

project management and software engi-

neering practices which focus on reducing

project risk by incrementally developing

software through a series of iterations. In

order to understand many of the Agile con-

cepts, it's worth quickly reviewing how

software has historically been developed.

TRADITIONAL SOFTWAREDEVELOPMENT METHOD-OLOGIESSince about 1970, traditional softwaredevelopment has been approachedfrom a "waterfall" (http://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Waterfall_model) perspec-tive. This set of methodologies, whichwere inspired by civil and mechanicalengineering, approach software devel-opment as a series of steps which pro-ceed linearly to completion - not unlikethe building of a bridge. These steps aretypically broken out into Requirements,Specifications, Design, Coding, Testing,and Delivery. In the ideal waterfallworld, a team approaches a project andimmediately gathers all the knownrequirements from the stakeholders atonce. The team then retreats formonths or years during developmentand the end of which they have pro-duced working software that meets theinitial requirements of the users. Whilethis sounds good in theory, in practice

it has been less than successful. This isillustrated by the set of statistics aboutsoftware projects (Table-1)

There are several reasons why thesewaterfall methodologies tend to bechallenged or fail outright. One of theprimary reasons is that waterfallmethodologies do not embrace chang-ing requirements. The waterfallmethodology relies far too heavily onup-front requirements gathering anddoesn't address the users changingneeds as the development projectevolves. It assumes that the require-ments gathered at the outset of theproject will remain constant over thelifespan of the development process. Inreality, 35% of software requirementschange during a typical software devel-


Software Development

Agile Project Managem

opment project. Additionally, nearly65% of features developed in waterfallprojects end up being used rarely ornot being used at all. Given that up to50% of a project budget and schedule isdedicated to requirements gathering inwaterfall-type projects, this appears torepresent a substantial waste ofresources.

AGILE SOFTWARE DEVEL-OPMENT PRACTICESIn the early and mid-1990's, several dif-ferent factions within the softwaredevelopment industry began to con-sider the problems with traditionalwaterfall methodologies. They beganexamining the patterns and practicesof successful software development

teams to understand what made themdifferent from their peers. What theyfound was that the successful teamswere not following the traditionalwaterfall methodologies. They wereemploying iterative development prac-tices that emphasized constant user-developer interaction, self-organizingand self-managing developmentteams, and that truly embraced theever evolving nature of softwarerequirements. These ideas these fac-tions uncovered eventually congealedinto what we know today as “agile soft-ware development” practices.

In contrast to the rigid "big design up-front" waterfall models, Agile practicesfocus on lean requirements and designup front followed by iterative cycles ofdeveloping and releasing software tothe end users. The end user stakehold-ers are actively involved in the prioriti-sation of the requirements to be devel-oped in each iteration. Detailed require-ments, design, coding and testing are

all done in the iteration itself (two tofour weeks in length), and the output ofan iteration should be "shippable" func-tionality. These short iterations ensurethat the team is always developingwhat the end user really needs. Shouldthe team get off course, they will bebrought back in line with expectationsat the review meeting with the stake-holders at the end of the iteration. Thisis in stark contrast to waterfall method-ologies where this divergence is typi-cally found after the software isdeployed. In addition, the end userstakeholders may change, add, orremove requirements at the conclusionof each iteration to match their evolv-ing business needs. This helps ensurethat the end users receive the highestvalue for their money. Additionally,since Agile minimizes up-front design,there is no "lost" work should a require-ment be dropped and another oneadded.

Agile Requirements: User StoriesFrom a requirements perspective, ateam can never really collect "all thedetails" up front (if they did, they wouldhave written the software "up front").Agile embraces this reality, and onlyrequires high-level requirements at thebeginning of a project. These are typi-cally collected and stored as a set ofUser Stories. A user story is a plain Eng-lish explanation of what a user of thesystem wants to achieve. They typically


It is often said thatwhile agile will not solveall of your problems, itwill certainly surfacethem, because there isnowhere for them tohide

”

“

In 1994

• Only 16% of software projects are"Successful" - meaning on time, onbudget, and met user requirements

• 52% of projects were "Challenged" -meaning they slipped on time, budgetor requirements

• 31% were outright failures

By 2006 things improved:

• 35% of software projects are "Successful"

• 46% of projects were "Challenged"

• 19% are outright failures

Jim Johnson, President of the StandishGroup, notes that Iterative Developmenthas helped improve the more recent numbers.

From Software Development Times report on the 2006Standish CHAOS report (http://www.sdtimes.com/arti-cle/story-20070301-01.html)

Table 1

ent for GIS

take the form:"As a <type of user> I want to <some

action> so that I can <some goal>"For example..."As a Utility Manager I want to create

a map of active work locations so that Ican allocate resources effectively."

The nice thing about user stories isthat everyone on the project can under-stand them. As the team nears the timeof working on a particular user story,additional details are collected from thepertinent end users. As user stories arecollected, they become part of the Pro-ject Backlog shown in Figure 1

Managing the Process: ScrumScrum is the most widely used of thevarious Agile practices. It has beenadopted by large numbers of teams atYahoo, Google, Microsoft, Oracle and

IBM, therefore it comes very highly rec-ommended, with a lot of success stories(think Google Maps). In Scrum, all of theuser stories for a project are added intoa Project Backlog (figure 1). The order ofthe items in backlog is determined bythe priority assigned by the "productowner" (aka end user stakeholders). Inthis way the highest value items aredeveloped first. At the beginning of aniteration the team picks a set of itemsoff the backlog which they determinethey can complete in the iteration. Typ-ical iterations are two to four weeks inlength. The team then commits to com-pleting the items they have selected bythe end of the iteration. It should benoted that the specific items are notdictated to the team, and work itemsare not assigned to developers by amanager. An essential element of Scum

is that the team is self-organizing andself-managing. The internal team com-mitment is what drives the teamtowards excellence. Once the items areselected, the team then starts workingon the selected items. At the conclusionof the iteration, the team will havecompleted the backlog items they com-mitted to. Completion is defined atdesigned, coded, tested, and document-ed functionality. This is known as a"potentially shippable product incre-ment". At this time the team reportsback to the stakeholders and demon-strates the functionality they have cre-ated at an informal review meeting.They solicit feedback from the stake-holders, and create new backlog itemsfor things which need to be changed orfixed. Figure 2 illustrates the mechanicsof the Scrum process.

No InterruptionsDuring the course of an iteration, theteam is not to be interrupted by otherrequests for their time - they are 100%dedicated to their current backlog. Atthe end of the iteration new items canbe added to the backlog or team mem-bers can be pulled into other projects,but nothing can change.

Daily StandupIn any process where people are self-managed and self-organizing, there

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

Figure 1. Project Backlog is composed of all the user stories in the system

Figure 2. Scrum Process for an iteration


35G I S D E V E L O P M E N T F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

needs to be a lot of transparency. InScrum, the team meets every day for a15 minute time-boxed meeting - calledthe "Daily Scrum" or "Daily Stand-Up".At this meeting each team memberanswers three questions:

• What did you do yesterday?

• What are you doing today?

• Do you have any impediments?

By answering these three questions,the entire team is aware of the currentproject status, and issues are brought tothe forefront very quickly. It is oftensaid that while agile will not solve all ofyour problems, it will certainly surfacethem, because there is nowhere forthem to hide.

Constant ImprovementAt the conclusion of each iteration, theteam conducts and internal team meet-ing - a retrospective. This meeting is atime for the team to reflect on andimprove how they work. They discusswhat worked during the iteration,what did not, and anything they wantto change in the next iteration. Duringmy team's first scrum project, much ofour retrospectives focused on gettingcontinuous integration systems setup.

Applying Agile to GIS ProjectsScrum can and has been applied tomuch more than just software projects.It can be used to manage anything thatinvolves a team and some sort of deliv-erables. Thus, it could readily be appliedto any GIS project. That said, we believethat GIS development will see thebiggest benefit, simply because thereare so many tools and techniquesdeveloped for mainstream softwareprojects which support agile methods.

TOOLS FOR THE AGILEDEVELOPERAlongside those working on creating

agile project management practices,there were groups of developers refin-ing their development tools and tech-niques to embrace changing require-ments, while at the same time increaseefficiency and reduce defects. Thesetechniques are collectively referred toas "extreme programming" (XP). Thefollowing is a listing of the commontools and techniques that empower thedeveloper. The list is arranged in theorder that teams typically adopt thetools/techniques.

• Use of a Source Control System

• Automated Source Code Documenta-tion

• Use of refactoring tools to ensureclean software design

• Writing Unit Tests

• Creating an Automated Build process

• Utilizing a Continuous Integration sys-tem

• Test Driven Development

Source Control SystemsA source control system simply man-

ages the various versions of files usedin a development project. These filescan be source code, documents, orgraphics. I would tend not to put datain a source control system unless it wasused in some unit tests. The source con-

trol server allows the team to store suc-cessive versions of their source code, aswell as orchestrate the movement ofchanges between the various teammembers such that no changes are lostor overwritten. Given that Subversionis free, easy to install and easy to use,there is no reason that any developershould not be using source control.Assembla.com takes it one step further- anyone can signup for a free account,and create as many free public or pri-vate Subversion repositories as theywant. You can then invite other mem-bers to join your project. Additionally,they have tools built into the site thatScrum. Assembla is so compelling thatfor the time being our team is actuallyusing this service instead of setting upour own local Subversion server.

Source Code DocumentationAlso called automatic documentation,this refers to the inclusion of specialtypes of comments within the codebase, which are then automaticallyextracted into a set of documentationof the code. In Visual Studio, this is sup-ported for both Visual Basic and C#.When these comments are present, thecompiler automatically extracts them.Additional free tools (NDoc and Sand-

Figure 3. Continuous Integration system

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8G I S D E V E L O P M E N T 36

castle) can then be used to generatewindows or web help documents.Another tool worth mentioning is GhostDoc. This tool examines thename of the class/method/propertyand "ghost-writes" the documentationfor you.

RefactoringRefactoring is the process of reworkingthe internals of a piece of code, whilekeeping its external behavior the same.In ArcGIS development, there is a ten-dency to write long blocks of processingcode - select a feature, buffer it, selectother features, get related records... etc.A common type of refactoring in thiscase would be to extract blocks of thelong function into separate functions.The reason for doing this is that youwant to move towards having unittests for your code - and when creatingtests you want to test small parts inde-pendently. Doing this sort of refactor-ing manually can be difficult, but refac-toring tools like ReSharper can greatlysimplify things.

Unit TestingUnit Testing simply means writing testcode that executes your productioncode and validates its behavior. Somemight ask why this is needed - doesn'tthe developer test the code as it's devel-oped? In large systems, making achange to one area of the source codecould have wide ranging impactswhich are not obvious to the developer.Manual testing of a large system cantake days or even weeks.

Thus having a set of automated testscan help locate these regressions rapid-ly. The testing framework providessome functionality to help with thetesting - mainly ways to assert that theexpected behavior did or did not occur.When writing tests, you should focus

on testing small blocks of code ratherthan one big block. This helps enforcegood object oriented design (low cou-pling between classes, cohesive design)as well as giving the developer a betterhandle on where the error actuallyoccurred.

For developers working with the ESRIArcGIS platform, there are many addi-tional challenges - how to efficientlypass spatial data into a test, how todesign code that can be tested, while atthe same time correctly integrates intothe ESRI platform.

Automated Build ProcessOne of the big hurdles that most water-fall projects face is the final integration- getting all the parts and pieces of asystem to come together at the end ofthe project. By setting up an automatedbuild process, the team is able to buildthe entire system at any time. The buildbox becomes the authority on whetheror not some code "builds" - it's notenough for a developer to say "it builton my box!" Once you have the codebuilding, you can then take the buildprocess further and integrate the unittests, and packaging into an installer.

There are a wide range of tools tofacilitate automating builds - MSBuildwhich comes with the .NET Framework,and NAnt are the two most commonsystems in .NET.

Both use a declarative Xml syntaxwhich takes some time to get used to,but they are free, and extremely power-ful. There are also some GUI driventools such as FinalBuilder which workwith a wide array of compilers andsource control systems.

Due to the regular releases in an agile project, an automated build sys-tem is almost mandatory for an agileteam - it's well worth the investment intime.

Continuous IntegrationA continuous integration (CI) systembasically ties the automated build tothe source control system. When adeveloper checks in changes, the sourcecontrol system alerts a service whichthen initiates a build. If any errorsoccur, the entire team is immediatelynotified - there is no waiting for thenightly build to find out whose code"broke the build". Once you start using aCI system, you will not want to workwithout one. Figure 3 shows how a CIsystem integrates with the develop-ment environment.

Test Driven Development (TDD)TDD is a development methodology inwhich the tests are written before theproduction code. This has a number ofbenefits. Since the tests are writtenfirst, you ensure that the design istestable. Second, you have tests for theentire system. It also helps you to avoidadding in features you "think" you'llneed. Here's a good general rule: If youcan't write a test for it, you should notbuild it. TDD is a very common extremeprogramming (XP) technique and hasmany vocal advocates. Implementingpure TDD for GIS projects can be verydifficult because of the additional com-plexity of dealing with spatial datatypes. As more GIS developers start trying to work in this manner, theseissues will be resolved through opensource projects which will provide thescaffolding required.

Dave BouwmanSenior GIS Software Architec,Data Transfer [email protected]

Chris SpagnuoloAgile Evangelist,Data Transfer [email protected]

Rolta celebrates itssilver jubilee, thisyear. In the last 25

years, Rolta has grown to have a mar-ket cap that exceeds Rs. 5,000 Crores(US $ 1.25 Billion).

It started in 1980, when Mr. K K Singhcame to Mumbai and started an ITcompany with a group of 15 to 20 pro-fessionals with technical and manage-rial skills and a business model. Thattime there was a need for data process-ing jobs and they started with com-plete turnkey inter-branch sheet con-solidation with Bank of Baroda, CentralBank of India, and Union Bank of India.They then entered into development ofsoftware, inventory and payroll man-agement, financial accounting, andproviding enterprise solutions.

In 1985 they decided to enter theCAD/CAM/GIS market and soonrealised that there was ample scope forthese technologies, but to sustain itrequired business associations. In 1986Rolta partnered with Intergraph to pro-vide geospatial solutions to the gov-ernment departments.

