GIS

Assessment of geo-hazards in Nepal

Synspective Inc., under the supervision of the World Bank and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), Government of Nepal, investigated the land displacement hazards in the upstream part of the Melamchi River, Nepal in response to the destructive flood disaster that occurred in June’21. The results demonstrated that Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data and time-series interferometric SAR (InSAR) analysisbased Earth observation techniques have the capabilities to offer a more cost-saving alternative to periodically monitor slopes with susceptibility and identify the potential precursors of slow-evolving failure conditions.

Using data gathered by the European Space Agency’s SAR satellite, Synspective’s Land Displacement Monitoring (LDM) service monitored over 400 km2 of slope area in the upstream proximity of the Melamchi River. The analysis results were used to support the authorities’ work in managing slope susceptibility risk in the region. In addition to residential communities, critical facilities and lifeline infrastructure are also present in the region including the Headworks of the Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Improvement Project financed by the ADB. https://synspective.com

Project to support EV chargepoint infrastructure in UK

The UK Geospatial Commission has launched a discovery project to explore how location data can be better utilised to support planning and delivery of electric vehicle charge points by local authorities. This project will support the approach set out in the government’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy, published by the Department for Transport, which focuses on enabling the rollout of a robust EV charging infrastructure network by 2030. Setting out a vision and approach for EV infrastructure rollout and expectations of key stakeholders, the Strategy identifies that addressing barriers to data sharing will be important to enable decision making. www.gov.uk

White House launches COVID.gov

The White House launched COVID. gov, a new one-stop shop website to help all people in the United States gain even better access to lifesaving tools like vaccines, tests, treatments, and masks, as well as get the latest updates on COVID-19 in their area. As part of COVID.gov, a new Test-to-Treat locator will help people access pharmacies and community health centers across the nation where people can get tested for COVID-19 and receive appropriate treatments if they need them.

Built upon GIS and mapping technology from Esri, which is used for the Johns Hopkins worldwide COVID-19 map, the COVID-19 Test-to-Treat locator provides locations for people to get tested – and if they test positive and are eligible for treatment – receive a prescription from an on-site or affiliated health care provider, and have their prescription filled all at one convenient location.

ABB inaugurates its Innovation Center in India

ABB has inaugurated a new and expanded R & D and engineering facility, the ABB Innovation Centre (AIC) in Bengaluru, India. This state-of-the-art facility is one of its largest globally and serves as the backbone for technology developments to accelerate innovation. It houses 2500 diverse technologists including engineers, principal and data scientists, architects, domain and analytics specialists, programmers, and developers. https://global.abb/group/en

India’s second space training center opens in Jammu

ISRO, Department of Space, and Central University of Jammu (CUJ) has jointly established a Space science center for carrying out research in Space science and technology in the Central University campus, Jammu. The Centre is named after the renowned Space Scientist, teacher and former Chairman, ISRO, Prof. Satish Dhawan, who hailed from Jammu & Kashmir.

The Satish Dhawan Space Science Centre was inaugurated by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (MoS) for Space, in the presence of Somanath S, Chairman, ISRO/Secretary DOS, Dr. K. Radhakrishnan Former Chairman, ISRO & Member, Space Commission and Prof. Sanjeev Jain, VC-CUJ, on March 12, 2022.

The Centre houses different labs/ facilities related to geospatial data analysis, materials, astrophysics, natural disasters and avionics.

Fugro supports NIOT’s coastal community development plan

India’s National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has commissioned Fugro to carry out a bathymetric survey along the Andhra Pradesh coast in southeastern India. The survey will facilitate the Indian Government’s plans to develop and manage the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to benefit the coastal community and protect marine living resources. The data will also be used for a range of scientific research projects and coastal resilience studies like assessment of coastal vulnerabilities and geohazard potential and ocean climate change.

