Geoinformatics 2011 Vol03

Globalgeo Event 3D Intelligent Cities
Educational Efforts on Water Scarcity Esri Developer Summit

Magazi ne f or Sur veyi ng, Mappi ng & GI S Pr of essi onal s
April/M
ay
2
0
1
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Volume 14
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Prod_GEO311_Prod GEO66 01-04-2011 13:03 Pagina 1
Publish early, release often
The event season has already started, as one can see by looking at the event
previews in this issue. Also, the calendar at the back of this magazine could give
you the same impression. In terms of quantity, its amazing how many geospatial
events there are, and more and more events are being created. For those who visit
many of these events, or are speakers who give presentations, its true that a lot of
information is used more than one event, which is not a bad thing. But when is a
conference successful?
Quantity seems not to be the issue, but quality. Having just returned from the
Globalgeo event in Barcelona, I was amazed by the information shared in some
presentations. The one that made me think most was the one from Arnulf Christi,
current president of OSGEO. In a slide that was only shown a very short time, Christi
showed the development models of both proprietary software vendors and open
source developers. This is a slide I have been waiting to see for a long time, and
there it was. The slide could be the subject of an article or presentation as a whole,
but was only there as part of a bigger story. This is not the place for judging whether
one development model is better than another, but Id like to go a bit deeper into
the paradigm of OSGEO (publish early, release often), that touches the heart of the
matter, in my opinion: the end user. Or, rather, different types of users.
For developers, launching software often is handy because it allows them improve it
for a next version. This is a completely different method than waiting some more
time for releasing a next version so that a new version can do more than was
announced before. For someone who pays for this, this is an advantage: you have
more software for your money. What Im trying to make clear is that people buy or
download software products with different motivations, and they are using this with
different needs. Google is dealing with this user approach too, as became clear in
a presentation during the same event. Google is not aiming at providing tools for a
GIS analyst, but the data and ways of visualizing the data are similar. The differ-
ence is the way they are used by both groups.
It seems to me that the huge inuence of Google on the general public is creating a
shift in how people perceive geospatial software and how to use it, fed by a growth
in hardware capacity and the internet as a platform, rather than the desktop com-
puter. The good news is that the geospatial industry is in a privileged position,
having knowledge and tools that others cannot (yet) offer.
Enjoy your reading,
Eric van Rees
evanrees@geoinformatics.com
GeoInformatics is the leading publication for Geospatial
Professionals worldwide. Published in both hardcopy and
digital, GeoInformatics provides coverage, analysis and
commentary with respect to the international surveying,
mapping and GIS industry. GeoInformatics is published
8 times a year.
Editor-in-chief
Eric van Rees
evanrees@geoinformatics.com
Copy Editor
Frank Arts
fartes@geoinformatics.com
Editors
Florian Fischer
fscher@geoinformatics.com
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.com
Remco Takken
rtakken@geoinformatics.com
Joc Triglav
jtriglav@geoinformatics.com
Contributing Writers:
Ton de Vries, Sisi Zlatanova, Nathan Bekkers,
Michiel Schram, Brian Goldin, Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk,
Jim Baumann, Houston Neal, Joc Triglav,
Carla Wheeler, Hermann Klug
Financial Director
Yvonne Groenhof
nance@cmedia.nl
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Ruud Groothuis
rgroothuis@geoinformatics.com
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Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com April/May 2011
C o n t e n t
Ar t i c l e s
3D Intelligent Cities 6
Voyager 10
GNSS Update 14
Reaping Benefits from Enterprise GIS 18
Educational Efforts on Water Scarcity 42
C o l u mn
Automation of Surveying 26
E v e n t s
Globalgeo and International Geomatic Week 22
Bentley Systems Conference Call 36
2011 Esri Developer Summit 38
Racurs Conference 46
Hexagon 2011 International Conference 48
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High Definition Surveying and Laser Scanning 28
C a l e n d a r / Ad v e r t i s e r s I n d e x 50

At the cover:
A 3D model of Helsinki. City authorities like the city of Helsinki in Finland,
Montreal in Canada and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, have made the 3D
City model a priority and are already seeing the benefits. All these cities
have one thing in common; they started creating and using a 3D model as
part of a project. They had the vision and wanted to convince their man-
agement, and they succeeded.
See article at page 6.
36
10
If geospatial data has to be
findable and transparent in the
future, it may be time for a
new approach to discovering
GIS data.
6
On March 2, Bentley Systems
held a Corporate Update
Conference Call, where an
update was given on recent
important activities of the
company, including perfor-
mance highlights for 2010,
the iWare Apps launch and
the acquisition of SACS.
3D City modeling and 3D GIS
are currently hot topics in the
market. We see many vendors
approaching this market, while
users are trying to justify the
benefits and the return on the
investments they foresee in
creating and managing a
3D City model.
22
The yearly Globalgeo event in
Barcelona, Spain comprises
an international geoinforma-
tion show, with an exhibition
and forums, as well as the
International Geomatic Week.
18
The Herbert Resource Information
Centre (HRIC) is an Australian
nonprofit organization that supports
the sustainable development of the
sugarcane industry in the area.
42
Water scarcity problems
require a meta-disciplinary
approach. Therefore,
meta-disciplinary education
activities are needed to tackle
the likely future challenge
of water resources
management.
26
Surveying is going through a
technological renaissance.
The increased adoption of
machine guidance systems has
renewed the importance of
the surveying trade.
14
In the USA a big argument
around GPS frequencies has
started whilst at the same time
the EU is trying to figure out
how to continue with Galileo.
A Roundtable Discussion
3D Intelligent Cities
3D City modeling and 3D GIS are currently hot topics in the market. We see many vendors approach-
ing this market, while users are trying to justify the benefits and the return on the investments they
foresee in creating and managing a 3D City model. At Bentleys BE Inspired thought leader congress in
Amsterdam, over 100 participants discussed the state of the technology and the business cases associ-
ated with 3D City modeling. The discussion was passionately moderated by Pat McCrory, the Mayor of
Charlotte for the past 14 years, capital of North Carolina and the 18th biggest City in the USA with a
total population of 750.000 citizens (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte,_North_Carolina).
Introduction to 3D City Models
Mayor McCrory started the discussion with the statement that he
would have to spend the money to build and maintain an intelligent
model of his city, to better plan, communicate and realize complex
infrastructure projects, today. Visionary leaders in government, like
Mayor McCrory, are always looking to improve the quality of ser-
vices, while reducing risks and improving efciency.
Sisi Zlatanova, co-host of the roundtable discussion and associate
professor at the GIS Technology section, Delft University of
Technology, the Netherlands and an authority in 3D GIS research
and publications, explained to the audience the requirements for
creating a sustainable 3D City model. She emphasized the need for
semantics (intelligent features) and 3D topology (intelligent geome-
try) as a basis for building a 3D City model. Pretty pictures alone
are not good enough! Furthermore, she explained that integrated
3D modeling is a necessity for above and below ground infrastruc-
tures with a strong focus on integrating this into one environment.
She also discussed the need for an integrated system architecture
allowing a unied information approach.
Bentleys sponsor and Solution Executive for Government, Ton de
Vries, nished the introduction by pointing out the increasing need
for governments to do more with less and to reduce the impact of
infrastructure project execution while at the same time increasing
the speed of renewal and expansion. The worlds complex infra -
structure, especially in cities, requires a more holistic approach to
creating, building and managing this infrastructure. City infrastruc-
ture is dense and fragile; changes to the infrastructure can have a
huge impact for the citizens, the businesses and the people working
on it. Increasing efciency and quality while decreasing risks starts
with a real life view of the current situation. This allows users to do
better planning, error free engineering and improved operating deci-
sions for changes to the City infrastructure.
To support these processes Bentley has added support for 3D plan-
ning, engineering and operations throughout its products. Point
clouds are supported as a native data type allowing 3D survey data
to be used directly in MicroStation. Bentley Map is now fully 3D
and supports the creation and maintenance of 3D objects with their
semantics, geometry and appearance. Oracle Spatial objects can
be directly accessed, manipulated and posted by the user-friendly
interface of Bentley Map. Descartes provides an integrated environ-
ment for easy texture placement based on standard photos of
6
April/May 2011
Ar t i c l e
By Ton de Vries and Sisi Zlatanova
3D Model of Rotterdam
facades and other city objects. Clash detection in Navigator and
MicroStation provides sophisticated functionality for line-of-sight and
fresnel analyses. A large variety of 3D spatial analysis can be per-
formed completely with the help of 3D Boolean operations. Users
can use the direct connection from MicroStation to enhance their 3D
City model with Google 3D Warehouse components or upload their
model to the 3D Warehouse. 3D City models can now be exported
in the international standard CityGML.
Project Wise Geospatial Server fully leverages Oracle Spatial 11gs
3D and raster support. It also provides and manages the BIM/GIS
integration that so many organizations have been looking for, for
the past decade. Geo Web Publisher allows mash up streaming of
your models to Google Earth and Google Earth browser plug-in,
providing seamless integration of your 3D City models into Google.
3D reality needs 3D design, engineering and analyses. If you are
integrating and updating an existing infrastructure, and this is quite
7
Ar t i c l e
3D Model of Helsinki
often the case in Cities, you need to know exactly where you can
add or change infrastructure without running into problems. Its about
increasing efciency, improving quality and reducing risks.
Roundtable Discussion
Several participants indicated that they have seen great technology
improvements over the last few years, but it remains difcult to nd
the funds and resources to start actually building their 3D City model.
Creation and use of 3D City models needs to be placed on the city
council agenda in order to get the funding and the organizational
structure in place. The positive impact of 3D City models on a vari-
ety of governmental and organizational work processes is recog-
nized as being huge; better communication internally and external-
ly, lesser design, construction and maintenance errors, even reduced
construction impact for citizens and businesses due to the fact that
projects can be completed faster, more efciently and with less risk.
Technology alone cannot make the difference. Organizations need
to initiate the discussion on building their 3D models. City authori-
ties like the city of Helsinki in Finland, Montreal in Canada and
Rotterdam in the Netherlands, have made the 3D City model a pri-
ority and are already seeing the benets. All these cities have one
thing in common; they started creating and using a 3D model as
part of a project. They had the vision and wanted to convince their
management, and they succeeded.
How expensive is it to build and maintain a 3D model? This is a
question that can be answered, but as usual, there are a lot of fac-
tors that inuence the nal cost. Most cities start with a partial model,
with a relatively low level of detail (level 1 or 2), while upgrading
parts of their city to a higher level, level 3 or even level 4, when a
major project occurs in that area. This way the city model gradually
becomes more extensive and intelligent over time, while keeping the
costs of creating and maintaining the model reasonable. Cities at
the roundtable stated that in the end the costs of creating and main-
taining a 3D model was less than they expected, while the demand
and the use of the model was still growing by the day.
While creating and implementing 3D City models, organizations
are looking for standards. They want their city model to be sustain-
able, based on open standards like CityGML and stored in a Spatial
Database. CityGML is increasingly being used as an exchange for-
mat but it is much more than that. CityGML is a datamodel with topo-
graphic objects represented by their geometrical, topological,
semantic and appearance properties. It also provides Levels of
Details, which allow users to explicitly dene the granularity of their
city models. More information on CityGML can be found at:
www.citygmlwiki.org.
Concluding Remarks
Many cities and their eco systems are adopting and others will adopt
3D models rapidly. Many people see the benet of using 3D mod-
els for many applications, such as civil engineering projects, city
management and development, plus safety and security. The tech-
nology has made great improvements over the last few years and
3D models are becoming more affordable, easy to create and
exchange. Once organizations get started with creating and using
3D models, they become enthusiastic, benets show up and nobody
ever wants to go back to a 2D GIS world only.
Ton de Vries, Solutions Executive Government at Bentley Systems.
Sisi Zlatanova, Associate professor Section GIS Technology, OTB, Research Institute for the Built Environment
, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands.
For more information, have a look at: http://communities.bentley.com/solutions/government/3d_mod-
els_for_intelligent_cities/default.aspx
Ar t i c l e
8
April/May 2011
London Subway in 3D

