geoinformatics 2007 vol07

7/22/2019 geoinformatics 2007 vol07

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Infoterra and Geomer Provide

Flood Information Online

Damage potentials and indication of dangers derived from satellite imagery

and historical maps. The major cross-border river areas already completely

captured. Key aim of FloodServer is a more efficient flood management

across Europe.

By Mareike Doepke and Stefan Jger

The FloodServer, a novel platform designedto provide extensive flood risk information for

the whole of Europe quickly, reliably and eas-

ily accessible for everybody is now availableonline at www.floodrisk.eu. The geo-informa-

tion service providers Infoterra and Geomer

present detailed maps and information about

past and potential future flood events at the

rivers Rhine, Elbe and lower Weser.

Detailed information on the extend and

impact of past flood events supports the

responsible authorities and teams, explains

Marek Tinz, responsible project manager at

Infoterra. While it can of course not prevent

an actual flood event, the FloodServer signifi-

cantly supports the efforts to reduce the

impact of future events.

Not only satellite-based maps of recent flood

events are used: For example, historical maps

of the river Rhine flood in the winter 1881/82

are available. The more information we cangather, the more precisely we can define

potential flooded areas, explains Tinz further.

A combination of this data with up-to-date

land use maps allows the identification of

areas particularly at risk, as well as the dam-

age potentials involved. Based on these

maps, authorities in charge can implement

targeted and efficient preventive measures.

Historical and potential flood areas, informa-

tion on potential damage as well as up-to-

date land use maps - all this can be acces-

sed easily through an info button onwww.floodrisk.eu. Additionally, the informa-

tion system allows the user to access partic-

ular locations through a comfortable search

function and to print high-resolution maps.

Local squad leaders, water management

agencies, civil protection forces and rescue

services, as well as European authorities in

charge of international flood management - a

great variety of users will benefit from the

FloodServer in the next years.

Future Users

We have developed this platform in close

cooperation with the future users, reports Dr.

Andr Assmann, responsible member of the

General Management at geomer GmbH, thus

we can be sure, that the FloodServer will real-

ly make a considerable contribution to an

improved anticipation of flood events, the ini-

tiation of systematic protection measures, an

efficient preparation, a targeted reaction in

case of crisis and, last but not least, to an

optimal implementation of subsequent

restoration works.

In addition to the two geo-informationproviders user organisations such as the

International Commission for the Protection

of the Rhine (ICPR) as well as the transna-

tional Interreg III B Project ELLA (ELbe and

LAbe) dealing with risk prevention in the Elbe

catchments, have supported the definition of

the information layers implemented on the

FloodServer today.

The novel approach of developing up-to-date

geo-information services in close cooperation

with the user organizations is a key aspect of

the European Global Monitoring for

Environment and Security (GMES) initiative.

Within this program, the European

Commission (EC) and the European Space

Agency (ESA) work together to establish a

October/November 20076

Art ic le

Application Example from the FloodServer. Flood extent at Rivers Aller and Weser (Germany), April 1994:

The system enables the user to select different information layers such as land use or road networks, and to

search for specific place names.


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long-term operational European Earth obser-

vation program. GMES is intended to provide

authorities and administrations in Europe with

environment and security related information.

The FloodServer was developed within the

GMES projects RISK-EOS and Preview, which

addresses the development and validation of

GMES applications in the field of risk

management.

Mareike Doepke

([email protected]) and

Dr. Stefan Jger ([email protected]).

More information on this subject:

www.floodrisk.eu, www.infoterra.de, and

www.geomer.de .

The use of the FloodServer, which is jointly

operated by Infoterra and Geomer is free

of charge. Organisations and authorities inter-

ested in making flood risk maps and existing

additional information accessible for their

own responsibilities, can also utilize the

platform. Minor charges may apply for

individual editing and integration of data.

October/November 2007Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com 7

Art ic le

Mapping of Flood Events. Flood extent at Rivers

Aller and Weser (Germany), April 1994:

Information on flood extent along with land use

information supports flood risk management in

this particular flood event and for the future.


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Art ic le

Romney Marsh Case Study and

Intermap Flood Risk AnalysisInsurers face their biggest UK flood bill in 20 years, with claims set to top

2 billion pounds after intense rain left swathes of central, northern andsouthern England under water. The bill from flooding across the central counties

of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire is likely to run into

hundreds of millions of pounds, which comes on top of an estimated bill

of 1.5 billion pounds from earlier flooding in June that hit central and

northern England and caused chaos in the cities of Sheffield and Hull.

By Kevin Thomas

This unprecedented catastrophe comes in thewake of an attack on the UK EnvironmentAgencys flood and costal defence budget by

The National Audit Office (NAO) in early June,

which slammed the EAs 176m budget as too

focused on reactive repairs and lower-priority

defence systems.

The writing was already on the wall. Seven years

earlier, the autumn floods of 2000 in Britain

marked the wettest autumn since records began

in the 1700s; river catchments were saturated,

and unable to hold water, which ran straight into

the rivers. Of the 1.8 million premises at risk of

flooding in the UK, about 9,000 were flooded:

some on several occasions. Fortunately, then,

as is not the case in 2007, there was no loss of

life directly attributable to the flooding. Sub-

sequently, that year, Intermap Technologies col-lected, processed, and archived 230,000 square

kilometres of detailed digital mapping for all of

England, Scotland, and Wales.

Intermaps NextMap Britain programme began

with a pilot project undertaken in 1999 /2000.

Willis Consulting, a flood risk consultant to the

insurance industry, hired Intermap to acquire ele-

vation data in the River Thames drainage basin

for use in a new flood risk analysis system.

The 340 kilometre long River Thames is unique

in that its regime changes from tidal (suscepti-

ble to storm surge) to non-tidal (susceptible only

to rainfall induced flooding). Flood modelling

has to consider this dual regime. There are 1.4

million residential and 100,000 commercial prop-

erties in the immediate vicinity of the river, with

a population of approximately three million

people.

Intermaps proprietary IFSAR system (Inter-

ferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) was used

to collect approximately 22,000 km of Digital

Elevation Models (DEM) and image data in sup-

port of the project.

Subsequently, every insurer with commercial or

residential property portfolios in the Thames

basin made use of the risk analysis system. The

traditional method of assessing a flood risk by

postal code has been rendered obsolete by this

new technology that actually provides an

address-specific (rooftop) flood risk assessment.Fortunately, on this occasion, the South East of

England, home to the low lands of the Thames

Estuary, was spared the travesty of relentless

rain and flood risk. In the event, home owners

and insurers would likely have been better pre-

pared than middle England. It is this prepared-

ness that is increasingly critical in the knowl-

edge that one hundred year events are proving

to be ever more frequent and with greater envi-

ronmental impact.

Marsh Attack!A good case in point lies some 50 miles southof the Capital, an area known as Romney Marsh

in the Dungeness Peninsular with a costal focus

between Folkestone and Cliff End on the English


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Art ic le

Channel. Here, in 2005 the local authority imple-

mented a 100 year flood risk management and

coastal defence strategy using Intermap height

data.

Most of the land behind this line of the British

south coast is barely above sea level and some

areas are well below, requiring a criss-cross of

water dykes to drain the fertile farmland. It has

provided an excellent wetland environment for

an abundance of flora and fauna, as well as to

the shingle habitats, which are arguably the

most extensive in Europe. These habitats are

recognised as protected, at an international

level.

The Marsh has never been densely populatedbut the extent of the low lying area results in

over 15,000 homes and businesses - including

two of Britains Nuclear Power Stations and the

nearby Lydd Airport all being potentially within

floodable areas.

Further, a long history of settlement has result-

ed in the presence of a surprising number of

medieval churches and numerous other valuable

features such as the unique fresh water and

shingle habitats, and tourist attractions such as

In the recent UK government commission report

Foresight Futures, the ecosystems of coastal

marshes are highlighted as driven by both sea-

level rise and flood-management policy. Coastal

grazing marsh appears to be the most threat-

ened coastal habitat as intertidal losses of salt-

marsh and mudflat are likely to be offset bycoastal realignment or abandonment of grazing

marsh.

The flood risk management project was run by

the Halcrow Group on behalf of the UK

Environment Agency, focusing on developing a

flood risk management and coastal defence

strategy which would take into account antici-

pated climate change and sea level rise. The

area is currently defended from flooding by a

combination of man-made coastal and fluvial

defences and very effective natural defences

such as the sand dunes and shingle ridges.

