GEO: connexion articles from November 2003

GEO: connexion archives from November 2003

Joining the rich man's club.(upfront)
November 1, 2003... * September's launch of the Nigeriasat-I Earth Observation satellite from Russia's Plesetsk Cosmodrome seems to have raised eyebrows in some quarters, Critics point to the cost of Nigeria's first-ever space platform, albeit a piffling 18...

Forestry from the air.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * Definiens Imaging (Munich, Germany) has announce that eCognition forester 1.0, a tool to automatically identify individual conifer tree crowns from aerial photographs, will be released worldwide by the end of this year. Based on...

Racurs software heads east.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * RACURS Co (Moscow, Russia) has supplied 28 PHOTOMOD digital photogrammetric software systems to the Federal Land Survey Cadastre centres in Irkutsk in Russia's Far East and to Saratov, en industrial city on the Volga River, some 750 Km...

Aerodata colours the Netherlands.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * Aerodata International Surveys (Antwerp, Belgium) has completed a full colour aerial photographic survey of The Netherlands. The project was awarded to the company by The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture in May 2003 following a competition...

Austrian camera wins US acclaim.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * UltraCam-D large format aerial cameras, manufactured in Austria by Vexcel GmbH, have been ordered by Aerial Services Inc. of Iowa and me Sanborn Map Company of Colorado. They are expected to be providing production imagery by the end of this...

Spot Image comes down to earth in the Americas.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * ASERCA (Apoyos y Servicios a la Commercializacionn Agropecuaria--Mexico City, Mexico) has signed en agreement with Spot Image (Toulouse, France) for the direct reception of SPOT data in Mexico. ASERCA is a decentralised agency of Mexico's...

New GeoConcept solution for municipal utilities.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * GeoConcept SA (Paris, France) has launched Edilis V 6.5, an intelligent space and infrastructure management solution for local authorities, engineers, and surveyors. This software provides for the simple but detailed display of transport and...

Russian GIS survey indicates rapid growth.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * A "Russian GIS Market in 2002" report from the Department of Geography and Geology at Karazin Kharkov National University (Kharkov, Ukraine), in association with UA Geomatics indicates growth of the domestic market exceeding 50 per cent. This...

Microsoft ships MapPoint 2004 European Edition.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * Microsoft Corp. (Seattle, USA) is shipping MapPoint[R] 2004 European Edition, the latest version of its business mapping and location-based data visualisation software. MapPoint 2004 is a standalone application that complements MS Office...

ESA commissions EO market survey.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * The European Space Agency (ESA) has commissioned a survey of European and Canadian companies in the Earth Observation (EO) sector. The aim is to examine and characterise the wide range of value-added EO services currently on offer, and give...

Tilburg looks ahead with LuciadMap[TM].(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * LuciadMap[TM] software from SIA (Tilburg, The Netherlands) has been selected by the city of Tilburg for its next-generation GIS applications. The Web-enabled package for visualising, distributing, transforming and editing geoinformation in...

Autodesk and laser-scan in common cause.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * Autodesk and Laser-Scan Cambridge, England) are co-operating to enhance the technical integration of their respective Autodesk GIS and Radius Topology products and to explore joint commercial opportunities. As members of the Open GIS...

Radius Topology for Oracle 10g.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * Laser-Sean (Cambridge, England) has announced a development of its Radius Topology product that will enable users to take advantage of the new topology storage features in Oracle 10g. Laser-Scan participated in the Oracle 10g beta test...

Monitoring the world's biggest dam project.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * This 18-metre resolution image of the Three Gorges Dam on China's Yangtze River was acquired in July by the CHRIS (Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) sensor aboard the European Space Agency's Proba satellite. When completed, the...

DigitalGlobe wins big with NIMA.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * DigitalGlobe[R] (Longmont, USA) has won a contract in excess of 430 million [euro] on from the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA to deliver imagery from next-generation, commercial high-resolution imaging satellites. "This is a...

