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Geoserve Conference Oracle Spatial 11G
TomTom Mapshare and Neogeography AutoCAD Map 3D
M a g a z i n e f o r S u r v e y i n g , M a p p i n g & G I S P r o f e s s i o n a l sJuly/Aug. 2008
Volume 11
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On the Future of Surveying,Mapping and GIS
First things first, so a big thanks for everything from me to Huibert-Jan for being editor-in-chief of GeoInformatics. For those of you who dont know me, Id like to introduce myselfto you briefly. After finishing my studies in Human Geography, I became a freelance writer onGIS topics and, most recently, editorial manager of GeoInformatics. In this function, I have
come to know the entire geospatial chain from data acquisition to the end-user. Im lookingforward to my new task and meeting you, the reader, at a conference near you. Also, Id liketo invite you to email me if you have any questions or remarks on the contents of ourmagazine!
Speaking about GeoInformatics, we decided it would be a good idea to highlight theso-called neo-geography trend that is emerging at the moment. Since so many big compa-nies have embraced geospatial, its clear that a revolution in geography is happening wherethe importance of place is all. From now on every issue will cover one or more of theseneo-geo developments in the form of product reviews, interviews or industry news. In thisissue you will find a product review of Oracle Spatial 11g as seen from a GIS perspective.Also, a short article on TomTom Mapshare is included.
As for specialist views on the surveying market, please read Bernhard Richterss column onthe technical experience required for surveyors of the future. What are the implications of thegrowth of intelligence in surveying equipment for traditional surveyors? Richter is not theonly one who sees changes in the surveying market: during the FIG International Workshopat ITC in Enschede, the Netherlands, Andrs Ossk presented his ideas on the importance ofchanges in land surveyor education at universities. These changes include the growingimportance of land and real property related activities, and a decreasing importance in thetechnical aspects of measurements and computations. How can universities cope with thesechanging priorities?
Enjoy your reading!
Eric van [email protected]
July/August 20083
GeoInformatics provides coverage, analysis andcommentary with respect to the international surveying,mapping and GIS industry.
PublisherRuud [email protected]
Editor-in-chiefEric van Rees
EditorsFrank [email protected] [email protected] van [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
ColumnistsJacek PietruczanisAchiel SturmJohn Trinder
Contributing WritersMick Ashworthzgr ErtacFlorian FischerAndrew GosneyJob van HaaftenGuido van den HeuvelNoor van der HoevenJim IrvineEric KoomenHuibert-Jan LekkerkerkBart van MierloEric van ReesBernhard RichterRemco TakkenJoc Triglav
Account ManagerWilfred [email protected]
SubscriptionsGeoInformatics is available against a yearlysubscription rate (8 issues) of 85,00.To subscribe, fill in and return the electronic replycard on our website or contactJanneke Bijleveld [email protected]
Advertising/ReprintsAll enquiries should be submitted toRuud Groothuis [email protected]
World Wide WebGeoInformatics can be found at:
www.geoinformatics.com
Graphic DesignSander van der [email protected]
ISSN 13870858
Copyright 2008. GeoInformatics: no material maybe reproduced without written permission.
GeoInformatics is published byCMedia Productions BVPostal address: Street address:P.O. Box 231 Noordzijde 2-b8300 AE 8302 GLEmmeloord EmmeloordThe Netherlands The Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0) 527 619 000Fax: +31 (0) 527 620 989E-mail: [email protected]
So long (but not goodbye)
About a year ago, I became editor-in-chief of this magazine, knowing full well that I would
have to combine it with my day job. The day-to-day tasks were assigned to an editorial
manager, Eric van Rees. Most of you will have met Eric at some event or other instead of
me. So, to make matters clearer, you will see a photo of Eric van Rees on this page from
now on. But it is not goodbye; I will keep on writing articles and keep on advising Eric.
Eric, much success in your new role!
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.geoinformatics.com/http://www.geoinformatics.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.geoinformatics.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected] -
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Neogeography and TomToms
CommunityThe term Neogeography is on everyones lips these days, but its
meaning is not clear to everyone. Contributing GIS-editor Florian Fischer
explains what Neogeography is all about: communities, data and
technology. TomTom recognized the importance of communities and
introduced the TomTom Map Share techology, where user communities
can correct and share street data and Points of Interest. TomTom is
working on more services of this sort.
The Phoenix Has LandedOn May 25th Phoenix Mars Lander has landed in the Mars Northern
Plains with the main goal of its mission to study the history of water
and search for organic molecules in the ice-rich soil of the Martian
arctic. To bring you some unearthly perspectives here's a quick
compilation of the available mission information.
C o n t e n t
4July/August 2008
ArticlesA Border-crossing Project in the Euregio 6X-GDI Supports Joint IT infrastructure
Mapping at Collins Bartholomew 10Home of The Times Atlas of The World
Standards in Practice 16Part 8: KML Keyhole Markup Language
The Netherlands Climate Proof 26What Will the Country Look Like in 2040?
The Phoenix Has Landed 36Digging for Water and Life Evidence on Mars
Utilizing Local Knowledge 42Neo-geography and the TomTom Community
Reviews1Spatials MapRelate 18Addressing the Phenomenon of CAD/GIS Convergence
User Is No Longer a CAD Guy 22AutoCAD Map 3D 2009
Oracle 11g and Oracle Spatial 11g 28From a GIS Specialists Perspective
ColumnGIS for The Public? 31Bart van Mierlo
Surveyor Needed - No Technical 33Experience NecessaryBernhart Richter
Conferences
Sharing E-learning Experiences 45International FIG Workshop
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Latest News? Visitwww.geoinformatics.com5
July/August 2008
Geoserve Satellite Image Products Conference 47Its All About the Right Shot
Autodesk Geospatial Solutions 48Listening to Customers, Changing the Game
Data Sharing from Mash-up to SDI 54GeoXchange Platform for Discussion
BIM, BRIM and Communicate 56BE Conference 2008
Lance Armstrong Is a Survivor, Too 58Intergraph International User Conference 2008
Calendar 62
Advertisers Index 62
On the Cover:
This image shows the delta of the Russian river Volga, the largest river of
Europe. The Volga ends in the Caspian Sea near the border of Kazachstan
and Russia.
The picture is taken by the Landsat satellite from an altitude of 705km using
the bands 7,4,2. The variety of soil, vegetation and water results in the nice
looking colours. The shallow water shows an unclear and unstable coastline.
Oracle 11g andOracle Spatial 11gWe first met Oracle Spatial more than ten years ago. The latest version,
Oracle Spatial 11g, includes native support in Oracle Database 11g for all
geospatial data types and models, including vector and raster data and
topology and network models, meeting the needs of advanced geospatial
systems. Being a GIS specialist, zgr Ertac tells all about the world of
Oracle Spatial features, including new features in 11g.
Page 47
Intergraph InternationalUser Conference 2008With its current focus on solutions instead of technology, Intergraphs
annual user conference, held this year in Las Vegas, still offered many
useful perspectives on the geospatial market and, of course, Intergraphs
software.
Page 58
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X-GDI Supports Joint IT Infrastructure
A Border-crossing Project inThe Euregio
The European programme X-GDI supports border-crossing GIS projects. The Netherlands already undertakes some
gesamt projects (joint projects) with its German neighbouring country. This summer a new geodata infrastructure (GDI)
has been delivered for the project Planning and Building in the Euregion Maas-Rijn (EMR), of which Zuid-Limburg, partof a province south in the Netherlands, is part.
By Guido van den Heuvel
municipalities and tens of bordering German
municipalities. They were trained in the use,
installation and administration of the X-bor-
der-GDI software components. The underlying
technology had been decided on in the pro-
ject Planning and Building and was devel-oped by a consortium of lat/lon (Bonn),
Delphi-IMM (Postdam) and IDGIS in the Dutch
city of Holten.
The new joint GDI consists of map services,
a map viewer, a metadata editor and a func-
tion to scan metadata. A number of things
have been integrated in a portal environment.