The first breakthrough came whenRolta supplied digital mapping sys-tems and solutions to Survey of India(SoI) in 1986. This was followed by oth-er major surveying and mappingorganizations such as Forest Survey ofIndia (FSI), National Remote SensingAgency (NRSA), becoming their cus-tomers. By 1990 they ventured into the

manufacturing of hardware worksta-tions and also into software develop-ment.

In 1993 - 94, Rolta ventured intoturnkey projects solution and bagged a$50 million mapping project for Sauditelecom and later for Hong Kong tele-com and many others worldwide. Thisled to opening up ofoffices in the US, Europeand Middle East.

Later in 2000, theypurchased the licensesfor Internet servicesto create a technolo-gy fountain aroundwhich they coulddevelop compe-tence for e-enabling allGIS/CAM/CAD solu-tions. This helpedthem specialise intosecurity relatedtechnology byworking into a liveenvironment.

Today, Rolta isinto engineer-ing and geospa-tial technolo-gies, provid-ing end-to-

We always look beyond our immedia

G I S D E V E L O P M E N T38

K K SinghCMD, Rolta Group of Companies

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

The man who realised the impor-tance of modern technological tools,sensed the advent of knowledgeeconomy and felt the need of a'white collar industry' in late 70s

Celebrating Silver Jubilee

end solutions and has 70% market ofGIS/photogrammetry and around 85%of plant engineering. In the Internetsector, they provide e-security services.Rolta has grown systematicallythrough these years, taking one step ata time.

Acquisitions/Ventures/ Partnerships"Currently most companies are associ-ated with providing end- to-end solu-tions rather than building technologiesin isolation and Rolta is no exception”,

says Mr Singh. “We focus on customerrequirements and have built capacityto do so by joint ventures, partnershipswith other industry leaders like Inter-graph, Thales, Shaw Stone & Websterand acquisition of companies likeCanada- based Orion Technology."

The partnerships have helped Roltato develop a deep understanding ofinternational markets, continuouslyevolving technologies, operate at thehigher end of the value chain and pro-vide an unbeatable solution to cus-tomers.

INTERGRAPHRolta's 20-year exclusive partnership with Intergraph Corporation, USA, has provided technology solutions in India with significant value to both partners. Rolta and Intergraph have a long association in the defence sector and has developed an in-depth understanding of the Indiandefence requirements. It has committed substantial resourceswhich have enabled Indian defence to fully exploit the capabilities of the solutions, under demanding conditions.

ate opportunity as to what we can do

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T 39

How do you feel on theoccasion of 25 years of

Rolta?

As we celebrate our SilverJubilee, we are proud of ourmany accomplishments overthese 25 years. From humblebeginnings, we have grown tobecome a leader in the marketswe serve, and now have a mar-ket cap that exceeds Rs. 5,000Crores (US $ 1.25 Billion). 25years is both a long and a shorttime in the lifespan of anyorganisation. It is a short time tofully realise the potential of itsideas; while it is a time longenough to lay the ground workfor a great organisation. For usat Rolta, these 25 years havebeen punctuated by numeroussatisfying achievements, whilestill being insufficient to achieveall our ambitions.

What has been the corephilosophy of Rolta tthat

has led to achievement of thismilestone?

Our success is based onabsolute commitment to excep-tional standards of performanceand productivity, working togeth-er, leveraging core competenceand willingness to embrace newideas. We always look beyondour immediate opportunity as towhat we can do.

What have been the fac-tors that led to the growth

of Rolta in the geospatial spaceand what factors could have fur-ther enhanced this growth?

We are satisfied with ourachievement. When we startedout, our challenge was not onlyto establish ourselves but alsoto establish the market as well.There was no such thing asgeospatial market; there was noawareness about the technologyor what can be done. We werein a situation where we wereeducating the market, creatingthe market and educating our-selves, it was a very challengingaffair! Now, we are very happyof what we have achieved in the

last 25 years, in the Indian envi-ronment. We have not onlymoved forward in India but alsointernationally. Having said that,what can be done here is phe-nomenal and what we haveachieved is just the tip of theice-berg.

Whatt are the potentialareas of growth for the

geospatial industry in India andwhat initiatives are beiing takenby Rolta to achieve the same?

An important aspect to note isthat we are lagging in the fieldof mapping and geospatial tech-nologies but in the related fieldswe have gone forward as acountry. For example industrylike automobile where in carnavigation devices are madeavailable developed but withoutthe basic data like maps, etc.

The reason for this is that suchinformation databases are notyet made available and it is notpossible unless there are privateagencies which are fuelled to

generate and share such data.To generate such data willrequire efforts from the entireindustry, rather than one singlecompany, as the level of investment and growth potential will be tremendous. We have prepared ourselves by creating the market, spread-ing awareness, making invest-ments and partnerships with different companies, catering to both- national and interna-tional markets and have man-power to assist us in taking thecompany and the industry forward.

What policy reform doesRolta expect in the Indian

scennario, to harness the poten-tial of geospatial industry?

The Government of India isaware of this situation and wehope that the Policy reformshelp us establish an open envi-ronment for the creation ofdatabases and utilisation of theinformation with appropriatelicensing rights.

Q.

Q.

Q. Q.

Q.

K K Singh shares his views and visions…

STONE AND WEBSTER JV Rolta's joint venture (JV) with ShawStone & Webster, USA, provides engi-neering design services for Stone &Webster projects globally and engi-neering, design, procurement and con-struction management projects forlarge refineries and petrochemicalcompanies in India. The JV is very wellplaced to capture the huge opportuni-ties from the emerging nuclear powersector.

THALES JV Thales, France JV with Rolta provides

Command, Control, Communications,Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance,Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance(C4ISTAR) systems for Defence, Aero-space and Security markets in Indiaand overseas.

CA, MICROSOFT AND ORACLEPartnerships with Computer Associates

(CA), Microsoft and Oracle haveenabled Rolta to execute over 500 localand international projects with specificfocus in the areas of eSecurity, networkmanagement, enterprise applicationsand software development.

ORION TECHNOLOGY The acquisition of Orion Technology,Canada, enables Rolta to own technolo-gies for taking its GIS offerings to thenext level of sophistication. Orionemploys technologies that allow usersto connect to and integrate geospatialand non-spatial data from disparatesources and provides Rolta with a capa-bility for turning existing GIS invest-ments of customers into an enterprisesolution.

GROWTH STRATEGYAND FUTUREMr K K Singh summarises Rolta'sgrowth strategy in the foregoing para-

graphs, in consonance with the coun-try's economic growth model. To sus-tain India's GDP growth of over 9% perannum investments in India's infra-


The Academy provides an intense three months training pro-gram, as per requirements of the company using various lead-ing software packages and Rolta domain expertise to enableone to jump-start the career and be a professional with dis-tinct difference in skills.

Mr Singh says, "We are one of the few companies that havetaken steps to mitigate the increasing gap between thedemand and supply of the capacities for delivering the hightech solutions. For this we have set up our own academy, andthis academy is for our in house - Roltaites! We enrol peoplefrom different industry or fresh graduates and give them therequired training that focuses on tools, software, best practicesand everything else associated with the industry. After thetraining they are also sent for on job training and then arefinally assigned full time, for specific projects."

ROLTA ACADEMY…

Recognitions (BOX)

" Ranked amongst the'200 Best Companies in theworld' (sales under $ IBillion), three times in arow, by Forbes Global

" Conferred with the'GeoSpatial Leadership inIndia' award, rankedamongst 'India's mostinvestor friendlycompanies' by BusinessToday

" Listed amongst the 'Top 10Wealth Creators' in themid-cap segment, in India,by Hindustan Times

This academy is aninvestment in line withRolta’s corporatephilosophy to enhanceemployee profile andskills

”

“

Recognitions

41G I S D E V E L O P M E N T

structure are expected to exceed US $ 1 trillion. A majority of theseinvestments will flow into core sectors like, oil, gas, conventional pow-er, airports, ports, highways, utility dis-tribution, town planning, etc. Rolta isvery well placed to take advantage ofthese vast opportunities, due to itsleadership position in the GeoSpatial &

Engineering Design Automation seg-ments.

Over the next few years, in addition to exponential growth in oil,gas and conventional power, it isenvisaged that almost 40,000 MW willbe added through nuclear power inIndia. This is expected to generateinvestments of over US $ 100 billion.Rolta is strongly positioned to capi-talise on these large opportunitiesthrough its Joint Venture with ShawStone & Webster.

The Indian Defence and HomelandSecurity sector has emerged amongstthe biggest buyers worldwide and isexpected to spend over US $ 100 Billionin the next 5 years. There is increasingencouragement for the Indian privatesector to participate in defence produc-tion and to assume the role of suppli-ers of advanced technology. Rolta's JVwith Thales puts it in a formidableposition to address this huge opportu-nity as well.

With its acquisitions and joint ven-tures, Rolta's revenue is expected torise more than 40% in 2008/09, while

both profit and revenue are estimatedto rise 38 percent. Rolta's goal is to be a$1 billion company by 2010/11, with anemployee base of 12,000 from the pres-ent 4500, with its unique positon inthe markets like geospatial services,defence and engineering.

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

We are lagging in the field of mappingand geospatialtechnologies but inthe related fields wehave gone forward.Car navigationdevices are developedbut without the basicdata like maps, etc.

“

”

Vision Statement

Rolta will be the preferred choice for providing knowledge-basedIT solutions through pioneering efforts to meetmarket demands andexceed customer expecta-tions achieved by anempowered team ofRoltaites, for maximisingvalue to its stakeholders.

Digital mapping hasbeen the exclusivedomain of profession-

al GIS users until recently when Googlereleased a friendly mapping systemnamed "Google Maps". Google Maps gaveWeb developers the ability to add map-ping to their websites without consultingthe mapping specialist. Suddenly GIS wasboth a cool and indispensable feature ofwebsites.

Not to be outdone, Microsoft quicklyfollowed suit with "Virtual Earth" andmapping is now a mandatory compo-nent of nearly all Web sites. Thoughthis kind of simple "mash-up" mappingopened new possibilities for develop-ers, it didn't change the way geospatialsoftware is designed, developed orapplied, and it did little to help pro-grammers use the growing number ofgeospatial content sources like KML,GML, Web Map and Feature Servicesand others in their desktop applica-tions. However, The Carbon Project, a

world leader in geospatial interoper-ability, responded to this challengewith a software development frame-work called CarbonTools PRO™.

THE "COMFORT ZONE" OFPROGRAMMERSThe need for this type of interoperabili-ty is clear to anyone who has beentasked with creating a software pro-gram. This practical approach of apply-ing a software solution to geospatialinteroperability is the core motivationbehind CarbonTools PRO™, and a newgeneration of geospatial interoperabili-ty that's fast becoming reality.

As an example of the role of Carbon-Tools PRO in software developmentconsider how programmers use a com-mon graphics format found on theInternet, in Word documents, and indigital cameras, the Joint PhotographicExperts Group format (better known asJPEG).

The JPEG format is far from simple; ituses sophisticated mathematical algo-rithms to support data compression.Would JPEG be in common usage if adeveloper needed to regularly refer to

instruction manuals about compres-sion techniques? The answer is clearly"No". It is the ability to develop applica-tions using common tools, such asVisual Studio and frameworks such asMicrosoft .NET that have become intu-itive to developers, that makes the JPEGformat both viable and ubiquitous.

The Carbon Project® developed Car-bonTools PRO with this very concept inmind. Looking through the eyes of thedeveloper, the goal was to provide allthe tools necessary to add complexgeospatial data types and services totheir applications using a language

CARBONTOOLS PROGeospatialInteroperability forSoftware Developers


Software Development

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

that's in the comfort zone of the pro-grammer rather than the GIS profes-sional - much the same as JPEG is han-dled by non-mathematicians using the.NET Image class. CarbonTools PROaccomplishes this task by extendingthe Microsoft .NET framework ratherthan merely providing a stand-alonetoolkit.

The concept of extending the frame-work also means more than just pub-lishing software libraries. It means pro-viding documentation that looks andfeels like the mainstream frameworkuser guides programmers are familiarwith, providing code samples in popu-lar coding languages and even a licens-ing structure that doesn't limit theapplication developer in distributingtheir work (Imagine the horror andglobal outrage if Microsoft demanded a"per-seat" fee on software developedusing the popular Visual Studio!).

Handling the many varieties of con-tent found in the geospatial marketisn't as simple as manipulating a JPEG.It is a fact of life that geospatial contentand services come in many varietiesand formats. A minimal "must interop-erate" list then would include:

• Tile-based mapping services (GoogleMaps, Microsoft Virtual Earth, Yahoo!Maps etc.)

• Region-based mapping services(OGC WMS, WCS etc.)

• Features-based services (OGC WFS,Google's KML network links, Yahoo!

Traffic Web Services, GeoRSS feedsetc.)

• Features files (ESRI Shapefiles,Google Earth KML, GML, MIF, DXFetc.)

• Raster files (JPEG, TIFF, GeoTIFFetc.)

• Metadata sources (catalogs, OGCCapabilities etc.)

It's somewhat daunting that the GISand mapping community producedsuch a diverse range of data formatsand service types over the years. Thesevarying standards and formats has cre-ated a nightmare for the softwaredeveloper and while there are signifi-cant efforts at trying to converge to aunified standard or platform (like theOGC SDI 1.0 specifications) none actual-ly aims to do for geospatial contentwhat the Image class in .NET does forJPEG - allow programmers to spendmore time meeting software require-ments rather than dealing with thetedious low level details of providing aworking system.

