GIS

India to set up task force for land governance in North-Eastern states

A task force will be set up for land governance in the North-Eastern states, according to the Union Rural Development Ministry. The decision was taken at the recently concluded National Conference on “Land Governance in North Eastern States” held in Guwahati, Assam. The territorial and autonomous district councils in the states of Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Meghalaya held that digitisation and modernisation of land records is essential for development in the region. www.ptinews.com

ProjectReady extends Autodesk Construction Cloud integration

ProjectReady has announced an expanded integration with Autodesk Construction Cloud, a portfolio of software and services that combines advanced technology, a builders network and predictive insights for construction teams. The platform works as an integrated data environment (IDE) to improve collaboration through the integration of systems and common data environments used by AEC industry professionals and project owners. www.project-ready.com

CGI and Ordnance Survey develop water pollution predictive tool

CGI, in partnership with Ordnance Survey, has developed an initiative designed to remotely detect sewage overspill events from space.

The project will utilise a newly created artificial intelligence (AI) model that can predict with high levels of accuracy the conditions most often associated with pollution events.

This is the latest project undertaken by CGI’s Sustainability Exploration Environmental Data Science (SEEDS) programme, a research initiative designed to challenge the thinking and practice around sustainability in partnership with academia, launched with the United Nations last year. www.cgi.com

Sanborn pioneers the Digital Twin Base Map

Sanborn’s Digital Twin Base Map is a high-resolution 3D map providing reliable mapping information. The mapping captures the full complexity of an entire city or region’s infrastructure and environment in a single, integrated data set.

Sanborn creates its Digital Twin Base Maps using a combination of remote sensing data, high-quality aerial photography, and advanced machine learning algorithms that can detect and model everything from buildings and streets to vegetation and topography.

Its most recent Digital Twin Base Map delivered to a proprietary customer covers more than 400 square miles (about the area of San Antonio, Texas), and is built to a specification of 3-inch resolution with an accuracy of 2 pixels RMSE. www.sanborn.com

NHAI to create around 10,000 km of digital highways by FY 2024 – 25

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is working towards development of around 10,000 km of Optic Fibre Cables (OFC) infrastructure across the country by FY2024-25. National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), a fully owned SPV of NHAI, will implement the network of Digital Highways by developing integrated utility corridors along the National Highways to develop OFC infrastructure. Around 1,367 km on Delhi – Mumbai Expressway and 512 km on Hyderabad – Bangalore Corridor have been identified as pilot routes for the Digital Highway development.

The OFC network will help to expedite the roll out of new age telecom technologies like 5G & 6G. Recently inaugurated, 246 km long Delhi – Dausa – Lalsot section of the Delhi – Mumbai Expressway features a three-meter-wide dedicated utility corridor used to lay Optical Fibre Cables, which will serve as the backbone for the roll out of the 5G network in the region. OFC laying work along the National Highways has started and is targeted for completion in about a year.

OFC network will allow direct plugand-play or ‘Fibre-on-demand’ model for the Telecom / Internet Services. The network will be leased out on a Fixed Price Allotment mechanism on ‘Open for All’ basis through a web portal to eligible users. OFC allotment policy is being finalized in consultation with DoT and TRAI. https://pib.gov.in

40x reduction in realtime mapping costs

Nexar has achieved a dramatic 40x reduction in the cost of real-time mapping by leveraging cutting-edge technologies, edge AI, change detection, and crowdsourcing. Real-time mapping has become increasingly crucial, particularly as an enabler of advanced mobility services, autonomous vehicles, and smart city initiatives. However, traditional map-making methods can’t keep up with the demand for real-time data due to their high costs and laborintensive processes. Typically, mapping involves deploying fleets of dedicated vehicles and employing manual data annotation. As a result, conventional mapping techniques are prohibitively expensive and produce outdated map layers, limiting their utility in modern, data-driven applications. nexar.com

Esri India launches ArcGIS Business Analyst

Esri India announced the availability of ArcGIS Business Analyst, a location intelligence solution suite designed to aid organizations in making data-driven smart decisions.

The suite for India will include a variety of location-based datasets, such as points of interest; road network; accurate boundaries at various levels like village, PIN codes, district, state, etc.; socio-economic and demographic data; and data available from Esri’s Living Atlas. Live road traffic information will also be available. www.esri.in

Saudi geospatial authority to align with UN framework

Geospatial studies, map production and marine surveys in Saudi Arabia will soon be on par with global standards as the Kingdom is set to align its projects with the UN framework in this pioneering field. According to the Saudi Press Agency, the General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information participated in the inaugural meeting of the international advisory committee of its UN counterpart between April 20 and 22 in Deqing, China. The experience of the GASGI in developing a national strategy in line with global standards prescribed by the UN’s Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre Framework was highlighted during the meeting.

Mohammed bin Yahya Al Sayel, president of the GASGI, reviewed the experiences of member states and emphasized the importance of the nine strategic pathways outlined in the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework. These cover governance and institutions, legal and policy, and financial and data standards. They also take in innovation, partnerships, capacity and education, and communication and engagement. According to Al Sayel, these nine strategic pathways provide guidance for addressing challenges in the survey and geospatial information sector. Saudi Arabia signed a deal with the UN last April to offer consultation services in the geospatial survey to boost its national capacity. www.arabnews.com

NUVIEW to map the entire globe in 3D with LiDAR

NUVIEW is building the world’s first commercial LiDAR satellite constellation which will map the entire land surface of the Earth in 3D for the first time ever. This revolutionary approach to data collection will transform our understanding of the Earth’s surface, driving innovation and progress across numerous industries in real time. nuview.space