Such a large low-lying area is potentially under

threat from inundation from any part of the

coast, or indeed from fluvial sources such as the

River Rother, which outfalls at Rye.

the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch miniature

railway.

The extensive coastline and sparse development

creates an environment attractive for holidaying,

resulting in the many holiday parks situated

around the peninsulas coast. There is also theRoyal Military Canal, which stretches for 28 miles

hugging the old cliff line that borders Romney

Marsh from Hythe in the north east to Cliff End.

The canal was built as a third line of defence

against Napoleon, after the British Royal Navy

patrolling the English Channel, and a line of 74

Martello Towers were also built along the south

coast. Today, it is used to manage water levels

across much of the Marsh, and is integral to the

areas flood protection.

Flood Depth

1.4 million residential and 100,000 commercial properties in the

immediate vicinity of the river Thames, with a population of

approximately three million people.


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Halcrow used Intermaps NEXTMap Britain Digital

Terrain Model (DTM) supplied through the

Environment Agency to identify what would hap-

pen if a defence were to fail in a particular place

to better identify the risks.

Using Tuflow modelling software, it can be seen

where and how far flood waters would flow in

the event of a defence being overtopped or

breached. Particular assets can then be identi-fied in a particular area, such as houses, and

business premises and in the case of the

Dungeness Peninsular, the power stations and

Lydd airport, and thereby estimate the likely

damages of such a flood.

This estimate can then be used in a cost bene-

fit analysis to appraise the economic justifica-

tion for providing or improving flood defences.

There are many complicated socio-economic fac-

tors to be considered and there is always a del-

icate balance between the cost of building more

elaborate defences against the potential dam-age caused by a flood. The flood modelling also

allows us to consider the potential impacts of

inundation upon the valuable natural environ-

ment of the area.

The Halcrow Group used a NEXTMap DTM to cal-

culate many different scenarios; for example

flooding associated with extreme surge and

storm events, both for present day and in the

future including consideration of climate change.

The implications of possible defence failure can

also be calculated, by creating a hole in the

defence line imposed onto the Digital Terrain

Model.

The group looked at the areas with underlying

OS mapping, and existing environmental

datasets, but for a strategic study of this nature,

they did not need to gather more detailed data

correctly represented in the DTM as their crest

is narrower than 5 meters. The same was done

for the banks and ditches around the Marsh

areas. After this, a time series of water level data

was run (to represent a tidal curve) against the

edge of the defences and then run the model

over different periods of time. When the height

of the water exceeds the height of the defences,

Tuflow calculates the volume of water that goesover that defence and uses hydraulic calcula-

tions to spread it across the DTM.

The model calculates water inputs and move-

ments for every minute of the simulated period

and creates outputs every thirty minutes, so it

is possible to see how the flood waters propa-

gate as the tide ebbs and flows. These can be

run as animations over time which can be very

useful when illustrating the potential flooding

risks to stakeholders.

The review and understanding of potential

flooding risks is then used to identify the poten-tial social and environmental impacts of the var-

ious potential flood management options. The

strategy then goes on to use the outputs from

these appraisals to identify the preferred man-

agement approach for the next 100 years or

sooner.

Official Warning

One of the most important warnings to local

and central governments in the UK to develop

effective flood risk management strategies came

from a group of experts commissioned to look

at the risks by the Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir

David King, under the Government's Foresight

Programme, in 2004. Their report, Future

Flooding, said that unless precautions were

taken, more severe floods brought about by

climate change could massively increase the

number of people and the amount of property

at risk.

Amidst all the news of communities being over-

whelmed by water in June and July, one very

significant announcement, from the Prime

Minister, Gordon Brown and the Secretary ofState for the Environment, Hilary Benn, was that

the Government is setting up an independent

inquiry to look at the flood events of June and

July. Its report will be immensely important and

may prove a milestone in terms of the British

public's appreciation of the reality of climate

change. It will doubtless focus on the key prob-

lem in terms of flood response - but it may also

take a view of the disaster in terms of global

warming, and may well come to the conclusion

that we are already witnessing the future.

Kevin Thomas is Vice President, Marketing at

Intermap Technologies. For more information on

Intermap: www.intermap.com.

such as ortho photos. Some LiDAR data was

used to perform some QA of the NEXTMap DTM

to establish that the data is suitable for use on

this study.For the purposes of this project The Halcrow

Group took the NEXTMap 5 meter data and grid-

ded it up to 50 meters. This was done as the

computational time involved running the Tuflow

model for the full flood risk area using the

denser 5m data would have been huge. Over

the centuries, many smaller defences and dykes

have been put in place which affect the way the

water would flow in particular areas. The 5 meter

data picks up many of these, but these are par-

tially lost in gridding to 50 meters. At the back

of the Dungeness peninsular for example is the

Royal Military Canal, which is raised above the

surrounding land.

The first step was to load the DTM and then

overlay the height of the existing flood defences

along the coast, many of which are not


Art ic le

Romney Marsh


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Significant Input from Our Users

Interest Shown by Utilities Compan

Alligned Assets is a small company compared to the large solutionproviders in the Local Government market. Still NLPG / NSG solutions

led to success. Addressing the Issues with Andy Hird, Professional

Services Manager at Aligned Assets

By Job van Haaften

Aligned Assets is a relatively small

organization but has emerged as a

major supplier of gazetteer software,

what do you think has been the reason

for this success?

Youre right we are small compared to the large

solution providers in the Local Government mar-

ket. However, NLPG \ NSG (National Land &

Property Gazetteer \ National Street Gazetteer)

solutions are at the core of what we do. Weve

found that our competition is focused on other

business areas and that the Gazetteer is almosta secondary consideration. Our focus is on pro-

viding high quality open gazetteer solutions

and this has led to our success and rapidly

expanding user base.

The other factor is that the Symphony suite

was developed with significant input from our

users. We have listened to the needs of more

than 70 clients to develop the Symphony

GMS, which is why the system is so popular.

Any problems with getting Symphonyaccredited to the new British Standard?

We experienced a few minor problems at the

start, but nothing that set us back. In fact,

the Symphony Suite of applications was the

first to achieve accreditation to the new

British Standard BS7666:2006. Currently,

Aligned Assets is one of only two suppliers

to achieve accreditation to this new standard.

Also, one of our clients, Cardiff City Council,

was the first authority in the UK to success-

fully provide updates to the NLPG in the new

dtf 7.3 format. The new version of the NLPG

will be in place from October 2007. This con-

forms to the latest addressing standard

BS7666:2006. Authorities should upgrade by

this date or face fines.

Is it just Local Government who are

using your solutions?

Initially, interest in our solutions was almost

entirely from Local Government as they had

been charged with the creation of the LLPGs(Local Land & Property Gazetteers), which

together form the NLPG. More recently, with

changes in the MSA, we have seen significant

interest from other organisations with major

addressing requirements. Recent clients

include Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks,

British Transport Police and Cumbria Fire and

Rescue Service. Interest is also being shown

by the utilities companies.

What about integration with other

systems used in Local Government?

From day one we realised that the only way

to utilise the benefits of a central address


Interv iew

Cardiff City Council, was the

first authority in the UK to

successfully provide updates

to the NLPG in the new dtf

7.3 format.

Andy Hird: Our focus is on providing high quality open gazetteer solutions.


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gazetteer is if back office systems are integrated to thecore addresses. The Symphony Gazetteer is part of a

comprehensive suite of applications the Symphony

Enterprise Suite. These modules combine to create the

strongest solution for Gazetteer Management in the

marketplace. Indeed, the iExchange module has been

providing these integration opportunities for almost 5

years.

Not only does the Symphony Enterprise Suite comply

with the latest version of BS7666 but it also allows

you to integrate it with any other database system to

ensure high quality output and delivery by cross refer-

ence. This provides the complete solution to maintainand manage LLPG data and disseminate and use the

data throughout an organisation.

Job van Haaften ([email protected]) is editor of

GeoInformatics. For more information: www.aligned-assets.co.uk.


Interv iew

es

Recent clients include Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks.