A NEW ARCHITECTURETo construct a framework for geospa-tial interoperability, CarbonTools PROtakes a fresh design approach called theSource-Handler-Data™ architecture.This design makes working with manytypes of complicated geospatial con-tent a task that can be easily handledby most software developers. Forexample, if a programmer wants to add

maps from a SpatialData InfrastructureWeb Map Service toan application's mapcontrol, the C# codesnippet will looksomething like this:

To add featuresfrom an OGC WebFeature Service thesame Source-Han-

dler-Data™ coding pattern is used. Inthis example the GML features layerwill be a "Hospitals" from a Spatial DataInfrastructure service:

To add a Shapefile layer to the mapcontrol we can use the following C#code snippet:

Map tiles from Microsoft Virtual Earthmay be added the same way:

What these examples show is one ofthe principals of true interoperability -

that the data format, form or even theway it is served is not as important asthe ability to use it in a common soft-ware framework. CarbonTools PROapplies this principal to geospatialinteroperability with a framework that

addresses multiple formats and forms,while exposing a unified language thatfeels like a natural extension to the


// Set the source objectSourceWFS source = new SourceWFS();source.Address = newUri("http://server.com/WFS");

// Set the layer to readsource.Layers.Add(new WFSLayerType("Metro-Stations"));

// Set additional query parameterssource.MaxFeatures = 50;source.Format =CarbonTools.Content.OGC.GML.GmlVersions.GML3;

// Set the handler objectHandlerWFS handler = new HandlerWFS(source );multiMap1.AddLayer(new GeoObject(handler));

// Set the source objectSourceWMS source = new SourceWMS();source.Address = newUri("http://server.com/WMS");

// Set the layer to readsource.Layers.Add(new WMSLayerType("DigitalOrthos", ""));

// Set the handler objectHandlerWMS handler = newHandlerWMS(source);multiMap1.AddLayer(new GeoObject(handler));

The goal of this project was to pro-vide all the tools necessary to addcomplex geospatial data types andservices to their applications usinga language that's in the comfortzone of the programmer rather thanthe GIS professional

”

“

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

Microsoft .NET framework to softwaredevelopers. But this is just the begin-

ning of geospatial interoperability andwhere the real fun begins!

MORE THAN A MASH-UPSo what can developers do with a prod-

uct like CarbonTools PRO? A goodexample is CarbonArc PRO, an exten-sion for ESRI's ArcGIS 9.2 software cre-ated with CarbonTools PRO. CarbonArcPRO wraps content and services fromOGC SDI 1.0 and Microsoft Virtual Earthinto a set of tools that are easy to useright from the ArcGIS desktop. By plug-ging into ArcGIS, CarbonArc PRO letspeople use any OGC SDI 1.0 Web serviceand Virtual Earth as an integral part ofthe GIS, including Hillshade Maps, Aeri-al Maps, Road Maps, WMS, WFS, WFS-T,WCS, Filter Encodings, Gazetteer, GML,GMLsf and Catalog Services (CS-W).CarbonArc PRO eases existing GIS intoall these new geospatial content typesand services with minimal expenseand disruption because it's based on asoftware framework for geospatialinteroperability - CarbonTools PRO.

CarbonTools PRO not only includestools for access to new geospatial con-

tent types and services it also wrapsvery complicated standards into toolsthat are easy for programmers to use.For example, OGC SDI 1.0 has somepretty complicated concepts, like WFSFilters, that would be pretty hard forprogrammers to figure out without theadvances provided by CarbonToolsPRO.

WFS Filter is one of the most powerful(and least understood) technologies inOGC. The basic concept of a Filter is toprovide a SQL-like spatial and logicallanguage to make advanced dataqueries possible in a web services envi-ronment. Filters do this by employing aseries of logical ("AND" this, "OR" that),comparison (is this "Equal To") and spa-tial (does that road "Intersect"?) opera-tors. When wrapped up into easy to usetools like CarbonTools PRO, the FilterEncoding (FE) specification lets pro-grammers quickly add complex and

// Set the source objectSourceVirtualEarth source = new SourceVir-tualEarth();source.MapStyle = MapStyles.Hillshade;

// Set the handler objectHandlerVirtualEarth handler = new HandlerVir-tualEarth(source);multiMap1.AddLayer(new GeoObject(handler));

// Set the source objectSourceVirtualEarth source = new SourceVir-tualEarth();source.MapStyle = MapStyles.Hillshade;

// Set the handler objectHandlerVirtualEarth handler = new HandlerVir-tualEarth(source);multiMap1.AddLayer(new GeoObject(handler));

Figure 1. CarbonTools PRO makes it easy for software developers to use all types of geospatial content and services in their applications -including WMS, WFS, GML, Shapefiles, Microsoft Virtual Earth and more

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 844 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T

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powerful geospatial web servicequeries to their applications. Thismeans is a quantum leap in technologyfrom the days when geospatial contentwas delivered as files and CDs - and abig step beyond simple "mash-up map-ping" like Google Maps.

One example of how Filters and aframework like CarbonTools PRO can beused by programmers to create newapplications was demonstrated at therecent Canadian Geospatial Data Infra-structure (CGDI) Interoperability Pilot,viewed by over 500 online attendees,on November 30, 2007.

One part of the demo illustrated howemergency analysts would employOGC Filters, WFS services and data fromCGDI - for analysis. The project had therequirement to use a simulated releaseplume polygon to construct new fea-tures such as impacted roads andplaces. This involved intersecting

release plume polygons with impactedareas, but the project wanted to showhow the online CGDI service could beused do the analysis, instead of usingthe traditional approach of doing theanalysis on the desktop GIS.

Here's how it worked - we used Car-bonTools PRO to quickly create anapplication to run in the ArcGIS desk-top. With this application a user couldselect an existing GML or Shapefile fea-ture (a release plume polygon), con-struct an OGC Filter Encoding requestusing Spatial Operators (in this case itwas the Spatial Operator "Intersect"),send it to CubeWerx Web Feature Ser-vice, and acquire impacted roads andplaces from the WFS in GML. Finally,the results were overlaid on top of aCGDI WMS or tiles from Microsoft Vir-tual Earth.

The application was showed working"live" in front of an online audience of

500 people after just a few hours ofdevelopment with CarbonTools PRO,and it worked flawlessly.

CarbonTools PRO is already in usearound the world and changing theway geospatial software is developed,and helping programmers use thegrowing number of geospatial contentsources like KML, GML, Web Map andFeature Services in their desktop appli-cations. Obviously, there's a lot morethat can be done by innovative pro-grammers but we hope this article hasgiven you a taste of the new generationof geospatial interoperability madepossible with CarbonTools PRO(www.CarbonTools.com).

Jeff HarrisonCEO, The Carbon [email protected]

Figure 2. CarbonTools PRO not only includes tools for access to new geospatial content types and services it also wraps very complicatedstandards, like OGC Filter, into tools that are easy for programmers to use

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 846 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T

A hundred thousand lives …A hundred thousand lives …A hundred thousand lives …A hundred thousand lives …A hundred thousand lives …One commitment

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How do we measure our success? It’s when we utilizethe intricacies of geo-spatial technology to enablethe farmer to manage his land better. It’s when oursophisticated land information systems break thebarriers to smooth, efficient urban governance. It’swhen our aerial and land survey techniques open thedoors for optimum management of natural resources.It’s when we utilize our skills in analysing spatial datafor greening wastelands.

It’s when we know that somewhere, sometime wecontinue to touch lives to enable a better world.

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Spectrum Mapping, LLCwww.spectrummapping.com

If asked to sum up GeoServer ina single sentence one could saythat it is 'an open source server

for publishing geospatial data'. Howev-er this definition hardly does justice, asthere are a variety of different aspectsto the project. Depending on where oneis sitting, GeoServer can look like some-thing different.

To the geographer it is a system whichprovides mapping functionality. To thedata provider it is a technology used topublish geospatial data onto the WorldWide Web. To the programmer it is aJava Enterprise (J2EE) web applicationdeployable into any J2EE applicationserver. To the standards body it is theimplementation of a number of openweb standards such as Web FeatureService (WFS) and Web Map Service(WMS).

THE GEOSERVER PROJECTThe GeoServer project was started in2001 by The Open Planning Project(TOPP), a small non-profit companybased out of New York. The initial tar-get for the project was to enable accessto the data behind maps, to utilize it foranalysis and modeling. However itevolved quickly. At around the same

time the Open Geospatial Consortium(OGC), an organization made up ofindustry experts who define geospatialweb services, published the Web Fea-ture Service (WFS) specification. WFSdefined the protocol of a web servicefor serving geographical data in vectorformat. TOPP felt that while an opensource implementation of WFS applieddirectly to their needs, it could alsohave an immediate value to otherorganizations as well. This in turn couldhelp to improve spatial data infrastruc-ture in the United States.

Since then GeoServer has grown sig-nificantly. GeoServer 1.0 was releasedin October of 2003. That month Source-Forge tracked approximately 500downloads of the GeoServer package.In August of 2007 GeoServer 1.5.3 wasreleased, with the number of down-loads for that month at approximately8500. As the download count and gen-eral activity around the project grew, sodid its community of users and devel-opers. It is the strength of this commu-nity which has made GeoServer a suc-cess. The project has always been opennot only in terms of source code, butalso in terms of process. Managementof the project has always been delegat-ed to the wider community and notdriven solely by the agenda of a singleorganization. While it is true that TOPP

has been the primary source of fundingfor day to day maintenance, the projectis managed by the greater communitymade up of individuals from a numberof organizations. The Project SteeringCommittee (PSC) is made up of experi-enced developers and users from sixdifferent companies spread worldwide.

It is this type of open process that hasled to the contributions and develop-ment which have made GeoServerwhat it is today. GeoServer 1.0 wasmainly the work of TOPP funded by theOGC to implement the WFS specifica-tion. Shortly after the 1.0 release, a pro-grammer working for a Spanish com-mercial company implemented WMSsupport with funding from the Basquegovernment. GeoServer 1.2 saw a con-tribution from Refractions Research, aCanadian based company well knownin the open source world for developingPostGIS. Refractions built a data valida-tion engine and also developed a webbased administration tool. In 2005GeoServer saw the addition of a WebCoverage Service (WCS) and full rastersupport, a contribution made by anItalian company known as GeoSolu-tions.

SUCCESS STORIESOne of the biggest GeoServer successstories has been The Office of Geo-graphical and Environmental Informa-tion of the state of Massachusetts.known as 'MassGIS' (http://www.mass.gov/mgis/). They are usingGeoServer to serve base map data forthe entire state of Massachusetts. SaulFarber, a technical lead at MassGIS WebServices, is also an active GeoServerdeveloper. Saul's interaction with theproject really shows the power of a suc-cessful open source community. Hestarted off as a normal user who decid-


Server Tools

GeoServer: AGeospatial Serverfor Everyone

GeoServer: AGeospatial Serverfor Everyone

ed that GeoServer could potentially bea good fit for his organization. After afew months of being active on themailing list and submitting patches,Saul was granted full GeoServer com-mit status. Currently he sits as a mem-ber of the Project Steering Committeeand is regularly submitting improve-ments and bug fixes. This is the perfectmodel of how an every day user canbecome part of the community andhave a voice in project managementand overall direction. A various numberof other organizations are also usingGeoServer in production systems. TheGreat Lakes Commission (http://www.glc.org) is using GeoServer to publishdata on their Great Lakes InformationNetwork. They have made a variety oflayers available including elevation/bathymetry, hydrography, geodeticcontrol, cadastral, transportation,administrative /governmental bound-aries, and orthoimagery. Landgate(http://www.landgate.wa.gov.au/)maintains the Western AustraliaState's official register of land owner-ship and survey information and isresponsible for valuing the State's landand property for government interest.They are currently using GeoServer toserve their data as WFS and KML,including layers with building foot-prints, acid sulphate soil risk, bush fireservices districts, apiary sites, cadastral,

forest disease risk areas, public drink-ing water source areas, and more.

It is these 'real world' uses that vali-date GeoServer as a true competitor ina GIS world dominated primarily byproprietary software. Beyond theadvantages that come with being pure-ly open source, GeoServer comes outahead of the proprietary counterpartsin a number of other areas as well.Being built on open standards like WFSand WMS means that any serviceofferred by GeoServer speaks an 'open'protocol. The benefit of such a protocolis that any organization wishing toimplement it can do so. This meansthat any client that supports the proto-col can talk to any server that also sup-ports it. The upshot of this interoper-ability is that GeoServer can commu-nitcate with a variety of clients, bothproprietary and open source. This givesthe end user a choice instead of beinglocked into a single solution based onsoftware which communicates over apropreitary or closed protocol.

ENHANCEMENTSSomething that users have continuallycommented on is the ability of theGeoServer project to quickly adopt newinnovations and technologies in theweb mapping world. GeoServer wasone of the first products to provide KMLoutput with Google Earth and Maps.Which to this day remains superior toany other servers capability of produc-ing KML. Shortly after the Web MapService Tiling recommendation wasreleased, GeoServer implemented tiledrendering for WMS. Formats likeGeoRSS and GeoJSON, which have beenincreasing in popularity, wereimplmeneted shortely there after. Thistype of rapid feature support pays trib-ute to the agility of the project and itsability to stay on the cutting edge. The

best part of all is that users gets thesefeatures for free, instead of having topay a fees that come with proprietarysoftware packages.

While new and exciting features arealways the focus of development, so isconstant work on improving systemstability and performance. TheGeoServer 1.6.0 release came with somesignificant performance enhance-ments. A talk at the 2007 Free and OpenSource for Geospatial (FOSS4G) confer-ence, presented benchmarks ofGeoServer against other WMS soft-ware. To the surprise of much of theaudience GeoServer came out as beinga faster than the competition.

GEOTOOLSBeing written purely in Java, GeoServerhas a strong relationship with otheropen source Java based GIS projects.Much of the 'hard work' that is doneinside of GeoServer such as reading andwriting of various spatial data formats,coordinate system transformations,and rendering are provided by otherlibraries. Many of the GeoServer coredevelopers are also active developersand contributors on these other proj-ects. The most notable of these is Geot-ools, which predates GeoServer by afew years. Geotools is a general pur-pose GIS toolkit which provides muchof the functionality that is fundamen-tal to any GIS.

