geoinformatics 2008 vol08
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geoinformatics 2008 vol08TRANSCRIPT
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� Leica TPS 1200+ � GeoBIM � Virtualgeo
� ESRI EMEA User Conference � Magellan’s latest GPS Tools
M a g a z i n e f o r S u r v e y i n g , M a p p i n g & G I S P r o f e s s i o n a l s December 2008 Volume 11
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This is only the Beginning
A quick glance at the table of contents in this issue shows a focus on laser scanning. In sunny California, I was present at the Leica High Definition Surveying and Airborn SensorUser Conference 2008 and witnessed many inspiring and informative user stories from allover the world. Some of those stories you will find in this and in subsequent issues ofGeoInformatics. Two things struck me at this conference. The first was the successful integra-tion of scanning hardware and software into an industry that is so diverse. And the secondwas the creativity with which laser scanners are now being used. Almost every speakerstressed the importance of software products that give highly detailed views of scannedobjects for their customers. Also, with the growing popularity of scanners, new markets areemerging for products in fields such as forensics and archaeology. This is good news forcompanies who are facing the current downturn in the global economy and have to changetheir market strategies.
Continuing the laser scanning theme we included some interesting user stories. On the coveryou can see spectacular gypsum crystals, some of which are up to 12 meters in length. Inthe accompanying article from Virtualgeo, you can read how the process of surveying andmodelling caves in Mexico has been successfully undertaken. Cultural heritage projects are a different, but still very interesting field in which laser scanning and photogrammetric methodologies are being used. The article on Heritage 3D presents an extensive analysis of how 2D and 3D techniques can be merged and how laser scanning can be used for archaeology projects. And this is only the beginning...
Enjoy your reading,
Eric van [email protected]
December 20083
GeoInformatics provides coverage, analysis and commentary with respect to the international surveying,mapping and GIS industry.
PublisherRuud Groothuis [email protected]
Editor-in-chiefEric van Rees [email protected]
EditorsFrank Artés [email protected] Fischer [email protected] van Haaften [email protected] [email protected] Takken [email protected] Triglav [email protected]
ColumnistJames Fee
Contributing WritersAlvaro Anguix Gerald Albe Erminio Paolo CaneveseMario CarreraAndrew ConnellLaura Díaz Annett FeigePaolo FortiHermann Klug Lambert-Jan KoopsHuibert-Jan LekkerkerkRobert MarschallingerCaradoc Peters Léon van der PoelAdam P. SpringRemco TakkenRoberta TedeschiTrisha TwissAndrew WethereltRobert WickPeter ZeilFritz Zobl
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c r o s s m e d i a l p u b l i s h e r
Scanning the Caves of Naica in MexicoThe mine of Naica, in Chihuahua, Mexico became world famous at the
beginning of the last century when gypsum crystals found there proved
to be the largest in the world at that time. In 2005 an international
program was launched to study all the scientific aspects related to
the gypsum crystals. Particularly important was verification by
the Italian company Virtualgeo, as to the possibility of sur-
veying the caves with laser scanning technology, with the
intention of generating a three-dimensional digital model
of the Cueva de los Cristales with the proprietary soft-
ware CloudCUBE.
Multi-brand Test Robotic Total Stations Part 3GeoInformatics is presenting a new series on user
tests of robotic total stations. Each of the next sev-
eral issues will include the results of testing a dif-
ferent robotic station. The same structure will be
used for every test so that comparisons can be made
between the different instruments. This, the third test in
the series, is of a Leica TCRP1201+.
C o n t e n t
December 2008
ArticlesLaser Scanning Technology in Extreme Environments 6Scanning the Caves of Naica in Mexico
A new generation from Jena 18Instruments and Solutions for Earth Observation
The most recent version of the Internet 24What exactly is Web 2.0?
Magellan’s latest GPS Tools 26Making Forest Management simpler and less costly
GNSS Update 30Solar Cycle and beyond
Spatially Explicit Modeling of Phosphorus Emissions 32Integrating GIS and Remote Sensing for Hydrological Modeling
Open Source in Spain: the gvSIG Project 36A GIS Desktop Solution for an Open SDI
GeoBIM 40Subsurface Geo Building Information Modelling
3D Laser Scanning and its 2D Partners 50Looking forward to a Harmonious Future together
Page 6
Page 14
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com5
December 2008
On the Cover:
A general overview of the Cueva de los Cristales (Mexico). In 2005 an inter-
national program was launched to study all the scientific aspects related to
the gypsum crystals inside the cave. Among them, particularly important was
the verification, by the Italian company Virtualgeo, of the possibility to survey
the caves with laser scanning technology and the realization of the three-
dimensional digital model of the Cueva de los Cristales with the proprietary
software CloudCUBE (see article, page 6).
Photo credit: Roberta Tedeschi, Speleoresearch & Films and La Venta Exploring Team Archives.
Subsurface Geo Building InformationModellingIn most geotechnical or construction projects civil engineers have to
conscientiously consider both technical subsurface objects and natural
bedrock objects. From a civil engineer’s perspective, there is an urgent
need to extend the Building Information Model concept to the subsurface
realm, incorporating the surrounding natural environment.
Page 6
Magellan’s latest GPS Tools The latest GIS and GPS technologies are offering new efficiencies for land
managers. Forest and woodlot property mapping and management are
increasingly more accurate and less time-consuming tasks with the newest
handheld GPS receivers. Now field teams can accurately map and
inventory more types of data in less time to permit land managers to
maintain up-to-date and comprehensive resource data. The rugged
all-in-one quality of the new handheld Magellan MobileMapper CX GIS/GPS
receiver is proving especially valuable to land managers in both Europe
and the United States.
Page 26
Implementing Geocortex Esstials 56Migrating Vernon’s existing Mapping Platform
GeoVisionary 58Where Virtual Reality Technology meets GIS
Product ReviewLeica TPS 1200+ 14Multi-brand Test Robotic Total Stations Part 3
ColumnsData Discovery 55By James Fee
ConferencesBiggest GIS Event outside of the US 44ESRI’s EMEA User Conference in London
Leica Geosystems HDS and Airborne 46Sensor User ConferenceSharing Worldwide User Experiences
Calendar 62
Advertisers Index 62
Page 40
Scanning the Caves of Naica in Mexico
Laser Sca nn ing Techno log y inExtreme Env i ronments
The mine of Naica, in Chihuahua, Mexico became world famous at the beginning of the last century when gypsum crystals
found there proved to be the largest in the world at that time. In 2001, three new caves were discovered in the same mine
containing truly gigantic gypsum crystals. In 2005 an international program was launched to study all the scientific
aspects related to the gypsum crystals. Particularly important was verification by the Italian company Virtualgeo, as to the
possibility of surveying the caves with laser scanning technology, with the intention of generating a three-dimensional
digital model of the Cueva de los Cristales with the proprietary software CloudCUBE.
