Solutions for future challenges facing our planet

The leading international trade fair for geodesy, geoinformation and land management – together with the CONFERENCE and its themed platforms INTERAERIAL SOLUTIONS, SMART CITY SOLUTIONS, GEOCAREER and GEOINNOVATION CAMPUS – drew in 20,000 visitors from over 100 countries to the exhibition halls in Stuttgart. This year, 705 exhibitors showcased their solutions surrounding geodesy, geo-IT, geoinformatics, building information modelling (BIM), drones and smart cities.

The place to be for pioneers

For the host, the German Society for Geodesy, Geoinformation and Land Management (DVW e.V.), this positive response is a sign of an industry thriving in the era of digitalisation. “Given all the challenges it is facing, our planet demands concerted action. INTERGEO provides experts with the ideal platform to tackle precisely these tasks. The multifaceted sector it serves is doing all it can to forge a positive future for our planet,” says Prof. Hansjörg Kutterer, President of the DVW. Today’s paramount topics – climate change, environmental protection, sustainable mobility, energy supply and agriculture, migration towards cities and metropolitan areas, and the huge gap within society – all call for know-how to bring innovations to life. After all, the innovations in question form the basis for the future.

Engineers, visionaries, startups and trend-setters

At the heart of INTERGEO are businesses, academic institutes and public administrative bodies that pull together like no other community to sustainably shape social trends with technology and digital solutions. Sound knowledge in engineering, visionary thinking and an extremely determined start-up mentality join forces to ensure we make the most of digitalisation. Where others only see problems, the geoindustry is already presenting solutions.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, INTERGEO is more relevant than ever before. “Boasting a healthy mix of high-calibre content, state-of-the-art technology and exhibitors from Germany and abroad, INTERGEO provides the crucial basis for sharing the ideas that bring innovations and developments to life,” says Christoph Hinte, responsible for managing the specialist trade fair.

Highly skilled in smart city development

City-focused solutions are increasingly coming to the fore at INTERGEO. The goal behind smart cities is to positively influence the lives of their ever-growing populations, using geodata and algorithms to gain practical knowledge as a decision-making tool. Digital twins of everything from buildings through to entire cities reveal the otherwise invisible and solve previous puzzles. They make it possible to take decisions in what used to be vacuums of knowledge. Smart cities, and within them digital BIM processes in the life cycle of buildings and infrastructure, are networked. As geographic information systems (GIS) and BIM merge, they will also tear down the barriers that still exist between IT silos.

Drones as true all-rounders

Interaerial Solutions (IASEXPO), complete with EXPO, the forum and its own flight zone, is Europe’s biggest B2B drone event dedicated to civilian uses. Leading drone suppliers from 20 countries presented their solutions and applications to an international audience of experts comprising top decision-makers from the global drone community, managers of major industrial corporations and political representatives. This year’s winner of the 3rd DRONE PIONEER AWARD (2019) and the € 5,000 prize money – sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)– is the Swiss company RIGITECH for its innovative Air Bridge cargo drone. The winner of the START-UP SESSION is Londonbased FLOCK for its innovative databased “pay-as-you-fly” insurance, which doesn’t involve any annual contracts or administration fees.

Making sense of a complex world

INTERGEO also played host to the 67th German Cartography Conference (DKK) organised by the German Society for Cartography (DGfK), which conveyed a message that neatly tied in with INTERGEO’s core focus. “If we want to be able to take the right decisions in an increasingly confusing world, we must cut down complexity,” says Prof. Jochen Schiewe, the DGfK’s new president. The DKK motto “Playing with an open hand” highlighted the role of free data, which is absolutely vital to making knowledge democratic.

Interactive and vibrant

This year’s INTERGEO involved an unparalleled level of communication – never before were the forums, discussions and panel events so full of life. 2019 saw formats such as the themed GEOCAREER platform and its new pendant GEOINNOVATION CAMPUS train renewed focus on recruitment and career opportunities. Buoyed by year-round international communications, the live event wows sponsors, exhibitors and visitors alike. In the words of Christoph Hinte: “We will not rest until all the wonderful developments in digital solutions for our planet have been brought together under the umbrella of INTERGEO.” Next year’s INTERGEO will take place from 13 to 15 October 2020 in Berlin. www.intergeo.de.