Download - geoinformatics 2009 vol02
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FME 2009 Magellan ProMark 500 The OpenGeo Stack Cyclomedia Kalypso Open Source
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 sMarch 2009 Volume 12
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GPS BY ITSELFWOULD BE GREAT.
IF THE WORLD WERESTILL FLAT.IMPROVEYOURGPS.COM
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Creating Opportunities instead of Problems
This editorial will be not be about the economic crisis. Well, maybe a little bit. The crisis is
also affecting the geospatial industry, but I prefer to talk about the opportunities this creates
rather than all the negative effects that fill the papers and news broadcasts 24-7. In this
issue you can read about innovative, successful initiatives undertaken by companies, user
communities, scientists and more: people who are determined to get the best out of their
products and data and are looking for new opportunities if present solutions fall short. The
articles we present here give a broad overview of how the industry is on the move,
everywhere and all the time.
For the first time we are presenting a series of articles on Open Source GIS solutions. Its
success didnt come overnight, but was in most cases the result of years and years of
development. The advantages of open source software are clear: free source code and free
distribution. In a time when you need to cut back on expenses, free software is tempting.
But lets not hurry things too much: software can be free but this does not mean your
problems are solved.
However, we believe we need to inform you about new initiatives in the open source
landscape. Last year we presented an interview with open source guru Paul Ramsey, and
with this issue we offer you a series of articles on open source software initiatives such as
QGIS, Kalypso and OpenGeo Stack. These three articles represent just the tip of the open
source iceberg and Im very proud the authors wanted to share their experiences with open
source software in GeoInformatics. Also, the efforts of Fugro Aerial Mapping and Cyclomedia
should be mentioned when it comes to innovative new products. Spatial data experts will be
happy to find an interview with Safe Software, which just released FME 2009. In the
surveying, mapping and photogrammetric contributions I find the same innovative approach
as in the articles Ive mentioned, so I can safely say that this issue will give the reader a lot
of inspiration for creating opportunities in his or her daily work.
Enjoy your reading,
Eric van Rees
March 20093
GeoInformatics provides coverage, analysis and commentary with respect to the international surveying,mapping and GIS industry.
PublisherRuud Groothuis [email protected]
Editor-in-chiefEric van Rees [email protected]
EditorsFrank Arts [email protected] Fischer [email protected] van Haaften [email protected] [email protected] Takken [email protected] Triglav [email protected]
ColumnistJames Fee
Contributing WritersFlorian FischerGordon PetrieJoc TriglavRemco TakkenHuibert-Jan LekkerkerkGernot BelgerMichael HaaseThomas JungKaj LippertSebastian BenthallOtto DassauGary ShermanTim SuttonMarco HugentoblerPaolo CavalliniRebecca Peck
Account ManagerWilfred Westerhof [email protected]
SubscriptionsGeoInformatics is available against a yearly subscription rate (8 issues) of 89,00.To subscribe, fill in and return the electronic replycard on our website or contact Janneke Bijleveld [email protected]
Advertising/ReprintsAll enquiries should be submitted to Ruud 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 by CMedia Productions BVPostal address:P.O. Box 2318300 AEEmmeloordThe NetherlandsTel.: +31 (0) 527 619 000 Fax: +31 (0) 527 620 989 E-mail: [email protected]
c r o s s m e d i a l p u b l i s h e r
Corporate Member
Sustaining Member
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Cyclomedias large scale VisualisationsDutch company Cyclomedia specializes in creating large amounts of
panoramic spherical imagery. These visualizations are finding their way
to a broad range of costumers and different work fields. To maintain a
lead in the market, research and development of the system connected
to capturing the imagery is indispensible. CSO Sander Jongeleen explains
all about the companys main product, recent projects and R&D activi-
ties.
C o n t e n t
March 2009
ArticlesHigher Accuracies with FLI-MAP 400 6Innovation Project strengthens Fugro Aerial Mappings Market Position
Enterprise Mash-ups 14Spatial Business Intelligence the Way You want It
The Reykjavik Graffiti Project 30Handheld Computers with Built-In GPS Capabilities help to clean up Graffiti
GNSS Update 34GLONASS Glory
Kalypso Open Source 36A GIS-based Platform for Environmental and Water Resources Modeling
The OpenGeo Stack 40An Open Source Web GIS Solution
Quantum GIS 1.0 44A Testimony to the Power of Open Source
A Profile of the ScanEx Company 54A Russian Commercial Remote Sensing Success Story
Product ReviewMagellan ProMark 500 18Back to the Future
InterviewsFME 2009 10Improving Performance in handling Spatial Data
Cyclomedias large scale Visualisations 22Creating up-to-date Panoramic Spherical Imagery
Geoserve 26Adding Value to the Distribution
Chain of Satellite Imagery
An Interview with Pitney Bowes James Buckley 48New Software, New Division
Page 22
FME 2009In January 2009, Safe Software
released FME 2009. Joc Triglav
had an interview with Safe
Softwares co-founders Don
Murray and Dale Lutz and asked
them all about the improve-
ments of this new soft-
ware, its new data trans-
formers, FME Server,
support for 3D data
and more.
Page 10
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Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com5
March 2009
On the Cover:
Satellite image of Bandar Abbas, a port city in the south of Iran.
Image owned by Digital Globe. See the article on page 26.
Enterprise Mash-upsMash-ups have become very popular in the domain of neogeography and
big players like Microsoft, Intel and IBM have developed incredibly easy-
to-use mash-up tools. Florian Fischer has a look at these tools and exam-
ines how mash-ups could make their way into enterprises to make busi-
ness intelligence tools more spatially aware.
Page 26
The OpenGeo Stack The OpenGeo software stack provides a way to connect people with geo-
graphic information through the web, but with a difference: it is entirely
open source. The stack includes PostGIS, a spatial database; GeoServer, a
server for geospatial data; GeoWebCache, a tile caching proxy; and
OpenLayers, a map viewing library. They can be used individually and with
a variety of other projects. But OpenGeo's comprehensive support makes
it especially easy to combine them all into a complete and customizable
web GIS solution.
Page 40
ColumnPutting Spatial Analysis in Front of Users p.35By James Fee
EventsPanasonic Toughbooks, the Seventh Generation 52Advancements in LED, Touch Screen and Connectivity
Calendar 58
Advertisers Index 58
Page 14
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Higher Accuracieswith
FLI-MAP 400A Dutch innovation project for the Ministry of Transport
(Rijkswaterstaat) with very demanding accuracy
requirements contributed to a further refining of the
FLI-MAP system. Through the use of so-called LiDAR
marker boards, higher accuracies can now be achieved
when surveying roads, rail roads and DTM-design
projects. These successes can be used as input for
comparable projects abroad. Huug Haasnoot, Managing
Director of Fugro Aerial Mapping B.V. explains how such
high accuracies of better than 20mm can be reached and
what this means for Fugros market position.
By Eric van Rees
How has FLI-MAP been developed into the system youhave now with such a high accuracy?
We started with FLI-MAP 10 years ago and since then it has under-
gone an enormous amount of development. Two years ago we intro-
duced much more accurate lasers onto the market, which allowed sur-
vey ranges to be measured within 1 centimetre. This presented us with
the challenge to increase the total accuracy of the LiDAR point cloud
by defining the position and attitude of the helicopter as precisely as
possible. The solution was reached by minimalizing the error in the
positions through the use of LiDAR marking points.
Back in 2003, we carried out a test with the Dutch Ministry of Transport
to define the accuracy of FLI-MAP and to see if all road-side details
could be recorded. The conclusion was that this system was just not
accurate enough and did not record small features such as hectometre
poles: the resolution for this was not sufficient.