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New Way of GIS Data Discovery
The Story so far
What happens when knowledge of geospa-
tial data meets knowledge of the search
engine world? The years 2009 and 2010
demonstrated the opportunities that can
arise from combining these two worlds: the
development of Voyager became a reality.
Voyager is a smart search engine designed
specically for geospatial data. Available
to the general public, Voyager is composed
of several individual stones that are
cemented together by a stable framework,
based mainly on the powerful open-source
search platform Apache Solr and the
Voyager web service.
Voyager brings the power of modern, high-
speed, high-accuracy and resource-efcient
web search technologies to geospatial data.
VoyagerGIS, the company which developed
Voyager, aims to help organizations under-
stand and make sense of the growing mass
of geospatial data. Voyager provides fast
access to information, saving time and
resulting in improved decision making. But
Voyager also (for the more emotional types
among us) addresses that frustration felt dur-
ing those endless search sessions for a spe-
cic dataset, or the frustration that arises
when a lot of time is wasted generating data
that later turned out to be already available.
Journey through Voyager
What can you do with Voyager, and what
does Voyager actually do? By specifying the
locations in which you want to search or
process data, you give Voyager the green
light to start the indexing process. You can
add local directories and networks as well
as web-based locations like a WMS, CSW
or ArcGIS server. Voyager thoroughly reads
each item and generates a detailed index
that includes thumbnail images and exam-
ples. Voyager also indexes content that
other systems might overlook, or that does-
nt contain metadata at all, like layers inside
a map document. After the indexing process
is complete, you can perform searches and
congure the results the way you want to
see them (options include table-, summary-,
map- and grid views). Just like the familiar
search engines, you can order the results
how you prefer (from name to le size).
Moreover, if the found data contain spatial
extent, the extent frames are simultaneously
displayed in the viewer next to the results
list. The viewer can be congured for differ-
ent basemaps, map services or Google
Maps as a background.
A broad search will probably return a wide
range of data. Using Voyager you can nar-
row your results by applying a wide range
of lters. The lters can reduce an over-
whelming mass of results to a set of data
10
April/May 2011
Ar t i c l e
Voyager
Result grid view in Voyager
you are looking for.
Voyager provides an intuitive visual display
so you are always aware of the lter level
during a search session. If you dont want
to specify particular lters again, the next
time you carry out a search, you can easily
save the current search as a kind of default
lter and repeat it later.
Finding Data Structures
Once the results are there in front of you,
Voyager offers several actions that you can
do with an item in the result list. Besides
showing an example picture, you can also
show the detail page for the specic item in
which its relationships with other data
become clear. In the case of an ArcMap
document, you immediately see the structure
of the mxd, the layers it contains, and the
underlying datasets that are referenced. You
can also see in what other mxds or databas-
es a specic layer is used. This is an impor-
tant aspect that demonstrates why Voyager
is unique; it not only searches your data, it
discovers the relationships and dependen-
cies between data too. For example, by
using a special lter, you can nd data with
missing links in it. From the results list you
can also access the metadata (xml) and dis-
play it using several available sheets.
Another option is to open the item directly
with a Windows default application, a KML
reader (like Google Earth) or Esri software
like ArcMap. Voyager is fully compatible
with Esri software, so it is possible to drag
a result from the results list directly into an
active ArcMap window. Other options for
working with data from the results list
include the direct approach of the location
pad of the item, zooming to the extent of the
data in the viewer, excluding an item from
the results list, and adding an item to a cus-
tomized list of saved results.
If you dont want to search for specic con-
tent, you have the option to search by extent
in order to see what data is available for a
particular area of interest. Simply dragging
a frame in the map viewer does the job. You
will nd all available data sets within this
extent or, if you have chosen so, the avail-
able data sets that intersect the frame.
Searching data by map can be an efcient
way to answer the question (which always
seems to get asked when starting a project),
what data is already available?
Processing Tasks
In addition to these basic functions, Voyager
also offers the ability to process data using
streamlined tasks that can improve work pro-
ductivity. Even those who are not GIS
experts can use Voyagers powerful process-
ing capabilities. Tasks ranging from copy-
ing data from one location to another, con-
verting an item to KML, creating a GeoPDF
or default metadata, to combining imagery
into a raster (creating a mosaic) are possi-
ble and easy to perform. Using the Clip and
Ship tool you can quickly extract data for a
certain region within the extent of an item
and zip it into a le for distribution. The Clip
and Ship tool is especially useful for rapidly
collecting the data you need to import into
a mobile GIS application or for sharing data
with others who need only a small part of a
larger data set.
Management Options
Voyager provides a user-friendly interface
for data management tasks which allow you
to adjust all main settings and congurations
to meet your needs. You can customize the
indexing behavior (schedule when and how
Ar t i c l e
11
With the ever-growing quantity of geospatial data within companies and at geoportals, more and
more time is being spent on simply collecting required data. In practice, a fraction of time can be spent
on productive tasks like processing and analyzing the data. If geospatial data has to be findable and
transparent in the future, it may be time for a new approach to discovering GIS data.
By Nathan Bekkers, Michiel Schram and Brian Goldin
Visible relations of an item In Voyager
In the disaster response, defense, intelligence, agriculture and security arenas,
efcIent transformatIon of raw data Into actIonable IntellIgence Is crItIcal.
EF0AS |ACNE Incorporates a wIde varIety of remote sensIng data processIng,
terraIn analysIs and CS tools, provIdIng a fusIon of Imagery and geospatIal
analysIs workows.

CollectIng InformatIon from expert users, EF0AS contInually enhances the Imagery
analysIs workows necessary In these hIghdemand elds. EF0AS |ACNE 2011
features a number of new tools and an enhanced Interface desIgned specIcally
to quIckly and easIly create presentatIon products that derIve InformatIon from,
and clearly hIghlIght relevant areas of, Imagery.
For more InformatIon about magery AnalysIs wIthIn EF0AS |ACNE,
vIsIt www.erdas.com, call +1 877 CD EF0AS or emaIl us at Info@erdas.com.
Convert Your Raw Data
Into Actionable Intelligence.
ER0AS lmayery Analyss Workows.
13
often Voyager should index), as well as the user interface and permis-
sions for different types of users.
Saving Costs
Time is money. When less time is spent searching for data, costs are
reduced. However, Voyager can also play a role in other cost-saving
measureslike cleaning up data locations. It nds duplicate data,
which can lead to improved decision making about whether to remove
or consolidate data. Because Voyager also discovers relationships
and knows about shared underlying data between datasets, you can
easily nd out whether a dataset is used in other projects and maps.
Finding and cleaning up unnecessary duplicate data sets reduces stor-
age costs and also prevents the needless purchase of data that is later
found to be already available.
Unique Potential
Voyager offers a complete view of available geospatial resources,
stored in many formats, across many different systems and locations.
It not only searches data, it gives you insight into how the data is
used. In this way, it is a tool for improving GIS awareness among
users. It connects people with data more than you would expect. Now
a manager can get a feeling for the large amounts and kinds of GIS
data a GIS specialist actually works with. And, employees become
aware of the large amount of data with corresponding price tags.
Voyager is continuously being improved based on the experiences of
a wide range of user types. This can only encourage the further devel-
opment of this innovative Google for GIS, which surely provides a
high return on investment.
Nathan Bekkers is academic student at Utrecht University,
The Netherlands
Michiel Schram is geodata management specialist at Grontmij,
The Netherlands
Brian Goldin is co-founding partner VoyagerGIS, United States
For more information and a free trial edition of Voyager please visit: http://software.grontmij.nl/gis
Principle of Voyager

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Galileo, Glonass, Compass News
GNSS Update
It has been a while since there has been a GNSS update in this magazine. Not for a lack of news I
might add, but more for a lack of time to provide an overview of the news. Much has happened since
autumn 2010. In the USA a big argument around GPS frequencies has started whilst at the same time
the EU is trying to figure out how to continue with Galileo. Glonass has faced a major setback when a
rocket with three satellites on board exploded. Last, but not least, the Chinese keep on at a steady
pace and continue launching satellites.
Glonass
At the moment, Glonass is almost at full opera-
tional capability with 22 satellites operational.
The system should have been fully operational
by now had not a rocket containing 3 new
Glonass satellites veered of course in December
2010 and sunk in the Pacic Ocean. The acci-
dent was the result of too much fuel in the rock-
et. The loss cost Russia around 70 million euros.
On February 26th, after a delay of two months,
the rst of the new-generation Glonass-K1 satel-
lites was launched and put into orbit. The new
generation of Glonass-K1 satellites has a design
life of 10 years and operates from three fre-
quency bands (L1, L2 and L3) using ve differ-
ent signals. On the L3 band there will be a new
CDMA-type signal that is also used by GPS and
Galileo and which should give Glonass better
interoperability with those two systems.
The second generation of Glonass-K2 satellites
will have the same design life, more stable clocks
and will also broadcast CDMA-type signals on
both L1 and L2 giving it full interoperability with GPS (and later on with
Galileo and Compass).
Finally, a modernized version of the K satellite, the KM version, is cur-
rently under study and could be launched from 2015 onwards. This
satellite could also be transmitting signals on the GPS L5 band.
At the moment Russia expects to ll up the
Glonass constellation with four new satel-
lites by the end of 2011, with one launch
of Glonass-M satellites in the third quarter
and another launch of a single Glonass-K
satellite at the end of the year. All this
should bring Glonass to full operational
strength (24 satellites + 3 spares) by March
2012.
Galileo
Budget and constellation
While the two current Galileo satellites
(GIOVE-A and B) are well passed their orig-
inal design life of 27 months, the next genera-
tion of Galileo satellites is slowy creeping
towards its launch date. In 2011, the rst of four
In Orbit Validation (IOV) satellites should be
launched with the last leaving for space in
2012. The rst satellite is now going through
testing in Noordwijk (Netherlands).
The main question though is what will happen
after these IOV satellites are launched. At the
moment the project is running around 1.9 bil-
lion euros over the allocated 3.4 billion budget.
The quoted numbers are just for design and
launch. Operations for Galileo and Egnos are
estimated at an additional 800 million euros per
year.
Even though the European Commision has lent
its full support to the complete 30-satellite con-
stellation, the main question is whether the mem-
ber states will create the nancing. The estimat-
ed revenues from the so-called Public Regulated
Service (which has to be paid for by the gov-
ernments) is estimated to nally reach around
70 million euros; by far not enough to cover the additional costs.
So why still continue? This can best be illustrated by a comment that
went public through WikiLeaks from Berry Smutny, (now former) CEO
of OHB-Systems, one of the builders of the IOV satellites: I think Galileo
is a stupid idea that primarily serves French interests.
As the new budget cycle starts in 2014,
the big question at that time will be will the
money be available and if not what will
happen. There are already rumours that the
constellation will be reduced to 24 or even
18 satellites, giving partial instead of glob-
al coverage. If all 30 planned satellites are
launched, full operational capability is not
expected before 2020.
Facilities
For those manufacturers that still want to
develop Galileo-compatible recei vers,
there is good news. In Berchtesgaden in
14
April/May 2011
Ar t i c l e
By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
First Galileo IOV satellite (source: www.esa.int)
Galileo receiver in Berchtesgarden
Germany the Galileo Test and Development Environment (GATE) has
opened its doors. With antennas transmitting Galileo signals on the
mountaintops around a 65 square kilometre valley, new equipment can
be easily tested without the need for all satellites being launched.
In December 2010, two new control centres were opened to prepare
for the In Orbit Validation phase of Galileo. One is the Ground Control
center opened in Kiruma, Sweden, about 200 kilometres from the Arctic
Circle. The other is the navigation control hub in Fucino, Italy. Fucino,
which is one of two main control centers, is located in one of the largest
satellite communication stations in the world with more than 90 anten-
nas. The rst test of the Fucino facilities came in February when a dress
rehearsal was performed, ofcially called System Compatibility Test
Campaign, in which all control centres worked together with a simu-
lated Galileo ight model.
Also in the news is the location of the European GNSS Agency (GSA)
in the Czech Republic. More countries, including the Netherlands, were
competing for this post but it nally went to Prague. In January the new
head of the agency, Carlo des Dorides, was appointed.
GPS
L-Band jamming in the USA
In densely populated areas in the USA, GPS users may soon nd that
they have no coverage at all. Various operators are looking for a real-
location of L-band services in which GPS also operates. The new fre-
quencies are directly adjacent to the GPS L1 band where, combined
with densely populated, terrestrial, high-powered (1500 W) transmit-
ters, this could lead to the jamming of GPS. So far the US Federal
Communications Committee has provided a conditional waiver, allow-
ing 4G provider LightSquared to start the reallocation. Testing shows
that, depending on the type of receiver and particular environment,
problems occur up to16 kilometres away from the transmitters. The
effect on high-precision receivers is potentially even bigger (but still
untested).
Satellite developments
The rst phase of the two-phase reconguration of the GPS satellites
(also known as 24+3) was completed in January. Phase one was the
reconguration of three satellites to new orbits.
Compass
New satellites
In December 2010, China launched their second geosynchronous satel-
lite into orbit, following the launch of the rst one in October 2010.
Meanwhile, one of the earlier launched satellites is drifting in its orbit
and may not be usable. In total there are now 7 satellites launched. By
the end of 2012 there should be 7 more in orbit, completing the rst
phase of 14 satellites giving coverage over eastern Asia. By 2020
there should be global coverage with 27 satellites.
Compass signals
The discussion around Compass / Beidou signals is still ongoing. The
current design of Compass has overlap with the L1 and L5 signal of
GPS as well as the E5b signal of Galileo. The claim from the Chinese
is that this will make it easier to create interoperable GPS receivers, but
it could also lead to interference between the signals, especially the
Galileo Public Regulated Service as well as (but to a lesser extent) the
GPS-M (military) code. Both signals are primarly used for govern-
ment/military use.
Informal Chinese comments suggest that they consider both Glonass
and GPS to be well-established systems which new arrivals should
avoid. As far as Galileo is concerned the Chinese claim (not complete-
ly untrue) that they have similar rights and a close-to-working system
against a series of design documents.
Ar t i c l e
15
Galileo navigation control hub in Fucino (source: www.esa.int)
Overview of Glonass satellites (source: www.gpsworld.com)
Sun spot cycle
At the moment we are heading towards the
peak of the next sun spot cycle, with the
predicted peak somewhere in 2012.
Already the effects of the heightened levels
of solar ares can be seen in the upper
atmosphere (ionosphere). These solar ares
follow the amount of sun spot activity and
have the effect of creating a so-called scin-
tillation in the ionosphere.
As a result the satellite seems to be moving
around its actual position as viewed from
the receiver. Consequently, the positional
accuracy may be worse than under normal
circumstances. In the worst case the effect
is big enough to affect both the phase and
carrier frequency of the signals, leading to
the inabilty of the GPS receiver to track the
satellite.
In general, dual (or more) frequency
receivers can cope with these effects. Also,
newer receivers have, on the whole,
rmware that can better cope with the results.
GNSS augmentation
There are a number of space-based aug-
mentation systems (SBAS) available and
over the last few months there have been
developments for almost all of them.
Egnos
On the 2nd of March this year, the European Commission nally
announced that the Egnos Safety-of-Life service is now available. This
opens up the use of Egnos for aircraft. The Open Service has been
available since October 2009. What caused the delay is not known
but Egnos has experienced similar delays in the past.
WAAS
In the USA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced in
December 2010 that PRN135 has ceased broadcasting. As a result,
the WAAS coverage over Alaska has been degraded causing prob-
lems at 16 airports. WAAS was, until recently, the only SBAS in the
world certied for aircraft use. Also, due to the outage of PRN135,
there is only one satellite still covering the remainder of Alaska.
WAAS does not work in Latin America due to a lack of differential base
stations in that area. In October 2010 however a test was performed
with a new signal covering the
Caribbean as well as Central and
South America. The signal was
transmitted from the Inmarsat 3F4
satellite also used by other SBAS
systems.
MSAS
The rst Japanese SBAS satellite,
Michibiki, started transmissions in
October 2010. The satellite is of
the so-called Quasy Zenit Sationary
Satellite type (making gures of
eight loops over the equator).
Gagan
The Indian SBAS system, Gagan (for GPS-
Aided Geo Augmented Navigation) has
experienced a major setback as a rocket
carrying the satellite crashed and burned
in April 2010. It is not known when a new
satellite will be launched.
SDCM
Whereas all the SBAS systems are focused
on providing GPS corrections (or Galileo
in the future as with Egnos), none is broad-
casting Glonass corrections. This could
change in the very near future as the
Russians have the SDCM (System for
Differential Correction and Monitoring)
under development.
The system should provide Glonass correc-
tions using two geostationary communica-
tions satellites (Luch 5A, 5B and 4) sta-
tioned at 16W, 95E and 167E respectively,
covering not only Russia but also all of
Europe and Asia. All three satellites still
need to be launched however, with the rst
one (16W) in 2011, followed by another
(95E) in 2012 and the last one in 2013.
The system will make use of 12 monitor sta-
tions in Russia and one in Antarctica.
Included in the design are a further 5 sta-
tions outside of Russia, placed in Cuba,
Brazil, Vietnam, Australia and another station in Antarctica. This could
potentially give Glonass coverage to the south of the equator in sharp
contrast with the current systems which all operate north of the equator.
Loran
Although not a GNSS system, this article once more adresses the
only remaining long range terrestrial positioning system, Loran. The
reason for this is the vulnerability of GPS to jamming as shown earli-
er in this article. Notwhithstanding the compelling evidence of this
vulnerability, the US government has now made the shutting down
from a paper order to a practical exercise.
In 2010, two Loran-C towers in the USA were demolished in Alaska.
It is expected that shutting down Loran-C will save around 190 mil-
lion dollars over the next ve years. In Europe the Northern European
Loran System (NELS) is still in operation but it is unsure how long
this will continue.
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.com is a
freelance writer and trainer in the fields of
positioning and hydrography.
16
April/May 2011
Ar t i c l e
Current sun spot cycle (source: science.nasa.gov)
Planned Compass satellite constellation (source: www.gpsworld.com)
Overview of current GNSS systems and parameters
Sustainable Development of Local Industry
Reaping Benefits from Enter
The Herbert Resource Information Centre (HRIC) is an Australian nonprofit organization that supports
the sustainable development of the sugarcane industry in the area. The HRIC is also responsible for
building community networks between local industry, government, and residents. To better analyze
local sugarcane farming and distribute its findings, HRIC launched Herbert Information Portal (HIP), a
collaborative GIS using Esri software, that has evolved into an enterprise system.
Sugarcane Cultivation: then and
now
The roots of cooperative sugarcane cultiva-
tion in the Herbert River catchment basin in
North Queensland, Australia, can be traced
to the early 1880s, when six small landown-
ers formed the Herbert River Farmers
Association. Shaped by the social and eco-
nomic conditions of the day, the landowners
believed that both the sugarcane industry
and local residents would be better served
by cooperative farming rather than the plan-
tation model that had ourished in the area
for the preceding 20 years.
Two years later, Colonial Sugar Rening
Company (CSR), the primary sugarcane pro-
cessing company in the region, offered
agreements to the newly formed association
to centrally mill its cane. In 1891, CSR sub-
sequently subdivided its Homebush Estate
into small farms, which it leased to local
farmers with an option to buy.
Though farming methods in the Herbert River
catchment have changed greatly during the
succeeding 130 years, its cooperative nature
has grown even stronger with the founding
of Herbert Resource Information Centre
(HRIC). Established in 1996, this nonprot
organization supports the sustainable devel-
opment of the sugarcane industry in the
Lower Herbert River catchment through tech-
nological innovation and is responsible for
building community networks between local
industry, government, and residents.
A Collaborative GIS
Shortly after its formation, HRIC conducted
a mapping project of the Herbert River ood-
plain. The results of the project proved dif-
cult to disseminate to both the HRIC coalition
and the local farming community. It was
decided to implement a GIS that would allow
HRIC to better analyze local sugarcane farm-
ing and distribute its ndings. Consequently,
HRIC launched Herbert Information Portal
(HIP), a collaborative GIS using Esri soft-
ware.
Today, HIP has evolved into an enterprise sys-
tem built on Esris ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS
Desktop and extensions. The GIS is web
based so that HRIC partners and local farm-
ers can get easy access to information. HIP
supports most of the critical business pro-
cesses in the regions sugar industry supply
chain by acting as the catalyst for imple-
menting precision farming technology, from
improved harvesting and transport manage-
ment to more efcient milling operations.
Applications include Cane Mapping and
Management, Real-Time Cane Harvester
Monitoring, Sucrogen Rail Safe Integration,
and Cane Yield Monitoring systems. These
applications use GIS to promote efciency,
productivity, and improved environmental
outcomes for HRIC partners and sugarcane
growers.
18
April/May 2011
Ar t i c l e
By Jim Baumann
Sugar industry portal showing cane paddocks and canerail infrastructure. Flood portal data for a 1 in 100 year flood is displayed for the area south of Ingham.
The Advantages of a Partnership
Because the Herbert River catchment basin is
sandwiched between two environmentally pro-
tected areasWet Tropics World Heritage
Area and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
the cane-growing industry uses the tools pro-
vided by HRIC to improve productivity while
monitoring and reducing impact on the envi-
ronment.
Though initially established as a technology
center, we quickly realized that the most sig-
nicant value that HRIC could provide to our
partners was the opportunity to build and
enhance relationships among people and
organizations, says Raymond De Lai, HRIC
manager. We are strongly focused on build-
ing trust, commitment, and cooperation
through a shared vision among our partners
and the wider community.
The partners in the HRIC project include local
government representatives from Hinchinbrook
Shire Council; the CSR group that renes and
transports the processed sugarcane; and
Terrain Natural Resource Management, a non-
prot agency that builds regional consensus
for natural resource management. Also includ-
ed in the management coalition are represen-
tatives from the Bureau of Sugar Experiment
Stations and Herbert Cane Productivity
Services, which provide research, develop-
ment, and extension services to the sugarcane
industry.
For us, the advantage of a partnership
approach to an enterprise GIS is the sharing
of its cost, risk, andof coursethe benets,
says De Lai. Any one of our HRIC partners
would nd it very difcult to fund their own sys-
tem. Together, we are able to buy into a large
enterprise GIS infrastructure, data manage-
ment processes, capacity building, and a rela-
tionship with our partners that provides bene-
ts beyond GIS projects.
The mutual support and interaction between
HRIC and the community is essential because
sugarcane production in the area is a compli-
cated process that includes a number of well-
coordinated steps, from planting to harvesting.
The process is underpinned by the automatic
collection and transmission of spatial data to
HIP for analysis and decision making.
Our sugarcane growing and harvesting pro-
cedures require a high level of interdepen-
dence within the community because the pro-
cess is not vertically integrated, except for the
milling and transport, says De Lai. We rely
a great deal on the growers to provide regu-
lar updates on the status of their elds.
Because sugar production can be increased
with better management of harvest scheduling
and decision making based on regional vari-
ations in soil, irrigation, and climatic condi-
tions, the growers have tted their harvesting
equipment with onboard computers, electron-
ic logbooks, base-cutter height sensor kits, and
yield monitors. Data is automatically collected
by the sensor systems installed on the tractors
and other eld equipment and transferred to
HIP for processing and analysis with ArcGIS.
Harvesting through Twitter
When analyzing yield variation within a eld,
the system suggests how growers may be able
to reduce their costs through varying farm
inputs. By closely managing irrigation and
monitoring climatic conditions, the optimal
harvesting time can be determined to maxi-
mize the sucrose content in the sugarcane. An
increased sucrose yield increases the prof-
itability of the harvest. Since harvesting is the
costliest activity on a sugarcane farm, it is
19

