Geospatial Industry News

Search careers 

Search Browse

RESTON, Va. -- Bioterrorism; air, marine and land security; and Coast Guard's modernization saw the biggest boost in funding for Fiscal Year 2005 in the Department of Homeland Security, according to a report released today by INPUT, the leading provider of government market intelligence. The August INPUT/Output report states that the proposed FY2005 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill will allocate approximately $33 billion to the Department of Homeland Security, a $2.8 billion (9.4%) increase over the Fiscal Year 2004 enacted level.

The INPUT report states that the largest funding increase will take place in the United States Coast Guard with $705 million over FY2004, with a total budget of $7.5 billion.The Deepwater Program, Coast Guard's modernization program, has been funded for $776 million, a $112 million increase over FY2004.The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is projected to have a total budget of $5.2 billion, an increase of $649 million over FY2004. The programs within TSA that have significant increases are Airport Information Technology, budgeted at $292.9 million, a $154 million increase and Checkpoint Support, budgeted at $161.1 million, a $99 million increase.

According to the INPUT/Output report, biological countermeasures will have the greatest increase, $149 million over FY2004 with a total budget for FY2005 of $346.3 million, from the Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate.The S&T Directorate has proposed FY2005 funding of $1.1 billion, $157 million over FY2004.

The INPUT/Output report discusses the budget and grant opportunities within the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness with the Department of Homeland Security.As of March 26, 2004, this office has all grant making authority across the Department reporting directly to the Secretary.The report indicates that the Senate Appropriations committee has recommended $3.75 billion be set aside in grants assistance to our nation's first responders for FY2005, a $250 million decrease from the set asides in FY2004.The Urban Area Security Initiative is expected to receive a $480 million increase in funding in FY05.The INPUT report highlights these programs and budgeted amounts.

"In order for the Department of Homeland Security to continue to function effectively under increasing labor costs, a heavier reliance on technology is required," said Kim Hovda, manager, grant products, INPUT."The technologies necessary for the future will be the technologies that replace human effort with automated effort.The Department is taking steps toward this through research efforts being led by the Science and Technology Directorate and the Transportation Security Administration."

To download a summary of INPUT's Homeland Security FY2005 budget analysis report, go to:  media.input.com

INPUT is the leading provider of government market intelligence.Based in Reston, Virginia, INPUT provides market development services, advisory services, and software solutions to help clients secure new business, address new markets, and manage business development. For more information about

Homeland Security Budget Slated for $33B in FY2005; 9.4% Increase Over FY2004

Cambridge, Mass., August 19, 2009 – GIS/Geospatial industry worldwide growth is forecast to slow to 1%, down from 11% in 2008 and a whopping 17.4% in 2007 according to a just released study by Daratech, Inc., a Cambridge, Massachusetts market research firm. However, industry CEOs interviewed by Daratech were unanimous in their belief that growth consistent with the robust 11% cagr of the past six years would return in 2010.

North America has not been as adversely affected by the downturn as the rest of the world due to the on-going needs of homeland security and continuing investment in GIS, by the public sector. Growth in North America is forecast by Daratech to top 2.1%, more than twice the growth in Asia Pacific and five times the growth in Europe where investment in GIS/Geospatial technology has been hurt more severely by the current downturn as many European governments have cut back their geospatial technology purchases in anticipation of lower tax collections.

Perhaps the most dramatic slowdown in 2009 was in the private sector, which is forecast to shrink to $1.4 billion, down 0.7% from 2008. This downturn echoes the general pull back of the private sector from major additional investments in new IT technologies. At the same time public sector sales are expected to grow 4.1% to almost $957 million in 2009 reflecting this sectors continuing deployment of GIS technologies to all the services it offers.

 In the Traditional GIS segment ESRI continues to have a dominant 30% market share, up from 29% in 2008 according to Daratech. Lead by its iconic president Jack Dangermond, ESRI has been a benchmark for new GIS technologies, philosophies and direction for the entire industry for more than 20 years, and indications are that it will continue to be so, says Daratech. Intergraph, the second largest player in the traditional segment is forecast by Daratech to have a 16% market share in 2009, up from 15% in 2008. Intergraph is remaking its entire business around a GIS philosophy, and as a GIS service provider Intergraph is likely to become even stronger in the years ahead. Third ranked is GE Energy, which is the market leader in the utilities market where it is forecast to have a 24% market share.

 In the larger GIS/Geospatial market that includes data, geo-enabled engineering, GPS, photogrammetry and remote sensing MDA has a leading 21.8% share of the market. MDA’s strength is geospatial and engineering services for imaging, GIS, geology, weather and defense. The company’s sales are mostly to the homeland security and defense markets. ESRI, is second with a 15.7% share and Bentley Systems, the leading supplier of GIS/Geospatial AEC market software and services (where it has a 42.1% market share) is third. Bentley has frequently made the running in the geo-enabled engineering applications market and continues to demonstrate strong leadership in this area. However, Bentley can expect stronger competition from Autodesk, Intergraph and ESRI in the coming years, as this segment of the market may show greater than average growth, says Daratech.

Just released, Daratech’s study GIS/Geospatial Markets & Opportunities includes more than 1500 charts that cover both the private and public market segments for the years 2004 through 2009. It is available for purchase on Daratech’s web site http://www.daratech.com. 

The charts and graphs in this new release are the copyrighted property of Daratech, Inc. They can be used, with written permission from Daratech, Inc. in news publications and trade newsletters and magazines. For more information contact Ruth Murphy.

GIS Geospatial Industry Worldwide Growth Slows to 1% in 2009

Industry: Environmental, Architecture / Engineering / Construction, Federal Government, Location-based Services (LBS), Business GIS, GIS Software Products, Internet/Web Mapping/Web Services, Natural Resources, Interoperability and Data Integration, Open Source GIS, Business Intelligence, Location Technology, Geospatial Technology, Internet Portals, Location Intelligence
Location: San Francisco, CA, United States of America

The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) is working with the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and the Jordanian Department of Antiquities (DoA) to develop a new national geographic information system (GIS) to assist the department in inventorying, monitoring, and managing the thousands of archaeological sites in Jordan. The Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities (MEGA) - Jordan will be a Web-based, bilingual (Arabic-English) system that will be used by inspectors, archaeologists, scholars, and government planners involved in cultural heritage management and research. MEGA-Jordan is being developed by Farallon Geographics using open source software and is expected to be fully implemented in 2009. The scalable solution will subsequently be adapted for use in Iraq and possibly other countries in the region.