All of these functions meet the Dutch and
German standards for geoservices and meta-
data.
The GDI, which is based on deegree and
OpenCatalogue, is available as open source
software. Thus there are no software licensing
costs.
The GDI unlocks mutual information, enabling
mutual synchronization of policies. Herman
6
Art ic le
July/August 2008
German and Dutch project partners got
acquainted with their new GDI during an
intensive and interactive training in spring
2007. The trainees came from seven Dutch
Building and liv ing area.
In a technical and organizational way coop-eration with neighbouring countries and
municipalities has always been difficult
because of language, cultural and technical
barriers. Deploying a geoinformation infra-
structure (GDI) and open source should helpin overcoming these differences.
The X-GDI Programme (part of the European
programme Inspire) has recently established
the crossing-border project GI-X for the
Euregion Rijn-Maas Noord (ERMN, Rijn-Maas
north), of which the northern and middle part
of the province of Limburg are part. This has
been realized with subsidiary money of the
European Interreg IIIa-programme which
focuses on the problems of border regions.
The technical infrastructure is currently in
operation.
Useful ToolboxAs part of their GI-X-project (Euregio Maas-
Rijn Noord; Euregion Maas-Rhine North)
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Assink, director of IDGIS, was involved in the
technical installation of the GDI. We can now
speak of a well-filled toolbox ready to be used
by civil servants and directors, he says. The
complex system integration was not the only
aspect. Double legislation in this area is
another obstacle. Cultural and language bar-
riers had to be solved as well. Therefore
Thesaurus is being developed; a bilingual set
of headwords and conceptions to unambigu-
ously name spatial matters and terms related
to policy.
Assink: There are some first technical expe-
riences. Sometimes the destinations on both
sides of the border overlap. These are differ-
ences in the coordinate systems that we are
still working on. Confrontation about the con-tent does a development plan in Kerkrade,
the Netherlands, match with a German neigh-
bouring municipality- will be dealt with in near
future. Other thematic groups related to traf-
fic, agriculture and industrial zones will also
start working with it.
Now that technology is working the big ques-
tion is whether the policy and the execution
by the border municipalities will indeed be
drawing nearer.
Social UrgencyGradually the cooperation between the
European regions is taking shape and this is
far from a coincidence. Often it is simply
inevitable. This became obvious in 1995 when
some interesting practice examples. The X-
border project has already yielded several pro-
jects (have a look at www.x-border-gdi.org).
Other ProjectsThe outbreak of classical swine fever in 2006
in Kreis Borken, Germany, brought about the
border-crossing Geoviewer animal epide
mics. At that time the epidemic was literallyon the threshold of its neighbouring country
the Netherlands. The new geoviewer links ser-
vices from the Ministery of Agriculture with
those from Kreis Borken and the province of
Gelderland, the Netherlands. Together with the
Dutch ministeries LNV (Ministry of Agriculture,
Nature and Food Quality) and VROM (Ministry
of Environment and Spatial Planning,
Housing, Communities and Integration), the
Dutch Dienst Landelijk Gebied (DLG,
Government Service for Land and Water
Management), the province of Gelderland, theNetherlands, Bureau Nieuwland (the
Netherlands), Kreis Steinfurt and with the
cooperation of the Landkreis Grafschaft
Bentheim an internet based web application
was developed. With this tool topographical
data, street data and polical borders, but also
local data like locations of cattle farms or dis-
infection stations can be gathered and visu-
alized. At first the application was developed
in order to inform the public. Within short
time policy makers can also start working with
it.
The project Crossing the border with a digi-
tal pedestrian route map led to a border-
crossing test route between Bocholt, Germany,
and the bordering Dutch municipalities of
Aalten and Winterswijk. Trilingual versions
have been developed; one in German, the
other two in Dutch and English. There is
always something interesting to see at the
farms taking part in the agricultural project
called Greta in the regions of Twente,
Achterhoek (the Netherlands), Mnsterland
and Grafschaft Bentheim (Germany). Farm
pubs, shops and accommodation to stayovernight shows that these farmers are aim-
ing at agro tourists. A route navigation sys-
tem has been developed for these tourists as
part of the X-Border-GDI-project Greta.
Guido van den Heuvel [email protected] is
a freelance copywriter of ICT related articles.
More information on the topics discussed in this
article can be found at www.x-border-gdi.org
(building and living project) and www.idgis.nl.
high tide had a big impact on both the
Netherlands and Nordrhein Westfalen,
Germany. This necessitated thorough improve-
ment of water management cooperation.
Cooperation on other social themes proves to
be highly productive. Particularly Nature,
Environment &Tourism, Traffic & Transport,
Crisis management (Enschede, the
Netherlands), or political themes such as eco-
nomic and spatial planning are involved.
Interregional cooperation proves to be very
useful and improves credibility of Europe with
its citizens.
Since 2000 technical information exchange
between neighbouring countries has been
seriously improved. Passionate geo special-
ists and attentive policy makers on both sidesof the Dutch and German borders have led to
Latest News? Visitwww.geoinformatics.com
Art i c le
7July/August 2008
Herman Assink
Core Activities IDGISIDGIS partly implemented the Limburgse
X-border project. IDGIS serves as an advi-
sory and development bureau in the field
of geographical information systems.
Analysis, design and building support are
IDGIS core businesses. Besides commercial
packages IDGIS has been deploying open
source software, like deegree, for several
years. Besides this IDGIS developed the
open source, web oriented mapclient
Geoide. Geoide is based on Flash and open
geoservices and has extensive capabilities
for editing geometry.
http://www.x-border-gdi.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.x-border-gdi.org/http://www.idgis.nl/http://www.idgis.nl/http://www.geoinformatics.com/http://www.geoinformatics.com/http://www.geoinformatics.com/http://www.idgis.nl/http://www.x-border-gdi.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.x-border-gdi.org/ -
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Home of The Times Atlas of The World
Mapping at Collins Bartholomew
The 12th Edition of The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World, published in September 2007, and the forthcoming The
Times Universal Atlas of the World (publishing September 2008), epitomize the use of geographic data and Geographic
Information System (GIS) technology in the creation of published atlases and maps. Created from Collins Bartholomew
geographic databases and published by Times Books/HarperCollins, these products continue a long tradition of
atlas publishing stretching back over 100 years, established through the activities of, in particular, the time honoured
Edinburgh cartographic company of John Bartholomew & Son. Throughout this period, cartography has moved with
the times, embracing many new technologies. But what is involved today, in the creation and maintenance of
digitalgeographic data and in the creation of high quality cartographic products?
By Mick Ashworth and Jim Irvine
History of Times AtlasesThe first Times Atlas was published in 1895 and
was, in fact, a translated edition of a German
atlas. In the first decade of the twentieth cen-
tury, when The Times wanted a new edition,
and an atlas they could call their own, they
turned to the leading cartographers of the day
John Bartholomew & Sons of Edinburgh. Thus
began a relationship between The Times and
Bartholomew, and their successors Harper-
Collins and Collins Bartholomew, which contin-
ues today, and which still reflects the standards
of cartography established by Bartholomew
through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Many editions of Times atlases have been pub-
lished since this relationship was established.
The most recent being the 12th edition of the
flagship product, The Times Comprehensive
Atlas of the World (Figure 1) and the new The
Times Reference and Universal Atlases of the
World.
Technological DevelopmentAt each stage of their evolution, the atlases
have embraced new technology and since 1995
have been produced on a digital flowline,
exploiting GIS technology. This has only been
possible through the creation and maintenance
of extensive global geographic databases,
which also offer numerous possibilities for the
creation and delivery of maps beyond printed
products.
Digital mapping systems were first introduced
to Bartholomew in the mid-1980s and were con-
strained by both the hardware and software
available at the time. Despite the simplicity of
these early systems, a digital database of Great
Britain at a scale of 1:250,000 was created and
10
Art ic le
July/August 2008
Figure 1. The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World 12th edition.