prise GIS
Sugar industry portal showing harvested areas and cane harvester movements. Farm numbers are displayed; harvested areas
(green); fallow cane (brown); green points are the harvester cutting points, and the orange points are where it was turning around - this
allows us to look at harvesting efficiency.
Ar t i c l e
important to keep the cane harvesters in con-
stant operation during the cutting season. This
is facilitated, in part, through the use of Twitter,
the social networking site. Farmers Tweet the
status of the harvester in their eld so that the
owner of the subsequent eld knows exactly
when the equipment will arrive to begin the
next job. It is expected that this concept will
be used for other projects in the near future,
such as identifying the location of cane trains
and broadcasting the estimated times of
arrival.
Using Esris enterprise GIS has allowed us to
integrate our various data inputs and provide
real-time access for managers and decision
makers. In development terms, we are doing
things now in hours and days that would pre-
viously have taken us weeks and months.
Technically, we can put in place anything we
envision at the moment. Our challenge is to
identify the business models that are sustain-
able and support those opportunities through
GIS, De Lai concludes.
Jim Baumann, writer, Esri.
20
April/May 2011
Pest and weed portal. Tool used by property owners tomap pests and weeds. This is an online mapping and editing tool that
comes out-of-the-box with Esri software and is very powerful and practical.

Ar t i c l e
Trade Fair and Congress
Globalgeo and International
The yearly Globalgeo event in Barcelona, Spain comprises an international geoinformation show, with
an exhibition and forums, as well as the International Geomatic Week. The latter focuses on scientific
sessions with national and international scientists presenting their work. All events combined form an
event that offers extremely good value for money and an excellent impression of whats going on
right now in the industry.
Introduction
Globalgeo is a Spanish geospatial event
held every year in Barcelona. The event
includes an international geoinformation
show, which combines an exhibition and
forums, together with a scientic program
with national and international speakers.
This year's Globalgeo was held from the
15th to the 17th of March in the Fira de
Barcelona Montjuc exhibition centre. Its
technical program, offered approximately
150 activities, in which over 250 renowned
experts in this eld participated. The ses-
sions dealt with the latest advances in 3D
cartography, navigation systems and the
new applications for an urban environment,
for example, management of emergencies
and mobility in cities.
Globalgeo also hosted the ninth
International Geomatic Week. This event,
organized by the Geomatics Institute and
the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, fea-
tured more than 50 scientic sessions with
the participation of 100 national and
international speakers, and specialists in dif-
ferent areas of geomatics: geodesy, naviga-
tion, photogrammetry, teledetection, cartog-
raphy and geographic information systems
(GIS).
GIT-GIS 2011 Forum
The GIT-GIS 2011 Forum focused on the
advantages of applying geoinformation in
an urban environment to improve the man-
agement of cities (mobility, efciency, sus-
tainability, etc.), and to promote greater par-
ticipation of their citizens. The forum was
organized by the Catalan Association of
Geospatial Information Technologies
(ACTIG) with the collaboration of the
Cartographic Institute of Catalonia. The pre-
sentations discussed below were all part of
this forum.
Lift Lab
Fabien Girardin of Lift Lab, a Swiss consul-
tancy rm, spoke about the exploitation of
city networks. He asked himself the question,
which parts of cities are more photographed
that others, and also when? All this serves
to understand the dynamic of a city. To inves-
tigate this, he set up a website called Elephant
Path (www.elephant-path.com) that distills
unofcial routes and beaten tracks of a region
out of different sources of information shared
on the internet. Think of people who visit a
city and take pictures, and share these
through ickr.com. The results of such
research are used for commercial purposes
such as geomarketing, or to improve naviga-
tion through cities, as well as mobility and
accessibility. To demonstrate that on a micro
scale the same theories apply, he discussed
the example of hypergestion in the Louvre,
the worlds most visited museum. Because it
is so popular, congestion by visitors often
occurs. To make the museum more accessi-
ble, Girardin investigated, through the use of
GPS, how much time people spend in a cer-
tain room. He also spoke with the guards who
work at the museum and was therefore able
to share a lot of information that GPS is
unable to generate, about how crowds move
through the museum. With the data captured,
the museum was able to do some rerouting
to avoid the congestion. The same concept
applies for cities as a whole.
OSGEO
A completely different take on crowd sourc-
ing was delivered by Arnulf Christi from
22
April/May 2011
E v e n t
By Eric van Rees
An impression of Globalgeo
OSGEO. His presentation included topics
such as free software licenses, open source
methodologies and crowd sourcing data.
OSGEO is a global nonprot organization
founded in February 2006 and is the lead-
ing voice for geospatial open source and
free software. Its core structure has been
gleaned from the Apache Foundation.
OSGEO is based on volunteer work and
funded through sponsorship. The organiza-
tions goals are: promoting free spatial data
and access, promoting the use of standards,
creating and maintaining a quality brand
and providing resources for FOSS4G pro-
jects (infrastructure, legal and nancing).
OSGEO was born out of necessity because
a lot of people kept asking for it. Before
OSGEO, its soon-to-be members would dis-
cuss various issues via email, but it was clear
that an organization with a formal structure
would have more authority and the ability
to get things done more easily. The organi-
zation now arranges conferences and fairs.
Christi addressed some of the misconcep-
tions that still exist about the term free soft-
ware licensing. He explained that it should
be compared to free speech, rather than
free beer: people are free to use it for their
own purposes and distribute it as such, or
choose a software vendor if they prefer.
In terms of open source, Christi stated that it
stands for a development model. The source
code of any software contains all the func-
tionality in a readable format. Only the
source code can be modied. End users
generally work with the compiled, machine-
readable version. Developers prefer open
source models because it is a lot easier to
share, debug, reuse, improve, and simply
to use them. Comparing business models of
proprietary software vendors and open
source developers, both have different
goals: where the rst want to sell licenses,
open source wants to solve problems. This
is a bit too far from the truth actually, since
Christi admitted that with open source
money also has to be made because every-
one has to make a living. However, it
remains clear that major software vendors
like Autodesk, Esri and Oracle, have adopt-
ed open source. It would have been inter-
esting to hear a bit more on this crossover
theme, but unfortunately this did not hap-
pen.
OSGEOs paradigm consists of two points.
It tries to publish early, and release often.
This is the other way around compared to
software vendors, who often postpone new
releases so that they can keep new features
or extensions for later and make more
money with it. Although OSGEO intends to
release often, this is not always the case.
Some of its software products have not been
updated for a long time, because program-
mers have others things on their minds
and/or that a community decides that some
products are more favorable than others.
This is also a consequence of the develop-
ment of the internet: software can now be
distributed more easily than before and a
lot of people can work on a source code at
the same time without having to be in the
same room. Without the internet, the devel-
opment of an organization such as OSGEO
would not have been possible.
At the end of his presentation, Christi spoke
of Open Street Map, more specically of
two terms that have emerged from that pro-
ject: volunteered geographic information
and crowd-sourced data. The rst term
describes the production side of data
E v e n t
23

