Why Location Matters in Data Analytics - AGI GeoCom 2016

AGI GeoCom 2016 boasted a new format, new speakers and a new venue. Stephen Booth reports. We live in an age on constant change and churn so this year’s AGI conference was no exception. A major departure from past formats of two or more days of presentations and keynotes, today’s uber-busy world needed something sharper, quicker, more attention-grabbing. A one-day event at the home of geography, the Royal Geographical Society, attracted nearly two hundred to hear 12 invited speakers talk about location and data analytics. The audience seemed different; yes, the usual faces and greybeards were there but new faces... (read more)

2017-01-26 10:55:48

Data Sharing is Smart – Geo-related Trends in Engineering & Construction

There could be many keywords representing important trends in the capture and use of spatial data in the engineering & construction industry, but 3D, BIM, AR and UAV are definitely high on the list. As this article examines, uniting them all is one major cross-industry challenge: interoperability and data integration in support of much-needed higher workflow efficiency in the whole value chain. The engineering & construction sector has been slower than most to adopt new technologies. While innovation may have occurred on the enterprise level, overall productivity in the market has remained almost flat for 50 years. In fact, labour... (read more)

2017-02-22 10:48:26

Africa Rising - Geospatial Must Underpin Economic Development

In November last year, Andrew Coote of ConsultingWhere visited Addis Ababa for the joint Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) and AfricaGIS conferences. GiSPro originally commissioned him to write a GSDI-focused report. But with colleague Phil Knight they realised that a wider focus on the rising use and importance of geospatial technology on the world’s most misunderstood continent would perhaps be a more valuable contribution. The quality and diversity of the projects described by African geospatial scientists in Addis Ababa was humbling. For too long, western eyes have often viewed Africa with a mixture of pity and despair, perhaps conditioned by... (read more)

2017-05-31 03:28:35

Buzz and Balance - GEO Business 2018

This year’s GEO Business conference, held on 22-23 May in London’s Islington, was, according to Geomatics World editors Ian Dowman and Richard Groom, the biggest and best yet. The following is a summary of their report on the event which hosted 203 exhibitors from 25 countries, 100 exhibitor workshops, as well as many high profile speakers and seminars. It should provide a taste of the type of topics which were discussed during this excellent annual event. Digital Transformation Mark Enzer, Chief Technical Officer of Mott MacDonald, presented on the topic of digital transformation in economic infrastructure, with a particular focus... (read more)

2018-08-20 11:44:13

Survey and GIS in San Diego

Everyone forms their own impressions of San Diego, but for surveyors and GIS folks in the Summer, it means the largest geospatial event in the world, the ESRI Survey & Engineering GIS Summit combined with the ESRI International User Conference. The 28th annual User Conference (UC) came in early August with the theme ‘Building New Opportunities’, the bulk of the Survey Summit running as prelude the previous weekend. The summit drew over four hundred attendees, a roughly 8% increase over last year. Both conferences featured a trade show. The summit also includes the Survey and Leadership Forum, actually, a Special... (read more)

2008-11-11 12:00:00

Spatio-temporal Geography and Medical Data

Authors David R. Green and Jan O. Jansen demonstrate through examples how GIS can add explanatory value to the analysis of medical data. The analysis of spatial data often relies on the use of Geographical Information Systems, with maps being the usual output. However, increasingly, GIS functionality provides more than just a digital mapping toolbox: it can include spatial and network analysis, 3D visualisation, and modelling. GIS can also handle data from many disparate sources, including remote sensing and GPS or GNSS. The latter provides for the accurate capture of spatial locations and an array of attributes including ground-based photographic... (read more)

2017-01-03 04:52:31

Web GIS Improves Lidar Collection Response Time

The LMAP Initiative

The remarkable capabilities of airborne Lidar continue to improve, with scanners now able to emit more than a million pulses every second. Although it has never been easier to acquire high-quality laser data, storing and managing the huge volume of Lidar data collected can prove to be a challenge. Combined with associated metadata such as survey information, environmental conditions and flight lines, data management has now become a critical priority and focus. This article outlines a new initiative called LMAP that provides an automated workflow for uploading and storing Lidar and metadata into GIS. Developed in a partnership between RIEGL of... (read more)

2019-05-21 10:01:13

Something for Everyone in the Industry - GEO Business 2016

GeoBusiness returned to the Islington Business Design Centre for its third year with a larger exhibition, more visitors and, if anything, an even buzzier atmosphere. The industry’s biggest players seemed to have bigger stands and more new suppliers were displaying their wares, reports Richard Groom. Inevitably, delegates had to make choices between concurrent conference sessions and workshops, whilst also catching up with friends and colleagues. This year it was made a little easier as the conference was concentrated into a single stream and the workshops became five streams. Robots and ‘Us’ The first session of the first day started with... (read more)

2016-12-23 12:30:01

Optimising Pipeline Surveying Technology

Specialist engineering input, combined with customised software development, has resulted in a pipeline surveying solution that emphasises why partnerships can be so effective. The starting point for this application-specific solution from Capita’s property and infrastructure business was a Bluetooth link between an RD8000 cable and pipe locator and KOREC’s data collection software. Capita’s property and infrastructure business is one of the UK's leading multidisciplinary consultancies providing a range of design, project delivery, infrastructure, real-estate and business transformation services. Its utilities and industrial division specialises in engineering, design and project management services for a wide range of clients including major UK... (read more)

2017-05-31 02:44:08

How Modern Water Monitoring Systems Improve Flooding and Water Risks

Mitigation Doubles Systems Efficiency

Our climate is changing; in many parts of the world water levels are changing. Storms knock out power and cause more floods than ever, whether or not you live on a coastline or near a river. More effective water level monitoring and flood warning systems will mean less insurance claims and a reduced need for relief funding, saving everyone time and money. New technological developments make water monitoring systems cost a fraction (less than 50%) of what they did just a few years ago. Geospatial data is an important pillar. The ubiquity and proliferation of cost-effective Industrial IoT sensor hardware makes it... (read more)

2018-07-23 10:25:52