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INDUSTRY | LBS | GPS | GIS | REMOTE SENSING | GALILEO UPDATE

Vietnam, India ink deal to deploy GIS technologies

A delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology has signed deal with India for the deployment of GIS technologies. The GIS deal aims to spot areas vulnerable to droughts in service of agriculture and forestry and extracting substances from starfish in service of the pharmaceutical industry. The two countries will also cooperate in designing and developing aerial technology for 3G and 4G wireless services as well as photoelectric cell technology for turning solar power into electricity.

www.english.vovnews.vn

Monitoring woodpeckers

An Idaho University team is developing techniques to monitor woodpeckers from space. The team has been using a satellite-borne laser to try to predict in which part of a State forest the birds might be living. Initial work has shown maps built from such data can locate areas favoured by North American pileated woodpeckers. The scientists want to know where these birds are because they are seen as good indicators of overall bird diversity in a forest.

www.bbc.co.uk

USD 140 million order for substations deploying GIS

ABB has won an order for USD 140 million from the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation for building 4 new transmission substations and upgrade 4 existing substations to help meet the growing residential and commercial demand for electricity in the region.

www. albawaba.com

Brunei now in 3D

Brunei Survey Department, has successfully completed one of the National Development Plan (2007-2012) projects, 3D Digital Terrain Model. The LiDAR instruments used close range-infrared from the electromagnetic (1064nm) spectrum of light to collect data. Data measured on the ground was at every one-meter distance apart in areas including forest areas. This endeavor has made Brunei among the best mapped countries in the world.

www. brudirect.com

Singapore rolls out marine biodiversity survey

Singapore’s National Parks Board (NParks), in partnership with experts from tertiary institutions, non-governmental organisations and individual enthusiasts, has started comprehensive survey of marine ecosystem. Sites with coastal and marine habitats around Singapore have been identified and mapped, using satellite images.

www.channelnewsasia.com

Bentley to join consortium for clean energy

Bentley Systems has been selected to join the consortium, led by the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, for a US-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) focused on building energy efficiency. It will develop technologies for low-energy residential and commercial buildings, as well as work on the commercialization of those technologies and research how human behavior affects building energy use.

www.bentley.com

France’s national mapping agency selects Intermap

Intermap Technologies announced a USD 804,518 contract with the national mapping agency of France, the Institut Géographique National (IGN). It will supply IGN with DTMs, generated as part of its completed NEXTMap Europe countrywide mapping programme.

www.intermap.com

OS working on Olympic site map accuracy

To facilitate navigation at Olympic site for spectators, security staff and emergency services and athletes, Ordnance Survey (OS) is improving the accuracy of Olympic site map close to 2.6cm, according to Dave Wareham of OS. The OS measures the complexity of its job in what it calls “units of change” and has a target of recording 96% of all changes made in the country within six months.

www.bbc.co.uk

Shoreline maps of Gujarat and Puducherry released

Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Government of India launched the shoreline study maps of Gujarat and Puducherry. These maps are approved by the respective state governments. The shoreline study was assigned to Institute for Ocean Management (IOM), Chennai.
PIB

Indian archaeologists discover prehistoric maps

An archaeological team, led by T M Keshava from Bangalore, discovered maps that date back to 1500-2000 BC. The place is located around Tungabhadra River near Hampi in Karnataka, India. Unlike modern maps that rely on technology, ancient men banked on their eyesight and memory. The map was depicted on the roof of caves of Chikramapura village. What was once thought to be a megalithic burial site with just paintings of animals and humans; is proof of the prehistoric man’s cartographic skill.

www.bangaloremirror.com

NSDI 10: National Geospatial Ecosystem – The Road Ahead

“Restriction of information is disempowering and it does not serve the national interest” said Kapil Sibal, Hon’ble Minister for HRD, Telecom, Science & Technology and Earth Science, Government of India, while inaugurating the NSDI 10 conference held in New Delhi during Dec 23 – 24, 2010. Mr Sibal called for a policy on information dissemination and need for all government departments to come together and provide data. He also emphasized on the need of a regulatory framework in this sector that is more facilitative and not restrictive. The theme of the conference was “National Geospatial Ecosystem – The Road Ahead”.

Dr Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India mentioned the need of multilingual and online information system as that would best serve the need of the country. He also highlighted the need of maps at larger scale at local level.

KK Singh, Chairman Rolta India Ltd expressed that geospatial technology has significantly transformed the world and governments all across the globe are becoming aware of the potential of this technology. He also mentioned about the enormous growth potential with several mega projects.

Subba Rao, Surveyor General of India highlighted the importance of industry participation. He said that Survey of India will focus on evolving strong IT component incorporating GIS.

A geo portal of the Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh was released during the inaugural session. Also, a Report of Task Force on 1:10,000 Mapping was also presented.

Prof V S Ramamurthy, Director National Institute of Advanced Studies elaborated in his vision address how the geospatial segment is yet to reach the common man. The common man of this country is yet to feel the need and benefits of the technology. The technology as of now still appears to be on threshold only.