Geomatic Week
through crowds. It is not always clear what
volunteered means. Crowd-sourced data
is a term that emerged around the
Wikipedia project. It describes the collabo-
rative production, maintenance and use of
data through crowds. Open Street Map is
right now the largest project around crowd-
sourced data. Unfortunately, Christi did not
go into any details about the current status
of the project, nor was their time to go deep-
er into the advantages and disadvantages
of open source software in general. I think
this was a missed opportunity.
Google Geo
Carlos Mann, Manager of Google Geo
South Europe, outlined the future of the com-
panys geospatial activities and how they t
into what has happened in the last few
years. It was expected that this presentation
would gather a lot of attention and conse-
quently, the room was full of people who
came to listen. Recently launched applica-
tions, such as an API for elevation in Google
Maps and optimized directions, show that
Google keeps ne-tuning its free service.
Although the elevation models are not the
most state-of-the-art that Ive ever seen, its
good to notice that Google adds this data
to Google Maps I expect
ashier updates sooner or later.
More interesting were the
announcements on Google Maps
API for mobile, which now works
on different platforms and allows
you to create maps for desktop or
mobile. This seems to solve the
cross-device issues that exist in
the mobile space. This will be a
clear advantage over competi-
tors, as Mann himself remarked
later in his presentation.
In terms of imagery, May 2010
saw the release of custom street
view, with support for customer
imagery that allows retailers to have their
own imagery used rather than just Googles.
Also launched that month was the ability to
show thousands of markers, thanks to serv-
er-side marker rendering with fusion tables.
This allows thousands of markers and heat
maps to be displayed with no performance
overhead. Finally, Mann mentioned the
launch of Google Places, a Google Places
API and the ability to produce customized
and styled maps.
After this release overview, Mann focused
on the present and future. Not surprisingly,
the mobile space is where Google sees a
lot of potential, illustrated by the fact that
this year it is to be expected that more smart
phones and tablets will be sold than PCs.
Mann pointed out that theres a correlation
of 80% between innovation and collabora-
tion, meaning that innovation stimulates col-
laboration. To make this happen, there still
exists inhibitors that restrict the ability to
adapt. These are data collection, complex
interfaces and user dependency on a spe-
cic device (device centric) to get things
done. With data collection is meant the
sourcing of hundreds of data les, being
expensive and time-consuming. Complex
interfaces refer to apps that are built for GIS
analysis rather than usability and visual
analysis. Generally, what Mann refers to
here I think are the different types of users:
mass consumers versus the GIS analyst. Both
have different needs and the devices and
interfaces should be adjusted to reect this.
Although Mann didnt go any deeper into
this diversication of user types and needs,
I would be interested to know Googles
plans to get closer to what GIS vendors are
doing in terms of providing apps that under-
take analysis and visualization. Another
topic is how Google deals with geospatial
data (whether crowd-sourced data or author-
itative data), but Mann didnt touch on this
subject at all during his presentation.
What did become clear from this presenta-
tion is that Google is uniquely positioned to
overcome the problems that exist in mobile
space, in terms of sourcing large data sets,
user dependency on a specic device and
interfaces. With a worldwide user base, ser-
vices such as StreetView, exclusive GeoEye
rights and a team of 350,000 developers,
theres no company that is in the same posi-
tion to offer the services Google offers in the
consumer area. With the coming of web-
based GIS, it is to be expected that Google
will play a signicant role. Right now it is
too soon to tell what exactly will
happen here, but the capacity is
already there, with worldwide
data centers and cloud comput-
ing power.
Internet: www.globalgeobcn.com
Lift Lab: http://liftlab.com
www.elephant-path.com
www.osgeo.org
E v e n t
24
April/May 2011

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GPS Machine Control Has Replaced
Traditional Staking
Unless youve been sleeping behind the wheel,
youve likely heard of GPS machine control. Also
referred to as machine guidance or automated
machine control, these systems are widely used by
heavy construction companies. They speed up work,
improve grade accuracy and improve the billing
and scheduling accuracy of jobs. For example, by
calculating the amount of material moved in a day,
they can substantiate bills or keep employees on
schedule.
The premise behind the technology is simple: just
like using GPS in your car, a GPS machine control
system tells excavators where to drive equipment.
Additionally, these systems indicate the grade to
excavate at. Depending on which version is being
used, machine control systems either provide instruc-
tion on where to position the blade or automatical-
ly do it for drivers.
GPS machine control systems replace surveyors old
jobs - especially staking. Traditionally, machine
operators relied on stakes for both position and
Housten Neal
C o l u mn
26
April/May 2011
Surveying is going through a technological renaissance. The increased
adoption of machine guidance systems has renewed the importance of the
surveying trade. This technology calls for a highly-trained workforce, and
surveyors are the most qualified for this job. But to get in on the action,
surveyors need to learn to use this technology and re-brand themselves,
writes Houston Neal.
About Creating Disruption and Opportunities
Automation of Surveying
Before any construction begins on a job site, surveyors are needed to set up the geodetic control. The next step is to create the 3D model that will
be used in the machine control system. (image source: Autodesk)
By Houston Neal

grade information. With machine control, this information is relayed
in real-time to a unit on the drivers dashboard.
So if staking is no longer necessary, are surveyors still necessary?
Absolutely. Historical roles like boundary resolution and topographic
survey work cannot be automated, so surveyors will always be need-
ed for these. But they are also the best people to take on more mod-
ern duties, such as managing the GPS machine control system.
A Picture of the Modern Surveyor
To stay relevant on the job site, surveyors need to take ownership of three
roles: they need to calibrate the site, prepare data for the machine control
system, and provide quality control and assurance of the nished grade.
Before any construction begins on a job site, surveyors are needed to set
up the geodetic control. This is a reference system used to determine GPS
coordinates. After the geodetic control points have been determined, the
base station can be set and the site can be calibrated.
The next step is to create the 3D model that will be used in the machine
control system. This is a huge opportunity for surveyors. Preparing data
for the machine control system can be difcult and many contractors dont
want the extra liability. So they either outsource or hire exclusively for
this task; some even dedicate entire teams to data preparation.
To own this process, surveyors must rst learn to work with paper plans
and CAD les. 3D data models are made with both types of plans. Often
surveyors have to clean up drawings before building the 3D model. So
its essential that they are familiar with the various le formats, to under-
stand how to use them, and to be able to build the models afterwards.
Finally, these les will need to be converted into a machine-ready format
and uploaded into the machine control system.
Someone has to have their ngers on manipulating the design into a
format that goes into the computers on the machine guidance systems,
explains Tom Taylor, Chief of Surveys Coordination and New
Technologies For Caltrans District 4 Surveys. The best people to do this
are surveyors. Its a niche that surveyors are in the best position to pro-
vide this service for.
Once the site has been calibrated and the data has been uploaded into
the machine control system, construction can begin. But the surveyors role
doesnt end here. They will be needed during construction to monitor the
machine control and to deliver quality control and assurance. No one is
more qualied to provide quality assurance of grades than the surveyors.
Training and Branding: the Keys to Unlocking Job
Opportunities
To take advantage of these job opportunities, surveyors need to learn to
use this technology and re-brand themselves. As mentioned above, they
will need to learn how to work with CAD les, how to develop 3D models
for machine control and how to transfer data into the machine control sys-
tems.
Maintain your expertise in the technology, suggests John Watson,
President of the Texas Society of Professional Surveyors. Surveyors have
always been at the forefront of technology and they need to stay that way.
Always be learning. Always be training on new equipment.
They should also become familiar with the major machine control pack-
ages on the market from companies such as Caterpillar, Leica, Topcon,
Trimble and GeoPac, the software used by many branches of the
Department of Transportation (DOT). Surveyors can get training directly
from these companies, or one of the many partners that resell these sys-
tems.
In addition to getting training, surveyors need to brand themselves as
machine control experts. Contractors, land engineers and surveyors are all
vying for this title and no one has proved themselves in the role yet. Land
surveyors are the most qualied for the job, so they should position them-
selves accordingly. And to support this claim, they need only point to the
existing state laws that require surveyors to be part of the machine control
setup process.
Salient Points
Surveyors have an opportunity to work in more professional roles
that require more thought than swinging a hammer or pounding a
stake
To win more jobs, surveyors need to take ownership of the follow-
ing tasks:
Site calibration
Data preparation
Quality assurance and control
Houston Neal, houston@softwareadvice.com.
This article originally appeared on Software Advice, a free online resource for heavy construction software.
You can view the original article at Automation of Surveying Creates Disruption and Opportunities: www.soft-
wareadvice.com/articles/construction/automation-of-surveying-creates-disruption-and-opportunities-1022211
C o l u mn
Surveyors will need to learn how to work with CAD files, how to develop 3D models for machine control
and how to transfer data into the machine control systems (image source: Autodesk)
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Leica Geosystems' Geoff Jacobs
High Definition Surveying and
Geoff Jacobs is Senior Vice President, Strategic Marketing at Leica Geosystems, HDS. In this lengthy
interview, Joc Triglav asked him all about Leicas current hardware and software solutions in the field
of high definition laser scanning. Find out all about the big added value of laser scanning, the different
features of different laser scanners, and how Leica is fusing workflows and achieving interoperability
with Intergraph systems, among many other topics.
Conventional Surveying vs. High Definition
Surveying
As a start, its interesting to know in which ways laser scanning and
high denition surveying differ from the traditional surveying
measurements and which are the common points between them.
Geoff Jacobs: First let me discuss the similarities starting with the
instrument itself. Think of a laser scanner as a reectorless total sta-
tion on steroids, quickly sweeping its rapid-re laser up and down
over the scene as the instrument head rotates. A scanner uses the
same measurement principles as a reectorless total station for dis-
tance and angle measurements for each reectorless point recorded.
A laser scanner provides a key, same benet as a reectorless total
station you dont have to walk to and occupy points that you want
to record.
Data capture through scanning can be compared with the complete-
ness of a photograph: this completeness reduces errors of omission,
provides valuable project QA, adds context, and enables surveyors
to reuse scan data for client requests that may come well after the
original survey is done without having to return to the site. These
benets have proven themselves to be very valuable, over and over
again, states Jacobs.
But, adds Jacobs, the main difference from a methodology stand-
point between conventional surveying and high-denition surveying
is in the ofce. Instead of selecting and recording a specic point in
the eld and assigning it a feature in the eld (conventional
approach), the feature coding task shifts to the ofce with scanning:
An ofce tech performs what is now commonly known as virtual
surveying; he/she assign features to specic scan points from high-
28
April/May 2011
I n t e r v i e w
By Joc Triglav
denition 3D scan images of the site/scene on a computer display.
Point cloud software also has many other tools for automatically cre-
ating deliverables needed for a survey. Once coding and related
tasks are done, the rest of the process for creating nal map deliver-
ables is the same as for conventional ofce methods. So, the pro-
cesses are different, but the end products are often exactly the same.
Main Productivity and Versatility Factors for Laser
Scanning
Geoff Jacobs explains the main productivity and versatility factors
for laser scanning, starting with the laser scanning eld productivity
and versatility factors: For laser scanning, eld productivity factors
boil down to the number of scanner setups needed, the number of
scan targets that need to be placed, surveyed, and scanned, and
time needed per scanner setup.
Many scanner features impact both the number of scanner setups
needed and the number of targets needed and where they can be
placed. These include:
Maximum eld-of-view - all scanners have a 360 horizontal FoV;
the bigger the vertical FoV, the better; full dome is the best
Maximum useful range the longer the better as long as the
accuracy at the extent of the useful range meets project require-
ments
Whether or not a scanner has proper tilt compensation - traverse
and back-sight methods enabled by tilt compensation can reduce
or eliminate target placements
Jacobs: 'Useful range' is a complex subject for scanners. You not
only need to account for the distance at which you can accurate-
ly capture a scene, but also for the distance at which you can
accurately capture scan targets. The longer the distance, the bet-
ter for both as long as you meet the projects accuracy require-
ments. Useful scanner range is, in turn, a factor of many scan-
ner features:
Maximum range at which a useful number of points with suf-
cient accuracy can be captured
Maximum scan density at range (needed for targets and detail
features)
Spot size at range - the smaller the better
Accuracy of each point at range (based on single measurement
distance accuracy, vertical angle accuracy, and horizontal angle
accuracy) the higher the accuracy, the better as far as versatility
Scan noise at range the lower the better
Likewise, many scanner features impact the amount of time needed
per setup and for target placement and capture, says Jacobs. For
this, key factors are:
Transport, instrument setup and tear-down time
Boot-up time
Time for programming the scanner for the desired scan densities
and elds-of-view
Time for capturing images and/or for preview scans (optional)
Time for scanning the scene
Time for locating targets/ne features and scanning them
(optional)
Time for QA of captured scans and images (optional)
Versatility Factors
Jacobs outlines the many scanner factors that impact its versatility:
Accuracy at range for the scene higher accuracy at longer
range is better
Accuracy at range for targets higher accuracy at longer range
is better
Ability to resolve ne details at range longer range for this is
better
Absolute range longer is better
Deployment cost lower is better
Field of View full dome is best
Portability
Dual-axis, tilt-compensation having this is a big plus
Environmental Capabilities broader is better
Camera imaging higher quality is better
Fit with time windows faster is better
Compatibility with standard survey accessories
Power supply options the more common, the better
Control interface and data storage options more is better
Field QA capabilities more is better
Flexible mounting orientation
Prole mode useful for dual purpose for mobile scanning
Stake-out capability nice but rarely used
Data formats more standard and more compact is better
Laser class/visibility sometimes visible is good, sometimes its
not.
Differences between Impulse- and Phase-based
Laser Scanners
When asked about the differences between the impulse- and phase-
based laser scanners from the technical and usability point of view,
I n t e r v i e w
29