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used to produce the Bartholomew Road Atlasof Great Britain in 1988, the first title to be pro-
duced using digital techniques. This was fol-
lowed four years later by the Collins Road Atlas
of Britain, created from the same database.
While these two road atlases contained the
same information, they were targeted at differ-
ent markets and contained very different map-
ping styles. This was an early realization of one
of the anticipated benefits of digital map pro-
duction the ability to create different products
from the same basic data. The cartographic
database is an essential part of the production
process for each new edition of the Collins Road
Atlases.
In 1995 the 7th edition of The Times Concise
Atlas of the World became the first world atlas
produced by Collins Bartholomew to contain
mapping wholly produced using digital technol-
ogy. This was joined in 1999 by the first fully
digital version of The Times Comprehensive
Atlas of the World The Millennium Edition.
While the content of these atlases was created
digitally, they were printed using traditional
methods through the output of film for plate
making. The more recent introduction of digitalcomputer to plate (CTP) technology into the
printing industry completed the end-to-end dig-
ital map production flowline.
Map Information And ResearchThis first stage in the flowline is sourcing the
geographical information required for database
capture and maintenance. This is a continual
process, driven by the pace of physical and
geopolitical changes in the real world. New
maps and geographic publications from gov-
ernment departments, agencies, business
offices, and experts around the world provide
information for every country on a variety of
topics. The Internet has become a key resource
in this work, but a team of information experts
Initial Product CreationOne clear benefit of the database approach,
and of the detailed data structure on which the
databases have been built, is the great flexibil-
ity of the data. This allows the creation of a
great range of products, for specific markets
and users, from the same database.
The appropriate data is extracted from the
database, ensuring that coverage, content, scaleand projection are all correct. As much of the
final map specification as possible is also
applied at this stage. This is achieved using
standard ArcGIS tools, including Maplex, the
automated text placement and cartographic
design application. The application of different
cartographic representations to the same base
data allows very different maps to be created
from the same database.
Finishing Map Pages
Output from ArcGIS requires further manual edit-ing to create a final print quality map. The car-
tographic team use Adobe Illustrator for this
task. Generally this involves fine tuning the map
specification and type placement, as well as
adding marginalia, scale bars and grid refer-
ences. Rigorous editorial quality control is car-
ried out at this stage to ensure the specifica-
tion and policies have been correctly applied
(see figure 2).
Creating Geographic IndexesMost maps and atlases will include an index
to place names, and for large world atlases
with mixed scales, overlapping pages and
complicated indexing rules this can be a com-
plex task. A major feature of The Times
Comprehensive Atlas of the World, for which it
is renowned, is its index to over 200,000 places
and features. This includes several thousand
alternative name forms, all cross-referenced
accurately to the name form appearing on the
map.
Collins Bartholomew uses a combination of
standard commercial software and in-house
applications to create indexes. The unique IDsassigned to all named features in the database
remain attached to their features throughout
the map production process, and are used to
identify which names appear on each map and
to build up index entries. These index entries
are stored in product-specific Oracle tables,
where overlapping is accounted for and the
application of any specific indexing rules is car-
ried out. When all index entries are complete,
they are alpha sorted, combined with type set-
ting tags and extracted into a text file, which
in turn is flowed into page layout software
(Quark Xpress) for final formatting. This
approach automates as much of the indexing
process as possible while retaining the flexibil-
ity inherent in manual methods.
with skills in geography, cartography andinformation science assess and validate
numerous sources to ensure that the best mate-
rial is used and that the authority of the prod-
ucts is not compromised.
Underlying the capture of any information into
the databases are detailed policies relating to,
for example, name forms and political bound-
aries. The work of a Cartographic Policy
Committee and the advice of key external
experts ensure that our data is regarded as neu-
tral, accurate, up to date and trustworthy crit-
ical factors in an era where the amount of infor-
mation available appears endless and where its
provenance cannot always be established.
Cartographic Database MaintenanceOnce changes have been thoroughly researched
and validated, the database is updated.
Changes to the database are made on average
every three and a half minutes and are validat-
ed by information from approximately 500 orga-
nizations and experts. This worldwide network
has been built up over the last hundred years
of map making. This database approach leads
directly to the more efficient revision of prod-ucts, as a single database edit will be automat-
ically propagated to all maps derived from that
database.
To support the variety of mapping required for
their products, Collins Bartholomew maintain
data at different scales. Data is stored in a
hybrid structure, with graphical information
(points, lines and polygons) stored in ArcGIS
server from ESRI and a linked Oracle database
storing all non graphic information place
names, populations, information on administra-
tive divisions etc. The database contains
approximately 350,000 named features, each
of which is automatically assigned a unique
identification number (ID) at the time of cap-
ture.
Latest News? Visitwww.geoinformatics.com
Art i c le
11July/August 2008
Figure 2: Northern South America reference map from the Times Universal Atlas of the World.
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Computer to Plate PrintingThe final stage of the process is the creation of
PDF files for supply to the printer, who will use
these directly in the CTP printing process. This
involves transferring digital images directly from
the file onto the printing plate, avoiding the
output of colour separated films. Besides reduc-
ing cost through removing the need to create,
distribute and store film, this increases suppli-
er location flexibility as digital files can be sent
electronically to printers, either on CD or DVD
or over the Internet using File Transfer Protocol
(FTP). In addition, and in contrast to film, digi-
tal images do not deteriorate over time, and
result in better quality images time after time.
The BenefitsAs well as cost and efficiency gains, the devel-
opment of a completely digital flowline has cre-
ated a range of further benefits and new oppor-
tunities for the business of commercial
cartography, all of which have benefited Collins
Bartholomew.
- Flexible Map Specifications
Database driven production techniques allow
cartographers to create many different map
images from the same basic data. The ability
to select different sets of features from the
database and apply different representations
gives the cartographer great flexibility over the
types of map produced. As well as varying the
choice of colours, symbols, line widths and
fonts, it is also possible to vary map projection
and scale, further increasing the range of map-
ping styles which can be produced (Figure 2).
This flexibility has greatly benefited Collins
Bartholomew and HarperCollins through the use
of the data to create very varied maps for a
great range of products. The databases now
support approximately 250 products, and maps
are created not just for world atlases, road
atlases and sheet maps, but also for their range
of geographical and environmental books
including Fragile Earth, a dramatic portrayal ofenvironmental change, Disappearing World, a
guide to threatened world heritage sites, and
Atlas of Global Development, thematic atlas co-
published with The World Bank (see figure 3).
- Bespoke Mapping
The flexibility and cost effective nature of digi-
tal map production also allow Collins
Bartholomew to provide a comprehensive
bespoke mapping service. Customers have the
option of obtaining unique and specially
designed maps that directly suit their needs.
Using the digital production flowline, prototype
maps can be quickly generated in order to
agree a final specification with the customer,
while the high level of cartographic skill main-
tained in-house ensures that the best solution
is offered.
Building the production flowline around widely
used GIS data formats also gives customers the
option of supplying their own GIS data which
can often be plugged straight into our flowline.
This is useful for organizations which may have
captured GIS data for some other purpose, and
now want to produce print quality maps from
it but lack the cartographic expertise required.
- Foreign Language Co-editions
Digital production methods facilitate the trans-
lation of existing maps into foreign languages
for co-edition partners a major part of CollinsBartholomews publishing activities. Foreign lan-
guage name sets have been developed, often
in conjunction with overseas partners. Using the
system of unique ID numbers, these transla-
tions can be automatically applied to both the
map and index in question. The methods
employed also give our partners the flexibility
to include more of their own name forms if
required.
- New Visualizations
Storing digital representations of the earths sur-
face to support map production creates oppor-
tunities to visualize the world in new ways.
These rely on recent developments in geo-
graphic data and information software. Three
12
Art ic le
July/August 2008
Figure 3: World Energy Use page in The Atlas of Global Development.