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Fast Mapping Results Provide Deeper Insights

Wildfires & Remote SensingIn the beginning of the summer this year, a large fire in the area of the Mount Parnitha National Park near Athens in

Greece resulted in the loss of approximately 5,000 ha of forest area, shrublands and agricultural land. Considering

the extent and the consequences of the damage caused by the large fire, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

began to collaborate with national authorities to provide all the necessary information to develop forest

protection and restoration plans.

By Ioannis Gitas, Anastasia Polychronaki,

Thomas Katagis, Giorgos Mallinis and Chara Minakou

Photo:D

anielDanjeagerVendruscolo

Art ic le



9/50October/November 2007Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com

Art i c le

17

When a forested area is damaged by fire,detailed and current information concerning

the location and extent of the burned areas

is required by forest managers to assess

economic losses and ecological impacts, and

to monitor land use and land cover changes.

Detailed mapping is also important for mod-

elling the atmospheric and climatic impacts

of biomass burning. Moreover, accurate

assessment assists in evaluating the

effectiveness of measures taken to rehabili-

tate the fire-damaged area, and in allowing

forest managers to identify and target areas

for intensive or special restoration, thus

avoiding long-term site degradation. In order

to estimate the ecological impact of fires onMediterranean ecosystems, reliable monitor-

ing and effective analysis techniques need to

be implemented.

Mapping the Large Fire of ParnithaThe area constitutes the nucleus of the

Parnitha National Park and is a wooded area,

noted primarily for its spreads of the endem-

ic Cephallonia fir (Abies cephalonica) on rel-

atively poor and dry soil, its temperate conif-

erous-tree forests (chiefly consisting of Pinus

halepensis), maquis, mountainous grass-

lands, rocky hills, springs and streams.

The Parnitha National Park commands partic-

ular ecological interest, and constitutes a

reserve for the protection and preservation

of Southern Greeces flora and fauna.

Parnithas proximity to the urban sprawl of

Athens,

coupled with its great aesthetic and ecologi-

cal value, accentuate its importance in the

area. To accurately map the burned areas of

Mt Parnitha, the Aristotle University of

Thessaloniki chose an object-based classifica-

tion approach and an Ikonos high resolution

image that was captured nine days after the

fire. The estimation of the ecological impact

on the environment was made using an in-

house developed software called Burned Area

Statistics (BAS).

Use of technologySatellite data have been used extensively for

many years for the detection and mapping of

fire-affected areas. Image analysis techniques

such as object-based classification have been

developed in the recent past. For instance,

the Definiens Enterprise Image Analysis Suite

utilizes object-based classification to identify

burned areas and helps to automate

processes and incorporate expert knowledge

to deliver consistent and accurate results.

A further benefit of automating the process

is that once a model for the evaluation

has been created, it can be distributed to

and used by end-users, such as agencies,

with only slight calibrations necessary

to achieve comparable, consistent results.

Object-oriented vs.Pixel-based Analysis of

Images

The concept on which the Definienstechnology is based is that informa-

tion necessary to interpret an image is

not represented in single pixels, but in

meaningful image objects. Segmentation,

the first step in the object-oriented approach,

involves merging the pixels in the image into

image groups called objects or segments.

In comparison with pixels, image objects

carry much more useful information, and

therefore can be characterised by far more

attributes, such as form, texture, neighbour-

hood or context, than pure spectral or spec-

tral-derivative information. The advantages of

object-oriented analysis are meaningful

statistic and texture calculation, an increased

uncorrelated feature space using shape (e.g.

length, number of edges, etc.) and topologi-

cal features (neighbour, super-object, etc),

and close relation between real-world objects

and image objects. This relation improves the

value of the final classification and cannot be

fulfilled by common, pixel-based approaches.

The use of traditional classification tech-

niques have been often reported to create

confusion that can affect the accuracy of map-ping, the most troublesome of which can be

summarized as follows:

- spectral overlapping between slightly

burned areas and other non-vegetated

categories, especially water bodies, urban

areas and bare soil;

- spectral overlapping between burned

areas and shaded unburned areas;

- spectral overlapping between burned

areas and unburned forest.

The ProcessFollowing the pre-processing of the data withErdas Imagine, various levels of segmenta-

tion were formed in order to extract informa-

tion on different scales of the image.

3D view of the Mount Parnitha forest

fire damage. The dark area surrounded

by a yellow outline represents the burned

area


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A generalized perimeter of the burned area

was delineated using a large scale during the

segmentation procedure. This showed the

overall area affected by the fires. To identify

the actual burned surface, a second segmen-

tation level was added which allowed the

exclusion of islands of unburned forest with-

in the generalized perimeter. The generated

object levels where then classified using a rule

based approach combining spectral as well

as texture and relational object attributes. All

segmentation and analysis steps were formu-

lated in a Definiens rule sets. The latter sets

up a standard sequence of processes which

can be applied repeatedly to large volumes

of data varying over time or space.

The rule set used to generate the maps of Mt.

Parnitha was developed within two days by

the university.The Definiens software as well

as the image interpretation knowledge and

the experience gained from previous work

using the same kind of image data (Ikonos)

accelerated this process.

Altogether, the maps and statistics were pro-

duced within only three days. They were pro-

vided to the local forest fire service for use

in post-fire management. The university is

providing their support to the people effect-

ed by the multiple fires in Greece as a cost-

free service and is sharing the models pro-

duced to analyse the burned areas with other

authorities, for instance in the Peloponnese.

Forest managers typically use this information to:

- assess economic losses and ecological

impacts;

- monitor land use and land cover changes

including development of illegal settle-

ments;

- model the atmospheric and climatic

impacts of biomass burning;

- evaluate the effectiveness of measures

taken to rehabilitate the fire-damaged

area;

- identify and target areas for intensive or

special restoration.

The results are utilized by the local forest ser-vice to declare the burned areas under spe-

cial protection regime and to develop the

restoration plans. The national forest service

uses the results to produce annual fire statis-

tics. Local authorities can make better deci-

sions, for example for improved pre-fire plan-

ning by assessing the effectiveness of fire

suppression by the fire brigade.

Future outlookLooking ahead, the operational use of satel-

lite imagery in forest management will include

the calculation of fire risks and the creation of

hot spot mapping in order to predict where

existing fires may spread. For example, the

International Charter Space and Major


Art ic le

Ikonos satellite image of the burned area with the burned area highlighted in red


11/50

Disasters monitors fires, providing rapid

assessment and thereby helping to mitigate

the effects of disasters on human life and

property.

The next steps will be to generate a standard

library of Definiens rule sets which will then

be distributed to the local authorities.

Wrapped into an easy to use graphical user

interface (GUI), these rule sets will be applied

by local experts to generate maps addressing

all aspects of forest fires even faster. This will

enable the image analysis experts to transfer

needed know-how to local agencies so that

they can create maps on demand.

On a global scale, the ultimate goal is to pro-

vide decision makers with information services

Dr. Ioannis Gitas ([email protected]), Anastasia

Polychronaki, Thomas Katagis, Giorgos Mallinis,

Chara Minakou.at the Aristotle University of

Thessaloniki. More information on the Parnitha

National Park can be found at

www.gnto.gr/pages.php?pageID=323&langID=2.

Result images courtesy of Aristotle University of

Thessaloniki. Ikonos satellite data provided by

Geoinformation S.A.

that help reduce wildfires. Not only do the fires

destroy vegetation, life and habitat, they also

contribute to atmospheric CO2 concentration,

intensifying the effects of global warming. The

estimated total burned biomass in Europe by

the end of August was 7.3 million tons lead-

ing to the emission of more than 12.3 million

tons of CO2. Image analysis solutions extract

relevant information from increasingly high

quality imagery provided by airborne and

spaceborne systems and support end-to-end

intelligence processes, maximizing the com-

bined value of multi-source intelligence. Today,

highly-automated standardized mapping pro-

vides accurate and up-to-date geospatial infor-

mation which assists environmental efforts in

populated as well as remote areas worldwide.


Art ic le

Ikonos satellite image of the burned area

Fires this summer in I taly, Greece and Balkan.

Credits: ESA


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Report on the Latest GIS Trends at Intergeo 2007

Intergeo 2007 Conference and Trade

Intergeo 2007, once again the top industry gathering, took place in Saxony in one of the oldest and most famous fair sites,

the Leipzig Fair Leipziger Messe. There is no doubt that the Leipzig Fairs famous Glass House an extraordinary steel

and glass architectural masterpiece was a significant attraction at Intergeo 2007. This event, which integrates

international conference with trade fair, had more than 16,500 visitors and delegates from over 50 countries.