Jordan has an extraordinarily rich cultural heritage, having more than 10,000 recorded archaeological sites and tens of thousands more expected to be discovered. As part of the Fertile Crescent with Iraq, it was traditionally a crossroads between the Mediterranean, Arabia, and Mesopotamia and witnessed some of the most important developments in human civilization. Jordan was the center of the Nabataean empire, and is still graced by the amazing ruins of the city of Petra. It was linked to Hellenistic centers in Egypt and Syria and was for centuries part of the Roman Empire, as witnessed by sites such as the Amman Citadel and the Graeco-Roman city of Gerasa (or Jarash).



When fully deployed, MEGA-Jordan will be the primary planning and decision-making tool for the DoA, addressing its needs and demands related to the legal protection of sites, site management, infrastructure and development control, World Heritage requirements, and development of national and regional research strategies. Infrastructure and development control are especially crucial, permitting the DoA to assess the potential impact of planned development (urban sprawl, roadways, pipelines, reservoirs, construction of buildings, etc.) on archaeological sites.

Farallon Geographics worked with the GCI and DoA to define the use case scenarios, workflows and functional requirements for the technical solution.

"The objective of the GCI and WMF is to develop a long-term conservation solution that will be sustainable without requiring extensive training or maintenance costs," said Alison Dalgity, GCI Project Manager. "Planners, government officials and researchers need to be able to review and understand information without technical GIS training. Software needs to be open source or low cost, because in Jordan a traditional GIS desktop license costs many times more than the annual salary of a highly trained technical employee."

To meet these sustainability objectives, the MEGA-Jordan GIS will include the following:


Ability to track the location and spatial extent of antiquities sites and the cultural elements (such as archeologically significant relics) that may be present at a site

Easy-to-use, map-based user interface that does not require GIS knowledge or extensive technical training for general use

Use of freely available or open source software technologies to minimize maintenance costs

Capability of presenting information in both English and Standard Arabic

Flexibility to accommodate new or customized business processes that users may wish to deploy in the future

The functional prototype for the GIS and mapping interface will be developed by Farallon and implemented in the spring of 2009, with the final MEGA-Jordan system scheduled for deployment in the fall of 2009. The open source software technologies will include PostGIS and GeoServer along with a public mapping front-end such as Google Maps.

"Farallon is delighted to be able to apply our expertise in geospatial technology and cutting edge Web 2.0 interfaces to help preserve the rich heritage of Jordan and Iraq," said Dennis Wuthrich, CEO of Farallon Geographics. "We look forward to seeing this project expand to other countries throughout the Middle East."

As part of their long-term Iraq Cultural Heritage Conservation Initiative, the GCI and WMF will work with Farallon Geographics to adapt the Jordanian GIS for deployment in Iraq immediately after it is deployed in Jordan.

About Farallon Geographics
Farallon Geographics, based in San Francisco, is a leader in the planning, implementation, and integration of GIS systems and software to support mission critical business functions. As a formal business partner with major vendors in the GIS market, Farallon provides unique and objective strategic and technical implementation services for enterprise-scale GIS.

Farallon Geographics Helps Getty Conservation and World Monuments Fund Build Web-based GIS Management Tool for Jordanian and Iraqi Antiquities

After a highly competitive procurement process, the Geospatial One-Stop project has awarded a contract to ESRI of Redlands, Calif., to update www.Geodata.gov, an existing online tool for combining thousands of geospatial resources from federal, state, local, tribal and private sources.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior Scott Cameron will unveil a demonstration of the new portal's potential during the plenary session of the ESRI User Conference tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb.1 at 2:30 p.m.The session is being held on Level 2, hall E of the Washington Convention Center.

The Web site, www.geodata.gov, enables decision makers to access geospatial resources and thus respond quickly in an emergency to protect lives, property and basic services.The full value of the contract, if all options are awarded, will be $2.38 million over five years.

"Geodata.gov serves as a critical information resource during emergencies," said Lynn Scarlett, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Policy, Management and Budget."In the fall, for example, Geodata.gov served as a one-stop source for crucial information for state and local officials while multiple hurricanes pummeled the Southeast."

"Today, as tragic natural disasters in Asia and California claim so many lives, Geodata.gov underscores the importance of having one place to go for geospatial information in times of emergency," Scarlett emphasized.The Department of the Interior and its U.S.Geological Survey manage the intergovernmental project in support of the president's Initiative for e-government.The contract covers a second-generation portal to succeed the highly successful www.geodata.gov.

"We look forward to Version 2 being even easier to use than Version 1, with more resources available from federal, state, local and private sources," said Karen Siderelis, U.S.Geological Survey associate director for geospatial information.

"With Geodata.gov, together with additional geospatial resources of the U.S.Geological Survey, decisonmakers can do everything from viewing a real-time weather map of the United States to using stream-gauging tools to assess which streams are approaching flood stage, to locating sources of emergency help," Siderelis said.

In addition to emergency responses, www.geodata.gov facilitates long-term collaboration related to transportation planning, social services, regional planning and environmental protection.Federal, state and local partnerships for data-sharing are at the heart of Geospatial One-Stop and Geodata.gov.

The administration launched Geospatial One-Stop in November 2001 as one of 24 e-government initiatives to help make federal technology resources more assessible to state, local and tribal governments.The www.geodata.gov portal, which was launched in June 2003, now provides access to more than 72,000 federal, state and local government geospatial resources.

ESRI, a company that specializes in GIS and geospatial software, was also the contractor for Version 1 of Geodata.gov.

enhance the ease in using geodata.gov for those with less technical experience;

allow users to take advantage of new search capabilities and include them on their own portal applications;

maximize interoperability to facilitate sharing of information from multiple sources; and

allow faster response to search requests and online management of 17 featured subject "channels" that highlight innovative Web services and information sources based on specific subject areas

Geospatial One-Stop Project Awards Portal Contract

- TomTom NV (TomTom) announced a new structure to its portable navigation (PND) division. Corinne Vigreux has been appointed managing director, Ken McAlpine will join as senior vice president product design and Alex Batchelor will join as executive vice president marketing.

"These appointments reflect the high level of expertise and industry experience we are seeking and we look forward to benefiting from their insights and knowledge," said Harold Goddijn, TomTom CEO. "By ensuring we have the right level of management within TomTom we will continue to meet our goal to deliver the very best in-car consumer navigation experience for our customers."

Corinne Vigreux is a co-founder of TomTom and has played a leading role in growing the company from a small organisation into a global player in the consumer electronics market. Vigreux's key responsibilities have focused on defining and driving the company's global sales strategy and geographical expansion, overseeing product management as well as developing partner and retail relationships. She is a key visionary in the car navigation industry and has played an active role in this fast growing market from the beginning. In her new role as managing director she will be responsible for all aspects of TomTom's retail business, including product management, P&L;, sales, marketing and HR.

