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Severe Flooding Hits Northeast China
Monday, 23 Aug 2010 02:19 PM
More than 250,000 people were evacuated in northeastern China over the weekend after torrential rains battered the area and led to severe flooding along the border with North Korea. In the Chinese province of Liaoning, the floodwaters damaged five border cities, destroying or damaging thousands of homes and buildings and causing at least $100 million in losses.
New York TimesEnvironmentalist Madhav Gadgil Promotes the Promise of Geoinformatics
Monday, 23 Aug 2010 02:09 PM
Speaking at a workshop on forests, environment and sustainability trends in Pune, India, eminent environmentalist Madhav Gadgil emphasized that geoinformatics can bring about a social revolution if it is used for land and forest surveys. He spoke of case studies where the use of GPS and Google Earth were able to map the land records of an entire village in days, saving high costs to farmers and months of hassle.
Times of IndiaMicrosoft’s Vexcel Imaging GmbH Sells 30 UltraCam Systems
Saturday, 21 Aug 2010 06:07 AM
Microsoft’s photogrammetry division—Vexcel Imaging, GmbH today reported an impressive 30 sales for its UltraCam digital aerial camera systems during the company’s 2010 fiscal year (July 2009 – June 2010). In addition, 11 camera upgrades were sold. Details of the sales are as follows: 1)Large-format cameras—UltraCamX, UltraCamXp and UltraCamXp Wide Angle—totaled 18 and 2) Photogrammetric medium-format cameras—UltraCamL and UltraCamLp—totaled 12. “We are quite pleased to be able to report such a successful year,” said Alexander Wiechert, Business Director of Microsoft and Managing Director for Vexcel Imaging GmbH. “Given the historically tough economic situation worldwide, we are honored that our customers are providing such strong evidence that our products are sound investments.”
External ReferenceUN-REDD Viet Nam Programme Consulting Opportunities
Thursday, 19 Aug 2010 08:15 PM
The UN-REDD Viet Nam Programme is inviting qualified companies or consortia to express their interest in the following assignment. This work involved the establishment of historical forest status maps at district level
UN REDDISO/TC 211 & Land Administration Domain Model (LADM)
Thursday, 19 Aug 2010 08:02 PM
At a conference on Cadastre, Public Policies and Economic Activity recently in Madrid, Spain attention turned to ISO/TC 211 and the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM). This model has two objectives: 1) UML- model for building Land Administration systems and 2) to provide the basis for communication (a Land Administration terminology).
More on LADMDamaged Ecosystems Magnify Asia’s Killer Floods
Thursday, 19 Aug 2010 04:26 PM
Climate change may be playing a part in record rains ravaging Asia but environment experts say the destruction of ecosystems is more directly to blame for the severity of killer floods. Widespread deforestation, the conversion of wetlands to farms or urban sprawl and the clogging up of natural drainage systems with garbage are just some of the factors exacerbating the impacts of the floods, they say.
DawnAustralian Researchers Work to Improve Parsing of Place Names
Thursday, 19 Aug 2010 02:52 PM
A team of seven Australian scientists are working on improving how computers understand and decipher place descriptions. The three-year, $500K, project is funded in part by the Victorian Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA), who will benefit from a better means to decipher the often-vague place descriptions of distressed callers.
More on Parsing PlaceThe Big Picture of the Chinese Landslides
Wednesday, 18 Aug 2010 07:20 PM
At midnight on Sunday, August 8th, a temporary lake caused by a recent landslide broke loose above the town of Zhouqu, in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China. The outflow slid down the valley as a wall of mud, wiping out houses and muli-story buildings, and killing at least 1,144 resident. The Boston Globe has a compelling Big Picture story of this disaster, putting it into perspective with more than 40 compelling photos, and maps.
Boston GlobeDeLorme Assisting in Development of Disaster Relief Mapping in Asia
Wednesday, 18 Aug 2010 05:05 PM
DeLorme was approached in January 2010 by the Australian Government’s Defense Imagery and Geospatial Organization (DIGO) to provide precise electronic maps that would serve as a base for overlaying critical information during disaster response operations in the region. The company is currently assisting the Government of Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the development of a disaster relief mapping service to enable rapid response capabilities in the event of a natural disaster in the Asia Pacific Rim.
DeLormeIndonesian Corals Devastated by Summer Heat
Tuesday, 17 Aug 2010 07:27 PM
Searing summer temperatures have "devastated" coral off Indonesia's coast, reports a conservation group Monday. A Wildlife Conservation Society team reports more than 60% of the Andaman Sea corals off the island of Sumatra have been bleached, a whitening that occurs when the algae supporting the reefs die off.
