GIS in Education

You're invited to attend the free webinar, Getting Data Under Control: Managing & Exploiting Your Imagery & Point Clouds. This is the first of the Synergy Series webinars hosted by ERDAS and Intergraph.

Webinar date: August 4, 2011 - 11 AM (GMT -4)

ERDAS APOLLO and GeoMediaDo you need to manage LIDAR and raster data, but have concerns about handling massive amounts of image files and LIDAR point cloud data?

During this webinar, you will see how LIDAR data and imagery management combines with analysis tools in an enterprise, dramatically increasing productivity. We will highlight how ERDAS APOLLO enables you to efficiently centralize, manage and deliver volumes of geospatial data to a large audience. In addition, we will showcase advanced LIDAR data exploitation tools within GeoMedia Grid. For more information, watch our latest ERDAS TV Webisode, Getting Data Under Control.

The second webinar in the Synergy Series will be Live Link: Uniting ERDAS IMAGINE & GeoMedia to Enrich Your Workflows on August 10, 2011. Register now online for this exciting new webinar!

Microsoft UltraCam reseller GeoToolBox Ibérica S.L. (GTBi), based in Madrid, Spain, won an international tender with the Instituto Geográfico de Venezuela Simón Bolivar (IGVSB). The awarded contract includes an UltraCamXp digital camera system, technical support, training and long-term consulting services.

”The IGVSB plays an important role as the ruling entity in a new legal system in Venezuela regarding geoinformation, cartography and cadaster mapping,” said Ing. Sergio Rodríguez Adam, President of the IGVSB. “The IGVSB is working in conjunction with the state, national and local authorities to advance strategic development countrywide, and the UltraCamXp will strengthen these efforts by providing high-resolution, high-accuracy aerial data.”

The UltraCamXp purchase is being funded through the European Cooperation Program to support Venezuela’s mapping and cadastre programs (CARCAVEN Project). ”The Instituto Geográfico de Venezuela Simón Bolivar is looking forward to continuing the expansion of our national mapping and cadaster programs to support significant economic development in our country,” said Ms. Rosa De Faría, CARCAVEN Project Administrator, IGVSB. “We are pleased that the UltraCamXp was selected as the foundation of our digital mapping program.”

In the long term the camera will be used for country-wide mapping; however, there is an immediate need for aerial data collection to assess areas damaged by flooding in 2010, and to track a massive government housing plan which is now in progress.

“The transition for IGVSB from analog to digital technology is an important step in the progression of national mapping in Venezuela,” said Alexander Wiechert, Microsoft Business Director. “The UltraCamXp is an excellent resource to support natural disaster response and damage mitigation, as well as general mapping throughout the country.”

About the UltraCamXp:
The UltraCamXp photogrammetric digital aerial camera, released in 2008, provides a pixel size of 6 micrometers and a footprint of 196 megapixels (17,310 across track x 11,310 along track). The resolution ratio of 1:3 between pan and color bands allows the production of high-resolution pan-sharpened products. The low-cost, exchangeable on-board storage devices hold up to 6,600 images each—approximately 4.2 terabytes of data. The vast storage capability allows for more efficient data collection as a result of uninterrupted image collection and minimal ground time.

About Microsoft’s UltraCam Business Unit:
With its operations based in Graz, Austria, and sales and support teams in North America, Microsoft’s UltraCam business unit brings more than two decades of photogrammetry expertise to Microsoft’s Bing Maps business unit. The division is responsible for the highly successful line of UltraCam digital aerial mapping systems that include the UltraCamLp, UltraCamXp and UltraCamXp Wide Angle and the new UltraCam Eagle digital photogrammetric sensors. Rounding out the UltraCam mapping systems offering is the UltraMap workflow software system that provides an automated project-based color balancing module and additional quality control tools.

About Microsoft:
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About the Instituto Geográfico de Venezuela Simón Bolivar (IGVSB):
Founded in 1935 in Caracas, Venezuela, IGVSB is responsible for national mapping and cadastre management throughout the country. Over the years, IGVSB has continuously improved its equipment and training to take advantage of new technology to ensure the availability of accurate and up-to-date geographic information.

About GeoToolBox Ibérica S.L. (GTBi):
Microsoft’s business partner, GTBi, operates in Spain, Portugal and throughout Latin America. GTBi offers photogrammetric and digital image processing hardware and software solutions, in addition to training, installation and long-term support services in its territory. For more information, contact Mr. Miguel Pelaz by email miguel.pelaz@gtbi.net or refer to the Spanish-language website www.gtbi.net.

I own an iPad and have been downloading free GIS apps. There are not so many GIS apps available, to be honest. Most of those I encountered were from ESRI.

Here are free GIS application that may be worth downloading unto your iPad (and in some cases, iPhone).

1. ArcGIS - ESRI
ArcGIS is a great way to discover and use maps. Maps come to life in ArcGIS. Tap on the map or use your current location and discover information about what you see. You can query the map, search and find interesting information, measure distances and areas of interest and share maps with others. Find community hosted maps from ArcGIS Online – ESRI’s online GIS. Alternatively you can use the authoring tools on ArcGIS.com to create your own maps that can be used in ArcGIS.

If you are an existing ESRI customer this application is part of your ArcGIS system. You can share your corporate maps and extend the reach of your GIS to your iOS devices within your enterprise using ArcGIS Server.

2. UC 2011
It is based on Esri International User Conference (Esri UC) in San Diego. You can have immediate access to full conference details, activities, sessions and training information on your iPhone, if you are among the 14,000 GIS professionals who are going to attend the conference in this July. With this app, you can get important times & dates for events, access to content of sponsor and exhibitor and use Esri’s own maps to navigate the conference center and exhibit halls. Save paper products by supporting Esri’s green initiatives via downloading this app.

3. Terrapad
Meet Terrapad, your Mobile Geographic Information Manager.
Terrapad gives you the flexibility to enter, query, modify and export your geographic data, all from within your iDevice. Driven by a powerful database engine, a unique and simple user interface, and flexible extensions, Terrapad can meet your most demanding needs.

4. iGIS
iGIS represents a new era in mobile GIS solutions by enabling users to load, view, investigate, create and export their own data over a background of Google maps satellite imagery.

Importing data is easy with our unique data import facility using the USB cable or wirelessly on your Mac, PC and Linux. Raster data in many formats (pre-processing required) and ESRI Shapefiles (.shp) are supported at the moment.

5. GISRoam – iPad Mobile Professional GIS
With GISRoam mobile GIS, take your Raster and ESRI Shapefiles with you everywhere. GISRoam is an easy to use and powerful mobile GIS app that enables Shapefile viewing, editing, colorization, and collection over user loaded imagery. With GISRoam you can now go where no 3G or Wi-Fi network exists since the vector and raster data can be pre-load onto the iPad/iPhone before you head out and updated when you return.

6. WolfGIS
WolfGIS can perform the following tasks:
•Load and display Shapefiles and MapInfo vectors
•Load and display Elevation, Imagery, and Maps rasters
•Import, export, and Share vectors using WolfGIS Web Server
•Import rasters and import/export vectors using iTunes
•Take pictures within the application and associate them with parcels. Easily access the picture catalog associated with parcels.
.... and more

7. SHP Viewer
It is a simple shapefile viewer. The Esri Shapefile or simply a shapefile is a popular geospatial vector data format for geographic information systems (GIS). A shapefile is a digital vector storage format for storing geometric location and associated attribute information. This format lacks the capacity to store topological information.

