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Milan, June 21, 2016. Tele-Rilevamento Europa – TRE, a CLS group company since 2015, with a subsidiary in Vancouver (TRE Canada) and ALTAMIRA INFORMATION, formerly acquired by CLS, with a subsidiary in Calgary, officially become TRE ALTAMIRA.

This merger has created the foremost group of companies focusing on satellite InSAR services, with offices in Milan, Barcelona and Vancouver. The office in Calgary has been merged into the Vancouver office.

The new TRE ALTAMIRA group is headed by Alessandro Ferretti.

The companies have changed their names to TRE ALTAMIRA s.r.l. in Milan, TRE ALTAMIRA S.L. in Barcelona and TRE ALTAMIRA Inc. in Vancouver.

TRE ALTAMIRA is the largest InSAR group worldwide. With over 15 years’ experience, it is globally recognized as the world leader in millimetre-precision ground displacement measurements from satellite radar data, which are used in a variety of sectors, including oil & gas, mining, civil engineering and geohazard monitoring.

The new website for the group is www.tre-altamira.com.

  • MILAN: Ripa di Porta Ticinese, 79 20143 Milan Italy Tel: +39 02 4343 121
  • BARCELONA: C/ Corsega, 381-387 E-08037 Barcelona Spain Tel: +34 93 183 57 50
  • VANCOUVER: Suite #410 – 475 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 4M9 Canada Tel: +1 604 331 2512

By Marc Boucher. The European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) has released ESPI Report 50 “Space for Sustainable Development”. The report builds on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015.

From the report introduction: “The new goals place an emphasis on respecting the long-term economic, social, and environmental requirements of the global community, and space will be a pivotal component in achieving these goals. The ESPI Report 59 “Space for Sustainable Development” elaborates on these highly relevant aspects, and it was produced as a collective effort by Stefano Ferretti, Jörg Feustel-Büechel, Roy Gibson, Peter Hulsroj, Andreas Papp and Elisabeth Veit.”

“This report discusses how space has been involved with sustainable development projects in the past, as well as where possible space contributions to development solutions have been underutilised, with an eye towards identifying possible pathways forward for bringing the space and development communities into closer cooperation. After giving an overview of the changes precipitated by the SDGs and current and potential future areas of interaction, the report creates a map of stakeholders relevant for bringing the two fields closer together. It emphasises that demand-side actors, including governments, UN organisations, and NGOs, must be given the driving seat in determining requirements for successful projects. Supply-side actors in the space sector must engage in increased dialogue to foster consensus-building for a unified approach. The report critically analyses existing dialogue mechanisms and identifies practical tools for increasing cooperation between space and development actors. The report concludes by encouraging the creation of space programmes targeting sustainable development.”

“This study aims to inform and provide recommendations to actors within a broad range of fields within the development and space sectors, but is also intended to engage all persons interested in the social impact of space.”

Download the report from the ESPI website

China is planning to launch 14 more meteorological satellites into orbit over the next decade, a senior Chinese official said today.

China plans to launch one Fengyun-II satellite, four Fengyun-III, three Fengyun-IV and another six for multiple meteorological purposes by 2025, Wu Yanhua, deputy head of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, said.

Fengyun satellites are a series of remote-sensing meteorological satellites developed by China.

The Fengyun series is an important part of the earth observation satellite system.

China has launched 14 Fengyun satellites since 1988, with seven still in orbit as part of the World Meteorological Organisation network, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Last month, China said it will launch five new satellites within five years, including its first solar exploration satellite, to end its dependency on foreign solar data.

The satellites, including a Sino-European joint mission known as SMILE, will focus on observation of solar activities and their impact on the earth’s environment and space weather, besides analysing water recycling and probing of black holes, an official had said.

China also plans to launch nearly 40 Beidou navigation satellites in the next five years to support its ambitious global navigation and positioning network that it hopes will end the dominance of US-operated Global Positioning System (GPS).

The country plans to expand the Beidou services to most of the countries covered in its “Belt and Road” initiative by 2018, and offer global coverage by 2020.

GPS, operated and maintained by the US Air Force, is a constellation of 24 or more satellites flying 20,350 km above the surface of the Earth. Each one circles the planet twice a day in one of six orbits to provide continuous, worldwide coverage.

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US: Earth imagery provider, DigitalGlobe has signed a contract to provide more World Imagery Map to Esri’s ArcGIS platform. The contract will evolve the partnership between the two companies and will provide access to ArcGIS Data Appliance users’ to current and complete high-resolution satellite imagery mosaics.