OGC members in landmark venture.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * A quartet of OpenGIS Consortium (OGC) members have announced a landmark venture to facilitate interoperability at the enterprise level. The move, by MapInfo. Autodesk, Integraph and Laser-Scan, will enable customers to "mix and match"...

Intergraph and Z/I Imaging scoop 2.1 million [euro] LARIS contract.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * Intergraph Mapping & Geospatial Solutions and Z/I Imaging (Huntsville. USA) have been awarded a 2.1 M [euro] contract by Russia's Federal land Cadastre Service (FLCS) to support its LARIS (Land Reform Implemention Support) cadastral project....

IKONOS takes pole position at Monza.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * On Sunday, 14th September, European Space Imaging (Munich, Germany) collected a high-resolution IKONOS satellite image of the Formula I racing course in Monza, Italy. The image was taken from 680 km altitude at 12.24 noon local time, shortly...

Success for ESRI in Lisbon.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * ESRI Portugal (Lisbon, Portugal) has clinched a deal with the Lisbon municipal authorities to implement a city wide GIS The move establishes ESRI as the designated supplier of GIS software to the authority and anticipates an expansion of...

Intergraph sponsors Digital Earth 2003.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions (Huntsville, USA) sponsored the 3rd International Digital Earth Symposium on Global Sustainability held in Brno, Czech Republic in September [see GEO:connect this issue--Ed]. Digital Earth 2003...

Luxembourg completes complex migration.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * The end of July saw the City of Luxembourg accepting the SICAD-UT application from AED-SICAD (Bonn, Germany) into service. It marked the official conclusion of a complex project to migrate from a GTIS system, implemented in the early...

Milking GIS.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * Robert Wiseman Dairies has dramatically improved its milk collection services by using the TruckStops routing and scheduling system, supplied by Kingswood MapMechanics (Brentwood) England). The company is also using GeoConcept GIS to plan and...

Teleatlas maps Delhi.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * Tele Atlas (Ghent, Belgium) has produced the first navigation CD for India. In just two days, more than 400 volunteers from the company mapped 2,200 square kilometres of the country's capital Delhi. The teams used 23 survey vehicles and...

No excuse for speeding with Tele Atlas.(LBS News in Brief)
November 1, 2003... * The new navigation CD from Tele Atlas (Ghent, Belgium), for the Becker platforms Traffic Pro and DTM, guides drivers from the north of Norway to the south of Sicily. Current speed limits are displayed in the car so the expense of speeding...

Webraska wins in Portugal.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * Webraska Mobile Technologies (Paris, France) has been selected to supply its SmartZone Geospatial Platform to power location-enabled applications at TMN, Portugal Telecom's domestic mobile subsidiary. TMN's customers can currently search for...

Scheduling on the go with a PDA.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * Masternaut (Leeds, UK) has launched M-Schedule, an innovative PDA-based mobile office system that integrates with satellite navigation, Entirely Web-based, the system provides nearest-resource identification and electronic job despatch. GPS...

ESRI powers Slovakian Orange.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * ESRI (Redlands, USA) is powering a second phase of location-based applications recently launched by Orange Slovensko in Slovakia, The new services include Friend Finder, Yellow Pages. Mobile Map, a new Bomber game, and a resource management...

The Hungarian State Railways Company supported by ISPA and the cohesion fund seeks technical assistance for the preparation of the detailed designs and tender documents to improve the Budapest railway.(European Commission)
November 1, 2003... * The Hungarian State Railways Company supported by ISPA and the cohesion fund seeks technical assistance for the preparation of the detailed designs and tender documents to improve the Budapest railway. Specifically, geotechnical and geodetic...

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania seeks aerial photography for the whole country, the production of digital colour orthophoto maps and the purchase and orthorectification of satellite imagery for the border areas with Russia.(European Commission)
November 1, 2003... * The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania seeks aerial photography for the whole country, the production of digital colour orthophoto maps and the purchase and orthorectification of satellite imagery for the border areas with...

