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GEO-ID News

December 2008
GeoID writes an article in the professional magazine GeoPlatform. Have a look at the GeoPlatform-website here. Subscription is free of charge if you live in Flanders or Brussels.

November 2008
GeoID delivers an imagery coverage for a mining company in République Démocratique du Congo. SDG is our local partner.

(Winter 2008) GAF has been awarded a contract to design and establish the new automated and countrywide Mining Registry and Cadastre System for Mongolia.

After the successful completion of contract negotiations GAF will start work on%site in November 2008. The project under the Governance Assistance Program (GAP) aims to improve governance in the mining sector, through the establishment of a transparent system to grant, manage and cancel permits. The efficient and reliable management of mining titles is considered as a backbone to increase investment and growth in the mining sector of Mongolia.

The Project’s objective is to strengthen the property rights and security of tenure within the mining sector; enhance the transparency of the mineral licensing process and government’s regulatory capacity through improved efficiency, information availability and management.

A core element of the Project is the supervision, development, equipping and implementation of a fully computerized mining registry and cadastre system. Existing analogue and digital data will be inventoried and re%organised. Institutional strengthening including focussed training activities and legal advice shall enhance the overall framework created by the new Mineral Law for the benefit of the administration, miners, investors as well as the public.

Works will be performed for the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority of Mongolia, MRPAM. The project duration is 24 months, including a maintenance and support phase of 12 months. Activities are funded by the World Bank, International Development Association.

The contract value amounts to 0.5 million EUR. The activities in Mongolia follow countries like Nigeria, DRC, Madagascar and Namibia, where GAF has set up nation wide computerised mining titling systems, some successful in operation for more than 10 years.

About GAF
GAF, a Telespazio company, is globally active and has an international reputation as a competent provider of project design, management and implementation services in the fields
of geo%information and spatial IT consultancy to private and public clients. The company has set new standards in quality, competence and reliability, while simultaneously developing a
high%performance and multi%disciplinary range of products and services.

GAF offers fully integrated technical and institutional assistance and management consultancy underpinned by geo%spatial services and products.

GAF AG has a proven track%record in performing technical assistance projects in the natural resources sector and is delivering customized cadastral and registry as well as geological and land information systems.

To obtain more information, please contact:
GAF AG
Ms. Antje Küpper
Tel. +49 (0) 89 12 15 28 0
www.gaf.de
info@gaf.de

Every day, remote sensing provides thousands of images from a huge variety of sensors – from simple black and white photographs to hyperspectral imagery with hundreds of channels.

The images range in scale from hundreds of square miles for monitoring large areas of land and sea to high resolution images of individual objects.

Standardized image analysis and information extraction are essential to compare results across geographic areas and support political directives like the Kyoto Protocol, sustainable management of natural resources and future-proof infrastructure planning. Similarly, in natural disasters and other emergencies, image analysis can rapidly provide maps of remote territory to assist emergency operations, save lives, reduce costs and support insurance and reinsurance services.

Attempts to automate image analysis and information extraction have been continuing for decades. But despite increases in computational power and imaging capabilities, fundamental advances in automated image analysis have been limited. Looking at a satellite image, it is easy, even for an untrained eye, to distinguish a river from a lake. But traditional automated image classification tools often fail to recognize features that are obvious to any person because they only use information contained within individual pixels and their immediate neighbors.

From the perspective of an image analyst, there is so much more to an image than the color and intensity of pixels. There is shape, texture, area, scale and the relationships of the objects, all attributes which analysts use to understand the content of an image and data set.

Image analysis in Infrastructure Planning
Accurate mapping and change detection are essential tools in the sustainable planning of urban infrastructure and traffic corridors. They are vital in reducing the cost of constructing and operating new oil and gas pipelines or telecoms infrastructure. They support urban planning should be supported by helping to ensure that land is used appropriately and that quality of life is enhanced by reducing noise and pollution.