The World Imagery Map is foundational to Esri’s vision of connecting people with maps, data, and apps through geographic information systems. The multi-year subscription features DigitalGlobe’s Basemap + Vivid and Basemap + Metro products, which will be refreshed with the latest content throughout the contract term. New imagery will start flowing into the World Imagery Map later this year.

In addition, the two companies will work together over the coming months to explore new ways to connect Esri’s ArcGIS Online and market place to DigitalGlobe’s Geospatial Big Data platform, GBDX, allowing users to perform advanced analytics at scale against a 15-year time-lapse image library to solve complex problems.

“Esri’s global user base can now create even more powerful and effective products that enable decisions to be made with confidence and improve our collective understanding of the world,” said Jeffrey R. Tarr, DigitalGlobe President and Chief Executive Officer.

“We have enjoyed collaborating with DigitalGlobe and look forward to a long-term partnership,” said Jack Dangermond, Esri President and Founder. “Their superior quality imagery will benefit Esri and our users.”

American Reliance, Inc. (AMREL) and Airbus Defense and Space have partnered to integrate GATOR (Geospatial Appliance Targeted for Operational Response) into a rugged, one-box laptop solution called the GATOR Rugged Geospatial Laptop.

In the most difficult and demanding areas of the world, this encapsulated geospatial server enables easy access to geospatial data even when the Internet isn’t available.

In remote locations with uncertain connectivity or unavailable networks, operators now have geospatial intelligence at their fingertips. This integrated rugged hardware/geospatial software solution streams imagery and GIS (Geographic Information System) data into software environments such as Google Earth, FalconView, ArcGIS for Desktop, and GAME Fugitive. Data is viewable with an internet browser. The geospatial server GATOR is a useful tool for warfighters, first responders, exploratory crew, researchers, field workers, oil & mining crews, humanitarian/disaster relief, and utility staff.

The GATOR Rugged Geospatial Laptop is built on AMREL’s durable mobile computer platform. AMREL leverages their patented Flexbay technology, providing seamless connectivity between the GATOR module and the rugged laptop. The battle-grade laptop incorporates 30 years of AMREL rugged expertise, and is designed for quick customization and integration.

To learn more about the GATOR Rugged Geospatial Laptop, visit the Airbus Defense and Space booth, #325, at the Esri UC in San Diego, California, from June 27 – June 30.

computers.amrel.com/gator
airbusdefenceandspace.com/

The geospatial industry has been expanding at a breakneck speed with ‘geo’ getting embedded in more and more workflows. As new innovative players enter the game with disruptive business models, existing players have no choice but to go through a transformation to stay relevant. By Anusuya Datta

Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate.

The world is changing. The next wave of Industrial Revolution, also known as the Second Machine Age, is fundamentally changing each and every aspect of our life. It is the power of the World Wide Web and the onset of smartphones that has unleashed a movement which is rapidly destroying the old models. Smart machines can now deliver a pizza on our dinner plates, turn on the AC at our residence as we start off from the office in a driverless car, plough our fields, work out the insurance for us, prepare our business reports and even fly our planes.

All over the world, governments, public institutions and businesses are finding it extremely difficult to keep up with these disruptive innovations. Old school businesses of many years, run by established leaders of many years of experience, are disappearing in a flash, even as new age innovators take the world by storm. And like all industries across the world, the world of geospatial is shaken and stirred.

The ground has never been more fertile

Interestingly, if growth drivers are to be considered, the geospatial industry couldn’t have had it better. The continuing global economic uncertainty has brought an increased focus on productivity. While companies and governments are battening down the hatches, dramatically reducing staff and spending, there are others looking at how they can use the time of uncertainty to advance their business. “For those people, productivity is more important than ever,” emphasizes Chris Gibson, Vice President, Trimble.

Geospatial technologies provide not only the ability to manage and integrate data, but also the analytical tools that sharpen decision making and, ultimately, save time and money, underlines Russ Johnson, Director of Industry Solutions at Esri. Using data in new ways counteracts the forces of a sluggish economy. It helps make organizations efficient and resilient during economic downturns.

No wonder then most developed countries and forward-looking governments are turning into geo evangelists by encouraging the uptake of spatial technologies in work processes. Additionally, the United Nations sustainable development agenda in 2015 also recognized the importance of space-technology-based data, in situ monitoring and reliable geospatial information for sustainable development policymaking, programming and project operations.

On the other hand, the proliferation of the Internet as the primary medium for data publishing and information exchange has seen an explosion in the amount of online content available on the Web. And this holds true for geospatial content too. More so in a world where location is becoming the centre point of almost all decision-making. “Location provides the underlying footprint and fabric upon which we can make smart decisions,” says Mladen Stojic, President, Hexagon Geospatial. “If you don’t know where you are, you cannot make decisions about a given situation. Location is really the lowest common denominator.”