By Erminio Paolo Canevese, Roberta Tedeschi and Paolo Forti.
such an extraordinary site. However, for thepast two years a multidisciplinary, systematicstudy on the caves of Naica and their gigan-tic gypsum crystals, has been underway,thanks to an agreement between CompagniaPeñoles, the mine owner, Speleoresearch &Films from Mexico City and the Italian explor-ing team La Venta. The purpose of the project, which will last fouryears, is not just to carry out multidisciplinaryresearch in the various fields of interest con-cerning the caves, but also to search for a
are exhibited today in many of the mostimportant mineralogical museums around theworld. After almost 100 years, 170 meters below thesurface, the mining advancement works discovered another three natural cavities containing huge, very transparent gypsumcrystals. Here in the Cueva de los Cristales,they can reach up to 12 meters in length andalmost 2 meters in diameter, creating a trueforest of crystals (Image 1).From 2001 to 2008 few persons could visit
Since the beginning of its exploitation at theend of 19th century, the mine of Naica hasbeen revealed to be one of the richest in sil-ver on earth. Its international fame increasedin 1910 when the mining activity discoveredjust 120 meters deep from the entrance, acave (the Cueva de las Espadas). Althoughjust a small cave, it was composed of an 87meter corridor, which was completely coveredwith gypsum crystals which were as much astwo meters in length. The cave was rapidlystripped of a large part of its treasures, which
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December 2008
Image 1 – A general overview of the Cueva de losCristales (Roberta Tedeschi, Speleoresearch & Filmsand La Venta Exploring Team Archives).
results of the laser scanning survey carriedout by Virtualgeo, which are introduced anddeveloped in detail.
Geological SettingThe mine of Naica is located in a semideser-tic area about 100 km south-east ofChihuahua, the capital city of the Mexicanstate bearing the same name, which borderson the USA (Image 2). This area is crossed bya series of low ridges, along a NW-SE direc-tion. The mine opens on the northern side ofone of these ridges, the Sierra de Naica. It isan anticline, composed of carbonate forma-tions, 12 km long and 7 km wide, outcrop-ping from a wide alluvial plain. The structural control on the localization ofthe ore bodies was affected by two differentfamilies of faults, of which Gibraltar fault andNaica fault are the most important. These two
An international team of researchers has beenorganized to answer all these questions, inwhich more than 40 scientists from 17 univer-sities and 2 research centres are participat-ing. The first results of the Naica Project were illus-trated in December 2007 during the confer-ence “Naica caves: exploration, documenta-tion, research” organized by the Departmentof Earth and Geo-Environmental Sciences ofBologna University (Italy). Besides reportingon the first output of the laser scanning sur-vey, Virtualgeo set up a structure equippedfor stereoscopic visualization, making possi-ble a “virtual” visit in three-dimensions of thecaves, using pictures taken in stereoscopy bythe company.This article explains the geological setting ofthe area, a genetic-evolutionary description ofthe caves and their crystals, together with the
December 20087
Image 2 – Geological sketch of the Sierra de Naica with the location of the actually known caves (after FORTI2008b, modified).
Image 3 –3D laser scanningin the Cueva de los Cristalesin Naica (Mexico).
possible way to keep such a geologic won-der available for future generations.
• Why did such big crystals grow? • When did it happen and how long did it
take? • Which relationships exist between ore
bodies and crystals? • Was the crystals’ genesis at least partially
influenced by micro-organisms? • Apart from the huge crystals, what kind
of speleothems grew? • What was the speleogenetic evolution of
the caves of Naica? • Are the caves evolving at the present time?• What was and what is now the impact of
human activity on the caves and crystals?
• How to preserve the caves of Naica and at the same time allow their public fruition?
• Is it possible to keep accessible the cavesand their crystals after the end of miningactivities? (Speleoresearch & Films©)
faults have always controlled the hydrother-mal circulation; in fact, these structures directalmost the whole of the waters coming outfrom the deep mining galleries even today. Nowadays the mining activities have reached-760 meters in dept, 640 meters under theoriginal piezometric level. It is necessarytherefore to pump about 1 m3/s of water outin order to proceed to the ore body exploita-tion. It is expected that mining activity willend in 5-7 years, which means the waterpumping operations will also cease. As animmediate consequence, the caves and theircrystals will be submerged under 170 metersof thermal water.
Gypsum Crystals Genesis andEvolutionThe three caves found at -290 meters (Cuevade los Cristales, Ojo de la Reina and Cuevade las Velas), although very close each otherhost gypsum crystals which are different bothin size and shape.In all the three cavities euhedral crystals arepresent which are transparent and very pureeven with numerous fluid inclusions. Theyoften have a tabular prismatic habit up to 2meters in length. Their remarkable dimen-sions, the particularly acute angles and thevertical alignment of crystals sometimes cre-ate an impressive and huge “shark teeth-like”structure.In two of the three caves, crystals almost com-pletely cover the walls, transforming them intogigantic geodes. Only in the Cueva de losCristales is the greater part of the roof notcovered with gypsum crystals. However, thiscavity has the crystals with the biggest dimen-sions. There are about one hundred prismaticcrystals, rare swallowtail-twin, very long andwell developed from the floor to the roof ofthe cavity, often exceeding 8 meters in length(Image 1). Their growth was halted onlyrecently when less than 20 years ago, the
mine dewatering operations suddenlydeprived the crystals of the thermal water inwhich they were growing. It was possible tocompute the age of the gigantic crystals: thefist absolute dating with 230Th/ 234U methodindicates an evolution time around 400-500.000 years.