8. Mapworkspace
It is a SaaS solution developed for MapInfo Professional users to allow them to easily publish and share their maps on the Web. Developed by Korem, Mapworkspace is truly unique for its accessibility and ease-of-use. Although solutions currently exist allowing users to add simple geographic information to free online map services, Mapworkspace stands out by providing the mapping professional with complete latitude to create maps. Public or private access allows non-GIS professionals to view published information and interact with the authors in a user-friendly environment.

Find these iPad apps from the Apple app store.

SimActive Inc., a world-leading developer of photogrammetry software, is pleased to announce that the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) has purchased its Correlator3D™ product. The transaction was brokered by Mirukuru, SimActive’s partner in Japan.

“We were looking for software that could be used to generate very high quality DSMs, DTMs and orthomosaics” said Takahiro Shimono of the GSI Topographic Department. “SimActive was selected because the full production line delivered outstanding results and the editing modules were the most efficient tools tested to date.”

“We are glad to welcome the government of Japan to our expanding customer base” said Dr Philippe Simard, President of SimActive. “The ability to produce and edit results very quickly will cut costs and time, optimizing GSI’s efficiency and ensuring an excellent return on investment.”

For more information, visit www.gsi.go.jp OR www.mirukuru.co.jp.

In the last 30 years, more than 90 percent of the reef-building coral responsible for maintaining major marine habitats and providing a natural barrier against hurricanes in the Caribbean has disappeared because of a disease of unknown origin.

Now a University of Florida geographer and his colleagues applied Geographic Information Systems, known as GIS — as well as software previously used to examine human illness — to show where clusters of diseased coral exist. Their findings, published this month in the journal PLoS One, may help scientists derive better hypotheses to determine what contributes to coral disintegration.

“What you’ll find is that spatial techniques have been used relatively little in the coral research community,” said paper co-author Jason Blackburn, a UF professor of geography and member of UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute. “With these methods, we gain a better understanding of the disease’s distribution across the reef.”

Microbiologists and toxicologists often run laboratory tests on small samples of Acropora species of coral to determine the factors that contribute to white-band disease, known as WBD. It’s visually identified as a white band moving from the base of the coral up, killing the coral tissue as it goes, leaving only the exposed coral skeleton behind.

Laboratory results spur a range of theories of causation — anything from opportunistic pathogens to specific bacterial infections. Other scientists suggest that WBD is not the result of an outside agent, such as bacteria, but rather a stress response from the coral in reaction to changes in the marine environment, such as ocean pollution and rising ocean temperatures due to climate change.

Yet the cause remains unclear. The goal of this current study was to use GIS and spatial analysis to search for patterns in a WBD outbreak that might point to a mode of transmission or cause, Blackburn said.
[more from University of Florida news]

There is no stopping China to launch another navigation satellite - Beidou.

A Long March-3A carrier rocket lifts off at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, July 27, 2011.

China successfully launched into space a ninth orbiter for its independent satellite navigation and positioning network known as Beidou, or Compass System here early Wednesday.

Defeating teams from 16 other regions, Russia took top honors at the 10th National Geographic World Championship held today at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. Canada, the defending champion, came in second, and Chinese Taipei was third. The biennial competition, in which teams of students answer questions on physical, cultural and economic geography, is organized by the National Geographic Society. Google was the sponsor of this year’s contest.

Russia has entered a team in every National Geographic World Championship since the competition began in 1993. This is the first time the country has won. The Russian team comprised Alexander Bondarchuk, 16, of St. Petersburg; Masha Samoletova, 16, of St. Petersburg; and Egor Shustov, 16, of Sludyanka.

The Canadian team members were Alexander Cohen, 15, of Ottawa, Ontario; Aoife O’Leary, 15, of Surrey, British Columbia; and Alejandro Torres-Lopez, 16, of North Vancouver, British Columbia.

Representing Chinese Taipei were Chen-Luo Cheng, 15, of Taipei; Po-Chen Chu, 14, of Taitung; and Tong-hong Hsu, 14, of Banqiao District, New Taipei City.

In an Olympics-style ceremony, gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to the first-, second- and third-placed teams. Alex Trebek, host of the U.S. television quiz show “Jeopardy!”, moderated today’s finals.

Russia, Canada and Chinese Taipei qualified for the final round after obtaining the highest combined scores in a written contest on Sunday and in Monday’s preliminary activity that included a hands-on activity at the San Francisco Zoo.

Students were eligible to take part in the World Championship competition by winning or being a top finisher in the national competitions of their home regions. The 14 other teams competing this year were from Australia, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Singapore, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

John Fahey, chairman and CEO of the National Geographic Society, said the competition was a great way for talented young geographers around the world to match wits against each other and to enjoy a rewarding cross-cultural exchange. “The competition enhances geo-literacy, international dialogue and understanding, and promotes friendships around the globe,” he said.

The World Championship is held every two years. The first contest, held in London in 1993, was won by the United States, which beat teams from the United Kingdom and Russia. The Australians, competing against four other teams, won the 1995 competition in Orlando, Fla. The third championship, held in 1997 at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., was won by Canada, which bested eight other teams. The United States won the fourth competition against 11 teams in Toronto, Canada, in 1999. The United States also took first place in the 2001 contest in Vancouver, Canada; in 2003 at Busch Gardens, Fla.; and in 2005 in Budapest, Hungary. The 2007 competition at SeaWorld, San Diego, was won by Mexico. Canada took top honors in 2009 in Mexico City.

AGU journals continue to rank highly in many categories in the 2010 Journal Citation Report (JCR), which was released by Thomson Reuters on 28 June. JCR reports on several measures of journal usage, including a journal’s Eigenfactor score, its Article Influence score, its Impact Factor, and its rank within a cohort of similar journals.

According to the 2010 statistics, AGU again has outperformed its larger competitors. Four different AGU titles are ranked in the top three journals in six different cohorts. The Impact Factor of several AGU journals increased significantly over the previous year.

How to Compute the Journal Impact Factor
The Impact Factor is calculated by dividing the number of citations in the JCR year by the total number of articles published in the 2 previous years. The Eigenfactor score is based on the number of times articles from the journal published in the past 5 years have been cited in the JCR year, but it also considers which journals have contributed these citations so that highly cited journals will influence the network more than lesser cited journals. The Article Influence determines the average influence of a journal’s articles over the first five years after publication. It is calculated by dividing a journal’s Eigenfactor score by the number of articles in the journal, normalized as a fraction of all articles in all publications.

Paleoceanography is a stellar performer in several categories; since 1995, Paleoceanography has been the top-ranked Paleontology category journal (of 48 titles in 2010) for Impact Factor (4.030). It holds the top rank for Article Influence in 2010, and it is second for Eigenfactor. In the Oceanography grouping (59 journals total), Paleoceanography ranks third in Impact Factor and Article Influence and moves up to fifth in Eigenfactor, this in a category where the number of journals increased by 18%.

Reviews of Geophysics, with an Impact Factor of 9.538 (an increase of 1.517 from the
prior year’s score of 8.021) ranks second in Geochemistry and Geophysics out of a total of 77 journals in this cohort. Reviews also ranks second in Article Influence. Reviews is joined in the top 20 Impact Factors in this cohort by Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, which is ranked tenth, and by Tectonics, which is ranked twelfth.

In the Geosciences, Multidisciplinary category, which includes 165 journals, AGU
takes two of the top 10 slots and four of the top 20 slots in Impact Factor. Global Biogeochemical Cycles (GBC) moves up to fifth with an impact factor of 5.263, Paleoceanography remains eighth, Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) moves up to twelfth, and Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR) (all sections) moves up to fifteenth. AGU journals also stand out from the crowd when looking at other measures. JGR and GRL retain the top two spots in Eigenfactors, with GBC seventh
and Paleoceanography twelfth. In the Article Influence scores, fourth and fifth place
belong to GBC and Paleoceanography, with GRL ninth and JGR fourteenth. In this cohort, AGU holds 3% of the titles, publishes 23% of the articles, and garners 39% of the citations.