Image analysis in Natural Resource Management
An accurate and up-to-date picture of land cover and of the surface of the ocean is vital for assessing the health of the planet. It is used to measure the impact of climate change, assess biodiversity in natural habitats, and support sustainable farming and forest management. It is also invaluable in finding and exploiting natural resources like oil and gas fields.

Image analysis in Security and Emergency Response
Rapid mapping and data fusion are necessary to create detailed maps of any territory. Object detection needs to be linked with feature extraction in order to understand fully the situation on the ground. For example, in order to assess damage after disasters and monitor reconstruction, change detection is an essential tool. Similarly, monitoring and identifying changes over time supports geo-professionals in making timely and well-informed decisions.

Definiens enables organizations involved in Earth Sciences to extract accurate and reliable geo-information rapidly, from any kind of remote sensing imagery. Enterprises and organizations all along the value chain – data providers, service providers and end users – rely on our software to bridge the gap between Earth Observation and remote sensing on the one hand and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) on the other. By correlating image analysis with other geospatial information, Earth Sciences organizations can generate, with minimal manual intervention, accurate GIS-ready information.

Source Definiens from website

(Nov 2008) This past 26th November Aurensis has signed an agreement with CatUAV to be sole distributors of value-added geo-information services with UAV technology.

Aurensis, faithfull to its commitment to continuous innovation in management technologies and territory data collection, takes a step forward and becomes thus the first provider of Earth observation services in Spain using UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicles).

The UAV platform – light, undetectable, fast and secure – enables loading different sensors: high-resolution digital optical sensor, video, near-infrared and thermal to obtain high-resolution video and images (1 cm / 1 pixel) of the Earth surface, data suitable for high-accuracy mapping, to identify and monitor changes, for vegetation monitoring, obtaining temperatures, etc. ….

With the UAV platform, Aurensis provides new services for natural resources, public works, infrastructure (water, gas, electricity, etc. ..) monitoring through georeferenced images and videos, as well as real-time information for emergencies’ management (fire, discharges, etc …) never available before in the sector.

For more information: UAV Services, R+D+I ITUMA

Source Aurensis

PCI News

- PCI Geomatics Signs Multi-Million Dollar Distribution Agreement with Chinese Company. PCI Geomatics, a world leading developer of hardware/software systems for geo-imaging applications, is pleased to announce that it has signed a $4 million dollar technology agreement with a Chinese company. This is the first of many agreements taking place in China over the next few years. Working closely with PCI Geomatics Beijing, this Chinese company will assist in developing and expanding the PCI Geomatics brand within China. More info

- PCI Geomatics lends its support to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt. More info

- PCI Geomatics is pleased to announce the acquisition of TGIS Technologies Inc., a company specializing in geospatial collaboration software. TGIS Technologies Inc. is the developer of GeoConference® Software – a unique enterprise solution that allows groups to share and view maps and imagery interactively over the web, in real-time. For more information on GeoConference® click here

- PCI Geomatics is also pleased to announce the acquisition of Geospace Inc., a provider of geospatial information and solutions. Geospace Inc. is the developer of FeatureObjeX , a user friendly, stand alone software package combining interactive editing tools for sophisticated image analysis and feature extraction. To download a free FeatureObjeX webinar, or to see a complete list of other free webinar downloads, click here

- PCI Geomatics has added support for the PostgreSQL database to its image management systems. These systems now support the capability to read both raster and vector layers from a PostgreSQL database. PostgreSQL support will be incorporated into PCI Geomatics’ flagship desktop software Geomatica, beginning with the 10.2 version scheduled for release early this year.

Source PCI Geomatics

More Info
Natalie Trudel
PCI Marketing Communications Coordinator
Tel: 819-770-0022 x:281 // Fax: 819-770-0098
trudel@pcigeomatics.com

SciSys has delivered the final report of a BNSC funded study on improving access to the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters (the Charter).