USA TodayPCI Geomatics Announces PT Barrata as New Distributor in Indonesia
Tuesday, 17 Aug 2010 04:19 PM
PCI Geomatics, a world leading developer of geo-imaging software and systems is pleased to announce that PT Barrata is now an official distributor of PCI products for customers in Indonesia. Located in Bandung, Indonesia, PT Barrata’s staff is focused on remote sensing and GIS related business. PT Barrata will promote PCI Geomatics technologies including Geomatica® and GeoImaging Tools software to customers throughout the country.
PT BarrataYouth Forum Empowering Youth with Earth Observation Information
Tuesday, 17 Aug 2010 02:37 PM
Realising the important role of young minds in ensuring sustainability in the region and to promote application of earth observation systems, particularly on climate change adaptation, we are organising a six-days long YOUTH Forum on 'Benefiting from Earth Observation: Bridging the Data Gap for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region', from 1-6 October 2010 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
ICIMODTrimble Acquires Accubid Assets to Expand its Building Construction Solutions
Tuesday, 17 Aug 2010 02:28 PM
Accubid's family of software products allow electrical and mechanical contractors to analyze their estimates in great detail including CAD-based estimating and takeoff and then export the data into project management, accounting, and procurement applications. The acquisition of Accubid broadens Trimble's industry leading "BIM to field" solutions for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contractors to automate project estimating and management, modeling, detailing, layout and construction. "BIM collaboration processes are transforming the way building construction projects are planned, managed and executed," said Pat Bohle, general manager of Trimble's Building Construction Division.
TrimbleTaiwan Economic and Social Indicator GIS
Tuesday, 17 Aug 2010 02:24 PM
The aim of this project is to apply service oriented architecture as well as the research results of three social development indicators, Medical and Health, Public Security and Employment, to create data provisioning services for the public. On the other hand, the project is designed to integrate many functions and provide a user-friendly interface. Therefore, the project is expected to fulfill the demands of decision-making and researches in government and achieve the goals of exchanging and applying the data between economic and social database and related databases.
SuperGeo technologiesIndia Bhoomi Foundation of Geoinformatics Selected SuperGIS Desktop
Tuesday, 17 Aug 2010 02:22 PM
India Bhoomi Foundation of Geoinformatics and Natural Resources Management selected SuperGIS Desktop 3, the powerful desktop GIS software developed by SuperGeo Technologies, for spatial analysis and data visualization. SuperGeo Technologies, the leading global provider of complete GIS software and solutions, is pleased to announce a successful sales performance in India, where Bhoomi Foundation of Geoinformatics and Natural Resources Management (Bhoomi Foundation), has selected SuperGIS Desktop 3, the powerful desktop GIS software.
SuperGeo TechnologiesVolcano Collapse Underlines Threat of Tsunami
Tuesday, 17 Aug 2010 01:54 PM
A huge undersea volcano not far from the coast has dramatically reduced in size after partly collapsing more than 100 metres toward the ocean floor. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research scientists found that a volcanic cone on Rumble III, 200km northeast of Auckland, had crumbled. The volcano's highest point had dropped 90m further below the Pacific Ocean, and in some places the volcano had slipped as much as 120m.
NZ HeraldHemisphere GPS Announces New Earthworks Dealers
Tuesday, 17 Aug 2010 01:35 PM
Hemisphere GPS announces the addition of three new Earthworks dealers to the company's distribution network. They serve a range of territory including mid-Atlantic and Western States. Each channel partner will represent the Hemisphere GPS Earthworks product portfolio including the X200 excavator machine guidance system.
Hemisphere GPSHemisphere GPS and Summit Liability Solutions Sign Agreement
Tuesday, 17 Aug 2010 01:34 PM
With Summit direction and logic, Hemisphere GPS modified the popular Outback S3 to interface with the Summit Earth(TM) system. Summit Earth is a Summit-designed web-based data entry platform with built-in satellite imagery, regulatory compliance checking and self-auditing capabilities, and powerful reporting functionality. Spatial information from Summit Earth is uploaded into the S3-S Navigator and, once armed, the system controls the discharge valve of a disposal unit based on regulatory parameters entered by Summit's field technicians.
Hemisphere GPSIndonesia Boosts Infrastructure Spending
Monday, 16 Aug 2010 05:06 PM
PRsident Yudhoyono told the Indonesian parliament today that they may increase capital spending by 28 percent next year as the government aims to build more bridges and roads to boost growth in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. The economy may expand 6.3 percent next year from 6 percent this year, with Capital spending in the 2011 state budget may rise by 26.6 trillion rupiah ($2.96 billion) to 121.7 trillion rupiah next year.