Cavities Evolution throughout TimeUntil recently studies focused on the process-es which allowed the huge gypsum crystalsto grow while the evolutionary stages thatcharacterised the different caves of Naica werecompletely ignored. However, this has nowchanged with recent studies.Undoubtedly, the Cueva de las Espadas is themost interesting and important cave for thespeleogenetical study. During its evolution itpassed through all the environments and wasthe scene of all the processes which charac-terized Naica. The deepest caves (Cristales,Reina and Velas) quickly passed from deepphreatic to vadose condition when, about 20years ago, the mine dewatering depressed thegroundwater below level -290.Gypsum deposition in the caves at -290 con-tinued until 20 years ago when the minedewatering operations caused them to com-pletely drain. It has to be said, however, suchan event did not mean the end of the evolu-tion of these caves: on the contrary. Now, infact, all the cavities of Naica have the samespeleogenetic evolution, which by means ofoxidation, acid aggression, and strong evapo-ration processes is giving off a series of newminerals, also rare. Unfortunately, the pro-cesses which are activated when drainingtakes place are also responsible for the con-densation phenomenon on the surface of gyp-sum crystals. This means they could not onlyrisk losing their main aesthetic characteristicsof lustre and transparency but also, objective-ly, their complete destruction in the mediumterm.
Laser Scanning Survey of NaicaCavesIn the Naica Project, Virtualgeo’s work enteredin the frame of the investigations concerningthe topography of the caves, which consistedof laser scanning surveying of Cuevas de losCristales (Image 3) and de las Espadas (Image4). The aim of the survey was to documentthe present conditions of the caves by con-structing a high precision three-dimensionalgeometric database, to include colour param-eters of the morphology and visual aspect ofthe caves and crystals. It is an essential oper-ation, designed to safeguard the knowledgeand value of a unique ecosystem which willprobably be submerged under water whenmining activities cease in a few years.Virtualgeo has been working in the field ofgeomatics, software development and com-munication since 1994. It supplies services forthe study, preservation and evaluation of cul-tural and environmental heritage. Since itsinception, the company has been character-ized by its use of advanced instruments andsoftware solutions. On the first official expe-dition of the project, in May 2007, Virtualgeocarried out the survey with a “phase shift”technology based-laser scanner under thedirection of its technical manager, geologistRoberta Tedeschi. On surveying in caves,problems were found with the extension anddevelopment of cavities (which often implyoperative and logistic difficulties) as well asthe irregular shape of surfaces. Such surfacesare difficult to measure with a high detail levelusing traditional survey techniques becauseof their extension and intrinsic complexity aswell as the kind of hypogeal environment.Under these conditions, traditional surveytechniques allow only “rough” surveys. It ishard to identify a morphometric surveymethod that can be automatic, and valid forall types of hypogeal contexts and differentapplication cases. One that can minimise mea-surement errors, reduce operating times andcosts (operations on site and during dataelaboration) and increase the quality andquantity of acquired information. In addition,the caves of Naica have peculiar features mak-ing them difficult to survey. The survey cam-paign was carried out in extreme ambient con-ditions (48°C temperature and humidity closeto 100% in the Cueva del los Cristales) bothfor technicians’ physiology and laser scannerfunctionality (which is guaranteed by the pro-ducer to work 5° up to 40°C of ambient tem-perature and without condensation). The pro-hibitive microclimate with the limited riskymobility around the crystals to move and fixthe scanning stations with all the surveyequipment (laptop, cables, power supplydevices, etc.), affected the activity of techni-
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Art ic le
December 2008
Image 4 – 3D laser scanning in the Cuevade las Espadas in Naica (Mexico).
(Speleoresearch & Films©)
cians who could work only wearing the spe-cial equipment prepared by La Venta team forthe whole expedition. The total duration of allthe necessary survey operations in the caveswas 3 hours (over 2 working days), of which20 minutes were taken for the scanning. In theCueva de las Espadas and Cueva de losCristales, 4 scans were affected with a “phaseshift” technology-based laser scanner, whichmeasures the distance of the surveyed object“comparing” three pulses of different wave-lengths reflected back to the scanner (techni-cal data concerning such laser scanner are list-ed in Table 1). The spatial coordinates and,thanks to the camera incorporated in the laserscanner, RGB colour values of more than 43million points were acquired. The number ofscans and the millions of points generated bythe laser scanner, the amount of pictures takenby the integrated camera and the full “weight”of the digital data obtained from the surveycampaign in Naica are listed in Table 2.
gle gypsum crystal.Exploiting the functionali-ties offered by CloudCUBE software, the work-flow proceeded to the three-dimensionalmodel, the morphology of the cavity and itsgiant crystals. The three-dimensional digitalmodel of the Cueva de los Cristales is visiblein shade modality, in Image 7. WithCloudCUBE it is possible to rapidly obtainfrom the three-dimensional model of the caveany type of dimensional information, such ashorizontal and vertical “compound” sections(which are sections combined with line eleva-tions and point clouds images), and axono-metric projections and cutaways of the cave’spresent conditions. The digital model can begenerated with levels of detail which can becustomized according to the specific use towhich the 3D model is designed. Such usecan be scientific (and allow also the “dis-tance” study of caves) or connected with pub-lic dissemination. Besides the study of thecaves present conditions, with CloudCUBEeach specialist can produce digital models touse for simulation and verification processesof various study hypotheses (related tospeleogenesis, for instance) or in evaluationof project hypotheses for the preservation ofcaves, with the possibility to elaborate ongraphic-numeric representations.The three-dimensional digital reconstructionof the Cueva de los Cristales is the result ofa pilot investigation, which found in laserscanning technology and a reverse modellingmethodological approach, a practicable solu-tion to document an “object” in the mostcomplete way possible, limiting the risksassociated with insufficient and/or inadequatedata acquisition. It is a practical approach thatcan be extended to whatever contexts inwhich it is necessary to manage a remarkablemorphologic complexity, and a large amountof survey data. Moreover, in Naica the rapidi-ty of the data acquisition by laser scanningallowed us to get over the obstacle of ambi-ent conditions, which objectively could not beovercome by any other kind of traditional sur-vey.