In the Calvados region detailed mapping both planimetric and height data has been advertised to assist with the development of the A88 Caen to Necy.(France)
November 1, 2003... * In the Calvados region detailed mapping both planimetric and height data has been advertised to assist with the development of the A88 Caen to Necy. Establishing control networks is also mentioned in the contract.

The City of Cologne seeks aerial mapping services to support and provide further documentary evidence for the land register.(Germany)
November 1, 2003... * The City of Cologne seeks aerial mapping services to support and provide further documentary evidence for the land register. The information is to be held on the city's existing information system.

Donegal County Council requires archaeological services.(Ireland)
November 1, 2003... * Donegal County Council requires archaeological services to further investigate features of significance that have been identified through earlier studies and test excavations.

The Province of Perugia wishes to map the entire area.(Italy)
November 1, 2003... * The Province of Perugia wishes to map the entire area to establish the location of all foul and surface water drainage within the public domain.

Agder Energi Nett AS recently advertised a contract for the digitizing of 2000 map sheets in NetBas (Database for archive and cable mapping).(Norway)
November 1, 2003... * Agder Energi Nett AS recently advertised a contract for the digitizing of 2000 map sheets in NetBas (Database for archive and cable mapping). The map sheets contain low and high voltage network data and also street light information with all...

ANA, the Portuguese airport authority has advertised a 218,000 [pounds sterling].(Portugal)
November 1, 2003... * ANA, the Portuguese airport authority has advertised a 218,000 [pounds sterling] contract for a GIS.

The Ministry of Housing, Madrid, requires orthophotographs as base mapping.(Spain)
November 1, 2003... * The Ministry of Housing, Madrid, requires orthophotographs as base mapping for the development of the rural land cadastre.

The Swedish Mapping Agency has advertised a contract for imagery that is divided into several lots.(Sweden)
November 1, 2003... * The Swedish Mapping Agency has advertised a contract for imagery that is divided into several lots including remarking, aerial photography, block triangulation and the production of orthophotos.

The Environment Agency has advertised a framework agreement to develop groundwater resource models, hydrogeological and hydrological support.(United Kingdom)
November 1, 2003... * The Environment Agency has advertised a Framework agreement to develop groundwater resource models, hydrogeological and hydrological support for water resources as well as geological mapping and interpretations on either a catchment or...

Essex County Council is planning to raise its capital receipts by disposing of property between 2003 and 2006.(United Kingdom)
November 1, 2003... * Essex County Council is planning to raise its capital receipts by disposing of property between 2003 and 2006. In order to do this it needs a variety of consultancy services including environmental, contamination, geological, archaeological...

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has awarded a 1.2m [pounds sterling] contract to BlueFinger Ltd.(Awards)
November 1, 2003... * The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has awarded a 1.2m [pounds sterling] contract, to BlueFinger Ltd for a vessel monitoring system to track UK fishing vessels wherever they fish and foreign vessels when fishing in UK...

In Denmark, Kulturarvsstyrelsen has awarded a contract for detailed mapping of historic buildings to Arkitektfirmaet Gert Bech-Nielsen.(Awards)
November 1, 2003... * In Denmark, Kuiturarvsstyrelsen has awarded a contract for detailed mapping of historic buildings to Arkitekfirmaet Gert Bech-Nielsen for DKK 2, 021,900.

Also in Denmark, DONG A/S has awarded a contract to WesternGeco Ltd.(Awards)
November 1, 2003... * Also in Denmark, DONG A/S has awarded a contract to WesternGeco Ltd for seismic re-processing services.

Meteo-France has awarded a contract for meteorological equipment to GDI.(Awards)
November 1, 2003... * Meteo-France has awarded a contract for meteorological equipment to GDI at a value of 89,990 [pounds sterling].

In Italy, authorities in the Vieste Commune awarded ITALECO SpA a 1 million [euro] contract.(Awards)
November 1, 2003... * In Italy, authorities in the Vieste Commune awarded ITALECO SpA a 1 million [euro] contract to undertake a cadastral survey of the entire region.