Water Resources Research (WRR) climbs to second place in the Water Resources group,
which has a cohort of 76 titles, 10 more than in 2009; WRR ranks second in both Article Influence and Eigenfactor. WRR ranks second in another cohort, Limnology (18 titles), where the journal is ranked first in Eigenfactor and second in Article Influence.

These rankings are one indication of the excellent quality of the journals published by AGU. The journal editors and the AGU Publications Division staff remain dedicated to continuing this level of excellence and to continually improving the quality of AGU journals.

College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University is offering three online programs in remote sensing and GIS. The curriculum can be found at the following pages:

- Graduate Remote Sensing Certificate

- Masters in GIT

- Graduate GIS Certificate

Students have the opportunity to work with ESRI GIS software and ENVI and PCI Geomatica remote sensing software, in addition to learning about open source software. Instructors have extensive experience in their respective fields and are highly qualified individuals. Our programs are entirely online, thus are available to international students also. We offer internship for credit opportunities, access to all the software via a virtual lab environment, and new courses on a routine basis. Look out for "Remote Sensing for Disaster Management; Automated and assisted feature extraction techniques using remote sensing data; and GIS for Crime Mapping and Statistics" to be offered over the next year. Fall classes start on September 12th.

For further information contact: Cordula Robinson: c.robinson@neu.edu; 617 373 2585.

According to a report posted by Research and Markets, the Geographic Information System (GIS market in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14 percent.

TechNavio’s analysts forecast the Geographic Information System (GIS) market in the APAC region to grow at a CAGR of 14 percent over the period of 2010–2014. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing adoption of GIS by the Government and Public sectors in developing countries. The GIS market in the APAC region has also been witnessing increased utilization of GIS for transportation management. However, barriers faced by vendors in the integration of GIS and cloud technologies could pose a challenge to the growth of this market.

Key vendors dominating this market space include ESRI, GE Energy, Autodesk, Cadcorp, and IBM.

TechNavio’s Geographic Information System in APAC 2010–2014 report has been prepared based on an in-depth analysis of the market with inputs from industry experts. The report focuses on the APAC region and covers the scope and growth of the GIS market, including the Software and Services segment of the GIS market in the APAC region.

SPIE press titles are now available as eBooks on eBooks.com and iBookstore. Check out the titles below.

•3D Video Technologies: An Overview of Research Trends
•Adaptive Beaming and Imaging in the Turbulent Atmosphere
•Advanced Optics Using Aspherical Elements
•Advanced Processes for 193-nm Immersion Lithography
•Advances in Information Optics and Photonics
•Alien Vision: Exploring the Electromagnetic Spectrum with Imaging Technology, 2nd Ed.
•Analysis and Evaluation of Sampled Imaging Systems, 2nd Ed
•Applied Prismatic and Reflective Optics
•Art of Radiometry, The
•Artificial Neural Networks: An Introduction Basic Electro-Optics for Electrical Engineers
•Basics of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
•Basics of Spectroscopy, The
•Bioluminescence and Fluorescence for In Vivo Imaging
•Chemistry and Lithography
•Coherent Fields and Images in Remote Sensing
•Coherent-Mode Representations in Optics
•Computational Color Technology
•Computed Tomography: Principals, Design, Artifacts, & Recent Advances, 2nd Ed.
•Confocal Microscopy and Multiphoton Excitation Microscopy: The Genesis of Live Cell Imaging
•Contrast Sensitivity of the Human Eye and Its Effects on Image Quality
•Demystifying Electromagnetic Equations: A Complete Explanation of EM unit Systems and Equation Transformations
•Design of Plastic Optical Systems, The
•Diffractive Optics: Design, Fabrication, and Test
•Digital and Analog Fiber Optic Communications for CATV and FTTx Applications
•Digital Image Compression Techniques
•Electroactive Polymer (EAP) Actuators as Artificial Muscles: Reality, Potential, and Challenges, 2nd Ed
•Electromagnetic Wave Propagation in Turbulence: Evaluation and Application of Mellin Transforms, 2nd Ed
•Engineering a High-Tech Business: Entrepreneurial Experiences and Insights
•Engineering Introduction to Biotechnology, An
•EUV Lithography
•EUV Sources for Lithography
•Field Guide to Adaptive Optics
•Field Guide to Atmospheric Optics
•Field Guide to Geometrical Optics
•Field Guide to Illumination Field Guide to Infrared Systems, Detectors, and FPAs, 2nd Ed
•Field Guide to Interferometric Optical Testing
•Field Guide to Laser Pulse Generation
•Field Guide to Lasers
•Field Guide to Microscopy
•Field Guide to Optical Fiber Technology
•Field Guide to Optical Lithography
•Field Guide to Optical Thin Films
•Field Guide to Polarization
•Field Guide to Spectroscopy
•Field Guide to Visual and Ophthalmic Optics
•Field Mathematics for Electromagnetics, Photonics, and Materials Science: A Guide for the Scientist and Engineer - 4th Printing
•Fourier-Transform Spectroscopy Instrumentation Engineering
•Fractal and Wavelet Image Compression Techniques
•Fundamental Optical Design
•Fundamentals of Antennas: Concepts and Applications
•Fundamentals of Contamination Control
•Fundamentals of Electronic Image Processing
•Fundamentals of Infrared Detector Materials
•Fundamentals of Polarimetric Remote Sensing
•Handbook of Medical Imaging, Volume 1. Physics and Psychophysics
•Handbook of Medical Imaging, Volume 2. Medical Image Processing and Analysis
•Handbook of Medical Imaging, Volume 3. Display and PACS
•Handbook of Nanotechnology. Nanometer Structures, The: Theory, Modeling, and Simulation
•Hands-on Morphological Image Processing
•High-Operating-Temperature Infrared Photodetectors
•Infrared Design Examples
•Infrared Fibers and Their Applications
•Infrared Optics and Zoom Lenses, 2nd Ed
•Integral Transforms for Engineers
•Integrated Optomechanical Analysis
•Intermediate Optical Design
•Introduction to Adaptive Optics
•Introduction to Complex Mediums for Optics and Electromagnetics
•Introduction to Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy, 2nd Ed
•Introduction to Image Stabilization
•Introduction to Imaging Spectrometers
•Introduction to Infrared System Design
•Introduction to Optical Testing
•Introduction to Radiometry
•Introduction to Wavefront Sensors
•Laser Beam Propagation through Random Media, 2nd Ed
•Laser Beam Scintillation with Applications
•Lithography Process Control
•Local Approximation Techniques in Signal and Image Processing
•Logic-based Nonlinear Image Processing Materials for Infrared Windows and Domes: Properties and Performance
•Mathematical Techniques for Engineers and Scientists
•Matrix Methods for Optical Layout
•Metrics for High-Quality Specular Surfaces
•Modeling the Imaging Chain of Digital Cameras
•Modulation Transfer Function in Optical and Electro-Optical Systems
•Nanotechnology: A Crash Course
•New Physical Optics Notebook, The: Tutorials in Fourier Optics
•Optical Clearing of Tissues and Blood
•Optical Coating Technology
•Optical Communication Receiver Design
•Optical Correlation Techniques and Applications
•Optical Design for Biomedical Imaging
•Optical Design for Visual Systems
•Optical Design Fundamentals for Infrared Systems, 2nd Ed
•Optical Design of Microscopes
•Optical Design: Applying the Fundamentals
•Optical Engineering Fundamentals, 2nd Ed
•Optical Imaging and Aberrations: Part I. Ray Geometrical Optics
•Optical Imaging in Projection Microlithography
•Optical Lithography: Here Is Why
•Optical Scattering: Measurement and Analysis, 2nd Ed
•Optical Systems and Processes
•Optical Thin Films: User Handbook
•Optics in Photography
•Optoelectronics of Solar Cells
•Photon Transfer
•Physics and Engineering of Solid State Lasers, The
•Polarization of Light with Applications in Optical Fibers
•Polymer Photovoltaics: A Practical Approach
•Practical Applications of Infrared Thermal Sensing and Imaging Equipment, 3rd Ed
•Principles of Lithography, 3rd Ed
•Radiation Thermometry: Fundamentals and Applications in the Petrochemical Industry
•Random Processes for Image and Signal Processing
•Recent Advances in Breast Imaging, Mammography, and Computer- Aided Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
•Remote Sensing from Air and Space
•Resolution Enhancement Techniques in Optical Lithography
•Rotating Mirror Streak and Framing Cameras
•Scientific Charge-Coupled Devices
•Sculptured Thin Films: Nanoengineered Morphology and Optics
•Sensor and Data Fusion: A Tool for Information Assessment and Decision Making
•Soft X-Ray Optics
•Special Functions of Mathematics for Engineers, 2nd Ed
•Thermal Infrared Characterization of Ground Targets and Backgrounds, 2nd Ed
•Thin-Film Design: Modulated Thickness and Other Stopband Design Methods
•Tissue Optics: Light Scattering Methods and Instruments for Medical Diagnosis, 2nd Ed
•Tutorials in Complex Photonic Media
•Uncooled Thermal Imaging Arrays, Systems, and Applications
•Wavefront Optics for Vision Correction