ConclusionAlthough the multidisciplinary research pro-ject onn the caves of Naica has only recentlystarted, some of the results obtained arealready of extraordinary interest. In fact, anabsolutely new mechanism was discovered,based on the differences in solubility betweengypsum and anhydrite below 59°C, whichallowed the gigantic gypsum to develop. Also,for the first time, perfectly preserved pollenshave been found inside the gypsum crystals,which seem to allow particularly interestingpaleoclimatic reconstructions. At last, in thefield of microbiology, the research of
Data Elaborations and First Outputs After registering the scans of the Cueva de lasEspadas, the post-processing of the dataacquired with the laser scanner was per-formed with CloudCUBE, the software devel-oped by Virtualgeo for managing and three-dimensional modelling of point clouds on anAutoCAD platform. The work required theimportation of the point cloud data inAutoCAD. Once the cloud had been visualized,it was carefully cleaned and filtered to removenoise and non-significant points. The outputof this preliminary phase for the Cueva de losCristales is given in Image 5. The followingstage focused on the Cueva de los Cristalesand consisted of organizing the point cloudto obtain an efficiently ordered basis, accord-ing to the requirements and purpose of thesurvey, on which it was possible to work withtime optimization. Image 6 displays a pointcloud divided into sub-clouds, identified withdifferent colours, each corresponding to a sin-
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
9December 2008
Image 6 – Cueva de los Cristales: organization, on AutoCAD platform with Virtualgeo CloudCUBE software, of the point cloud in sub-clouds. Each sub-cloud corresponds to a gypsum crystal.
Laser scanner CAM2 LS 880Range 0,6 metres – 76 metresMeasurement Speed 120.000 points/secondSystematic Distance Error +/- 3 millimetres at 25 metresVertical Field of View 320°Horizontal Field of View 360°Scanning Time 2 million points in 20 secondsWeight 14,5 kgCamera Nikon D70Pixel 6,1 M
Cueva de los Cristales Cueva de las EspadasNumber of scans acquired 1 3Number of points acquired 13.180.893 30.032.525Number of 2D images acquired 10 30Amount of laser data acquired 1 gigabyte 3 gigabyteAmount of 2D images acquired 45 megabyte 135 megabyte
Table 1 – Technical data concerning the laser scanner used by Virtualgeo to survey the Cuevas de los Cristales andde las Espadas in Naica.
Table 2 – Number of scans and millions points acquired by laser scanner, amount of pictures taken by the integrated camera and full “weight” of digital data for each of the caves surveyed by Virtualgeo.
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extremophile micro-organisms, even if juststarted, seems to be very promising and thediscovery of new species is expected within ashort time. The possibility of using a laserscanner for the morphometric survey of thecaves, galleries and crystals of the mine, wasverified. As was the ability to treat theacquired point clouds by means of a reversemodelling logic, with the tools provided byCloudCUBE in order to obtain a three-dimen-sional digital reconstruction of the hypogealcontexts.All the research has to be completed within ashort time. In fact, all the karst phenomenaat level -290 will only be accessible for anoth-er few years until the mining activities cometo a halt and the caves are submerged under170 meters of thermal water.
produced a series of videos to document allthe exploration and scientific research phasescarried out inside these caves. In this regard,as proved by Virtualgeo, it is extremely impor-tant to use laser scanning to survey caves andcrystals in order to create a high precisionthree-dimensional database. With thisdetailed information it is possible to producethree-dimensional digital models and graphicrepresentations for purposes of specialiststudy. This information will also be availableto different disciplines for various applica-tions, and scientific dissemination, and shouldthe requirement arise, allow an exact repro-duction to be created of such a geologicalwonder of our planet Earth.
Erminio Paolo [email protected] is president of
Virtualgeo s.r.l. and S.P.A.R.T.A. s.r.l. (Società Promozione Analisi Realizzo Tecnologie
Avanzate - Promotion Analysis Realization AdvancedTechnologies Company), owner of the Studio
Topografico Canevese (Canevese Surveying Company),and applies since 1985 to geomatics and
communication supporting preservation and advancement of architectural, archaeological
and environmental heritage.
Roberta Tedeschi [email protected] has aGeology degree and has been applying to new
technologies connected with geomatics for 20 years.She is technical manager of Virtualgeo s.r.l. and
partner of S.P.A.R.T.A. s.r.l. working in the field of environmental planning.
Paolo Forti [email protected] is Professor ofSpeleology and Geomorphology at Bologna University.In over 40 years of researches he explored and studied
caves in more than 50 counties in 4 continents. Hismain fields of interests are speleogenesis and karst
minerogenesis.
AcknowledgementsThanks are due to Speleoresearch & Films andexploring team La Venta for their collabora-tion, CAM2 S.r.l.-FARO Technologies Inc. forthe laser scanner, Compañía Minera Peñolesfor the permission to access the mine.
Actually, the gypsum crystals of Naica run therisk of being destroyed before that timebecause of the condensation phenomena. Infact the walls of all the caves at level -290cool down quite rapidly (data available regis-ter a mean cooling of 0.5°C per year) becauseof the forced ventilation of the mining gal-leries (Image 8). This means the cave wallswill soon reach a sufficiently low temperature,with respect to hot vapours rising from thebottom of the mine, to reach and go beyondthe dew point with the immediate conse-quence of a rapid dissolution of gypsum crys-tals. This process has already started in thesmallest cave at -290 (Ojo de la Reina), wherethe big gypsum crystals are dissolving andrapidly transforming into calcite speleothems.Temperature data registered has indicated
that the same processwould start inside theCueva de los Cristalesin two years atmost.Therefore one ofthe main purposes ofNaica Project is tofind the best way tosafeguard and passon to future genera-tions a large part ofsuch an unbelievableunderground worldand, in case it wouldbe absolutely impos-sible, to leave themost complete andpunctual documenta-tion. For this reasonSpeleoresearch &Films, with La Venta,
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
December 2008
Image 6 – Cueva de los Cristales: organization, on AutoCAD platform with VirtualgeoCloudCUBE software, of the point cloud in sub-clouds. Each sub-cloud corresponds to a gypsum
crystal.
Image 7– Cueva de los Cristales: three-dimensional model of the cave and crystals,visualized in “shade” modality, obtained on AutoCAD platform with Virtualgeo
CloudCUBE software.
Image 8 - Diagram showing the temperature decrease in Cueva de losCristales and Ojo de la Reina in the last six years.
11
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Croatiawww.gisdata.hr
Czech Republicwww.arcdata.cz
Denmarkwww.informi.dk
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuaniawww.hnit-baltic.lt
Slovak Republicwww.arcgeo.sk
Sloveniawww.gisdata.hr
Spainwww.esri-es.com
Swedenwww.esri-sgroup.se
Switzerlandwww.esri-suisse.ch
Turkeywww.esriturkey.com.tr
Ukrainewww.ecomm.kiev.ua
UK/Irelandwww.esriuk.com
www.esri.com/whatsnew
For more information, please contact your local distributor or call ESRI Europe at +31-10-217-7788 or ESRI headquarters at +1-909-793-2853,
GIS Workfl ow
www.esri- finland.com
f ield. Also, the ArcGIS Mobile
benef its of an established and active user community,
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Multi-brand Test Robotic Total Stations Part 3
Leica TPS 1200+GeoInformatics is presenting a new series on user tests of robotic total
stations. Each of the next several issues will include the results of testing
a different robotic station. The same structure will be used for every test
so that comparisons can be made between the different instruments.