The UK became a Charter signatory in November 2005 and BNSC provided Charter leadership as Chair of the Charter Board during 2007-2008. In the spirit of promoting continued Charter uptake and sustainability, BNSC commissioned SciSys, with support from Infoterrra UK, to conduct a short study during its Chairmanship of the Charter to investigate improving access to the Charter. The aim of the study was to identify where access to the Charter is limited and needs to be improved, the reasons for the limitations and to recommend how improved access can be achieved.

The Charter is a global initiative. Access to it is currently available solely through a network of authorised users (AUs) and cooperating bodies that can “activate” the Charter at any time. There is a desire amongst Charter members to make the Charter more widely accessible, without impairing its effective operations. An acceleration in Charter uptake has raised the issue of potential strains on the system capacity and there are concerns that Charter accessibility varies around the world. Identifying and analysing -the geographical variations in accessibility that constrain Charter performance and how to improve this therefore formed a central component of the study.

The study addressed a number of objectives:
-Identify regions (and countries) where access to the Charter is poor.
-Determine the reasons (real and perceived) why access to the Charter is poor in these regions (and countries).
-Identify priority regions (and countries) where access to the Charter should be improved
-Identify options for improving access to the Charter in terms of (1) overall Charter policy and governance; and (2) Charter operations at working level
-Assess the implications of these options on Charter operations and policy; including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, lessons learned, and links to other initiatives
-Make evidence-based recommendations on how to improve access to Charter.

The study was based on reference documents sourced during the work and interviews with a number of principal contacts drawn from Charter members, disaster related agencies and user representatives. Particular emphasis was placed on contacting African representatives to evaluate a perception that Charter activation frequency is quite low in that region. Their inputs provided case study evidence as a supplement to a regional analysis of Charter activations and helped to identify where the Charter is useful and how to improve access to the Charter in Africa. It is notable that the most recent activation by Algeria is the first occasion that an African AU has itself directly triggered the Charter. Africa has a relatively low Charter activation frequency, which has increased in recent years due largely to UN activations on behalf of African nations.

Based on the analysis a number of options for improving Charter access and coverage were developed. These were grouped according to their relevance as “access routes” or “access gatekeepers” and their implications for Charter governance and Charter operations respectively assessed. A separate SWOT analysis was also performed for each of the main options identified.. The overall analysis identified key issues on Charter governance, evolution and operations and supported a number of recommendations.

The study report is not intended as an exhaustive or definitive set of conclusions and recommendations. It was prepared as evidence in support of discussion of the issues around access to the Charter, to develop and further clarify how the Charter can best enable better and more extensive access to the important and valuable capabilities it offers. The report executive summary should be available shortly.

The British National Space Centre (BNSC) was established in 1985 to co-ordinate UK space policy and programmes. BNSC is at the heart of UK efforts to explore and exploit space. Formed from 10 Government Departments and research councils, it co-ordinates UK civil space activity; supports academic research; nurtures the UK space industry; and works to increase understanding of space science and its practical benefits. BNSC has three long-term objectives:

-to enhance the UK’s standing in astronomy, planetary and environmental sciences;
-to stimulate increased productivity by promoting the use of space in government, science and commerce; and
-to develop innovative space systems, to deliver sustainable improvement in the quality of life.

SciSys is a leading supplier of solutions to the Space, Defence, Transport and Public Sectors. SciSys offers a thorough and long standing understanding of these market domains both at a technical level and at an infrastructure / organisational level. Formed in 1980, SciSys became an AIM listed company in 1997 and today SciSys has a complement of over 300 staff.

SciSys is an established supplier to the public sector and all the key space markets. It offers software and consultancy services constructed with a full appreciation of the service/business practicalities, technologies and costs involved. SciSys has a proven track record of being able to consult with a wide range of private and public sector organisations to deliver practical, reliable solutions

SciSys staff have worked closely with BNSC over recent years and have first hand experience of user needs assessment, government needs and process and Charter issues and operations. Over recent years SciSys has developed particular expertise in the analysis of needs, technologies and services in support of GMES-Kopernikus. SciSys is currently a technology partner in the GMES TerraFirma and Respond GSE projects. SciSys has provided technical inputs to the HMA project on GSE needs analysis and missions capacity planning. SciSys is leading the ESA GMES Services Evolution project – a study to characterise existing service offerings and design future options for the GMES service network.