Geotools is an extensive library. Forthose readers who may be familiarwith open source GIS toolkits in the Cworld, Geotools is the equivalent ofPROJ, GDAL, and OGR all lumped intoone. Support for geographic coordinatesystem transformation is very com-plete, including shifts between sphe-roids and datums. The library also pro-vides the low level drivers for a widevariety of spatial data formats. The list


At the time of GeoServer1.0 release in October2003, SourceForge tracked approximately 500downloads and the numbergrew to 8500 by the releaseof GeoServer 1.5.3 inAugust 2007

“

”

of supported vector formats is exten-sive and includes many file based for-mats like ESRI Shapefile, GeographicMarkup Language (GML), MapInfo(MIF), Vector Product Format (VPF), andGPS Exchange (GPX). In addition is sup-port for spatial databases such as Post-GIS, Oracle Spatial, MySQL, DB2, andArcSDE. A more recent addition to thetoolkit has been raster support. Thisincludes common formats like Geotiff,World Image, Ascii Grid, Network Com-mon Data Form (NetCDF), and USGSDEM (GTOPO30). Furthermore are toolsfor building image mosaics and pyra-mids for high performance rasteraccess. Currently under developmentare the drivers for the Enhanced Com-pression Wavelet (ECW) and Multi-Res-olution Seamless Image Data (MrSID)formats, which are geared toward effi-cient access of extremely large volumesof raster data.

JTSAt the heart of Geotools and GeoServerlies the Java Topology Suite (JTS). JTS isthe core geometry engine used for rep-resenting geometric objects and therelationships among them. It containsrobust implementations of all the spa-tial predicates including intersection,containment, and touching to name afew. The term 'robust' in this context is

used literally. The implementations ofthe various spatial predicates handle allcorner cases involving 'strange' coordi-nates which often lead to failures inother libraries and implementations.This property of robustness is some-thing that is unique among similarproducts, both proprietary and opensource. So much so that a C++ port ofJTS was created. Named GEOS, it servesthe same function to many GIS applica-tions which are written in C.

LIBRARY INTEGRATIONThe relationship to other open sourceprojects is not limited to geospatial.GeoServer makes use of a number ofother open source libraries. The mostnotable being the Spring Framework, afull-featured framework for buildingJava applications. Over the last fewyears Spring has become one of themost widely used frameworks in theJava world, particular in the enterprise.Anyone who has done any non-trivialJava enterprise programming canattest to the fact that the componentsof a J2EE application can become quitecomplex. JSP, JMS, JTA, and JDBC arejust a few of the many technologiesthat can make up a single application.One of the advantages of Spring is thatit simplifies all of that. Spring providessupport for the wide variety of Javaenterprise technologies while at thesame time providing an abstraction ontop of them. This in turn provides amuch simpler programming model forbuilding applications which does notrequire a programmer to learn theentire J2EE stack.

GeoServer was not always based onSpring. The move to Spring occurred in2006 and was driven from the desire tomake GeoServer less monolithic andmove to a more component orientedarchitecture. The end goal of this was to

lower the entry barrier for new pro-grammers wishing to join the project.The idea being that a component basedarchitecture would allow developers toget up and running quickly by extend-ing GeoServer via simple and isolatedplug-ins, rather then having to learnthe inner works of the entire system.When evaluating various frameworksto use in the implementation of a newmodular GeoServer, it became evidentthat something non-invasive would beneeded. While application frameworksare nice in that they provide much basefunctionality out of the box, they alsocome with the price of having to imple-ment a number of interfaces and rou-tines used by the framework. If awealth of code is already in place, aswas the case with GeoServer, this pricecan be quite high. This non-invasivenature coupled with a very rich set ofAPI's led the project to choose Spring.

One of the biggest benefits of themove to Spring was a complete securitysubsystem. Called 'Acegi', it is a securityframework which works seamlesslywith Spring applications.

It supports a wide variety of authenti-cation schemes such as basic and digestbased authentication, LDAP, and more.To this day the issue of security hasbeen largely ignored in the world ofgeospatial web services. Securityremains a gaping hole in open sourceand proprietary products alike. While itis still in its infancy as part of GeoServ-er, Acegi has a lot of potential and issomething that will be a focus of devel-opment in the future.

Also among the popular libraries usedby GeoServer is Freemarker, an opensource 'template engine'. A templateengine is a tool which takes data, runs itthrough a series of rules and logic (thetemplate), and produces a presentationof that data based on those rules. One of


GeoServer Architecture

the problems with open source software like GeoServer isthat sometimes an application can be too generic. It may pro-vide 95% of the functionality a user requires, but is missingthat last little bit. The answer to this dilemma is a template.A template puts the control in the hands of the end user byallowing them to specify what the presentation of the datashould look like. One of the more popular uses of templates inGeoServer is with KML, the data format used by Google Earthand Maps. The KML format has the notion of a 'placemark',which is used to signify the location of some object.

A placemark also provides a description of whatever is atthat location. The description can be anything from raw text,to an image or graphic, to some HTML. The contents of aplacemark description are something that is unique to thatspecific dataset so it makes sense to have the user design thetemplate themselves. Creating a template is as easy as open-ing a text editor like Notepad, writing the template whichfollows a simple markup syntax similar to HTML, and savingthe file to a special location. The user developing a templatehas the full power of the Freemarker library at their disposalallowing them to perform tasks from simply filtering attrib-utes to creating some elegant HTML.

FUTUREThe future for GeoServer continues to look bright. With the community and interest around the project continuingto grow 2008 should prove to be a great year with someexciting new developments on the horizon. People canexpect continued work on the versioning extensions for WFS. Data versioning has always been something only avail-able with expensive 'high-end' solutions like Oracle andArcSDE. The prospect of providing versioning out of the boxwith GeoServer is a constant source of excitement amongusers. Also of much anticipation is the integration of anembedded transaction aware tile cache. Codenamed 'GeoWe-bcache', this feature will address the static limitations of con-ventional tile caching when working with data that is con-stantly being updated. These are a few of the many innova-tions that have yet to come. Readers are encouraged to visitthe GeoServer home page (http://geoserver.org) to find outmore about what is happening. Or send a message to the mailing list ([email protected]) to voice an opinion aboutwhat features andimprovements theywould like to see in thecoming future.

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

Justin DeoliveriaDeveloper, [email protected]

Adecade ago, Trimble Naviga-

tion recognized the need to

make interfacing to GPS easy

for professional software developers. Trim-

ble realized that a toolkit was necessary for

geologists, surveyors, utility engineers and

legions of other users to have GPS capabili-

ties integrated into the software applica-

tions they needed to do their jobs.

Trimble created the GPS Pathfinder®Tools Software Development Kit (SDK)

to enable developers to seamlesslyintegrate GPS into existing applicationsor build entirely new field productivitypackages. The ultimate goal of GPSPathfinder Tools SDK was to empowerdevelopers and end users to fully lever-age the flexibility and accuracy of GPSmapping within a familiar softwareenvironment.

The introduction of the Trimble® GPSPathfinder Tools SDK has significantlybenefited the worldwide community ofmapping and GIS users-as well as the

GPS industry-by stimulating demandfor GPS technology. Availability of theSDK package has enabled software

developers to add value to the basicGPS receiver and rapidly expand its

application in hundreds, if not thou-sands, of vertical user markets

that now rely on GPS formapping, navigation andtracking on a daily basis.

SIMPLIFYING APPLICATION

DEVELOPMENTIn 1998, Trimble's highly successful

line of ruggedized GPS PathfinderGPS receivers had played a major role

in developing what is now referred toas the mobile GIS market, comprised

of professional end users whose liveli-hoods depended on the high-qualityperformance of their GPS receivers. Onedrawback to successful development ofthe professional surveying and map-ping market was the standard NMEA

protocol, which was and still is used bymost GPS receivers. NMEA did notaccommodate the coding capabilitiesfor programmers to open the receiversup to the level of performance andfunctionality.

Without a toolkit and without usingthe NMEA protocol, the primary optionfor developers was to write code usingthe proprietary binary protocol for eachGPS receiver. But this was not a practi-cal alternative because the developerswould find themselves re-writing the


Trimble GPS Pathfinder Tools SDKLeveraging full GPS capabilities

Mobile SDK

software code every time a new orupgraded model was introduced. Evenin 1998, GPS vendors were updatingtheir receivers about every 18 months,making it impossible for developers tokeep their applications up to date.

Trimble saw the limitations of devel-oping using the NMEA protocol as oneof several weaknesses that had to beovercome for widespread professionaldeployment of GPS to occur. To accom-plish this, the GPS Pathfinder Tools SDKhad to be developed with the program-mer in mind. Specifically, Trimblewanted its SDK to allow softwaredevelopers to write their code oncewithout having to worry about futureGPS hardware releases. In other words,custom applications developed withthe SDK would accommodate anyTrimble device, past, present or future.

Today, this remains the hallmark ofthe Trimble SDK. It provides seamlesscompatibility with the full line ofrugged GPS receivers and handhelddevices offered by the Trimble Mapping& GIS division, including the TrimbleGeoExplorer® series, Trimble Nomad™,and Trimble Recon™ handhelds and theGPS Pathfinder series receivers.

ADDING PROFESSIONALCAPABILITIESTrimble introduced the SDK originallyas an ActiveX® toolkit in 1998 andupgraded it to Microsoft® COM in 2004to work seamlessly in the MicrosoftVisual Studio® environment. In addi-tion to providing multi-platform andreceiver compatibility, the GPSPathfinder Tools SDK overcame threecritical NMEA weaknesses.

The first weakness was that theNMEA protocol offered users very limit-ed abilities to configure their GPSreceivers beyond what the outside but-tons and dials could. The SDK opened

the receivers up to the developers sothey could access the inside of thedevices and maximize the performanceto meet the needs of specific end userapplications and ensure they were col-lecting the most accurate data possible.For the first time, users could fullymanage the set-up, control and statusof their units.

By packaging the diversity and com-plexity of GPS functionality intoActiveX and then COM objects, the kitmade it possible for developers with lit-tle or no knowledge of GPS or mappingto tap into advanced functionality. Thisin turn gave the end users a greaterselection of settings and configurationsto control real-time differential sources,establish radio and cellular communi-cations links, and set accuracy thresh-olds.

Another NMEA drawback overcomeby the GPS Pathfinder Tools SDK relatedto post-processing. NMEA doesn't allowfor logging of raw data points for post-processing with base station or othercorrection points back at the office.Even today, this is a potentially devas-tating problem for mobile GIS usersbecause real-time differential correc-tion sources are not always readilyavailable or economically viable in allparts of the world. And even if they are,the professional GPS user typicallywants to collect post-processing datawhile still in the field to ensure uniformdata accuracy in case of data drop outsor errors. The SDK gives users the abili-ty to log their raw data points andcheck their accuracy in the field.

The third major NMEA problem thatthe SDK was built to address is the issueof coordinate conversions. BecauseNMEA was originally intended for mar-itime applications, it only operates inlatitude/longitude coordinates. Formost mapping and GIS users, this

means the data must be converted intoa local coordinate system.

Although making this conversion is arelatively straight-forward process,Trimble found that many softwaredevelopers unfamiliar with geodesyintroduced errors into the calculationsbecause they did not fully understandthe impact that even the smallesterrors could have on the overall conver-sion. To eliminate this problem, Trim-ble included a library of more than 900local coordinate systems into the SDKalong with on-the-fly calculation capa-bilities, resulting in extremely accuratecoordinate conversions in real time.

LEVERAGE CRITICAL GPSCAPABILITIESThe Trimble GPS Pathfinder Tools SDKsupports industry-standard Windows®operating systems, including WindowsMobile® software. Its use of the COMinterfacing technology means thatmost experienced developers workwith it seamlessly in Visual Studio.COM has also enabled Trimble to createa wide variety of programming objectsthe programmers can access to inte-grate complex GPS capabilities intotheir applications with minimal GPSfamiliarity.

Integrated as standard features intomany professional applications, theseGPS capabilities extend tremendous


Trimble SDK providesseamless compatibilitywith the full line ofrugged GPS receiversand handheld devicesoffered by the TrimbleMapping & GIS division

”

“

advantages to SDK developers andtheir end users. The following is a sum-mary of the key capabilities made pos-sible by the GPS Pathfinder Tools SDK.

Full GPS Accuracy Control-For mostGPS users, the ultimate goal is to collectlocation coordinates with accuracy thatmeets the needs of their specific appli-cation. These accuracy parameters varyfrom one industry-and often one proj-ect-to the next.

The SDK allows the developer to givethe end user the ability to easily definethe accuracy thresholds of their projectso the receiver can essentially config-ure itself and eliminate the guess-workand some of the decision making fromthe end user.

Control over Differential CorrectionSources-As noted above, accuracy is theultimate goal, and for many mobile GISapplications, differential correctionplays a role in data collection. Becausedifferential correction can be quitecomplicated and require on-the-spotdecision making by the end user, theSDK simplifies the process to put theuser in control over this aspect of con-figuration.

The end user's selection of differentialcorrection source is usually dictated byfinancial considerations and availabili-ty within a specific geographic region.Most users will select the free alterna-tive when it's available. But theseoptions vary with location, and the usertypically wants to make that decision.The decision may also involve selectionof which communications method (cel-lular, WiFi, etc.) will be used.

The GPS Pathfinder SDK allows to takethis into account by setting up simpleinterfaces where the end user can entertheir correction preferences, includingaccess numbers and passwords. In thefield, the user can quickly select thebest option from an interface list so the

most accurate and most affordable oneis used during that session. The devel-oper can also program in a set of rulesas a default by which the receiver canchoose the correction source accordingto user specifications.

Raw Data Logging Control-As notedearlier, the majority of mobile GIS userswant to log their raw data in the fieldso they can perform post-processinglater. Even when they don't plan to uti-lize post-processing, the procedure maybe necessary if errors occur. With this inmind, SDK gives the end user the abilityto select whether raw data will belogged or not. Most organizationschoose to enable data logging duringthe initial receiver set-up and then for-get about it. That ensures the data isthere if it's needed.

H-Star Data Collection-Trimble intro-duced the H-Star™ data collection tech-nology for subfoot accuracy in 2006 forthe line of GeoXH™ handheld and GPSPathfinder ProXH™ receivers. Withthree base stations operating within125 miles/200 kilometers, this technolo-gy enables the devices to easily andquickly acquire location data from onefoot down to less than an inch, thedesired accuracy for most GIS mappingtoday. The SDK allows programmers tointegrate this capability directly intomobile applications.

