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PlanGraphics to Develop Emergency Preparedness GIS Plan for D.C. Agency PlanGraphics Inc. has been awarded a contract with the District of Columbia's Emergency Management Agency to develop a plan that will ensure that the appropriate geographic information system (GIS) resources are available to all agencies and staff involved in emergency response. The project will be coordinated through the District of Columbia's Office of the Chief Technology Officer. Following an initial research phase, PlanGraphics will recommend a GIS configuration for the Emergency Operations Center, an Emergency Preparedness GIS Action Plan, and broadly based GIS management practices. A key component of the design is the definition of Web site content that meets cross-departmental needs. The final phase entails the creation of a GIS database concept and systems integration recommendations, plus the development of an emergency GIS implementation plan. The project will draw on the extensive experience PlanGraphics gained in supporting New York City both before and after the terrorist attacks on September 11. PlanGraphics is a systems integration and implementation firm providing a wide range of services in the information technology field. For further information, please contact Jennifer Oberlin at PlanGraphics Inc., 112 East Main Street, Frankfort, KY 40601. Tel: (502) 223-1501. E-mail: [email protected]. ASPRS and MAPPS Sponsoring Fall 2003 Conference The Imaging & Geospatial Information Society (ASPRS), in conjunction with the Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS) are planning a Fall 2003 conference titled "Digital Terrain Data and 3D Visualization." This program will be held in Charleston, S.C., October 28-30, 2003. Proceedings open with a keynote address and then continue with technical sessions that cover applications, standards, technologies, and how to make them work for the end user. There will also be a poster session and vendor exhibits. A number of workshops will precede the conference on October 25-27. The two co-chairs for this conference are Mr. Kenneth Osborn from the USGS (Sacramento, Calif.) representing ASPRS, and Mr. Michael Bullock from Intermap Technologies Inc. (Englewood, Colo.) representing MAPPS. Founded in 1934, ASPRS is an international professional organization of 7000 geospatial data professionals, devoted to advancing knowledge and improving understanding of the mapping sciences that include photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems, and supporting technologies. MAPPS is a national trade association of more than 150 individual private-sector firms and their more than 5000 employees, engaged in photogrammetry, GIS, aerial photography and imagery, satellite remote sensing, hydrography, and related spatial data technologies. For further information, please contact Anna Marie Kinerney at ASPRS, 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 210, Bethesda, MD 20814. Tel: (301) 493-0290. E-mail: [email protected]. A call for presentations and more details of the conference, as they become available, will be posted simultaneously on the ASPRS website at www.asprs.org and the MAPPS website at www.mapps.org. Leica Geosystems Introduces New-Generation Digital Levels Leica Geosystems has introduced the new DNA10 and DNA03 digital levels, providing rapid, accurate solutions for a wide range of leveling applications, extending from topographic and construction surveys to first-order leveling and monitoring. The DNA10, with an accuracy rating of 0.9mm per kilometer, is suitable for cadastral and technical leveling. The DNA03 provides 0.3mm accuracy and is ideal for first- and second-order leveling as well as high-precision measurements. These new-generation digital levels feature a large, eight-line display plus an alphanumeric keypad with menu-prompted functionality, adapted from Leica's popular TPS700 series total stations. The "Measure and Record" function makes it easy for the operator to measure height differences and perform line leveling and stakeouts. Captured data can be automatically transferred to a desktop computer via a PCMCIA card or through a direct RS232 connection. Leica Geosystems manufactures systems for surveying, mapping and position determination. It is structured into six divisions: surveying and engineering, GIS and mapping, industrial measurement, special products, consumer products, and new business. For further information, please contact Carson Kennedy at Leica Geosystems Inc., 4855 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Suite 235, Norcross, GA 30092. Tel: (770) 447-6361. E-mail: [email protected]. Intelligent Street Map a "Hit" on Siegburg Web site The town of Siegburg (Germany) has equipped its communal Internet portal with a dynamic, vector-based street map. With the aid of SICAD Internet Map Service (SICAD-IMS), this NetMap application can directly access the local government's official database. At present, Siegburg is expanding its tourist