Shareholders in agreement at Leica Geosystems' AGM.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... At their Annual General Meeting the shareholders of Leica Geosystems Holdings AG approved all proposals of the Board of Directors, including the re-election of Mario Fontana, Chairman, and Hans Hess, President and Chief Executive Officer of...

PriceWatch *.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... PriceWatch * Stock price change Autodesk 15.57 [down arrow] -1.38 Intergraph 20.70 [down arrow] -1.39 MapInfo 7.69 [down arrow] -2.18 Trimble Navigation 20.99...

Trimble to acquire MENSI.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... Tumble announced at Intergeo 2003 that a nag signed an agreement with EDF Environment et Developpement S.A. of France to acquire its subsidiary. MENSI S.A., a leading developer of terrestrial 3D laser scanning technology Trimble will acquire...

Results: all values converted to euros.(GEO: news)
November 1, 2003... * Britain's Getmapping has reported sales of 2,642 million [pounds sterling] for the first six months of 2003. Map related sales were up 20%, with sales in the education sector up nearly 50% on the same period in 2002, Internet sales also grew...

Oracle 10g: on the starting Grid: Oracle extends its support for spatial. But that's not all, as GEO: connexion reports.(GEO:news)
November 1, 2003... * Where will you find functionality that supports mapping, routeing and topology? A mainstream GIS? Not any longer, for Oracle now offers these and other features straight out-of-the box to those acquiring the Enterprise Edition (Spatial...

Mapping Africa for Africa--the Durban declaration.(GEO:Africa)
November 1, 2003... * Sixteen resolutions were passed at the August meeting on "Mapping Africa for Africa" in Durban. South Africa, hosted by the International Cartographic Association (ICA) and the Republic's Department of Land Affairs. The declarations...

New Congo Basin land cover dataset.(GEO:Africa)
November 1, 2003... A GEOCOVER 2000 dataset of the Congo Basin--comprising orthorectified Landsat 7 ETM + scenes dating from June 1999 to March 2002--is available for free download from the University of Maryland. A CD version will also shortly be available from...

Water Resource Database nears completion.(GEO:Africa)
November 1, 2003... The development of an African Water Resource Database (AWRD), aided by the Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service of the UN FAO, is nearing completion. This GIS-based platform, with more than 75 data layers, will help users...

Hitting the heights with SRTM data.(GEO:Africa)
November 1, 2003... ComputaMaps (Constantia, South Africa) is offering free terrain data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) on its web site. The NASA/NIMA mission in February 2000 acquired more than 12 terabytes of 3D interferometric radar data over...

Smart move at ICC.(GEO:Africa)
November 1, 2003... * SmartTech (Cape Town, South Africa) showcased its uSMART Microstation-compatible photogrammetric software at the ICC in Durban in August. This package is now claimed to be the de facto standard in South Africa, with 17 systems employed in...

Georigin aims high.(GEO:Africa)
November 1, 2003... * Newly established Georigin (Irene, South Africa) has set itself the mission of becoming not just Africa's number one map data and spatial solutions provider but also a leading global player. The new company, formed by the management of...

A front row seat from 480 kms high.(GEO:gallery)
November 1, 2003... * This panchromatic 1.8m resolution image of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates was acquired by the EROS Al Earth Observation satellite earlier this year. The Sheikh Zayed Sport City, pictured top centre, is the largest sport center in...

Inta SpaceTurk widens its horizons.(GEO:Middle East)
November 1, 2003... * Inta Space Systems, Inc. (Ankara, Turkey) trading as Into SpaceTurk, embarks on its second year of business with an expanding product portfolio. At the end of September, the company signed a channel partnership agreement granting it access to...

Getting the complete picture with Oblivision.(GEO:Middle East)
November 1, 2003... * Idan Computers Ltd. (Azur,Israel), a provider of image analysis, CAD and 3D modeling software, has announced the global availability of Oblivision, a tool that combines the accuracy of orthophotos (from vertical aerial or satellite images)...