When we introduced our new FLI-MAP 400 system onto the market,
there was also a tender for an innovation project just released by the
Ministry of Transport, Public Work and Water Management (also known
as Rijkswaterstaat). The ministry wanted to reward five innovative
projects that contribute to new developments. For this, a proposal had
to be written from which ultimately five providers would be chosen.
FLI-MAP was one of them, and subsequently we did a test with
Rijkswaterstaat to find out how a road design, using FLI-MAP 400,
could be executed. In September 2006 we completed the flying
6
Interv iew
Innovation Project strengthens Fugro
Aerial Mappings Market Position
March 2009
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followed by a lot of research and data processing. After field and accu-
racy controls were done by Rijkswaterstaat, the conclusion reached was
that the necessary accuracy could be achieved with FLI-MAP for creat-
ing a road design. The report by the Ministry was very positive and we
have since been able to use FLI-MAP 400 for a number of projects in
the Netherlands. At the same time we took this expertise to our
European clients and FLI-MAP partners, in both Serbia and Greece,
where quickly and accurately a road corridor had to be surveyed.
The high accuracy can also quite easily be achieved using traditional
surveying methods, but with projects like these you are dealing with
hundreds of kilometres and a short timescale to completion. Since we
can survey by air, we can deliver the data to the client much faster.
These types of projects always lack time. People are always behind
schedule because the surveying work is mostly a side-issue, and as
always, the results had to be known yesterday.
How could you guarantee the accuracy with all theseorders?
To guarantee this, we placed LiDAR marker boards alongside the
corridor. We put control points every few kilometres, which we
surveyed very accurately using RTK GPS and precise levelling. That way
we can obtain extremely accurate benchmarks, which can be easily
recognized in the laser data. This allows us to perform an accurate
control of the surveyed position and height.
Ultimately, we developed special software to correct the position of
the helicopter with the use of additional control measurements of these
boards. We have mastered this really well and that way we correct the
data until it fits within circa two centimetres. We do this particularly
with roads, railroads and design projects that require a high-accuracy
level.
We are a company that wants to get as much as possible out of our
FLI-MAP system in this particular market. We are known as an innova-
tive company and we want to maintain that position. With FLI-MAP 400
we made a big step forward. The current market is demanding more
and more, particularly higher details, higher accuracies and detailed
visual information.
An example of this is that RGB values are measured independently
and saved immediately, 250.00 per second. A linescan camera is inte-
grated with the laser so that after the flight we immediately get the
x,y,z and RGB colour values. Admittedly, these are not photos from a
camera, but they can be used directly as true-orthos for further
processing. Our most recently developed system has been used com-
mercially since September. Besides the frequency of 250,000 laser dots
per second, the system is also capable of producing a multiple pulse
in the air-solution, which means that the next pulse can be sent out
before the previous one has returned. This allows us to fly at a higher
altitude and therefore survey a wider corridor. We also made a step
forward in providing better visual material by developing a dual down-
ward camera so that flying at higher altitudes, we record an even small-
er pixel size and wider strip. If we fly at 200 meters, the pixel size is 2
centimetres and you are able to zoom-in with high detail. At 1000 metres
we still can get a 15 centimetre pixel size.
To what extent are you engaged in data analysis for cus-tomers, or are you only concerned with acquiring data?
In the Netherlands we are engaged in data analysis and processing
for end products, but abroad we often hand this over to our FLI-MAP
partner. Spain and Portugal are good examples of this. There we have
a partner, Estereofoto, which has developed an impressive GIS applica-
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Interv iew
7March 2009
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Connect to a world of new possibilities.
2009, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. Trimble, the Globe & Triangle logo, and Trimble TSC2 Controller are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited, registered in the United States and in other countries. Trimble Access is a trademark of Trimble Navigation Limited. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SUR-176
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tion together with the client for the FLI-MAP data. The juridical, posi-
tioning and maintenance information of all roads and associated objects
like traffic signs, are stored in one large database. For example, you can
find information on how old the signs are, when maintenance has been
performed and also when they have to be renewed or replaced. We try
to implement this type of information with partners in other countries.
What are your expectations for the rest of the worldwhen looking at the growth of higher accuracies whichcan now be obtained?
Maybe we can fly even higher and simultaneously capture in one pass
more data without losing this our accuracy. 10 years ago we flew
corridors of 100 meters wide at a height of 125 meters, now we are
flying at roughly 1000 meters a corridor with an 1150 width and obtain-
ing the same specifications. This is already a factor of 10. If you could
continue this development, maybe in another 10 years youd be able to
fly at a height of 10,000 metres and then you are talking about captur-
ing large areas at commercially attractive rates.
We try to focus on countries that we think contain a growth potential,
like Belgium, Great Britain and Germany. Those countries already have
height models, but not quite as accurate. The 10 points per m2 that
we offer for the current height model in the Netherlands (AHN 2) is
cheaper than the one point per m2 of AHN 1, and that way we try to
show in other countries that you get a lot more detail and accuracy for
a little more money. We will certainly promote this in the countries
where we are active now and where we think it is necessary, like Britain,
which faced many floods in the last couple of years.
We do a lot of work in Britain, but of a smaller size than in the
Netherlands. The accuracy requirements are less compared to here. The
Environmental Agency there is responsible for flood defence and has
its own commercial systems. Only when their capacity is insufficient, or
when they need a higher accuracy, FLI-MAP is deployed.,
How important are smaller, local partners for you? Howsaturated is the mapping market in terms of suppliers atthe moment?
You often see the same companies in the market, thats why we try to
focus on the niche market of high accuracy and details, where the level
of competition is not as great. On the one hand, my feeling tells me
the market is getting saturated at the moment. The LiDAR market has
certainly grown up. Until a few years ago clients would be willing to
accept data even if it was not optimal, but nowadays this is not the
case. You get a lot more distinction between companies that deliver
quality and those that have trouble delivering quality. I personally think
this is a good development.
The nationwide Height Model of the Netherlands for example, was not
only large, but the responsibility of controlling and proving the achieved
quality was put much more to the contractor. The contractor is fully
responsible for the delivered quality of the end products and the client
limits the control to spot checks. For this, we had to adjust our busi-
ness processes quite a lot. Fortunately, we are part of a very large
FUGRO company, which enables us to make use of various kinds of
expertise, and we really needed it this time. These types of projects
have helped to distinguish us from the average supplier, who will
undoubtedly face difficulties in the long term. Such a project asks for
more than just putting a scanner under a helicopter or an airplane. Its
a challenge we enjoy, as it allows us the opportunity to go after
projects of this complexity and level of accuracy. It gives our company
a lot of satisfaction to hear from clients that we have delivered a
top-quality product that fulfils their requirements for more than 100%.
Eric van Rees is editor-in-chief of GeoInformatics.
For more information, have a look at: www.flimap.nl
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
9March 2009
Survey of the city of Rotterdam using the FLI-MAP 400 system
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Improving Performance in handling Spatial Data
In January 2009, Safe Software released FME 2009. Joc Triglav had an interview
with Safe Softwares co-founders Don Murray and Dale Lutz and asked them all
about the improvements of this new software, its new data transformers,
FME Server, support for 3D data and more.
By Joc Triglav
We had an extensive interview lastyear in the January/February issue ofGeoInformatics. What is new in yourcompany in the last year?
Over the last year, the biggest news for
Safe Software has certainly been the arrival
of FME Server. The launch of our new prod-
uct last spring introduced two major capabili-
ties to FME users: 1) The ability to distribute
their spatial data over the web using data
download and data streaming services, and
2) The ability to validate, load and convert
high volumes of spatial data, right over the
web. FME Servers scalable architecture
enables users to perform much larger data
validation and transformation tasks than ever
before, and enables organizations to easily
share their spatial ETL tasks across their orga-
nization through a simple web form. Best of
all, weve designed the platform to integrate
directly within our users current infrastruc-
ture, so they can continue to use their pre-
ferred applications and systems to work with
their spatial data.