Laser Scanning
Geoff Jacobs
Jacobs responds that Impulse and phase refer only to the method of
range determination: Impulse measures the time of ight of a burst of
laser energy to a surface and back to the scanner. Because these bursts
of laser energy contain more photons, the impulse method enables longer
measurement ranges.
Phase-based scanners rely on a phase-shift method for determining
range. These scanners emit continuously, allowing more range measure-
ments per second. Today, phase-based measurement can collect up to 1
million pts/sec vs >100,000 pts/sec for impulse methods. Phase-based
scanner users typically scan at 100k -200k pts/sec due to data quality
and le size issues at the higher rates.
From a practical standpoint, phase-based scanners have been used for
short range applications. Jacobs: Theyve been great for tunnels, caves,
and building & facility interiors and have often provided a eld produc-
tivity and scan density advantage at short range. Impulse scanners have
proven to be more versatile they can be used for short range applica-
tions (including all of the above) plus long range applications, including
many civil/infrastructure and building exterior applications.
Data from phase-based scanners are generally harder to convert into
deliverables le sizes are larger and data quality can be noisier. Today,
impulse scanners are the most popular in the market owing to their ver-
satility and still very good overall productivity.
IT, Software roductivity and Versatility Factors
Measuring of point clouds in the eld is just an initial part of the job.
Millions of points have to be processed through the steps of registration,
geo-referencing, data cleanup and preparation, visualisation, etc., to trans-
form into deliverable forms. Jacobs explains what a prospective user should
know about the IT and software productivity and versatility factors: Ofce
aspects have the biggest impact on an organization that adds high deni-
tion surveying to its tool kit.
IT impacts are generally basic ones, often including a need for ofce com-
puters with more horsepower. Servers can come into play and advanced
users have even started to add new portal-based services to their clients.
None of these aspects is terribly ground-breaking and incremental costs
are generally an order of magnitude less than the investment in the scan-
ner and software.
Software productivity and versatility are also complex subjects for process-
ing point clouds into deliverables. Ofce steps for handling and process-
ing high-denition survey data into deliverables follow a basic sequence:
1. Data management
2. Multi-scan registration & geo-referencing
3. Data clean-up
4. Conversion of registered, cleaned data into survey deliverables
5. Export/import into drafting or other software for creating nal
client deliverables (if needed)
From a productivity and ease-of-use standpoint, developers of point
cloud processing software have included these approaches to make
ofce software easier to learn and faster, states Jacobs:
Intuitive interface
Step-by-step on-screen guidance
Interface similar to other survey software
Simplicity
Automation
Efciently management and manipulation of very large data sets
Versatility in both hardware and software are especially critical fac-
tors for surveyors. A surveyor wants to provide services to a wide
variety of market segments, for example pro pe r ty/ boundary,
civil/infrastructure, industrial plant, heritage, forensics, architec-
ture/buildings, etc. Each of these vertical markets often has different
requirements in the eld regarding site logistics and accuracy needs
and in the ofce as far as deliverables re quired, says Jacobs.
Unlike an industrial plant engineering rm that may only need to
worry about short range interior facilities with 3D as-built model
deliverables, a surveying rm wants to be able to service all possi-
ble opportunities that come their way. So versatility of hardware
and software is a primary requirement for the vast majority of sur-
veying professionals according to Jacobs.
There are many software versatility factors that enable surveyors to
efciently produce the needed deliverables:
Personnel versatility
IT and commercial aspects
Registration & geo-referencing
Data import/export
Data le size
Data cleanup
Visualization
Navigation
Types of deliverables
Tools for creating each type of deliverables
Jacobs says that he could write a lot about each one of these fac-
tors: For readers, I recommend that they use this as a checklist and
ask each vendor to show them all of the different tools and approach-
es that their software has available that address each bullet point.
The more choices that a user has, for example to visualize point
clouds, the better from a versatility standpoint. More than anything
else, a user needs to be condent that the software they buy can
efciently produce the full range of deliverables needed by clients.
Also, readers should be aware that high-denition surveying
enables surveyors to produce many more types of deliverables than
they may be accustomed to, such as animations and 'TruViews'.
Make sure to ask your vendors or other users about these.
Laser Scanning, Errors, and how to avoid or
compensate them
As well as any other surveying measurement methods, laser scan-
ning is not free of errors. The fact is that there are many potential
contributors to errors, says Jacobs: Some are eld sources, includ-
ing instrument sources, while others are in the ofce. Heres a list
of potential error sources:
Single point accuracy (Range error, Vertical angle error,
Horizontal angle error)
Spot size
Scan density
Scan noise
Geo-referencing accuracy
Point representation (software)
Registration algorithms
Fitting algorithms
Field & ofce procedures
Readers will recognize some potential error sources as being the
same as a conventional total station, including range measurement
and angular measurements. Scanners can go out of calibration, just
like a total station.
Just as there are many potential sources of error, there are also many
ways to avoid or compensate for them: In the eld, theres no sub-
I n t e r v i e w
30
April/May 2011
stitute for good survey
practice, especially con-
ducting independent QA
checks using independent
tools. For example, scan-
ners often utilize scan tar-
gets to help register scans
together. A user can scan
a target with very high
scan density and accu-
rately extract the target
center coordinate. Targets
can also be surveyed con-
ventionally, so its easy to
check slope distances
between target centers
using these two indepen-
dent methods. Jacobs:
Use of objects in a
scanned scene with known geometry are also helpful, like the popu-
lar twin target pole it has two scan targets on a single pole with
a known distance between the two. This can be easily checked in
the eld.
Other eld QA methods include incorporating known points into the
scan data les, especially for horizontal surfaces where elevations
may already be known. Visual checks of scan data are also useful
in the eld to ensure completeness of coverage and sufcient scan
density on objects of particular interest. Of course, instruments should
be calibrated according to manufacturers recommendations, states
Jacobs.
The most common sources of errors for projects involving scanning
are with registration and geo-referencing. If scanners without tilt com-
pensators are used, then targets must be used or scans must be reg-
istered to each other using cloud-to-cloud overlap methods. The use
of targets is similar to the use of control points in photogrammetric
surveys. Their relative placement, having enough of them, and hav-
ing them scanned (and surveyed) accurately with good geometry
(like PDOP for GPS) is critical to project accuracy: Surveyors have
a big leg up here, because they understand the basic principles of
good network geometry, states Jacobs.
The second most common source of errors for scanning projects is
not scanning densely enough to be able to extract deliverables at
the required project accuracy: Because of this factor, experienced
users often over scan, taking more dense data than may really be
needed.
Errors can also be introduced in the ofce, especially with noisy
scan data. Scan data often has to be cleaned properly to create
desired deliverables: If you dont clean it well enough, you can use
bad points in the deliverable extraction process and thus introduce
errors.
There are many ways to register scans together. Its helpful if eld
and ofce tools offer multiple ways including the use of back-sight-
ing and traversing, targets, and cloud-to-cloud registration: With
multiple options, you can use one method to cross-check another
method. Or you can combine methods to get optimal results. Its also
very important that software give users full statistics that you can
trust on the t of point clouds to the nal deliverables.
Of course, scanning also
lends itself very well to
doing visual checks of
ofce work, comparing
deliverables with raw
scan data images as a
nal QA step. This can
help eliminate blunders
and omissions. In fact,
some organizations that
own scanners use them
for QA on every single
survey project. Laser
scan data makes an
excellent QA tool that can
eliminate return trips to
the eld, concludes
Jacobs.
Misconceptions about Laser Scanning
Probably the biggest misconception that remains today about laser
scanning is the notion that there are scanning projects accompa-
nied by the statement that we dont have enough scanning projects
to justify getting into it, says Jacobs.
There is no such thing as a scanning project even if the client
species scanning for the task. There are only surveying projects
its up to the surveyor to decide which tools to use. A laser scanner
and point cloud software are simply tools in the kit.
A second common misconception - I even still hear this one from
many vendors and others in the industry - is that scanning equals
3D. This is often accompanied by the question My clients dont
yet require 3D deliverables, so why would I get into scanning?
The reality is that the vast majority of deliverables extracted from
high-denition scan data are traditional 2D deliverables. Yes, scan-
ners can display data in 3D, but this is just an added feature that
can come in handy if your client needs 3D deliverables or creating
other deliverables. Jacobs stresses that scanners provide better, rich-
er information than conventional survey methods; 3D is an added
bonus, but that it is NOT their main feature.
When asked what he sees as the most common trap today in laser
scanning is, Jacobs answers that the idea that if your organization
acquires a scanner, then your phone will suddenly start ringing with
new scanning business: Today, surveyors are very aware of scanning.
They have a decent understanding of scannings potential productivity
benets and its added value benets. However, the vast majority of
potential clients are not very familiar with scanning and its benets for
them. Many successful scanning service providers are continually edu-
cating potential clients about the benets of the technology.
Because of this trap, organizations can underestimate the marketing
effort needed for educating clients. If its done successfully and
there are thousands of cases where this has been done successfully -
the rewards can be substantial; however, realistic expectations are
very helpful, warns Jacobs.
Laser Scanning and Added Value
Laser scanning users often refer to added context and/or added
value in describing the benets and competitive advantages of their
I n t e r v i e w
31
various laser scanning projects.
According to Jacobs, this topic
addresses the single, most excit-
ing aspect about this technolo-
gy for the surveying and map-
ping profession: If you think
about it, virtually all of the sur-
veying instrument technology
advances that have been made
for the profession have focused
on doing the same task more
productively, i.e. mapping sin-
gle points to create the client
deliverable.
Scanning can not only let sur-
veyors be more productive in the eld for certain projects, but it pro-
vides a truly massive step forward in the richness (and value) of the
information that is collected and therefore also available to clients.
Its this notion of providing better information, not just the same
information cheaper that is the big win, the big added value.
A simple but common example: poorly dened project scope or
scope creep. Surveyors have all done projects probably lots of
projects where the client may have not been fully certain about
what they needed to be surveyed. Maybe the project was in its pre-
liminary design stage. So, the survey is done based on what the
client thought he/she wanted at the time. Then, after deliverables
are provided, the client looks at the map and asks the dreaded ques-
tion, What about so-and-so? For example, Where are the over-
head wires?, What about that area over there? I need more detail
there.
Traditionally, the retort is, You didnt ask me to survey that! I can
do it, but it will cost this much extra. Or, depending on how des-
perate the surveyor is to keep a wonderful relationship with the client,
the retort may be We didnt survey that but well go ahead and
do it and I wont charge you for it. This is a classic added value
scenario for scanning. If you had scanned the site to generate the
deliverables, chances are extremely good that you captured lots of
extra data that includes all of the answers to these, What about
this and what about that? questions. You can not only provide your
client with the additional information, but you can do it fast, with
minimal effort in the ofce. Both you and the client win big. This also
hooks your client on scanning - they will ask for it on the next pro-
ject and every project thereafter.
Another added value example: TruView. This free software lets any-
one even a non-surveyor, non-engineer client get an extraordi-
narily rich, easy-to-view picture of the scanned scene and make sim-
ple measurements and mark-ups on it. Clients love this added value.
TruView also helps surveyors convey to clients what surveyors can
do for them as far as delivering richer information for clients.
ScanStation C10, HDS6200 and HDS8800
Leica laser scanners, like ScanStation C10, HDS6200 and
HDS8800, are often noted at the laser scanning events as the
workhorses behind the presented laser scanning projects. Jacobs
outlines the main characteristics of these instruments and the differ-
ences between them:
Each of these scanners has different strengths that best suit different
types of organizations and applications: ScanStation C10 is the
most popular. Its known for its
combination of versatility and
productivity. Its especially popu-
lar with surveying organizations,
especially if its the rst scanner
acquired. ScanStation is also the
most surveyor-friendly scanner
- you can traverse and back-sight
with it, thanks to its full and prop-
er tilt compensation. Its ability to
scan directly overhead (full-
dome eld of view, 360x270)
and its high accuracy at long
range (max range 300m) let it
handle almost any site logistics
issues. In addition, its spinning
mirror and 50k pts/sec design make is very productive for indoor
and tight-quarters applications.
The HDS6200, a phase-based scanner, is the most productive scan-
ner for short range applications. Fore example, if all youre doing
is tunnel surveys or building interiors, then its the tool of choice. We
have many customers who have added this as a second scanner or
third scanner if they have enough short range projects to justify it.
Many customers will also rent this scanner for specic project needs,
as the same Leica Geosystems software can be used to operate both
types of scanners. The HDSD6200 does not support traditional sur-
vey workow methods like traverse and backsight, so some survey-
ors dont like this aspect.
The HDS8800 is specically designed for long range scanning appli-
cations (many hundreds of meters) that dont require high accuracy.
The main market for this tool is mining. This scanner is almost always
sold with companion software that is specic for mining applica-
tions.
HDS Software Family
The HDS Software Family, comprised of Cyclone, CloudWorx, and
TruView software, cover the application-specic tasks in handling and
viewing high-denition point clouds effectively and aiding in the
speedy extraction of deliverables. Jacobs explains how: Cyclone is
standalone point cloud processing software. It is extremely powerful
in handling large scan data sets and extremely comprehensive in its
tool set for managing and processing point clouds into nal deliver-
ables. Its also the most expensive and its user interface in not one
that survey CAD techs will necessarily be familiar with, so theres a
healthy learning curve.
Cyclone comes in different modules. Cyclone REGISTER is for regis-
tering and geo-referencing. Cyclone MODEL is for processing regis-
tered point clouds into nal deliverables, or at least until the point
where feature-coded coordinates and other elements can be export-
ed to nal map making software. Cyclone SURVEY includes only the
civil/survey functionality of MODEL, with plant applications like
ange tting turned off.
Cyclone II TOPO is the next generation of Cyclone, modied to be
very easy to learn and specically loaded with features for efcient-
ly creating topographic maps. Both Cyclone SURVEY and Cyclone II
TOPO cost less than Cyclone MODEL.
CloudWorx is relatively inexpensive CAD plug-in software. There
are specic variants of Cloud Worx for each major CAD applica-
32
April/May 2011
I n t e r v i e w

