Open Source Web Based Geospatial Processing with OMAR
Marc Lucas and Scott Bortman
07-02-2009
Mark Lucas and Scott Bortman of RadiantBlue Technologies describe the OMAR project in this article. OMAR is an open source Web-based geospatial processing tool that is managing millions of imagery and video files. Even though the current release is still considered in beta, the system is being used to find and rapidly view geospatial assets from multiple repositories. OMAR provides one example that open source software solutions are increasingly being deployed in US government agencies.
Richardson, Texas: Real-time Updates for City's Utility Infrastructure
Joe Francica
07-01-2009
Getting real-time information is important to the city of Richardson, Texas' Public Service Department. The Department needed a solution to better maintain its infrastructure and receive real-time, or near real-time, maps based on field conditions. There was also a need to indicate whether fire hydrants were in-service, out of service or being flushed as part of a maintenance process. In the end, the department selected a GIS solution from ESRI and a business intelligence solution from Information Builders to integrate spatial and non-spatial data. Editor in Chief Joe Francica interviewed Eric Matthews, the deputy CIO for the City of Richardson IS Department to learn more.
Podcast: Delivering Maps to the FBI
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg
06-30-2009
This past week two geospatial practitioners were cited for their good work by the FBI. What did they do? At the request of the Bureau, they went online and found some Digital Raster Graphics, scanned quad maps, printed them and gave them to agents working in their area. Is this how agents and others in the federal government, or even citizens, should get their geographic data? What does this scenario reveal about the FBI? The state of our geospatial infrastructure? The value of the geospatial workforce?
OGC Geospatial Rights Management Summit: Moving the Discussion Forward
Adena Schutzberg
06-26-2009
The Open Geospatial Consortium's Geo Rights Management (GeoRM) Working Group believes the lack of rights management "is a major barrier to broader adoption of Web based geospatial technologies." That led to a GeoRM Summit, held as part of the organization's latest technical meetings in Cambridge, MA. Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg not only attended, but participated in the all-day event that concluded with some "marching orders" for the way forward.
Reading Between the Lines of Intergraph's Product Development Strategy
Joe Francica
06-25-2009
Editor in Chief Joe Francica attended Intergraph 2009 User’s Conference in Washington, D.C., last week and offers this report. Intergraph is moving toward a common software architecture. It's not imminent and may, in fact, be a long way off. Intergraph has three distinct product lines that would be affected: GeoMedia (for GIS applications), G/Technology (for utility-specific workflows) and TerraShare (for imagery and photogrammetry). For now and the foreseeable future, the company will pick and choose the best code or modules to use and re-use within all three product lines.
Handling and Managing Exploration Geodata: Stories of Uranium in Africa and Gold in Nevada
Carmela Burns
06-24-2009
Say you are involved in nuclear power generation. You need to know the energy business and the radioactive materials business. And, it turns out, you need to know, or have partners that know about geodata management. Areva Resources Southern Africa, which has uranium interests on the African continent, learned why having a partner in that arena, Geosoft, could help grow the business. Hunsaker Inc. is a smaller company focused on gold mining. What gives that company an edge over the competition? Clever use of existing data and the right tools including those from Geosoft.
Podcast: Why not code the real world?
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg
06-23-2009
The attributes of physical objects in the real world are commonly noted on paper maps or in electronic files, but these are frequently of limited use in the field. Why do we not simply encode key information onto the actual objects, themselves? For example, in Akron, Ohio the domes of fire hydrants are color-coded to denote their water pressure. Though we need to put all this information into databases, can we not also put it right exactly where it's needed?
GIS Cartography: A Guide to Effective Map Design by Gretchen N. Peterson
Adena Schutzberg
06-22-2009
Some percentage of those making maps with GIS have had limited or no map design training. Gretchen Peterson has written a very accessible book that highlights best practices while encouraging both new and experienced map makers to stretch their creativity. Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg has a review.
Geographic Distribution of Physicians in Japan
Shin-ichi Toyabe
06-22-2009
Japanese government policy since the late 1980s has aimed to decrease the number of medical students, which has resulted in shortages of trained medical personnel. A study to compare the numbers of physicians in Japan between 1996 and 2006 and the trends in distribution concluded that while the number of doctors was rising, the distribution of doctors was far from ideal as revealed by maps and statistics. This type of analysis may be helpful to all countries trying to enhance healthcare across the rural/urban divide.
FME User Conference 2009: FME Lessens Friction in a Rough Economy
Adena Schutzberg
06-19-2009
Safe Software's FME User Conference is the place to be for individuals who create complex workspaces to enable smooth sailing for geospatial implementations around the world. It's all very serious, until attendees let their hair down to vie to be the next FME Idol or answer FME-themed Jeopardy questions. Adena Schutzberg reports on her two days in Whistler, British Columbia.
NASA Uses Satellite to Unearth Innovation in Crop Forecasting
Gretchen Cook-Anderson
06-18-2009
Soil moisture is essential for seeds to germinate and for crops to grow. But record droughts and scorching temperatures in certain parts of the globe in recent years have caused soil to dry up, crippling crop production. This article, by NASA's Gretchen Cook-Anderson, describes how NASA researchers are using satellite data to deliver a kind of space-based humanitarian assistance.
Australian Geospatial Economic Impact Report Update
Joe Francica
06-17-2009
In November 2007, ACIL TASMAN, an economic consultancy in Australia, released a ground-breaking study on the impact of geospatial technology on the Australian gross domestic product (GDP). That report stated, "The impact on GDP in 2006-07 of the spatial information industry is estimated to range between $6.43 billion and $12.57 billion for the quantifiable lower bound and estimated realistic scenario respectively." Last week Editor in Chief Joe Francica interviewed Alan Smart, lead author of the report, about changes since the original report.