In this last year we have also launched
two releases of FME. Our 2008 release last
spring introduced, among many other things,
the ability to integrate 3D spatial data with
traditional 2D spatial data. The industrys
growing interest in the convergence of 3D
with GIS, CAD and other systems is proven by
the continuing emergence of 3D integration
workflows popping up among our customers.
At Safe we take great care to listen to the
markets needs, interact with our customers,
and then respond accordingly. Our introduc-
tion of support for the most popular 3D
formats last year is a direct result of this
strategy.
Another request weve been hearing
more and more of from our users is the need
to transform larger datasets even into the
terabytes. While FME Server offers the pro-
cessing power to achieve transformation of
these enormous datasets, many of todays
computers do not. That is why weve decided
to enter the world of cloud computing, part-
nering with WeoGeo, an organization known
for their cloud computing expertise, in the
first-ever initiative to bring spatial ETL tech-
nology to the cloud. Weve developed FME
Server in a way that is compatible with this
new possibility of using vast networks of
high-processing machines based in the cloud
to achieve extremely high volume data trans-
formations.
10
Interv iew
March 2009
FME 2009
Safe Software co-founders
Don Murray (left) and Dale Lutz.
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Obviously, FME 2009 is the topheadline news. Please, give us ashort overview on the softwaresmain new characteristics andimprovements.
The key enhancement that all users will
experience is the improvement in perfor-
mance. We have worked hard to make FME
2009 the fastest FME ever, and through our
internal testing we are seeing an average of
a 20% speed improvement. Some tests are
showing results that are even 20 times faster.
While most software gets slower as more
capabilities are added, we are determined to
ensure that each FME release raises the bar
in performance expectations, becoming faster
than each previous release at the same time
as adding the functionality our users require.
Don: As weve done with every release of FME,
we added support in 2009 for more than a
dozen new formats. FME now ships with read-
ing/writing for 225+ formats, right out of the
box. Some of the more exciting formats weve
added support for include Adobe Geospatial
PDF, Autodesk 3DS, CityGML, IBM Informix
Spatial and OpenStreetMap (OSM) XML. Of
course there are more, but these are a few
that a significant portion of our users appear
to be most interested in.
We also always spend a large amount
of time improving our FME Workbench envi-
With the end goal of making their spatial data
available to the users who need it, customers
have implemented FME Server as a data
accessibility and sharing solution, and as a
data upload and validation solution. As
Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) initiatives like
the European Unions INSPIRE begin to be
implemented, the need for a tool that can
enable the uploading of valid data in a stan-
dard model, without impacting the data
authors existing infrastructure, will continue
to grow.
This is one of the strengths of FME
Server that it works alongside whatever
system an organization already has, and com-
plements it. We recognized right away that
we had to make it easy for organizations to
integrate the platform in whatever language
they are currently using. With the current
release, we have provided APIs in C++, JAVA,
.NET, SOAP and through simple http requests.
Looking down the road you will also see
other interfaces being defined such as REST
and others, to ensure that we continue to
make FME Server easy to integrate with what-
ever system an organization already has in
place.
Please, describe the new FME 2009transformers, like the Raster Expres -sionEvaluator, the Decelerator andXML data handling.
ronment, as that is the graphical user inter-
face with which our users spend most of their
time designing their spatial data flows
(workspaces); it is the authoring environ-
ment that powers both FME Desktop and FME
Server. Here we have made several small, but
impactful, changes that help make users more
productive as they create their workspaces.
How has FME Server met the usersexpectations since its introductionlast year? In which ways is FMEServer helpful in solving commonusers problems? How can the usersintegrate it into their current IT envi-ronment?
We created the FME Server platform in
direct response the needs of our users, and
the reaction in the marketplace is what we
hoped it would be. There were several major
needs in the market that lacked a solution -
the need for a system that is designed to
work alongside 3rd party web mapping solu-
tions to provide data download capabilities,
the need for on-the-fly data transformation,
validation and loading, and the need to per-
form all these actions on large data volumes.
We now have customers on several conti-
nents, including Europe, North America and
Australia, who have found that FME Server
meets their needs and have implemented the
platform within their existing environment.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Interv iew
11March 2009
The new set of XQuery transformers in FME 2009 make it easy to perform queries on XML datasets. In this screenshot of FMEs graphical authoring environment, a sample
workspace extracts vehicle accident data from an XML dataset for the city of Austin, Texas. The workspace then turns this extracted information into true spatial data capable
of being written out for use in a GIS or visualization tool, or combined with other data as a mashup.
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I believe in innovation.
Leica Geosystems AGSwitzerland
www.leica-geosystems.com
SmartStation the worlds first total station with
integrated GPS is a fine example of our uncompro-
mising dedication to your needs. Innovation:
yet another reason to trust Leica Geosystems.
Innovation is intelligence
tap it and let your work flow.
You want the tools of your trade to be state-of-the-art. Thats why
Leica Geosystems is continuously innovating to better meet your
expectations. Our comprehensive spectrum of solutions covers all
your measurement needs for surveying, engineering and geospatial
applications. And they are all backed with world-class service and
support that delivers answers to your questions. When it matters
most. When you are in the field. When it has to be right.
You can count on Leica Geosystems to provide a highly innovative
solution for every facet of your job.
-
Transformers in FME are objects that
carry out the restructuring of features in
other words, they transform spatial data so
that it is produced in the model that the end
user requires. Transformers also enable users
to perform complex spatial data validation
operations. FME ships with a library of over
300 transformers. One of our new favourites
in FME 2009 is the Decelerator transformer.
We joke that we had to create it because we
made FME so much faster! What the
Decelerator is really useful for is to slow down
the rate of requests that are sent to web ser-
vices, which are called from within an FME
spatial ETL operation. Basically it ensures that
FME doesnt send requests too quickly so that
the receiving web services dont get over-
whelmed or time out.
The transformers we created for XML
handling add the ability to use XQuery
(XQuerier) within FME. XQuery is an incredi-
bly powerful XML processing technology that
enables users to extract and reformat XML.
Adding these transformers to FME fits well
within our philosophy of embracing other
technology and folding it into FME.
The RasterExpressionEvaluator is a
powerful new transformer that enables users
to work on one image or combine two images
through pixel-by-pixel algebra. Our users
asked for the ability to integrate raster data
at the pixel level, and so we delivered it to
them.
we have added support for several key 3D for-
mats. These, coupled with the 3D systems we
introduced support for in FME 2008, enable us
to now move data between many different sys-
tems. As we add new 3D formats and continue
to understand more about the nuances of true
3D data exchange, were continuing to enhance
our support beyond positional information, pro-
viding further visual representation information
such as vertex normals and texture coordi-
nates.
How would you evaluate the influen ceof the current global economic andfinancial crisis on your company andits products?
So far our sales have been strong despite
the economic downturn. It is difficult to say if
this is going to continue, but our sense is that
since our products enable organizations to save
money and be more efficient with their time
and resources, we are well positioned to ride
out the storm.
We have always, and will continue to, re-
invest heavily in research and development so
that we bring truly innovative, productive and
high-value products to our users a strategy
which we are confident will ensure a continu-
ing revenue stream.
Joc Triglav [email protected] is editor of
GeoInformatics. For more information on Safe
Software and FME 2009, have a look at www.safe.com
Dale and I both enjoy travelling around the
world, seeing the amazing things that our users
do with FME, and so it is no surprise that Im
excited to see what our users do with these new
transformers.
In which ways can users achievemore flexibility in data manipulationusing Generic Writer?