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tion, e.g. CloudWorx for
Auto-CAD, CloudWorx for
Mi cro Station, etc. One big
benet from a user stand-
point is that the user interface
is the familiar CAD interface,
but with a few more but-
tons/icons for working with
point cloud data. CloudWorx
uses the Cyclone engine
beneath it this lets users
work easily with large data
sets inside their favourite
CAD application. Users can
take advantage of certain
CAD tools that theyre famil-
iar with, so the learning
curve is much shorter with
this application. However,
between the plug-in and the specic deliverables that can be creat-
ed using CloudWorx, its not as powerful or as versatile as Cyclone.
TruView is really breakthrough software for the surveying profession
and their clients, says Jacobs: Point cloud data can be difcult to
view and work with. As a vendor, wed always been trying to think
of ways to let people view and measure point clouds without having
to be a CAD expert, a 3D expert, or a point cloud expert. TruView
does this. It literally lets anyone view, measure and mark-up point
clouds. Whats more, its free and it can even be used to view, mea-
sure, and mark-up point clouds over the internet. So, it allows for very
wide sharing of scan data and images of the scanned scene literally
anywhere in the world. TruView enables clients to really appreciate
the value of scanning and of the surveyor doing the work.
Using TruView is just like viewing a hotel room on a website with
panoramic 360 degree images. The only difference is that with
TruViews, you can also zoom in, measure from the images, and mark
them up to share with your colleagues and partners. Making
TruViews (images read by TruView software) is also the fastest way
to get to a useful deliverable. Clients can do quick clearance and
what-if measurements from TruViews on their own without having to
wait for formal survey maps. They can literally be created and deliv-
ered the same day that scanning is done.
Laser Scanning combined with Other Tools
Laser scanning is often used in combination with other measuring
and imaging techniques. Foremost imaging, states Jacobs: Many
scanners have embedded digital cameras; some even have video
cameras. Camera imagery on the scanner is helpful in targeting spe-
cic features for scanning (including targets). Camera imagery
draped on top of point clouds is very benecial for processing point
clouds into deliverables. Its also benecial as a higher value deliv-
erable to clients that prefer to work directly with point clouds, as it
reects more precisely what someone would see if they were actual-
ly at the site.
Many sites lend themselves to both scanning and total stations
and/or GNSS. One reason is that a laser scanner, like a reector-
less total station, is line-of-sight to the surface. Neither a scanner
nor a reectorless total station can directly measure nor record
ground surface points obscured by heavy vegetation: For this type
of application which is certainly common in surveying you need
a survey pole with either a reector or GNSS antenna on top. Users
that have both types of
instrument (scanner and con-
ventional instrument) often
deploy both tools on the
same project using scan-
ning for what they can see
from a scanner setup and
conventional tools to survey
what they cant see directly
from scanner setups.
So, the sensor fusion ques-
tion becomes, Is it cost-
effective to put these differ-
ent types of capabilities into
a single instrument? Jacobs:
You really have to look at
the use cases, the cost to
develop and produce such
an instrument, and the value to a customer. There are also many
trade-offs to be considered in combining instruments, as its not nec-
essarily feasible to have all of the most desired technical features of
each type of instrument when you combine them into another instru-
ment.
Today, I think the most important thing is data fusion, i.e., the abili-
ty to use data from multiple instruments to create deliverables for a
single project. Data fusion is quite well developed and widely prac-
ticed today.
Interoperability between Leica Geosystems'
technologies and Intergraph systems
One of the major developments in the eld of surveying and imag-
ing industry fusion was the recent Intergraph acquisition by
Hexagon AB. When asked how far have you come in fusing work-
ows and achieving interoperability with Intergraph systems, espe-
cially in integrating of Intergraphs CAD and GIS software with Leica
Geosystems technologies, Jacobs notices that there is great interest
in the surveying, design, and GIS/asset management communities
about Leica Geosystems and Intergraph being part of the same com-
pany. In certain areas, Leica Geosystems and Intergraph were
already working closely together before the acquisition.
Jacobs: One sweet spot has been in the use of high-denition as-
built survey data directly within Intergraph 3D plant design software.
The CloudWorx application mentioned above serves up rich as-built
point cloud data from Leica scanners directly into Intergraph plant
design software. This capability has been in wide use by our mutual
customers for many years.
On the GIS side, ERDAS is now part of Intergraphs business; like-
wise, Z/I Imaging is now part of Leica Geosystems Geospatial
Solutions Division which includes Leica Geosystems aerial digital
imaging solutions and LiDAR solutions under one operating unit.
Opportunities for progress begin with putting into place organiza-
tional structures and processes that can best leverage complemen-
tary technologies for customers. I think this is still in the early phas-
es, but the stage is clearly being set to exploit synergies between
the organizations for the benet of customers, concludes Jacobs.
Geoff Jacobs, Senior Vice President,
Strategic Marketing at Leica Geosystems, HDS, Inc.
Joc Triglav, GeoInformatics Editor.
I n t e r v i e w
34
April/May 2011
International Corporate Update
Bentley Systems Conference Call
On March 2, Bentley Systems held a Corporate Update Conference Call, where an update was given
on recent important activities of the company, including performance highlights for 2010, the iWare
Apps launch and the acquisition of SACS.
O
n March 2, Bentley Systems orga-
nized a Corporate Update Con -
ference Call, where an update was
given on recent important activities of the
company. Announced were the companys
performance highlights for 2010 and a num-
ber of important new initiatives, including a
change in licensing practices that sustains
the value of users software investments,
easy access to no-cost software for interop-
erability, and the acquisition of analysis soft-
ware for offshore.
Performance Highlights for 2010
Bentleys 2010 GAAP revenues were $476
million, for a year-over-year growth rate of 6
percent.
In 2010, Bentley continued its long-standing
commitment to reinvesting 20 percent of all
software revenues in research and develop-
ment. Since 2001, Bentley has invested more
than $1 billion in R&D and acquisitions.
A primary operational highlight of 2010 was
the return on Bentleys investment in emerging
markets, with Asia (where 25 percent of
Bentley colleagues are located) reaching 16
percent of global revenues. Despite hundreds
of colleagues working there, Bentley Systems
has long been a net exporter to India, with
2010 annual revenue growth of 16 percent
to support Indias infrastructure development
priorities. Bentleys signicant 2010 break-
through was to achieve net exports to Greater
China, where its revenues have more than
doubled in the last three years.
Portfolio Balancing
Also announced was a new sustainable
licensing business model based on annual
Portfolio Balancing. With this industry mile-
stone, users no longer need to settle for soft-
ware investments that depreciate in value due
to changing technology, project mix, or oper-
ations needs. Through Portfolio Balancing,
new purchasers of Bentley product licenses,
along with existing Bentley SELECT sub-
scribers, can annually exchange underutilized
Bentley software for software of equal value
(based on current list price) that meets exist-
ing or upcoming needs.
iWare Apps Launch
Also announced was the launch of its iWare
Apps site. The new site provides access to
Bentleys no-cost iWare Apps for enhanced
interoperability, along with links to free training
in their use and in-depth reference documenta-
tion. It also provides iWare Links to additional
no-cost apps developed by other organizations
that also facilitate interoperability.
The iWare Apps site offers interoperability soft-
ware for AECO professionals, and is orga-
nized to highlight apps specically for users
of Revit, Bentley, and Microsoft Windows.
iWare Apps available today include:
Bentley View (to interact with DWG, DGN,
and i-models as well as many other raster
and vector formats used by infrastructure
professionals);
Structural Synchronizer (to synchronize data,
obtain revision history, and view models);
Structural Dashboard (to manage structural
workows and information exchange);
i-model Plug-in for Revit (to publish i-mod-
els from Autodesk Revit for open infrastruc-
ture information exchange);
ISM Revit Plug-in (to coordinate, change,
and synchronize structural data with
Structural Synchronizer);
RAM Structural System Revit Link (to
achieve direct interoperability between
RAM Structural System and Revit Structure);
Bentley DGN IFilter (allowing textual infor-
mation within DGNs to become searchable
within Windows Search and Google
Desktop);
Bentley DGN Thumbnail Provider (which
embeds thumbnails in DGNs so they are
viewable within applications like Windows
Explorer).
Additional iWare Apps already in develop-
ment include:
i-model Plug-in for AutoCAD,
OpenPlant Specication Generator,
Bentley AutoPLANT Object Enabler,
gINT AGS to Excel Converter (for
GeoStructural users).
Acquisition of SACS
SACS is an integrated nite element structural
analysis suite of programs that uniquely pro-
vides for the design, fabrication, installation,
operations, and maintenance of offshore struc-
tures, including oil platforms and wind farms.
Thirty-eight years of focus on these specialized
requirements have made SACS the analysis
mainstay for most of the worlds offshore engi-
neers. Virtually all of the worlds energy com-
panies specify SACS software for use by their
engineering rms across the lifecycle of xed
offshore platforms. Among these rms are
DORIS Engineering, Kellogg Brown & Root
(KBR), Saipem, Technip, Wood Group, and
WorleyParsons. Other users include engineer-
ing certication rms such as American
Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas Group,
China Classication Society, Germanischer
Lloyd AG, and Lloyds Register Group.
SACS complements Bentleys broad range of
exible and scalable integrated structural
analysis and design offerings, including
STAAD, RAM, ProSteel, and Bentley Structural
Modeler, providing opportunity for even more
comprehensive solutions. Additional growth
opportunities will come from increasing off-
shore drilling operations in China, India, and
Brazil countries in which Bentley already has
a strong foothold and expanding use of off-
shore wind farms as a renewable energy
source.
www.bentley.com/annualreport
www.bentley.com/iware
www.bentley.com/SACS
36
April/May 2011
E v e n t
By the editors

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Developers See Vast Application Building Possibilities with GIS
2011 Esri Developer Summit
More than 1,350 developers gathered in Palm Springs, California, in early March for the Esri Developer
Summit, the worlds largest developer summit devoted to GIS. They came to learn how to use Esri
technology to develop applications for all clients; share best practices and development patterns; and
exchange ideas and solve problems. They also got a sneak peak of whats being developed for ArcGIS
10.1, which will be in beta in June and is slated for release in late 2011 or early 2012.
Bringing New Applications to
Life
Esri president Jack Dangermond opened the
summit by emphasizing the important role
that developers play in bringing new Esri
technology-driven applications to profession-
als and the public. Increasingly, theres a
gap between what we develop and what
needs to be developed to make people real-
ly productive, said Dangermond, adding
thats where the developer community steps
in. That takes special talents. It takes the
talent of understanding whats needed and
wanted and then engineeringthinking
through, designing, and creatingthat spe-
cial application that really works.
Plenary Session Highlights
ArcGIS Online
Esris Jeremy Bartley demonstrated ArcGIS
Online, Esris online GIS for creating,
accessing, and sharing content with the
geographic community. Accessible via Arc -
GIS.com using smart phones, tablets, or
desktops, ArcGIS Online offers free access
to maps, apps, and tools published by Esri
and other GIS users. Bartley showed newly
added support for time-enabling, editing,
and pop-up windows in maps. Great web
maps need great pop-ups, he said, show-
ing the developers how to congure pop-ups
using the USA Household Income map as
an example. It makes for a compelling map
when you can provide that key information
to your user.
Mobile GIS
Dave Cardella, product manager, Esri
mobile technologies, emphasized Esris var-
ious mobile solutions and had many new
announcements to make about Esris new
apps, APIs, and software development kits
(SDKs). Cardella noted new functionality
that Esri added to ArcPad and ArcGIS
Mobile applications and SDKs to improve
customization and the overall user experi-
ence. For all these applications, users can
add attribute information; edit points, lines,
or polygons; and attach images, movies,
PDFs, and more, Cardella said.
The smartphone and tablet market has real-
ly exploded, said Cardella. We see these
devices increasingly being implemented with-
in organizations that want to extend the reach
of their GIS from the ofce out into the eld.
Since we last met, we have been hard at
work improving the capabilities and tools you
need to build solutions for these platforms.
For iOS and Windows Phone, Esri offers both
a deployable application and an API that
now includes data collection and editing
capabilities. Also, the highly anticipated
ArcGIS for Android app and API, which will
have the same data collection and editing
38
April/May 2011
E v e n t
By Carla Wheeler
Using pen and white board, Esri developers helped answer summit attendees questions and walked them through challenges.
capabilities as Esris other mobile apps and
development platforms, are slated for release
in May 2011 and April, 2011, respectively.
Configurable Web Client Viewers
Esris Art Haddad demonstrated the ArcGIS
Viewer for Microsoft Silverlight, a site
starter application for creating a Web
client viewer for ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS
Online services. Built on the ArcGIS API for
Microsoft Silverlight, it includes an appli-
cation builder that enables users to quickly
and easily create a fully functional, custom
Web client viewer through a user-friendly
user interface. It requires no programming
or configuration file editing, which is ideal
for novice developers and Web applica-
tion creators. It is currently available in
public beta from the Esri Beta Community
site. Esri software architect Mansour Raad
also demonstrated an early prototype of
the ArcGIS Viewer for Flex application
builder. Both viewer application builders
are targeted for release at the 2011 Esri
UC.
Heart of the Summit
ArcGIS program manager Jim McKinney
called the presentations and sessions the
heart of the summit. Thirty users presented
this year on topics ranging from Silverlight
development to social networking apps to
Python programming. Esri also hosted 70
technical sessions, many of which demon-
strated the functionality of ArcGIS 10.1.
I was blown away by what was shown in
progress for 10.1, in particular the improved
performance and increased support for and
emphasis on Python, said Mark Ping, a
senior software developer for VESTRA
Resources, Inc., in Redding, California. It
absolutely justies our efforts to build
reusable tools in Python and train [our] GIS
experts in the programming language.
As web, mobile, and GIS technologies
rapidly evolve, Esri continues to nd excit-
ing new ways to add geospatial intelligence
to clients, platforms, and workows. This
years summit demonstrated that the devel-
oper community drives the innovation that
makes that possible.
Carla Wheeler is the editor of Esris ArcWatch e-magazine. She also is
the Esri defense and intelligence marketing writer.
E v e n t
39
Tim OReilly, founder of OReilly Media, discussed the rapid evolution of Web and geospatial technology in his plenary address.
Esri President Jack Dangermonds opening
address actively encouraged networking
and collaborating with peers in the devel-
oper community.

