| OGC CALLS FOR PARTICIPATION IN Geospatial Fusion Testbed
The Open GIS Consortium, Inc. (OGC) released a Request For Quotation (RFQ) to solicit technology proposals for the OGC Geospatial Fusion Services Testbed. OGC, in collaboration with In-Q-Tel (http://www.in-q-tel.com), will provide cost-sharing funds to partially offset expenses associated with the project. OGC seeks as many participants as possible who can enhance and/or make use of the GFS Testbed. The OGC RFQ and Call for Participation are available online at http://www.opengis.org/gfs/.
The GFS Testbed Project is designed to support In-Q-Tel and its sponsor, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Much of the data gathered in the world has a geospatial component that is very important, but because it is usually "located" manually it is not always possible to do more complex analyses. This testbed is targeted to automate the fusion' of inherent geospatial characteristics into an overall information framework. The interfaces for the automation technologies, which we call the "Location Organizer", will form the foundation for future phases.
Proposals are due on May 17, 2000. Phase 1 work is scheduled to complete by mid-October of this year. The project may have multiple phases. Phase One involves advancing a prototype information discovery, dissemination, and visualization framework based on interoperable OpenGIS web mapping technologies developed in OGC's 1999 Web Mapping Testbed, and the current OGC WMT USL Pilot Project.
The existing prototype will become the foundation Location Organizer. The Location Organizer will support tailored fusion of data so users can automatically arrive at conclusions that are either manually accomplished today, or not accomplished at all. Follow on phases will concentrate on fusion and maintenance of the underlying geospatial data themselves, distributed decision support, analytical services, and tailored visualizations of data. Though based on capabilities developed in the 1999 testbed, and the 2000 USL Pilot, the first phase of the project will likely extend current OpenGIS web mapping specifications to include the capability to encode spatio-temporal objects in the Geography Markup Language and to create and update geographic information across the Web regardless of differences between different vendors' software.
It is the OGC's intention to coordinate this Testbed with the Web Mapping 2 Testbed, an RFQ for that is scheduled for public release on April 28, 2000.
For more information, contact: Lance McKee, Vice President, Corporate Communications The Open GIS Consortium, Inc., 35 Main Street, Wayland, MA 01603 USA tel: +1-508-655-5858, fax: +1-508-655-2237, e-mail: [email protected] www.opengis.org
ScottishPower Rolls Out ICL GIS Solution
ScottishPower's Manweb region in Wales and England will receive a boost when a new $815,000 (£500,000) Geographic Information System (GIS) will be integrated with asset management applications and rolled out by ICL, the e-Business services company.
The incumbent GIS solution, by Smallworld, will be replaced by ICL's Integrated Mapping System (IMS), to consolidate ScottishPower's key plant and circuit data into a common GIS and asset management solution.
ICL has supplied the software and services, which will enable ScottishPower to migrate the Manweb geographic data and fully incorporate it into ScottishPower's Advanced Asset Management strategy. This, forms part of a multi-million pound, ongoing ICL program with ScottishPower for consultancy services, applications and customized software.
IMS and the asset repositories, including ICL's Udb application, hold data on substations, circuits and the total electricity transmission and distribution network and will be used by more than 500 people including managers, draftsmen and clerical staff. Engineers, for example, will have consistent access to the location and maintenance status of ScottishPower's assets and will be able to perform checks and update records from the desktop, remote locations or in the field through an asset inspection system.
ICL's solution also means that ScottishPower meets the regulatory requirements to supply the most current asset information to external suppliers and third party organizations. So organizations such as British Telecom, Transco and CableTel will also have access to ScottishPower's multi-million dollar electronic map base via the Internet. This builds on ScottishPower's aim to deliver information over the Internet to key utility partners. The introduction of the GIS licenses underpins ScottishPower's Asset Management 2000 program, which provides a framework for competitive advantage.