information with e-government topics such as development planning and the latest traffic and construction site information. The added benefit of street map queries and rapid access to the latest information has led to a massive increase in traffic on the Siegburg Web site. When users access the digital street map, they are presented with a square orientation frame that marks their location of interest. Users can specify the level of detail for the street map either by defining the scale or simply by zooming with the mouse. Because of the vector-based presentation of the street map and its thematic layers, there is no loss of quality when zooming in or out. In addition to the functions for spatial orientation, tourist information and visualization, the administration is currently preparing its street map application for tasks relating to e-government. All essential information from the local planning sector should be available before the end of the current year. Users will then be able to access via the Internet the land-use plan, the overview map for building plans, and individual building plans along with relevant text. SICAD Geomatics GmbH & Co. is a GIS firm that focuses on the management of geographical data within enterprise-wide processes. For further information, please contact Andrea Schmitz at SICAD Geomatics, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, (D-81739) Munich, Germany. Tel: (49) 89-636-44731. E-mail: [email protected]. PCI Geomatics and Supresoft Team Up Geospatial solutions company PCI Geomatics and Supresoft Inc. (Hong Kong), a provider of technology and solutions for extraction, processing and application of geomatics data, have agreed on a new promotion and distribution partnership. This agreement establishes equal, bi-directional distribution of their popular geospatial technology products, thereby providing greater international market coverage for both companies. Geomatica is PCI's flagship product and its best-selling software solution, which unites remote sensing image processing, GIS and spatial analysis, cartography, and desktop photogrammetry into a single work environment. Supresoft's IMAGiS 2.2 offers advanced 3D GIS visualization based upon 3D environmental modeling and landscape reconstruction. PCI Geomatics will welcome Supresoft executives as they demonstrate IMAGiS 2.2 at the annual PCI Geomatics International Reseller Symposium in Ottawa, Canada. Supresoft will introduce PCI Geomatics representatives and Geomatica software solutions to their customers at the Supresoft Chinese User Conference 2002 in Sichuan, China. PCI Geomatics develops geomatics software and solutions in the remote sensing, digital photogrammetry, spatial analysis, and cartographic fields. For further information, please contact Anthony Melihen at PCI Geomatics, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Tel: (905) 764-0614. E-mail: [email protected]. GLOBAL Terrain Offers Discounted S.E. Asia Data Intermap Technologies has announced pricing discounts on its archived data of Southeast Asia, available through GLOBAL Terrain, Intermap's online terrain elevation data store. These price reductions pave the way for new data acquisitions in the area, which Intermap will commence later this quarter. Current pricing for the Southeast Asian archive data, which includes the islands of Java and Irian Jaya in Indonesia, has been reduced by nearly 40 percent. The elevation data has five-meter posts with three-meter RMSE vertical accuracy. Pricing for the orthorectified radar imagery has been reduced by a similar factor. The orthorectified radar imagery has a 2.5-meter pixel size and is a proven source of ground control for orthorectifying aerial or satellite imagery. Intermap acquires data over large areas and uses this material to generate maps, terrain elevation data, and orthorectified images in several highly automated production facilities. The company's maps are used in a wide range of applications that include planning and engineering projects, in navigation systems, and to enrich satellite images. For further information, please contact Garth Lawrence at Intermap Technologies, Denver, Colo. Tel: (303) 708-0955. E-mail: [email protected]. New Software Provides Web-Based Access to GIS Data Municipal and town governments, along with engineering firms and other organizations wishing to share CAD and GIS information files, now have access to a feature-rich tool that helps to redefine the concept of "user friendly." Full Circle Technologies recently introduced VectorEyes(tm), an interactive GIS viewing program that requires no installation or technical expertise to set up. This tiny program occupies minimal server space and requires no applet plug-in, while still providing full-featured, interactive, real-time capabilities that expand the possibilities of how GIS information can be shared. Supporting data files produced from GIS software such as ESRI ArcView(tm), ArcIMS(tm) and AutoCAD, VectorEyes acts as a companion product that provides direct access