2006 April 06

This issue sponsored by

ESRI

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Editor's Introduction

This week I report on two interesting projects. First, the purchase by the city of Chula Vista, California, of two products from Accela, Inc. to expand its GIS capabilities and improve its emergency response and recovery activities following disasters. Second, a new positioning technology by Skyhook Wireless that uses wireless Internet access points as radio beacons. Plus, my usual round-up of news from press releases.

This week and for the rest of the month I am in Italy (in Milan, Turin, Genoa, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Venice, and several smaller places). Over the next few weeks I will report on some of my conversations with GIS technicians and managers here.

— Matteo

Skyhook Wireless Launches Wireless Position System

Some positioning systems make use of natural objects or phenomena; for example, celestial navigation uses the stars, compasses use Earth's magnetic field, and ancient mariners relied on trade winds. Other positioning systems rely on facilities or networks built for the purpose; for example, lighthouses, buoys, or Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. Yet a third way is to exploit devices that were built and deployed for other purposes. That is what Skyhook Wireless is demonstrating, by implementing what it calls a WiFi positioning system (WPS). This new technique relies on the growing popularity, in U.S. urban areas, of wireless Internet access points and uses them as signals of opportunity to determine the position of mobile WiFi-enabled devices, such as laptop computers, PDAs, and cell phones. …Read more…

Accela, Inc. Expands City's GIS Capabilities

The city of Chula Vista, California, has selected two products from Accela, Inc. to expand its GIS capabilities and improve its emergency response and recovery activities following disasters — such as earthquakes, floods, or fires. Accela Wireless enables the City to conduct mobile inspections to streamline permit approvals. Inspectors in the Planning & Building Department will shift daily tasks from the office to the field using portable devices — such as laptops and PDAs — that allow them to remotely access permit-related data. Accela GIS will allow users to pull information from the City's GIS database to automate map analysis and speed up the review process. Working together with Accela Automation, these two components will allow Chula Vista's public agencies to create an emergency response solution that will allow them to assess damage from disasters in real time and create a recovery plan. …Read more…

News Briefs

Please note: I have culled the following news items from press releases and have not independently verified them.

CONTRACTS & COLLABORATIONS

The City of Newark, New Jersey, will be adding technology from Pictometry International Corp., a provider of digital, aerial oblique imagery and measuring software, as part of city's enterprise-wide GIS, called NEWGIN (Newark's Geographic Information Network), which includes ESRI's ArcSDE and ArcIMS applications as well as Orion Technology's OnPoint software. …Read more…

Tensing USA has become a Trimble Authorized Mapping & GIS Business Partner. …Read more…

United Power one of the fastest growing electric cooperatives in the United States, has implemented the GO! Sync (Redline) mapping application to deliver enterprise GIS data to field workers across its service area. …Read more…

PRODUCTS

GeoSpatial Experts has introduced Version 4.0 of its GPS-Photo Link digital image mapping software. …Read more…

DeLorme USA 6.0. It features more than 290,000 newly added roads; new support for .gpx, .upt, .log and geocaching.com's .loc file formats; BLM lands, available via free download at big-picture viewing levels; Wildlife Management Units for hunting, …Read more…

RSI, a wholly owned subsidiary of ITT Industries, Inc. is releasing an imagery analysis tool to the ENVI remote sensing exploitation product line, the ENVI Spatial Feature Extraction Module. …Read more…

CONFERENCES & SEMINARS

The Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA) has added a job fair to its Annual Conference 29, slated for April 23-26, in Tampa, Florida. …Read more…

PEOPLE

MapInfo Corporation, a provider of location intelligence solutions, has appointed Reid Hislop as vice president of corporate marketing. …Read more…

OTHER

The University of Idaho has received a $250,000 gift from Tom and Teita Reveley to help establish a University of Idaho Remote Sensing and Spatial Ecology Complex, to be located in the College of Natural Resources. …Read more…

Airborne 1 Corporation, a provider of LiDAR services, software, and training, has taken delivery of an Optech ALTM 3100 Enhanced Accuracy (EA) sensor. …Read more…

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Contact

Please send comments and suggestions to:

Matteo Luccio, Editor
GIS Monitor

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