BloombergTerrestrial Laser Scanning Becomes Mainstream Land Surveying
Monday, 16 Aug 2010 02:11 PM
Terrestrial Laser Scanning is quite legitimately starting to take a larger stake in the domain of mainstream land surveying. This technological advancement is similar in significance for the industry to what RTK GPS was doing a decade or so ago, and it seems only logical that over the next decade 3D scanning technology will evolve into a mainstream tool in the arsenal of most land surveying organizations.
FIGVietnam's Deputy PM Calls for Flood Damage Control
Monday, 16 Aug 2010 01:33 PM
Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Centre to apply advanced technology in forecasting to help all localities cope with climate changes, thus minimizing the loss of lives and property in future. Over the past 10 years, 96 flash floods occurred across the country, leaving 883 people dead and 1,500 injured. More than 6,000 houses were swept away, hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice and subsidiary crops were submerged and many irrigation works were heavily damaged, causing a total of more than VND 6,000 billion in damage.
VOV NewsGRAPHISOFT Brings Historic Shanghai Buildings to Life
Monday, 16 Aug 2010 11:45 AM
Tongji University, College of Architecture and Urban Planning; Pujing Information Technology; GRAPHISOFT; and BMC have made it possible to ‘visit’ the Park Hotel, the Moore Memorial Church, and the D.V. Woo House, three of Hudec’s most significant designs in Shanghai -- by creating the virtual building models of the real buildings with ArchiCAD and making them accessible to the public through GRAPHISOFT’s innovative Virtual Building Explorer technology in an interactive 3D virtual reality presentation.
GraphisoftGeospatial Professional New Vice-Chancellor for Jamia Millia
Monday, 16 Aug 2010 11:30 AM
The Jamia Millia Islamia University has appointed S.M. Rashid the new pro-vice-chancellor, an official said Monday. Professor Rashid, who was the dean of the faculty of natural sciences, specialises in remote-sensing and has been working in the area of cartography.
ThaiIndianIndia to Launch Own GPS Service Plotting Planes in South Asia
Sunday, 15 Aug 2010 07:25 AM
India is set to launch its own satellite-based navigation system - GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GAGAN. In the next five years the Indian airspace will get more crowded and the chances of accidents may increase. To reduce the chances of future air disasters, India has endeavoured on the GAGAN project for traffic and directional guidance from outer space. "The scope for GAGAN extends far beyond Indian borders. It reaches up to Africa and south East Asia. It is a huge airspace that we can monitor with this technology," says Praful Patel, minister of state for civil aviation.
LivejournalIndia Deploys Geospatial Mapping to Detect Areas Without Schools
Friday, 13 Aug 2010 04:46 PM
The Government has proposed to undertake geospatial mapping of the states with regard to the unavailability of primary, secondary and higher education institutions to ensure that no areas are left without schools and colleges. This exercise will help the Government to get information for setting up institutions as per the requirement, so that no area is left unattended.
IBN LiveSabah Land Department Urged To Act Against Intruding Company
Friday, 13 Aug 2010 04:33 PM
Kota Marudu member of parliament Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili has urged the state Land and Survey Department to act against a company which has intruded on and bulldozed land belonging to villagers. Ongkili, who visited the area covering Kampung Soniton Ulu, Kampung Lingkobungan 1 and Kampung Bombong 1 in Kota Marudu, said the native customary rights land had mature crops including rubber.
Bernama.comBetter Spatial Data Practices for Water and Flood Management
Thursday, 12 Aug 2010 09:51 PM
Floods are ravaging many parts of the world at this time. From China to Pakistan to Poland, water related disasters are causing severe damage, endangering lives and destroying large amounts of property and land use loss. These events benefit from the use of spatial data in many ways.
More on FloodingPaper: Engineering the 21st Century Utility: A Changing Industry
Thursday, 12 Aug 2010 02:17 PM
Utilities worldwide are facing powerful economic incentives to reduce carbon emissions. As Angel Gurría, secretary general to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, explained during a speech at the World Energy Council: Energy Leaders Summit, “We are reaching a convergence in our understanding of the main elements of a cost-effective strategy to tackle climate change.
Bentley SystemsHemisphere GPS Reports Growth in Second Quarter
Thursday, 12 Aug 2010 02:07 PM
Hemisphere GPS reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010. All amounts in this news release are expressed in US dollars. For the second quarter ended June 30, 2010, Hemisphere GPS reported an 8% increase in revenues to $15.6 million compared to the second quarter of 2009 and a 3% increase from the first quarter of 2010. In the Company's Agriculture business, sales of ground agriculture products grew by 10% from the second quarter of 2009. Ground agriculture product sales to international distribution customers, OEMs and systems integrator customers were strong during the quarter.