ICL's utilities business in North America, based in Reston, Va., specializes in information technology for utilities, providing solutions for electric and gas utility companies that help improve their performance in an increasingly competitive and deregulated industry. For more information, visit ICL's website: www.icl.com
City of Snohomish Chooses 3Di to Update Digital Maps
3Di, LLC (3Di) announced it has been awarded the 2000 Photogrammetric and Topographic Update Mapping Services Project for the City of Snohomish in Washington State. The contract calls for 3Di to provide computerized planimetric and topographic mapping along with color digital orthophotography for the City of Snohomish, located just north of Seattle and east of Everett. In addition, 3Di is responsible for collecting and seamlessly integrating new utility feature point data, using field GPS techniques. Utility features such as sanitary and storm sewer manholes, water valves, fire hydrants and catch basins will be dynamically added to the updated base mapping.
"The planners and utility managers of the City of Snohomish will continue to save time and money by relying on digital mapping data as a management tool for better decision making," said Scott Russell, Regional Business Development Manager with 3Di. This new mapping will update data collected in 1995 by the Oregon office of 3Di. In addition, the new utility feature data will enable faster response time for new construction, repair work and overall maintenance of the various utility infrastructures. "By adding this wide-spread collection of utility data into the basemap, the City of Snohomish will have a comprehensive source for managing systems and their relationships to other features and attributes, such as housing communities, flood zones and historical areas."
3Di will be delivering updated planimetric and topographic data in AutoCAD 2000 format. Color digital orthophotography with a 0.5-foot ground pixel resolution will also be produced in a tagged image file format (TIFF) and in an Earth Resource Mapping's enhanced compressed wavelet (ECW) compressed file format.
The City of Snohomish chose 3Di for the project based on the company's qualifications and knowledge of the City's datasets. "3Di offered a total solution to our mapping needs," said Renee LaPointe, with the City of Snohomish. "With the base mapping and the utility feature collection all coming from one-source, the City will have reliable data that's also easy to use for a variety of departments. 3Di showed they had the best qualifications for getting the job done to our desired specifications."
3Di's qualifications for winning this project include a proven process for extracting existing datasets, identifying where change has occurred, determining how to update changed features and seamlessly plugging in those new data components in the master dataset. 3Di has started the work for this project by acquiring new "leaf-off" aerial photography. Delivery of the final product is expected to occur in 2000. For more information, contact Scott Russell, 3Di, LLC, 541-343-8877, [email protected] Or visit 3DI on the Internet at www.3dillc.com 3Di, LLC
MapObjects-Based Application Inducted into Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
ESRI announced that a law enforcement software application built using ESRI's MapObjects embeddable mapping components has been included in the Smithsonian Institute's 2000 Information Technology Innovation Collection. The collection, which was formally inducted into the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History on April 3, 2000, represents the year's most innovative applications of technology from twenty-one countries.
MapObjects is used in conjunction with ShotSpotter from Trilon Technology, LLC, and Bradshaw Consulting Services, Inc. (BCS), as well as The Communicator! from Dialogic Communications Corporation (DCC), to form an innovative solution for reducing illicit gunfire in urban areas. According to Tony Bradshaw, BCS president, MapObjects basically acts as the link between ShotSpotter and The Communicator!.
ShotSpotter first detects gunfire by means of a set of specialized microphones strategically placed around high-crime areas. It then uses MapObjects to locate exactly where the shots were fired. MapObjects generates map and aerial photograph displays and provides law enforcement with the name, address, and phone number of the home or business closest to the gunshot activity. This information is then used by The Communicator! to initiate a system of rapid notification to area residents. "MapObjects is the ideal tool for providing the mapping and identification capabilities that are essential to this application," says Bradshaw. ShotSpotter and The Communicator! were nominated for induction into the Smithsonian by William H. Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation. ESRI can be found on the Web at www.esri.com.
ESRI Opens Office in New York City
ESRI announced the formation of a new regional office based in New York City that will provide support to existing ESRI customers and will explore new marketing and sales opportunities. The New York City office will provide geographic information system (GIS) software and services for the full spectrum of GIS customers, from single installation sites to large, enterprise implementations involving application development, customization, and systems integration activities.
"The New York City area is realizing an enormous boom in GIS activity, and we want to be able to provide the best software and services possible, so this new office is really coming at the right time," said Jack Dangermond, president, ESRI. "The new office will enhance the use of GIS for current New York City customers and will extend development of new application areas. A number of key industries will be served including government, banking, health care, insurance, retail, real estate, media, and others."