Ken McAlpine is an engineering professional with 27 years' experience in consumer product design, manufacturing and project management. McAlpine was previously employed as director of engineering with Apple Inc, based at the head office in Cupertino, California. McAlpine was involved in the development of, among other products, the MacMini, AppleTV and iPhone. Additionally, McAlpine led Apple's laptop engineering teams, which were responsible for engineering management, program management, electronic circuit design and support of all Apple laptop products. McAlpine will be responsible for product design and usability within TomTom's PND division ensuring that the user experience is consistent across all TomTom platforms.

Alex Batchelor has almost 20 years' marketing and international brand management experience. He has guided, developed and managed world-class consumer brands, such as Orange and Unilever. His expertise lies in both marketing strategy and brand building--most recently he was marketing director at Royal Mail Group. He will be responsible for managing the TomTom brand internationally and positioning the combination of TomTom's products and services as the premier in-car navigation solution.

TomTom NV is the world's leading provider of navigation solutions and digital maps. TomTom NV has 3500 employees working in four business units - TomTom, Tele Atlas, Automotive and TomTom WORK.

TomTom's products are developed with an emphasis on innovation, quality, ease of use, safety and value. TomTom's products include all-in-one navigation devices which enable customers to navigate right out of the box; these are the award-winning TomTom GO family, the TomTom XL and TomTom ONE ranges and the TomTom RIDER. Additionally, independent research proves that TomTom products have a significant positive effect on driving and road safety.

Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power some of the world's most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers digital map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

The Automotive business unit develops and sells navigation systems and services to car manufacturers and OEMs.

TomTom WORK combines industry leading communication and smart navigation technology with leading edge tracking and tracing expertise.

TomTom NV was founded in 1991 in Amsterdam and has offices in Europe, North America, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. TomTom is listed at Euronext Amsterdam in The Netherlands. For more information

TomTom NV Unveils Changes to Management Structure 

Bowles Farming Realizes Cost Savings and Increased Revenue Using SPOT Imagery to Create DigitalGlobe AgroWatch Products

LONGMONT, Colo. - DigitalGlobe( announced that Bowles Farming, an agriculture customer in Los Banos, Calif., is using 30 foot resolution SPOT satellite imagery for precision farming applications, land acquisition assessment, and improved crop quality, asset and nutrition management. In addition to providing the imagery, DigitalGlobe worked closely with Bowles Farming to train company representatives on the use and interpretation of digital satellite imagery.

Bowles Farming is a 12,000-acre family farm producing cotton, alfalfa and small grains crops. In April 2002, Cannon Michael, business operations manager for the farm, noticed that 45 acres within a 141-acre field of cotton were producing poor yields due to leakage from an irrigation canal that was causing salt build-up in the soil.

The initial proposed solution was to install tile along the entire length of the canal to provide adequate drainage and divert excess water. This solution would cost $127,000 for the purchase of 9,700 feet of tile and two pumps. After examining DigitalGlobe's AgroWatch maps produced from SPOT imagery captured in August 2002, Cannon determined the size of the total affected area was less than half of what he initially anticipated - 4,250 feet rather than 9,700 feet. Once the actual extent of the drainage problem was identified through satellite imagery, Cannon determined that he required only 4,250 feet of tile and one pump, saving the farm $69,000 on materials alone. The anticipated revenue increase on the yield is expected to be $17,150 after the first year.

"Satellite imagery saved our farm thousands of dollars," explained Cannon. "The AgroWatch Green Vegetation maps were key to identifying specific problem areas and are part of our strategy for increasing yields, allowing us to make better long-term farming decisions. Agriculture is moving into the space age, and that means new ways to accurately and effectively solve old problems. DigitalGlobe makes it very easy for the agriculture market to access and benefit from this complex technology."

DigitalGlobe is committed to providing a regularly scheduled and ready-to-use imagery solution to growers, consultants and allied industries in production agriculture. DigitalGlobe's two, eight and 10-foot resolution image products provide the facts for customers to make quicker and better management decisions while reducing economic risk.

Bowles Farming views precision agriculture and other new technologies as a way to achieve production goals while maintaining a commitment to providing high-quality crops at lower production costs. In addition to identifying trouble areas, the company is using AgroWatch maps to optimize the number of acres farmed. The short-term use of these information products includes understanding field variations, identifying opportunities and implementing remediation where possible. In the long-term, Bowles Farming will use the imagery to improve crop quality, nutrition and asset management, as well as assess land acquisitions.

"To directly and positively affect a business' bottom line is a great success," said John Ahlrichs, director of Agriculture Markets for DigitalGlobe. "We have already started our image collection program for the 2003 growing season and are helping consultants and their growers make in-season crop production decisions.  DigitalGlobe is pleased to be part of Bowles Farming's solution and to help them realize all the possibilities of image-based information products for improving their production system."

AgroWatch products are produced from satellite imagery by DigitalGlobe to meet information needs of the agricultural community. The AgroWatch Green Vegetation Index aids growers and consultants in making quicker and quantitative scouting and land management decisions. ScoutAide shows the absolute amount of vegetation change and is most valuable for identifying problem areas where the crop is changing faster than expected or validating the result of changing production practices. The AgroWatch Soil Zone map provides users insight into the influence of surface soil characteristics on vegetation health. Combined, these maps are critical for improving production practices over time.

DigitalGlobe has exclusive rights to sell SPOT satellite imagery products and services to customers in the U.S. agriculture and defense markets. SPOT products are used by government and commercial clients in the agriculture market to provide very rapid and current information on crop conditions both locally and worldwide for market forecasting, disaster response and long-term planning.

Bowles Farming Company Inc. has been in operation since 1965. It was originally part of the Miller and Lux Farming Company. Bowles Farming Company Inc. is a family owned corporation that owns and leases ground (around 12,000 acres total) for the farming of cotton, alfalfa and small grains. Bowles Farming is committed to being low cost producers of high quality crops and views Precision Agriculture as a way to achieve our production goals.

SPOT Image Corporation in Chantilly, VA, is part of the SPOT World Group (SWG) with headquarters in Toulouse, France. The SPOT World Group operates a constellation of medium- and high-resolution satellites, and a network of receiving stations, processing centers and global business partners serving businesses and governments worldwide. SPOT is the oldest commercial satellite imaging company, having launched its first satellite in 1986.

DigitalGlobe is an Earth imagery and information company in Longmont, Colorado, USA. With the 2001 launch of its QuickBird satellite, DigitalGlobe has established a market leadership position. The company offers the world's highest resolution commercial satellite imagery, the most up-to-date archive, the largest image size, and the greatest on-board storage capacity of any satellite imagery provider. The competition has no plans to launch a comparable commercial satellite until at least 2006. In addition to offering technical superiority, DigitalGlobe distinguishes itself in the market through its commitment to excellent customer service, relationships with business partners and open-systems philosophy.

Satellite Imagery Improves Agriculture Technique

North Vancouver, BC--GeoGraphs Systems Corporation announces the release of GeoFlash. A Macromedia Flash based GIS Software that works inside almost every Internet browser.