Visit eBooks.com and iBookstore to purchase them.

Based on Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI) Data Center Closings 2010-2012.

The Federal CIO Council launched a government-wide Data Center Consolidation Task Force to consolidate and increase efficiencies and to help meet the overall Federal target of a minimum of 800 data center closures by 2015. The Task Force comprises data center program managers, facilities managers, and sustainability officers from 24 agencies that work together to share progress toward individual agency goals. This dataset reflects information provided by the agencies.

All questions or inquiries should be directed to the specific agencies. The CY2010 and CY2011 dataset provides a list of planned or closed data centers by agency and by city/state location since the FDCCI started in February 2010. The Data Center Consolidation Task Force meets monthly to review the progress of each consolidation project and ensure government-wide alignment among agency efforts, where appropriate.

As its work evolves, the Task Force will serve as a "community of practice" for agency CIOs and data center program managers to share best practices and enhance consolidation effectiveness.

Avail of the free GIS data and remote sensing images from the city of Philadelphia. Through the OpenDataPhilly website, the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, now provides access to over 100 datasets, applications, and APIs containing authoritative regional information on a wide variety of topics. The site includes a series of map services built with ArcGIS technology from Esri that offer data and imagery related to census tracts, political wards, crime incidents, hydrology, evacuation routes, bicycle networks, and more.

"Our goal is to expose current and accurate Philadelphia spatial data that will enable developers to build applications to benefit Philadelphia citizens and businesses, enhance commerce, and help streamline city government," said James L. Querry, Jr., City of Philadelphia director of enterprise GIS. "The city has openly shared its core GIS data and imagery for over a decade, and now, in conjunction with OpenDataPhilly, we have recently expanded data and imagery access via APIs."

Built by Philadelphia-based GIS software firm Azavea, OpenDataPhilly is based on the idea that providing free and easy access to information encourages more effective, transparent government and a more engaged and informed citizenry. ArcGIS technology from Esri supports the Gov 2.0 movement by enabling governments around the world to build mapping applications that empower the public and enhance policy making.

Unhealthy levels of heat and humidity are encompassing much of the eastern half of the U.S., according to NOAA's National Weather Service, as a persistent heat wave continues its grip on the central U.S. while expanding into the East.

According to NOAA's National Weather Service, approximately 995,000 square miles and 150 million people in the United States are under a heat alert (Excessive Heat Warning or Watch or Heat Advisory) as of Wednesday morning.

Temperatures in the 90s to near 100 degrees will feel as hot as 115 degrees or higher when factoring in the high humidity. Record high temperatures are likely to be set in some locations — adding to the more than 1000 records that have been set or tied so far this month.

“This heat is dangerous on many levels,” said Jack Hayes, director of the National Weather Service. “Temperatures and humidity levels are high, the heat will be prolonged, and very warm temperatures overnight won’t provide any respite. All of these factors make this an unhealthy situation.”

Video: This animation shows the predicted daily high temperatures from NOAA's high resolution North American Model (NAM) from July 13-21, 2011.

Making Spatial Decisions Using GIS: A Workbook, second edition, provides scenario-based lessons that develop GIS skills and critical thinking. Students will use organized workflows, spatial analysis, and visualization to make decisions rooted in real-world issues about crime, hazards, hurricanes, demographics, and urban planning.

Designed for a college curriculum, Making Spatial Decisions Using GIS: A Workbook develops GIS skills using step-by-step instructions, guided activities that reinforce learned concepts, and independent projects that encourage students to find local data and situations. The first edition was part of the Our World GIS Education series published by Esri Press, which won the 2008 Geographic Excellence in Media award from the National Council for Geographic Education.

"One major difference between this workbook and others is the focus on the GIS workflow—documenting and being systematic about the problem-solving process," says coauthor Robert Kolvoord. "Following a consistent GIS workflow is an important part of becoming a GIS professional."

Making Spatial Decisions Using GIS: A Workbook includes data for the exercises. A 180-day trial of ArcGIS Desktop 10 and in-depth instructor resources are also provided.

Get 37% discount from Amazon Store: Making Spatial Decisions Using GIS: A Workbook, Second Edition

SuperGeo Technologies, the leading global provider of complete GIS software and solutions, is delighted to announce that its Mobile Cadastral GIS 3.0 App (Android version) is now officially released worldwide.

Designed for cadastral position and measurement, Mobile Cadastral GIS 3.0 now integrates with GIS, GPS, and e-compass technologies to assist field surveyors in quickly recognizing their current location as well as the correct cadastral information.

With Mobile Cadastral GIS 3.0 that considerably enhances the interface, map display function, and query speed, users can define the data source and cadastral information to meet their needs. Besides the cadastral query function, the records of waypoint and GPS track provide field surveyors with real-time information. Moreover, field surveyors can check these data as the track reference and analyze them in a desktop computer.

There are four main features of Mobile Cadastral GIS 3.0. First, it can be widely used with GPS. Second, it can record and manage the information of locations rapidly. Third, it combines with the map measure function. Last, users can find the positions in several ways with this system.

As a result, Mobile Cadastral GIS 3.0 can help surveyors complete their tasks more efficiently. What is more, its user-friendly interface and intuitional manipulation can make the users who have little GIS experience familiar with the system shortly.

Mobile Cadastral GIS 3.0 (Android version) is currently available in Taiwan. For more information about Mobile Cadastral GIS 3.0 (Android version), visit www.supergeotek.com.

GeoEye Inc., a leading source of geospatial information and insight, announced the delivery of a new capability to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). GeoEye's EnhancedView Web Hosting Service (WHS) provides users with password protected, online access to unclassified, high-resolution imagery within hours of its collection. The EnhancedView WHS evolved from the NGA's Rapid Delivery of Online GEOINT (RDOG) system that began operations in April 2010. GeoEye built the EnhancedView WHS to support users across the National System for Geospatial-Intelligence (NSG). NSG members and partners have recently used the EnhancedView WHS to improve emergency response to natural disasters in Japan; Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Joplin, Mo.; and along the Mississippi River.