The six-month project started in November 2021. Fugro will survey around 56,000-line kilometres of coastline in total, collecting bathymetric data in water depths between High Tide Line (HTL) and 30 m. To gather insights about the seabed, its specialist team is using a shallow-water boat equipped with a dual frequency echosounder and a DGPS for data acquisition. For safe and efficient surveying in very shallow water (up to 5 m) and the surf zone area, the team is going to use jet ski equipped with Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) and a single beam echosounder. Real-time kinematic positioning (RTK) technology is being used for topography survey. www.fugro.com

UKHO signs collaboration agreement with The Nippon Foundation- GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project

The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has signed a MOU with The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project, which will see the parties work together to advance the industry’s understanding of ocean bathymetry, and in support of the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Seabed 2030 – a flagship program of the Ocean Decade – is a collaborative project between The Nippon Foundation and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) with the goal of the complete mapping of the world’s oceans by 2030, as well as compiling all bathymetric data into the freely available GEBCO Ocean Map. GEBCO is a joint program of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and is the only organization with a mandate to map the entire ocean floor.

As part of its official partnership with Seabed 2030, the UKHO will provide bathymetric gridded map products to be used by the project within the GEBCO gridded bathymetric data set. UKHO will also share and promote methods and best practices in technological innovation, infrastructure and solutions for ocean mapping and bathymetric data management. https://seabed2030.org

Infrastructure-based 3D perception software by Seoul Robotics

Seoul Robotics has introduced an infrastructure-based version of its patented 3D perception software. SENSR-I processes data captured by 3D sensors over large spaces to provide high-resolution environmental insights, enabling a wide range of applications to inform organizations on operational efficiencies, safety enhancements, crowd management and customer experience improvements. Designed for use with 3D sensors that are placed on static infrastructure in both indoor and outdoor applications, SENSR-I is equipped with weather-filtering capabilities to ensure the highest level of accuracy in all conditions, including heavy snow and rain. www.seoulrobotics.org

Updated land-cover map with new sets of global data by Esri

Esri in partnership with Impact Observatory and Microsoft, is releasing a globally consistent 2017–2021 global land-use and land-cover map of the world based on the most up-to-date 10-meter Sentinel-2 satellite data. In addition to the new 2021 data, 10-meter land-use and land-cover data for 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 is included, illustrating five years of change across the planet.

This digital rendering of earth’s surfaces offers detailed information and insights about how land is being used. The map is available online to more than 10 million users of geographic information system (GIS) software through Esri’s ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World.

Bentley Education Announces New Student Contest

Bentley Systems, Incorporated has announced Bentley Education’s Digital Twin Design Challenge—a student contest that provides an opportunity to reimagine a real-world location with a structure designed with the popular Minecraft video game. Digital twin technology is set to be the next powerful tool for future engineers, and this contest is a unique opportunity for students to explore it in a creative way. Through the Digital Twin Design Challenge, students have the chance to combine their imagination and creativity by exploring infrastructure digital twins. Students will use Minecraft to take a real-world location and design a new structure within it. In addition to gaining recognition from Bentley Education, the top 20 finalists will receive USD 500 each. The winner chosen by expert judges will receive a prize of USD 5,000, and the winner from the popular vote category will win a prize of USD 2,000. www.bentley.com

Integrated support for highway and route shields in TatukGIS SDK

TatukGIS announces integrated support for highway and route shields in its GIS SDK and desktop GIS products. A builtin SVG symbols library provides easy access to shields commonly used to label road and highway maps in the United States, Canada, Europe, and countries around the world. https://tatukgis.com

Infotech Partners with cultivate geospatial solutions

Infotech has announced a partnership with Cultivate Geospatial Solutions (CGS) to enhance the incorporation of GIS across Infotech software to track digital as-built data. Through this partnership, the companies will focus on integrating GIS capabilities with project data captured in Infotech solutions and delivering geospatialbased products that support the asset lifecycle. In addition, Cultivate will support Infotech’s strategic alliance with Esri, the global leader in location intelligence. www.infotechinc.com

XMAP GIS tool aids UK Government

XMAP, the local government GIS service from Geoxphere, now offers a smart, green transport module to help local councils promote Active Travel and secure funding from the Government’s £2 billion package to encourage walking and cycling. The XMAP Isochrone tool provides a detailed and visual insight into existing transport infrastructure, assessing accessibility and the local environment to calculate and compare travel times by foot, cycle and car. Its Isochrone tool allows a user to create polygons on a map showing how far it is possible to drive, walk or cycle in a set amount of time. https://xmap.geoxphere.com