Leipzigs Intergeo 2007 was the largest assembly of the various industry sectors this year.

By zgr Ertac

An important fact is that the event set aworld record with 240 trade fair innovations.

And Intergeo again clearly represents the inter-

disciplinary approach by incorporating the

industrys three primary pillars: geodesy, geoin-

formation and land management.

Unique Meeting PointResults of the official visitors survey show one

third of visitors attending for the first time,and in answer to the question of how they

heard about the congress trade fair, virtually

half of the trade visitors said it was known

throughout the industry, a reflection of

Intergeos fame. In this sense another key indi-

cator, and probably the key indicator, was the

exhibitors satisfaction rate. Both the survey and

the stand bookings for next year show that they

were quite happy with the high profile of visi-

tors, with 85.7% of companies saying they had

achieved their aims in showcasing themselves

at Intergeo. This event deserves to be called

the Mecca for an entire sector. In this article I

will discuss the latest trends and share my gen-

eral observations. I hope this will give a good

idea of industry developments to those who

were not able to attend or who missed some

parts of the fair.

The Intergeo Exhibition Hall was the centre not

only of knowledge and technology but also of

entertainment. For instance, you could enjoy

the thrill of a racing simulation, or be amazed

by the laser show at the Topcon booth, or try

to identify the cup with the coin under it at the

Trimble booth where magicians and poker-play-ers plied their trade. No matter that we are seri-

ous business people: we handed over our busi-

ness cards for a shot at the wheel of fortune

to win an iPod or to play for toys at some of

the booths. My personal wish was to win a

3DConnexion SpaceNavigator, a 3D computer

mouse which can be called a toy for GIS spe-

cialists. And the Intergeo tradition of party

time was on show in the booths on Wednesday

night. Were still talking about the fantastic

band, GeoKosmos, (supported by Datum) and

the delicious food at the ESRI booth.

An attractive spot out in Hall 3 was the Fokus

Forum, a platform for bringing together indus-

try specialists and exhibition visitors. It was a

great opportunity for following enhancements

in both industry and academia. During the mod-

erated presentations the audience could ask

questions about developments in the market.

And it was not just for German speaking visi-

tors. Again this year Intergeo proved itself to

be an international event by giving the after-

noon Fokus Forum sessions in English.

55th German Cartographers Day

The 55th German Cartographers Day was orga-nized by the German Society for Cartography

(DGfK) as part of Intergeo. This was the third

time this specialist field has been represented

independently and comprehensively at the

Congress. In this context Dr. Abschenberner,

DGfK President, emphasized the importance of

cartography when he said people only really

can understand the benefits of geodata prop-

erly if the data are represented in their geo-spa-

tial context and geographic complexity. This is

what cartography does with its wide range of

methods. Modern-day cartography above all

means operating and communicating with digi-

tal maps, either on screen or on mobile dis-

plays. Two trends regarding cartography could

be observed: first, the integration of carto-


Event

The Glass House in the Leipzig Fair Leipziger Messe. Copyright HINTE GmbH.


13/50

graphic presentation tools and functions intoGIS software, illustrated by a project of the

Swiss national mapping agency, Swisstopo;

second, automatic map generation is reaching

maturity.

Disaster management and riskassessmentIt would not be wrong to state that

FloodServer online at www.floodrisk.eu

was one of the most striking projects in the

area of disaster management at Intergeo this

year. Geoinformation service providers Infoterraand Geomer present detailed flood information

for the whole of Europe. Users can call up maps

and information on past floods as well as

examine the effects of future flooding in areas

along the Rhine, Elbe and Unterweser. The key

issue in such projects, as Mr. Tinz, project lead-

er at Infoterra, stated, is that although

FloodServer cannot prevent the threat of floods,

it provides critical assistance for minimizing the

impact of floods in future

Closely related to flood-based disaster man-

agement systems, a number of companies were

interested in hydraulic and hydrologic model-

ing. At Intergeo 2007, water resources and relat-

ed visualization techniques seemed to have

improved. The main areas of interest were soft-

ware development and consulting services

using several modeling technologies such as

groundwater modeling, surface water modeling


Event

Fair in Leipzig

and multi-dimensional hydraulic visualization.The primary capabilities of the software

involved 2D or 3D hydrodynamic modeling and

visualization, groundwater simulations, model

development, calibration, automated basin

delineation, and overlay computations by rain-

fall depth, precipitation, roughness coefficients,

run-off, etc.

3D Terrain and City ModelsA noticeable trend at the trade fair was 3D, in

terms of both 3D terrain models and 3D city

models. A number of booths concentrated onairborne laser scanning and the processing of

LIDAR data. The number of 3D city models

available has grown rapidly, with City GML

becoming the transfer format that allows appli-

cations to go beyond visual representation.

National Geo-data and EuropeanSpatial Data InfrastructuresThe geo-data infrastructures (GDI) have been

developed as a network for spatial data dis-

covery and access which makes the spatial

data readily accessible and shareable. As a nat-

ural result of this rapidly growing segment of

the geo-information market, complete GDI&SDI-

ready packages are increasing again this year.

Those who were at Intergeo last year remem-

ber the ambitions for GDI technology and the

future of data accessibility. This year it seems

GDI and SDI are becoming clearer in peoples

minds since applications and know-how keptcropping up in the exhibition area. On the other

hand, the most important concern of SDI-

focused specialists this year is impact assess-

ment. With new projects, applications and

implementations arising every day, the impact

on industry and on daily life is very important.

The questions are: how successful have they

the SDI implementations been? What will be

the impact of the European INSPIRE directive,

and what will the implementing rules for

INSPIRE that are currently being developed look

like? Increasing competition among publicagencies everybody wants to be the owner

and the only authority. Efficiency and effective-

ness issues pending feedback from the user

perspective. Interoperability and the enhance-

ments in GI-industry such as Geobrowsers,

Geotagging, Mash-ups, GeoCommons, crowd

sourcing, social networks and Geo-Gaming (sec-

ond-life, myspaceetc). We are looking forward

to seeing answers.

Internet GIS and Geo-Web ServicesAs is commonly believed, and I agree, server-

based GIS is used in most major cities around

the world. Key priorities are that it be reliable

and recoverable, interoperable and scalable,

highly secure and deployable to the non-GIS

specialist. Intergeo was the place to see state-

of-the-art technology and solutions in the field

of web-based GIS. Industry focus was not only

on big-scale enterprise solutions but also small

workgroup solutions to reduce the overall

costs. Experience shows that in any case a well-

planned solution always turns a profit in a web-

based GIS infrastructure.

Interoperability between GI systems from dif-ferent vendors is still an issue. Accordingly, for

customers mainly from the public sector the

support of OGC interfaces like WMS and WFS

is a crucial factor.

The service-oriented architecture (SOA)

paradigm coming from general IT has been

adopted by the leading GIS software vendors

but customer projects using this technology, for

example for coupling GI and ERP systems, are

still to come.

The Second Open Source ParkThe Open Source Park, established in Munichlast year, took place again this year, and again,

the Open Source Geospatial Foundation

(OSGeo) established and designed the overallThe Open Source Park at Intergeo.


14/50

the specialists and developers busy. And each

area of interest comes up with another approach

to understanding. In this regard, what visitors

commonly noticed at Intergeo this year was that

Earth Viewers are to become more geospatially

oriented through the increasing involvement of

geo-processing tools (GoogleEarth is not an

exception anymore); GDI and SDI technologies

are more than ever becoming part of our daily

lives; location-based services are going further by

adding 3D enhancements; 3D representation of

the built environment is increasingly becoming

part of GIS applicationsand the rest youve

reviewed through this article. Im looking forward

to seeing the impact of this outstanding event in

industry this year. And now its time to start thecountdown for Intergeo 2008 in Bremen.

zgr Ertac ([email protected]) is a

Research Assistant at the Technical University of

Mnchen, Germany. For additional information on

Intergeo please visit www.intergeo.de and Runder

Tisch GIS e.V web site: www.rundertischgis.de.

establish remarkable connections among uni-

versities and other industry stakeholders. In this

regard more than 30 national and international

academic institutions were represented in the

exhibition hall this year. Probably the most

impressive improvement in universities was that

GIS has become more of a major subject while

before it was primarily a minor area of study in

various faculties. My personal observation on

the conditions in GIS labs in universities is that

GIS facilities are about to become more mod-

ern and better equipped with the help of gen-

erous GIS and IT vendors. And the content of

GIS-related courses is more professional and is

better designed by the faculty. For your records,

the GIS Youngsters a Runder Tisch GIS initia-tive were also there with the young student

and researcher team at Intergeo to catch the

trends in industry. The annual Intergeo trend

analysis is about to be published, again by

Runder Tisch GIS (www.rundertischgis.de).