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dimensional perspective views can be created
at the local, regional or continental level.
Overlaying these with map data, aerial photos
or satellite imagery creates new and visually
stunning ways to view the world. These mod-
els can be animated to create fly-throughs,
increasing the ways in which users can interact
with digital data to visualize the world (see fig-
ure 4). Besides creating exciting interactive dig-
ital applications, these techniques can also be
used to create visually stunning static images
for inclusion in published products, thus allow-
ing users of these traditional cartographic prod-
ucts the ability to share the benefits brought
by this exciting new technology.
- Internet Mapping
Today many maps are designed to be viewed
in different ways on computers, hand held
devices, etc. Many of these maps are deliv-
ered to the end user over the Internet and dis-
played in standard browser windows. There
are two basic approaches to serving maps onthe Internet. The first involves rendering maps
on the fly from vector data, while the second
delivers static raster maps to the users brows-
er. The first approach can provide a high level
of interactivity to the user, but presents many
cartographic and technical challenges if it is
to be done well. The creation of pre-created
raster maps for display on the Internet has
provided many commercial opportunities for
cartographers, with organizations already
skilled in digital techniques well placed to
exploit these.
Collins Bartholomew has created a suite of
seamless raster maps specifically for this pur-
pose. These have been designed to maintain
the attractiveness and clarity of printed maps
Other benefits have also become apparent:
The demand for digital maps to support
Internet and other electronic mapping appli-
cations has created a new and thriving mar-
ket for commercial cartographers.
The ability to create innovative and exciting
ways of visualizing the world.
Through the creation of high quality published
products, and the on-going maintenance and
enhancement of extensive geographic data-
bases, Collins Bartholomew are well positioned
for continuing to meet customer needs in many
sectors in this era of increasing map awareness
and demand for geographic data.
It is important to remember however that ulti-
mately maps are created by people, not by
computers, and that good maps are created by
skilled and talented cartographers working to
high editorial standards. Perhaps the biggest
benefit of the digital revolution is the freedom
it has given cartographers to be truly creative,
both in what they produce and how they pro-duce it, whilst still being able to work to exact-
ing standards of accuracy and authority repre-
sented by Collins Bartholomew products and
data.
Mick Ashworth [email protected]
Consultant Editor to The Times Atlas of the World.
Jim [email protected] isHead of
Digital Resources and the Collins Newsroom.
For more information, have a look at
the following websites:
www.timesatlas.com
www.harpercollins.co.uk
www.bartholomewmaps.co.uk
while at the same time minimizing file size in
order to facilitate fast download. The maps are
georeferenced, allowing application builders
to overlay their own or their customers spa-
tial data. This provides for Internet mapping
applications which offer a degree of interac-
tivity together with clear and attractive base
maps.
- Data Applications
Licensing digital map data to developers cre-
ating specialist mapping applications is a sig-
nificant revenue stream for many commercial
cartographers. At Collins Bartholomew it was
envisaged at the outset that the adoption of
digital techniques would add value to the
business in this way, and so it has proved.
Wide varieties of commercial applications have
been, and continue to be built incorporating
Collins Bartholomew digital map data. Many
major national and international agencies now
use Collins Bartholomew data within their sys-
tems and have come to trust it in the sameway, and for the same reasons of accuracy,
integrity and authority, that The Times Atlas of
the World is itself universally trusted.
ConclusionsIt is clear that the adoption of digital technol-
ogy into the world of commercial cartography
at Collins Bartholomew has delivered two
major commercial benefits:
An efficient and highly flexible production
flowline for Collins and Times published
maps and atlases.
New revenue streams based on the licens-
ing of the digital data on which the pro-
duction flowline depends.
Latest News? Visitwww.geoinformatics.com
Art i c le
13July/August 2008
Figure 4: 3D visualisation used BBC television programme Incredible Journeys
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.timesatlas.com/http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/http://www.bartholomewmaps.co.uk/http://www.geoinformatics.com/http://www.geoinformatics.com/http://www.geoinformatics.com/http://www.bartholomewmaps.co.uk/http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/http://www.timesatlas.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected] -
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ArcGIS
9.3Improving Your Entire
Data Management
Better MapsDissemination
Data courtesy of the City of Boston.
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Data Management
ArcGIS 9.3 provides newtools for accessing data
within an organization,
including the addition of
PostgreSQL and MicrosoftSQL Server2008 support, a
new image service, version
management, enhancements
to geodatabase replication,and better geocoding.
Better MapsArcGIS 9.3 includes manyenhancements that make it
easier than ever to create
and share production-quality
maps. These enhancementsinclude a new Disperse
Markers tool and, via Maplex
for ArcGIS, better contour
labeling and more control overwhere labels are placed inside
and around polygons.
Dissemination of
InformationArcGIS 9.3 makes dissemination
of geographic informationmuch easier. New tools
that aid in dissemination
include improved map cache
management, which allows
ArcGIS9.3 offers a complete suite of software that
compliant environment. With ArcGIS, you also get the
instructor-led and online training, and new online
resource centers.
maps to be published more
quickly, and a series of
JavaScriptAPIs for mashup-style development. These
new APIs allow JavaScript
developers to easily embedArcGIS Server Web mapping
applications into any Web site.
Mobility
The new ArcGIS Mobileapplication increases data
accuracy and enables real-
time decision making in the
SDK now offers enhanced
map control rendering, data
storage capabilities, andexpanded projections.
Planning and Analysis
Many modeling tools have
been enhanced, and someentirely new tools have
been added to help users
get more answers from
their data. These includea new scatterplot matrix
graph, improvements to the
Near tool, and advancedOrdinary Least Squares and
Geographically Weighted
Regression tools.
Copyright 2008 ESRI. All rights reserved. ESRI, the ArcGIS logo, www.esri.com, Maplex, the ESRI Globe logo, and ArcGIS are
trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions.
Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.