This, the third test in the series, is of a Leica TCRP1201+.
By Léon van der Poel
14
Product rev iew
Every instrument will be tested on:1. delivery and instructions for use2. overall impression of the instrument and controller (field book)3. user friendliness 4. stake out routine5a. surveying (one man)5b. surveying (reflector less)6. additional functions
Choosing a total station is not an easy job. Dependingon the type of survey and the circumstances in which thesurvey has to take place, a potential user will select a cer-tain brand and type of total station. To gain more insightinto the day-to-day use of a robotic total station,GeoInformatics has asked Léon van der Poel, a surveyorand educator in the Netherlands, to put a number of robot-ic total stations from different international manufactur-ers, through their paces. The tests will all be carried outunder the same conditions and the same structure will beused for every test so that the different instruments can
be compared. Theinstruments have beenprovided by their Dutchdistributors.
Testing MethodWe have chosen to doa user test, whichmeans that standarddeviations and so onwill not be considered.
Each manufacturer is askedto provide a robotic total station
that can be operated by one person,along with accompanying software, for two
days. We have also asked the manufacturer to provideoperating instructions. A test survey is then performed. Ofparticular interest is user friendliness during the surveyingand pegging out. The test factors are listed in Box 1. Thethird test is of a Leica TCRP1201+The configuration as supplied is as follows:
Instrument: TCRP 1201+ ( R1000)Controller: RX1250TCPrism: GRZ122Software: SmartWorx
Delivery and InstructionsThe instrument was delivered as a complete working setincluding tripod and prism pole. First the simulation soft-ware was downloaded from the internet so most of the
Best thing to do is to mount the unit on the pole.
December 2008
Box 1.
explanation of the system could be done inside,which was nice, because outside it was rainingcontinuously. A Dutch user manual was insidethe case and on my request all available man-uals were downloaded and saved on my harddisk. After we went through the most importantoptions we went outside for some field experi-ence.
InstrumentThe instrument is supplied in a compact carry-ing case. The prism and datacollector are inanother case of the same size. So the first thingI did was mount the prism on the pole and tryto find a place for the datacollector, so that Iwould not need to carry around the secondcase. The charger can charge up to four batter-ies at the same time, so no hassle with lots ofchargers and power cables. All the batteries forthis system are Li-Ion and fit in this charger. Byreplacing a small part of the charger you canalso charge older types of batteries, whichmakes this charger a true universal charger. Thecharger does not fit in the carrying cases.The manufacturer remarks that for this, Leicahas developed a smaller charger which fits intothe carrying case and this charger can also beused to charge a battery in the car. Only onebattery fits into this charger.The horizontal and vertical movement is donevia endless screws, or just by grabbing theinstrument and turning it in the desired direc-tion. Moving the instrument with the endlessscrews feels like a non-motorised instrument,so no learning curve for users which are usedto non-motorised instruments. But the idea isthat you will not stand behind the instrumentmuch, since it is a one-man system. The manu-facturer remarks that when reflectorless mea-surements are taken the surveyor is likely to bebehind the instrument. The motors make some noise, but when youare behind the instrument the motors are notused and when you are in one-man mode youare not close to the instrument so you don’thear the noise. The EGL light is placed in the top part of thetelescope. This EGL can help you with the guid-ing of the instrument when you are surveyingalone, or guiding the rodman in case you do astake out with somebody behind the instru-ment. The handle of the instrument containsthe radio and can be removed easily, althoughI do not see much use in taking off the handlein this configuration. The operation time of thebatteries is between four and eight hoursaccording to the Leica support engineer, whodelivered the instrument. Four or eight hours isa big difference. Of course the operation timedepends on how you use the instrument. Doyou use it in tracking mode or STD mode, doyou have the EGL on or off, and which intensi-
Field Book and Remote Control UnitThe datacollector has no cables connected toanything else and has the same screen as theinstrument. Behind the battery is space for aCF card. However, due to a combination of theshape and size of the unit it is not easy to holdit in your hand, so the best thing to do is tomount it on the pole. After delivery of the instrument I of course want-ed to have a look at it immediately. So I turnedon the instrument and wanted to turn on theremote unit but did not manage to do it. Did Inot pay sufficient attention during the deliveryand explanation of the instrument or did I breakthe instrument? Luckily I found out that you justneeded to press the power key for a couple ofseconds to turn the unit on.The function keys are very nice. No need totouch small buttons on the touch screen, sincemost options are available under Function keys.This took me some time to get used to, since Iam used to a data collector without functionkeys. But the more I used the instrument, themore I started using the Function keys.
Stake OutThe stake out is very intuitive. It is easy to load500 points for a stakeout job. The only strange thing on the screen is that thedisplay shows the message forward -53.123meter. The forward notice gives me the feelingI need to move forward, but the minus signgives me the feeling I need to move forward ina negative direction, so that means backwards.This is based on the following idea: The dis-tance between you and the orientation point(in most cases the instrument) has to becomesmaller. So, in case the stake out point isbetween you and the instrument the distancehas to become smaller which is shown by theminus sign. Although this explanation by thesupport engineer sounds nice, I can not getused to that minus sign.The manufacturer remarks that the visual guidescan be changed within the configuration of thestake out application.