The Generic Writer enables users to author
a spatial ETL task (workspace) where the out-
put format and data model are not specified until
the task is run. This enables the user running
the workspace to choose the destination format
they prefer from the 200+ formats FME supports,
instead of needing the workspace to be dupli-
cated for each potential output format.
When used with FME Server, the possi-
bilities are very exciting as now an organization
can publish a data model and leave it to the
requesting user to decide, at run time, what for-
mat they want the data model to be produced
in. The Generic Writer in FME 2009 is just the
first step in a much larger development effort
to take spatial ETL technology to a new level.
Is there anything new in FME 2009regarding the support for 3D dataand the preservation of 3D datafidelity during translation?
3D/BIM continues to be one of our most
active development areas. In the 2009 release,
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Interv iew
13March 2009
In this screenshot, the FME Server data download service has been integrated with Google Maps, allowing users to select the data they wish to download using a familiar visu-
al interface. Designed for distributing and loading spatial data, FME Server can be integrated directly into an organizations existing environment.
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Spatial Business Intelligence the Way You want It
During my studies in geoinformatics I became familiar with the concept of service chaining, a way to arrange web services.
Then we were working with aggregate services that orchestrated various OGC web services to build a complex application.
It was a rather complicated process, and substantial programming skills were necessary. Maybe the time is now ripe for
change. Mash-ups have become very popular in the domain of neogeography and big players like Microsoft, Intel and IBM
have developed incredibly easy-to-use mash-up tools. This article will take a look at these tools and examine how
mash-ups could make their way into enterprises to make business intelligence tools more spatially aware.
By Florian Fischer
Let the GIS Orchestra beginIn the last issue of GeoInformatics I talked
about the new version of ArcGIS Desktop. It
allows for complex geo-processing and work-
flow management. These workflows can then
be disseminated to a broader public of non-
GIS experts to fulfil their tasks and use GIS
functionality. Since Spatial Data Infrastructures
(SDI) have become widespread, the idea has
been to give these GIS non-experts tools to
create workflows by themselves at least sim-
ple workflows. If you have a list of real estate
properties and just want to draw them on a
map to make a simple visual analysis, it
seems rather ridiculous to ask a GIS expert
to create a workflow today, doesnt it? High-
end desktop GIS systems have been efficient
only in the hands of GIS experts. Conceptually,
SDIs allow the creation of workflows by non-
GIS experts. But the middleware for combin-
ing services needs to be developed using con-
ventional programming languages. Thus every
modification for every single workflow has to
be made within a programming environment.
At this point the dream crashes again because
the non-expert needs to be a software engi-
neer. This makes all the more promising the
concept of Web Service Orchestration (WSO),
an automated arrangement and combination
of various (geo-)web services to fulfil a cer-
tain task. WSO, which stems from the
paradigm of Service Oriented Architecture
(SOA), would provide an easy and flexible way
to link services to build applications on
demand. Workflows are then mapped as ser-
vice chains and configured with graphical
tools. The XML-based language BPEL
(Business Process Execution Language) is an
example of this way of mapping workflows.
The service chain is represented as a BPEL
document and can be executed in a web ser-
vice orchestration engine like Twister, an
14
Art ic le
March 2009
Enterprise Mash-ups
Figure 1: Microsofts tool Popfly uses a graphical interface to create mash-ups
-
open-source implementation of the
BPEL standard LGPL. BPEL and Web
Service Orchestration are considered
to be a way of organizing web-based
geospatial applications in the future
as it is already widespread in main-
stream IT.
Workflows for EmergencyManagementA research group organized around
Alexander Zipf and Albrecht Weiser at
the University of Applied Sciences in
Mainz worked on proof-of-concept
within the domain of emergency man-
agement. The project OK-GIS was
aimed at the development of an archi-
tecture that ensures flexible reactions
to the various demands of emergency
management. The framework was to
be applicable for various scenarios
and requirements in the event of a
disaster. In particular the OGC WMS
GetMap request was tested with the
Oracle BPEL Process Manager. The trial
demonstrated that it is possible to create
workflows of a certain granularity with added
value by aggregating standardized base ser-
vices. But a necessary requirement for the
orchestration is a continuous service chain
without human intervention. Furthermore,
orchestration on-the-fly was still not possible
and still too complicated to be achieved by
non-technical users.
Mapping Mash-upsIn a totally different paradigm,
Web 2.0, the concept of mash-ups
is widely known. Basically mash-
ups are web applications that
combine content from multiple
sources in a way that is seamless
to the user. After the appearance
of geobrowsers, various mash-ups
emerged combining the capabili-
ties of the mapping platforms with
web services that before then had
not been spatially oriented. Open
Application Programming
Interfaces (API) such as Googles
Map-API are normally used to cre-
ate these geo- or mapping mash-
ups. While Web Service
Orchestration uses loops and decisions, and
actively calls and organizes a chain of web
services, mash-ups are rather new applica-
tions that emerge from the combination of
content. Some mash-ups even offer their own
APIs to enable further mash-ups to be built.
Mash-ups are also focused more on content
combination than on service combination, but
this is not compulsory as APIs are somewhat
ing the websites to be mashed up
and telling Intels Mash Maker how
and what to connect, a mash-up is
created. Mash Maker even allows
sharing of mash-ups within a virtual
community. Mash Maker enables
users to build mash-ups on the fly
and to tailor a mash-up to their spe-
cific needs. Popfly from Microsoft is
a visual tool to construct and share
not only mash-ups but also games,
gadgets, web sites and applications.
It is even possible to rate other user-
s mash-ups and remix creations
from Popfly. An advanced option
allows for rapid-prototyping by pro-
grammers and then refining their
applications by real coding. IBMs
Mash-Up Center provides similar
functionality. While Intel and
Microsoft are focusing more on per-
sonal mash-ups, IBM sees enterprise
mash-ups as an important aspect of
its Mash-Up Center to combine
sources of information both inside and out-
side an enterprise. More and more enterpris-
es see opportunities for enhanced spatial
business intelligence applications by using
enterprise mapping mash-ups. Thus they
intend to do more than just look for some
locations of some branches. The approach of
a visual construction kit for enterprise mash-
ups enables a broad audience within an enter-
prise to create customized
tools for their respective pur-
poses and analyses.
Consequently various service
components can be combined
in different ways to create
new applications that can be
shared within the enterprise
(see Figure 1).
Enterprise MappingMash-upsThe combination of mapping
services with spatial data such
as KML or GEORSS reveals a
variety of options for spatial
business intelligence, says
Tobias Loerracher. A graduate
of the Karlsruhe University of
Applied Science, Loerracher
did his diploma thesis on the topic of enter-
prise mash-ups in cooperation with
Microsofts Virtual Earth business unit. Typical
questions in spatial business intelligence are
about the most profitable branches, the ideal
distribution of promotion material to the tar-
get audience and the whereabouts of a cer-
tain article. The core of spatial business intel-
ligence is geo data which is segmented into
of a service interface as well. ESRI software
also uses APIs to make GIS functionality capa-
ble of being integrated into websites.
Mapping mash-ups have become very popu-
lar in the Web 2.0 domain. Currently more
than half of all the mash-ups on the renowned
Program mableWeb list are categorized as
mapping mash-ups (ProgrammableWeb
2008).
The Web the Way You want ItUntil recently basic programming skills were
necessary to get through the API and build a
mash-up. But more and more mash-up tools
have emerged that have graphical interfaces
to ease the creation of mash-ups using not
much more than drag and drop. Intel has a
tool called Mash Maker which is integrated
into the browser as an add-on. By simply pick-
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
15March 2009
Figure 2: Exemplary result of an enterprise mash-up for site selection
(from: Courracher, T. , 2008)
Loerracher writes that enterprises will use mash-ups
extensively within their business intelligence units in the
future. While consumer mash-ups are usually freely
accessible to everyone, enterprise mash-ups will need to
integrate internal data which has restricted access.