Planning and Analysis
Mobility
Finland
Francewww.esrifrance.fr
F.Y.R.O.M.www.gisdata.hr
Germanywww.esri-germany.de
Georgiawww.geographic.ge
Greece and Cypruswww.marathondata.gr
Hungarywww.esrihu.hu
Icelandwww.samsyn.is
Israelwww.systematics.co.il
Italywww.esriitalia.it
Maltawww.geosys.com.mt
Moldovawww.trimetrica.com
The Netherlandswww.esrinl.com
Norwaywww.geodata.no
Polandwww.esripolska.com.pl
Portugalwww.esri-portugal.pt
Romaniawww.esriro.ro
Russiawww.dataplus.ru
Austriawww.synergis.co.at
Belgium and Luxembourgwww.esribelux.com
Bosnia and Herzegovinawww.gisdata.hr
Bulgariawww.esribulgaria.com
Croatiawww.gisdata.hr
Czech Republicwww.arcdata.cz
Denmarkwww.informi.dk
Estonia, Latvia, andLithuaniawww.hnit-baltic.lt
Slovak Republicwww.arcgeo.sk
Sloveniawww.gisdata.hr
Spainwww.esri-es.com
Swedenwww.esri-sgroup.se
Switzerlandwww.esri-suisse.ch
Turkeywww.esriturkey.com.tr
Ukrainewww.ecomm.kiev.ua
UK/Irelandwww.esriuk.com
www.esri.com/whatsnew
For more information, please contact your local distributor or call ESRI
Europe at +31-10-217-7788 or ESRI headquarters at +1-909-793-2853,
GIS Workflow
www.esri-finland.com
field. Also, the ArcGIS Mobile
benefits of an established and active user community,
improves organizational workflows within a standards-
http://www.esri.com/http://www.esrifrance.fr/http://www.gisdata.hr/http://www.gisdata.hr/http://www.esri-germany.de/http://www.geographic.ge/http://www.marathondata.gr/http://www.esrihu.hu/http://www.samsyn.is/http://www.systematics.co.il/http://www.esriitalia.it/http://www.geosys.com.mt/http://www.trimetrica.com/http://www.trimetrica.com/http://www.esrinl.com/http://www.geodata.no/http://www.esripolska.com.pl/http://www.esri-portugal.pt/http://www.esriro.ro/http://www.dataplus.ru/http://www.synergis.co.at/http://www.esribelux.com/http://www.gisdata.hr/http://www.gisdata.hr/http://www.esribulgaria.com/http://www.gisdata.hr/http://www.arcdata.cz/http://www.informi.dk/http://www.hnit-baltic.lt/http://www.arcgeo.sk/http://www.gisdata.hr/http://www.esri-es.com/http://www.esri-sgroup.se/http://www.esri-suisse.ch/http://www.esriturkey.com.tr/http://www.ecomm.kiev.ua/http://www.esriuk.com/http://www.esri.com/whatsnewhttp://www.esri-finland.com/http://www.esri-finland.com/http://www.esriuk.com/http://www.ecomm.kiev.ua/http://www.esriturkey.com.tr/http://www.esri-suisse.ch/http://www.esri-sgroup.se/http://www.esri-es.com/http://www.gisdata.hr/http://www.arcgeo.sk/http://www.hnit-baltic.lt/http://www.informi.dk/http://www.arcdata.cz/http://www.gisdata.hr/http://www.esribulgaria.com/http://www.gisdata.hr/http://www.esribelux.com/http://www.synergis.co.at/http://www.dataplus.ru/http://www.esriro.ro/http://www.esri-portugal.pt/http://www.esripolska.com.pl/http://www.geodata.no/http://www.esrinl.com/http://www.trimetrica.com/http://www.geosys.com.mt/http://www.esriitalia.it/http://www.systematics.co.il/http://www.samsyn.is/http://www.esrihu.hu/http://www.marathondata.gr/http://www.geographic.ge/http://www.esri-germany.de/http://www.gisdata.hr/http://www.esrifrance.fr/http://www.esri.com/http://www.esri.com/whatsnew -
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Part 8: KML Keyhole Markup Language
Standards in Practice
The Keyhole Markup Language (KML) is a file format used to display geographicdata in an earth browser such as Google Earth or Google Maps. It forms the
basis of all user input into this software. KML uses a tag-based structure with
nested elements and attributes and is based on the XML standard.
By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
In April this year the Keyhole MarkupLanguage (KML) became an official standard
with the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).
KML was originally developed by a small com-
pany called Keyhole for their Keyhole soft-
ware. In 2004 the company was taken over
by Google and the Keyhole software became
branded as Google Earth. The name KML for
the standard stuck, however.
The current, official OGC version of KML is 2.2,
although most files on the Internet will be in
the slightly older version 2.1. The user, how-
ever, does not need to worry about versions
as each file is prefixed with the version num-
ber, allowing the display software to select
the correct format itself.
How Does It Work?KML is a bit of a hybrid. Part of the language
allows users to specify geographic elements
such as points (placeholders) as well as lines
(Linestring) and polygons (Polygon). It also
supports coverages via the overlay option. The
other part of the language describes how such
an element should be presented in terms of
layout, text size and colors. KML will even allow
HTML bits to be inserted into the KML file so
that layout (and hyperlinks) will look exactly as
they do on a webpage.
As such, a KML file could be compared to a
geographic version of the HTML language for
web pages that also contains both information
and the way it should be presented. As with
GML (see the article on GML) the geographic
options of KML are quite extensive. What makes
KML easier to use than GML is that for each
geographic type only a single option is avail-able, making it a lot simpler to implement (but
also less flexible if that is what the user needs).
Coordinate SystemOne of the major differences between KML and,
for example, GML is that KML only allows data
input in geographic WGS84 coordinates (lati-
tude and longitude). This is generally not an
issue when displaying data collected with a GPS
receiver, but it may present a problem when
overlaying data.
When overlaying an aerial photograph that is
referenced to a local map projection, for
instance, it needs to be converted into the
WGS84 latitude / longitude system. For small
areas this doesnt pose much of a problem, but
when overlaying larger images errors up to tens
of kilometers may arise. There are, of course,
workarounds for this such as using a GIS pack-
age to georeference the image onto the KML
coordinate system.
Combining Information from Different Sources
One of the strong points of KML is that it ispossible to link to external files. If, for exam-
ple, a website has a service that shows data
that changes in real time, then simply by creat-
ing a KML file that invokes that service as an
overlay icon within the correct geographic
boundary, an earth browser like Google Earth
will allow display of that real-time information
combined with whatever information the user
has on his own system.
Using this functionality, information from differ-
ent sources can easily be combined in Google
Earth without the user having to worry about
coordinate systems, file formats or layout
issues. In this respect KML duplicates some of
the functionality of WMS and the associated
Styled Layer Descriptors.
16
Art ic le
July/August 2008
KML Keyhole Markup LanguageWhat it is for: Overlaying geographic infor-
mation in, for example, Google Earth
Relevant standards: OGC KML Specification
Technical implementation: XML
Legal basis: None
Google Earth screenshot showing a real-time rain image and the associated KML file.
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Information ExchangeSince the KML file holds all the relevant
information for displaying both the geom-
etry and the layout, it is very easy to
exchange the file between users (or put
it on a web server and reference the file).
The disadvantage is that one needs a
KML-enabled viewer in order to display
the data.In general that does not have to be a
major problem since Google Earth can be
downloaded from the Google website for
free and Google Maps is available wher-
ever one has access to a web browser.
KMZOne of the major problems with exchang-
ing XML files is that they contain quite a lot of
air. This problem has been recognized with
KML and a compressed (zipped) version is
available. This version is identified as a KMZtype of file.
The compression used is general zip which
means that the files can be uncompressed
using any compression software that supports
zip files (such as WinZIP). The only requirement
is that the file is (temporarily) renamed from
the .kmz extension to the .kml extension.
KML Versus Other OGCStandardsAccording to the OGC website, efforts
will be made to bring KML and GML
closer together in the future. Currently
KML uses geometries from GML 2.1.2
while the latest GML version is 3.2.1.
The OGC Mass Market Geo Working
Group (MMWG) will establish harmo-nization activities to bring KML and GML
closer.
Other OGC specifications such as
Context and Styled Layer Descriptor
(SLD) may be considered for harmo-
nization as well. How this harmoniza-
tion will take place has not been men-
tioned by OGC but presumably it will
mean copying certain elements from existing
OGC standards into KML so that, for example,
the latest GML geometries are used instead of
the current, sometimes deprecated, 2.1.2 ver-sions.
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
[email protected] isproject manager
at IDsW and a freelance trainer and writer.
For more information: OGC: www.opengeospatial.org.
After decompressing the kmz file the user can
edit the resulting document and, if necessary,
recompress the file for display.
LegalThere is no legal basis for the use of KML (or
KMZ) files, and with the current coupling with
Google products there probably never will be.
Google products are very popular with con-
sumers, however, and consequently most GIS
packages support KML / KMZ.
Latest News? Visitwww.geoinformatics.com
Art i c le
17July/August 2008
The Centre for Conservation Ecology and
Environmental Change at BU has a number
of postgraduate opportunities available for
entry this Autumn. Courses are delivered
by experienced conservation ecologists,
remote sensing and GIS specialists,
with an emphasis on developing varied,
employable, professional capabilities
and enhancing the skills of professionals
wishing to work in these fields.
MSc Biodiversity Conservation
MSc Environmental Informatics
MSc Environmental Management
(by research)
MSc GeoInformatics (by research).
Get ahead withConservation Ecologyand EnvironmentalChangeat BU.