In the subfoot mapping environment,the correct setting of certain GPSparameters, such as selection of appro-priate differential correction sources,become exceedingly important. TheGPS Pathfinder SDK toolkit gives devel-opers and end users the ability to accessH-Star technology to maximize effi-ciency and minimize cost. This makesthe Trimble Mapping & GIS receiversthe easiest devices to use for collectionof subfoot GPS data without transition-ing to survey-grade equipment.

APPEALING TO DEVELOPERSThe Trimble GPS Pathfinder Tools SDKhas become known as the toolkit devel-oped by programmers for program-mers. Its ease of use and excellent sup-port along with its royalty-free termshave made the SDK extremely popularamong worldwide third-party develop-ers of mapping and GIS packages. Trim-ble estimates that nearly 80 percent ofactive SDK purchasers are using theproduct to create outside applicationsfor re-sale, mostly within vertical mar-ket segments. The remaining 20 per-cent are developing customized in-house applications.

The vast majority of third-party pack-ages are being built for mobile applica-tions running on handheld mobile GISdevices with integrated GPS hardware.Trimble believes that many of theseapplications serve users in the utility,government and architectural/engi-neering/construction markets, whichare the major segments of the compa-ny's overall client base.

When asked why developers chosethe Trimble GPS Pathfinder Tools SDKover other products, they typicallyresponded that they like the fact theircode is compatible with all Trimble GPSreceivers and platform.

Secondly, developers appreciate thatCOM hides the complexity of GPS innerworkings and coordinate conversionsin simple objects so they can focus oncreating the application without hav-ing to keep up with latest GPS technicalminutiae.

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

Paul MansonProduct Marketing ManagerTrimble Navigation New [email protected]


GeographyMarkup Lan-guage (GML)

has emerged in the past severalyears as a primary means for theexchange, sharing and aggrega-tion of geographic information.This is true increasingly for vec-tor based data and we can antici-pate will also be true for imagingdata in the near future.

GML application schemas exist formost of the traditional GIS data formatssuch as S57, VPF, DAFIF, Tiger/Line. Inaddition, some GML applicationschemas have become standards intheir own right such as cityGML, AIXM,XMML, and GeoSciML.

With the increased understanding ofspatial information infrastructures as ameans of sharing geospatial informa-tion in real time or near real time, weanticipate increased use of GML forincremental updates to geospatialdatabases, achieved in most casesthrough Web Feature Service (WFS)interfaces.

This increased use of GML demandsbetter tools for creating and editingGML, and for reading GML into in mem-ory objects for data manipulation andanalysis. Since XML Schema on whichGML is based is not truly object orient-ed and makes use of constructs likechoice groups and substitutions, work-ing with GML (or even XML) may be for-eign to some developers. This is madeall the more complex, by the fact thatGML is also a schema definition lan-guage, so that while there are manyconcrete object types defined in GML

itself, users define entire new sets ofobjects in GML application schemas.For these reasons, GML may present asteep learning curve for the averagedeveloper. For these reasons Galdosdeveloped the gmlSDK, a comprehen-sive and portable class library writtenin C++ for the creation of in-memoryobjects from GML and for writing GMLfrom in memory representations ofgeographic objects.

To illustrate the use of the gmlSDK weconsider a few simple tasks and how touse the library to accomplish them. Westart with traversing a GML object.

TRAVERSING A GMLOBJECTA GML object for our purposes is anXML element whose content model isdescribed by a schema component(XML Schema type declaration) in asuitable GML application schema. GMLobjects are always elements whosechildren are the properties of the object.We might for example have a road

object of the form:

Here the properties are clearlygml:name, app:numOfLanes andapp:shape.

To traverse this GML fragment, thegmlSDK provides a number of func-tions including

• getAllProperties() (returns all proper-ties of the object),

• get Property (propertyname, property-Namespace),

• getPropertyList(propertyName, prop-ertyNamespace) and

• getPropertyByValueType(objectType-Code) and

• getPropertyListByValueType(obj ect-TypeCode).


<app:Roadxmlns:app="http://sdkexample/road"xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.org/gml">

<gml:name>Cambie St.</gml:name><app:numOfLanes>4</app:numOfLanes><app:shape>

<gml:LineString><gml:posList>4800 1234

5678 9012</gml:posList></gml:LineString>

</app:shape></app:Road>

Desktop Tool

gmlSDK

The later functions return the proper-ties with specific names and with spe-cific types.

The following code snippet returns allgeometry properties of the road featureas shown above.

Note that the value of a GML propertycan be a simple value, a GML object, alist of GML objects, or even a list of arbi-trary XML elements. It is thus necessaryto provide additional functions(through the property interface) foraccessing property value componentssuch as illustrated by the followingexample.

GML schema developers build appli-cation schemas using the rules forapplication schemas and the set ofprimitives for geometry, topology,coordinate reference systems, cover-ages, etc that form the core of GML. Werefer to these as core objects. The gmlS-DK provides a set of accessor functionsfor getting the property values of thesecore objects since these are used veryfrequently in GML applications.

The SDK provides a set of these func-tions to make it easier and more con-venient to deal with GML core objects.

Note that these access functions canbe used even in the case where the user

derives an object from a GML coreschema object's content model (byrestriction or extension). For example,one might create a derived GML objectAverageTemp from the GML core objectRectifiedGridCoverage by restriction,and then use the built in accessor func-tions getRangeSet() and setRangeSet()on this derived AverageTemp object toget the values of these properties.

Application (user defined) or coredomain objects can be constructedusing the SDK. For GML core objects aset of built in object factories (e.g.gml:Polygon, gml:Grid, gml:Rectified-Grid, gml:Feature etc) are provided. Forobjects not yet supported in the SDK,you can use the provided constructors.Users can thus construct domainobjects for all GML core objects and allobjects derived from GML objects byrestriction using the factories providedin the SDK. A variety of means are pro-vided to simplify the task of object con-struction. To create an object declaredwith a type derived from a GML prede-fined object type, you simply referencethe schema that defines the type as fol-lows:

For data with types derived from GMLpredefined types by extension, theadditional properties defined in theextended types can be accessed via theunderlying GMLObjectNode interfacewhich you can obtain using thetoGML() method on the domain object.An alternative way to handle the user-defined data is to develop your owndomain objects and object factories.The GMLObjectFactory class provides amethod registerFactory(…) that allowsclients to register their own object fac-

tories so that their own objects can becreated from the GMLObjectFactory inthe way in which the domain objectsare created from the GML object facto-ry. Of course traversing GML is just thestarting point, and the SDK can also beused to read, write and manipulateGML data. Let's look at reading a GML"document".

READING GMLWe have seen how to traverse GMLdata fragments. Now we look at read-ing GML documents such as the con-tent of GML files or the GML withinWFS transactions or WFS data requests.

The SDK provides two approaches,one a tree builder, the other a combina-tion of a tree builder and a streamingreader. Note that the SDK supportsswitch controllable validation of theGML instance being read relative to theapplication schema.

The tree builder is intended for fast inmemory navigation of GML objects (thedocument root must be a GML object)and thus is suited only to small GMLfragments such as would typically befound in WFS requests and some class-es of transactions.

The tree builder provides documentconstructors. Once the document isconstructed you can then freely tra-verse the document using the accessorfunctions such as those discussed inTraversing GML.

For larger GML documents, a stream-ing reader, based on a pull parser thatimplements most of the StAX (Stream-ing API for XML) API, and which addi-tionally provides direct GML object sup-


// retrieve the value of the geometry property"shape"

GMLPropertyNode* shapeProperty = roadOb-ject->getPropertyByValueType((GMLObjectType::GEOMETRY_TYPECODE);

GMLObjectNode* geometryObject = shapeProp-erty->getComplexValue();

GMLObject* object =GMLObjectFactory::makeGMLObject(typeName,qualifiedName, namespaceURI, gmlSchema);

GMLDocument* gmlDoc = docBuilder->build(dataSource);

GMLObjectNode* rootObject = gmlDoc->get-RootObject();

//get geometry property from the "Road" featureobject

PropertyIterator* geometryPropertyIter = roadOb-ject->getPropertyListByValueType(GMLObject-Type::GEOMETRY_TYPECODE);

port is provided. This streaming readerovercomes many of the limitations oftraditional streaming approaches inthat it combines both the "read and dis-card" and the "build and navigate"approaches in a single API. This allowsthe programmer to optimize the read-ing process with respect to their partic-ular application. In particular, thestreaming reader enables the program-mer to construct sub-trees for thoseGML objects of interest, and pull themfrom the parser without reading thewhole document and constructing anentire tree in memory. Furthermore,since the pulled GML objects are repre-sented in a tree structure (GMLObjectN-ode), you can access these with the nav-igational methods (as we have dis-cussed). Finally, you can constructdomain objects from the GML objectnodes and access them with setter andgetter methods supplied in the SDK.

All of this gives the developer greaterfreedom to control memory. You cankeep the pulled GML objects in memoryfor later use, or discard them as youwish. To understand the use of thestreaming reader in practice, considerits application to the extraction of fea-tures from a WFS response. The basicsteps would then be:

First, you create a stream reader fromthe input data source.

Secondly, you write a loop to iteratethrough the input source and retrieveall features. Within each loop, you needthree steps to get a feature object,

• Pull an event with next() method;

• Determine whether you encounter aGML object and particularly a featureobject.

• Pull the feature object.

This is illustrated by the followingcode fragment:

It should be clear that only a few linesof code are required, and that the codefragment can be applied to any featurecollection regardless of the concretefeature types that might appear in thatcollection. Let's now look at writingsome GML examples.

WRITING GMLThe SDK provides a number of differentways to write GML from an in-memoryrepresentation, namely:

• Serialize a GMLObjectNode or adomain object to a string in memory;

• Serialize a GMLObjectNode to a file,standard output or memory buffer;

• Writing GML data directly to an outputin a streaming manner

These different methods are providedto allow the developer the maximumflexibility and simplicity in dealingwith GML for different applications.

GMLObjectNodes can be serialized tostring XML representation by callingthe toXMLString() method. Domainobjects can be similarly serialized byfirst creating a GMLObjectNode usingthen the toGML() method and theninvoking toXMLString(). Thus convert-ing back and forth between XML stringand object representations for both core

and user defined objects is a very sim-ple process. For relatively small GMLfiles the SDK supplied functions for fileserialization can be used.

For larger files the streaming writershould be employed. It provides a vari-ety of specific methods for writing anelement, a GML object, an attribute,namespace declaration etc. The writerautomatically escapes characters suchas less than sign (<), greater than sign(>) and the ampersand (&). The writeEn-dElement() method selects the appro-priate element to close, you don't evenneed to specify the element to beclosed. More over, the writer takes careof the namespace declaration and canautomatically produce a prefix if youdid not provide the right one for a givennamespace. The streaming writerimposes no limit on the size of GMLdata stream that can be written.

SUMMARYThe Galdos gmlSDK provides a compre-hensive and very flexible approach todealing with GML data that can providegood performance over a range ofapplications and a range of memoryresources from small to large memoryand CPU environments. With the SDK,handling GML is no more complex thanother routine programming tasks, andthe programmer is largely freed fromhaving to have a detailed understand-ing of XML Schema or even GML. TheSDK has been employed in a variety ofapplications including image process-ing (GML JP2), coordinate reference sys-tem handling, WFS transaction process-ing and data format conversion.


Ron LakeChairman & CEO, Galdos Systems, [email protected]

GMLStreamingReader* reader = GMLReader-Factory::createGMLStreamReader(dataSource);

while ( reader->hasNext() ) {

// get the next tokenreader->next();

// if the pulled token is a GML feature, then pullthe feature object and perform further opera-tions.if ( reader->isStartObject() && reader->isGML-TypeOf(featureTypeCode) ){GMLObjectNode* featureNode = reader->pul-lObject();PropertyIterator* geometryProperties = fea-tureNode->getPropertyByValueType(geometry-TypeCode);// perform further operations on geometry prop-erties.…}

How has Speck

Systems evolved over

the years? What have been

the milestones for the

company?

Speck Systems started 25

years back. The initial four

years went into the process of

getting into an organized

company structure for a part-

nership firm. Our meetings

with National Remote Sensing

Agency (NRSA) officials

played a major role in our get-

ting into the remote sensing

business. It was mostly the

products that were developed

and available elsewhere in the

world which NRSA had suc-

cessfully indigenized and

transferred the technology to

us. We started with R&D

activities improving these

products, making sure those

products are market worthy.

We learnt a few lessons

through the initial sale of

the products. Initially we

thought that once we make

these products people

would buy them; we over-

looked an important aspect of

the business - 'the marketing

infrastructure for these

products'.

We studied the market and

developed the products to

meet client's needs. At that

time, PCs were just about to

enter the market and also the

people were used to photo

interpretation only. We real-

ized that we should produce a

niche photo interpretation

device to give true photo-

graphic outputs to make an

impact on this potential mar-

ket. Thus the main stay

products came into being.

Later, we proceeded in devel-

oping products which

enhanced the services to the

client. This image interpreta-

tion became a gateway for

GIS to become an integral

part of our business. The

same process took us into

map-making activities.

What has been the cor-

porate philosophy

underlying the success story

for Speck Systems?

There are two, I would say.

First, staying close to the cus-

tomers' needs by understand-

ing their complete business

cycle and second, developing

end to end solutions through

indigenous efforts.

What is the role played

by the geospatial tech-

nology in the infrastructure

development in India?


Celebrating Silver Jubilee

STAY CLOSE TO THECUSTOMERS' NEEDS

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

KCM Kumar is an Electronics Engineer with over three decades of experience in geomatics and imaging.His contributions to the company lies in the area of strategic management and consolidating the gains ofits technical and marketing endeavors with professional managerial inputs and commercial practice. Heshares his experiences with GIS Development in an exclusive interview

K C M KumarCo-founder, Chairman & MD, Speck Systems Limited

Q.

Q.

Q.

The geospatial technology is

the first step for the infra-

structure development. Prior

to planning process, availabili-

ty of quality data is very

important for the planners to

make the project happen.

Most of the times we have

seen projects getting delayed

due to non availability of the

data.

'Mandatory' is when

the government has to

implement something through

policies. But I think before our

government can reach the

state of making use of

geospatial tools a mandate,

they should at least initiate or

enable the use of these tech-

nologies as an integral part of

the planning process. Ironi-

cally, the infrastructure indus-

try is missing out on the

geospatial technology;

whereas it should be the

one that should drive the

geospatial industry forward

by using GIS for its own

development.