The EnhancedView WHS combines GeoEye and third-party imagery to deliver highly precise base maps and allows users to access new imagery online within hours of collection. Users can access imagery through Esri's ArcGIS, Google Earth and other Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) compliant tools and automatically receive notifications when new imagery is available for their area of interest.

The EnhancedView WHS is powered by GeoEye's online access platform, EyeQ™. EyeQ enables thousands of concurrent users to easily access and download hundreds of terabytes of high-resolution imagery. Recent commercial applications have combined GeoEye-1 and IKONOS satellite imagery and MJ Harden aerial imagery with data from commercial radar providers and the USDA National Agriculture Imagery Program. Chris Incardona, GeoEye's senior director for Government Programs - NGA said, "We have made steady investments in our EyeQ platform so our customers can quickly access and share precise imagery products to perform analysis and manage crisis response. The EnhancedView Web Hosting Service is the next step in our commitment to providing multi-source products, services and dissemination capabilities to help the NGA deliver online, on-demand geospatial intelligence."

Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Laboratories Limited today announced the development of technology to improve the accuracy of plant identification with aerial hyperspectral images. This enables accurate distinctions to be made even among trees with similar coloring, such as the cedar tree and the Japanese cypress.

This technology makes possible the accurate identification of plant species in an area without on-the-ground inspections of river beds or forests, for example, even by non-experts. As a result, studies on a variety of issues, such as the extent to which non-native plant species are flourishing, and thereby threatening native ecosystems, or studies on the distribution of multiple tree species in a given area, can be performed quickly and at low cost.

Applying information and communication technology to biodiversity conservation is one of the Fujitsu Group Biodiversity Action Principles. In order to conserve biodiversity, it is essential to have an accurate grasp of the existing ecosystem and the status of plant and animal life in a given forest or river, for example.

Up until now, most plant studies have either been on-the-ground surveys by experts or remote studies using satellite photos. Both of these methods have drawbacks. Expert surveys are costly and time-consuming to produce, and often require work in dangerous areas. On the other hand, remote surveys lack precision. Specifically, it is difficult to distinguish among trees with highly similar coloring, such as the cedar tree and the Japanese cypress, both of which are evergreen needle-leaved trees. There is therefore a need for a highly precise method that could accurately distinguish different tree species quickly and at a low cost.

Read more of the study here.

Annual Reviews Continues to Publish High Impact Reviews: Year after year, Annual Reviews journals earn some of the highest Impact Factors in the Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports (JCR). This ranking system is based on the average number of times the articles within a journal are cited in the previous two years. In the recently released 2010 JCR, Annual Reviews journals hold the #1 and #2 rankings in 26 different categories in the Science and Social Science Editions. Additional highlights include the following two journals that were eligible to receive their first rankings this year:

• Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry ranked #1 in two categories:

o 1 out of 71 journals in Chemistry, Analytical
o 1 out of 40 journals in Spectroscopy

• Annual Review of Marine Science ranked #1 in two categories:
o 1 out of 77 journals in Geochemistry & Geophysics
o 1 out of 59 journals in Oceanography

"Most of us find ourselves buried amidst piles of unread papers. To keep abreast of the literature in biochemistry has become a Herculean task."

Sound familiar? While these words ring true today, Annual Reviews founder J. Murray Luck in fact wrote them 80 years ago in 1932 when he published the very first volume of the Annual Review of Biochemistry. Today, Annual Reviews journals continue to critically review and analyze the rapidly expanding scientific literature, now covering 40 disciplines in the biomedical, life, physical, and social sciences.

Volume 80 of the Annual Review of Biochemistry is now available online. 
In celebration of this milestone, we have published the largest volume to date, with 42 articles including three prefatory chapters from leading scientists in the field.

Leica Geosystems announces the release of the new ALS70 family of airborne LiDAR systems. The new product line, consisting of ALS70-CM City Mapper, ALS70-HP High Performance and ALS70-HA High Altitude models, covers the entire range of LiDAR mapping applications, and represents a significant advancement in the state-of-the-art for airborne LIDAR.

Industry-Leading 500 KHz Pulse Rate
According to Ron Roth, Product Manager for Airborne LiDAR at Hexagon Geosystems' Geospatial Solutions Division, "The market constantly demands higher productivity from airborne sensing systems to reduce the equipment and labor costs associated with data collection, but this cannot be done at the expense of data quality. By incorporating Point Density Multiplier technology, we were able to develop a LiDAR product that offers an industry-leading 500 kHz pulse rate and 200 Hz scan rate, for ultra high point density and unrivaled control over the point pattern on the ground. This new technology gives the superior data acquisition productivity that our customers desire, without the complexity of multiple lasers or scanners.”

New Detection Circuitry
“In addition to Point Density Multiplier, ALS70 incorporates new detection circuitry providing superior sensitivity to small or low-reflectivity targets. This has proven itself already on power line data acquisition, where even the smallest high-voltage and ground wires can be readily measured” explains Ron Roth.

Upgradeability of Existing Leica ALS60 Systems
“Market acceptance has been extremely encouraging, with 8 systems, representing the entire product line, delivered already. Because this technology is based on the proven Leica ALS60 platform, existing ALS60 systems can be transformed into the new model, thus preserving current customers’ investments” concludes Ron Roth.

JSFC Sistema (“Sistema”) (LSE: SSA), the largest diversified public financial corporation in Russia and the CIS, today announces that Sistema, and the Federal Forestry Agency have signed a cooperation agreement for the implementation of geographic information systems (GIS) and technologies, designed by Sistema’s subsidiaries, for the protection, conservation and reforestation, as well as the coordinated utilization of forest resources.

The cooperation agreement, which is not legally binding, defines the general intentions of both parties and the principles for cooperation.

Mikhail Shamolin, President and Chief executive officer of Sistema, commented: “The effects of devastating wildfires last year proved that it is necessary to upgrade forestry management and monitoring systems with modern technology. Sistema has a strong track record and broad technological expertise and we are keen to share it with the Federal Forestry Agency.”

Victor Maslyakov, Head of Federal Forestry Agency, added: “The Government has set important tasks for the Forestry Agency for protection, conservation and reforestation. In order to achieve these objectives, we need to make significant technological breakthroughs using modern technologies and innovations. We are delighted at the prospects of our future collaboration with a high-tech company such as Sistema. The introduction of advanced information technologies in the forestry sector is the key to effective forest management.”

Esri Map Book, Volume 26, highlights the wide diversity of GIS applications in use today. From a detailed tourism map of the archaeological sites in Luxor, Egypt, to the scientific analysis of the iron and titanium concentrations on the moon, this year's map book beautifully showcases the power and potential of geospatial analysis.

The full-color maps in this edition reflect how GIS is used to:

- Monitor and manage the environment.
- Enhance the transparency and accountability of government.
- Protect the health and security of communities.
- Improve workflow efficiency for public and private entities.
- Inform and engage citizens.

"Our map book this year represents a variety of contributors, from students and professionals just getting started to veteran ArcGIS users whose maps have appeared frequently in this publication," says Jack Dangermond, Esri president. "The maps included affirm that GIS-based cartography conveys important information as no other medium can."

Containing more than 100 maps, this edition clearly shows how GIS users contribute ever-increasing amounts of data and other resources to promote sustainable development and a more hopeful future. Each map is accompanied by a description of how it was produced, for what purpose, and by whom. Esri Map Book, Volume 26, is an important collection of maps for GIS users, cartographers, collectors, and map libraries.

