2006 July 6

This issue sponsored by:

Land Voyage
Autodesk

If, for some reason, you cannot read this document, please visit:
http://www.gismonitor.com/news/newsletter/archive/archives.php?issue=20060706

Editor's Introduction

This week I follow up on last week's report on GIS and surveying with an interview with a company that claims to have developed a high-accuracy, survey-grade GIS. Plus, my usual roundup of news items from press releases.

Last week's issue featured interviews with surveyors at 14 firms about the relationship between GIS and surveying. If you missed it, please take a look.

— Matteo

Survey-Grade GIS

Last week I interviewed about twenty surveyors on the relationship between surveying and GIS. They all told me that they do not use GIS for data collection—citing habits, lack of training, and concerns about GIS accuracy. National Survey and Engineering, however, claims to have developed a "high accuracy, survey-grade" GIS. According to the company, the system, named "Boundless," unites "GIS, GPS, and CAD drawings in unconnected and arbitrary coordinate systems within a common spatial environment" and "preserves the essential element of distances as measured on the ground while rapidly performing coordinate transformations of points and lines on the fly."


Two surveys transformed to a common grid coordinate system in Boundless, top; and imported into Land Desktop Development, bottom.

I discussed Boundless with Robert Jones, registered land surveyor and project manager at National Survey and Engineering, and Aaron Ford, GIS technical manager at National Survey and Engineering and its parent company, R.A. Smith and Associates. Jones, who designed the technology, will be presenting it at the upcoming ESRI International User Conference in San Diego; Ford is currently developing an enterprise version of the software.

Read more …

News Briefs

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

  1. CONTRACTS & COLLABORATIONS

    1. Topcon Corporation's machine control, GPS, laser, and survey operations in Australia and New Zealand have joined Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS), a developer and manufacturer of positioning equipment. Read more …

    2. The Milford Fire Department (MFD) has implemented ESRI's ArcGIS software to help manage its 3,500 pre-fire plans and to provide fire trucks with instant, mobile access to emergency data when responding to an event. Read more …

    3. The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) has selected GeoDecisions to develop a GIS Strategic Plan that will provide a guide for planning and budgeting MDT's existing GIS. Read more …

    4. Sandy City, Utah, Public Utilities Department (PUD) has selected MWH Soft's ArcGIS-centric InfoWater Suite to replace its existing modeling solution. Read more …

    5. The Bedfordshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) has selected Cadcorp's Web-based GIS software, GeognoSIS.NET. Read more …

    6. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG), a longtime user of ESRI's GIS software, has implemented a Web-based system that promises broad new capabilities and greatly expanded use throughout the government. Read more …

    7. ESRI participated in Blue Cascades III, a multiagency emergency preparedness exercise held in Bellevue, Washington, and organized by the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER). Read more …

  2. PRODUCTS

    1. The GeoServer Project has released version 1.3.2. GeoServer is an open source, standards-based server of geospatial information, connecting spatial databases and files to the variety of clients that make up the "geospatial Web," and allowing user-contributed editing through standard Web-based interfaces. Read more …

  3. CONFERENCES

    1. The 32nd International Symposium on Remote Sensing of the Environment: Sustainable Development Through Global Earth Observations will take place next year, June 25-29, in Costa Rica.

    2. Marathon Data Systems, an ESRI distributor in Greece and Cyprus, is organizing the 21st European Conference for ESRI Users. Read more …

    3. Syria's General Organization of Remote Sensing will hold its 15th International Symposium and Exhibition On Remote Sensing and Assisting Systems in Damascus, Syria, September 18-21. Read more …

    4. Abstracts are now being accepted for paper or poster presentations at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. Read more …

    5. At AGI2006 GDC will focus on a new release of its SVG Geo-Statistics product, GeoReveal 2.0—a Web-based geo-statistical reporting solution that delivers interactive statistics. GeoReveal 2.0 can be used in a huge range of situations that relate to communicating information on "What's going up or down and where?" Read more …

  4. OTHER

    1. The Ed Forrest Award, originally established in 1993 to honor outstanding achievement in leadership for the advancement of design/construction automation and last given in 2002, has been revived. Read more …

GIS Monitor Back Issues

You can reach more than 23,000 GIS professionals every issue by sponsoring GIS Monitor. For more information, email us.

Contact

Please send comments and suggestions to:

Matteo Luccio, Editor
GIS Monitor

Ultimate Map/GIS Directory — Your search is over!

GIS Monitor is published by:

GITC America, Inc.
100 Tuscanny Drive, Suite B-1
Frederick, MD 21702 USA
Tel: +1 (301) 682-6101
Fax: + 1 (301) 682-6105

Subscribe/Unsubscribe

If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe visit our subscription page.