A Meta-disciplinary Approach
Educational Efforts on Water
Water scarcity problems require a meta-disciplinary approach. Therefore, meta-disciplinary education
activities are needed to tackle the likely future challenge of water resources management. To start the
process meta-disciplinary education the Centre for Geoinformatics (Z_GIS) at the Paris-Lodron University
Salzburg (PLUS) hosted a Winter School on "Analysing, mapping and evaluating spatio-temporal water
scarcity problems". The event took place from February 7 - 18, 2011 and the outcome and proceed-
ings are described below.
Water Scarcity
Water scarcity problems in Europe and the
Alps are of spatial-temporal nature and
result from limited natural water provision
and high water demand. Water resources
demands are inherently meta-disciplinary
and is affecting environment with its ora
and fauna but also human with respect to
near all socio-economic sectors. In parts of
the world and also Europe water shortages
have reached crisis points. This is on the one
hand based on climate change with rising
temperature values resulting in higher
evapo transpiration and seasonally lower
precipitation rates. On the other hand,
water demand in certain sectors is constant-
ly increasing. This for instance has been
valid during the past two decades for agri-
cultural water use across Europe and New
Zealand. But also public water demand has
increased and is inuenced by numerous
factors such as population growth, house-
hold size, technological progress and most
of all consumer behaviour. Especially
tourism can markedly increase seasonal
public water use, especially in summer or
winter tourism dominated areas.
While climate change analysis made
progress in the last years, water demand
analysis towards a water resources man-
agement approach is still in its infancies.
Nevertheless, the European Union recog-
nised the challenges posed by water scarci-
ty and droughts in a 2007 and 2009 com-
munication. This might be a result of the year
2003 where major European areas suffer
from water scarcity, also the Alps in Europe.
Considering recent papers from European
Environment Agency (EEA) water shortages
and their countermeasures can only be suit-
ably addressed with updated water con-
sumption measures at high spatial and tem-
poral scales. This will guide politicians and
decision makers towards locations and
scales of water stress for human and envi-
ronment. In connection with information on
water availability, this approach might help
in analysing trends of water scarcity and will
guide decisions towards a more sustainable
use and allocation of the water resource.
With the Water Framework Directive estab-
lished in the year 2000, most analysis and
measures are placed on river basins.
However, information on River Basin
Management Plans especially in huge areas
do not provide sufcient information on the
problem of regional or even local problems
to water shortages. Thus, information should
be available on a monthly or at least sea-
sonal basis, since averages on an annual
42
April/May 2011
Ar t i c l e
By Hermann Klug
basis are unable to detect time and space
relevant peak levels of water stress.
Present ndings show the shift of water short-
ages from Southern Europe towards the
north. This means water scarcity is presently
also affecting the Southern Alps. But also the
inner Alps regionally suffer from available
water decrease. Measurements from
Carinthia and Slovenia report a constant
decrease of ground water recharge during
the last decades. These studies also under-
pin that signicant variance in demography,
economic structures, cultures and values,
land use pattern and distribution of public
and private partnerships have effects on the
scale of water demand.
Water Scarcity Projects
Water is nearly ubiquitous and of trans-dis-
ciplinary nature. It can only be understood
and managed in an integrated way. In the
EU (e.g. the Alp-Water-Scarce project) and
around the world (e.g. the GLOWASIS pro-
ject, www.glowasis.eu/) a great deal of
research are linked to the quality and quan-
tity of water, drinking water supply, water
use and management, water scarcity and
water demand and supply crisis. Even New
Zealand, well known as a very water rich
country, recently addressed the water qual-
ity and water quantity issue. In a Sandpit
on surface and groundwater bodies ten
interdisciplinary European experts (Austria,
Italy, United Kingdom, The Netherlands,
and Portugal) and 12 participants from
New Zealand identied together with stake-
holders and mentors the challenges of water
recourse overexploitation and the lack of
water information and procedures of water
allocation. This explains that water issues
are manifested in a large number of disci-
plines and meta-disciplinary education
activities are needed to tackle the likely
future challenge of water resources man-
agement.
Educational Efforts on Water
Scarcity
To start the process meta-disciplinary educa-
tion the Centre for Geoinformatics (Z_GIS)
at the Paris-Lodron University Salzburg (PLUS)
hosted a Winter School on "Analysing, map-
ping and evaluating spatio-temporal water
scarcity problems". The event took place
from February 7 - 18, 2011 and was co-
nanced by the Alp-Water-Scarce-Project, the
Socrates / Erasmus Intensive Programme (IP)
under the umbrella of the Lifelong Learning
Programme and co-organized with the six
partner universities from University of Savoy
(France), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
(Greece), University of Pecs (Hungary), Gazi
University (Turkey), CaFoscary University
Venice (Italy) and the University of Ljubljana
(Slovenia).
The intensive programme was clearly aim-
ing at a multidisciplinary audience of inter-
national students from social, economic, and
physical science sharing a common back-
ground in spatio-temporal modelling and
awareness rising of water availability, water
demand, and water supply. Because of the
very complex topic, geographies, geolo-
gists, meteorologists, hydrologists, climato -
logists, agronomists, pedologists, sociolo-
gists, economists, and also politicians were
welcome to participate in this event.
Applicants were screened regarding their
prior knowledge in GI Science and their
ability to clearly communicate their interest
in water management, hydrology and cli-
matology. The selection process further
aimed at a geographically diverse roster of
students.
Twenty-eight MSC/PhD students and partici-
pants from private companies (12 female,
16 male) from nine disciplines and thirteen
countries (Italy, Germany, Greece, Austria,
Turkey, Slovenia, Hungary, France, USA,
Bolivia, Nigeria, Iran, und Bangladesch) stud-
ied methods and techniques to assess the
interplay and mutual benets of GIS,
Hydrology and Climate Sciences. In altogeth-
er 48 presentations, hands-on sessions and
group works 28 instructors lectured partici-
pants e.g. in semi-operational data capturing
methodologies using ArcGIS ModelBuilder
and python scripting. The core tasks of spa-
tial modelling have been supported with read-
ily available and recognized software prod-
ucts. In order to encourage cross-vendor
software skills, students worked with different
software products during the course of the
programme. These products were, PostGIS,
PostgreSQL, SGEMS, and others open source
products. Participants were provided with an
overview of planning procedures, gained
skills to apply the theoretical framework and
studied methods and techniques to assess
regional space and time related water scarci-
ty problems. These experiences have been
deepened by statistical modelling and inter-
polation routines of point datasets before
using this data for different hydrological mod-
elling purposes. Participants gained special
insight in output visualisation skills. However,
visualisation was not only done in advanced
3D visualisation but also in a WebGIS envi-
ronment.
Programme
The intensive programme in depth focused
on the climatological, hydrological and
socio-economic processes and functions
inherent in landscapes across Europe relat-
ed to water scarcity. The IP analysed local
and regional water resources constraints,
present ecosystem examples of water scarci-
ty problems from north to south and east to
Ar t i c l e
43

Scarcity
west in Europe. For water management and
planning purposes it is necessary to analyse
the main processes, potentials and functions
operating the system and contributing to the
demands and requirements of society at a
typical meso-scale of 1:50.000. Students
were provided with an overview of planning
procedures (data acquisition, data prepara-
tion, data processing, and result interpreta-
tion) and gained skills to apply the theoreti-
cal framework. Participants studied methods
and techniques to assess regional space and
time related water scarcity problems.
Students learned how to implement an early
warning system against water shortage
based on existing operational methodolo-
gies (e.g. Meteorisk) and to characterize
main anthropogenic and natural dened sur-
face water and groundwater systems. They
further learned how different water usages
such as drinking water, hydropower, agri-
culture (irrigation), tourism and articial
snow production play together and affect
water shortages in specic regions. Risks of
droughts were studied and assessed using
generic tools from spatial analysis and
advanced techniques for spatial, hydrologi-
cal, regional and sub-basin modelling.
Participants were guided from "simple" dis-
cipline oriented approaches to more sophis-
ticated multidisciplinary, holistic methods
aiming at an integrated assessment of water
management and planning.
With the skills gained in the Winter School,
participants returned to their home country
contributing to the dissemination of
advanced knowledge and technical capa-
bilities advocating the use of sound policy
decisions which are based on concepts,
approaches, theories and methods in the
domains of Hydrology, Climatology and
Social and Earth Sciences applied to water
scarcity problems.
Excursion
On a mid-event eld trip to the Salzach
Valley (Werfenweng and Groarl) partici-
pants got in contact with local stakeholders
and politicians to elaborate on water scarci-
ty problems mainly referred to topics in the
winter season. The excursion gave an
overview of the strategic water and energy
management and the use of articial snow
production facilities which guaranty good
snow conditions for tourists throughout the
whole winter season. Furthermore discus-
sions with the town mayor in Werfenweng
and tourism experts, hoteliers, and tourism
managers including the cable car company
in Groarl helped to get an impression of
the differences of water consumption during
summer and winter season. Present water
consumption and future water demand was
discussed on the basis of changing tourism
activities and articial snow production. At
the end of the eld trip, an approximately 3
km nocturnal sledge ride and a drink in a
cosy, warm mountain hut has been the nal
activity.
The consortium of universities proposing this
ERASMUS Intensive Programme have joint
research experience and are working
together towards a tighter integration of
their postgraduate programmes. Making the
participation in international Winter Schools
a highly recommended and in some cases
even compulsory component in study pro-
grammes has been an important step
towards furthering the internationalisation
and 'European dimension' of study pro-
grammes. All partner institutions have a
strong focus on Water / Spatial Sciences
and Hydrology and accredit the course at
their home universities. Some of the institu-
tions work together in the Alp-Water-Scarce
project and would like to transfer their
research experience into course develop-
ment and teaching.
Dr Hermann Klug, Researcher and Project Manager at University of
Salzburg, Centre for Geoinformatics
Acknowledgements
Erasmus Lifelong Learning project "Water Scarctiy:
www.zgis.at/summerschools
Interreg IVb Alpine Space project AlpWaterscarce:
www.alpwaterscarce.eu
FRENZ Freshwater Sandpit:
www.frenz.org.nz/Activities/Sandpits/Sandpit1FreshwaterResources.aspx
Ar t i c l e
44
April/May 2011
1 3/16/11 3:25 PM


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All rights reserved. The Ashtech logo and MobileMapper are trademarks of Ashtech, LLC.
A

A

A


"From imagery to map: digital photogrammetric technologies"
Racurs Conference
RACURS have the great pleasure to invite you to the 11th International Scientific and Technical
Conference "From imagery to map: digital photogrammetric technologies." The conference will be held
September 19-22, 2011 in Tossa der Mar, Spain.
O
ver the past years the conference has become noticeable event
at the GIS market and has obtained the recognition worldwide.
Offering an enlightening combination of assemblies, seminars,
workshops and group meetings to explore state-of-the-art photogrammetric
and remote sensing technologies, conference affords the perfect venue for
broadening ones knowledge of the eld through discussions and the shar-
ing of experience.
The range of participants has increased each of the ten years the
Conference has been held. Based on the 2010 listing, permanent partici-
pants in the conference include representatives of the FSUE
Goszemcadastrysiomka - VISHAGI (Russia); the Federal Service for
Government Registration, Cadastre, and Cartography (Russia); NP AGP
Meridian + (Russia); VNIIGAZ (Russia); JSC Surgutneftegas (Russia);
EUROSENSE; Leica Geosystems (Switzerland); Spot Image (France);
MapWorld Technologies Limited (India); GEODIS (Czech Republic);
GeoEye (USA), VisionMap (Israel), Digital Globe, (UK) and many others.
At the annual conferences between the years 2007-2010, recognized
authorities in their areas, such as Prof. Gordon Petrie (UK), Prof. Gottfried
Konecny (Germany), Prof. Franz Leberl (Austria) and Prof. Armin Gruen
(Switzerland), presented reports on topical developments in photogram-
metry and remote sensing.
The latest news in digital airborne and space cameras, remote sensing
data, innovations in software development, and practical methods for
using digital photogrammetry and remote sensing for different economic
activities and integrated geoinformatic solutions will be on tap at
Septembers Conference.
Top specialists and chiefs of Russias state agencies of land cadastre and
cartography, as well as the countrys oil and gas enterprises, will be par-
ticipating in the Conference alongside representatives from photogrammet-
ric, GIS and remote sensing companies of other nations.
Gold sponsors:
- Racurs (Russia), supported by International Society of Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) and Russian GIS-Association.
- Innoter Geoinnovation Agency (Moscow, Russia),
- Consulting Center Zeminform of the State University of Land
Management (Russia)
Conference topics:
Digital photogrammetry:
- Current state and main lines of development
- Technologies and facilities for remote sensing data processing.
Modern software solutions
- Discussion of digital photogrammetric technologies best practices
with a focus on PHOTOMOD software
Remote sensing methods and techniques:
- Market review of advanced survey systems
- Modern digital aerial cameras. Direct georeferencing methods, air-
borne GPS/IMU
- Derivation and applications of satellite imagery
- Technological features of Synthetic Aperture Radar Survey
PHOTOMOD 5.0 master classes will be held within the framework of
the Conference.
The Venue
Tossa de Mar is located in the Spanish region of Catalonia on the Costa
Brava. This is a pretty town with cobbled streets, a magnicent ancient
castle and a beautiful mountainous hinterland with lush green valleys,
gorges and natural springs. Tossa der Mar lies at the heart of the Costa
Brava, 95 kilometers north of Barcelona and 100 kilometers south of the
French border. The most attractive part of this historic town is the Villa Vella
(old quarter) with its ancient defence walls and towers still in tact.
During the excursion program, conference participants will have the oppor-
tunity to visit Barcelona, Figueres, Rosas and many other interesting places
in Spain.
Come take pleasure in the beautiful nature, immerse yourself in the clean-
est of seas and explore ancient architectural treasures. And, of course,
while here, avail yourself of the excellent opportunity to strengthen success-
ful business relations and nd new clients and partners to share in the suc-
cesses in geoinformatics, photogrammetry and remote sensing data.
Business and pleasure are easily combined in places like Tossa der Mar.
RACURS invites partners, sponsors, friends and all interested parties to
become a part of the 11th International Scientic and Technical
Conference.
More information is available on the official site of the Conference: www.racurs.ru/Spain2011
E v e n t
46
April/May 2011
By the editors
A Breakthrough in
Handheld Accuracy
MobileMapper 100 will develop your taste for precision GIS. Discover its full
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Features

A Breakthrough in
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A Breakthrough in
Handheld Accuracy

A Breakthrough in
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y l r e . V s b o S j I e G l i b o g m n i d n a m
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s t t s i k r o w t e K n T h R t e wi l b i t a p
m m co u m i x a r m o t f h g i e w t h g i y l
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2010 Ashtech LLC. All rights reserved. The Ashtech logo and MobileMapper are trademarks of Ashtech, LLC.
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China +86 10 5802 5174
USA, NA +1 408 572 1103
professionalsales@ashtech.com