5D sells 3D in Israel.(GEO:Middle East)
November 1, 2003... * REALVIZ (Sophia Antipolis, France) has announced that Pritzat Derech 5D (PD5D) in Israel has become its latest reseller. Pritzat Derech specialise in providing digital engineering solutions for Civil Engineering, Surveying and Landscape...

Telmap in Geneva.(GEO:Middle East)
November 1, 2003... * Telmap (Herzlia, Israel), Navigation Technologies (Chicago, USA), Intel (Santa Clara, USA) and SiRF Technology (San Jose, USA) shared a stand at the Telecom Geneva 2003 exhibition in October to present a range of navigation, location...

Strategic move at Lizardtech.(GEO:people)
November 1, 2003... Lizardtech Software (Seattle, Washington) has appointed Karen Morley as vice president, Geospatial Imaging, Morley will lead the product and market strategy for its geospatial imaging solutions, including GeoExpress with MrSID[R] and Lizardtech...

De Chassy joins Spot Image.(GEO:people)
November 1, 2003... Antoine de Chassy has joined Spot Image (Toulouse, France) as director of applications and development. He will lead a team to develop Spot Image products, services and applications, working closely with the company's partners. De Chassy, 40,...

Board appointments at Laser-Scan.(GEO:people)
November 1, 2003... Tim Cooke and Steve Berry have joined the board of Laser-Scan (Cambridge, England) as the company seeks to change its image within the investment community. Cooke had a 20-year career with Logica, culminating in his appointment as CEO of Logica...

Warrick navigates to Multimap.(GEO:people)
November 1, 2003... Multimap (London, England) has appointed location-based services expert Chris Warrick, as its new Development Director. His chief responsibility is to design and drive Multimap's Product Roadmap for its popular public website and develop its...

Rives joins OGCE board.(GEO:people)
November 1, 2003... Michel Rives, sales development manager at Autodesk (Geneva, Switzerland) has been appointed to the Management Advisory Board of Open GIS Consortium (Europe) Limited (OGCE). Guenther Pichler, managing director of OGCE, said "We welcome...

OS appoints new non-exec.(GEO:people)
November 1, 2003... Mike Sommers, a marketing professional with experience of the retail, finance and entertainment industries, has been appointed a non executive director of Ordnance Survey (Southampton, England) Sommers, 54, has been managing director of MGM...

EARSeL Dubrovnik.(GEO:connect)
November 1, 2003... The European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories (EARSeL) holds its 24th Annual Symposium at the Inter University Centre in Dubrovnik, Croatia, 25-27 May 2004. The objective of the event is to bring together scientists, researchers...

Exceeding expectations: once again, INTERGEO reinforced its appeal as the world's biggest and most successful survey-related trade show. GEO:connexion assesses the ingredients for success.(INTERGEO 2003 Hamburg)
November 1, 2003... INTERGEO 2003 was staged in Hamburg in Northern Germany from the 17-19 September under the overall theme of "Knowledge for our Earth". Organisers HINTE Messe and DVW, the German Association Surveyors, announced that visitor numbers...

Making the case for reinvention.(GeoSolutions Show 2003 London)
November 1, 2003... There can be little doubt that GeoSolutions is looking a little jaded after many years as Britain's premier industry event. A reduction in floor space and an attendance the barely topped the 3,000 mark at this year's iteration (Earl's Court,...

Pressing all the right buttons.(AGI Conference 2003 London)
November 1, 2003... GI Enabling Business Improvement was the theme of this year's conference, held alongside the GeoSolutions Show, and all the sessions I attended certainly demonstrated the success of GI in all kinds of business. Despite frustration at the...

Science, passion and diversity: Peter Woodsford reflects on an event that called for more than usual mental dexterity.(Digital Earth 2003 Brno)
November 1, 2003... Brno, the second city of the Czech Republic with strong connections to East and West, was the setting for the third Digital Earth conference, 21-25 September. Presided over by the ever-energetic Professor Milan Konecny the event attracted...

AGI Conference: a successful 2003 and all change for 2004.(AGI View)
November 1, 2003... This year's AGI Conference was most probably one of the best to date in terms of the calibre of speakers it attracted and the quality of the presentations. The conference was opened by Yvette Cooper MP and included plenary speeches across the...