For detailed course information visit:www.bournemouth.ac.uk/pgenvironment
To find out more, contact askBUEnquiry ServiceonTel: +44 (0)1202 961916 Email: [email protected]
Google Earth screenshot showing a photo placeholder containing HTML
style layout and the associated KML file.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.opengeospatial.org/http://www.opengeospatial.org/http://www.geoinformatics.com/http://www.geoinformatics.com/http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/pgenvironmentmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/pgenvironmenthttp://www.geoinformatics.com/http://www.opengeospatial.org/mailto:[email protected] -
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Addressing the Phenomenon of CAD/GIS Convergence
1Spatials MapRelate
To enable the convergence of AutoCAD and geospatial data, 1Spatial created a software solution called MapRelate.
It allows engineers, traditionally used to dealing with 3D models, the chance to interact with geospatial maps
without the need for data transfers or specialist software. In this article, 1Spatials Andrew Gosney
explains all about this software tool.
By Andrew Gosney
In the past, geospatial data has tended to betreated as special and, consequently, its use
has been restricted to specialist systems and
individual roles. We are witnessing a trend
towards using location information across main-
stream business processes to provide a spatial
parameter, a trend that is being driven by
demand and the fact that these data are
becoming more and more readily available. In
addition, advances in technology mean that
integration can be achieved without the need
for expensive system re-engineering or devel-
opment.
ConvergenceConvergence of different data types and sources
is a trend that is occurring across many levels.
Initially we saw the convergence of different
spatial data types, resulting from the increase
in GIS and spatial systems that support multi-
ple geospatial data formats. Within mainstream
business processes, integration is being seen
on three planes: the integration of geospatial
data from disparate sources, the integration of
geospatial data with other non-geospatial busi-
ness data, and the integration of geospatial
data within existing business processes. In addi-
18
Review
July/August 2008
Background mapping and corporate data displayed in AutoCAD. Crown copyright included by kind permission of the Ordnance Survey
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tion, simple, web-based tools such as Google
Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth are exposing
both geospatial data and 3D models, such as
cityscapes, to a new audience in revolutionary
ways.
Convergence of 2D and 3D data is a new phe-
nomenon driven by a need to combine these
worlds for operational and planning purposes
and as an extension to the efficiencies already
realised through integrating the 2D geospatial
world into decision-making processes.Computer Aided Design (CAD) has previously
been the domain of the engineer or architect
and GIS the realm of the GIS specialist, with
the two historically being seen as separate.
However, both have a very similar main goal
to create a representation of the real world.
Taking the most common CAD package,
Autodesks AutoCAD as an example, currently,
there are only two ways that engineers or archi-
tects can view their design in context, that is,
to have a more real-world view. They can dupli-
cate and then translate the relevant geospatial
data into files of a readable format, such as DXF
or DWG, and store them somewhere, or send
the design to the GIS and either loose control
of it or learn to use the GIS. Both of these pro-
hash datasets together in the hope that they
will fit.
1Spatials MapRelate1Spatial have created, in response to our cus-
tomers requirements, a simple, effective tool
to enable the convergence of AutoCAD and
geospatial data. MapRelate allows engineers,
traditionally used to dealing with 3D models,
the chance to interact with geospatial maps
without the need for data transfers or special-ist software.
MapRelate is simple and dedicated plug-in com-
ponent for AutoCAD that enables users to
directly and instantly access existing map files,
which are held locally or in a corporate
database. Access is provided from within their
native AutoCAD environment and is achieved
without the need for data transfers or special-
ist software and therefore streamlining the
whole process.
Utilising the same Feature Data Objects (FDO)
cross-platform interface that can be found in
Autodesks AutoCAD Map 3D and AutoCAD
MapGuide, MapRelate facilitates live, indepen-
dent access to spatial data files and datastores,
including OS MasterMap. This open-source tech-
cesses are time-consuming and expensive, and
can lead to duplication of effort when there are
multiple datasets in circulation. Using static
datasets can also mean that AutoCAD users are
not referencing the most-up-to date geospatial
data, unless they repeat the translation process
for every new or updated design.
A mapping context for designs is becoming pro-
gressively more important as the numbers and
complexity of customer and legal requirements
increase across industry sectors. For all parties,being able to view CAD designs on an accurate
mapping background, before any further work
commences, could allow any possible defects
to be identified and rectified at the design
stage, rather than once work has commenced
out on site.
AutoCAD, without the data translation process,
cannot provide this kind of functionality, so for
users and organisations that do not have
AutoCAD Map 3D, the only other solution is to
export the design to a GIS and somehow make
two datasets fit together. Despite being the
most common platform for the manipulation of
geospatial data, AutoCAD is given the least con-
sideration when planning GI strategy and inte-
gration, creating this problem of having to
Latest News? Visitwww.geoinformatics.com
Review
19July/August 2008
Base OS mastermap data. Crown copyright included by kind permission of the Ordnance Survey.
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AutoCAD Map 3D 2009
User is No Longer a CAD Guy
The press launch of Autodesks 2009 geospatial products ranged from detailed product demonstrations to user stories andbold visions of the future by Autodesks own geospatial evangelist Geoff Zeiss. In short: Autodesk took some
more steps from CAD toward GIS, carefully keeping in mind the users CAD roots.
By Remco Takken
Autodesks geospatial customers are in dis-parate sectors ranging from coal mining to real
estate, but mainly in utilities: gas, water and
electricity. With more than 23,000 AutoCAD Map
3D licences in Northern Europe, Autodesk cer-
tainly is a force to be reckoned with in the
geospatial industry. However, the core focus of
the organization is still CAD and design, with a
relatively small but growing GIS and geo-pro-cessing division.
This was clear during Autodesks press days for
European journalists in London, where
Autodesks geospatial products, MapGuide
Enterprise and AutoCAD Map 3D, were hugely
overshadowed by the products out of the CAD
and visualization worlds. The geospatial verti-
cal within Autodesk only started last year. Of
course, this doesnt mean Autodesk started out
in geo in 2007. Its appearance as a new verti-
cal was the result of the growing user base in
Europe.
This growing interest in geospatial within both
Autodesk and its users can be explained by the
user base of CAD customers who are being con-
fronted with the ongoing integration of object-
oriented thinking, mapping directly into GIS and
the geo-referencing of CAD files in their daily
work. Then there is the continuing push for
greater e-government across Northern Europe,
and technological phenomena such as, in the
UK, the introduction of OS MasterMap.
Technical Overview
Autodesks geospatial specialist Lynda Streakerpresented a detailed technical overview of new
features within AutoCAD Map 3D. As for the
recent FDO (Feature Data Objects) support, Map
3D 2009 now allows the user to bypass the
check-out step when editing FDO data. No
longer is there a need to check out, convert to
geometry and then convert back to features.
The user can connect and edit an FDO feature
source directly using CAD commands. Map 3D
allows all kinds of GIS functionality with any
FDO data source, including SDF, SHP, Oracle
Spatial and ESRI SDE.
The Expression Builder is a new tool for creat-
ing sophisticated queries, filters, and calcula-
tions. The Locate on Map menu is for creating
a query by specifying a location on the map.
The location is specified by identifying a point
or drawing a rectangle, polygon, circle, or fence,
and indicating whether the features inside or
touching the boundary should be selected.
Server-side ViewsMap 3D now supports the use of server-side
views in Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, and ODBC
data sources. Once the view is created usingthe sophisticated tools provided by the
database management software, Map 3D can
connect to it. Once connected, all of Map 3Ds
query tools are in place to retrieve and analyze
the data. When you change the data in the
view, the corresponding base table is updated.
More convenient data access aside, perfor-
mance is improved if the database server and
Map 3D are on different machines, since
database and Map 3D processing are distribut-
ed over the two machines.
Many Autodesk users have circular workflows
where DWG and FDO data sources must be
imported, exported, and converted for partners
that have either AutoCAD or Map 3D, but not
both. Autodesk Map 3D 2009 expedites the pro-
22
Review
July/August 2008
You can choose how you want to edit features in the data store, via the FeatureEditing Options dialog box. By adjusting these properties, you can set your FDO
editing to be as CAD-like as possible.