Contact Ian.Downey-at-scisys.co.uk

Spacemetric developed the Saccess satellite database over Sweden that was launched in late June 2008. After just three months it has nearly 900 users who have downloaded over 1.5 TB of imagery. Expansion to the other Nordic countries is now being studied

Saccess (saccess.lantmateriet.se) is the national database of satellite imagery covering the whole of Sweden. It was released online only in late June 2008 but by the end of September it already boasted some 900 registered users. In that time these users had downloaded more than 1.5 TB of data consisting of nearly 6,000 individual satellite scenes and over 1,100 mosaic products. Imagery from 2007 was the most popular. In second place is the oldest imagery in Saccess, dating from the 1970s.

The number of registered Saccess users continues to rise while new imagery for 2008 has now begun to be released. The Saccess project was also recently presented to a meeting of all the Nordic national mapping agencies and a feasibility study has been requested to investigate the expansion of the imagery in Saccess to cover the other countries. In the meantime, the currently available data is free of charge to any registered user in Sweden, Norway, Finland or Denmark.

Saccess is run by Lantmäteriet, the Swedish cadastre, mapping and land registry authority with operational costs financed by a consortium of government agencies and private companies. The complete Saccess system was developed and delivered by Spacemetric. The ordering and delivery system is fully automated with products generated on demand and delivered within a few hours of the order being placed.

About Spacemetric

Spacemetric is a Swedish company providing image management solutions for satellite and airborne imagery. Customers include the Swedish cadastre, mapping and land registry authority, the Swedish Air Force, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. and the European Space Agency.

CONTACT: Ian Spence
EMAIL: is@spacemetric.com
TELEPHONE: +46 8 594 770 83

Tele-Rilevamento Europa (TRE) has established itself as a leading global provider of InSAR services thanks to its advanced PSInSAR™ technique, a radar remote sensing technology for monitoring surface deformation and ground movements.

PSInSAR™ has become a primary tool for oil&gas companies looking for innovative technologies in reservoir monitoring, for public sector institutions involved in public safety, urban planning and infrastructure management, as well as for geotechnical engineering companies serving these organizations.

Following its success, Milan-based (Italy) TRE has recently decided to open a subsidiary company in Canada. TRE Canada will strengthen TRE’s position as a key player in the remote sensing business and address the growing need for remote sensing solutions in North America.

The head offices of TRE Canada Inc. are located in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada), under the direction of Brian Young, P. Eng. Brian brings six years of experience in the market development of InSAR services in North America to TRE, four of which were spent working with TRE as an independent consultant.

Look to meet TRE’s representatives from Italy and Canada in the coming month at the next SEG exhibition in the US.

For more information TRE-Europa

1st October 2008 – Infoterra Ltd, a leader in the provision of geospatial products and services, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Imass Ltd, a provider of integrated information solutions for the UK public safety, manufacturing design and utility markets.


Astrium strengthens its geo-information services

Infoterra Ltd and Imass Ltd (headquartered in Newcastle and employing a workforce of 136) will work together as part of the Infoterra Group, within the Earth Observation Division of Astrium Services. Eric Beranger, CEO of Astrium Services, said: “This purchase reaffirms Astrium’s continued investment and commitment to strengthen its geo-information services capability.”

The combination of Imass’s systems integration and software development expertise with Infoterra’s geospatial data access, GIS consultancy experience and managed services capability, will create a powerful new capability to meet the ever-increasing demands for innovative and cost-effective geo-information solutions. With a strong track record and excellent reputation in its core markets, Imass has a well established portfolio of solutions and services which will further strengthen the Infoterra Group’s offering globally in areas such as emergency services, utilities and 3D modelling.

“We are delighted that Imass is joining Infoterra as these are exciting times for our industry,” said Dave Fox, CEO of Infoterra Ltd. “Our objective by bringing the companies together is to build on the expertise and knowledge across both teams to deliver innovative operational solutions, enabling organisations to better manage and benefit from geo-information in a changing world.”