GIS sans frontieres: youngsters either side of the English Channel are set to create a new Entente Cordiale, thanks to an ambitious secondary education initiative ... one with global potential.(Focus On ...)
November 1, 2003... Despite its proximity to the Channel Tunnel, Folkestone on Britain's southeast coast is a sleepy seaside resort outside of the summer holiday season. Yet activity is at fever pitch on a new business park on the outskirts of the town and where...

European Space Agency's Research Institute.(Newsround)
November 1, 2003... The First Envisat Data Assimilation Summer School was recently held at ESRIN, the European Space Agency's Research Institute just outside Rome. Sponsored by ESA and the World Climate Research Programme, the two-week event was attended by 57...

GIS Day 2003.(Newsround)
November 1, 2003... GIS Day 2003 is held this month on Wednesday the 19th. This 5th annual grassroots event sees GIS users and vendors world-wide open their doors to schools, businesses and the general public to showcase real-world applications. GIS Day is...

Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions.(Newsround)
November 1, 2003... Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions has awarded a GeoMedia[R] education grant worth more than $1.1 million to Team GeoMedia Registered Research Laboratory member George Mason University (GMU) in Washington, D.C. The grant will support...

Ordnance Survey.(Newsround)
November 1, 2003... Britain's Ordnance Survey has distributed more than 600,000 Explorer 1:25,000 scale maps to schools participating in its 2003 Free maps for 11-year-olds initiative. Under the scheme, every Year 7/Primary 7 pupil receives a map and big...

GOS: a recipe for e-success: John Hughes probes a US development whose message is truly global.(transatlantic link)
November 1, 2003... * Information Technology managers may not always have viewed GIS as integral to their relational database way of thinking. Such an attitude, however, is becoming less the norm as e-government initiatives highlight the benefits of integrating...

It shouldn't have been like this! Although the world has woken up to geography, Bob Barr fears that the more intrusive aspects of location based technology are being introduced with virtually no consideration of how its use should, or can be regulated.(dangling segment)
November 1, 2003... * Some years ago the critical social theorists, who seem to have taken over much of academic geography, produced a substantial body of work that was highly critical of both GIS and those who use the technology. The accusations included...

Are you ready for out-of-this-world positional accuracy? Gayle Gander poses the question as stellar opportunities beckon for the geoinformation community.(GEO:futures)
November 1, 2003... * The recently-held conference of Britain's Association for Geographic Information highlighted how accurate positional data can deliver personalised services to customers. In this context, accurate positional data can include addresses, a...

Intellectual property: a formula for success: your intangibles may be worth more than you think.(GEO:legal)
November 1, 2003... * Economic research indicates that much of the growth in the global economy over the past 50 years can be attributed to wealth created by Intellectual Property or IP. 'Know-how', technological advances and marketing intangible (including...

Location intelligence as 'ingredient technology': Rik Temmink traces the evolution of Location-Based Services and the rewards for vendors prepared to experiment with new recipes.(GEO:talk)
November 1, 2003... * It has been hard not to notice the transition in the spatial technology sector from providing traditional GIS application to Internet-based and mobile solutions. Although it may appear at first glance that this simply involves viewing...

Knowing where we're going: Webraska's Jonathan Klinger says the wait for cellular-based navigation services is nearly over.(location based services)
November 1, 2003... GEO:connexion: Internet-Based Distributed Navigation of IBDN is the core technology on which Webraska has been working for the past few years. What is this exactly? Jonathan Klinger (JK): Yes, IBDN is the patented idea around which the...

Ready for the ride? In the first of a two-part article, Mike Bedford reviews network techniques that unleash the power Location Based Services--for those prepared to take the reins.(location based services)(Cover Story)
November 1, 2003... According to the hype merchants, location-based services (LBS) are set to become the next "must haves among mobile phone users. To date, applications have been comparatively few and take-up has been slow, but E-112 (Enhanced 112) may change...