Valuable ReflectionIntergeo has always been a valuable reflection of

the industry. The success and the record numbers

of exhibitors and visitors at the event support

Hagen Graeffs comment: Growth should be in

average between five and ten percent. He antic-

ipates a positive future for the geo-industry by

assessing the commercial sales volume within

one year. It means that day by day we are facing

new challenges. Its clear that new issues keep

concept. The Park was split into three sections.

In the first section, service providers offered

solutions with open software. In this section

some open source implementers were ready to

share solutions, namely 52North, Autodesk,

Camptocamp, Geolock etc. The second section

provided the opportunity for personal contact

among the developers and visitors. The third

section was the presentation area where users,

manufacturers and service providers showcased

their projects. In all three sections plenty of pro-

jects were on hand: Desktop GIS: GRASS,

gvSIG, QGIS; WepMapping: Mapbender,

MapServer, GeoServer; geo libraries: GDAL/OGR,

GeoTools; metadata catalogue: GeoNetwork

open source; database: PostGIS; organizations:OSGeo, GAV, Humboldt Project.

In this context interoperability was an impor-

tant topic indeed. Almost all key GIS vendors

such as ESRI, Intergraph, Bentley and Autodesk,

as members of the Open Geospatial

Consortium, offered GIS products with appro-

priate open application programming interfaces.

They also supported key data interchange for-

mats and Web services standards to ensure rel-

evant GIS and IT interoperability between sys-

tems over wired and/or wireless networks.

Universities and educational institutionsIntergeo is not only a platform for bringing GIS

professionals together but also an event to


Event

Exhibition Hall at Intergeo 2007 in Leipzig. Copyright HINTE GmbH.


15/50

Data Lending Service

A Novel Solution of the Finnish NSDI

The INSPIRE directive puts forward a variety of GI infrastructure services at the

national level. Most countries are currently at the planning phase of their own

metadata and viewing services. Issues related to describing spatial data quality,

defining data prices and enhancing the discovery of data sets are topical from

country to country. In Finland, the challenges have been solved in part through

a concept of spatial data lending.

By Tuuli Toivonen and Risto Kalliola

The spatial data lending service called

Paikkatietolainaamo in the Finnish languagehas been operational since 2003. The basic idea

is to improve access to geographical informa-

tion among scientists, teachers and product

developers. It also aims to enhance the use of

spatial data in society and bring metadata alive

during the process of data selection or pre-eval-

uation. The service constitutes part of the

Finnish NSDI in National Geographic Information

Strategy 2005-2010 (National Council for

Geographic Information 2004).

ImplementationPaikkatietolainaamo is a non-profit internet ser-vice that delivers GI data sets from nearly 20

national government data producers and pri-

vate vendors. The service operates as a joint

venture of the departments of geography at the

universities of Turku and Helsinki. ThePaikkatietolainaamo secretariat is responsible

for making contracts with all data providers and

data users. The service interface contains an

openly-available viewing and metadata service

with a download option for registered users.

Available data sets provide either full coverage

of the country or a sample piece from pre-

defined test areas.

Usage conditions for data sets are relatively flex-

ible: data sets are available for research, edu-

cation, product development and evaluation.

They may be used for a limited period of time;

after one year users are requested to delete the

files or renew them. Failure to do this would

lead to closure of usage rights. With this

arrangement, data vendors are confident

enough to deliver their data for distribution viathe Paikkatietolainaamo facility. Data producers

may also get information on the amount of

interest in their products, as each download

and renewal is registered together with respec-

tive user information. Data vendors have access

to the download statistics of their own data

sets and they may monitor the level of use.

Hand in Hand

One of Paikkatietolainaamos basic aims is to

make technical metadata descriptions more

understandable. This aim is achieved by mak-ing it possible to view the data sets and their

attributes in an interactive map service. Data

sets on a certain theme may be easily overlaid

and compared in the map view. This allows

comparisons between different scales or

between data produced by different data

providers. As well, the compatibility of data sets

may be visually evaluated in the map service

by simple comparisons between data layers.

The user can, for example, open building data

and water coverage by different vendors and

quickly evaluate how many buildings along the

shoreline fall into the water due to the level

of generalization or inaccuracies in spatial ref-

erencing.

The download option allows users to make

even more profound analyses of the data sets.

Users are able to download either the full data

set or at least sample data from a given area

to their own GIS workstation. Data sets are

available in their native formats defined by data

vendors.

The value of extending metadata descriptions

from tabular information to interactive map ser-

vices and sample data sets is clear.Paikkatietolainaamo usage statistics show that

the forms-based metadata search is used by

only 25% of the users, while 52% utilize the

map service to access the metadata descrip-

tions and to evaluate and inspect the data sets.

These inspections together fulfil the needs of

most users. Download statistics show that the

number of actual data downloads is much

smaller and seems to be limited to individual

data sets that have already been determined

to be useful with other tools. No opportunistic

over-loading has been discovered.

Attracting Users

During the last four years, use of

Paikkatietolainaamo has grown steadily and the


Art ic le

Data selection and follow-up tools built into the spatial data lending service Paikkatietolainaamo.


16/50

service is currently attracting some 500 differ-

ent user IPs monthly. Thus far, 850 profession-

al GI users have registered with the service and

the number of data downloads exceeds 5,500.

This can be considered substantial in a country

with 5.2 million inhabitants and thus a limited

number of GI professionals with data needs.

Most users (55%) come from educational and

research sectors. Use of the service has clearly

broadened the awareness and use of different

data sets. Furthermore, training and education

can now be based on high quality, real-life data

sets instead of street maps of some American

city.

Professionals from the private sector form

another, yet smaller (21%) user group. They rep-

resent more than 130 private companies andNGOs from various branches of the economy.

ucts via the service. As well, the internationalcompany Experian has shared pieces of its

MOSAIC data set with users. For a private com-

pany, motivation for participation comes from

the opportunity to promote products for new

user groups. The facilitys advanced data trans-

fer log allows data producers to identify each

download of their data, which helps them get

an idea of who is interested in their products.

This option may contribute to further product

development and help them establish new col-

laboration networks. As the data sets are used

extensively in teaching at universities and poly-technics, new student generations become

familiar with the data sets and their providers.

Clear Benefits

The concept and implementation of the

Paikkatietolainaamo download facility is rooted

in national collaboration and support from the

EUs Life Environment funds. The impetus for

its further development is the fact that data

lending is one step towards a freer data-shar-

ing culture. Research and education are also

clear beneficiaries of the improved variety and

quality of data sets available in the society.

While the INSPIRE directive talks mostly about

users in the administration, lending is free for

everyone. This fact increases the number of

potential data users, which may also lead to a

variety of consumer-oriented applications using

spatial data, thus enhancing the role of GI in

modern societies. Therefore, the lending con-

cept may also be worth implementing in future

download services that will be established

along the lines of the INSPIRE directive.

Tuuli Toivonen ([email protected]) is a

university lecturer and currently acting professor of

geoinformatics at the department of geography of the

University of Helsinki, Finland. She has been in

charge of the establishment of the Spatial Data

Lending Facility as a novel data download service.

Risto Kalliola ([email protected]) is a professor in

the department of geography of the University of

Turku. He is director of the Spatial Data Lending

Facility and contributed to its strategic planning.

(www.paikkatietolainaamo.fi)

These users benefit from the openness of the

service and its data delivery policy. Software

developers may select the best basis for prod-

uct development without worrying about data

costs in the early phases. The results of this sit-

uation appear in the form of new innovative GI-

based services and even increased markets for

GI data sets.

