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INDUSTRY | LBS | GNSS | GIS | IMAGING | GALILEO UPDATE

“HyDRA” smart device app

The U.S. Army Geospatial Center (AGC) and Engineer Research and Development Center recently released the Hydrologic Data Resources Application (HyDRA) – a Web-based data survey and analysis tool created to provide the Dept. of Defense (DoD) logistics and geospatial intelligencerelated water communities with information on water resources data collection, visualization and dissemination in a mobile, enterprise-enabled environment. HyDRA allows users to view, collect and edit unclassified water resources features via Android 2.2+ OS smart devices using Google MapsTM and Google EarthTM applications.

www.agc.army.mil

E&Y to prepare GIS based data system for Indian mineral sector

India’s Mines Ministry has mandated advisory firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) for an online computerised Mining Tenement System (MTS), to bring the functions of the directorates of mining and geology (DMGs) of 11 provinces, the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Mines Ministry, onto a single web-enabled platform with database server. The MTS would have GIS database with geospatial data as well as a registry component database with attribute data.The GIS component will be based on village cadastral maps of 1:4000 scale and the registry component database on an appropriate database platform.

http://www.miningweekly.com

Bentley Descartes V8i

Bentley Systems has released Descartes V8i (SELECTseries 3) – 3D modeling that combines point clouds, raster imagery, and geometry. The resulting models expand the utility of point clouds by supporting hybrid design workflows that deliver “as-operated” 3D models to serve the operations and maintenance needs of owner-operators. Bentley set the stage for this innovation by incorporating scalable terrain models (STMs) and, soon after, point clouds as fundamental data types across its information modeling applications and engineering information management services.

www.bentley.com/descartesAIM

Drone completes military mapping mission in NW China

An unmanned Chinese military drone recently completed its first digital mapping mission near north China’s Helan mountain, capturing high-definition imaging data during more than five consecutive hours of aerial photography. The success of the mission marks the Chinese military’s creation of a drone-based emergency mapping support mechanism in north China, said Zhang Zhiyuan, the mission’s field commander.
http://english.eastday.com

Esri ArcGIS app for Kindle Fire

Esri users can now access ArcGIS data and mapping capabilities on Kindle Fire. It is also available on iOS devices, Windows Phones, and other Android devices, letting users access, edit, and share maps. The free app can be downloaded directly from the Amazon Appstore.

www.esri.com

Open government data plan of Government of Canada

The Government of Canada has announced its Open Government Action Plan. The fundamental principle is the issuing of a government-wide directive that will make government information and data available to the public by default. The pilot Open Data Portal now has a total of over 272,000 data sets including geospatial data from 20 organizations.

http://geospatial.blogs.com

Efkon India to invest Rs 100 crore in the next 4-5 years

Efkon India will invest more than Rs 100 crore in the domestic urban transportation and highways tolling business over the next four to five years, company announced recently. It offers solutions for the transportation market including toll collection systems and services, holds about 50% market share in the segment. It operates two toll plazas on the Bangalore and Vijaywada highways. While toll system equipment and services make up the bulk of the company’s revenues, logistics management, GIS mapping and vehicle tracking system contribute 10%-15%.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Boeing releases geospatial data management tool

Boeing released DataMaster 5.1, an advanced version of its geospatial data tool that offers defence and intelligence community customers improved map, terrain and full-motion video management. Some of its features include: – Enhanced support for maps, imagery and terrain, including National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Raster Product Format and Digital Terrain Elevation Data,- Enhanced video text tagging for improved exploitation, management and retrieval of video, – The addition of a content manager for better control of the situational awareness (SA) view, which provides the user with a 3-D geospatial display of the collection, and – Expanded compatibility with Windows 7, RHEL 5 64-bit and Solaris 64-bit operating systems.

http://boeing.mediaroom.com

GIS based online disease surveillance system in India

The prototype of a Web-based application, which helps online tracking of communicable diseases such as swine flu and dengue at the level of primary health centres (PHCs) and provides the analytics to evolve emergency response and long-term epidemiological strategy, will be launched this month in Tiruvallur. The GIS application developed by a team at the unit of Environmental Health and Biotechnology, Loyola College, provides field staff and clinicians unique IDs and passwords for reporting disease using smart phones, basic mobiles or internetenabled computers.