Two new commands will split or merge features and automatically assignattributes to the features created by the operation. Attributes are divided according
to the rules which are set in advance for each property. You set these rules from the
Data Table.
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licences and MapGuide Enterprise. As was to
be expected, some obstacles from a typical CAD
perspective formed the starting point of this
new architecture. The old situation knew exces-
sive use of DWG files, numerous duplicates of
the same records and existing files being super-
seded by new ones. As there was little commu-
nication with the GIS team, his section had to
use an out-of-date Master Map, with updatesin the MapIno TAB file format. Advantages of
the AutoCAD Map solution offer reliable, intelli-
gent records, theres an object data editor for
adding and editing these records and batch
update. Furthermore, reading attributes is now
possible in a logical order instead of alphabeti-
cal.
All presentation and layering is shown in
MapGuide, where a borough-wide as-built map
is presented, with plans and maps also avail-
able to non-CAD users.
Al-Sheibani concluded: I am no longer a CADguy. I not only consume GIS data, I also
create it.
cess of exchanging data from one format toanother. This means you can now use CAD
properties such as color, line weight, and hatch
to populate fields in an FDO feature class.
MetadataMap 3D 2009 continues to support Federal
Graphic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata, and
now also includes support for ISO 19139.
Metadata can be made for file-based data
sources such as DWG, SDF, and SHP, and
database data sources such as Oracle and SQL
Server. You can also make and save a profile
for ISO metadata.
Citrix CompatibilityIn computer networks, it is often advantageous
to install an application on one powerful
machine and then let other less powerful
machines access that application remotely. Such
an architecture is often referred to as main-
frame/terminal, or thick server/thin client. The
main advantage of this architecture is that IT
staff can centralize their software. They only
have to install and upgrade the application on
one machine, rather than on each machine inan organization. In addition, users can access
the applications from kiosks, PDAs, or other
devices that could not run the application on
their own.
In the case of Citrix compatibility, Map 3D can
be served to an estimated 25 client machines,
while delays can be expected when going up
to 40 users. Problems might arise when client
rates are pushed over 50.
MapGuide EnterpriseMapGuide, Autodesks web mapping applica-
tion, also boasts some new features.
The flexible web layouts provide customized
interfaces and styling. Because of the existing
limitations of the MapGuide frameset, DM
Solutions Group creat-
ed another architec-
ture for MapGuide
called Fusion. Fusion
allows site designers
to create web layouts
of infinite variety with-
out programming.
Behind the scenes,Fusion uses Open-
Layers, a new Open
Source JavaScript API
for creating web-based
mapping applications.
This explains the intro-
duction of OS jargon
like widgets and con-
tainers within an
Autodesk context.
The cartographic en-
hancements were designed to help make mapsclearer and more appealing. The rendering of
map images creates a staircase effect produced
by the GD library that MapGuide has been using
for image rendering. A new AGG
rendering engine overcomes this pro-
blem, and it now renders a sub-pixel
accuracy.
Previous versions of MapGuide have
had no elevation styling for grid sur-
faces. This causes data in formats such
as DEM and GeoTIFF to appear flat
and washed out. In Map 3D 2009, you
can apply styling to a raster image and
then export it to MapGuide 2009. The
layer in MapGuide retains the styling
that you created in Map 3D, which
gives the image a more meaningful 3D
effect.
Customer StoriesDuring Autodesks press days in
London, one of the governmental cus-
tomers was Rushmoor Borough
Council. AutoCAD Map 3D has helped
this local authority integrate 400 activespatial data sets. Now AutoCAD Map
3D, AutoCAD and ESRI users all share
a single source of map information
based on OS MasterMap. This has
boosted collaboration, helped elimi-
nate errors and created efficiencies in
GIS management.
CAD Manager Bader Al-Sheibani talked
about the traffic management section
in the London Borough of Merton. His
work includes the implementation of
around twenty traffic schemes a year.
Instead of working with the councils
GIS platform of choice, MapInfo, Al-
Sheibani decided to upgrade his
AutoCAD team of six with two Map 3D
Latest News? Visitwww.geoinformatics.com
Review
23
By setting up enforceable constraints, and using the Data Table to add attribute
data for a new feature, the field will have a drop-down list of acceptable values.
Lynda Streaker
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MobileMapper
6True Mobile GIS for Everyone
MobileMapper 6 provides a complete set of all necessary features required of a
mapping device for anyone who needs productive data collection and efficient asset
management in the field. Unlike consumer-grade units, the low-cost easy-to-use
MobileMapper 6 offers full compatibility with popular GIS software to enable
companies to select and use GIS software of their choice.
The MobileMapper 6 comes with Microsoft Windows Mobile 6, a color touch-screen,and has Bluetooth for wireless connectivity. This handy feature-rich GPS includes an
integrated 2-megapixel camera, an embedded speaker and microphone to enrich
the collected data with pictures and voice notes.
With MobileMapper 6, Magellan innovates and fills a market gap in GIS data
collection between high-cost devices and consumer-grade products.
Check out todaywww.pro.magellanGPS.com toequip your GIS crew
with MobileMapper 6
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Intelligent Simulations of UrbanEnvironmentsGeoff Zeiss, Autodesks own evangelist in
geospatial, talked about the recent develop-ments in simulations of urban environments.
The convergence of technology will enable
intelligent simulations, where you not only
need to know about the outside of buildings
in order to make a 3D model, but also about
the inside and all of its (underground) connec-
tions like pipes and cables, said Zeiss. He very
man, using this instead of a paper floor map
when hes on the 59th floor of a building.
Further needs for a 3D cadastre and a good
visualization of urban assets exist in cities like
Singapore, where, according to Zeiss, 95 per-
cent of the population lives above the first floor.
Most of the data needed for an intelligent 3D
simulation, like the one Zeiss showed, comes
from a limited number of media, most of themcaptured with CAD tools. The sophisticated
technologies, however, face serious interoper-
ability problems. For use in a GIS, engineering
and design data often needs re-digitizing, and
the field force largely still works on printed
paper. With the example of FME, an extract,
translate and load tool which as of today sup-
ports more than 220 data formats, Zeiss illus-
trated that it is not very likely that the phe-
nomenon of data format accumulation will just
go away.
This means that in the field of connections andintegration, a lot of work still has to be done.
But the big bulk, the data, is in place, and the
visualization possibilities are all there.
Remco Takken [email protected] is
editor of Geoinformatics. For more information,
please have a look at www.autodesk.com
cleverly interweaved
his lecture with the
overall Autodesk
assessments of ageing
infrastructure, ageing
work force and the
general outline that
weve got a lot of work to do, with less peo-
ple out there. The shown demo of a virtual
city in 3D included a walk-through inside a
building in order to show the engineeringdetails. Zeiss: None of this data needs to be
captured, all the existing data allows you to
realize a 3D environment like this. And its basi-
cally simple technology which lies behind it: a
3ds Max game engine, DWG, stuff from Oracle
Spatial and Shape files. Think about this from
the perspective of a first responder, like a fire-
Latest News? Visitwww.geoinformatics.com
Review
25July/August 2008
One way to extend the
number of properties
available to you is to
create a calculated field.
Like joins, calculated
fields result in extra
columns in the data
table. You can then use
the new property to
theme or query the data.
The market for accurate 3D models of buildings and vegetation is continually growing. INPHO is meeting the demand with thenew generation MATCH-T DSM. In addition to its well-proven terrain extraction, MATCH-T DSM offers a photogrammetric meansto acquire surface models with highly dense point clouds that till now have only been achievable by LIDAR. The economic
benefit is clear. MATCH-T DSM takes aerial imagery based 3D modeling to the next level with continued INPHO quality.
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What Will the Country Look Like in 2040?