The new office was opened, in part, to meet the anticipated increased demand for GIS technologies spurred from the City of New York's GIS mapping project, which will result in the completion of a detailed, data rich basemap of the greater New York City metropolitan area. The detailed map project will benefit many current local, state, and federal government GIS users. In addition, the availability of the base data will most likely spur a new wave of GIS users who will take advantage of spatial technologies to analyze and display the GIS data.
"This is the first basemap of its kind for New York City, in the sense that it will contain much more detail and will be more accurate than anything available at the present time," says Susan Gleason, manager, New York City office, ESRI. "This basemap has fueled a lot of interest in the use of GIS in government. When you combine this with the fact that New York City is also the home of so many Fortune 500 companies, we are excited to expose these companies to how GIS can help them in their business. We look forward to the work ahead of us."
"We are excited about the new office opening and what it means for GIS users in New York City," says Al Leidner, director of the City-wide GIS project, New York City. "ESRI has played a role all along in the City's GIS projects. A number of government agencies in the City have already selected ESRI as their standard GIS package, and we expect the new office will help support them and help advance how they use GIS in their business."
The new office is located at: 233 Broadway, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10279, Tel.: 212-349-3700, Fax: 212-349-4114
Kodak Introduces Innovative New Aerial Film Product
Aerial Imaging, a commercial business within Eastman Kodak Company's Commercial & Government Systems Division (C&GS), announced the launch of its newest aerial film product, Kodak Aerocolor III negative film 2444.
"Aerocolor III is the next generation of color aerial film technology," said Daniel Brake, general manager of Aerial Imaging at Kodak C&GS. "This product will exceed customer expectations by providing unprecedented image quality and breakthrough improvements in processing technology." Kevin Johnson of 3Di Florida says, "Kodak's new 2444 film gives us sharper negatives and increased speed, enabling us to produce products far superior to what is currently available." Furthermore, the use of 2444 enables delivery of image products with greater information content and an improved visual impact.
The Kodak Aerocolor III negative film is an unmasked medium speed very fine-grain color negative aerial film. In addition to the superior image quality gained from the film's fine grain, the speed and the wide exposure latitude provide increased exposure flexibility. Designed for general use in medium to high altitude aerial-mapping, surveying, and general land management photography. Aerocolor III is also recommended for use in digital film recorders, serving as both an acquisition and output film.
Aerocolor III is the world's first unmasked color negative aerial film to be designed for processing in Flexicolor chemicals for process C-41. "We listened to our customers and delivered on their recommendations" said Steve Mango, Aerial Imaging's product development manager. In addition, a newly formulated developer, Kodak AN-6, has been introduced for those desiring faster development times. The patent-pending AN-6 developer technology speeds up the development time by nearly 40% for equivalent results when compared to Flexicolor chemicals. AN-6 developer also requires less work and chemicals than the current AN-5 developer. Contrast can be easily tailored using the C-41 process, making 2444 suitable for a wide variety of applications. Aerocolor III replaces Aerocolor II film 2445. This new film provides static protection and is highly scratch resistant producing cleaner scans and reproductions. An antihalation undercoat allows the film to maintain outstanding highlight sharpness. The film, an ISO-A equivalent 125, (approximately ISO 320) is one stop faster than its predecessor, increasing image capture opportunities under less-than-ideal conditions. It reduces the effects of atmospheric haze and provides better image quality and contrast by incorporating an ultraviolet-absorbing filter. Refrigeration with this film is not critical—both when unexposed and exposed—making it easier to store and manage inventory, especially when used in remote locations.
Kodak's Aerial Imaging unit is the leading provider of high-resolution aerial imaging products and services worldwide, including camera and duplicating films in black-and-white, infrared and color for topographical and structural surveys, GIS, mapping, agriculture, environmental protection, photogrammetry, land management and urban planning. (Kodak, Aerocolor and Flexicolor are trademarks.)
Editor's Note: For more information about Kodak, visit our web site on the Internet at: www.kodak.com.
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