-
3OKKIAUNDERSTANDSTHATTODAYlSSURVEYORSMORETHANEVERNEED TO RELY ON THEIR EQUIPMENT NOMATTER HOW ROUGH THECONDITIONS ARE4HAT IS WHY THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE FOR OUR*APANESEENGINEERINGTEAMISTODEVELOPMOREPRECISEANDRELIABLEPOSITIONINGSOLUTIONSEVERYDAY
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ACCURACY MAKES
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8JUI4PLLJBnT1PTJUJPOJOH4PMVUJPOT
UNDERST
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LINUMENTINSTRCOMPLETESOKKIAlWSOLUTIONSINGMEASURELIABLER
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-
internal and external data from the enterprise
viewpoint. Internal data is directly related to
the enterprise, like branch locations and sales
areas. This geo data can even be dynamic,
such as the whereabouts of a product, usual-
ly detected by RFID (Radio Frequency
Identification). External data like population
data, socio-demographic and socio-economic
data, is normally necessary for in-depth mar-
ket analysis. All this information needs to be
geo-visualized in order to derive knowledge
for managerial decisions, while the most com-
mon way for this is by positioned signatures
and choropleth maps. Loerracher writes that
enterprises will use mash-ups extensively
within their business intelligence units in the
future. While consumer mash-ups are usually
freely accessible to everyone, enterprise
mash-ups will need to integrate internal data
which has restricted access. In his thesis
Loerracher developed a showcase for an
Building the Incredible GeographicMachineThe work of Tobias Loerracher shows that
map-based enterprise mash-ups can be
applied to simple spatial reasoning. Thus, in
the future, building an incredible machine for
geographic information processing might be
as easy as making a cup of coffee. The cre-
ation of enterprise mash-ups by employees
takes into account their particular needs. The
expenditure of time needed for the develop-
ment of a mash-up is considerably small in
comparison to traditional GIS development.
Mapping data and tools for geo-visualization
are provided by external services like
Microsoft Virtual Earth and applications can
easily be rearranged. Nevertheless, in the
brave new world of mapping mash-ups
Geographic Information Systems are still nec-
essary to solve complex spatial problems.
Florian Fischer [email protected], GIS
Editor and Research Assistant at the Austrian
Academy of Sciences GIScience research facility in
Salzburg, Austria. For this article, the author made
extensive use of the following publication:
Lrracher, T., 2008 (unpublished). The Location
Intelligent Enterprise kartenbasierte Enterprise
Mashups. Zusammenfassung der Diplomarbeit .
Hochschule Karlsruhe.
Links to mash-up tools:
Microsoft Popfly: www.popfly.com
Intel Mash-Maker: http://mashmaker.intel.com/web
IBM Mash-up Center:
www-01.ibm.com/software/info/mashup-center
enterprise mash-up using Microsoft Virtual
Earth and Microsoft SQL Server. It is a simple
search for site selection. The user defines the
criteria for a new site and the mash-up cre-
ates a map showing all relevant areas and
gives additional information such as the avail-
ability of real estate (see Figure 2).
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
17March 2009
Figure 3: Possible enterprise mashup tool based on Microsoft Popfly suggested by Tobias Lrracher
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The expenditure of time needed
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is considerably small in
comparison to traditional
GIS development.
-
Back to the Future
It has been a while since we last tested an RTK system. There are various
reasons why, but the main ones are simply that its been a while since a new
product has emerged, and also that Ive moved houses and simply did not have
the time. The Magellan ProMark 500, however, has been on my wish list for a
while. Until recently, though, it was not available from Magellan for a review.
So my main Christmas present this year consisted of a ProMark 500 that
Magellan shipped to my home.
By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
That meant that over the holidays (and a while after that) I was busyworking with the ProMark 500. Our regular readers will remember that
2007 was the last time we tested an RTK receiver from Magellan, the
Z-Max. The ProMark 500 replaces that unit and is Magellans new flag-
ship. It is also the first receiver in a long time to come from Magellan
(or its predecessors) with GLONASS available.
I reviewed a base-rover combination with a UHF radio link. The units
are standard equipped with a GSM modem to receive GPRS corrections.
Unfortunately I did not have a subscription to a correction service, so
all results below were obtained using a UHF radio connection. As a
result no tests were made with the ProMark 500 in combination within
a network with receivers from other brands.
ReceiverAs Ive mentioned before in GPS reviews, beauty is in the eye of the
beholder, and in my opinion the ProMark 500 is a good-looking receiv-
er. Not that such a thing is overly important, but lets be honest: it does
help. All the usual connections are present on the receiver and it even
has a built-in GSM modem as standard. If you want to make use of it,
however, make sure you order that option activated or it will not be
usable. A small whip antenna is included with the unit so just pop in
your SIM card and you can start using RTK (almost) out of the box.
One of the nice features of the ProMark 500 is the graphic OLED dis-
play where most competitors have a few LEDs to indicate the status.
Although relatively small, it is very easy to read and will give you all
the important status information as well as information on logging and
error messages. The disadvantage of an LED display over small LEDs
however is that they break more easily when the unit is accidentally
dropped. There are only a few buttons, so the only thing one can con-
trol without using the controller are logging, memory, RTK status, alarm,
firmware version, on/off and browsing through the displays. This is usu-
ally enough, however.
The units reviewed (base and rover) were not identical, the rover hav-
ing an optional UHF module internally and the base having a separate
UHF radio that was connected to the base using the RS232 / RS422
communication port.
ControllerThe controller supplied with the receiver is the trusted MobileMapper
CX series that featured before in the ProMark 3 series review. As with
most controllers a full keyboard is miss-
ing although a small numeric key-
board is present as well as the
main control buttons. The color
screen is easily readable, even
with the sun shining brightly or
in the (semi) dark.
18
Review
March 2009
ProMark base and receiver set in transport case with
(almost) all necessary accessories.
Front of the (base) receiver with OLED display
Underside of the (base) receiver
with connections and battery
compartment (replaceable)
Magellan ProMark 500
-
There are not many communication options on
the controller; besides Bluetooth, just a single
SD card slot is available. A detachable docking
station that clips to the controller allows for
more connections such as USB and a serial port
as well as a power supply.
One disadvantage that we registered with the
MobileMapper CX earlier is that there is no pen
storage in the controller itself making pens very
easy to lose. This is something Magellan seems
aware of since the set I received had two pens
with it. The pen delivered with the unit has the
same size (and shape) as a regular ballpoint,
making it very comfortable in everyday use.
As with all modern GPS receivers, the receivers
are linked to the controller using a Bluetooth
connection. At first the controller and the base
had some problems getting paired using the
Bluetooth link, but after a few tries both the
base and rover were recognized on the first try
and after that no more problems were experi-
enced.
Setting upSetting up the base is slightly more complicat-
ed then with other RTK sets Ive reviewed in the
past. The main reason is that the UHF radio is
a separate unit and connected to the receiver
on one side and a power supply (in my case a
12 V battery) on the other. It is not possible to
power the UHF radio directly from the receiver.
The cable that came with the set was a few
meters long, making an advantage of the sepa-
rate radio; it can be placed a few meters away
from the receiver, or higher, giving more options
for good placement and thus a larger range.
One disadvantage noticed with the separate
radio was that it had to be pre-programmed with
the correct frequencies and could not, as with
the Z-Max, be changed to any frequency sup-
ported by the radio in the field. According to an
engineer Ive spoken to, the radio should be pro-
grammed using a terminal program with a spe-
cific set of commands. These were, however, not
listed in the manuals that accompanied the unit.