“We are all very excited about this new venture and the opportunities that will come from joining an ambitious group, which has the backing of Astrium,” commented Dave Hudspith, MD of Imass Ltd. “I’m convinced this will result in further development of our capabilities in the UK while helping us to deliver our solutions to the global market.”

About Astrium
Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems and services. In 2007, Astrium had a turnover of 3.5 billion and 12,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Its three main areas of activity are Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure, and Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment, and its wholly owned subsidiary Astrium Services for the development and delivery of satellite services.

Astrium Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Astrium, offers a unique ‘one-stop-shop’ in the satellite services market, with unrivalled capability and expertise in secure communications, Earth observation services and navigation services. The European provider of milsatcom services, including the pioneering Skynet 5 service, and a world-leading supplier of geo-information products and services, Astrium Services meets its customers’ requirements with innovative and highly competitive end-to-end solutions.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2007 EADS generated revenues of 39.1 billion and employed a workforce of more than 116,000.

www.astrium.eads.net

About Infoterra Ltd
Infoterra Ltd is a leading provider of geographic information products and services. Its portfolio of geographic information solutions includes airborne and satellite data acquisition, geo-information creation, database management and outsourced hosting. Infoterra provides geospatial knowledge to companies worldwide to help them make informed decisions. The company has major customers in government, utilities, insurance, engineering, defence and oil, gas & mineral exploration.

Infoterra Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Astrium, Europe’s leading space systems and services specialist. Infoterra Ltd is part of the Infoterra Group, which also comprises companies in France, Germany, Hungary and Spain.

www.infoterra.co.uk

About Imass Ltd
Imass is a leading UK-based IT provider of practical and integrated software solutions to customers within the public safety, utilities and manufacturing design sectors. Imass specialises in the delivery of operational, emergency planning, customer information, engineering design and document management systems, utilising the latest mobile data, geographical information systems and 3D computer aided design technology.

www.imass.co.uk

Press Contacts:

For Astrium:
Jeremy Close (Astrium UK) – Phone: +44 (0) 1438 773872
Matthieu Duvelleroy (Astrium Fr) – Phone: +33 (0) 1 77 75 80 32
Mathias Pikelj (Astrium GER) – Phone: +49 (0) 7545 89123
Francesco Lechon (Astrium SP) – Phone: +34 91 586 37 41

For Infoterra Ltd:
Sarah Haslam – Phone: +44 (0)116 273 2379
Cheryl Billson, PR for Infoterra, +44 (0)7791 720460, cheryl.billson@commacomms.com

For Imass Ltd:
Colin Watson – Phone: +44 (0)191 202 8322

SOURCE INFOTERRA

Mapping the Habitats of Wales + Definiens integration to ESRI ArcGIS Image Server


Mapping the Habitats of Wales

By deploying Definiens’ sofware, the Countryside Council for Wales and the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth advanced the use of remote sensing data for mapping habitats across Wales.

The Phase 1 Habitat Survey has, since the early 1980s, represented the most comprehensive national level map of semi-natural habitats and agricultural land across Wales. A new and revised draft national map (5 m nominal resolution) of Phase 1 habitats for the period 2003-2006 has been generated using satellite sensor (optical) data. The mapping has been funded by the Countryside Council for Wales, with development and delivery by Aberystwyth University and Environment Systems Limited. The classification, undertaken with object-orientated Definiens Developer and Definiens eCognition® Server, avoids traditional supervised classification approaches but instead combines expert knowledge of ecology, landscape and the information content of remote sensing data within a hierarchical rule-based process.

To generate the map, data provided by the SPOT-5, ASTER and IRS LISS 3 (P6) sensors and derived products (e.g. vegetation indices, endmember fractions of shade/moisture, photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic vegetation) were utilised. Prior to classification, each dataset was pre-processed to ensure a high level of geometric, atmospheric and topographic correction. Ancillary data thematic layers representing the extent of infrastructure and water and raster datasets describing elevation, slope and aspect were also integrated to support segmentation and classification of the landscape.

