GIS

Blue Marble Geographics adds Chinese reseller

Blue Marble Geographics has announced that Beijing E-Carto Technologies Co., Ltd. has joined the growing list of partner companies reselling and supporting Blue Marble’s products throughout the world. www.bluemarblegeo.com

Cloud based 4D Virtual reality models

Integrated design and operations consultancy for the built environment, Bryden Wood, and BIM technology innovator, 3D Repo, have launched a new platform for visualising how construction projects change over time.

Using Virtual Reality (VR) technology and 3D Repo’s database driven Digital Construction Platform, the new 4D sequence visualisation tool gives users a new perspective on design and construction projects. Accessed using market leading VR headsets, such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the outputs will improve collaboration between project stakeholders, facilitate decision making and allow for better communication at all stages of a project. This functionality, together with enhanced online collaboration and visualisation features, is released as a Bryden Wood digital portal powered by 3D Repo. http://3drepo.org/

3D laser-mapping planned to tackle flooding and track illegal waste

England’s entire landscape will be mapped with lasers to tackle flooding, help conservation work and even track illegal waste dumps, the Environment Agency said.

Under plans unveiled by the government agency, aircraft equipped with laser scanners will map all 130,000 square kilometres (50,000 square miles) of the country in 3D, including rivers, fields and national parks, by 2020.

The data gathered will be used to understand flooding risk and plan flood defences, and will also be made available for free for the public and industry including archaeologists, urban planners and even gamers.

The “lidar” – light detection and ranging – technology, which measures the distance between the aeroplane and the ground to build up a picture of the terrain, can be used to detect sudden landscape changes which could indicate illegal tips.

Environment Agency chief executive Sir James Bevan said: “This ambitious project will enhance our understanding of England’s unique natural features and landscape, helping us to better understand flood risk, plan effective defences and fight waste crime. www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

3D Modelling software for urban Infrastructure by BRICS member countries

Researchers from Russia, China and India will soon be working together within a project to develop software for the informative 3D modelling of urban infrastructure using laser scanning technology combined with photographic images. The project recently won the BRICS STI Framework Programme, a competition for international consortia in the field of science, technology and innovation from the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The software will be useful at all stages of the urban infrastructure lifecycle, including the detection of defects, building information modelling (BIM) and carrying out renovation work.

Specialists from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU), in collaboration with the East China Normal University and the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, will now work to develop software for the analysis of 3D images of infrastructure objects.

Scope of open geospatial data

Open data is available from the majority of European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities (NMCAs), a new survey has found. Research by the Open European Location Services (ELS)

Project reveals that 98% of respondents provide at least some of their data free of charge. Of these, 37% make all their data available under an open licence.

Whilst open data models vary, more than 85% provide view and search services, 72% enable downloads and 67% allow its re-use in products. Users include public authorities, public services, research and education as well as commercial companies.

This survey provides a snapshot of the scope of open data from official national sources across geographical Europe, said Dominik Kopczewski, policy development manager at international not-for-profit organisation, EuroGeographics which is co-ordinating the Open ELS Project.

Solution to enhance fire safety by 3D

Luminous Group, based in Newcastle, UK, has designed a new tool which they say could revolutionise the effectiveness of vital fire safety surveys. The 3D technology specialist has launched its new RIVO software using mixed reality solutions to transform asset mapping for the oil and gas, facilities management and construction industries. It utilises Microsoft’s Inside Out tracking and harnesses innovative virtual and augmented reality technology and is accessed using a Microsoft HoloLens headset for the user. The 3D mapping system can be applied to enhance fire safety by drawing up critical information in real time, be it emergency evacuation points or fire routes.

Pointfuse launch point cloud software

Users of DotProduct 3D handheld scanners can now produce 3D models at the touch of button following the release this week of Pointfuse for DP. A powerful meshing solution that offers a one-button approach to converting DotProduct scan data into lightweight, intelligent 3D models, Pointfuse for DP can potentially reduce output file sizes by tenfold, dramatically improving downstream workflows including solid modeling and Virtual Reality environments. http://pointfuse.com/

CPCB, India likely to use LIDAR to vertically monitor air quality

A top Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) scientist has said that the agency may consider using advanced LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) devices to vertically monitor the air quality of Delhi-NCR. LiDAR is a monitoring system for mapping and modelling in micro-topography, forestry, agriculture, meteorology and environmental pollution. Elastic Backscatter LiDAR and Raman LiDAR are used in monitoring air pollutants vertically.

“The CPCB and IMD had used the Elastic Backscatter LiDAR in Delhi during the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the data was utilised in 3D modelling and forecasting during the Games,” he said.

Haryana, India set up GIS CELL

Haryana Government has set up a GIS Cell in the head office of the Public Health Engineering Department with technical support from the Haryana Space Application Centre (HARSAC). Apart from this, digitisation and geo-referencing of assets such as drinking water sources and Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) has been completed in the state, and the department is now inching towards geo-referenced digital maps showing infrastructure in habitations and towns of the state. www.dailypioneer.com

Nepal rejects India’s offer to jointly re-measure Mt Everest

Nepal has rejected India’s offer to jointly re-measure the height of the world’s highest peak Mount Everest following the massive earthquake in 2015 and will carry out the exercise on its own, the top official of the Himalayan nation’s survey department has said. Nepal will, however, seek help from India and China for getting crucial data for the exercise, according to Nepal’s Survey Department’s Director General Ganesh Bhatta.

The Survey of India, a 250-year-old institute under the DST, proposed remeasuring Mt Everest as an ‘Indo- Nepal Joint Scientific Exercise’ with Nepal’s survey department. “They have not responded to our proposal. Now they are saying that they are not involving either India or China. They will be re-measuring Mt Everest on their own,” Major Gen Girish Kumar, the Surveyor General of India, told PTI.

Mr Bhatta said preparatory work has already begun on the project and they are gathering preliminary data crucial for this survey.

The massive earthquake has “shook” even the basic parameters of Nepal, so data from other countries will be crucial, he said.

India is being requested to provide the levelling data while China has been asked to provide the gravity data. The data will be very important to determine the height of Mt Everest, Mr Bhatta said. www.ndtv.com