In 2013, a report prepared by Oxera and commissioned by Google found that the global geo services generate $150-$270 billion in revenues. By way of comparison this was broadly equivalent to the $140 billion revenues generated from the global security services industry or about one-third of the global airline industry’s revenue of $494 billion then. According to another report by The Boston Consulting Group, within the US economy alone, the geospatial services industry was estimated to employ more than 500,000 people, generate $75 billion in annual revenues, and have an overall economic impact estimated at $1.6 trillion annually in revenues. That was in 2013, and while no exhaustive study has been done since then, informal estimates at a CAGR of 15-20% would safely put the geo industry at more than $500 billion today. And that is a lot of money.

But then, why is the profitability of the sector hit? Why are the traditional geospatial companies smarting from reduced profits and lowered bottom lines? In short, where is the money?

Read more at Geospatial

Eurisy New President
Ms. Dominique Tilmans, President of the Space group of the Belgian Senate, has been elected as new Eurisy President during the General Assembly that took place on 22 June 2016 in Paris.​

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Eurisy General Assembly
The Eurisy Council has been renewed during the annual General Assembly. The Council is divided between the College of Full Members – Major contributors, the College of Full members and the College of External Expertise.
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Stefano Cavazzi and Gobe Hobona explain how crowdsourced geoinformation can be conflated with authoritative datasets to realise enhanced defence-oriented products

In our rapidly-changing world, information has never been more strategic to decision making. The new information landscape is associated with social media, high-speed networks and distributed information sharing from people all around the world. Smartphones with built-in GPS and survey capabilities enable anyone to create open source geospatial datasets, transforming the way in which information is produced.

Addressing concerns

Thousands of people already collect geospatial data, as in the case of the OpenStreetMap (OSM) initiative where volunteers contribute to the creation of a global map. This collective approach, defined as crowdsourcing, might raise concerns over the quality of the information collected.

To address such concerns, it is useful to define quality in terms of currency, precision and completeness. Conventional mapping is updated at periodic intervals while the OSM depends on users’ intervention. The latter can confer a significant advantage where, thanks to their local expertise, users are capable of detecting and recording change almost in real time.

The same advantage is also valid in the case of precision although, again, OSM can be more variable than conventional mapping depending on user input. Finally, in terms of completeness, OSM has contributed significantly in placing areas of the developing world finally on the map.

One can also note the crowdsourcing community’s rapid and effective response to specific emergency events such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake where Non-Governmental Organisations and volunteers collaborated in generating real-time crisis mapping. Such work continues to this day wherever disaster strikes. With regard to reliability, OSM ultimately benefits from a vast user community that not only contributes to the creation of the map but also uses it on a daily basis.

Authoritative data such as those produced by National Mapping Agencies (NMAs) are tried- and-tested and integrate well with applications and systems developed over the years by third parties. However, NMAs are under pressure to trim their budgets and find new cost-saving ways of delivering information to the same standard but with fewer resources. This ultimately impacts the collection of geospatial data and limits its currency and completeness.

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US: United States Geological Survey (USGS) has awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to Atlantic. The contract was given under the Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) category for 5 years. According to the contract, Atlantic will complete task orders nationwide to support geospatial needs of the USGS and its partners.

“Putting Atlantic in a position to win this prestigious contract has been a constant goal over the past several years,” said Brian Mayfield, President and COO of Atlantic. “We have made many strategic decisions to design our company to be a great partner to the USGS and are very excited to have the opportunity to support the USGS in providing professional surveying and mapping services nationwide.”

The USGS is working to complete 3DEP, a program that is designed to meet the growing needs for high-quality topographic data for the entire United States. It is anticipated that a large portion of the total contract capacity available to the USGS will be used to satisfy the requirements of 3DEP.

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US: BAE Systems was awarded with a $75 mn contract from the U.S. Army on Tuesday. The contract was given to provide assistance in development of next-generation geospatial intelligence capabilities for the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command.

Its services come under a five-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity award from INSCOM for its Military Intelligence Brigade – Theatre Integrated GEOINT Divisions.

“We are proud to support the development of solutions that enhance the situational awareness and safety of our men and women in uniform,” said DeEtte Gray, president of BAE Systems’ Intelligence & Security sector.

Under the contract, which has a value of as much as $75 million, BAE Systems will assist in the exploitation and processing of geospatial data and develop various intelligence products for GEOINT Divisions and assist the Army with next-generation geospatial intelligence developmental and experimental intelligence collection systems and technologies.

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