User Friendliness during Surveying(One Man)Since I am used to an optical plummet I waswondering how I should turn on the laser plum-met because this was not discussed duringdelivery of the instrument. So I turned on theinstrument and the laser plummet turned onautomatically and the accurate digital bubblewas shown on the screen. Also a tool for measuring the height of theinstrument was in the carrying case. This spe-cial measuring tape has two sides. One sidehas a normal centimetre scale and the otherside has a scale which takes the slant angleinto consideration. At an instrument height of
ty of the EGL do you use etc. My experiencewas that the battery in the instrument (whichis the bigger one) lasts longer than the batteryin the fieldbook. During my test it lasted aroundfive hours, which means that you can work afull day with the four delivered batteries (twofor the instrument and two for the fieldbook).In case need to you can put the battery of thefieldbook in the instrument. The other wayaround does not fit. The manufacturer remarksthat they think it is user friendly as well if therobotic pole is lightweight therefore only thesmall battery is foreseen on the pole. The instrument comes with a laser plummet,and two circular levels. One in the tribrach,which is hardly visible due to the size of theinstrument, and one at the place where “nor-mally” the plate level would be. The manufac-turer remarks that the level on the tribach isbest used when only using a reflector carrier.While setting up the instrument the level on theinstrument is best used.The sensitivity of this circular level is better thanthe one in the tribrach. The instrument comeswith two displays. The colour display is veryclear, but no comment can be given on its visi-bility when used in sunshine, since the test wasdone in the Netherlands and the weather wastypically Dutch, which means clouds and fog,but luckily no real rain.Data can be stored on the instrument’s internalmemory (optional), or on the internal CF card,or on the data collector. Everything is stored inthe DBX database. At a later stage you candecide which items of the database you wantto use for output. With the help of different configuration sets youcan configure the instrument to suit your ownneeds, and the settings can be saved. In theevent that somebody else uses the instrumentyou can reload your own settings when youwant to start surveying again.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Product rev iew
15December 2008
The tested configuration.
0.5m the difference between vertical height andslant height is 10mm and at an instrumentheight of 1.8m this difference is 3mm. This istaken care of by the special scale, which youcan see via a special mirror, avoiding the needto lie down on the ground in order to take areading. When I turned the remote unit on, it made anautomatic connection to the total station, whichis very user-friendly feature.After creating a project and entering the stationnumber, I aimed at the backsight. First I thoughtthat for my backsight I would have to use thedatacollector, but the screen on the instrumentshows the same as the screen on the datacol-lector, so the backsight can also be initiatedfrom the instrument. In order to do so, I want-ed to put the pole firmly in the grass, but theshock was too much for the holder, and thedatacollector fell to the ground. Later the sur-vey support engineer explained that I shouldhave locked the holder by pushing a specialbutton, which I had seen but did not know whatit was used for. This special button avoids theproblem of the datacollector accidentally com-ing loose in its holder.The second time I used a backsight I did notwant to initiate it from behind the instrument,so I choose to walk to the backsight locationand put the prism on the point. Since I just hadthe pole and no tripod with me, I put the poleup-side-down to improve the accuracy. Theprism has a nice point which is the centre ofthe prism, and this point you can put on topof your nail. In this case you need to take thedatacollector off the pole and than you realizeit does not fit properly in your hand. The manufacturer remarks that there is a handstrap available to attach the data collector tothe wrist in case the surveyor does not wantto make use of the holder connected to theprism pole. I surveyed a lot of points to testthe tracking and after making some adjust-ments to the tracking settings I was happy. You
can tell the instrument what it should do in caseit loses the prism. Should it stop and do noth-ing or should it keep moving in the same direc-tion with the same speed as it was movingbefore it lost track? Should it initiate the Powersearch after loss of lock or should it initiate theATR (Auto target Recognition, which is anotherway to find the prism)?First the setting was that it should move on forthree seconds and than stop and wait. Since I thought that it would automatically startthe search I would stop as soon as I heard thatthe tracking was lost and wait for the instru-ment to find me again, but that of course didnot happen. So after changing the settings tomy preferences, I walked up very close to theinstrument and was impressed by the trackingof the instrument. Even at half a meter distancethe instrument was still following the prism andI could continue surveying the side of the bicy-cle lane on which the instrument was set up. Even with great tracking the instrument will losethe prism due to obstructions. In this case youcan use the power search feature to find theprism again. This works very well except for twooccasions. In my case there was a significantheight difference on the testing location. WhenI moved too much in a vertical direction I firstneeded to rough aim the instrument in a verti-cal direction before initiating the power searchotherwise the instrument would not find me.If the instrument is already aiming at the prismor the approximate direction of the prism andyou press the power search, the instrument willnot find the prism. It presumes that the prismit was tracking is not the correct prism andtherefore ignores it. Stepping aside a few stepsand initiating the power search quickly solvesthis. The manufacturer remarks that if the instru-ment is pointed at the prism a surveyor shouldnot perform a power search but press DISTinstead. The instrument will then lock onto theprism without having to perform the powersearch first in which case it presumes that theprism at which the instrument is pointed at isnot the prism that the surveyor wants to find.So if it is the prism the instrument should lockonto just press DIST.
Reflectorless MeasurementThe reflectorless measurement works verynicely. Measuring to black gravel works toapproximately 75m. This is one of themost difficult targets to measure sincethe angle of inclination is small and thecolour of the object is dark, whichmeans that it absorbs most of the sig-nal. A black chimney and sign-posts could be measured at adistance of more than 100m.However, measuring a cableabove the highway at218m was not possi-ble.
With reflectorlessmeasurement to cor-ners of buildingsyou still need to be verycareful.Aiming at the corner of
building with another build-ing just 29m behind it, mayresult in incorrect values inthe order of meters. Themanufacturer remarksthat this only occurswhen using Trackingas the EDM type inwhich case theinstrument con-tinuously doessingle inde-pendent dis-tance measure-ments (so no checksare being performed).When doing a singlemeasurement on the cor-ner of a building with thereflectorless EDM, thestandard mode
16
Product rev iew
“The instrument has two similar operatingpanels on the sides.”
The charger can charge up to four batteries atthe same time.
Battery holder.
Also, a tool for measu -ring the height of the
instrument was in thecarrying case. Thisspecial measuring
tape has two sides.
should be used, in which case the instrumentdoes three independent distance measure-ments. If there are big differences between the
measured distances the instrument willgive a warning that multiple surfacesare being measured and the usershould check the point that was tar-
geted. For reflectorless measure-ments to corners I still pre-fer to use special offsetfunctions of software, such
as measuring twopoints on the wall andthan aim to the cornerand measure onlyangles and store theintersection. Unfor -tunately I ha ve not
been able to find thiskind of solution on thisinstrument.That manufacturer remarks
that with the application COGO(standard/free application) an
intersection point can be cal-culated based on two
points measured on awall and a TPS obser-
vation. It was notclear that the sur-veyor wanted suchfunctionalitybefore he begantesting so this
was not explained dur-ing the initial training.