to GIS maps and information through common Web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Using copyrighted, patent-pending technology, VectorEyes eliminates expensive set-up, maintenance and training costs. The Java-based program and its related data files are copied into a folder on the server being utilized. There is no need for the user to download additional software to view the information as it is done from the familiarity of one's favorite Internet browser. The community of Brookline (Mass.) recently launched a VectorEyes project on its official Web site where visitors can view maps that show streets, school districts, parcels, open spaces, buildings, parks, bus stops, and other detailed data. The program allows viewers to scroll through maps in real time, providing the municipality with a whole new level of town/resident interaction. (View the Brookline site at http://gis.town.brookline.ma.us and select option #5) Full Circle Technologies provides customized GIS solutions for towns, county governments, municipalities and engineering firms, allowing real-time access to GIS map, property and engineering information. For further information, please contact Rajan Nanda at Full Circle Technologies Inc., Boston, Mass. Tel: (617) 367-3553. E-mail: [email protected]. CompassCom Wins Fremont (Calif.) AVL Contract CompassCom Inc. has been awarded the contract to provide an Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) and Asset Tracking System to the city of Fremont, Calif. Fremont will use the CompassCom AVL system to track its fleet of public works vehicles. The CompassCom AVL system will enable Fremont to monitor the real-time location of public works vehicles on a computerized map display. This capability enhances the safety of drivers and allows public works departments to dispatch vehicles in a more efficient manner. The CompassCom AVL solution purchased by Fremont includes two components. CompassTrac(tm) is the asset-tracking component of the CompassCom system, which displays the real-time location and status of vehicles on a digital map. CompassFDE(tm) is universal AVL server software that simultaneously receives vehicle location and status data for multiple fleets over a wireless communication network. Serving as prime contractor for implementation, CompassCom has partnered with Intuicom Inc. (Boulder, Colo.) to provide a fully integrated, high-speed wireless network to support this AVL system. The broadband wireless communications network will enable real-time transmission of vehicle location, status and other data among Fremont dispatchers, vehicle operators, and system planners. CompassCom is a product and service provider for Global Positioning System (GPS), Geographic Information System (GIS), and Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) markets, offering complete GPS and GIS solutions as a business partner with Trimble Navigation, ESRI, AT&T Wireless and Intuicom. For further information please contact Kevin Corbley at CompassCom Inc., 6770 S. Dawson Circle, Unit 1A, Centennial, CO 80112 Tel: (303) 979-3232. Web address: www.compasscom.com. ECOSUR Adopts Idrisi for Research on Sustainability El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) in Mexico has adopted Idrisi software to monitor land-use change and simulate the effects of such change in the southern Yucatan peninsular region. ECOSUR is a government-funded research institute that specializes in sustainable development issues throughout southern Mexico. It is composed of five research units -- Tapachula, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chetumal, Campeche and Villahermosa -- located in the Mexican states that border Guatemala and Belize and make up the Mexican portion of what was the Mayan Empire in antiquity. The Graduate School of Geography of Clark University (Worcester, Mass.) and ECOSUR have collaborated over the last four years in a NASA-LCLUC and NSF-CMU financed project titled "Land cover and land-use changes in the southern Yucatan peninsular region." This project aims at developing the data and instruments that may help to detect and understand the socioeconomic and environmental effects of land-change in the region -- with an eye on biodiversity and carbon storage -- in the last continuous area of forest in Mesoamerica, also known as the Maya forest. The southern part of the Yucatan peninsula was the scene of the Late Classic Maya culture until about the year A.D. 900. Today it is dominated by the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve and is part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. It has also been home to large former "chicle" (the prime material for chewing gum) collecting communities and, more recently, farming communities that are increasingly engaged in chili production. During the last 30 years there has been a strong increase in population as well. ECOSUR will incorporate a variety of data in their research including satellite imagery, vegetation, flora and fauna data, and population and