Traditionally Internet Mapping is expensive, slow, and complicated. Most of the Internet Mapping System depends heavily on Map Server Model, where a server convert a portion of a Map to a raster image, and send it to the client computer. The displayed map is stripped from intelligence, and allows for limited interactivity. GeoFlash is a Map Publishing Tool that integrates Intelligent, eye-pleasing Maps into Internet Applications. The new Software does not require a Map Server to publish Maps. Geo-Colors Lite exports Shape, MID/MIF, or apr Project Documents to vector binary compact Flash Format of Macromedia, ready to Internet Publishing.

GeoFlash is an innovative solution to enter in the realm of Flash-based technologies where maps truly become interactive, eyes pleasing without loosing any of their original attributes or accuracy. The system is based on a C++ API that translates the user’s Maps to a multiple SWF Files, and one or two HTML. Ready to link to any Web Page.

The software is not addressed only to the GIS/IT professionals only, but to any one whom have some knowledge of Macromedia Flash, and or HTML. This by itself will open the GIS Market to new users and clients.

“By eliminating the Map server from our Model, we are opening Intelligent Map Publishing to almost all the Internet Community. Our goal is to put intelligent, interactive, colorful, and eyes pleasing maps in almost every Web Site. We have started with Geo-Colors, which is based on SVG. But the Flash Technology offers leaner code, smaller file, and much faster download, and execution time.”

declared Yosri Diab, CTO and founder of GeoGraphs Corp. The system is data driven; it converts a Mapping File, to a full Internet system, ready for distribution to clients, or to publish as part of the web site of the organization. The translated system is not static one, but it comes equipped with different functions and utilities, to zoom, pan, edit cartographic elements and texts. As for analyses, and data visualization the system is delivered with functions and routines for regular queries, tool tips info, thematic analyses, and Searching. It is a Geographic Information System inside an Internet browser.

The system is a breakthrough, as it permits regular user and developer to integrate mapping into their Internet applications with ease and simplicity. There is no royalties, or fees charged more than the price of the software. A server version will be available soon. 

GeoGraphs is an energetic team of high performance Software Engineers based in North Vancouver, BC. GeoGraphs develops high performance Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software for the Internet and The Desktops, setting industry standards in terms of reliability and total cost of ownership. DriveX family of Products covers the full range of Internet Mapping needs, Cartographic quality maps, and nation wide Street Routing and GeoCoding Software. 

GeoGraphs announces the release of GeoFlash a Macromedia Flash based GIS to publish Maps without a Map Server

For most Americans, the COVID-19 pandemic represents the single most disruptive event in their lives. Routines have been profoundly altered in a relatively short period of time, forcing all of us to adapt in ways that seemed unthinkable when we celebrated the beginning of a new decade mere months ago.

The most profound change we have embraced is the restriction of movement in our daily lives. Business closures, stay-home advisories and social-distancing orders have all impacted how often we go out. And we know that these efforts are critical to the public health effort to contain transmission of the virus and flatten the curve.

But has everyone been complying with the stay-home requests? Environics Analytics examined the movement patterns of Americans from early February to late April based on an anonymized mobile movement database. Not surprisingly, we see different rates of compliance across the country.

Americans going out on the first weekend in February and third weekend in April

In the first weekend in February, when COVID-19 restrictions were not yet in place, the country was at a normal activity level. The county-level map below shows the percentage of people who went out that weekend. People in rural areas were most likely to go out, generally travelling greater distances than urbanites to pick up groceries, go to their jobs or see family and friends. People in suburban and urban counties normally do not travel as far or as often outside their homes.

By the third weekend in April, as seen in the second map, the national picture looked very different. With the COVID-19 crisis at its peak and firmly planted in the American psyche, the percentage of people going out along major coastal metro areas drops significantly. Small town and rural America also reduce their going out rates in response to the crisis.

Using mobile movement data alone does not capture the full picture of people across America or more importantly, the factors influencing their behavior. They have different demographic profiles, socio-economic circumstances, behavior pattens, attitudes and values. We used privacy-compliant data at small geography levels to draw insights about the population that can be used to inform public outreach, program development and communications.

What did our analysis find about different population groups as it relates to going out rates during the COVID-19 pandemic? Here is a snapshot based on the Claritas PRIZM® Premier segmentation system, a lifestyle segmentation system that classifies Americans into 68 segments linked to thousands of behavioral and psychographic dimensions. We compared segments that share some common characteristics but differ in their stay at home compliance with some of the following insights:

1.    Lower-income residents go out more

We looked at two PRIZM Premier segments that are both middle-aged and live in small American cities. 22 Middleburg Managers is an upscale segment of business professionals while 64 Family Thrifts is a low-income segment with people employed in the service industry. A key difference is that many 22 Middleburg Managers residents can continue working from home or have the means to order groceries and other goods for delivery to their homes. This may account for the fact that their going out rate is 16% below the national average. By contrast, 64 Family Thrifts residents are on the front line as cashiers or in the food service industry and must go out to work or venture out for food and supplies. Their going out rate is 22% above the national average. Despite their differences in movement, both segments share a common value around “Active Government”, a tendency to believe that government performs socially beneficial functions. Local governments can leverage this attribute in compliance communications around social distancing guidelines and other preventative measures.

In the early days of the crisis we saw reports of spring breakers on the beaches of Florida violating social distancing guidelines. Young people became a focal point for pandemic-related containment communications. But our research indicates that urbanity and income play a larger role in going out behavior than age.

In urban areas we looked at two segments, the older 07 Money and Brains and the younger 21 The Cosmopolitans. Both are upper-class segments, with incomes above $90,000 and highly educated. The segments show 25% and 21% rates respectively that are lower than the national average for going out. They can stay in because as executives and programmers they can work from home. Both segments watch CNBC and CNN at above the national average so public safety messages through these channels can be a good way to reinforce positive behavior.

In rural areas we looked at the older segment 57 Back Country Folks and the younger segment 65 Young & Rustic. Both are low-income and predominantly high school educated, and respectively showed levels of going out 25% and 27% higher than the national average. This may be attributable to their lower incomes and the fact that they have no choice but to go out for their work and to get essentials. Segment 57 Back Country Folks higher movement levels is also a concern given that they index highly for high blood pressure, one of the co-morbidities most likely to cause complications for COVID-19 patients. A more direct approach of delivering supplies and facemasks to homes may be needed to help lower-income segments play a part in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

3.     City residents stay at home more than rural residents

We compared two low income segments to understand the differences in going out behavior between city segments and rural segments. Both segments are middle-aged, mostly without kids living at home and with lower than average incomes. One big difference between the two segments is that 45 Urban Modern Mix has a going out rate of 2% above the national average, while 55 Red, White & Blues has a going out rate 22% above the national average. Both segments find themselves on the front line as nursing aides, plant operators, protective services and cashiers, but the residents of 45 Urban Modern Mix live in denser neighborhoods with stores near by and do not travel as far as the residents of 55 Red, White and Blue to get essentials. On the other hand, any going out behavior by 45 Urban Modern Mix is more likely to bring them into contact with more people because of their higher density neighborhoods.