Scanning (AdditionalFunction):
The additional softwareoption referenceplane was also
installed on theinstrument,which makes it
possible touse the
ferent colors and symbols can be assigned topoints, so a proper map can already be madein the field. In the case where two points arevery close together you cannot zoom in furtherthan the scale of 0.5m, which means that onthe screen you see an area of around 2m²,which is not sufficient to see if the side of asmall tree or the centre of a small tree has beenmeasured. I rarely use the help in any softwarebut since this is a new instrument to me and Icould not immediately find what I was lookingfor I just gave it a try. “No help available” wasthe reply. The graphic display or the databaseseems to slow down the interface. In the caseof the scan a total of 700 points were measuredand changing from the scanning screen whichcontains the numbers of points measured, thenumber of points which still have to be mea-sured, and the number of points rejected plushow much time is needed to finish the job, thesystem is busy for 10 seconds to build up thegraphic display and after those 10 seconds itcontinues with the measurement. 3500 points→ 49 seconds. Going from the graphical screento the scanning screen, you don’t see any delayin the measuring of the scanning points. Theoutput from the instrument to the CF card iseasy to understand. Export formats are limitedto user defined Ascii or GSI or DXF. The manufacturer asks why is the word ‘limit-ed’ used? Because of the self definable asciiexport we can transfer data from the instrumentto almost any kind of software package. Youcan define what you want to export and inwhich format.
Summary• Instrument follows prism very well• Power search works nicely when you do not
move too much in the vertical direction• Datacollector is designed to be on the pole• Scanning a nice but rarely useful option• Reflectorless measurement to corners
needs attention• The user-assignable keys can make the
software user friendly
Léon van der Poel [email protected] is a professional surveyor and educator. This article represents his own
opinion. For more information, have a look atwww.leica-geosystems.com. Many thanks to Leica for
providing the reviewed instrument
Reaction of the ManufacturerThe manufacture noticed that in some situa-tions the user lacked some TPS-1200 experi-ence to know which choices he could make tomake his work easier which is not so strangewhen taking into account the fact that he onlyhad about 2-3 hours of training and no priorexperience what so ever with a Leica TPS1200total station.
instrument for scanning. In case the points dif-fer too much from the predefined area a warn-ing can be given. During this scanning phasethe instrument stopped responding andshowed a strange screen. Pressing ESC or OKhad no effect. In addition, the power off did notwork, so finally I just removed the battery andthe message on the screen was gone. Turningthe instrument on again solved the problem.You can continue scanning and don’t need todefine the reference area again, but you doneed to define the scanning area again. In orderto survey (scan) a facade with a 5cm grid theinstrument is busy for more than the whole day.Unfor tu nately the software does not give theoption to use TRK or fast, so the whole surveyhas to be done in Standard mode. The scan-ning option is a nice feature but I don’t seemany applications where it can be used andeffectively save time. A pile of sand might be anice application, but in case you can access it,it is faster to survey the break lines. Addingsome points (during your coffee break, since itnow is a zero-man solution) by doing a scanwith a bigger interval is an option.
SoftwareA big benefit of the software is that you canconfigure it to suit your own needs. The RECbutton is by default stored under the F3 key,which is in the centre of the datacollector, andtherefore difficult to press without looking atthe datacollector. Jasper, the Leica SupportEngineer, pointed out that this key can also bedefined to the user’s preference. So I couldplace it under the F6 key which is on the sideof the datacollector and make it much easierto find without looking at the keys. Nowadays it becomes more common to mea-sure directly in the map. The software gives youthe ability to do so, but the points surveyedare not automatically shown in the map. Themanufacturer remarks this is strange becauseevery point measured is directly shown in thescreen. It is not clear what happened here andmaybe the zoom level should have been adjust-ed. To show the points surveyed you need torefresh the screen. Lines can be drawn in dif-
Product rev iew
17December 2008
By replacing a small part of the charger you can also charge older types of batteries.
Instruments and Solutions for Earth Observation
A new Generation from Jena
Jena-Optronik GmbH is a true pioneer of multi-spectral cameras
for spaceborne and airborne applications. With promising cutting-edge
technologies, the company operates as one of the international
leading providers of optoelectronic instruments and systems for
aerospace and security. Consequently, Jena-Optronik develops
instruments for the acquisition of information, information
processing and data representation.
For more than 30 years the company has been providing
precise solutions which result in successful products and
projects in space as well as on Earth.
By Gerald Albe and Annett Feige
Observing the Earth line-by-lineThe main emphasis of Jena-Optronik is on theapplication of optoelectronic technologies forEarth Observation and Remote Sensing.Whether meteorological satellites or camerasfor the acquisition of environmental or geo-information data – the solutions are primarilydesigned as a long-term, continuous informa-tion source. This technology trend is support-ed by one of the latest developments – themulti-spectral aerial camera Jena AirborneScanner JAS 150s. The sensor's advanced con-struction enables the simultaneous acquisi-tion of nine bands of information: fivepanchromatic CCD lines capture photogram-metric and 3D information, while four linescapture data in the red, green, blue and near-infrared band. Therefore only one flight isneeded for multi-spectral, panchromatic,coloured orthophotos and data for the digitalsurface model. The JAS camera’s counterpart in space is theproduct line JSS (Jena Spaceborne Scanner).This satellite-based observation system bene-fits from the experience gained with our multi-spectral camera MKF 6, which was a six-chan-nel camera on the MIR Space Stationoperating in a single frame modus and usingfilm as the imaging and storage media. Jena-Optronik applies modern imaging principlesand components to build low-cost opticalspaceborne scanners in the VIS/NIR and SWIRwavelength ranges. This leads to instrumentdesigns optimised with respect to minimumsize and mass, power consumption, and cost.The first Jena Spaceborne Scanners were thepayload of the RapidEye mission. TheRapidEye satellite system is composed of fiveidentical earth observation satellites eachequipped with one multi-spectral imager fromJena-Optronik as the heart of the platform. Ontop of a DNEPR rocket all five satellites werelaunched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on 29thof August this year. With the help of theimagers, the German company RapidEye AGwill establish a commercial geo-informationservice able to gather over 4 million km² ofhigh resolution, multi-spectral imagery perday. Covering the Earth’s surface continuouslyline-by-line (pushbroom principle) the Jena-Optronik imager enables the precise dataacquisition of a 75 kilometre-wide (approx)strip of land with a pixel size of 6.5 metresout of 630 kilometres. Working in five spec-
18
Art ic le
December 2008
One of the latest developments: The multi-spectral aerial camera Jena Airborne Scanner JAS 150 © Jena-Optronik GmbH.