www.thehindu.com

Intergraph® SmartPlant® P&ID ISO 15926 Export Utility

Intergraph® has released its SmartPlant® P&ID ISO 15926 Export Utility, a commercially available solution to support interfaces based on the ISO-based data exchange. It offers data exchange benefits between the process design schematics and the 3D physical design for engineering companies, as well as facility owners. This allows piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) to be exported in the ISO 15926 format, which means data as well as graphical content can be exchanged with other ISO-compliant plant design and information management solutions.

www.intergraph.com

NBN Co selects G NAF for accurate address information

NBN Co have entered into an agreement pursuant to which NBN Co will use Australia’s geocoded national address file, G NAF, for address information to support the planning, roll-out and operation of the national broadband network. Data by G NAF will be used to support NBN Co’s business. Developed and managed by PSMA Australia, G NAF provides an authoritative geocoded record of more than 13.2 million physical addresses in Australia, with an average of more than 50,000 new addresses added every three months.

www.psma.com.au

Annual utility spending on GIS tools and services $3.7 billion by 2017

Spatial data underlies everything an electric utility does. An intelligent power grid requires deep situational awareness of power generation, transmission, distribution, and customer assets in order to optimize performance and to meet reliability commitments. Land-based and street-level data, ownership/real estate, vegetation, network topology, GPS location data, census data, and many others forms of geospatial information are critical to the successful performance of the smart grid. According to a new report from Pike Research, utility spending on GIS services, software, and tools will increase steadily over the next five years, reaching $3.7 billion in 2017.

www.pikeresearch.com

New TRiLOC™ GPS Locator for Autism and Alzheimer’s

iLOC Technologies Inc. (iLOC) has announced the upcoming launch of TRiLOC™ GPS locator. It is a blend of cellular, GPS and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technologies. Designed specifically to be wrist worn by individuals with special needs such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Alzheimer’s disease, the TRiLOC™ GPS Locator can also be used by women in distress, lone workers, cruise ship & theme park patrons and many other applications.

www.iloctech.com

Where in the world is e-learning?

A pilot project is underway to boost entrants into the spatial information industry and raise skill levels for technicians through greater use of e-learning in the vocational education and training sector. The project has been supported through coinvestment of $100,000 from the Australian Government’s National VET E-Learning Strategy, backing over $260,000 in industry funding and in-kind services.“Surveying and geospatial technologies and services have been identified as the key to Australia’s future productivity,” says project director George Havakis. “However, there is a wide spread and serious skills shortage in all sectors of the industry at all technical levels, and with decreasing numbers of graduates from universities, this is expected to get worse.

www.cpsisc.com.au

Log on to end illegal logging

In a bid to reduce illegal logging cases, Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) has come up with a user-friendly website for Malaysians to monitor rainforests and alert the authorities over suspicious activities. Its executive director Alan Kirupakaran said that the website would provide a platform for stakeholders to become efficient monitors and hoped it would become an effective measure to conserve forests in Malaysia. “I believe with the co-operation of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), using simple tools like the Google Earth Geospatial Technology (satellite, imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D globe) will allow the public to become active participants in protecting our forests,”.

Getmapping Launches Maps API

Getmapping has launched its own ‘Maps API’ which enables customers to introduce interactive maps to their websites, or webbased applications. It provides access to Getmapping’s own hi-resolution aerial photography and high quality Ordnance Survey OpenData mapping, together with a comprehensive reverse geocoding service.

www.getmapping.com

18-year-long national mapping project ends

An 18-year-long project to produce a new series of geological maps of New Zealand has just finished. Known as QMAP (Quarter million scale map), the project started in 1994 and has produced 21 geological maps covering all parts of New Zealand. The series replaces earlier maps, mostly made in the 1960s, and has brought many improvements in accuracy and interpretation, as well as a versatile range of digital map products. The series is a world-first example of a national geological mapping project conceived and implemented using GIS technology.
http://www.voxy.co.nz

Government of India launches centre for crop forecast, drought assessment

The government of India has launched an integrated centre which will provide estimates of agricultural output and assess the drought situation in the country through latest technologies. The centre, in collaboration with ISRO, will also work towards preparing sub-district level drought assessment in the entire country. The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation prepares advance estimates of crop output through various technologies like remote sensing and GIS. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) through its programme the National Agriculture Drought Assessment and Monitoring System (NADAMS) provides data on drought assessment in various states during the monsoon season.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com