Esri Map Book, Volume 26 (ISBN: 978-1-58948-284-5, 120 pages, US$24.95), is available at online retailers worldwide, at esri.com/esripress, or by calling 1-800-447-9778. Outside the United States, visit esri.com/esripressorders for complete ordering options, or visit esri.com/distributors to contact your local Esri distributor. Interested retailers can contact Esri Press book distributor Ingram Publisher Services.

Esri heralded the winners of the Storytelling with Maps competition at the 2011 Esri International User Conference (Esri UC). Chih Cheng Chang, director of the application system division at RiChi in New Taipei City, Taiwan, won first place for Best Web Map. Dr. Thanos Doganis, director of R&D at Terra Ltd., with Terra Mapping The Globe Ltd. in Athens, Greece, won first place for Best Mobile App.

Chang's web map shows natural resources data, including hydrology, water resources, geology, and soil, and introduces professional GIS-related information to a general audience. Terra's free mobile app for the iPhone provides points of interest, including hospitals and pharmacies on duty, for numerous cities in Greece. The winners were selected by a distinguished panel of judges comprised of Jean McKendry of the American Association of Geographers; Frank Biasi of National Geographic; and Allen Carroll, Deane Kensok, and Damien Demaj of Esri’s ArcGIS Online Team.

Jack Dangermond presented the awards to the winners at the Esri UC in San Diego, California, on Wednesday, July 13, 2011. The competition was created to show how maps can visually communicate meaningful and interesting information about the world, people, and places.

Winning Entries:

- First-Place Best Web Map: Chih Cheng Chang—Natural Environment Database Map in Taiwan
- Second-Place Best Web Map: Tom Sellsted—Yakima Transit iBus Widget
- Third-Place Best Web Map: Don Barker—The Search for Frederick Douglass' Birthplace
- First-Place Best Mobile App: Thanos Doganis—Livemap
- Second-Place Best Mobile App: Chih Cheng Chang—NGIS Natural Environment Maps in Taiwan iOS App
- Third-Place Best Mobile App: Patrick Bell—iGeology

- Community Favorite Award Best Web Map: Mark Laudon—Save the Rain!
- Community Favorite Award Best Mobile App: Patrick Bell—iGeology

View all contest entries at esri.com/storytellingentries.

The GPS-based device Water Canary is a fast, networked, water-­testing device that radically reduces the amount of time, expense, and skill required to test untreated or inadequately treated water for pathogens.

The ability to test water quickly and accurately is a missing link in evidence-based humanitarian response. In the ongoing race against the waterborne illnesses that claim 3 million lives annually, the Water Canary Team is dedicated to developing the water testing technology that drives international public health and disaster relief efforts.

The Technology
The Water Canary’s exclusive use of patented spectral technology reduces to seconds the testing time for disease-­causing pathogens, lowering the cost per test to a fraction of current solutions. It requires minimal training and almost no education, including literacy, for its operator. With the press of a button, anyone, anywhere in the world will know instantly whether their water is safe to drink.

In addition, the device is capable of transmitting its GPS-­tagged data across any available wired or wireless network, while companion software distributes the data widely in multiple formats to provide a geographically relevant and actionable visual analysis. Each test supplies a flow of real-­time data to organizations tasked with distributing life-­saving water supplies.

Currently in its fifth prototype, the Water Canary came out Clay Shirky’s 2009 Design For UNICEF Class at ITP, a unique collaboration between the NYU department and UNICEF’s Innovations Lab.

Learn more about the Water Canary here.

The Bangalore Security Map online aims to mark out the crime-prone areas of Bangalore city in India.

The ‘Bangalore Security Map’ emerged as an exercise during the ‘Urban Security’ workshop organised by MOD in Bangalore in March 2011. The workshop addressed the notion of ‘security’ and how a certain ‘hard’ understanding of it is shaping urban spaces in Bangalore, in specific, and in India, in general.

This map portal, using the Ushahidi platform (‘Luanda’), is developed collaboratively by CSTEP and MOD.

Springer is pleased to share with you the 2010 Impact Factor (Journal Citation Reports, Thomson Reuters). We are proud to present the First-Ever Impact Factor 2010 for Earth Science Informatics Journal: 0.657

Earth Science Informatics publishes original, interdisciplinary articles on all aspects of informatics dealing with the Earth system.

Submit your next research to Earth Science Informatics and reap the benefits.

Reach: As part of the collection on SpringerLink, the Journal Earth Science - Informatics reaches millions of researchers at thousands of institutions and companies

Rapid: Online First Publication once your paper is accepted - Fast and user-friendly online submission with the state-of-of-the-art submission and peer-review system Editorial Manager

Maximum exposure: High Visibility, Global Reach! People at more than 35,000 institutions worldwide enjoy full-text via SpringerLink.

The Google Earth Engine team just finished their presentation at the South Dakota State University (SDSU) GIS Center of Excellence.

Rebecca Moore, Manager of Google Earth Outreach and Google Earth Engine, and Noel Gorelick, Software Engineer of Google Earth Engine, provided an overview of the image processing objectives and capabilities of the online tool.

Matt Hansen, the co-director of the Geographic Information Center at South Dakota State University (SDSU), is one of the partners of the project.

Other scientist partners include Greg Asner of the Carnegie Institution for Science, and developer Carlos Souza of Imazon.

You can explore Google Earth Engine here.

From the website:

Google Earth Engine brings together the world's satellite imagery—trillions of scientific measurements dating back more than 25 years—and makes it available online with tools for scientists, independent researchers, and nations to mine this massive warehouse of data to detect changes, map trends and quantify differences on the earth's surface.

Using this new Google Labs tool, we've already begun helping scientists develop applications for detecting deforestation and mapping land use trends, and have started working with individual countries to develop their own applications.

Georgia Institute of Technology in cooperation with the U.S. Energy Department released the interactive online database of U.S. Tidal Energy Resources..

Energy.gov blog:

Researchers at Georgia Tech's Savannah campus used the Regional Ocean Model to simulate tidal flows along the entire U.S. coastline, which is marked by thousands of streams, rivers and bays subject to daily tides. The Energy Department's Oak Ridge National Laboratory validated the model's accuracy and the resulting data are now publicly available.

Georgia Tech's interactive database allows users to zoom and pan over maps of color-coded information on water depth, mean current speed, and mean kinetic power density for tidal streams along America’s coastlines. The database is highly flexible -- users can produce maps of depth and power density and select specific locations to build velocity and power density histograms, which are displayed as easy-to-read charts and graphs.

Check it out: Interactive Map U.S. Tidal Energy Resources

Objectives of the project:

1. Utilize an advanced ocean circulation numerical model (ROMS) to predict tidal currents.

2. Validate the velocities and water levels predicted by the model with available data.

3. Compute the tidal harmonic constituents for the velocities and water levels.

4. Build a GIS database of the tidal constituents.

5. Develop GIS tools for dissemination of the data

- A filter based on depth requirements.

- Compute current velocity histograms based on the tidal constituents.

- Compute the available power density (W/m2) based on the velocity histograms.

- Compute the total available power within arrays based on turbine performance parameters.

6. Develop a web based interface for accessing the GIS database and using the GIS tools.

Will India join the International Space Station?

The ISRO has said that India has finally been invited to partner in the gigantic global effort - the International Space Station (ISS). In an exclusive interview to NDTV's Pallava Bagla, ISRO Chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan confirmed that India would initially be contributing instruments but, as of now, there were no plans to send Indians to the space station. India will be the sixth nation to join this 100 billion dollar effort.