The Netherlands Climate Proof
A maritime island? Dikes 25 metres high, floating houses. How can we make
sure the Netherlands is still habitable when looking at the predicted climate
changes? Where will we be able to live and work? Which measures do we need
to take? The Climate changes spatial planning programme encompasses several
institutions that are researching climate change and its effects regarding the
use of land in the Netherlands.
by Eric Koomen and Noor van der Hoeven
What will the Netherlands look like in theyear 2040? It is hard to get a picture of this
since we dont know exactly how many peo-ple will live in the Netherlands then, and
where they will live. We can speculate on this,
but we simply dont know for sure. Not only
internal but also external factors that we can-
not influence are having impact. Naturally cli-
mate plays an important role. But how many
metres of sea level rise can we expect? Where
will we be able to live and work? What are
the consequences for agriculture et cetera?
In this article we are making use of the LANDS
research project to get more insight into this
problem. We will give an overview of differ-
ent possible images of the future of the
Netherlands. Possible spatial adaptations
which can guarantee water safety in future
will get special attention.
The Use of Land and Climate ChangeWhat we are focussing on within LANDS is how
to make the Netherlands climate proof in future.The target year is 2040. The measures that we
need to take in order to prepare for possible
consequences of climate change are related to
the future spatial patterns in the Netherlands.
In turn these patterns depend on the current
use of land, the demand for land, population
size, economy, climate, et cetera.
In the LANDS project we are using the scenario
approach to scout possible future images of the
Netherlands. These are not predictions on what
the Netherlands will look like in future. In fact
these are possible future images which lead us
to measures that need to be taken in order to
make the Netherlands climate proof. What
makes LANDS special is that different sectors
are integrated in these scenarios. The
Netherlands is conducting a lot of climateresearch but often this only applies to one sec-
tor. We can ask ourselves what impact climate
change has on agriculture and which measures
we need to take to enable agricultural activi-
ties in 2040. By including different sector-spe-
cific projects in LANDS scenarios are created
that include measures for the different sectors.
In the end the LANDS project yields different
scenarios with integral adaptation strategies to
ensure climate-proofness of the Netherlands.
This makes us better prepared for highly or less
extreme consequences of climate change.
Future Scenarios for The NetherlandsStarting point in the LANDS project are the G-
(moderate) and the W- (warm) scenario by the
KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological
Institute). These scenarios are describing the
expectations concerning several aspects of cli-
mate change with a focus on temperature and
sea level rise. We are linking these climatic
changes to two strongly differing social-eco-
nomic scenarios including several assumptions
regarding the nature and extent of the popula-
tion, economy, use of land, mobility, energy, et
cetera. Making use of a set of opposite future
images enables simulation of a broad range of
possible spatial developments. It likely that nei-
ther of these future views reflects the most
probable situation. However combining these
views provides an image of the scope of pos-
sible future developments. The scenarios are
meant to stimulate our imagination and to
broaden our look towards the future.
The W-scenario is characterized by a 2 degree
Celsius temperature rise between 1990 and
2050. This corresponds with the A1-scenario inthe recent Welvaart en Leefomgeving (WLO;
Welfare, Prosperity and Quality of the Living
Environment) study. This study reveals major
growth in population (20 million in 2040), huge
economic growth and EU extension towards the
east. There is free market trade without politi-
cal integration. There are no initiatives for inter-
national environmental cooperation and rail and
road networks are broadly extended.
The G-scenario is based on a temperature rise
of 1 degree Celsius between 1990 and 2050.
This corresponds with the B2-scenario in the
WLO-study. The size of the population remains
roughly the same (16 million in 2040), there is
a slight increase in economic growth and unem-
ployment rate is high. Trade blockades are
26
Art ic le
July/August 2008
One of the projects within the Climate ChangesSpatial Planning programme is the Attention
for Safety project on water safety in the
Netherlands.
-
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imposed and taxes are raised to protect the
environment. There is an emphasis on environ-
mental policies and environmental public
awareness is growing. Extension of both road
and rail networks is also part of this scenario.
Both scenarios are describing different future
images of the Netherlands in terms of popula-
tion, economics, use of land and the
climate. Based on these scenariosadaptation strategies are developed
to make and keep the Netherlands a
climate proof country.
Modelling with the Land UseScannerThe Milieu en Natuur Planbureau
(MNP; the Netherlands Environmental
Assessment Agency) has deployed
the Land Use scanner to calculate the
different scenarios. Accordingly the
scenarios were mapped. The LandUse scanner is a land use simulation
model based on Geographic Infor-
mation System (GIS) which simulates
future land use. It provides an inte-
grated view on urban, conservation
and agricultural use divided into dif-
ferent functions. For example agricul-
ture can be further divided into arable
land, grassland, intensive cattle-
breeding and greenhouse horticul-
ture. The Land Use scanner divides
the Netherlands into 3.3 million cells
measuring 100 x 100 metres and
assigns different functions to each of
them based on actual use of land,
current policy, suitability maps and
land use claims. The suitability of a
location for a certain land use type
depends on current use of land, possible poli-
cy restrictions, proximity of infrastructure et
cetera. The expected land demand for the dif-
ferent sectors comes from specialist institutes.
What is striking in the W-scenario is the big
increase in urban use of land. Living areas
around the bigger cities in the Randstad, themid/western part of the Netherlands, are
increasing but smaller villages in the rural area
are expanding. By deploying more land for eco-
nomic activities the quality and openness of the
landscape are deteriorating.
The G-scenario depicts modest growth of living
areas but population size remains the same.
This is mainly caused by further dilution of
households and the preference for ways of
living demanding more land, particularly in the
rural area. Expectations are that urban growth
will be concentrated in the central and western
part of the Netherlands. There is an enormous
decrease in agriculture and greenhouses are
vanishing in many parts, especially around the
the lower part of the country, have been
thought of. For this project the Land Use scan-
ner has been provided with a Damage scanner.
This enables calculating economic damage and
human casualties at different water depths.
These numbers depend on the scenario, the
measures that are taken and the actual rise of
the sea level.
One of the adaptation strategies inthe Attention for Safety project is the
Terpenstrategie (Dwelling Mound
Strategy). This strategy is based on
newly-built quarters being raised as
far as +5 metres above the national
datum level (NAP). Research shows
that there is sufficient sand that can
be reclaimed at the North Sea to
raise the lower part of the
Netherlands (10.000 km2) by 10
metres. About 170 km3 would be
needed for this while 200 km3 isavailable from the North Sea. Further
analysis from TNO, the Netherlands
Organization for Applied Scientific
Research, shows that 100 million m3
sand from the North Sea is needed
on an annual base to raise the built
area within the dike-rings to such an
extent that the impact of sea level
rise and ground level decline are
minimal. At a price of 5 to 7 euros
per m3 hydraulic-fill sand this will
cost about half a billion euros,
around 2 per cent of the annual
building investments. Naturally this
leads to higher house prices but the
economical damage and the number
of victims will decrease in case of
flooding. Another strategy, called
Business As Usual, highlights the impact of only
taking normal measures such as dike enlarge-
ment, sand suppletion as a coastal defence sys-
tem, additional space for rivers, replacement of
storm surge barriers and other structures. By
putting the different strategies next to each
other costs and benefits can be compared anddifferent strategies can be compared. Eventually
the Attention for safety project is aimed at pro-
ducing a Discussion Support System, to stipu-
late the effectiveness of the safety perspectives
for long term developments. Besides the strate-
gies mentioned above a much broader range
of measures to protect water safety in the
Netherlands are discussed. This makes
Attention for Safety and LANDS important in
making the Netherlands climate proof.
Eric Koomen [email protected] is researcher at
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam/Spinlab and Geodan
Next in The Netherlands. Noor van der Hoeven
[email protected] works at Greenpeace
Nederland.
Hague. Some of the existing conservation areas
are expanding heavily and new conservation
areas are developed near rivers like the Waal,
the Rhine, the Maas and the IJssel. Clusters of
recreation areas will come into being in attrac-
tive landscapes, especially in the northern and
western part of the Netherlands.
Water SafetyThe LANDS-scenarios are providing input
for different projects within the Dutch
Climate Chan