Product Update: Geocoding from Pitney Bowes Business Insight - MapMarker and GeoStan
Joe Francica
06-17-2009
Pitney Bowes acquired both MapInfo and Group 1 in order to form Pitney Bowes Business Insight (PBBI).Each of the acquired companies provided different geocoding options.The merger created the opportunity for PBBI to rethink the company's geocoding solutions, which have included MapMarker (MapInfo) and GeoStan (Group 1). Editor in Chief Joe Francica interviewed Berk Charlton, director of product management, about the latest PBBI products during the PBBI user's conference.
Podcast: Location-based Advertising... It's Not Working... Here's Why
Joe Francica
06-16-2009
In the much-hyped, Madison Avenue world of mobile location-based advertising, the Holy Grail seems within the grasp of retailers looking for that one-to-one marketing nirvana oft cited in the early nineties. But in its current model, it’s not working the way it should or can. Today's business model uses "push" advertising to mobile devices. But what if the model should be "pull," thus allowing consumers to determine when, where and how they should receive ads? Editor in Chief Joe Francica explores this model and more. ...
GIS for a Changing Health Landscape
Adena Schutzberg
06-15-2009
URISA hosted its second GIS in Public Health event in Providence, RI in early June, and attendance matched that of the event two years ago, much to everyone's delight. There were visitors from many countries including the Far East and former Soviet republics. Key topics included global infectious disease challenges, sharing public health data and how to develop mapping applications for the health care industry. Adena Schutzberg attended and offers this report.
The Development of Web Mapping Applications with Oracle Tools
Pierre Lavoie
06-12-2009
Although Oracle's primary focus is storaging and managing data, the Oracle solution provides other significant advantages to its users. Korem's Pierre Lavoie discusses why he believes solutions built using an Oracle architecture allow for better integration of mapping data and strictly statistical data, thus using the data to their full potential and enhancing upgradability.
GPS System, Challenges in Sustaining & Upgrading: Challenges Yes, Panic No
Kanwar Chadha
06-12-2009
A recent Government Accounting Office (GAO) report on the future of the GPS constellation stated: "It is uncertain whether the Air Force will be able to acquire new satellites in time to maintain current GPS service without interruption. If not, some military operations and some civilian users could be adversely affected. In recent years, the Air Force has struggled to successfully build GPS satellites within cost and schedule goals." In this editorial, SiRF Technology founder Kanwar Chadha offers a more rationale assessment of the situation.
Visual Fusion 4.0: Getting the Enterprise Excited about Visualization
Adena Schutzberg
06-11-2009
What are the keys to introducing map visualizations to the enterprise? Based on the success of IDV's Visual Fusion they include a solid user experience, easy access to data sources inside and outside the organization, and rapid development that can be performed by non-programmers. All that and more is built into Visual Fusion 4.0.
Exploration Technology: Retooling for the digital data revolution
Carmela Burns
06-10-2009
Although information technology is not a center-stage strategy in exploration industries grappling with economic and market uncertainties, it remains a key driver for improving effectiveness and results - particularly when you consider the growing data requirements of modern day exploration. This article, by GeoSoft's Carmela Burns, addresses how the industry is doing a better job of using technology in lean times.
Podcast: Spatial Databases: A Commodity?
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg
06-09-2009
This week's question: Is the spatial database a commodity? With all the big database players storing and querying spatial data and several open source offerings in the market, is spatial no longer special when in comes to the database world? Is it time to "stop getting excited" about the addition of spatial support and simply use the technology?
Space Optimization: Operational Efficiencies for Facilities Management
Steven Pierce and Bill Knecht
06-05-2009
Space optimization is an issue that is on the minds of many large organizations as they struggle to contain and even cut operational costs in the current economic environment. This article by Steven Pierce and Bill Knecht of Johnston McLamb describes a methodology the company is using to help one of the largest enterprises in the country.
Using Location Technology to Respond to Piracy
Directions Staff
06-05-2009
The world learned in the Maersk Alabama pirate attack that huge, slow transport ships can be at the mercy of small agile craft with ill intent. Can geospatial technologies help? Are there guidelines in place for tracking such vessels? Can lessons learned from crime on land be applied on the open waters? We tap Blue Sky Network, a company involved in marine, land and air tracking for some answers.
Uganda Wetland Spatial Analysis Aims to Mitigate Poverty
Directions Staff
06-04-2009
Is poverty reduction related to wetlands management? Perhaps. A new report from the World Resources Institute and partners suggests that better management can aid the entire country. And now, decision makers have something they've not had before: effective maps.
Google I/O: Where Google Goes ...
Jean-Sébastien Turcotte
06-03-2009
Korem's Jean-Sébastien Turcotte attended last week's Google I/O meeting in San Francisco and offers this report. While not specifically focused on geospatial, two presentations about Google Maps by Pamela Fox and Susannah Raub were definitely informative. He also heard about HTML 5 and Google Wave. "What will be highly interesting for us geo people to watch now are what new gates HTML 5 will open with regard to Google Maps features and applications," he concludes.
MapInfo Professional 10 - A Sneak Preview of New Features
Philippe Solomon-Côté
06-03-2009
MapInfo Professional 10 will be launched in June, most likely at the Insights 2009 conference, which starts today in Orlando, FL. Philippe Solomon-Côté got a sneak peak of the product during a presentation by Moshe Binyamin, global product manager for Pitney Bowes Business Insight, at Geodiffusion 2009, which took place earlier in May. Key upgrades include a focus on ease-of-use and improved database support.
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Total 1837 Articles on 74 pages |