Hemisphere GPS25th International Cartographic Conference - 2nd Call for Papers
Thursday, 12 Aug 2010 01:55 PM
A wide range of conferences, from state of the art lectures to practical conferences, and various exhibitions will gather researchers, teachers, students, decision-makers, engineers, technicians and map lovers in Paris from 3rd to 8th July 2011.
ICASuperGeo CEO Delivers a Speech at Industrial Technology Research Institute
Thursday, 12 Aug 2010 08:21 AM
Super Wang, CEO of SuperGeo Technologies, was invited to deliver a speech at Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the pioneer research organization serving to strengthen the technological competitiveness of Taiwan. Seeing SuperGIS software has been successfully researched and developed by SuperGeo RD team, ITRI invited Mr. Wang to talk about the development results of SuperGIS technologies and the future research direction of SuperGIS products.
SuperGeo TechnologiesYilan Recreation and Living Web
Thursday, 12 Aug 2010 08:16 AM
In recent years, the increasing number of tourists who prefer in-depth tour has affected the development of the tourism industry in Taiwan. In addition, in the modern society, the Internet has become the indispensable role in daily life, and people get used to use the Internet to search the travel information. As a result, various types of tourism-related websites emerge.
SuperGeo TechnologiesChina Launches New Remote Sensing Satellite
Wednesday, 11 Aug 2010 02:04 PM
China launched the remote sensing satellite Yaogan X yesterday aboard a Long March 4 carrier rocket. The satellite will carry out surveys of land resources, estimate crop yield and aid in natural disaster reduction and prevention.
China DailyMindanao Wins Support for Updated Maps and GIS
Wednesday, 11 Aug 2010 01:59 PM
Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines, has largely overcome ongoing unrest and is moving toward peace. As part of the redevelopment effort, Mindanao has won support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to update out-of-date maps that are based on 1950s photography. By 2012, using the latest satellite technology, a total of 205 digital topographic maps will be completed, and a geographic information system (GIS) will be established for Mindanao.
ReliefWebESRI Singapore COTS Training - August 2010 Onwards
Wednesday, 11 Aug 2010 04:06 AM
Below are some of our upcoming programs here at ESRI Singapore from August 2010. (Dates are subjected to changes).
ESRI SingaporeFARMIMAGE in the Northern Sustainable Soils News
Wednesday, 11 Aug 2010 03:52 AM
As part of the Precision Ag focus paddocks this year, Landmark have utilised satellite imagery to help classify and define variation in crop growth, which is obviously driven by soil type variability. This article is a guide to this layer of data and how it may be able to assist you better manage your business. A satellite takes a true colour image which is readily converted into NDVI, a universal measure of both greenness and biomass of a crop. NDVI is best viewed through August and September in the peak of the growing season.
ApogeeIndia to Launch Satellite-based Navigation System GAGAN
Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010 10:47 PM
A satellite-based navigation system to aid air traffic from Southeast Asia to Africa, including over the high seas in the vast region, would be launched tomorrow, placing India into a select group of nations which possess such a sophisticated technology. Navigation to be launched by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel would not only help the civil aviation sector but also help in marine navigation, search and rescue operations, rail and road transport, survey and mapping as well as precision farming.
Hindustan TimesSurveying ICT Use in Education in India and South Asia
Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010 09:23 PM
The World Bank's infoDev program recently released the latest volume in its periodic surveys of the use of information and communication technology in the education sector around the world. Following on earlier efforts that examined the Caribbean and Africa (and UNESCO-Bangkok's much earlier examination of the Asia-Pacific region), ICT for Education in India and South Asia catalogues what is happening related to the use of educational technologies in this important part of the world.
Information PolicyRolta India Targets 15% Growth in Profits This Year
Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010 09:12 PM
Rolta India has announced its results for the quarter ended June 2010. It has reported consolidated net profit of Rs 69 crore as against Rs 67.1 crore (QoQ). Its consolidated net sales increased to Rs 412 crore from Rs 394.6 crore while other income declined to Rs 4 crore from Rs 36 crore.
India EarningsPolice Raid Google's Seoul Office Over Privacy Concerns
Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010 09:01 PM
nvestigators acting with a warrant raided the Google’s office in southern Seoul Tuesday morning and searched the property until 5 p.m., returning with computer hard drives and other materials to look into suspicions that the company had gathered fragments of personal data sent over unsecured Wi-Fi systems. The intercepted information may include e-mail or instant messaging records transmitted over personal computers or smartphones, according to the police.
Korean Times