socioeconomic data. By using Idrisi's decision support and simulation tools, the researchers at ECOSUR will be able to measure and evaluate the effects of certain land-use and deforestation decisions on the biodiversity and carbon balance of the area. For more than 15 years, researchers of ECOSUR have been working in this area on ecological, economic and social issues. Together with Clark University and a team of other U.S. universities, they are looking to integrate this knowledge into instruments that may help establish a reasonable relation between society and nature. The use of satellite imagery is indispensable for this work. Until recently, only a few ECOSUR researchers had been trained in image analysis. For further information, please contact Laurie Canavan at Clark Labs, Worcester, Mass. Tel: (508) 793-7526. E-mail: [email protected]. MDC Awards Sewall Large Mapping Contract The Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), headquartered in Hartford, Conn., has awarded national GIS firm James W. Sewall Company a contract to map nine towns in the state, including Bloomfield, Hartford, East and West Hartford, Newington, Portland, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield and Windsor. Sewall will obtain color aerial photography, develop planimetric mapping and topographic mapping, and produce digital orthophotography compatible with MDC's existing GIS. Chartered by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1929, the Metropolitan District is a non-profit municipal corporation that provides a quality water supply, water pollution control, mapping, and household hazardous waste collection to eight member municipalities, as well as to portions of other towns throughout the region. With one of the oldest continuous mapping programs nationwide, the MDC has developed maps since 1929 and began its GIS implementation in 1988. For this new project, Sewall is under contract to obtain aerial photography of a 182-square-mile area at a scale of 1"=600'. During these missions, Sewall will use inertial sensory measurement, in conjunction with airborne GPS, to directly georeference the photography. The use of these technologies will eliminate the need for aerial triangulation in the mapping process, thereby accelerating the schedule of the project and reducing its cost. From the photography, Sewall will compile 1"=80'-scale planimetric mapping, develop topographic mapping with two-foot contours, and produce digital orthophotography at half-foot-pixel resolution. This two-year project is slated for completion in spring 2004. Sewall provides comprehensive GIS consulting, data conversion, and data acquisition services to government, utility companies, and the forest industry. For further information, please contact Lisa Schoonmaker at James W. Sewall Co., Old Town, Maine. Tel: (207) 827-4456. E-mail: [email protected]. PlanGraphics Receives SoCal Water District Contracts PlanGraphics Inc., teaming with ESRI and Landata Airborne Systems, has been awarded two open-ended contracts with the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California's Engineering and Information Technologies Divisions to provide engineering, data integration, and implementation services. The MWD is a consortium of 26 cities and water districts that supplies drinking water to nearly 17 million people throughout southern California. PlanGraphics will assist MWD's Engineering and Information Technologies Divisions with mapping and consulting services. MWD plans to use GIS and IT for planning and analysis of various capital improvement projects, as well as to streamline their data architectures, to identify system integration and data optimization procedures, and to enhance their internal systems and applications. PlanGraphics is a systems integration and implementation firm that provides IT design and implementation services in both public and commercial sectors. For further information, please visit the company's Web site at www.plangraphics.com. iPIX GPS Mapping System Now Available The iPIX GPS Mapping System combines Geographic Information System (GIS) map-editing software, Global Positioning System (GPS) precision locating data, and iPIX immersive images to capture, create and output interactive visual maps. GeoBuilder is the new automated immersive image creation software from iPIX's that, together with powerful geo-referenced map creation software from Red Hen Systems, automatically locates GPS-coded iPIX images into interactive maps. Fusing iPIX immersive images with traditional still images and geo-positioning data, iPIX GPS Mapping System creates information-rich maps that are compatible with GIS industry standards and can also be viewed on the Internet. Key features and benefits of the iPIX GPS Mapping System include:
For further information please contact Internet Pictures Corp. (iPix), 1009 Commerce Park Drive, Suite 400, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Tel: (865) 482-3000. E-mail: [email protected]. Intermap/Boeing Autometric Team Receive Additional Funding for Processing Worldwide Shuttle Mapping Mission Data Intermap Technologies has received additional funding to support the processing of topographic data from the NASA Shuttle Radar Topographic Mapping (SRTM) mission. This mission collected topographic data on a nearly worldwide basis during its flight. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) sponsored the SRTM processing. The SRTM mission, which flew on NASA's Space Shuttle in February 2000, provided the first nearly worldwide radar coverage that allows for the creation of three-dimensional digital elevation model (DEM) maps stretching from 60 degrees north latitude to 56 south latitude. Intermap acquires data over large areas and uses this material to generate maps, terrain elevation data, and orthorectified images in several highly automated production facilities. The company's maps are used in a wide range of applications that include planning and engineering projects, in navigation systems, and to enrich satellite images. For further information, please contact Garth Lawrence at Intermap Technologies, Denver, Colo. Tel: (303) 708-0955. E-mail: [email protected]. RSI Supports Safe Vessel Navigation in the Icy Waters off Greenland RADARSAT International (RSI) and the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) have signed a contract for the near real-time processing and delivery of RADARSAT-1 and ENVISAT data. The contract runs until December 31, 2003, and ensures that DMI will receive time-sensitive imagery for creating ice charts and reports. This critical information is delivered from DMI to the bridge of ships that navigate the Greenland Sea to ensure their safe passage. Founded in 1872, DMI provides meteorological and related services for the region of the Kingdom of Denmark -- Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland -- including surrounding waters and airspace. DMI's activities include forecasting and warning services, plus the continuous monitoring of weather, sea state, climate, and related environmental conditions in the atmosphere, over land, and at sea. Additionally, DMI is responsible for the operational mapping of sea ice in Greenland waters. RADARSAT-1 data is delivered to DMI from a network of three RADARSAT-1 ground stations: the Canadian Data Processing Facility in Canada, QinetiQ in Scotland, and Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) in Norway. These stations receive and process the RADARSAT-1 data in near-real time, and then send it electronically over the Internet to DMI within two to four hours of data acquisition. The pairing of RADARSAT-1 and ENVISAT data increases the coverage availability over the Greenland Sea, in particular the hazardous Cape Farewell region. DMI has operationally incorporated RADARSAT-1 data into their ice services since 1999. This has led to the need for using ice reconnaissance airplanes from a year-round basis to only about two-and-a-half months a year. RSI, a subsidiary of MacDonald Dettwiler, provides Earth-observation data and derived information products to support global applications ranging from environmental monitoring and natural resource management to marine oil surveillance, defense, and mapping. For further information, please contact Kate Stephens at RADARSAT International, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Tel: (604) 231-5000. E-mail: [email protected]. INTERGEO 2002 -- Solid as a Rock INTERGEO 2002, the world's largest convention in the geodesics and geographical information industry, will be held October 16-18 at the Messe Frankfurt (Germany) Fairgrounds. INTERGEO is traditionally a combination of a trade fair and a congress. More than 200 major exhibitors and some 200 smaller exhibitors will share over 24,000 square meters of space with the congress. The INTERGEO professional congress will be composed of some 30 forums and symposiums dealing with such important topics as "Global and National Challenges Facing Land Surveying," and geographical information from remote acquisition systems. The European Business School at Oestrich-Winkel (Germany) will also participate in this year's event, making a contribution to such topics as land policies, real estate assessment, GNSS strategies and geodynamics. Representatives of this organization will also provide information on Galileo, Europe's pending satellite navigation system. For further information on INTERGEO 2002, please visit the organizer's Web site at www.intergeo.de. Applied Geographics Helps MassGIS with Emergency Preparedness The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has contracted with Applied Geographics Inc. (AGI) to provide geographic database design and support services for the Boston Preparedness Pilot Project. Funding and project participation was provided through the Executive Office of Administration & Finance (EOAF) and the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) MassGIS program and a variety of Federal agencies. This pilot was initiated in response to