How do you deliver the right message through the right channels to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among these segments?

We found that 45 Urban Modern Mix spend 5 or more hours per day on social networking sites at rates 48% higher than the national average. They use those sites for dating and job searches so messages encouraging people to follow social distancing guidelines through these websites might be a good way to reach them. Since they rank high on a variety of psychographics indicating concern for others and the world like “Ecological Concern”, “Global Consciousness” and “Social Responsibility”, framing messages to help others and the world is a good way to speak to this segment.

By contrast 55 Red, White and Blue are much less likely to use social media, turning to radio and television instead for entertainment. They listen to classic country stations at four times the national average. On television they are fans of the INSP network where they watch western classics like Gunsmoke and Walker Texas Ranger. Country music on CMT network is a close second favorite. Unlike 45 Urban Modern Mix, the residents of 55 Red, White and Blue index quite low on the psychographic “Global Consciousness”. They are more likely to believe in “Parochialism”, meaning they are more tied to local and national concerns, and in “Obedience to Authority”. A strong, clear message from government officials is better than ambiguous rules or guidelines.

Data-driven insights to inform COVID-19 recovery

Governments have enacted a variety of orders, legislation, guidelines and enforcement to get large numbers of people to stay home. But Americans are a diverse population in a large country. We behave, think, consume and generally act differently based on thousands of attributes, including where we live. Further improving compliance will require more nuanced strategies targeted to specific populations who cannot, or will not, stay home.

Environics Analytics has a privacy- compliant database called MobileScapes developed from aggregated mobile phone movement data from multiple sources. Using these data, we identified devices that were out of their homes during the daytime for weekends from early February to late-April. The measure of “going out” was devices that were observed more than 300 feet, at least three times for ten minutes each in a day, from their inferred home ZIP+4.

One of North America’s premier data marketing and analytical services companies, Environics Analytics provides organizations with deep consumer insight and location intelligence to answer key business questions.

Are We Listening? A View into Americans Compliance with COVID-19 Movement Restrictions

Leicestershire, UK, 23 April 2020 - Aerial mapping company Bluesky International is partnering with the University of Leicester to develop a new portfolio of geospatial data products for the UK insurance sector. Using machine learning and Artificial Intelligence, combined with satellite imagery and aerial survey data, it is hoped the SPRINT (Space Research & Innovation Network for Technology) funded project will improve the analysis of key urban environmental data to automatically recognise building classifications and structure detail.

“We were keen to explore the potential of AI and machine learning for the automatic identification and classification of data for use within the insurance sector,” commented James Eddy, Technical Director of Bluesky International. “So, having strong ties with the academic community having worked alongside university and higher education organisations on other projects, we approached the University of Leicester.

“Directed to the School of Mathematics and Actuarial Science, we were introduced to SPRINT. The space-based aspect means we can use mathematical methods to look at data in different forms, and, by the end of this project, we hope to develop a technique to extract data and produce it commercially for a range of sectors.”

Ivan Tyukin, Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Leicester added, “Satellite data is an extremely valuable resources, and the volume of this data grows very fast. It is hence important to develop methods enabling organisations to utilise this wealth of resources in the most efficient and reliable way. In our project we will employ state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to extract information from available satellite datasets and fuse this extracted information with Bluesky’s own proprietary data to increase Bluesky’s data analysis capabilities.”

Bluesky is an established provider of geospatial data including nationwide coverage of high resolution aerial photography and 3D height models. Working alongside academics from the mathematics department it is hoped this project will leverage the University of Leicester’s deep expertise in object classification systems, as applied to satellite remotely sensed data. Aerial imagery, from visible and infra-red sensors, can then be used, in isolation and combination, to deliver a robust, high confidence intelligence service.

The Bluesky University of Leicester project will be funded by a grant from the £4.8 million SPRINT programme. SPRINT provides unprecedented access to university space expertise and facilities, helping business with the commercial exploitation of space data and technologies.

Bluesky International is the leading aerial survey and geographic data company in the UK producing and maintaining seamless digital aerial photography and height data on a national scale in both Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Bluesky also undertakes bespoke surveys, including LiDAR, for a range of public and private sector clients.

Bluesky International operates a range of aircraft and sensors including two Ultracam Eagle Mark 3s, a CityMapper which allows the simultaneous collection of vertical and oblique imagery as well as LiDAR data, and a Galaxy LiDAR which is mounted with a thermal sensor and survey grade camera. These systems put Bluesky International in the enviable position of being able to provide customers with unique and cost-effective geospatial solutions.

As well as being an established and respected aerial survey company Bluesky International is also highly innovative and continually strives to develop new products and services by embracing new technology and methods. This has resulted in the development of some unique products such as the National Tree Map (NTM).

These datasets underpin long term contracts with local and central governments and many major blue-chip companies from a range of market sectors including financial services, utilities, telecoms, web portals, construction and environment.  Bluesky International has offices in the UK, US, Republic of Ireland and a dedicated production centre in India.

(Space Research & Innovation Network for Technology) is supported by Research England and the Scottish Funding Council. It is being delivered by a consortium of five of the UK’s leading space universities; led by the University of Leicester and including the University of Edinburgh, The Open University, University of South and University of Surrey. A Connecting Capability Fund, SPRINT enables SMEs to access the Higher Education Knowledge base and resources.

is led by discovery and innovation – an international centre for excellence renowned for research, teaching and broadening access to higher education. It is among the top 25 universities in the Times Higher Education REF Research Power rankings with 75% of research adjudged to be internationally excellent with wide-ranging impacts on society, health, culture, and the environment. The University is home to just over 20,000 students and approximately 3,000 staff.

Bluesky University of Leicester SPRINT Project Brings AI to Insurance Sector

Liverpool, UK, 15 January 2020 – The development of Augmented Reality as a tool to manage and visualise hidden infrastructure assets has taken a major step forward following the announcement of a partnership between two technology companies. MGISS, a UK geospatial specialist, has partnered with Canada based vGIS to transform traditional GIS, BIM and CAD data into stunning Augmented Reality visualisations.

Augmented Reality provides an interactive experience of an environment where objects that reside in the real world, such as underground pipes, are displayed and enhanced with additional intelligence such as attribute information and maintenance records.