Even Commercial Data

Currently, 19 national and regional data produc-

ers have placed their data for downloading via

Paikkatietolainaamo and the total number of

available data sets in the service is around 300.

These include a good representation of all core

spatial data sets mentioned in the INSPIRE

directive proposal or in the Finnish National GIStrategy. In addition to public data producers,

private companies have

seen the potential in giving

their demo data for down-

loading. The largest private

GI producer in Finland,

Affecto Oy, presents a full

selection of its data prod-


Art ic le

The operation of the lending service is based on agreements between the data providers, the secretariat and the

data users. Technical mechanisms have been developed to allow both users and data providers to see the lending

status of different data sets.

The registered users come from

different sectors of society.

In all, 55% of the 850 userscome from educational and

research sectors, whereas

private enterprises and NGOs

represent some 21% of the

users. Photo: Hanna Pohjonen.


17/50

Satellites All over the Place

GNSS updateIn the last few months progress has been made in the development of satellites for all major GNSS. Planning, however,

is still the major problem. With Galileo, the problems are still financial; with GPS and Glonass the problem lies with the

built quality of the satellites. With GPS the satellites last too long, whereas with Glonass they dont last long enough.

By: Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk

Galileo

FundingAfter some discussion the EC (European

Commission) has decided that the remaining

2.4 billion euros for Galileo has to come from

public funds. There is an agreement for 300 mil-

lion euros to come out of the EU research bud-

get. For the remaining amount the EC wants to

use unspent farm subsidies. The member states

are divided over this, although all have stated

in a joint resolution that development of Galileo

should continue.

Giove AThe test campaign using the first test satellite,

Giove-A, has been completed. Analyses of the

transmitted signals have resulted in adjust-ments to the spacecrafts signal generation unit.

As a result Giove-A will transmit optimized sig-

nals until its expected end of service life in

March 2008.

Giove BGiove-B, the second test satellite, was

shipped to Noordwijk for extensive testing in

early September 2007. After completion of the

tests it will be transported to Baikonur,

Kazakhstan for launch on a Soyuz-Fregat rock-

et. The launch was scheduled for the end of

2007 but has been postponed to March 2008

due to problems with the rocket. If it is not

launched before Giove-A shuts down, Galileo

runs the risk of losing its claim on the Galileo

signal frequencies with the International

Telecommunications Union (ITU).

Operational satellitesIn 2009, the first two satellites of the opera-

tional Galileo constellation should be

launched, followed in 2010 by the next two

operational satellites. They will be used for in-

orbit verification of the Galileo system before

being joined by the 26 additional spacecraft

required for full operations by the end of 2013.

GPS Galileo Common Civil SignalEurope and the USA have reached an

agreement to use an interoperable signal on

the L1C (GPS) and L1F (Galileo) frequency

band. The signal will use the MBOC modu-

lation technique. Introduction for GPS

is expected to be on the GPS III blocks

of satellites, while Galileo will employ the

signal in the Galileo Open Service on all

operational satellites.


Art ic le

esa - 2004 - P. Carril

Extension of the WAAS network to Mexico and Canada (source: www.nstb.tc.faa.gov)


18/50

GPSIIF almost readyThe first of 12 GPS Block IIF satellites, which

will offer an extended design life of 12 years

and a new civil signal on the L5 frequency

(1176.45MHz), is expected to be launched

sometime in 2008. The L1-L2-L5 signal combi-

nation enables high accuracy tri-lane phase

navigation.

IIR M test bedThe first of the Block II-R satellites, built by

Lockheed Martin, has surpassed its design life

of 10 years. Of the 21 Block II-R satellites built,

the final 8 were designated as Block IIR-M.

There are currently three IIR-M spacecraft on-

orbit with the fourth scheduled for launch in

late 2007. The remaining four IIR-M satellites

are available for launch to replace broken-down

satellites in the current constellation.

The IIR-M satellite to be launched is currentlybeing reconfigured to transmit the L5 signal,

the signal that will be included in the Block IIF

satellites. It is possible that this test bed will

be launched for signal testing or that the USA

will want to claim the L5 frequency with the ITU

as Galileo did with its frequencies using Giove-

A. If the latter is the case then the launch of

Block IIF may be delayed.

Selective AvailabilityThe next generation of GPS satellites, GPS III,

will no longer have SA (Selective Availability).

In May 2000 the use of SA was stopped on the

current satellites although the option to switch

it on is still available. By eliminating this possi-

bility in the next generation of satellites, the US

has removed one uncertainty over GPS perfor-

mance that has been a major concern to all civil

GPS users.


Art ic le

IRNSSIndia plans to build its own GNSS called IRNSS

(Indian Region Navigation Satellite System)

using a constellation of three geostationary and

four geosynchronous satellites at a cost of 290

million euros. The first launch should take place

around 2010 with a complete constellation

being available in 2012. The satellites are

expected to be launched by home-built PSLV(Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle).

EGNOSPseudolitesIn June a test with pseudolites (earthbound

satellite-like navigation transmitters) was per-

formed in Finlands Helsinki Harbor. Regular cov-

erage for both GPS and Egnos is poor in north-

ern latitudes. With the use of pseudolites, the

navigation solution reportedly had a precision

compatible to that of GPS and Egnos.

Helicopter TrialsTrials using Egnos for helicopter landings in

Lausanne, Switzerland have been successful.

Using a steeper descent than usual, helicopters

made various Egnos-assisted landings. The use

of vertical guidance allows the pilot to remain

longer at a higher altitude, thus circumventing

adverse weather conditions.

AfricaESA has signed an agreement with the African

and Madagascan air authorities for the use of

Egnos over the African continent. The extension

of Egnos to Africa involves the installation of

reference stations on African soil. Egnos trans-

missions already cover both Africa and Europe.

WAAS

Mexico and CanadaThe WAAS network has been extended to

Canada and Mexico with the integration of nine

new reference stations into the network. The

expansion also benefits US users with more

accurate corrections around the former fringes

of the WAAS coverage.

SatellitesWAAS has stopped using the AOR-W (PRN 122)

and POR (PRN 134) satellite as of July 2007. In

the same month the Telesat geostationary

satellite (PRN 138) became active, giving bet-

ter coverage over the US and northeastern

Canada.

Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk

([email protected]) is project

manager at IDsW and editor-in-chief of

GeoInformatics. This article represents his own

opinions.

Block IIIAThe launch of the first of eight IIIA satellites is

to take place in 2013. In total a further eight

GPS IIIB and sixteen GPS IIIC satellites are

planned. One of the reasons for the delay of

the Block III satellites is that all current satel-

lites are lasting significantly longer than expect-

ed. Another reason may be the slowdown of

the Galileo program, creating less political pres-sure on the development of GPS III. GPS III will

have the capability of transmitting M-code, the

enhanced military code.

GLONASSSatellites and fundingGlonass has been allocated a total of 134 mil-

lion euros for 2006 and 280 million euros for

2007. The system is scheduled to become oper-

ational in 2008. However, the system continues

to be plagued by failing satellites. In early

October only nine satellites were operational,with an additional one to become operational

later this year and three temporarily switched off.

Change of geodetic systemGlonass has made the change to ITRS

(International Terrestrial Reference System).

Earlier the system used a geodetic system

designed for the former USSR. This new ver-

sion of the PZ-90 reference system is interop-

erable with the WGS84 system used by GPS

and the ETRS89 system to be used by Galileo.

BeidouChina has reportedly started using Beidou for

monitoring the transportation of dangerous

chemicals. The system, in contrast to other

GNSS, transmits data from the ground back to

a control station via a satellite link. Current

planning shows that the system, known as

CNSS (Compass Navigation Satellite System) or

"Beidou", its Chinese name, will provide navi-

gation and positioning services before 2010.

Four satellites have been launched so far, of

which three are geostationary and one has a

medium earth orbit.

Pseudolite station in Helsinki Harbor (source: www.esa.int)


19/50

A Report on the Bulgaria 2007 Conference

From Imagery to Map: Digital Photo

The 7th International Scientific & Technical Conference with

the title From Imagery to Map: DigitalPhotogrammetric Technologies was held in Nessebar,

Bulgaria between 17th and 20th September 2007. The

Conference was organised jointly by the Racurs and GIS-Sofia

companies from Russia and Bulgaria respectively. The previ-

ous six conferences in the series had been held as

International PHOTOMOD Users Conferences - PHOTOMOD

being the principal software product from the Racurs compa-

ny. The change in the Conference title reflected the desire of

the organisers to widen the scope of the meeting with speak-

ers and participants from Western Europe and from Racurs'

partners in Russia and elsewhere.