Would you like to share

your experience on

some of the major projects

Speck Systems has executedd

in India?

Out of the few companies

in the geospatial industry

that have chosen the domes-

tic market as their main

area of business, I can say

that we have played pioneer-

ing role in the domestic

market in areas like, Land

Information Systems (LIS),


Speck believes that for survival in thedomestic industry theycannot rely on prod-ucts that have beenproduced elsewhereas they will not meetthe entire needs ofdomestic customers.And the way theseproducts are priced isa deterrent to the overall growth of thedomestic market aswell. Considering these two aspects,experiences gainedfrom the projects doneby Speck have evolvedin the form of Productsand Tools that improvetheir next project.

Land records and landadministration

Having realized thecritical importance ofland records and landadministration, SpeckSpatialTech (SST)worked with the landadministration depart-ments and local bodiesto bring their practicalsolutions in computeri-zation of land records,cadastral resurveysemploying moderntechnology and main-tenance of landrecords, all leading to

integrated land admin-istration. At the core ofall their LIS solutions isSpecKadaster, a com-prehensive, open sys-tems compliant prod-uct that helps adminis-trators in all the landadministration func-tions and many more. Ithas all the requiredfunctionality to createand maintain suchcomprehensive data-bases, with necessarydata ownership andsecurity provisionsthrough access con-trol.

Utilities

Speck SpatialTech withits skilled domainexperts combined withthe expertise inRS/GIS Technologieshas developed GISapplications for Power,Telecom and Water &Gas. SpeckElectric isone such applicationdeveloped exclusivelyfor Power. SpeckElec-tric is a highly scalable,full functional GISoffered in desktop/client-server/ web-based architectures.

SpeckElectric inte-grates the core GIS

functionality with newcustomer manage-ment, network analysis,energy audits andasset management-modules. SpeckElectrikhas built-in interfacesfor SCADA, billing sys-tems and call centre.

Speck SpatialTechhave also introducedconcepts like InWIS,GIS-based IT applica-tion that supportsactivities concerningreclamation, utilization,monitoring and man-agement of waste-lands and InWaMS, theend-to-end solution toplan, manage andmonitor land and waterresources develop-ment on watershedbasis.

Photowrite Systems

Commencing with atechnical know-howfrom the Dept ofSpace, Speck hasbeen developing andcontinuously improvingthe photowriting andimaging technologyand its products whichare tailored for specificrequirements of itscustomers. Photowritesystems manufactured

by Speck are precisionoptoelectronic equip-ment that writes highresolution, continuoustone images from digi-tal data on B&W andcolor photographic filmand paper media.

Aerial Imaagery WorkStation (AIWOS)

Aerial photo interpreta-tion involves examiningphotographic imagesfor the purpose ofidentifying objects.One of the most widelyused tools is the stere-oscope which allowsthe interpreter to studyphotographs in threedimensions.

Aerial Imagery Workstation (AIWOS),precision opto-elec-tronic equipment com-prising of mechanical,electronic and opticalcomponents with aCPU and controllingsoftware has beenindigenously devel-oped by Speck andBEL. Zoom Stereo-scopes indigenouslydeveloped by Speckserve the needs ofimage analysis, forensic and medicalapplications.

Productising Experience...For 25 years, Speck has acquired competencies in the field of electro-optics,systems integration, communications, remote sensing, image processing, mapping,geospatial information services, UAVs, communications, mobile shelters andsoftware application development. With strong technology roots, absorption oftechnology from pre-eminent institutions and partnerships with leading companies,

Speck looks to continuously broaden its customer base and increase theproductand service range to its valued customers.

Today, Speck Group of Companies comprises of Speck Systems Ltd. (SSL)- an ISO9001 and ISO 27001 accredited and DGQA approved company. and its subsidiaries -Speck SpatialTech Ltd. (SST) and Spectrum Mapping LLC (Spectrum).

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

Q.


Power distribution, revenue

collection for municipalities,

etc. Experiences from the

aspect of learning and also

for future business have

been exciting. It includes

learning the "hard way" of

dealing with the government

machinery and developing our

own skill sets.

The experience with the

project related to LIS with the

government has made us

realize that if appropriate

policy initiatives are taken, the

geospatial industry and the

associated vertical segments

will benefit tremendously.

Taking the case of our LIS

project, we have learnt

that a citizen has the right to

property and the government

has an obligation to fulfill

this obligation. And this

property information should

be shared by the government

in a transparent manner,

no matter what the security

issue is.

This will also lead to econom-

ic development of the country.

The money locked in land can

be released by way of rural

credit, where it is important to

have land ownership and the

title for land. As of today the

government is only the wit-

ness to the title, but is not

guaranteeing the title. If the

database generated for the

LIS is made available, the poli-

cy issues will mould them-

selves in favour of the devel-

opment of rural region.

What are the Geospatial

market trends you see

in India and how they are dif-

ferent from otherr markets?

Presently the trend is of

Service Oriented Develop-

ment. The governments

are not just looking for

software products but

for cost effective solu-

tions for specific

requirements. Apart

from departments

dealing in land information,

the utility segment and infra-

structure development seg-

ment too require both tech-

nological and policy upgrades.

As far as defence sector is

concerned, we are focusing

on developing solutions that

enable gathering real time

information by a front line sol-

dier. Based on our experi-

ences with the defence sector

we are strategically placed to

indigenously develop such

software for them.

At present we are more

focused on the domestic mar-

ket. We have

worked in Middle East and

Africa also, but we do not see

much difference in these mar-

kets as compared to the

domestic market.

Do you think there will

be productisation in ver-

ticals/ products e.g., in agri-

cculture, environment, etc over

a period of time?

Why not! Two of our

important products are

SpecKadaster and Speck-

Electrik that have been devel-

oped in-house and are suc-

cessfully used for our own

projects related to LIS and

power segment. We simply

believe that these products

have now matured over the

period of time and have been

tested at all the levels for uti-

lization in the domestic mar-

ket.

If you take up any project

which meets the local needs

then the product will be of

much more importance than

any other international prod-

uct, mainly due to the fact that

it will be cost effective, cus-

tomer focused, locally devel-

oped and, importantly, its

source code is available facili-

tating further growth and

development possible. And I

think this is going to be the

order of the day as these

software oriented products

will be backed by the giant

and successful Indian IT

industry.

Q.

Q.

A project meeting the localneeds will be of much moreimportance than any otherinternational product, mainlydue to the fact that it will becost effective, customerfocused, locally developedand, importantly, its sourcecode is available

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8


Do you foresee that

after you productise

your experiences in the LIS,

utility or infrastructure domaain

that you will be selling these

products in Global market?

There is a large requirement

in the domestic market.

Hence as a strategy we will

be looking at partners from

the global market to further

develop these products within

the domestic market. It is not

yet right to say that these

products are ready for inter-

national market till they are

successfully deployed in India.

What are the R&D activ-

ities taking place at

Speck Systems apart from the

development of products nec-

essary for the projects at

hand?

Most of the R&D focus is

from the customer's experi-

ence itself and the driving

factor is the need. We believe

that development is best done

while taking along the cus-

tomers - by understanding the

end requirement and produc-

tise it to have a solution that

is much closer to the reality.

Therefore the application

development and thinking in

isolation was never attempted.

Nonetheless, we have been

involved in extensive R&D in

the defence sector as we

have 15 to 20 years of close

working relationships with it.

We have an aptitude and an

appetite that we have devel-

oped for this business and our

product and application devel-

opments are focused on

geospatial intelligence and

are driven within the domestic

market. For this we have not

only absorbed technologies

from the industry but have

also invested in indigenous

development of our own prod-

ucts, services and solutions.

Is SPECK associated

with education institu-

tions for R&D?

So far none, but the option is

not ruled out as it is the right

way forward. I say so because

we are still in the initial phase

where we are gaining experi-

ences in-house. Definitely the

growth plan of the industry

relies heavily on the academia

and we would want to be a

part of it in the times to come.

We have associations with a

Chennai-based company,

which is developing software

for the education institutes

and we hope to continue our

association for its further

development. It is a good

strategy to involve the aca-

demic institutes and research

scholars along with develop-

ing indigenous software.

What is your view on the

growth oof an organiza-

tion through acquisitions?

We believe in end-to-end

solutions and in order to

achieve this we have to

understand the entire cycle of

the customers' requirements.

In cases where this requires

services from a third party

vendor, the process should

not affect our business poli-

cies. Keeping in mind acquisi-

tions of such requirements

becomes essential and is

much more cost effective than

to developing it indigenously.

One such requirement for

Speck was in the LiDAR seg-

ment which led to the acquisi-

tion of Spectrum Mapping

LLC (USA), as it was a com-

plete world class geospatial

survey company that adds val-

ue to our existing services

portfolio.

Where do you foresee

Speck Systems by

2012 in terms of activities

and revenue?

We would like to see Speck

Systems as,

• A globally recognized play-er, indigenous technologysupplier & solutions provider.

• An important indigenousplayer in product develop-ment

• Over Rs.500 crore compa-ny in the next 4-5 years.

• We believe to embed GISinto common man's lifestyle.

What is your message

to the young entrepre-

neurs that wish to enter this

industry?

People entering in this indus-

try should know that it is a

niche market and it calls for

tremendous amount of focus

and end to end development

and only the niche player who

would like to work on the

technology, would succeed.

The industry has a lot to offer

and they will be greatly bene-

fited. As the younger genera-

tion is tech savvy, the future

area to invest in would be the

location based services with

software oriented innovation

in retail sector.

Q.

Q.

Q.

Q. Q.

Q.

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

Our product and applicationdevelopments are focused on geospatial intelligence andare driven within the domesticmarket. We have not onlyabsorbed technologies fromthe industry but have alsoinvested in the indigenousdevelopment

Each of us has been person-ally tied to the Himalayas.For who of us has not

dreamt about going there, and beingthere - if only for a while? Who of us hasnot been inspired and humbled by theHimalayan ethos so overwhelming, somuch beyond us, and so much calling usto measure ourselves against it?Hence those celestial mountains serveas the ultimate point of reference of thegreatness of our visions. We define our-selves and our projects in terms of theirmagnitude and grandeur. The discov-ery of Mt. Everest is closely associatedwith the mapping history of Indiawhich dates back to the 18th Century.In 1802 Captain Lambton a trained offi-cer in Geodesy in North America beganthe Great trignometrical survey inIndia from Mount St. Thomas nearMadras. The great trigonometric seriesmeasuring location and elevation ofpoints spanning the country fromSouth to North and East to West aresome of the best geodetic control seriesavailable in the world.

Colonel George Everest Surveyor Gen-eral of India from 1830 to 1843 extendedthe great work started by Lambton tothe Himalayas and recorded the loca-tion of the highest Mount in theHimalayas. The highest Mountain peakwas discovered after years of precisiontrignometrical survey work carried out

by groups of unsung Indian Surveyorsand porters working amidst great dan-ger and discomforts in the deserts,mountains and jungles, some meetingviolent deaths due to hostile terrainand non-availability of medical care.The discovery of the highest Mt peak inthe world measuring 29,002 feet wasannounced by Survey of India in 1956and named as Mt. Everest to honourColonel Sir George Everest. Mt Everestearlier known as Peak XV is Chomol-ungma (Meaning Mother Goddess ofthe Universe) in Tibet and Sagarmatha

(Meaning Goddess of the sky) in Nepal.The elevation of Mt Everest, withrespect to Indian mean Sea Level wassubsequently adjusted to 29, 035 feet(8850m), rises a few millimeters eachyear due to geological forces. The loca-tion of the peak is at Latitude 270 59'and Longitude 86o 56' in the northernhemisphere. In 1907 Natha Singh an

Indian surveyor entered the MountEverest region from the Nepal side andmapped the Dudh Kosi valley which isthe gateway to the southern route upthe mountain to the end of the Khum-bu Glacier. The dedication, hard workand onerous task of exploring theunknown by Indian surveyors accom-panied by unskilled Khalasis andporters for the mapping of the nationhas been best illustrated by ColonelKenneth Mason in his book titled"Abode of Snow" which is quotedbelow:- "The world's altitude record, asfar as we know, was held for abouttwenty years by a Khalasi, engaged bythe Survey of India on a salary of sixrupees a month, who carried a signalpole in 1860 to the top of Shilla in theZaskar range east of Spiti, 23,500 feetabove the sea. He did not know itsheight and we do not know his name!"

CARTOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE OFEVERESTRadhanath Sikdar, an Indianmathematician and surveyorfrom Bengal, was the first toidentify Everest as the world'shighest peak in 1852, usingtrigonometric calculationsbased on measurements of"Peak XV" made with theodo-

G I S D E V E L O P M E N T64F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

Cartographic & RemoteSensing Perspective of Mt Everest

Viewpoints

Fig 2a: Everest and surrounding regionMODIS on 2 January 2008

Fig 1: Historical topographical map of Everest area

lites from 240 km away as part of theGreat Trigonometric Survey of India.Peak XV was found to be exactly 29,000feet (8,839 m) high, but was laterdeclared to be 29,002 feet (8,840 m).

More recently, the mountain has beenfound to be 8,848 m (29,028 feet) high,although there is some variation in themeasurements. The mountain K2comes in second at 8,611 m (28,251 ft)high. On May 22, 2005, the People'sRepublic of China's (PRC's) officiallyannounced the height of Everest as8,844.43 m ± 0.21 m. This new height isbased on the actual highest point ofrock and not on the snow and ice thatsits on top of that rock on the summit.The Chinese also measured a snow/icedepth of 3.5 m, which implies agree-ment with a net elevation of 8,848 m. InMay 1999 an American Everest Expedi-tion, anchored a GPS unit into the high-est bedrock. A rock head elevation of8,850 m (29,035 ft), and a snow/ice ele-vation 1 m (3 ft) higher, were obtainedvia this device. (Wiki Encyclopidia-2008).