Selecting pre-programmed frequencies is easy
enough with the FAST Survey software.
FAST SurveyThe controller came with the FAST Survey soft-
ware, which Ive reviewed before with the Z-Max,
already installed. Some development has been going on since our last
review and this version differed in some aspects from that tested with
the Z-Max. Since FAST Survey is derived from a generic survey package,
it will also let you connect to other brands or models of surveying equip-
ment such as total stations, echo sounders and other GPS receivers.
From the layout of the software one gets the impression that a survey-
or has designed it. All the buttons are on the large side. There are very
few pull-down menus and instead of the tiny onscreen keyboard pro-
vided by Microsoft, it has its own keyboard that covers (almost) the full
display allowing for easy entry.
All the survey options one could want are available such as staking out,
continuous logging etc. There is a graphical dis-
play of the survey results that will accept back-
ground maps, but as a result of the rather large
onscreen buttons, the available space is limited.
Although the graphics look as though they came
from an old Windows 3.1 computer, they are very
functional.
SurveyingNo review can be complete without a small sur-
vey where data is acquired, processed and pre-
sented. Since Ive moved houses since my last
reviews, I decided to figure out if I had gotten
the acreage of land I had paid for. This meant
bringing the ProMark 500 into one of the most
hostile GPS environments possible, the Urban
Jungle (also known as my neighborhood).
First of all it was cold. The average temperature
during the review was just a few degrees above
freezing, with high humidity. As a result, battery
life suffered and the six hours quoted were
beyond reach. Not that the survey lasted six
hours, but based on an indicated loss of 60% of
battery life on the receiver over three hours, the
total surveying time would have come out at
around five to five-and-a-half hours.
Second, the survey area had a lot of shielding.
As a result the RTK fixed solution was lost on
several occasions due to a lack of satellites. The
receiver has a specific development from
Magellan called Blade technology that can cover
small gaps in the reception of the correction sig-
nal, as well as make it possible to work in a net-
work with receivers from other manufacturers.
Since the horizon was shielded from the satel-
lites instead of the UHF link, the Blade technol-
ogy did not give me an advantage in this situa-
tion. Re-initialization of the receiver was
comparable to other units at between 10 and 15
seconds, but nowhere near the 2 seconds quot-
ed.
The actual survey was easy enough: simply point
and click with the pole. The weight of the rover
/ pole / controller combination is around three
kilograms, depending on the type of pole, with
the weight distributed nicely around the pole.
Without the UHF module the unit is 200 grams
lighter, making the weight distribution even bet-
ter and easier to handle.
ProcessingSince I had no control point available, I decided upon a two-step
approach. First of all I logged raw data on the base station (while it
was in base mode and transmitting corrections to the rover). While the
base was collecting the raw data, I proceeded with the survey using an
approximate position (derived from the base GPS position) to collect
the data points in RTK mode on the rover.
Using the supplied GNSS Solutions software, I processed the raw data.
As control points I used the three Dutch IGS stations that continuously
log raw GPS data, which is then put on the Internet. This process is
very simple with GNSS Solutions since one can connect to this data
using the program itself. Simply select the date and station to use and
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Review
19March 2009
Base station setup with external UHF radio
Rover with internal UHF radio
-
the software will
download the data
and correction files
itself.
The data collected
with the rover had to
be processed using
GNSS Solutions as well
since I had to shift all
the rover positions
using the correct base
position. When the
data is already correct-
ed, a simple export
from FAST Survey is
enough to get an X, Y and Z file (or a graphics / GIS file). Now, Ive
used GNSS Solutions before with the ProMark 3 review, and both then
and now I found that, although it is a very complete package, it can
also upset a novice GPS user. There are a few simple steps to take for
a base shift, but the user interface is that of a complete adjustment
and raw data processing package so the correct option is very hard to
find. It also takes quite a while on my somewhat older (but still quite
potent) computer for recalculating and redrawing the data.
PresentationGNSS Solutions is not very strong at making graphics or turning surveyed
data into GIS files, so I had to use my trusted Global Mapper package for
this. Using the ASCII export, I then imported the data back for presenta-
tion and also to make some checks. Some of the data points collected
during the survey were partly shielded, and this directly showed in the
collected data. A few angles that had to be straight were slightly skewed;
upon inspection of the data I found out that they were collected with float
solutions (which I had been duly warned about during the acquisition)
and had an RMS of a few decimeters, resulting in incorrect positions.
ConclusionThe ProMark 500 is a big step up from the Z-Max that we reviewed
before. In relation to the competition there are a few additions that
make it stand out such as the OLED display, its design and the built-in
GSM modem.
In terms of things that can be improved upon, there is the GNSS
Solutions software which is perfect for processing raw data but much
too complicated for simple RTK surveys. It would help if something like
a correction wizard were included.
Another thing that I, personally, would like to see changed is the need
for a separate battery to power the radio on the base. In my view tak-
ing an extra power supply should be an option, not a requirement.
But having said that, the arrival of the ProMark 500 means it has
become even harder than before to choose your RTK solution amongst
the available solutions, especially when one considers the price at which
the ProMark 500 is offered. According to Magellan your quote should
be in the order of 30% less than for comparable systems from the com-
petition.
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk [email protected] is editor
of GeoInformatics as well as project manager at IDsW.
This article represents his personal views.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Review
21March 2009
Manufacturers response to ProMark 500 product review.Magellan Professional greatly appreciates the effort of GeoInformatics
to review the ProMark 500. However, the reviewer was only able to test
some of the capability of the system. For example, he did not test the
Network RTK performance of our product, as he only used reference
data from another ProMark 500 using a UHF radio link. The particular
advantage of our BLADE technology is seen primarily when using a
ProMark 500 in a network of other manufacturers base stations. This
is because the ProMark 500 is constantly estimating the GLONASS hard-
ware biases of the reference receiver. Without properly accounting for
these biases, most of the rovers GPS+GLONASS are not able to use the
GLONASS corrections unless the reference receiver is the same brand
as the rover. BLADE allows the ProMark 500 to work seamlessly in any
Network RTK environment, regardless of the type of correction (VRS,
MAC or FKP) or brand of the reference receivers. ProMark 500 confers
to the user the great advantage of optimal use of the GLONASS sig-
nals, with higher performance in GPS+GLONASS RTK network and harsh
survey environments. We invite readers to learn more about BLADE at
pro.magellangps.com/en/products/technology.asp and contact us for the
BLADE White Paper at [email protected].
MobileMapper CX
controller (b)
Survey results in GNSS Solutions (a) and after export and further processing in
Global Mapper (b).
-
large scale Cyclomedias VisualisationsThe Dutch company Cyclomedia specializes in creating large-scale panoramic
spherical imagery. With this expertise it is not just local governments that are
interested in their visualization products but a broad range of customers
involved in many different work fields. To maintain a lead in the market,
ongoing research and development into the systems technology is essential.
Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Sander Jongeleen explains all about the
companys main product, recent projects and R&D activities.
By Eric van Rees
Cyclomedia is a market leader in the areaof capturing large-scale 360 panoramic
imagery. The high resolution and georefer-
enced image products (called Cycloramas) are
used by a wide range of clients, such as
insurance companies, and national and local
government agencies. The company, which
started in the Netherlands, is now active in
11 countries. Last year Cyclomedia intro-
duced a new data-capturing system, where
every five meters, a panoramic picture can
be taken from a vehicle traveling at 80 kilo-
meters per hour. Although building databas-
es of panoramic imagery is the companys
main activity, the technology behind it is of
equal importance. CSO Sander Jongeleen
explains: We develop our own equipment
and patent our technologies. In terms of mea-
suring, we capture everything that is the size
of a city and larger, since our system is too
costly to capture small places. In Holland we
capture images of all public paved roads,
with a five-meter interval, and all that is done
every one and a half year. In other countries
we work in a different way: sometimes we
first acquire a project before we start captur-
ing the data.