By Gordon Petrie

Conference Facilities & ProgrammeThe Conference was held in the Nessebar Bay Hotel - one of three

large IFA hotels linked together and located on a single site on

Bulgaria's Black Sea coast just south of the town of Nessebar. The

facilities were excellent, both in terms of the hotel accommodation

and food and the actual Conference venue - which was the hotel's

Neptune Hall [Fig. 1]. The Conference was well organised, had good

audio and projection facilities and featured a really excellent

Russian/English translation service. Furthermore a booklet containing

the abstracts and summaries of almost all the presentations was

issued to all the participants on their arrival at the Conference regis-

tration desk. There were 110 participants, 60 of whom were from

Russia and Belarus - who all arrived together as a group on a char-


Art ic le

Fig. 1 - a)- The Conference participants assembled on the staircase to theHotel pool and garden.b)- The audience listening to a presentation in the Neptune Hall.(Source: Racurs)

[a]

[b]


20/50

ter flight from Moscow. The lecture programmewas divided into three roughly equal parts. The

first day was devoted to airborne imaging and

mapping; the second day to spaceborne imag-

ing and mapping; and the third day to recent

developments in Racurs' software products. On

the fourth day, most of the Conference partici-

pants went on a sightseeing tour along the

coast northwards to the city of Varna. Besides

which, a comprehensive series of dinners and

social events took place in the evenings.

I - Airborne Imaging & Mapping

After the formal opening speeches of welcome

from the Conference organisers and sponsors [Fig.

2] and from Mr. T. Boev, Head of the Bulgarian

Cadastral Agency, the first lecture was delivered

by Prof. Katzarsky from Sofia, who is an honorary

member of ISPRS. He first outlined briefly the

development of photogrammetry in Bulgaria and

then covered the mapping and cadastral activi-

ties of the municipally-owned GIS Sofia companyfor which he acts as a consultant. The PHOTO-

MOD software is used by GIS-Sofia to process air-

borne, spaceborne and terrestrial imagery for its

mapping applications [Fig. 3]. The next speaker

on the programme was Prof. Konecny from the

University of Hannover and a former president of

ISPRS [Fig. 4]. He was in his usual excellent form,

discussing all the various current issues of digital

mapping, and providing some very interesting

data on the pricing and relative costs of orthopho-

to production and line mapping. He also high-

lighted the increasing tendency for photogram-

metric mapping operations to be oriented

towards the generation of data that has been

laser scanning systems. The growth in multiple

lens frame camera systems having many differ-

ent geometric configurations is a noticeable

trend at the moment. After this, came a series

of presentations devoted to the Leica ADS40pushbroom line scanner - apparently designed

to provide a balance to the various presenta-

tions on the processing of Vexcel UltraCam dig-

ital frame camera data using PHOTOMOD that

had been given in the previous (6th) confer-

ence held in Montenegro last year (2006). This

structured specifically for inclusion in GIS

databases instead of the CAD (MicroStation

and AutoCAD) data that has been produced

in the past. He was followed by G. Goldberg

from the Metrum company who gave an

account of the development of digital pho-

togrammetry and the automated processes that

it allows - as seen from his own personal per-

spective within Latvia.

Airborne Digital ImagingThe second part of the airborne section

commenced with present writer (G. Petrie)

giving an overview of airborne digital data cap-

ture systems, including both frame and line

imaging technologies together with radar and

October/November 2007Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com29

Art ic le

grammetric Technologies

Fig. 2 - The Conference organisers - a)Dr.Adrov, managing director of Racurs; and

b)Prof. Katzarsky of GIS-Sofia - together withc)Dr. Gershenzon, managing director of theScanEx company - which acted as sponsor of

the Conference. (Source: Racurs)

Fig. 3 - a)- A photogrammetrist operates a digital photogrammetricworkstation (DPW) carrying out orthophoto production in the

GIS-Sofia office using the PHOTOMOD software.

b)- The resulting digital orthophoto of a part of Sofia.(Source: GIS-Sofia)

[a] [c]

[b]

[a]

[b]


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series of presentations started with one by V.

Zaitev from Leica Geosystem's Moscow office

who reviewed the company's latest airborne

products. Besides the second-generation ADS40scanner, these included the new Leica RCD105

medium-format digital frame camera and the

ALS-CM Corridor Mapper (an airborne laser

scanner) [Fig. 5]. It also contained the interest-

ing news that his company has now supplied

five ALS50 airborne laser scanners to various

Russian companies. He was followed by Dr.

Titarov from Racurs who outlined in a very clear

manner the overall approach and the detailed

procedures used to process ADS40 line scan-

ner data within PHOTOMOD after the prelimi-

nary processing had been carried out using

Leica's GPro and ORIMA software. This presen-

tation was reinforced by another contribution

by Dr. Sinkova of the research division of the

Goszemcadastrsyomka (VISHKHAGI) cadastral

organisation which operates two ADS40 scan-

ners. She dealt with the processing of ADS40

image data for the production of

orthophotomaps for an area near

Moscow from imagery flown at altitudes

of 1,500 m and 2,500 m respectively.

Aerial Film Photography

After which, the remaining presentationsin this section were concerned with more

traditional methods using photos

acquired by metric film cameras - which

still constitute the vast majority of air-

II - Spaceborne Imaging & Mapping

This part of the programme held on the second

day comprised a number of overview presenta-

tions followed by several application papers.

SovzondThe first of the overview presentations - given

by M. Bolsunovsky of Sovzond - provided a sys-tematic review (i) of the non-military remote

sensing satellites that are currently in operation

world-wide; and (ii) of the coverage of Russia

that is available from these satellites. The

Sovzond company acts as a distributor of

spaceborne imagery of all types. What was of

particular interest to western participants was

the news it gave about the current status of

Russian remote sensing satellites. The Monitor-E satellite that was launched in August 2005has provided pan and three-band multi-spec-

tral images with 8 m and 20 m GSD (GroundSampled Distance) values respectively. However

apparently the satellite is not working too well

at the moment and only a limited amount of

Monitor-E imagery is available. The RESURS-DKsatellite was launched in June 2006 and is deliv-

ering high-resolution pan images with 1 m GSD

and three-band multi-spectral images with 3 m

GSD.

ScanExThe interesting introductory paper by M. Bolsu-

novsky was supplemented by another overview

of Geo-Portals. This was presented by Dr.

Gershenzon, managing director of the ScanEx

company - which was acting as the sponsor of

the Conference. Again this presentation was of

very considerable interest. The ScanEx compa-

ny is well known both as a supplier of its large

UniScan ground receiving stations and of a large

number of smaller and less powerful stations.

Indeed it has supplied a comprehensive net-

work of these stations to national agencies and

regional authorities right across Russia [Fig. 6].

Besides which, ScanEx operates three powerful

stations on its own account, located in Moscow,Irkutsk (Baikal) and Magadan (in the Far East).

The resulting image data - especially

that received from the French SPOT and Indian

IRS satellites - has allowed a number of portals

to be established to help disseminate the space

imagery of Russia to a wider audience.

These include the portals set up by

Yandex (www.yandex.ru/) and ScanEx

borne imagers being

used for mapping pur-

poses in Russia. They

included a paper given

by Prof. Bykov of the

West Siberian branch of

Goszemcadastrsyomka

(VISHKHAGI) on the field

calibration of a LeicaRC30 metric film camera

(and a Hasselblad digital

camera) using a test field

established near the city

of Omsk. This was fol-

lowed by (i) a detailed

paper by V. Petrova and

Prof. Katzarsky of GIS-

Sofia on the accuracies of aerial triangulation

achieved using PHOTOMOD with a block of pho-

tographs acquired over a test field using a Z/I

Imaging RMK 30/23 film camera; and (ii) anamusing account of the trials, tribulations and

success encountered in setting up a new pho-

togrammetric production office in the city of Tula

that was given with great enthusiasm by L.

Afanasieva of the Meridian company.