The mapping sequentially differentiated non-vegetated (e.g. urban, rocks) and coastal marginal habitats (e.g. mudflats), bracken, woodlands, hedgerows, coastal vegetation mosaics, agricultural land and remaining lowland and upland habitats (mires, heaths and moors). A range of procedures were developed to assist classification, with these considering aspects such as contrasts in reflectance between habitats, relative homogeneity/heterogeneity, context (e.g. proximity to other habitats or environments) and site (e.g. elevation). For many habitats comprised of mosaics (e.g. heath), mapping of communities (e.g. Calluna, Vaccinium-dominated) was undertaken initially using fuzzy membership functions. A secondary rule-base then assigned objects to Phase 1 habitats classes based on the relative membership of the communities contained. Over 60 Phase 1 classes and 100 sub-habitat communities have been discriminated and mapped.

The study has significantly advanced the use of remote sensing data for mapping habitats across Wales and has application across the UK and also within Europe. The maps are sufficiently detailed and comprehensive to contribute significantly to the assessment of, for example, the conservation, carbon and biodiversity values of the Welsh landscape and ecosystem services. The mapping also has application in the management of the landscape into the future and in supporting scientific investigation into modelling the response of the landscape to future climatic change. The processes developed also pave the way for routine mapping and monitoring of habitats across Wales.

For further information please contact:
Alan Brown, Remote Sensing Manager, Countryside Council for Wales,
a.brown@ccw.gov.uk; http://www.ccw.gov.uk
Professor Richard Lucas, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University,
rml@aber.ac.uk ; http://www.ies.aber.ac.uk
Steve Keyworth, Director, Environment Systems Ltd.,
steve.keyworth@envsys.co.uk ; http://www.envsys.co.uk

Definiens integration to ESRI ArcGIS Image Server

First prototype presented at ESRI User Conference 2008

With ever increasing volumes of remote sensing imagery, triggered by an increasing number of platforms and sensors, image accessibility has become a major bottleneck. This problem is efficiently addressed by image server technology developed by several GIS and Remote Sensing companies. We are starting to see operational implementations hosting terabyte-sized image mosaics on the Internet. It is likely that the volume will vastly increase as data providers are considering the move towards serving data through image services replacing traditional distribution models.

With the accessibility bottleneck removed, broader and richer applications of imagery will be facilitated as users can exploit the content of imagery integrated into the GIS environment. In addition large image services will also introduce stronger standardization, which, in turn, makes larger-scale image analysis applications possible. This has been demonstrated by Definiens at the ESRI Users Conference in San Diego this August when a prototype integration to ESRI´s ArcGIS Image Server was presented.

This prototype supports two specific workflows:

-Definiens users can access ESRI image services for rule set development in Definiens Developer
-ESRI users can leverage the power of Definiens eCognition® Server to extract information from image services directly within the ArcGIS Desktop environment

Using ArcGIS Image Server in combination with the Definiens Developer, data hosted in image services can be loaded directly into Definiens Developer for rule set development. Consequently, image server users do not need to create local copies of data sets in order to generate rule sets for automatic extraction of image features. In addition the data can be standardized by leveraging the dynamic imagery processing options offered by the ArcGIS Image Server.

Using ArcGIS Image Server in combination with Definiens eCognition® Server allows direct workflow integration of the image analysis component into the GIS workflow. Utilizing a small extension to ArcMap which was developed by Definiens, an area of interest can be selected by the user and sent for analysis to the Definiens eCognition® Server. The selected area is processed and results are sent back as a shape file and added to the display in ArcMap.

In an effort to gather further insight in requirements to a future product integrating image services and Definiens technology, we are currently looking for Definiens customers interested in testing this prototype. If you are a Definiens Developer user and also use ESRI ArcGIS Image Server technology, please mail to earth@definiens.com. For further details on the featured prototype click here.

Source Definiens