A specialist in the use of geospatial technology in the utility, infrastructure and environment sectors, MGISS understands the demands for improved spatial data quality and the requirement to communicate complex, asset dense, 3D environments in an easy to consume way. By combining authoritative survey grade positions and associated data with consumer grade hardware MGISS enables users of vGIS to access Augmented Reality visualisations from any suitable smart device.

vGIS is the leading augmented and mixed reality visualisation technology for GIS data. Using the vGIS system, field personnel can see an augmented view that includes holographic infrastructure objects, improving environmental assessments and increasing situational awareness.

“Initiatives such as digital twinning and the expectation of ‘Business As Usual’ (BAU) operations require the capture and representation of increasing complex real-world environments. Asset owners and operators face a number of challenges and opportunities including the need to improve safety, reduce risk and ensure what lies beneath our feet meets future infrastructure needs,” commented Mike Darracott Managing Director and founder of MGISS.

“vGIS truly understand the needs and the challenges facing these sectors. In fact, vGIS goes further than any other Augmented Reality solution by providing a full range of 3D spatial data capabilities; all within a platform that works with existing enterprise systems and data structures,” added Darracott.

“Value is often hidden deep within the structure of data. By helping people “see” data in more intuitive ways, they gain new insights and can subsequently do more with that information. That’s been the core operating philosophy of vGIS,” commented Alec Pestov, founder and CEO of Canada based vGIS. “To achieve this we are building an ecosystem bringing together top experts to work jointly towards a common goal. MGISS possesses deep expertise in the spatial services and solutions sector and we are looking forward to joining forces to deliver augmented and mixed reality visualisations in the UK.”

MGISS is a specialist in the use of geospatial technology in the infrastructure, environment and energy sectors.

MGISS independently advises on the smart use of data, software and hardware to underpin the digital transformation of asset management. Delivering a full range of solutions and services, MGISS helps businesses capture, analyse, visualise and inform decision making using geographic information.

MGISS has successfully completed projects on behalf of Northumbrian Water, Laing O’Rourke, Surrey County Council, Sir Robert McAlpine and the National Trust.

MGISS is a multi-award winning company located in the exciting technology hub in the Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool. MGISS was recently ranked at number four in the North West Tech 50 a ranking of disruptive companies creating innovative technology solutions, named as one of the top 21 companies in the mapping software space by Beauhurst and featured in the inaugural 2019 LCR Tech Climbers list.

vGIS is an innovative augmented reality visualization platform for GIS data, geographic information system (GIS) which is a framework for gathering, managing, and analysing data used by more than fifteen major industries globally. The vGIS product portfolio includes a visual GIS platform and an array of custom mixed reality applications designed for Microsoft HoloLens.

vGIS is an award winning partner of Esri and Microsoft, and a recipient of the ESRI Partner Award (2019) and Microsoft Partner of the Year Finalist two years running (2019, 2018). vGIS is currently deployed to visualize infrastructure by more than 80 clients globally.

MGISS and vGIS Bring Augmented Reality to 3D Mapping and BIM

Geocoding is becoming increasingly important for a number of emerging technologies, from autonomous car navigation to drone delivery systems. In response, a number of 2D geo-encoding standards have been developed.

Today we are extending our 2D location encoding system, GeoCode, which we released about a year ago, to support elevation up/down to 17576 meters. This is the first open location encoding standard for pinpointing an exact location in three dimensions.

You may find your own 3D geocode by entering your x,y,z at  or by downloading and installing the software in your own system.

Geolocation expressed as (latitude, longitude, elevation) can be converted offline into a geocode, and vice versa using a data structure embedded in the software without the need of a database.

Geocodes preserve location context in their triple name format, with the first name being the most prominent geo-name in relative proximity. GeoCode avoids borderline discontinuities via a smooth space-filling function technique - hence nearby locations will have similar GeoCodes. In the triple name format, such locations will share the first 2 names. For example,  (56.937030, 24.088460, 0) is the location of the conference where I delivered a talk announcing this system a few days ago. Another nearby location is RIGA-FRIDAY-TOASTER -> (56.937030, 24.088460, 17)

This system is free to use and modify, however, we retain full commercial rights.

At Geocode.xyz we provide innovative geocoding and geoparsing solutions for location information. We invented the 3geoname system as a way to speed up our reverse geocoding engine, which is now the first 3d reverse geocoding engine. Today we are releasing it as open-source seeing as it also fills a need as a location encoding system.

A 3D open location encoding system has been released by Geocode.xyz

August 13, 2019 – Holly Springs, NC –

Today, pioneering drone company Flytrex and the drone services company Causey Aviation Unmanned, Inc. (CAU) received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin food deliveries by drone in Holly Springs, North Carolina. As part of the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) and in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), Causey Aviation, the Town of Holly Springs, and Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG), Flytrex will soon begin its on-demand, unmanned food delivery via commercial drones for local residents.

Today’s announcement comes in the wake of the recent validation of Flytrex’s self-triggered parachute recovery system by NUAIR (Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research), according to standards set by the FAA and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Flytrex and Causey join the few select companies to be authorized to operate in a suburban area.

“Regulation is crucial to the future of widespread drone delivery, both for safe operations and public acceptance, which is why we have been working diligently with the FAA to adhere to the highest standards of safety,” said Yariv Bash, CEO and Co-Founder of Flytrex. “We continually strive to reach new heights when it comes to advancing commercial drone use around the world. That is why we are thrilled to have been chosen to work so closely with the FAA to help this pilot take off. This is just the beginning as we expand the possibilities of sky-bound delivery.”

Per the approved proposal, Flytrex drones will operate along one predetermined delivery route, connecting a distribution center at Holly Springs Towne Center, a shopping destination owned and operated by Kite Realty Group, with a single delivery point: Ting Park, a nearby outdoor sports and recreation hub. The flight route crosses over Route 55, and will fly primarily over unpopulated areas, avoiding flights over adjacent neighborhoods. CAU Drone Delivery Operations for compensation under this provision will be conducted in accordance with Part 107 Rules and within Line of Sight of the Remote Pilot in Command (RPIC).

Flytrex provides comprehensive autonomous drone delivery systems that enable any business, from SMBs to e-commerce giants, to integrate on-demand autonomous drone delivery into their offering. From facilitating the regulatory process to providing the drones, a cloud-based drone management system, insurance and maintenance, Flytrex is an end-to-end drone logistics service spearheading the drone revolution. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, the Flytrex team has 50+ years aerospace and defense experience.

Causey Aviation Service, Inc. is an IS-BAO Stage III Registered Aircraft Management, Charter and Maintenance company headquartered in North Carolina for over 50 Years. Causey Aviation makes owning a jet easy and provides secure private transportation in North America, Europe and beyond. Causey Aviation Unmanned, Inc. leverages that broad experience to develop the appropriate safety and regulatory processes for drone delivery operations.  Vector AeroMedical, LLC is Causey Aviation's CAMTS accredited air ambulance service.

