GIS

Integrated statistical and geospatial data vital for public information infrastructure

Integration of statistical and geospatial data is key to delivering a public information infrastructure that supports evidencebased decision making. At their first joint meeting, representatives from UN-GGIM: Europe and the European Statistical System (ESS) set out a committment to using geospatial information to link and match together data from multiple sources. This integration will not only meet user demands for statistical information with higher geographical detail but will also significantly speed up its delivery.

Bengt Kjellson, Chair of the UNGGIM: Europe Executive Committee explained that its aim is to ensure a joint working relationship between National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities and National Statistical Institutes in the European UN Member States, the European Institutions and associated bodies. The meeting was held in Luxembourg and hosted by Eurostat. www.un-ggim-europe.org

Updated Global Mapper LiDAR module now available

Blue Marble has announced the release of Global Mapper LiDAR module version 16.2. Released in conjunction with Version 16.2 of Global Mapper, the latest version includes numerous functional enhancements and performance improvements that have been designed to help streamline the processing of LiDAR data. www.bluemarblegeo.com/

OS becomes a Strategic Member of the OGC

Ordnance Survey (OS) has announced that it has raised its Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) membership level to become the first Strategic Member outside of the USA. As a strategic member OS will use their skill and expertise to drive a collective and unified approach to promoting interoperability for the geospatial industry. The new membership will also allow OS to represent Europe, at a strategic level, to improve the quality of standards globally and to enable the industry to continue to innovate and grow.

Cadastre 2034: Powering Land and Real Property

Cadastre 2034: Powering Land and Real Property is a national strategy for Cadastral Reform and Innovation for Australia. It has been prepared by the Permanent Committee on Cadastre; a Subcommittee of ISCM. The strategy captures the trends and articulates the vision of what we believe the community will require of our cadastral system by 2034. It identifies where current information falls short of today’s consumer expectations, and considers the user scenarios that could trigger changing needs in the future. Cadastre 2034 has been developed with input from a New Zealand perspective and Trans–Tasman collaboration remains an important feature of this strategy. www.icsm.gov.au/

Mumbai starts GIS mapping of electoral wards

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in India has started preparing heavily for the 2017 civic polls. The civic body is currently in the process of marking the boundaries of all the 227 electoral wards on google earth, as per the directions from the state election commission. As part of the plan, enumeration blocks will also be GIS mapped and in each block, the population as per the latest 2011 census will be marked. The herculean task will be undertaken by the election department of the BMC, with the help of the civic IT department and the medical officer (health) of all the 24 administrative civic wards, following which, it will be submitted to the state election commission. www.dnaindia.com

ArcGIS 10.3.1

Esri has released ArcGIS 10.3.1, bringing new capabilities:

• Smart Mapping is an innovative approach for creating maps that is available through ArcGIS Online. You can quickly style the features of your map to create useful and visually stunning maps every time.

• 3D Web Scenes allow you to view, create, and share 3D web scenes in your browser. Available in ArcGIS for Server and Portal for ArcGIS, you can share these scenes within your own infrastructure, and if you choose to, share them publically.

IIC Technologies and DAT/EM Systems strengthen partnership

A long-time user of DAT/EM products, IIC Technologies has now extended its investment to 100 licenses of DAT/EM software as a part of their commitment to use quality tools to efficiently and cost-effectively serve their clients on a wide variety of projects.

Papua New Guinea: Monitoring forests with new Fire Watch website

Supported with a grant by the European Union, Papua New Guinea (PNG)’s new Fire Watch website uses the latest satellite imagery and image processing techniques, to advance an understanding of what is going on in PNG’s forests in ‘real time’. The Fire Watch website shows every location where a fire is burning, records where and when fires occur in PNG’s forests and automatically uploads the information onto the site as it happens. Moreover, high resolution satellite images and maps of PNG can be viewed interactively with the locations of each fire. The website also features an archive of past locations, including time and date, of all fires detected across PNG since the mid 1990’s. The Fire Watch website allows users to generate and print their own maps of fire locations in Papua New Guinea. The site is public and available free of charge to all users. http://fire.pngsdf.com

Mobile Surveying with High-Precision GPS and Advanced Mapping Features

TerraGo Edge Version 3.6 provides advanced support for EOS and SXBlue High-Precision GNSS receivers on iOSTM and AndroidTM, adds new mobile surveying features, new basemap sources and integration with Google EarthTM.