The large, national scale at which the com-
pany captures data is an advantage when it
comes to attracting new customers: the
main clients of Cyclomedia in the Netherlands
are local government agencies, but the mar-
ket has grown to include banks, insurance
companies, national government agencies
and public safety agencies after weve raised
our cover factor. For these parties youre only
interested when youre active on a national
scale.
ImageryThis large demand for panoramic pictures
begs the question, why is this imagery so
popular and what can be done with it?
Jongeleen: The imagery we create nowadays
can be used for much more than visualization
alone. One of the things our customers do
with it, is to project data on the images. Since
our images are georeferenced, as well as the
geometry within it, we are able to project vec-
tor information (such as CAD imagery) onto
the imagery, so that you can see electricity
wires in 3D on the photograph. Another thing
that is done is linking the imagery to an
administrative system through a GIS, which
22
Interv iew
March 2009
C r e a t i n g u p - t o - d a t e P a n o
CSO Sander Jongeleen
-
will allow you to click on a map that shows
the panoramic image of a house and its
administrative data. This comes in handy
when outsourcing the administration of pub-
lic spaces, so that people who are in the
street have exactly the same image of a situ-
ation as a GIS expert. We create a virtual inter-
face of administrative data.
The panoramic images have also been used
in a large-scale disaster management exercise
in the Netherlands, called Eagle 1. Along with
ESRI and Microsoft, the Dutch company
Geodan built a GIS infrastructure based on
Microsoft Virtual Earth, which was the first
local Virtual Earth installation outside of the
United States. The panoramic images helped
to create a common operational picture for
sharing information with a large audience.
Now that all parties share the same imagery,
they can cooperate faster and more efficient-
ly. A fire department vehicle for instance can
see what is the shortest route to a fire after
consulting the Cycloramas. (see also
www.ve.geodan.nl).
A Flemish Traffic Sign DatabaseThe Flemish government put out a tender for
generating an inventory of everything related
to traffic signs. They wanted this to be done
using a mobile mapping system so as not to
disturb other traffic on the roads. For a pro-
ject on as large a scale as Flanders, to be fin-
ished within two years is quite a challenge.
Together with a partner, Cyclomedia is carry-
ing out the project, capturing all the traffic
signs with the partner generating the inven-
tory.
A Cyclorama contains everything needed to
create this inventory. Data is captured on a
large scale, and has the metric quality to be
related road content. Jongeleen: If you want
to avoid unwanted traffic through residential
areas, you need to route traffic in a better
way. But in order to do this, you need to pro-
vide this information to digital map providers
so that they can adjust their navigation sys-
tems. Thats just one of the reasons people
are capturing this data.
Also, it shows that there are more efficient
ways of indexing the environment.
measured in a secure way. A Cyclorama can
be imported into a GIS environment to allow
you to see where signs are located. They can
also be measured and collected into a
database. This project started within the
scope of the European Union Rosatte project
(www.rosatte.eu), aimed at establishing an
efficient, and quality-ensured data supply
chain, from public authorities to commercial
map providers, with an emphasis on safety-
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Interv iew
23March 2009
r a m i c S p h e r i c a l I m a g e r y
CEO Paul Bosman
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Cycloramas are one way of doing this.
Classically measured objects can be captured
with the panoramic pictures that we provide
to our clients. Also, in Belgium the govern-
ment is looking for a way to accelerate the
process of updating the national base map
by using our imagery instead of taking terres-
trial measurements.
After classifying and filing these traffic signs,
the next step is to automate this process. We
created a whole new type of algorithm, which
automatically detects, classifies and measures
traffic objects. It also tells us where this pro-
cess works and where it does not, so that we
know where to check things manually. What
we want to produce are databases of stan-
dardized base material, with Cycloramas, aeri-
al photography and various types of content
able to be automatically measured, such as
traffic signs, lamp posts, etc. You can run the
automatic feature detection across the screen
through a series of images. The algorithms
measure corresponding points and if they are
recognized they can be measured automati-
cally. This creates a 3D registration of the
environment that looks like a point cloud,
which you can then use as a model to over-
lay the Cycloramas as a texture. With special
monitors that show depth, we project these
It writes approximately 80 megabytes of raw
imagery per second to a PC with several par-
allel disks. We organized a network of people
to bring all that data to our office in time.
With our new system we can capture imagery
very quickly, in comparison to our old system,
where we had to stop after each recording
point for six seconds. Also, these images were
captured from one point of view.
Our main product is the imagery, but we need
this high-tech system to create imagery with
such high quality. The fact that we understand
so well how to build our cameras, means that
we can produce large registrations with excep-
tionally high quality. We possess this combi-
nation. We are also able to do content analy-
sis because we know how to position these
images, independent of how and where a
vehicle was at the moment of capturing the
image. You cant do this with a random image,
you have to know how its being created.
Sander Jongeleen is CSO of Cyclomedia. For more
information, have a look at: www.cyclomedia.nl.
Other links:
www.rosetta.eu
www.ve.geodan.nl
models to create environments you can mea-
sure virtually. We are not interested in small
models, but think of models of one country
as whole.
R&DCreating Cycloramas requires a lot of technol-
ogy and research. Jongeleen: When looking
at the Cyclorama chain, we develop our own
camera systems, processing software, man-
agement software based on standard
databases, our hosting applications, and anal-
ysis and 3D construction software. This is all
done in-house. At the moment we have 40
R&D employees. We position ourselves as
content makers, integrating this content
inside an application. We also have partners
for all markets that we serve. What a lot of
people dont realize, is that theres a whole
chain around this capturing process. It takes
a while before you are able to start driving
and capturing images, for instance, calibra-
tion of the system. We add around five vehi-
cles a month with our new image capturing
system.
The new system contains a high-quality GPS
antenna, two specific cameras, a temperature
tuning unit and an eye-view trackers naviga-
tion sensor, all packed into one compact unit.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Interv iew
25March 2009
Cyclomedia vehicle
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Adding Value to the Distribution Chain of Satellite Imagery
Geoserve is a Dutch distributor of satellite data and offers information and distribution services. Active since 1997, the
company specialized itself in getting the right data for the customer. At the moment they are operational in 18 countries
all over the world. Frank Wouters, CEO of Geoserve, explains how the company operates in the data satellite imagery
distribution chain, and why culture is so important. Last year, a self-organized conference for suppliers and end users
of satellite imagery showed the added value of the company in this highly specialized and rapidly growing market.
By Eric van Rees
Can you give an overview of thesatellite imagery market? What isGeoserves place in this market?
Actually, we supply raw data to everyone
who needs it, like large end users such as oil
companies, ministries, large engineering com-
panies and the like. But we also win service
contracts, such as those from the JRC in Italy:
this is the research agency of the European
Union that writes out tenders on which you
can bid. If you win such a contract, you have
supply rights for five years for a fixed price.
Apart from this, there are lots of small clients
who incidentally need data, and what Id call
interesting gadgets. For instance, people
who want to know if dredging work has been
done according contractual agreements.
I started this company by myself in 1997,
and now we are six people. We have a sales
volume of 1,5 to 2 million Euros a year and
this amount is still growing. One notices that
the kind of sales and the way of doing busi-
ness changes very much, and also the
amount of work is growing more and more.
In the early days, you could choose between
four or five satellites but now there are twen-
ty five of them, so you need to have more
knowledge which takes a little more effort,
before you can give your customers good
advice.
For Geoserve, its more or less accidental
where we are active and where we are not.