Building a Smarter World
Hexagon 2011 International C
Hexagon AB, global provider of 3D solutions to design, measure and position objects and to process
and present data, will host its inaugural international conference, Hexagon 2011, 6-9 June at the
Orlando World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida, USA. Hexagon 2011 will bring together
the latest technologies and user communities from Intergraph, as well as Hexagons Metrology,
Geosystems and Technology divisions, in one location to provide attendees with a user experience
of unprecedented scope and value.
Leica Geosystems, ERDAS and Intergraph tracks
and exhibitions combined
Hexagon 2011, building upon Intergraphs agship users conference,
will also unite Leica Geosystems successful 3D Laser Scanning/High-
Denition Surveying (HDS) and Airborne Sensor (ABS) user confer-
ences. The new platform will feature tracks and exhibitions for
Intergraph , ERDAS, Leica Geosystems, Z/I Imaging and Hexagon
Metrology product areas, offering attendees an unparalleled variety
of sessions, training, networking, exhibits and new business opportu-
nities.
Hexagon 2011 will feature more than 200 targeted break-out sessions
tailored by tracks, incorporating hands-on training courses, previews of
new technologies, interactive technical demonstrations and workshops,
and compelling customer testimonials. Additionally, the Hexagon 2011
agenda offers insightful keynote presentations on industry and corpo-
rate trends as well as unlimited networking opportunities. The fusing
of conferences into one unied Hexagon 2011 conference underscores
Hexagons steadfast dedication to its global customers and to deliver-
ing a conference of exceptional quality and value, says Ola Rolln,
President and CEO of Hexagon AB. Every effort is being made to
ensure that we exceed the expectations of our attendees, whom we
thank for their continued support and encouragement.
Employing the theme Building a Smarter World, Hexagon 2011
emphasizes the ways in which Hexagon empowers organizations to
build a smarter world through industry-specic technologies that make
processes and infrastructures better, safer and smarter. More than
3,000 attendees are expected to attend Hexagon 2011.
GEOSYSTEMS @ Hexagon 2011
Fundamentally, Leica Geosystems solutions provide clients with better
spatial and related information in a more timely and cost-effective way.
The Geosystems @ Hexagon 2011 track enables attendees to learn
about a wide range of spatial information applications, solutions and
benets, technologies for collecting and sharing it and trends in survey-
ing, laser scanning, mapping and positioning for government and indus-
try. The Geosystems @ Hexagon 2011 track features more than 50
presentations, over a dozen training classes and special networking
opportunities with track attendees, as well as other conference atten-
dees. All Geosystems products will be on display in the central
TechExpo, and all Geosystems booths will be adjacent to each other to
facilitate networking among Geosystems @ Hexagon 2011 track atten-
dees. In addition, attendees can walk directly from Geosystems @
Hexagon 2011 session rooms to Intergraph and Hexagon Metrology
track rooms of interest. Geosystems @ Hexagon 2011 is conveniently
organized into three sub-tracks:
High-Denition Surveying (HDS), 3D Laser Scanning will continue
the highly successful Leica Geosystems HDS Worldwide User
Conference in the expanded format of Geosystems @ Hexagon
2011. All conference attendees can learn about the latest applica-
tions, hardware and software solutions and business approaches
for this exciting, as-built and mapping technology for Plant & Marine,
Civil/Utility Infrastructure, Buildings/BIM, Forensics, Heritage &
Archaeology and more. Special opportunities will facilitate network-
ing between HDS users, others participating in the Geosystems @
Hexagon 2011 track and fellow conference attendees, including
Intergraph users who could benet from services offered by Leica
Geosystems HDS service providers.
Geospatial Solutions will, for the rst time, combine the annual user
meetings of Leica Geosystems Digital Imaging and Z/I Imaging in
the expanded Hexagon 2011 conference. Gain deeper insights into
the most versatile portfolio of fully integrated airborne imaging and
LiDAR solutions, and discuss with users and experts the latest devel-
opments and market trends. An additional focus will be on innova-
tive applications in Aerial Photogrammetric Mapping, High Density
Surface Acquisition, Remote Sensing of the Environment, Disaster
Risk Management and Rapid Response Mapping.
Trends in Mapping & Positioning for Government and Industry will
inaugurate an eagerly awaited program for users of Leica
Geosystems surveying, mapping and positioning technologies and
their clients. All conference attendees can learn from Leica
Geosystems users, clients and product experts how the latest
advances in GPS/GNSS positioning, total station and imaging tech-
nology, Reference Station Networks and real-time data processing
are beneting applications such as Monitoring, Machine Control,
Boundary & Topographic Surveying, Tunneling, BIM, GIS,
Construction Positioning, Agriculture and more. Special networking
opportunities will enable attendees to meet other Geosystems @
Hexagon 2011 track attendees and also Intergraph users who
employ Leica Geosystems mapping and positioning tools.
48
April/May 2011
E v e n t
By the editors
Intergraph @ Hexagon 2011
Process, Power & Marine track (PP&M)
Intergraph PP&M will offer an array of great sessions led by experts
in the design, construction and operation of plants, ships and off-
shore facilities. Learn how you can leverage Intergraph's
SmartPlant and SmartMarine Enterprise engineering solutions to
boost productivity, reduce timelines and ensure data accuracy
across the facility life cycle. PP&M tracks will address relevant top-
ics such as:
3D and Process Design
Facility Safety
Construction and WorkFace Planning
Control Systems
I&E Engineering Cost Savings
Electrical Design Enhancements
Enterprise Tools Integration
Integrated Engineering for Bulk Materials Handling Projects
Piping Design Analysis
Site-based Engineering Workows for Design, Operations and
Maintenance
Structural Solutions
Plant information management
Plus, various sessions featuring real-world customer examples
Security, Government & Infrastructure track (SG&I)
SG&I will offer numerous opportunities to hear geospatial informa-
tion experts and discuss your industry challenges. Here's what you
can look forward to:
Defense & Intelligence
This sub-track will highlight Cartographic Feature Collection,
Motion Video Exploitation, Service-Oriented Architecture/Web
Portals and more.
Geospatial and Imaging Technologies
This sub-track will include commercial photogrammetry, horizon-
tal technologies like GeoMedia, and ERDAS technologies.
Government & Transportation
This sub-track will feature Automated Oversized/Overweight
Routing and Permitting, Integrated 3D Visualization, Spatial Data
Infrastructure, Cartographic Production and more.
Public Safety & Security
This sub-track will feature tracks on Security and All Hazards
Management, Records Management, Incident Management,
Mobile Technologies and Business Intelligence. In addition, cus-
tomer case studies and in-depth sessions on topics such as
improved CAD efciency, maps, workows and interfaces will
be covered.
Utilities & Communications
This sub-track will highlight Data Visualization Techniques,
Integrating and Enhancing Your Enterprise Operations, Field
Automation and Fiber Management, among other topics.
Metrology @ Hexagon 2011
Metrology Program
This track will offer opportunities to hear experts discuss your indus-
try trends and challenges. Here's what you can look forward to:
Dimensional Measurement: Applications and Trends - Practical
advice on the application of metrology systems and software to real-
world manufacturing challenges. Learn how leaders in the industry
apply the latest tools to streamline processes, visualize statistical
data and increase quality department throughput. Networking oppor-
tunities and feedback forums allow for the sharing of ideas that push
the dimensional metrology industry forward.
PC-DMIS Power User Track - If you are a "power user" of PC-
DMIS, or working up to it, these sessions will offer a wealth of oppor-
tunities to learn about how to apply advanced functionality tools
within PC-DMIS to automate, customize and enhance the capability
of any part program. Specic breakout sessions will address DCC
CMM, Portable and Vision specic applications. Opportunities to
share ideas among fellow power users, plus discussion with the PC-
DMIS development team make this track a must for all users aspir-
ing to get more out PC-DMIS.
For a detailed program and session catalog, please visit: www.hexagonconference.com
E v e n t
49

Conference
April
13-15 April V Anniversary International
Conference Remote Sensing the Synergy of
High Technologies
ATLAS PARK-HOTEL, Moscow, Russia
Internet: http://sovzondconference.ru/2011/eng
18-21 April 14th AGILE International Conference
on Geographic Information Science
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Internet: www.uu.nl/faculty/geosciences/EN/agile2011/
agile2011welcome/Pages/default.aspx
19-21 April 4th Italian gvSIG Conference
Udine, Italy
E-mail: giornate.italiane@gvsig.org
Internet: www.gvsig.org/web/community/events/giornate-
italia/2011
25-29 April SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing
2011
Orlando World Center Marriott Resort & Convention
Center, Orlando, FL, U.S.A.
E-mail: alr@spie.org or hermann@spieeurope.org
Internet: www.spie.org
27-29 April GEO-Siberia 2011
Novosibirsk, ITE Siberian Fair, Russia
E-mail: Nenasheva@sibfair.ru or
argina.novitskaya@gmail.com
Internet: www.geosiberia.sibfair.ru/eng
May
01-05 May ASPRS 2011 Annual Conference
Midwest Airlines Center/Hyatt Hotel, Milwaukee, WI,
U.S.A.
Internet: www.asprs.org
03-08 May Gi4DM-GeoInformation for Disaster
Management
Antalya, Turkey
E-mail: gi4dm@gur.net
Internet: www.gi4dm2011.org
09-11 May Global Space and Satellite Forum
Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
E-mail: holly@smg-online.com
Internet: www.smg-online.com
10-11 May IF&GIS 2011 5th International
Workshop on Information Fusion and
Geographical Information Systems: Towards the
Digital Ocean
Brest, France
E-mail: thomas.devogele@ecole-navale.fr
Internet: http://if-gis.com
10-12 May 2011 Smallworld EMEAI Conference
Salzburg Congress, Salzburg, Austria
Internet: http://registrationassistant.com/emeai11/
default.asp
10-13 May 1st International Geomatics
Symposium Geomatics Technologies in the City
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
E-mail: gtc@geomaticsksa.com
Internet: www.geomaticsksa.com
16-17 May Esri UK Annual Conference
Hilton London Metropole, London, U.K.
Internet: http://eukac.esriuk.com/agenda/call-for-
papers.asp
18-22 May FIG Working Week Bridging the Gap
between Cultures
Marrakech, Morocco
Internet: www.g.net/g2011
23-26 May Be Together: The Bentley User
Conference
Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
Internet: www.bentley.com/en-US/Community/
BE+Conference
24-25 May The Location Business Summit
NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, Amsterdam, The
Netherlands
Internet: www.thewherebusiness.com/locationsummit/
index.shtml
31 May-01 June 3rd EARSeL Workshop on Remote
Sensing in Education and Training
Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
Internet: www.earsel.org/SIG/ET/3rd-workshop/index.php
30 May-02 June 31st EARSeL Symposium Remote
Sensing and Geoinformation not only for
Scientific Cooperation
Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic
Internet: www.earsel.org/symposia/2011-symposium-
Prague
31 May-02 June AfricaGEO 2011
Capetown International Convention Center, Capetown,
South Africa
E-mail: info@africageo.org
Internet: http://africageo.org
31 May-03 June Optechs Innovative Lidar
Solutions Conference 2011
Hilton Garden Inn, Toronto, Canada
Internet: www.optech.ca/ilsc2011
June
01-03 June 4th EARSeL Workshop on Remote
Sensing for Land Use & Land Cover
Internet: www.earsel.org/SIG/LULC/index.php
01-03 June 5th EARSeL Workshop on Remote
Sensing of the Coastal Zone
Internet: www.earsel.org/SIG/CZ/5th-workshop/index.php
02-03 June 1st EARSeL SIG Forestry workshop:
Operational remote sensing in forest manage-
ment
Internet: www.earsel.org/SIG/Forestry/call.php
05-11 June Summer Institute on Volunteered
Geographic Information
Florence (Firenze), Italy
E-mail: info@vespucci.org
Internet: www.vespucci.org
06-09 June HEXAGON 2011, Building a Smarter
World (Leica, ERDAS, Intergraph & Hexagon
Metrology)
Orlando, FL, U.S.A.
Internet: www.hexagonconference.com
08-10 June The Power of The Image The British
Cartographic Society Annual Symposium
Shrigley Hall, Nr Macclesgield, Cheshire, U.K.
Internet: www.cartography.org.uk
13-17 June URISA Leadership Academy
St. Louis, MO, U.S.A.
E-mail: wnelson@urisa.org
Internet: www.urisa.org
14-17 June WG IV/2 Workshop High Resolution
Earth Imaging for Geospatial Information
Hannover, Germany
E-mail: heipke@ipi.uni-hannover.de
Internet: www.commission4.isprs.org/wg2
15-16 June Navigation Strategies Europe 2011
andels Hotel, Berlin, Germany
Internet: www.thewherebusiness.com/navigationstrate-
gieseurope
19-25 June 11th International Multidisciplinary
Scientific Geo-Conference and Expo - SGEM 2011
Albena sea-side and SPA resort, Bulgaria
Internet: www.sgem.org
22-23 June The Geodetic Infrastructure in Europe
Umea, Sweden
E-mail: svanteao@algonet.se
Internet: www.aspect.se/ASPECT-seminarier-clge-juni-
2011.html
22-24 June 11th SEASC 2011 and 13th ISC 2011
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Internet: www.seasc2011.org
27-30 June GIS in Public Health Conference
Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
E-mail: wnelson@urisa.org
Internet: www.urisa.org
27 June-08 July GISLERS - Summer School 2011 on
Bridging GIS, Landscape Ecology and Remote
Sensing for Landscape Planning
Salzburg, Austria
E-mail: Gislers2011@edu-zgis.net
Internet: www.edu-zgis.net/ss/gislers2011
27 June-08 July Summer School on Spatial Data
Infrastructure for environmental datasets
Salzburg, Austria
E-mail: Envisdi2011@edu-zgis.net
Internet: www.edu-zgis.net/ss/envisdi2011
28-29 June ISEPP: International Symposium on
Environmental Protection and Planning:
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and
Remote Sensing (RS) Applications
Gediz University, Izmir, Turkey
Internet: www.cevkorconferences.com
29 June-01 July ICSDM 2011 and BJ-IWGIS 2011
Fuzhou, China
E-mail: Info@icsdm2011.org
Internet: www.icsdm2011.org
July
03-08 July ICC 2011 - 25th International
Cartographic Conference
Palais des Congrs, Paris, France
E-mail: regist-icc2011@europa-organisation.com
Internet: www.icc2011.fr
05-08 July GI_Forum 2011
Salzburg, Austria
E-mail: ofce@gi-forum.org
Internet: www.gi-forum.org
Please feel free to e-mail your calendar notices to: calendar@geoinformatics.com
C a l e n d a r 2 0 1 1 / Ad v e r t i s e r s I n d e x
Ashtech www.ashtech.com 47
Cyclomedia www.cyclomedia.com 17
ERDAS www.erdas.com 12
Esri www.esri.com 33
Foif www.foif.com.cn 37
Hexagon www.hexagonconference.com/geoinfo 45
ITC www.itc.nl 40
Leica Geosystems www.leica-geosystems.com 51
Microsoft www.ultracamevents.com 21
Optech www.optech.ca 41
Racurs www.racurs.ru 20
Riegl www.riegl.com 13
Spectra Precision www.spectraprecision.com 9
Stonex www.stonexeurope.com 2
SuperMap www.supermap.com 35
Topcon Europe www.topcon.eu 25, 52
Advertisers Index
50
April/May 2011


I believe in reliability.
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Leica Geosystems AG
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The Leica Viva GNSS this exceptionally rugged,
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Educational Efforts on Water Scarcity Esri Developer Summit

Powerful total station at only 5.0 kgs

GNSS, with 220 channels

Compact and lightweight

Large, sunlight-viewable touchscreen

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