EVEREST DEGRADINGECOSYSTEM Himalayas are among the most dra-matic and visible creations of plate-tec-tonic forces, which stretch 2,900 kmalong the border between India and

Tibet. TheHimalayanmountain systemis the planet'shighest andhome to theworld's highestpeaks, includingMount Everest and K2. To comprehendthe enormous scale of this mountainrange consider that Aconcagua, in theAndes, at 6,962 m, is the highest peakoutside the Himalayas, while theHimalayan system has over 100 moun-tains exceeding 7,200 meters. TheHimalayas stretch across six nations:Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistanand Afghanistan. They are the source ofthree of the world's major river sys-tems, the Indus, the Ganga-Brahmapu-tra, and the Yangtze. Approximately 1.3billion people live in the drainage basinof the Himalayan rivers The flora andfauna of the Himalayas varies with cli-mate, rainfall, altitude, and soils. Theclimate ranges from tropical at the baseof the mountains to permanent ice andsnow at the highest elevations. All thismakes them hot spots from climatechange and enviromental protectionperspective. Glaciers in the Himalayasprovide the water source for one-sixthof humanity. Now that water source isthreatened by climate change. It's nev-er too late to avert the catastrophe butstart acting now not as individuals.

RATIOCINATIONThe Himalayas are refered locally inTibeten as playground of Gods. If Godsdid not exist, people gazing at theHimalayas would have been bound toinvent them such is the majesty,grandeur and power emanating fromthese peaks. Tom Hornbein, member ofan Everest expedition, describes hisown feelings on the summit: "We felt

the lonely beauty of the evening, theimmense roaring of silence of the wind,the tenuousness of our tie to all below.There was a hint of fear, not for ourlives, but of a vast unknown whichpressed in upon us. A fleeting feeling ofdisappointment -- that after all thosedreams and questions this was only amountain top -- gave way to the suspi-cion that maybe there was somethingmore, something beyond the three-dimensional form of the moment. Ifonly it could be perceived."

The Mount Everest region, and theHimalayas in general, are thought to beexperiencing ice-melt due to globalwarming, which has been shown byhistorical records and current satelliteobeservations. Any land degradtionand climate change in these mountainswill cause heavy flood in downstreamareas and rapid melting of its glaciers.Therefore we need to join hands inpreservation and sustanibilty of theseyoung mounatins and its people.


Fig 2c: Classfied DEM of Everest area Fig. 2d: Aspect map ofEverest area.

Praveen ThakurScientist/Engineer, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, India

Mudit MathurSquadron Leader, Indian Air [email protected]

Brigadier R C PadhiDeputy Director General,Military Survey,Ministry of Defence, India

Fig 2b: Everest as seen from space(Jaxa2007)

What has been the

business philosophy of

Tele Atlas?

Our philosophy is to produce

a map which you can rely on

completely for your navigation

purposes. It is fully updated

and takes into account

changes taking place on reg-

ular basis. We invest our mon-

ey with that purpose only. In a

map across the world15-30

percent of the road network

changes on an annual basis.

You can imagine how fast

things can come up to us

such as name has changed,

restriction regarding one way

has changed, new streets

have come up and so on so

forth. In order to implement

our core philosophy that is, to

create the best navigational

map available in the market,

we have to get all these infor-

mation about changes occur-

ring in the field and incorpo-

rate the same in our system

faster than anybody else.

Towards this direction our

technology is geared like the

mobile mapping vans. These

vans drive in the streets with

all the sensors, cameras etc

and capture the attributes like

speed limit, one way restric-

tions etc. All this information

is channeled to our process-

ing unit in India where they

are geopositioned onto the

map. This technology enables

us to move very fast and pro-

vide updated maps.

What is your industry

presence in the

Asia-Pacific region?

We have expanded our foot-

print substantially in this

region and now we are the

leaders in terms of Asia-

Pacific operations. We have

introduced our mobile map-

ping vans in Singapore and

Taipei. We have also set up a

3D production unit in India to

produce 3D map, not just for

Asia-Pacific region but for the

whole world.

There are lot of activities in

the region in the past year,

not only in terms of geograph-

ic coverage but also in opera-

tional footprint. Hopefully, our

first major task in the coming

six months is to bring India

into our mapping/geographi-

cal coverage.

What kind of strategy

you have for Asia-Pacif-

ic region?

The initial strategy was to

support customers in the

region who are focusing on

the North America and Euro-

pean market. Lots of our big

customers are here like Mitac

(Mio), Samsung, Japanese

companies like Pioneer. Our

initial focus was getting in

place the customer support

and coverage before we could

bring out the map of Asia.

Now we are in a position to

operate a comprehensive

Asia-Pacific offering. We are

now covering lot of geography

and lots of customers not only

that are in Asia but also the

North American and Euro-

pean customers that have

started looking at the market

opportunity here to launch

their products in this region.

For example, Garmin has

launched its product in Asia-

Pacific with Tele Atlas prod-

ucts. Mitac has started its

focus on Asia-Pacific particu-

larly in Indonesia and South-

East Asia. TomTom has moved


Interview

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

Mark SteeleChief Operating Officer,Tele Atlas Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd.

Q.

Q.

Q.

Dynamic content is going to be the thing next

into Asia and is establishing

its footprint here.

What changes have

taken place in Asia-

Pacific region in the recent

past, in terms of usability oof

Tele Atlas data?

From the product standpoint

we are seeing changes in the

marketplace. It is moving from

traditional in - car systems

where customers only look for

navigation to customers look-

ing for different features apart

from navigation. Say, for

example, in pedestrian naviga-

tion, the user desires to find

things in different ways where

maps has to be scaled with

different content.

Another major thing coming

to the map now is multi-modal

navigation. We now have

devices that offers assistance

to pedestrians who may have

to walk a little, take a bus

cross a building skip a flyover

and so on. We offer them a

map that tells them where

they can get a bus, where to

take a turn and so on.

In the in-car system space

dynamic content is going to

be the thing next. In this data

on a map is going to change

by the minute, hour or day.

Say for example, you are driv-

ing down a street and your

car needs refueling. Your sys-

tem will know of this and it

will highlight all the gas sta-

tions in the vicinity on the

map. And through our rela-

tionship with the company

Shell, the gas prices will be

indicated on the monitor. Sim-

ilarly if we are passing by a

parking garage, the system

will display the number of

parking spaces available in

the parking garage through

transmission from the parking

garage.

Tele Atlas is moving towards

fully textured 3D maps where

the actual image of the build-

ing is textured on the base

map. This year we will have

one or two cities done in Asia.

What challenges and

opportunities do you

foresee in this region?

The biggest market opportu-

nity in this region is going to

be the wireless handset envi-

ronment. If you look at the

market, in just ten years, the

mobile phone market in

China and Indonesia have

grown very fast. This is going

to be a big game in coming

five years.Coming to the chal-

lenges, the Asia-Pacific

region has a diverse geogra-

phy. Countries in the region

have diverse environment and

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

Q.

Q.

The focus of Tele Atlas hasbeen and wouldcontinue to beproviding best digital mapswhich are intelli-gent, fresh andnavigable.

”

“

definitely it is quite a task to

work in this environment.

The challenge here is to

develop a map through our

model of going to different

countries and form relation-

ship with the best establish-

ments in the mapping field

and bringing their products in

our common format that is

usable to our customers like

TomTom, Garmin, etc. who are

eyeing this market.

In the Asia Pacific

region will you create a

new set of data which is in

the lines of the coree philoso-

phy of Tele Atlas or are you

going to look at or partner

people or companies having

the innformation?

We will do both. The most sig-

nificant model will be going to

a geography where we are

not. As every country has a

handful of mapping compa-

nies. We will analyse those

companies, meet and evaluate

their offerings and pick those

we feel is the most capable

and has the best product and

will result in fruitful partner-

ship. Sometimes these part-

nerships are through acquisi-

tion but more common is

through joint venture, i.e., we

invest in the resources like

mobile mapping van as we did

in Taiwan. In Taiwan we had a

joint venture with

SNT last

July. Once we have the part-

nership we enhance the data-

base to bring to the quality of

the product with what people

expect from Tele Atlas.

How will Asia-Pacific

leverage upon being the

second mover?

I think it is going to happen

very fast. It has the largest

consumer base for the mobile

phone handsets. As of now all

the high end mobile handsets

are GPS enabled. In the

coming years the mobile

handset companies will

include this technology in all

their offerings.

Though its very early, but we

have seen a tremendous

amount of interest not only

among mobile handset

manufacturers but also

operators in various geogra-

phies. We have made an

announcement about a month

and half ago about our plans

to work with Indosat in

Indonesia in conjunction

with Garmin to offer map

enabled LBS on RIM

blackberry device. Be it

China, or Korea or India, the

LBS market is seeing a lot of

activity. Right now the

companies are in the

process of finalizing their

strategies, that is, how they

want to turn out, what

application they want to

develop and how often they

want to deliver that or what

their business model is going

to be?

I think we are still at a very

early stage.

But coming hand to hand with

mass market adoption of GPS

enabled mobile devices, you

need to have an LBS ecosys-

tem, an environment that sup-

port that. In my opinion, digital

mapping will be a major part

of that. That is where Tele

Atlas is.

With the compannies like

Google and Nokia eye-

ing at this market opportunity,

how do you foresee this mar-

ket to ggrow in future and what

would be the strategy of Tele

Atlas and TomTom with

regard to the competitionn in

market space?

Tele Atlas is going to continue

to be a digital mapping com-

pany. We have invested a

huge amount, close to a bil-

lion dollar, in the last 20 years

in this field and we feel that

right now we have the best

digital maps available in the

market.

Our important characteristic

is that our product is fully

navigable. It's the key. It is

one thing to tell where a place

is, but how to get to that

place.

That is where we differentiate.

So I would say that Tele Atlas

is not in the space of compet-

ing with content companies.

We are going to do what we

do best, that is produce digital

maps.

Q.

Q.

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

Q.

In last few years the mobilephone markethave grown very fast in Asia-Pacific.The biggest market opportu-nity in this regionis going to be inthe wirelesshandset environ-ment resulting ingrowth in LBS.

“

”


Mobile Mapping Van for capturing attributes

The 7th Annual International

Conference and Exposition

'Laser Scanning and Digital Aeri-

al Photography. Today and Tomorrow' was

held in the President Hotel, Moscow, Decem-

ber 6-7, 2007. The event was attended by250 participants, including 170 seniorsand high-rank officials, from 19 coun-tries. This year delegates from Uzbek-istan State Committee for Land Man-agement, Geodesy, Cartography andCadastre as well as delegates fromAzerbaijan State Committee for LandManagement and Cartography attend-ed the conference. CIS countries aremaking huge strives to improve eco-nomic situation in their regions andthey are currently facing quite a num-ber of really burning issues that are tobe solved on a state level: land inven-tory, facilities planning (industrial andurban), environmental monitoring. In

this respect up-to-date geospatialinformation is the key factor for imple-mentation of the above tasks and sus-tainable development of any region.The conference provided a platform forknowledge and experience sharing -delegates presented their reportsbringing up the most up-to-date issuesin Geodesy, Surveying, Mapping andTopography.

This year ISPRSCouncil membersparticipated in theconference. OrhanAltan, SecretaryGeneral, John C.Trinder, First VicePresident, StanleyMorain, Treasurermade their speeches.Dr. Franz Leberl'spresentation cameto be a real surprisefor the conferenceattendees. Thefounder of MicrosoftPhotogrammetry announced thedevelopment strategy of Virtual EarthProject. Presentations were made byMiles Taylor (Aerodata InternationalSurveys), Anders Ekelund (AirborneHydrography AB), Dr. Miklos Gross(Eurosense), Hannu Korpela (Terrasol-id), Nikolaus Studnicka (RIEGL LMS), Dr.Hans Joachim Hellmeier (Rollei GmbH),Dr. Sergey Kadnichanskiy, (Geokos-mos), Valentin Zaitsev and Mikhail

Druzhinin (Leica Geosystems) andmany others. Another feature of the7th Conference was the participationof satellite imaging companies. Itdemonstrates a good tendency ofpotential convergence and interactionof the two segments of geodetic mar-ket that were formerly opposed to eachother, i.e. aerial surveying and RS. The

Conference hosted an expositiondemonstrating the latest innovationson the geodetic market, up-to-dateequipment for aerial and terrestrialsurvey, software products. Among theexhibiting companies were Russiancommercial, scientific and educationalorganizations as well as well-knownoverseas companies such as AirborneHydrography AB (Sweden), TerrasolidLtd. (Finland).

F E B R UA R Y 2 0 0 8

7th International Conference onLaser Scanning and Digital AerialPhotography-Today and Tomorrow

ORGANIZED BYSociety of Contribution to Developmentof Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing(RSPRS)

GENERAL SPONSORSGazprom I Geokosmos I Geopolygon

MEDIA PARTNERSGeoInfomatics I GIM InternationalI GIS Development I GEOconnexion

www.rsprs.org

Laser Scanning and Digital Aerial Photography-Today and Tomorrow


Conference Report

Moscow, December 6 - 7, 2007

Participants at the Conference

Pitney Bowes Software presi-dent, Mike Hickey state-ment that "the explosion of

Neogeography is driving awareness [and]collaborative data consolidation [but it]isn't GIS", at Korem's Geodifussion confer-ence and Joe Francica's post "Neogeaogra-phy is not GIS; not LI" which generated lotof discussion, instigated me also to have alook at the term "Neogeography".

Googling the term referred to almost194,000 pages!, a significant numberconsidering the fact that term wascoined only few years ago by Di-AnnEisnor, co-founder of Platial.com. Beforegetting into the definition of the term

and discussions going around on sever-al bogs, let's have a look at its origin.

Di-Ann Eisnor says she and fellow cre-ator Jason Wilson got the idea to createa site for sharing their information onthe map through web, after returningfrom an extended stay in Amsterdam,the Netherlands. They wanted to sharetheir created hard copy maps detailinglocal sight-seeing points (pinned for away to keep them in a more permanentfashion), which were otherwise uselesswhen they returned to USA. At thatpoint they hoped that the site will growinto something with millions of inter-est plotted by thousands of usersaround the world, and they did notrealise that this would lead them to

some new terms like "mashups", "push-pins" etc. However, they termed it as"Neogeography" and this remainedmore in oblivion and other termscatched-up fast on the internet. So, is"Neogeography" is the merging of userdata and experiences with online map-ping technologies (http://www.mcwetboy.net/maproom/2006/04/neogeography.php), another term for"mashups"?