Finally, within this section, there was a presen-

tation by Prof. A. Guk, head of the

Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing Dept. of

the Siberian State Academy of Geodesy (SSGA)

based in Novosibirsk. He outlined the changes

to education within his institute arising from

the adoption of a two-tier Bachelor/Master's

degree structure that is now being implement-

ed in Russian universities. Prof. Guk was some-

what sceptical about the value of these

changes.

October/November 2007Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com31

Art ic le

Fig. 4 - Two of the invited speakers - Professors Konecny (left) and Petrie (right) -together with Mr. Bouroumand (centre), managing director of the Nama Pardaz

Rayaneh (NPR) company, which acts as the distributor of PHOTOMOD software in

Iran (Source: Racurs)

Fig. 5 - a)- The new Leica ALS Corridor Mapper (CM) airborne laser scanner completewith its control electronics cabinet and its aircraft-certified LCD displays usedfor flight management and system control purposes.

(b)- The new Leica RCD105 medium-format airborne digital frame camerathat produces 39 Megapixel colour images. The camera is designed to be used in

conjunction with the company's ALS scanners, but it can also be used as a

stand-alone imager. (Source: Leica Geosystems)

[a]

[b]


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(http://catalog.scanex.com/ and

http://eostation.scanex.ru/). Besides which,

ScanEx appears to be the main inspiration and

driving force behind the establishment of other

Web sites such as Transparent World(www.transparentworld.ru/en/) and Kosmosnimkihttp://new.kosmosnimki.ru/eng/) that are orient-

ed towards the supply of low-cost space imagery

over the Internet for environmental monitoringand education purposes respectively.

DMCiiYet another overview paper in the same gener-

al area of spaceborne remote sensing was given

by O. Hawkins of the DMC International Imaging

(DMCii) company from the U.K. [Fig. 7]. In manyways, it provided an update to the article on

the DMC (Disaster Monitoring Constellation)

that was published in the March/April (3/2007)

issue of GeoInformatics. The new UK-DMC-2 and

Spanish Deimos-1 micro-satellites - which arescheduled to be launched and join the existing

constellation in 2008 - will provide very wide-

swath (660 km) multi-spectral imagery with a

GSD of 22 m. Furthermore, when it is launched

and joins the DMC constellation in 2009, the

new larger and heavier NigeriaSat-2 mini-satel-

lite will combine a high-resolution imager pro-

ducing 2.5 m GSD pan and 5 m GSD multi-spec-

tral images over a 20 km swath with a

medium-resolution imager generating 32 m

GSD multi-spectral images over a 300 km

swath. Besides which, the DMCii company is

now able to supply pan and three-band multi-

spectral imagery with 2.8m and 5.6 m GSD

respectively that has been acquired by the

TopSat micro-satellite which was built for the

UK Ministry of Defence and the British National

Space Centre (BNSC) and launched in October

2005. On the other hand, the Turkish Bilsat

micro-satellite has dropped out of the DMC con-

stellation - "since it has now completed its mis-

sion!"

KB Panorama

This is another Russian company with stronglinks to Racurs. N. Panteleeva presented an

account of its activities to the Conference

participants. Apparently the photogrammetric

data that is generated by PHOTOMOD is fully

compatible with the software that has been

developed by KB Panorama. The company's

software developments include a GIS Toolkitthat can be used to develop GIS applications

within a Delphi and C++ environment. The com-

pany has also developed a GIS WebServer thatallows remote access to geospatial databases

and electronic maps. This is based on ASP.NET

technology and functions under the control of

Internet Information Services (IIS) within the

.NET Framework 2.0 environment. It provides

the user with a Web interface to work both with

the use of medium-resolution and fairly high-

resolution imagery from the ALOS, Cartosat-1,

SPOT-5 and Formosat satellites for the purpose.

Another pair of papers about the revision of the

1:25,000 scale map series from spaceborne

imagery were contributed by the

Goszemcadastrsyomka VISKHAGI) cadastralorganisation. These two papers were presented

by T. Osintseva and I. Nizhegovodtsev from the

organisation's West and East Siberian offices

located in the cities of Omsk and Irkutsk respec-

tively. In each case, SPOT-5 imagery was pro-

cessed using PHOTOMOD to produce orthoim-

agemaps at 1:25,000 scale in conjunction with

DEM data derived from digitized contour lines

extracted from existing topographic maps of the

areas that were being revised.

Mapping @ Large ScalesE. Kokhava from the Belgiprozem organizationin Belarus provided an account of its use of

PHOTOMOD in processing spaceborne image

data for the generation of orthoimages, land

use maps and the data required for inclusion

in land information systems (LIS). SPOT-5 and

ALOS image data is being used to generate

maps at 1:10,000 scale for rural areas, while

QuickBird and IKONOS high-resolution data

forms the basis for mapping at 1:2,000 scale.

Next E.Kubzeva from UralGeoInform based inYekaterinburg also provided a report on the use

of PHOTOMOD to carry out the photogrammet-

ric processing required for the updating of

urban master plans at 1:2,000 scale using

digital maps and with the geospatial data that

is contained in the tables of a database.

The results are generated in the form of Web

pages.

Geo-AllianceThis Russian company is also involved in the

processing of a large variety of high-resolution

space imagery. In her presentation, O. Gromyko

from Geo-Alliance outlined the imaging charac-

teristics, including the different operational

modes, of the newly launched TerraSAR-X radar

satellite for which her company is the Russian

agent. She also discussed the various potential

applications of the resulting high-resolution SAR

imagery.

Mapping @ Medium ScalesThe Sovzond company, already mentionedabove, contributed a further two papers con-

cerned with this subject area, both of which

were presented by A. Belenov. The first of these

outlined the technical solutions and procedures

being implemented by his company to process

spaceborne image data. This involves the use

of ITT's ENVI software for thematic mapping

and spectral analysis and the Bentley

Geospatial desktop software for the incorpora-

tion of the resulting data in a GIS database. His

second paper outlined the procedures being

used to update 1:25,000 scale topographic

maps. Apparently there are 300,000 individual

sheets in this Russian series, a large percent-

age of which now need revision. He outlined


Art ic le

Fig. 6 - a)- A map showing the locations of the network of UniScanground receiving stations. They include stations installed in Valladolid(Spain), Baku (Azerbaijan), Tehran (Iran), Dubai (U.A.E.) and Almaty

(Kazakhstan) as well as those located within the Russian Federation.

(Source: ScanEx)

b)- The receiving antenna of the ScanEx UniScan ground receivingstation installed in the city of Samara which is located on the Volga

River in the south-eastern part of European Russia.

[a]

[b]


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stereo-imagery acquired by the IKONOS satel-

lite. Finally M. Gromov of the NPF Geo compa-ny based in Omsk provided still more examples

of the monitoring of changes and the updating

of large-scale maps, both in large urban areas

such as the city of Omsk and in smaller towns

and villages in Siberia using data from the

QuickBird satellite. It was really quite unexpect-

ed, indeed surprising, to hear about all theseexamples of change detection and map revi-

sion based on spaceborne imagery from

Russian users - especially when the same tasks

are more often undertaken using airborne

imagery in Western countries.

III - Racurs & PHOTOMOD

Status & Developments ofPHOTOMODThe third day was concerned with

the overall scope and current

activities of the Racurs company

and with recent developments of

its PHOTOMOD software. Dr.Adrov, the managing director of

the company, gave the introduc-

tory overview. Racurs has now

issued 895 licences for PHOTO-

MOD, of which 219 are network

licences. In total, there are around

3,500 workplaces licensed to use

PHOTOMOD world-wide [Fig. 8].

The Russian VISKHAGI cadastral

organisation has 250 licences,

while in Belarus, the Belgiprozem

organisation has over 50 licences.Recently Racurs has been gaining

many new customers in Asia. Dr.

Adrov also outlined the new fea-

tures that have been incorporat-

ed in the latest release (4.3) of

PHOTOMOD and those that users

can expect in version 5.0 of the

software which will be released in

2008. These new features were

expanded upon by Dr. Y. Sechin,

the scientific director of Racurs. In

particular, he concentrated on the

new bundle adjustment of aerial

triangulation of frame images that

is available in PHOTOMOD 4.3 and

gave the results of extensive pro-

cessing of blocks of both synthetic photos and

real photos u

geoinformatics 2007 vol07

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