Video report:

As posted by MSDN: As part of Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to consumer privacy, we are providing more transparency about how we gather information through managed driving to provide location-based services. We are sharing relevant portions of our data collection software source code that demonstrates both the type and amount of data we collect through managed driving.

The information collected during Managed Driving includes Cell tower, Wi-Fi and GPS data. The collected data is used to build a positioning database that helps create location capabilities and services for Windows Phone and other Microsoft products and services.

The code has been written using a combination of native and managed code, and uses publicly documented interfaces for accessing Cell tower, Wi-Fi and GPS data. The software only detects management frame subtypes called probe request frames, which do not contain any personal user content. The software does not observe or collect any data frame packets, which are the type of Wi-Fi packets that may contain user content transmitted over a network nor does it attempt to connect to any open networks. The software only observes information that is publicly broadcasted by the Cell tower, Wi-Fi access point and GPS satellites. The information we collect includes elements like latitude, longitude, direction, speed, mobile country code, mobile network code, location area code, cell identifier and only specific Wi-Fi information such as BSSID (i.e, the Media Access Control aka MAC address), signal strength, and radio type.

During the collection process, we collect and retain only as much Wi-Fi access point data as necessary to build our positioning database, and none of data collected is associated with personally identifiable consumer information.

SPIE Optical Engineering will be publishing a Special Section on Active Imaging, guest edited by Edward A. Watson. The submission deadline is 1 September 2011.

Original papers are solicited on, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Novel component technologies: sources for active imaging systems; receiver and camera technologies, including innovative read-out integrated circuitry; agile apertures for control of laser waveforms; postdetection processing of received waveforms

• 3-D active-imaging systems: scanned and "Flash"

• Novel active-imaging system concepts: synthetic aperture imaging systems, structured illumination imaging systems, polarization and spectral imaging systems

• Waveform definition and optimization

• Speckle: reduction and utilization

• Photon counting components, systems, and applications

• Demonstrations and applications of active-imaging systems

Manuscripts due September 1, 2011.

Contact:
Edward A. Watson
Air Force Research Laboratory
Sensors Directorate
2241 Avionics Circle
WPAFB, Ohio 45433
Tel: 937-528-8675
E-mail: edward.watson@wpafb.af.mil

Optical Engineering is published in the SPIE Digital Library, with freely searchable abstracts and tables of contents; articles are available via subscription or pay-per-view.

Groundspeak, owner and operator of Geocaching.com, has offered a free 30 day premium membership to Geocaching for every Boy Scout and Scouter (a $5 per person value).

A premium membership allows players to directly contact each other more easily, cache along a route, and enables "pocket queries" where players keep a database of all the caches of a certain type in an area to download into a GPS device. Purchasing the premium membership after a trial is $30. Standard membership is free.

Information about activating free trial Groundspeak Premium Memberships is included in council Get in the Game! starter kits. To learn more, contact your 100th Anniversary staff adviser.

What is geocaching?

Put simply, it's a high-tech treasure hunt. Players hide containers, called "caches" or "geocaches," outdoors and then share the coordinates. Then, other players seek them out using GPS navigation devices. It's fun, challenging, and interesting for individuals, families, and groups.

Leica Geosystems, a leading manufacturer of airborne sensors, has released the Leica RCD30, the first metric medium format 60 MP camera to acquire co-registered multispectral data in RGB and NIR for photogrammetric and remote sensing mapping applications.

Leica Geosystems has officially released the much anticipated Leica RCD30 medium format camera. The Leica RCD30 is the first 60MP medium format camera that can record co-registered multispectral four-band imagery in RGB and NIR. In addition, a variety of innovative design features such as mechanical motion compensation along two axis, specifically designed lens systems as well as state-of-the-art calibration techniques make the Leica RCD30 the most advanced and most suitable single-lens medium format sensor for professional photogrammetric and remote sensing applications.

“Since we have announced the development of the Leica RCD30 we have received overwhelming interest in this new and innovative technology,” says Ruedi Wagner, VP of Imaging at Hexagon Geosystems. “Of course, the multispectral capability and metric performance make this system truly unique. But customers are also interested in the flexibility of the Leica RCD30: it can be integrated with Leica ALS LiDAR systems and as such succeeds the Leica RCD105. In addition, the Leica RCD30 can be configured as a fully integrated standalone single and multi-head camera system with GNSS/IMU and specialized mount to increase area coverage and data acquisition efficiency. Lastly, customers can integrate the camera with their existing third party Flight Management and/or third party GNSS/IMU solution, thus saving further costs. Further, due to its light weight and small size, the Leica RCD30 Series can be used on ultralight aircrafts and UAVs.”

Since its release at the end of June, Leica Geosystems has shipped the first six systems in standalone and ALS configuration to customers in the US, UK, Japan, China and Russia.

After 16 years spent gathering a wealth of data that has revolutionised our understanding of Earth, ESA's veteran ERS-2 satellite is being retired. This pioneering mission has not only advanced science, but also forged the technologies we now rely on for monitoring our planet.

ERS-2 was launched in 1995, following its sister, the first European Remote Sensing satellite, which was launched four years earlier.

Carrying suites of sophisticated instruments to study the complexities of the atmosphere, land, oceans and polar ice, these two missions were the most advanced of their time, putting Europe firmly at the forefront of Earth observation.

The twin satellites were identical, apart from ERS-2's additional instrument to monitor ozone in the atmosphere. Both exceeded their design lifetime by far, together delivering a 20-year stream of continuous data.

In 2000, ERS-1 unexpectedly stopped working and now it is time to bid farewell to ERS-2 before it succumbs to a similar fate.

To avoid ERS-2 ending up as a piece of space debris, ESA will take the satellite out of service by bringing it down to a lower orbit while there is still sufficient fuel to make the careful manoeuvres.

The decision to retire ERS-2 was not taken lightly, but after orbiting Earth almost 85 000 times – travelling 3.8 billion km – the risk that the satellite could lose power at any time is clearly high.

The deorbiting procedure will be carried out over a number of weeks by spacecraft operators and flight dynamics experts at ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Germany.

Starting on 6 July, a series of thruster burns will gradually lower the satellite's orbit from its current altitude of 800 km to about 550 km, where the risk of collision is minimal. Eventually, ERS-2 will enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up.

Its destruction will occur within 25 years, in accordance with European Code of Conduct on Space Debris Mitigation.

The Asian Geospatial Industry has been evolving and maturing as one of the mainstream business having its own identity in world economy. Undoubtedly, this has been possible only by innovations and excellence brought forward by geospatial technology developers, professionals, end users and policy makers in the region. In order to recognize and encourage such efforts, GIS Development – the Geospatial Media Company proposes to confer awards and recognitions for exemplary innovations and practices in the Asian geospatial industry. Such an exercise shall bring forward an appreciation and motivation to winners and also provide an opportunity for the geospatial industry to learn from these experiences.

I ardently invite you all to send in your nominations for the Asian Geospatial Awards 2011, instituted by GIS Development for innovations, applications, policies and programs in the geospatial domain.

You can send as many nominations as you wish for the various initiatives, programs and projects for the three categories of awards as listed below:

- Geospatial Excellence Awards - for exemplary usage of geospatial tools in various fields implemented in Asia.

- Geospatial Technology Innovation Awards – for innovations and developments in geospatial technology in Asia or having Asian collobaration.

- Geospatial Policies and Programs Awards - Policy makers and implementers whose work directly impacts in development of geospatial science, technology and business in Asia to submit their nominations for this category.

Who can nominate? Any individual or organisation involved with or associated with the development and usage of geospatial science, technology and policies in Asian Region.