Kite Realty Group Trust is a full-service, vertically integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that provides communities with convenient and beneficial shopping experiences. We connect consumers to retailers in desirable markets through our portfolio of neighborhood, community, and lifestyle centers. Using operational, development, and redevelopment expertise, we continuously optimize our portfolio to maximize value and return to our shareholders. For more information, please visit our website at kiterealty.com.

Flytrex & Causey Aviation Get FAA Approval to Begin Drone Food Delivery in North Carolina

SANTA FE, New Mexico, 23 May 2019 – Descartes Labs Inc. will demonstrate the predictive intelligence capabilities of its geospatial analytics Data Refinery, enabling customers to find objects at any scale, monitor their change over time, and predict future situations in near-real time.

Descartes Labs will run live demonstrations highlighting use cases relevant to the defense & intelligence community in booth 1330 at the 2019 GEOINT Symposium being held June 2-5 in San Antonio, Texas.

●	Join Descartes Labs’ Steve Truitt and Krishna Karra for their Lighting Talk: “Detecting Anti-Aircraft Sites Across North Korea in a Weekend with Fast and Globally Scalable Computer-Vision Based Search” in booth 1943 on Monday, June 3, 1:30 to 2:20 pm.

●	Join Descartes Labs’ Krishna Karra for his training session, “Computer Vision at Global Scale: Build & Deploy a Machine Learning Model,” in Room 301A on Tuesday, June 4 at 2 pm, as part of the GEOINT Education, Training, and Professional Development series.

●	Stop by the Descartes Labs booth (#1330) to receive your official invitation to an after-hours gathering on Tuesday, June 4, in downtown San Antonio where you can learn more about the Descartes Labs Los Alamos National Lab heritage and meet the co-founders and team.

The Descartes Labs Data Refinery is a scalable platform built on a cloud-based supercomputer that leverages deep learning and computer vision to process massive volumes of satellite imagery and other complex data at incredible speed to generate actionable intelligence. Already containing petabytes of ESA Sentinel, NASA Landsat, and Airbus Pléiades satellite data, Descartes Labs delivers a living digital twin of planet Earth, which is continuously updated with new information from commercially available data sources and customer-supplied inputs.

DARPA has selected Descartes Labs to participate in its Geospatial Cloud Analytics Program.

At GEOINT 2019, Descartes Labs will demonstrate several real-world applications pertaining to defense/intelligence mission objectives, including:

Global Food Security – The Descartes Labs Data Refinery processes archived and current satellite imagery of the Middle East and North Africa to detect agricultural fields - even those of odd shapes and sizes - identify the crops, and assess vegetation health. This information is supplied to government agencies for food security monitoring as it relates to political stability in specific countries.

Fracking Activity – In the U.S. Permian Basin, the Descartes Labs Data Refinery ingests multiple data sets to learn the precise locations of oil & gas wells and then performs iterative analytics of multi-temporal satellite imagery to detect changes around specific well heads, such as movement of vehicles and materials, that indicate hydraulic fracturing (fracking) activity is occurring.

Maritime Domain Awareness – The Arctic is a critical region for commercial shipping, military submarine activity, and natural resource exploitation – all of which are impacted by climate change and melting ice. The Descartes Labs Data Refinery tracks ice changes on a daily basis and predicts when and where future melting will impact this remote area.

GEOINT 2019 is being held June 2-5 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. Visit www.geoint2019.com for details.

Descartes Labs has built a cloud-based Data Refinery to digitize the physical world. We provide enterprise-grade data processing and management to enable the next generation of global-scale machine learning analytics. Custom machine learning models fuse enterprise datasets with our data catalog to deliver financial, operational, and competitive advantage for our customers. Descartes Labs Data Refinery enables the enterprise to tap into the power of petascale data to solve problems and unearth opportunities. Descartes Labs is headquartered in Santa Fe, NM, and has offices in New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Denver, Minneapolis, and Los Alamos, NM. www.descarteslabs.com.

Graphic Caption - Using Descartes Labs for automated field edge identification and segmentation.

Co-Founder, Head of Sales and Business Development

Descartes Labs to Demonstrate Global-Scale Predictive Intelligence at GEOINT 2019

Geospatial data is key for accurately testing in digital environments

Ordnance Survey (OS) is one of 11 partners in OmniCAV, a £3.9m project to develop a world-first Artificial Intelligence-based simulation model for testing autonomous car safety. The simulation environment will feature a 32km circuit of Oxfordshire roads, covering rural, urban, main roads and intersections. The simulation will be used to create and run different scenarios for the safe testing of CAVs, and will support certification bodies, insurers and manufacturers.

OS will lead the capture, processing and serving of geospatial high-resolution mapping data. This will include 3D geometry and information about the roadside assets and their characteristics, so that data standards and requirements can be developed for the real-world deployment and operation of CAVs.

OS used similar techniques in projects such as CityVerve, the UK’s IoT demonstrator, and in Bournemouth as a test case to produce a 5G planning and rollout tool. OS will also draw on the experience of its Atlas and E-CAVE initiatives that are helping the government shape a national infrastructure capable of supporting a nationwide network of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs).

Miranda Sharp, Head of Innovation at Ordnance Survey, said: “OmniCAV is one of a number of UK government-sponsored projects that supports the position of the UK as the best place in the world for autonomous vehicle testing. Building on the unique strengths of OS capability and data, the aim for OmniCAV is to help accelerate the safe deployment of autonomous vehicles on UK roads by permitting testing in linked versions of the real-world environment and a digital one. To achieve the CAV ambition, geospatial data is key. Not just to the creation of a realistic simulation environment to test in, but also to the eventual deployment of a new infrastructure to enable improved connectivity and mobility. It’s an exciting time for technology and innovation and we’re looking forward to working with our partners and helping make the UK a world leader in this area.”

The OmniCAV project is part of a wider £12.1 million UK government funding package to support the development and nation-wide deployment of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs).

Kirsty Lloyd-Jukes, CEO of project lead Latent Logic said “OmniCAV’s vision is “CAVs for All”: bringing safer, smarter, self-driving mobility for urban and rural areas. But first we need to know that driverless cars really can handle our challenging road conditions, on country lanes as much as crowded city streets. Virtual reality “driving tests” are the only way of doing this, which is why we’ve brought together these 11 leading organisations to build a world-first, A.I.-based simulation of real Oxfordshire roads to securely and reliably test autonomous car safety.”

For further information, examples of businesses, interviews and images contact Keegan Wilson, 02380 055332 keegan.wilson@os.uk

Development of a testing certification tool that can be used by accreditation bodies, insurers and manufacturers to accelerate the development of CAVs. The project is an important step towards the development of Geospatial Digital Twins – digital operational models of the real world that will support and enable infrastructure and mobility using data and information from a number of sources, often in real-time. Innovate UK is grant funding £2.7m of the £3.9m project costs.

