The most important ingredient for “Preparedness”.Unless we are “fully” prepared, we cannot have good and timely
response. And, to be fully prepared with good coordinates is in the
hands of geodesists, surveyors, map or chart makers, and all others,
who generate data. In turn, correct and accurate “Good Coordinates”
and quick and timely advice will strengthen the hands of the country’s
leaders, civil and/or military.If anything is lacking in good
coordinates, “We” would be failing with no room for any excuse(s).

Says Clement Woon, President of Geosystems Division, Leica while explaining the technological
trends in GPS applications. Hexagon AB, a Swedish publicly listed company, acquired Leica
Geosystems AG in October 2005. Since then we have been organized
into three divisions; namely the Geosystems Division, the Measuring
Tools Division and the Geospatial Imaging Division. We are now part
of a larger global group focusing on measurement technologies.

says Maj Gen M Gopal Rao, Surveyor General of India while discussing the vision, status and
direction of Survey of India.When Survey of India (SoI) had the basic role of meeting Defence needs
of mapping, it fulfi lled this national commitment with fl ying colours.
Defence and Security agencies primarily depend on the topographical
maps in every activity of planning their strategy.

Says Dr Irwin Itzkovitch, Assistant Deputy Minister,Earth Sciences Sector, Natural Resources Canada
while discussing various aspects of Indo-Canada relationship in the field of Geomatics.Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) helps shape the important contribution
of Canada’s natural resources sector to our economy, society and
environment. The segments on which NRCan focuses are forestry,
energy, minerals and metals, and Earth sciences, including geomatics,
geoscience and related industries. Canada’s natural resources industries
are high-tech, innovative and growing.

February 2006
International GIS Conference & Exhibition
13-15 February, Kuwait
http://www.gulfgis.com/

The interface
Seventy per cent of India lives in villages.
And villages mean not ‘big’ problems but very ‘basic’ problems.
Where the question is to fulfi ll the basic needs such as food and shelter.
Where access to clean water, education and health facilities itself is an issue.
Where there is a struggle for survival on a daily basis.

says K Ramalingam, Chairman, Airports Authority of …

says Lt Gen Ranjit Singh, SM, Engineer-in-chief and …

The 49th Annual General Meeting of Institution of Surveyors …

As the GPS surveying techniques started showing promise of high accuracy geodetic positioning in the early 1990s, few “open-minded” geodesists realized the possibility of using ellipsoidal heights in place of orthometric heights. Many conceptual approaches were mentioned and proposed in various applications. However, Steinberg and Papo were the fi rst to publish a paper entitled “Ellipsoidal Heights: The Future of Vertical Geodetic Control” (GPS World, Vol. 9, No. 2, 1998). As could be expected, Petr Vanicek, a geodesy professor, was quick to downplay the proposed new “type” of vertical control (GPS World, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1998). It seems that Steinberg and Papo did not “defend” their new proposal. Thus, in this paper, a review has been made to check and comment on Vanicek’s example against the ellipsoidal heights, reference to orthometric islands, and issuance of a warning for non-dissemination of ellipsoidal heights to Canadian users.