the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) 120 Cities Project, an effort to engage state and local agencies in gathering and maintaining important geospatial data in support of homeland defense and emergency preparedness. AGI's role was to assist MassGIS in the efficient development of data from multiple state and local, public- and private sector sources. AGI worked closely with MassGIS on the identification of critical data sets, the design of the geographic database, and the development of several innovative data management tools. MassGIS is the Commonwealth's office of geographic and environmental information. Through MassGIS, the Commonwealth has created a comprehensive, statewide database of spatial information for environmental planning and management. Recent legislation has established MassGIS as the official state agency assigned to the collection, storage and dissemination of geographic data. Applied Geographics provides GIS services to markets that include facilities and environmental management, healthcare and health services, plus federal, state, and local government. For further information, please contact Thomas Harrington, Jr. at AGI, Boston, Mass. Tel: (617) 292-7125. E-mail: [email protected]. Surdex Adopts New Sales Approach Surdex Corp. has adopted a new sales approach in an effort to reach out and help existing and prospective clients. By developing a true understanding of each customer's needs, Surdex will be in a position to offer a complete solution tailored specifically to achieve every client's ultimate mapping objectives. Randy Burkham has been promoted to the position of executive vice president and will oversee the customer solutions division. Brian Mayfield will serve as vice president of project design for all county and municipal work beyond the southeast region. In addition, John Montague and Becky Culp will continue as business development personnel in the company's southeast and Florida regions. Surdex provides geo-spatial services for municipal, county, state, federal, and private agencies interested in the acquisition of geo-spatial data, GIS applications, and enterprise solutions for their respective markets. For further information, please contact Tracy Mayfield at Surdex Corp., St. Louis, Mo. Tel: (636) 532-3427. Web address: www.surdex.com. Intermap Awarded National Digital Terrain Model Contract in England and Wales Intermap Technologies has reached agreement with the Environment Agency of England and Wales to use its NEXTMap Britain data set of highly accurate digital maps that cover those two countries. These digital maps will be delivered as Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) and sourced from Intermap's precedent-setting NEXTMap Britain Program. The Environment Agency intends to use the DTM to support their Flood Mapping Program, a key component of recently announced advances on flood defense.
The NEXTMap Britain Program is the first time that terrain elevation mapping of an entire nation has been undertaken at such high levels of accuracy and resolution, all funded and executed solely by the private sector. This program provides customers with highly accurate Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) including Digital Surface Models (DSMs) and Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) for the entire country. The ground surface will be modeled in detail, as an elevation point will be provided every five meters. All of Britain will be covered using technology that provides one-meter vertical accuracy. In selected areas, a second set of mapping data will be provided to a vertical accuracy of 50 centimeters. For further information, please contact Hugh MacKay at Intermap Technologies. His e-mail address is [email protected]. ESRI's ArcGIS Selected for Citywide Cleveland GIS Pilot The city of Cleveland (Ohio) has selected ESRI to be the core software provider for a pilot implementation of its citywide geographic information system (GIS). ESRI will supply ArcGIS software and training as the city's aggressive four-year program gets underway. With a clear vision of having an enterprise-level, fully integrated suite of GIS applications in place, Cleveland brought engineering firm MWH (Pasadena, Calif.) on board to design and implement the system. Beginning in May 2001, MWH consultants conducted a comprehensive needs assessment of the city's workflow that identified more than 150 best-practices opportunities with respect to GIS technology, pinpointing 48 potential GIS applications. MWH assisted the city in evaluating and selecting the software and developing the data models and the enterprise system for sharing the data. When the GIS development is completed in 2005, it is estimated that there will be more than 2000 GIS users citywide. ESRI is a developer of GIS software that also provides consulting, implementation, and technical support services. For further information, please contact Nancy Sappington at ESRI, 380 New York St., Redlands CA 92373. Tel: (909) 793-2853. E-mail: [email protected].
