Laser Scanning as the Connection Between Design and Operations

The ability to capture real-world conditions with LiDAR has helped engineering design firms to get into the operation side of business. The barriers to modeling are all changing now with the decreasing costs of laser scanners, a growing capacity to automate the model creation, and the ability to connect the point cloud to material details in order to create an intelligent model.
More on laser scanning and design 

International Experts Tackle Solar Threats to GNSS Technology

A major threat to GNSS realiability comes from the sun. Solar-related phenomena, and their effect on the Earth’s ionosphere, can cause disruptions in signal delivery, and there are little to no protections in current systems. As we approach the next solar maximum in 2013, when ionospheric effects will be at their greatest, a network of internationally renowned experts are joining forces to protect society from the effects of solar related phenomena on GNSS signals.
More on solar and GNSS

Are India’s Earth Observation Satellites Measuring Up?

The Comptroller and Auditor General for the country opened the door and stepped into the satellite industry and determined that several satellites were under performing. Several recommendations were made to Parliament on the situation, but does the wider geospatial industry already have some ideas as to what the cause for concern is?
More on India’s satellites 

Protection for Koala Goes Online

An innovative new online mapping portal that will mobilise communities to help protect koalas and their habitats was launched today by Esri Australia and the Australia Koala Foundation (AKF). The AKF’s KoalaMap lets visitors be part of efforts to protect Australia’s cutest national treasure by providing the ability to add to research on koala sightings and habitat quality into easy to navigate maps of their local areas.
More on koala protection

Base Maps Provide a Foundation for Economic Development

As in much of the developing world, the quality, currency and resolution of maps for Afghanistan have been lacking. Spatial Networks, a company with offices in Florida and Dubai, assumed ownership of the project assets and the production operation, including an agreement with the national mapping agency, and they are well on their way to providing greatly improved maps and spatial data for the country.
More on base mapping

GIS- Enabled Decision Making in Malaysia’s Government Agencies

For many government departments, GIS has become a mission critical application which has the capacity to transform decision making within the government by way of using it to enhance and streamline business processes, and ensure precious resources are used wisely.
 More on GIS in Malaysia

SuperGeo Announces New Reseller in Nepal

As a result, SeaGate Institute of Technology expects to work with SuperGeo to provide clients with complete and efficient services. Today, SuperGeo Technologies officially granted the resellership to SeaGate Institute ofTechnology, who will promote SuperGIS series products in Nepal.
More on Nepal partnership

China State Nuclear Electric Power Selects SmartPlant Foundation

State Nuclear Electric Power Planning Design and Research Institute (SNPDRI) based in Beijing, China, has chosen Intergraph SmartPlant Foundation and other SmartPlant Enterprise solutions to manage engineering data for its AP1000 project. As a subsidiary of State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC).
More on SmartPlant

U.S. Army Geospatial Center Supports Japan Quake, Tsunami Relief Efforts

The U.S. Army Geospatial Center (AGC) compiled earthquake, water, and geology maps as well as other data sets of Japan and made them available via its public and public key infrastructure (PKI) Web sites last week in support of U.S. quake and tsunami relief efforts.
More on the earthquake relief

DigitalGlobe Reaches Major Milestone in China

After collecting millions of square kilometers of imagery over the last 12 months, the company’s ImageLibrary now encompasses 34 million square kilometers of cloud-free China coverage. It includes a mix of rich archive and constantly refreshed satellite imagery covering more than 150 of China’s largest cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Kunming and Qingdao.
More on Chinese imagery

Why Do Russian Images of Earth Look So Different from NASA’s?

It was taken by a Russian spacecraft, a new weather satellite called Elektro-L. It’s now orbiting Earth on a geostationary orbit 36,000km above the equator, after being launched on January 20 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, on board a Zenit rocket. This is the first major spacecraft fully developed in post-Soviet Russia, developed by NPO Lavochkin for the Russian Federal Space Agency.
 More on satellite imagery

PM Asks Security Agencies to Build Better Infrastructure

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked security agencies to improve their professional standards and build better infrastructure to counter the “new generation” of terrorists who have acquired State-like military capabilities in their fighting strategies and tactics.
More on Indian infrastructure

SuperGeo to Release the Latest Mobile Cadastral GIS 3.0

Mobile Cadastral GIS has been utilized extensively.   In view of a large quantity of positive feedback and valuable suggestions, SuperGeo RD team redesigns this system with many improvements, including interface design, map display, manipulation procedure, and query speed.

China Manages – Serves Forestry Data with ERDAS APOLLO 

SFA manages a large and rapidly expanding collection of forestry data collected across China, including terabytes of vectors with all their associated attribute data, remotely sensed imagery and land cover maps.

New CartoVista Thematic Web Mapping Solution

CartoVista 3 has been entirely re-architected and optimized for a faster display and provides more control over the map thematic analyses. The solution now supports unlimited thematic analyses from different interactive vector layers all at once. 

Motion F5v – Tablet PC

The sealed Motion F5v is a rugged, highly mobile tablet PC providing electronic clipboard functionality that is the ideal productivity tool for field workers who compute and enter data while standing or walking. 

CCEA Approves GAGAN Project 

The prestigious project, being developed jointly by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), would place India in the fourth position along with the US, Europe and Japan to have such an advanced navigation system.

NZGO Builds National Geospatial Skills Database

The New Zealand Geospatial Office offered to build a database of geospatial professionals who may be available to provide relief for the people based in Wellington and Christchurch who are working on Christchurch earthquake efforts. 

Intuicom Announces Support for Trimble IBSS

Intuicom Inc. has announced the availability of support for Trimble’s Internet Base Station Service (IBSS) on their RTK Bridge products. IBSS provides GNSS correction information via the Internet using cellular services instead of relying solely on radio communications.

Framework for Valuing Ecosystem Services in the Himalayas

Around half of the world’s population depends directly or indirectly on mountain resources for different products and services. Having a means for economic valuation of these services will help increase recognition of their value and provide a way of ensuring fair distribution of the costs and benefits of conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

LINZ Releases Post Christchurch Earthquake Aerial Imagery

The imagery of the city was flown on 24 February, and clearly shows the extent of the damage from the 22 February quake. As the country’s national mapping agency, Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is coordinating the release of this imagery on behalf of the Crown, on the authority of the National Controller.

TerraSAR-X Satellite Data – Tsunami in Japan

Radar data, in contrast to data from optical satellites, can be acquired independently of cloud cover or time of day and allow precise identification of the flooded and destroyed areas on the east coast of Japan.

Mapping Out Path to a Quake-Ready Jakarta

The Jakarta administration is drawing up a map of the capital’s disaster-prone areas so authorities can improve response measures to natural calamities, particularly earthquakes. Hari Sasongko Kushadi , head of the city’s Building Control and Monitoring Office (P2B) , said the map would help officials improve evacuation plans by determining which parts of Jakarta are most vulnerable to damage.