At the moment, we have customers in 18 dif-
ferent countries, which is not bad for a small
company.
Last year you organized a conferenceat Schiphol Airport in the Nether -lands, where you invited severalsatellite imagery distributors andtheir clients. Can you tell me aboutthe use and necessity of this conference? How do you look back at the event?
For us, organizing this conference was an
experiment that turned out to be a success.
We as a company are so convinced of our
added value in the distribution chain and of
the fact that this market is so complicated, that
we decided to put all our clients and distribu-
tors in one room. There was a risk of clients
saying we dont need Geoserve, I can do busi-
ness with suppliers directly, but we were sure
26
Interv iew
March 2009
-
of our role so we didnt think we would be
eliminated from the chain. It was also a nice
experiment, because our clients could speak
to our suppliers, which is something they dont
normally do because we are the intermediate
party. Everyone had a good time that day, and
I have the feeling that we gained more cus-
tomers instead of losing clients. We hope to
organize the next Geoserve conference in 2010.
Also, we want to keep it free for everyone and
organize it at a location that can be reached
easily, to show that logistics is a matter of
using ones brains.
When we started in 1997, the internet was all
very new and we didnt know if everybody was
going to gather information all by themselves,
and not consult us. Before that time, we were
the only ones having fax and telephone con-
tacts with main suppliers. We were uncertain
if we could make a difference in this market
now that suppliers could publish their prod-
ucts on the internet so that everyone could
look these up for themselves. The answer has
always been yes, and I foresee that this will
stay that way: of course everyone can go to a
supplier and get an offer, but the question is
if you havent deprived yourself seriously.
One thing that struck me during thepresentations of all the data distrib-utors, was that you have to knowevery little detail to be able to tellthe difference between the servicesof one distributor and another.
This is exactly our problem when finding new
employees. You can get employees with a cer-
tain basic knowledge, but you will have to
not as their main activity, but as a side line. I
have always thought that in the long run, you
cannot afford this because the industry would
professionalize so that only the companies
that would invest and focus most would sur-
vive. And thats what were trying to do.
educate them yourself. This is a disadvantage,
but you can turn this into an advantage as
well. Our mission is also unique in Europe,
except for the big organizations, but I dont
know any small companies that focus purely
on distribution in Europe. There are a lot of
companies out there that treat distribution
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Interv iew
27March 2009
Satellite Imagery samples
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Has the quality of satellite imageryyet reached a maximum? And howabout the techniques of acquiringthis imagery?
No, the techniques are still developing rapid-
ly. At this moment there is the problem of leg-
islative restrictions instead of technical restric-
tions. The GeoEye-1 imagery is more detailed
than what is sold. Technically seen, it can be
41 centimeters resolution but it is sold at 50
centimeters. In terms of detail rendering, there
is not much more possible, but at the same
time you can add more spectral bands so that
you get 100 channels of a certain area. With
this you can perform mineral analysis in a
much better way for instance.
With satellite imagery you can see if a tree
is healthy or not. These optical bands have
all been determined, but, the more frequen-
cies you have, the more data youll get. In the
past, the bandwidth was limited for record-
ing and sending data to the ground. That
meant you had to make a choice in terms of
frequencies. Now this becomes less a restric-
tion so you can record more frequencies, but
now the problem is that you have to know
who do know how to deal with it work for
government agencies and dont teach. Even if
you educate someone, this person is not yet
a radar expert, because you need to have a
couple of years of practice before you can call
him or her an expert. So these people are not
there at the moment. And the best studies
that are there are all commercial ones, pub-
lic universities have not yet caught up with
offering this studies.
For more information,
have a look at www.geoserve.nl
what you want with all
these frequencies.
An area that has a lot
of potential at the
moment is radar
imagery. In terms of
detail, a lot is possible
but the problem is that
hardly anyone at the
moment exactly under-
stands how to analyze
this and acquire the
information from it.
There is an enormous
backlog when it comes to people who can
interpret radar well.
How come nobody knows how to dothis?
Those satellites providing radar images have
lots of possibilities that have only recently
become available. The problem is that lots of
radar data have been made available for the
commercial market only recently and that
theres hardly anybody to deal with it and
therefore nobody to teach this. The people
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Interv iew
29March 2009
-
Handheld Computers with Built-In GPS Capabilities help to clean up Graffiti
The Reykjavik Graffiti ProjectThe City of Reykjavik Department of Public Works Department began a pilot project to identify and stop the citys growing
graffiti problem. Using Trimble Recon and Trimble Nomad handheld computers, individuals collected precise GPS data
points for nearly 25,000 graffiti points. Also, staffers captured attribute data such as size, mark, type, and location of
graffiti. The team shared GIS and attribute data with police to support stronger legal action against graffiti. With this
information the they implemented a more systematic and efficient cleaning schedule to paint over tagged areas.
In six months, the department reported a 62 percent decrease in the number of graffiti marks in Reykjavik city centre.
By Rebecca Peck
Founded in 1786, Reykjavik is the capital ofIceland and the northern-most capital city in
the world. The Reykjavik Capital Area has just
under 120,000 inhabitants, which is about 40
percent of the total population of the coun-
try. As the modern capital of a highly devel-
oped country, the city boasts a first-class
infrastructure that is managed by city council
and maintained by the City of Reykjavik
Department of Public Works.
In 2007, the Reykjavik community began to
notice a growing problem on the city streets:
graffiti. Faced with this issue, the citys depart-
ment of public works began an important
pilot project. Two staff members from the
citys GIS group began using Trimble Recon
handheld computers equipped with ESRI
ArcPad software to collect data points and
other attributes about graffiti marks. With
these handhelds the GIS team performed reli-
able, accurate, and validated field data col-
lection of graffiti marks located on city prop-
erty, including traffic signs, parking meters,
trashcans, and other public assets.
Combating Graffiti City-wideThe team also collected GPS coordinates and
took digital photos of graffiti on private (as
well as public) property, including tags found
on garages, private residences, fences, and
more. For the initial project, the team focused
on a small section of the city centre, captur-
ing data points for about 3300 (se poster)
unique graffiti marks all at a reliable 2 to 5
meter accuracy level. The team then loaded
the data into the public work databases to
allow further analysis and to share this
detailed information with the citys police
department and the city council. With data
from the pilot project in hand, the city coun-
cil determined it was time to implement a
more strategic and long-term plan for com-
30
Art ic le
March 2009
-
bating graffiti city-wide. Trimble will use their
experience from this pilot project with few
changes to use in the project Clean City 2008.
In 2008 the council enacted Project Clean
City and at that point we knew we needed to
extend our investment in Trimble to make the
project a success, said Hermann Her -
mannsson, GI specialist for the Reykjavik
Department of Public Works. We purchased
five Trimble Nomad handheld computers to
month period the students worked a com-
bined 1,600 hours and collected nearly 25,000
unique graffiti points. Using the integrated
GPS receiver within the Nomad devices, they
captured the precise location of each graffiti
mark along with valuable attribute data,
including: type of position (i.e. garage, house,
lamp pole, etc.), size of graffiti mark, and type
of graffiti (i.e. words, images, etc.). For even
more detail, the team took about 8000 digi-
collect, save, and transmit data in the field
because they are rugged, have a long battery
life and they include built-in GPS, bar code
scanner, and digital camera.
Saving Time and MoneyTo get the project off the ground quickly, the
department hired students studying GIS at
Reykjavik University to collect graffiti data
points throughout the entire city. Over a five
Latest
Art ic le
31March 2009
Graffiti and tags in Reykjavik city center March 2008
Graffiti and tags in Reykjavik city center October 2008
-
Are you using costly, outdated paper map books to complete
time-sensitive projects such as field mapping, asset inventory,
asset maintenance, inspectio