Vexcel to Develop Subsidence Monitoring Program for Arizona Water Agency Vexcel Corp. has been awarded a three-year contract with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) and the Center for Space Research (University of Texas, Austin) to provide a system that will monitor ground elevation changes that occur as a result of groundwater extraction. Vexcel's approach uses synthetic aperture radar data from satellites and differential interferometry (DIFSAR) technology to address the needs of ADWR and those of the broader water resource community. The program originates from NASA's Earth Science Office. Groundwater extraction, especially in areas of growing population, can produce ground sinking (subsidence) when water extraction exceeds aquifer recharge rates. Potential impact of the resultant ground deformation includes damage to buildings, roads and underground pipes. According to the National Research Council, the price tag for flooding and structural damage associated with subsidence exceeded $125 million per year as of the early 1990s. Vexcel will implement DIFSAR technology to operationally monitor Arizona's subsidence. This system will include retrieving data from satellite radar sensors, evaluating and processing the data, and interpreting, formatting and presenting calibrated subsidence information to maximize utility to the user. Through interferometric technology, DIFSAR uses synthetic aperture radar data from satellites to provide sensitive measurement of ground motion. Interferometry enables the collection of measurements of ground displacement by comparing electromagnetic signals collected at two different times. Vexcel is currently developing a refinement of DIFSAR that utilizes Coherent Target Monitoring (CTM). As an emerging technology that mitigates difficulties resulting from interference by vegetation and water atmospheric vapor, CTM will make the application even more robust. NASA is funding the ADWR project as part of its goal to extend space technology to commercial applications. Vexcel will ultimately offer this operational subsidence monitoring capability as a service to the entire U.S. water resource community. Vexcel is a remote sensing company that specializes in radar (SAR) technologies,
remote sensing ground stations, and aerial and close-range photogrammetry.
For further information, please contact Elizabeth Gold at Vexcel Corp.,
4909 Nautilus Court, Boulder, CO 80301. Tel: (303) 583-0252. New Spatial Plan for Tuzla Canton in Bosnia-Herzegovina PROGIS Software AG and the information technology company GAUSS, along with the PROGIS business partner in Bosnia-Herzegovina, have been selected to develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) for Tuzla Canton and its municipalities. GIS will be an important tool in the development of the new spatial plan for Tuzla and for more innovative public involvement in planning. The Urban Institute of Tuzla (UIT) has received initial funding from the Cantonal Assembly to begin the preparation of a new spatial plan for the canton. This plan will set out the future of growth, the development and protection of land and resources, the location of homes and jobs, and the pattern of transportation for the region. In particular, the Canadian Urban Institute will assist the UIT in incorporating participatory approaches in the preparation of the plan. It is envisioned that this process will form the foundation for responsible planning in government management at the local level well into the future. PROGIS is a software company dedicated to the development of a wide range of desktop GIS solutions. For further information, please contact Silvia Druml at PROGIS Software AG, Postgasse 6, (A-9500) Villach, Austria. Tel: (43) 4242-26332. E-mail: [email protected]. Seamless Data Exchange to be Created Between TeraScan(r) and ERDAS IMAGINE(r) The GIS & Mapping Division of Leica Geosystems has teamed up with SeaSpace Corp. to create a seamless data transfer between ERDAS IMAGINE(r) and TeraScan(r). This joint development project will create a DLL (dynamically linked library) to directly read TeraScan TDF format files into ERDAS IMAGINE without using a third-party format. This capability will be available for ERDAS IMAGINE on both Windows and Solaris platforms, and will work for TDF files made in any version of TeraScan or TeraVision. This means that both archived and current TDF files will be readily accessible for further enhancement within ERDAS IMAGINE. The ERDAS IMAGINE product suite is a geographic image-processing software system that allows users to manipulate, visualize and integrate any type of geospatial data into a 2D or 3D environment. ERDAS IMAGINE products are commonly used for oil/gas/mineral exploration, natural resources management, urban and regional planning, environmental monitoring, forestry, academia, engineering, telecommunications, utilities, cartography, oceanography, meteorology, hydrology and military