Let's look at differnet definitionsbeing floated around in the geoblog-sphere. According to Wikipedia Neo-geography means "new geography"and consists of a set of techniques andtools that fall outside the realm of tradi-tional GIS, the Geographic InformationSystems. Where historically a profes-sional cartographer might use GIS soft-ware like ArcGIS, MapInfo, etc., talk ofMercator vs Mollweide vs Lambert Con-formal Conic projections, and resolveland area disputes or prepare disastermanagement plan or analyses the storesales data, a neogeographer uses amapping API like Google Maps, talksabout GPX versus KML, and geotags hisphotos to make a map of his summervacation. Essentially, Neogeography isabout people using and creating theirown maps, on their own terms and bycombining elements of an existingtoolset.

Andrew Turner defines (http://high-earthorbit.com/neogeography-towards-a-definition/),

geographical techniques and toolsused for personal activities or for uti-lization by a non-expert group of users;not formal or analytical.

[Greek, from neos, new. and Latinge?graphia, from Greek ge?graphi?]

neogeographer ne'o·ge·og'ra·pher n. Andrew Turner in his book "Introduc-

tion to Neogeography" (published by


Looking Ahead

NEOGEOGRAPHY:Goodbye to GIS?

O'Reilly Media), says Neogeographycombines the complex technique of car-tography and GIS and places themwithin reach of users and developers.

Bret Taylor, product manager forGoogle says, "We provide the map, andthe other people put in the pushpins".This trend has been dubbed as Neo-geography, and some enthusiasts pre-dict, it could spur a revolution in "elec-tronic cartography". (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/04/0425_060425_map_blogs.html)

To my understanding (I am no GISguru, like people commenting on thistopic on the blogsphere), Neogeogra-phy is born when the GIS has matured.

Before explaining this, let's have alook at "Nolan's Growth Model" (firstpublished by Davis and Ohlsen for theIT industry in 1987) and later modifiedby Hans Bestebreurtje in 1997 for hisMSc UNIGIS thesis on GIS Project Man-agement (http://www.unigis.nl/down-loads/msc/Hans%20Bestebreurtje.pdf).The model (shown in Fig-1) has fourstages of growth.

These four stages of the growth applyto every technology. When the technol-ogy reaches to the saturation level, itmoves into the background, becomesacceptable to the masses and prolifer-ates to the lowest user level. It is thenwhen new solutions start being built.

GIS also has reached to its saturation

level (not in allregions of theworld,although) andderivatives ofthis technologyhas started com-ing in. The term"Neogeography"is one suchderivative ofGIS. Similarthoughts, albeitin a differentmanner, is shared by Paul Bisset(http://blogs.weogeo.com/pbis-sett/2007/04/28/supersaturation-in-neogeography/), who suggests that thisfield - geography, mapping, whateveryou want to call it - may be approach-ing a point of supersaturation.

Software developers, hobbyists andothers (may or may not have the under-standing of the intricacies of GIS) havestarted developing tools and applica-tions built around the available dataand maps. This phenomenon is beingtermed as "Neogeography".

Dave Smith (http://surveying-map-ping-gis.blogspot.com/) defines Neo-geography as, "geographical techniquesand tools used for personal activities orfor utilization by a non-expert group ofusers; not formal or analytical". He evengoes on to the extent of saying "Is there

somewhere that"neoGeo" asempowermentof the non-geog-raphers, non-coders and folkswho don't haveaccess to "real"GIS ala ArcGIS,et cetera ends".

Does neogeog-raphy scare the

traditional geospatial community? The GIS World magazine (www. geo-place.com), for their annual "IndustryOutlook" article for the Dec 07 issueasked their industry advisory boardmembers "Does neogeography help orhurt the geospatial industry?" Respons-es were generally positive, except fromDavid Maguire (ESRI) and Carl Reed(OGC)!

So, GIS and neogeography, both arehere to stay as geography has survivedalongwith GIS and other sciences. Yes,neogeography has helped the GIS andmapping professionals being recog-nised by the masses (largely thanks toGoogle and their API) and new toolsand application being developed whichcan be used by all and sundry and is notrestricted to a closed and specialisedgroup. This will further help in matur-ing the GIS technology.

Lastly, I would like to share a Visio dia-gram (Fig-2, http://surveying-map-ping-gis.blogspot.com/ 2007/ 12/ neo-geo-wars.html), which summarises thecomparison between traditionalgeospatial and Neogeography.

It is for you to decide, whether thissignals an end to the GIS or towardsmore mature GIS?

Dr. [email protected]


Figure 1. Nolan’s Growth Model

Fig. 2. Comparison between traditional geospatial and neogeography

Print Publications

GIM International (January, 2008)(http://www.gim-international.com)

SDI as Holistic Framework- Integrating Natural and BuiltEnvironmentsMonitoring and controlling the environment requires its nat-ural and built components to be integrated within an inclu-sive model. Integration of multi-sourced spatial data plays animportant role here. The authors argue that a Spatial DataInfrastructure (SDI) can provide this.

Customising GIS- Intrinsic Programming or Object-orientedMethodsGIS software is usually customised using intrinsic program-ming and writing scripts in conventional programming lan-guages. The author uses case-studies to compare the twomethods and illustrates the importance of OOGC in integra-tion of GIS with other information systems.

Turkish Cadastral Organisation- Registry and Cadastreunderr One RoofCross-control may eliminate errors but also creates the dan-ger of inconsistencies; information might be stored redun-dantly, while two authorities, each charging their own fees,continue to function disjointedly. In describing the TurkishCadastral Organisation the authors show the benefits of'one organisational roof'.

GeoWorld (December 2007)(http://www.geoplace.com)

Industry Outlook 2008 - Peering through the LookingGlassGeoWorld magazine celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2007.Ten years ago, this magazine asked its Editorial AdvisoryBoard members to predict what the industry would be like in2007. Impressively, many of the predictions were ratheraccurate. So this year seemed the perfect opportunity torevisit this exercise, peer into the future and see where ourboard thinks the industry will be in another 10 years.

Image-Processing Progress - New Tools Automate Labor-Intensive TechniquesWith satellite imagery becoming more accessible andaffordable in recent years, GIS professionals now use it fordiverse applications ranging from scientific research toresource management and urban development.

Geo: Geoconnexion International (January 2008)(http://www.geoconnection.com)

A Web Application Deployment ModelThe EDINA National Data Centre at the University of Edin-burgh provides the Digimap Service, serving the primary UKnational geographic dataset - OS MasterMap - to the wholehigher education community in the UK.

Reaping the Rewards of Satellite NavigationEric Fumat of NAVTEQ wonders if businesses recognizeand understand the benefits of using satellite navigation,which are confirmed by independent surveys and numerousreports and research.

GIS Development- Global Geospatial magazine(Dec. 2007)(http://www.GISdevelopment.net)

An introduction to Enterprise GISGeospatial information is increasingly becoming a part ofthe information needs for the daily operations of an enter-prise. The enterprise could be a business like a departmentstore, a utility like a power company or a local governmententity like a municipality or even a government departmentlike roads and buildings.

Building an Enterprise GISThe enterprise model is a multi-purpose system that is partof the operational framework of an organization. It is definedas a GIS that is used by multiple agencies within differentorganizations. The objective of Ras Al Khaimah GIS Project(RAKGIS) is to utilize GIS technology to support severallocal government departments (Town Planning and SurveyAdministration, Building and Engineering Administration,Public Works and Services Department, Sewage Authority,and Land Department).

GEO TIMES (January 2008)(http://www.geotimes.org)

Out of Africa: Following the Arabian TrailNew geoarchaeological evidence indicates that early mod-ern humans may have ventured out of Africa and throughsouthern Arabia, instead of the Levant.

Tectonic Hypotheses of Human EvolutionNew evidence from the Blue Nile and other locations inAfrica suggests that the main formation of the East AfricanRift Valley coincided with major turns in human evolution,suggesting that tectonics played a major role in evolution.

American Surveyor (January 2008)(http://www.amerisurv.com)

Point to Point: Compromising Positions

With the advent of electronic measuring devices, most of thequantitative differences from surveyor to surveyor havedecreased to trivialities. Is there any disagreement on thatscore? We simply do not encounter vast observational differ-ences between modern surveys these days. This is not tosay that disputes wholly surrounding measurements willnever be seen again- after all, small magnitudes can stillgenerate big controversies, especially in densely populatedareas...

Rendezvous 2007- Celebrating the Most Renowned Ameri-can SurveyorHis life story simmers in the stew of fable, history, scholar-ship and legend. At any one point during his life, GeorgeWashington was a militarist, diplomat, distiller of spirits,statesman, innovative farmer, legislator, but most importantlyto our mutual interests, a surveyor of property.

Online Publications

Directions Magazine (Dec. 2007, Jan. 2008)(http://www.directionsmag.com)

GPS Pioneer Addresses LBS Market FundamentalsKanwar Chadha of SiRF Technologies speaks to Joe Franci-ca about the ongoing hyperbole in the location-based serv-ices marketplace...

Mobile Today becomes What Tomorrow?Writer Chris Andrews takes a few minutes to imagine futur-istic uses of geospatial technology and wonders how far offthese kinds of applications really are...

Creating an EExtensible GIS with SOA and Web ServicesRoss Smith and Andrew Sheahan from PA Consulting advo-cate a SOA/Web services approach to your GIS environ-ment...

Sea Changes and Ripple Effects of 2007Number of industry insiders and executives to DirectionsMagazine discussed the big sea changes and the rippleeffects they saw in 2007, and where they expect those totake us next year.

Vector 1 Media (Dec. 2007, Jan. 2008)(http://www.vector1media.com)

Top 10 of 2007Jeff Thurston and Matt Ball look back at the Top stories of2007. Making the list are policy changes, industry consolida-tion, newer technologies and products...

Ten Predictions for 2008Advancements in virtual reality and GIS Modeling, integra-tion that will make infrastructure design-creation and main-tenance- more efficient...

Source of Truth: Is the IT Community prepared for SpatiialData Infrastructures?The term Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) is described inNebert's SDI Cookbook as "the relevant base collection oftechnologies, policies and institutional arrangements thatfacilitate the availability of and access to spatial data." But isthe IT community prepared for SDI?

G I S D E V E L O P M E N T72 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 8

Geospatial Publications


Planner

February 20086 - 8 FebruaryMap India 2008Greater Noida, India

www.mapindia.org

7 - 8 February

Location India 2008 Greater Noida, India

www.location.net.in/india

8 - 8 FebruaryGIS MARE 2008Carrara, Italy

http://www.carrarafiere.com

16 - 17 FebruaryDigital India 2008Hyderabad, India

www.gisindia.in

18 - 20 FebruaryINTERGEO EAST 2008 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

www.intergeo-east.com

19 - 21 February Munich Satellite Navigation Summit 2008Munich, Germany

www.munich-satellite-navigation-summit.org

19 - 20 February2008 Indiana GIS ConferenceIndianapolis, USA

www.in.gov/igic/conference/index.html

21 - 22 FebruaryInternational LiDAR Mapping Forum 2008Denver, USA

www.lidarmap.org

25 - 28 February12th Annual GIS / CAMA Technologies ConferenceNew Orleans, USA

www.urisa.org/gis_cama

25 - 29 FebruaryGSDI 10Trinidad and Tobago

www.gsdi.org/gsdi10/index.htm

March 20089 - 12 March GITA’s Geospatial Infrastructure SolutionsConference Washington, USA

www.gita.org/events/annual/31/index.asp

11 - 14 March MicroRad 2008 Florence, Italy

www.microrad2008.org/index.asp

17 - 20 March TUgis 2008 Maryland, USA

www.tugis.towson.edu

April 20085 - 8 AprilSpatial Analysis for Business 2008 Redlands, CA USA

www.spatialconference.org

8 - 10 AprilMap Middle East 2008Dubai, UAE

www.mapmiddleeast.org

15 - 19 AprilAssociation of American Geographers Annual MeetMassachusetts, USA

www.aag.org/annualmeetings

16 - 18 April Remote Sensing - The Synergy of High TechnologiesMoscow, Russia

www.sovzondconference.ru/eng

May 200828 - 2 May 2008ASPRS 2008 Annual ConferenceOregon, USA

www.asprs.org/portland08

June 200810-12 June 2008 GIS/SIT 2008 - Swiss GI Forum: Added value by GeoinformationZurich, Switzerland

www.akm.ch/gis_sit2008

July 20081 - 4 July Geoinformatics Forum Salzburg(GI_Forum2008) Salzburg,Austria, Europe, Salzburg

www.gi-forum.org

21 - 25 July GeoWeb 2008Vancouver , B.C., Canada

www.geoweb.org

August 20084 - 8 August6th International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechncial Engineering Washington , D.C., USA

www.6icchge2008.org

5 - 7 AugustGEOBIA, 2008 Calgary , Alberta, Canada

www.ucalgary.ca/geobia

19 - 21 AugustMap Asia 2008Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

www.mapasia.org

25 - 26 AugustMap Africa 2008Cape Town, South Africa

www.mapafrica.gisdevelopment.net

September 20088 - 11 September10th Int’l Symp on High Mountain RS Cartography Kathmandu, Nepal

www.icimod-gis.net/news/showDetail.php?id=193

22 - 24 September 1st Int’l Conf. on Remote Sensing Tech inDisaster Mgmt & Emergency Response inthe Mediter. RegionZadar, Croatia

www.earsel.geosat.hr/index.shtml

October 200829 - 3 October FOSS4G 2008Cape Town , South Africa

www.foss4g2008.org

30 - 2 October INTERGEOBremen, Germany

www.intergeo.de

Ind

iaMap World Forum

10 - 13 January 2009Hyderabad

www.mapworldforum.org

Map Asia 200819 - 21 August 2008

Kuala Lumpurwww.mapasia.org

Map Middle East 20088 - 10 April 2008

Dubaiwww.mapmiddleeast.org

Map Africa 200825 - 26 August 2008

Capetownhttp://mapafrica.gisdevelopment.net

Sout

hAf

rica

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mapping the developer’s toolbox · 2017-06-12 · i find the words of linus torvalds inspiring...

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