How to nominate? Please visit http://awards.gisdevelopment.net for the details of the online nomination process.

Who will judge? A panel of judges from around the world has been constituted for the process of evaluation. The evaluation will follow a rigidly laid down procedure where confidentiality of the nominator as well as the panel of evaluators is ensured.

The Deadline? All nominations received only through the online submission process till 15th July 2011 will be scrutinised.

The Result? The decision of the panel of Judges will be communicated to the winners by the 31st August 2011.

The Prize? On the awards night, under the auspices of Asia Geospatial Forum 2011, being held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 17th -19 October 2011, the winners will be presented a trophy and more...

So, help us find the Top Guns of geospatial and join us in honouring and giving due credit to the best works in geospatial...

The Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) presented on Wednesday a locally developed farm-to-market ecosystem for aquaculture at the 8th Asia Pacific Telecommunication and ICT Development Forum in Macau, China.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara, chair of COMSTE, said that the forum was an excellent venue for the Philippines to share its advances in promoting good aquaculture practices, including new technologically enhanced fish-kill solutions.

COMSTE works with the Ateneo Innovation Center (AIC), Japan and Thailand in a project that aims to help fisherfolk avoid losses arising from fishkills and simultaneously create a farm to market ecosystem that would allow them to take advantage of available technology.

The APT SHARE project funded by the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) aims to create a broadband farm-to-market ecosystem for fisherfolk. The project is being piloted at Lake Palakpakin in San Pablo, Laguna.

The project aims to create a sustainable lake-based aquaculture environment, which is important to the country's quest for stable fish food supply.

Angara said that the AIC demonstrated several new technologies that address critical problems for fisherfolk, such as the occurrence of fish kills several times a year.

Engineering and environmental science researchers designed a floating field sever than can roam around the lake and measure water clarity, dissolved oxygen, temperature versus depth, and even take underwater videos of fish movement. All the measured parameters are fed over a wireless sensor network to a data center in the community.

This way, locals are able to monitor the health of the lakes system. Fishing communities want to make aquaculture, agriculture and ecotourism viable livelihood options for the future. The fishermen reportedly found the underwater cameras were very useful in ensuring that their fish nets were properly containing their catch.

The project will also implement remote sensing techniques tied up with cloud computing and data from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's) to create decision support systems and sustainability mapping.

Fish feeding technologies will also be explored, like the utilization of market waste to produce fish feed. All data will eventually be accessible from cloud technology directly to smart phones, enabling fisherfolk to manage and maintain the aquaculture network.

Angara said that in the future, this ecosystem will be linked to communities in Thailand and Japan, so the lessons learned in Lake Palakpakin can be shared with our neighboring countries.

"This groundbreaking technology is empowering our fisherfolk, allowing them to increase their productivity and protect their livelihood. At the same time, we are contributing immensely to the global knowledge on aquaculture management," he added.

Angara noted that the recent fish kill that hit Taal Lake and the P5 million worth of fish lost in Legazpi City are good examples of severe fish kills that devastated the local fishing communities.

The Ateneo program is part of a cooperative project sponsored by the Asia Pacific Telecommunity organization of Japan. Partner organizations are Ateneo de Manila University, COMSTE, Department of Transportation and Communication- Telecommunications Office (DOTC-TELOF), National Electronics and Computer Technology (NECTEC) Thailand, Japan Radio Corporation and NTT Japan.
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EuroGeographics has launched a new website providing a shop window for the wealth of information offered by its members. With a simple click on a map, www.eurogeoinfo.eu enables users to discover the national spatial data infrastructures, products and services available from 56 national mapping, land registry and cadastral agencies.

The website is also a discovery and view service for EuroGeographics’ pan-European products offering users the opportunity to overview data and choose location or geographic information at different scales and detail. These include EuroRegionalMap, used for marketing planning, service provision, retail site location, environmental analysis, vehicle routing and as map backdrop against which to display specific information, and EuroGlobalMap, which enables topographic features such as rivers, transport network and settlements, to be used as background for applications such as planning, monitoring, network analysis and presenting environmental policies.

Antti Jakobsson, EuroGeographics’ Programme Manager, announced the website’s launch at the 5th Inspire Conference in Edinburgh and said: “The view services offered through EuroGeoInfo are based on our Pan-European products at regional level. This is the first step in our strategy to provide reference data services from our members and to build the European Location Framework offering an official source for geospatial information in Europe.”

EuroGeographics’ Secretary General and Executive Director, Dave Lovell, who simultaneously launched www.eurogeoinfo.eu at the UN HQ in Geneva during the 7th session of the UNECE Working Party on Land Administration, added: “Information about location, ownership, value and use provided by our members is being linked in more ways than ever before to other data. This allows greater analysis of statistics, more accurate forecasting of trends and improved decision making to increase effectiveness and efficiency in both the public and private sectors. EuroGeoInfo has been designed to provide a first point of contact for finding this data and we are confident it will become an invaluable information source for policymakers, businesses and citizens across Europe.”

EuroGeographics’ Business Operations Manager, Sallie White commented: “This is a really exciting development for our members who want as many people as possible to easily access, use and benefit from their data. It also provides a single place from which to find the discovery and view services European Union member countries must provide under the INSPIRE Directive.”

EuroGeographics has also published its annual report covering its activities during 2010, its 10th anniversary year. In addition to updates on projects, products and services, the report also contains case studies showing the work of individual members. It is available to download.

Digital Map Products (DMP), a leading provider of cloud-based spatial technology, today announced the City of Longview, Washington is using its Cloud GIS local government solutions to share data with citizens and increase the use of GIS within the city. The City of Longview selected Digital Map Products’ CityGIS and CommunityView Software-as-a-Service applications because they enabled the city to rapidly and cost effectively deploy intuitive tools to advance their existing GIS capabilities.

A long-time proponent of geospatial technology, the City of Longview recently found themselves at a GIS crossroads, confronted with aging technology, increasing citizen requests, staffing changes, and budget constraints. The city was being asked to do more GIS with fewer resources and realized traditional build-it-yourself solutions couldn’t deliver the added capability, economy, and user-friendly technology the city and community required. To meet their evolving needs, the City of Longview looked to leverage cloud computing with Digital Map Products’ CityGIS and CommunityView cloud GIS applications.

Through CommunityView, the city publishes city, property, and community data to interactive maps on their public facing website so residents can self-service information requests and increase their awareness of community amenities. Property characteristics, zoning information, city facilities and parks, and bike routes and trails are some of the data sets the city shares with citizens, fulfilling a long-standing resident request. Internally, Longview uses CityGIS to improve inter-department collaboration and data sharing, and to bring GIS to scores of new users. Digital Map Products Cloud GIS solutions have served as a catalyst for innovation and collaboration at the City of Longview, helping them achieve their GIS goals despite the tough economy.

“Amid intense budget pressures and staff reductions, GIS success has become a virtual mission impossible for many local governments,” says Digital Map Products CEO Jim Skurzynski. “Thankfully, cloud computing is upending the economics of GIS and transforming the ways spatial technology is implemented and used. We’re thrilled to partner with progressive cities like the City of Longview, to help them embrace innovative technologies to solve today’s municipal challenges.”

Digital Map Products’ Cloud GIS solutions are revolutionizing the way local government implements and uses GIS technology. CityGIS lets cities quickly and cost-effectively deploy full-featured GIS without the steep learning curve, high upfront costs, and maintenance headaches of traditional systems. Because it is designed for the non-technical user all city staff can access, edit, and share city data with ease. With CommunityView™, municipalities can add interactive maps to their public website and publish city, property, and community information to residents. Learn more about DMP’s local government solutions.