applications. SeaSpace TeraScan ground receiving stations are used worldwide for reception of direct broadcast data from most satellite systems, including L-, S- and X-band telemetries. For further information, please contact the GIS & Mapping Division of Leica Geosystems by telephone at (404) 248-9000, or on the Web at www.gis.leica-geosystems.com. Bentley Releases GeoGraphics for MicroStationV8 Bentley Systems Inc. has released its V8 Generation version of MicroStation GeoGraphics, the mapping and geospatial configuration for MicroStation V8. With its native support for MGE data and robust mapping, imaging and spatial analysis tools, MicroStation GeoGraphics is the foundation product of Bentley's geospatial product line. Other Bentley geospatial offerings include MicroStation Descartes(tm) for image mapping and raster-to-vector conversion, GeoOutlook(r) for decision support, Bentley Publisher(tm) for Internet map publishing, and various solutions for network design, water and wastewater management, spatial asset management, and other applications. MicroStation GeoGraphics V8 has been upgraded to take full advantage of enhancements to MicroStation V8. Among the new V8-related features are unlimited file size, automatic reference file transformations, live nested references, Oracle9i Spatial/Locator support, unlimited named levels, expanded cell and cell-library names, unlimited undo, and true-type text support. Other improvements include on-the-fly coordinate transformations, incorporation of Bentley's GeoCoordinator(tm) tools for projection management, new placement and topological analysis tools, support for MrSID and ECW raster compression formats, the ability to seamlessly integrate 2D and 3D data, and incorporation of MicroStation's high-performance Raster Manager. Bentley Systems Inc. provides software solutions to create, manage and publish architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) content. For further information, please contact Michelle Rudiman at Bentley Systems, Exton, Penn. Tel: (610) 458-2798. E-mail: [email protected]. Sensor Systems Updates RemoteView Software Sensor Systems has released version 2.2 of its RemoteView Professional for Windows 2000/XP/NT platforms. RemoteView Professional brings new features to its users, such as the ability to create "on-the-fly" orthophotos, advanced graphical functions, and automatic search-and-review analyses. RemoteView Professional 2.2 allows users to create real-time, map-accurate, orthorectified images using either rational coefficients or rigorous camera models along with the associated digital elevation data. RemoteView will exploit Lidar data and perform volumetric calculations, and users can take advantage of the increased geospatial accuracy of high-resolution imagery due to sensor camera model support for the QuickBird and Ikonos imaging satellites, and for Image America's digital aerial camera. Additional vector tools have been added, making the extraction and editing of vector data easier than before. A polygon/polyline convolution tool allows users to extract irregularly shaped vectors without performing heads-up digitization, and individual vector records can be split or joined. RemoteView continues to offer the user the ability to extract vectors over large images while roaming, zooming in and out, and enhancing images such as looking into shadowed areas, all without having to stop and re-start the vectorization process. Sensor Systems develops desktop applications for the rapid visualization and analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery. The company's RemoteView product family provides solutions ranging from simple desktop viewers to sophisticated mapping, cartography and geodesy applications. For further information, please contact Sensor Systems (Sterling, Va.) by telephone at (703) 437-7651, or via e-mail at [email protected]. KHEOPS Technologies Signs Toronto Distributor Banff Technologies has been named a distributor for KHEOPS Technologies throughout the greater Toronto (Ontario, Canada) area. Since 2001, Banff has provided information technology (IT) services with a strong emphasis on Java, XML, and other Web-based technologies. KHEOPS is the creator of Jmap, a fully Java-based Web GIS for data publishing. This Web-mapping solution derives maximum benefit from using the Java 2 platform, and it offers significant portability whether in a traditional (wired) or wireless mode, and from either the server or the client side. KHEOPS Technologies specializes in geographic information systems (GIS) products, offering geomatic solutions through its development of downloadable client/server technology in Web browser distribution and viewing of georeferenced data. For further information, please contact Maxim Toupin at KHEOPS Technologies, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Tel: (514) 285-1211. E-mail: [email protected].
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