A study of requirements for a national infrastructure capable of supporting a nationwide network of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs).

A study to identify the data critical to the efficient operation of autonomous vehicles.

Ordnance Survey (OS) is Great Britain’s mapping service for government, business and citizens. Our geospatial data serves the national interest by enabling a safe, healthy and prosperous society. Everything happens somewhere, and every day we support the delivery of efficient public services, support land management & planning, help protect our environment and underpin national security, infrastructure and emergency services. With our partners, we provide expertise and accurate location data and services to help create a resilient nation, ready for next-generation technology. We’re driven to ensure Britain can build a world-leading digital and connected economy of the future.

Ordnance Survey underpins UK driverless car testing

From digitising farming to gamifying the UK’s wildlife to maximising the value of rooftop space to providing transparency to estate agents and sellers – meet the new Geovation Programme members

Seven exciting start-ups will join the Geovation Programme and receive the strategic backing of Ordnance Survey (OS) and HM Land Registry (HMLR). The Programme, which acts as an accelerator course to new GeoTech and PropTech businesses, will see each of the start-ups receive up to £20,000 in grant funding and a range of resources and services to help them develop their business.

“Entries for the Programme were again of a very high standard. This is an exceptional group joining us. The Programme is designed to give them the best possible support to help propel them to the next level. We offer a founder-friendly environment, great mentors, high-quality workshop content and, almost uniquely, a dedicated software development team in house, who work hand in hand with our companies to build and release their first products. This is something very few accelerators can offer and it means the businesses joining us can move faster and further than they otherwise would have been able to. We can’t wait to get started with these new teams.”

The GeoTech businesses accepted onto the Programme:

is an automated agronomy service to help farm managers maximise efficiency, reduce waste and improve the predictability and control of crops.

is a mobile animation game to encourage young people and families to engage with and visit the real wildlife local to them.

is a 3D mapping and reporting system to deliver drone-collected data into higher quality, digital, structural inspections available on a mobile tablet.

The PropTech businesses accepted on the Programme:

uses AI to analyse rooftops and identify opportunities to maximise utilisation and address urban challenges. Its rooftop data analytics platform enables asset managers to efficiently identify opportunities for utilising rooftop space, where value of existing and future stock can be increased.

is a security enhancement tool to help property solicitors more efficiently process property transactions.

friendly and efficient end-to-end shared accommodation platform that empowers landlords to let out their property at lower risk and cost.

is a platform to help buyers evidence their own buyer position, and for owners and estate agents to quality buyers, giving better transparency earlier in the process, whilst enabling opportunities for selling additional services and attracting sellers.

Since opening in the summer of 2016, the Geovation Hub has become home to more than 900 GeoTech and PropTech start-ups. Its Programme provides access to data, to experienced software developers, and gives businesses geospatial expertise from OS and land and property insight from HMLR, as well as business mentorship and coaching to help prepare for presenting to investors. The Programme to date has supported 65 technology start-ups, which has seen £17M raised in investment funding.

Orla Shields is the founder of GetRentr, a PropTech company using artificial intelligence to track all UK property licensing regulations and consultations in real-time to ensure property portfolios are compliant. After a successful application, Orla’s company was selected to join the Geovation Programme. In the six months that have followed, Orla and GetRentr have raised over £500,000 in funding and are currently working with letting agents and landlords via a partnership with the National Landlord Association. GetRentr is also about to launch a partnership with ARLA, the largest association of lettings agents in the UK.

Orla says of Geovation: “Geovation has been life changing. The grant money has helped us do things we couldn’t have done while we were waiting to secure our investment. Free office space in Clerkenwell is a major benefit for any business - early stage or not. It’s great environment, with numerous other inspiring start-ups in a similar field. Geovation’s network and connections with major people in this industry and in the government is priceless to us. The team is very pro-active, and their support and experience is really helpful and always available. One of the best benefits has been the ability to use OS/HMLR data. This gives us the option to reach out to more people who are looking to invest and be strategic with their portfolios. It has also helped us predict where regulations will be implemented. Overall, the culture at Geovation is one of collaboration and support.”

Jillian Kowalchuk, whose safety app, Safe & The City, launched in March this year and already has thousands of users, was another accepted onto the Geovation Programme six months ago. Jillian says: “Geovation is filled with world class minds and inspiring businesses. I have received a lot of help, including one-to-one support from the Programme manager and the Head of the programme, development and UX support, workshops, coaching and learning materials to inform best practices, connections to other start-ups, organisations and corporates to raise our profile and access to OS contacts and PR support. It is an amazing community to learn from on a daily basis.”

Geovation is an Ordnance Survey Initiative in partnership with HM Land Registry, which is dedicated to supporting open innovation and collaboration using location and property data. Location is at the heart of many of the most successful digital products and services. Land and property is the foundation of our national economy.

Ordnance Survey is Great Britain’s mapping service for government, business and citizens. Our geospatial data serves the national interest by enabling a safe, healthy and prosperous society. Everything happens somewhere, and every day we support the delivery of efficient public services, support land management & planning, help protect our environment and underpin national security, infrastructure and emergency services. With our partners, we provide expertise and accurate location data and services to help create a resilient nation, ready for next-generation technology. We’re driven to ensure Britain can build a world-leading digital and connected economy of the future.

HM Land Registry is a government department created in 1862. It operates as an executive agency and a trading fund and its running costs are covered by the fees paid by the users of its services. Its ambition is to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data. HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership worth in excess of £4 trillion, including around £1 trillion of mortgages. The Land Register contains more than 25 million titles, which show evidence of ownership, for some 85% of the land mass in England and Wales.

For further information about HM Land Registry visit our website. Or get in touch at Email paula.dorman@landregistry.gov.uk Telephone0300 0063349

Follow us on witter @HMLandRegistry,our blog, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Geovation reveals next wave of GeoTech and PropTech businesses

Merit Awards, an independent awards program that recognizes global industries and the market they serve, today announced the winners of the 2023 Merit Awards for technology. The Merit Awards for technology were judged based on submissions that represent the best in current and next-generation innovations and technologies.

“We’re thrilled to announce the outstanding winners of the 2023 Merit Awards for Technology. These visionary innovators and companies have not only demonstrated exceptional prowess in harnessing the power of technology but have also set new benchmarks for excellence,” said Marie Zander, executive director for Merit Awards. “The remarkable achievements by each winner stand as a testament to the transformative potential of technology, and we congratulate this year's recipients.”

Designed to recognize the efforts put forth by global industries and the markets they serve, the Merit Awards will acknowledge companies that have contributed to the continued growth of the market. The Merit Awards are judged by industry executives, Merit Awards staff, members of the media and consultants. For more information, please visit our website at meritawards.com.

Search careers

Read more