tral channels, and covering the wavelengthrange from visible to near infrared, it will pro-vide pin sharp, multi-spectral, high resolutionimages. The formation of the satellite systemenables constant global coverage and there-fore up-to-date information on a daily basis.Due to the high repetition rate, the datagained will provide important information inthe fields of environmental monitoring, land-scape architecture and disaster management.Beyond that there is going to be an increasedcommercial benefit for potential end userssuch as agricultural insurers, who need toforecast or report damages, institutions suchas the EU, companies which trade in agricul-tural commodities and farm corporations thatrely on precision crop management.With the development of the multi-spectralimagers for RapidEye Jena-Optronik success-fully entered the market of satellite-basedearth observation instruments. The Jena-based company will be a member of the coreteam of Sentinel-2 for optical earth observa-
the use of in-field spectral channel separa-tion, which allows the user to tailor individu-al channel GSD (ground sampling distance)and features like TDI (time delay and integra-tion). State-of-the-art detector arrays andread-out electronics can easily be employed.The reflecting telescope design can be expect-ed to support the most demanding upcomingrequirements on image quality and groundresolution. METimage is supported by theGerman Aerospace Center (DLR) with fundsfrom the Federal Ministry of Economics andTechnology.
High Performance Data AcquisitionThe Jena Airborne Scanner JAS 150s togetherwith its photogrammetric processing softwareprovides data with very high spatial resolu-tion, positional accuracy and radiometric res-olution. Using the JAS 150s, images with a groundpixel resolution of 5 cm [2 inches] at a flightaltitude of 1000m [3280 feet] can be achievedat multiple stereo angles. When flying over anarea, it is possible to record the nine CCDlines, including four multi-spectral bands aswell as five stereo panchromatic channels,simultaneously in identical high resolution.Using the five stereo panchromatic channelsthe number and size of blind spots can beminimized. With the ASM software in combination withSOCET SET or inpho software the acquireddata can be used for mapping of large areasas well as for creating highly-precise digitalelevation models and orthophotos. Softwareintegrations for further processing softwarepackages are possible on request. Jena-Optronik offers the adaptation to all preva-lent peripheral systems in order to reducecosts. It also offers several different modes toacquire a JAS150s, including buying, leasingand renting. Further performance features of the AirborneScanner JAS 150s:• A new high-performance lens for all nine
channels provides the highest geometricaccuracy
• High-precision geo-referencing with an aver-age error in subpixel range
• High radiometric resolution of 12 bit
tion and Sentinel-3 for the observation of theoceans within the European earth observationprogram GMES (Global Monitoring forEnvironment and Security). Furthermore, the imaging radiometerMETimage is a planned German contributionfor future operational Earth observation plat-forms in polar orbits (EUMETSAT Post-EPS). Acore item of the instrument is a rotating tele-scope scanner to cover the large swath widthwhich all polar platforms need for global cov-erage. The derotated image makes possible
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
December 2008
Detail Jena Airborne Scanner JAS 150: Connection to rack © Jena-Optronik GmbH.
Gocher Heide, Germany © Jena-Optronik GmbH.
19
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Only from Topcon, the pioneer of Digital Imaging Surveying.
IS Imaging Station
- Digital Imaging Technology
- Total Station Image Scanning
- 2000 meters reflectorless
- Intelligent Feature Recognition
IS Imaging Station
• Extremely stable and reliable• Identical high resolution in all channels• The spectral separation of the RGB und NIR
bands is optimally suitable for remote sens-ing requirements
• With the thermally stabilized sensor headsolid data acquisition is possible evenunder difficult environmental conditions
• A 1.1 TB solid state storage, which can beswapped during the flight, allows uncom-pressed, lossless and secure data recording
• Three different types of rack systems forcamera control, data storage, operation andmonitoring of the acquired data are avail-able as per customer requirement
Strong Partnership Founded in 1991, Jena-Optronik GmbH wasbuilt upon the space department of Carl ZeissJena from Jenoptik and DASA (which becamelater a part of today’s EADS). In 2005, JENOP-TIK AG took over all shares. In recent yearsthe company has become one of the leadinginstrument and system providers in the avia-tion and aerospace market. In addition, Jena-Optronik offers comprehensive services for theanalysis of recorded data. Today Jena-Optronik, which has around 140 highly quali-fied employees at its site in Jena, is a 100 per-cent subsidiary of JENOPTIK AG. The location
laser distance measurement equipment forindustry and defense, laser sensors for simu-lation, environmental sensors and metrologyas well as infrared camera systems for ther-mal imaging, security and night vision.The division maintains production sites inWedel near Hamburg, Jena, Essen andAltenstadt. The origins of the division go backto ESW GmbH and Jena-Optronik GmbH aswell as the sensor systems business unit ofJENOPTIK Laser, Optik, Systeme GmbH.
Gerald Albe [email protected], 32, born inThuine, Germany, studied computer science at theUniversity Bielefeld; after his diploma he became
responsible for the development of the processing soft-ware for the JAS150 camera of Jena-Optronik GmbH
in 2005; since May 1st 2008 Mr Albe is Director of theAirborne Sensors division of the Jena-Optronik GmbH.
Annett Feige [email protected], 29, bornin Halle/Saale, Germany; studied Media Design at the
Bauhaus University Weimar; after her diploma shebecame responsible for the public relations activities
of Jena-Optronik GmbH in 2004; since October 1st2008 Mrs. Feige is Director Marketing of the Defence
& Civil Systems division within JENOPITK AG. For further information please visit the website:
www.jena-optronik.de.
of Jena, the German Optical Valley, is endowedwith the unique potential of tradition andexperience. The combination of abstract andapplied research together with a powerfulindustry is outstanding within Germany.Since January 2008 the defence andaerospace business has been combined in theJENOPTIK AG Defence & Civil Systems divi-sion. This division combines electrics/ -electronics, mechatronics, laser sensor systems, infrared technology, optics, opto -electronics and software within complex com-ponents, systems and facilities. It focuses on the areas of optical sensors andinformation systems, ground-based observa-tion platforms for intelligence and reconnais-sance as well as military and civil vehicle andaircraft equipment. This includes the genera-tion and supply of electrical energy, stabiliza-tion technology for weapons and optoelec-tronic sensors, radomes for military aircraft aswell as composite structure elements for civilaircraft, in addition to mechatronic compo-nents and subsystems.For the security and space industry Jenoptikoffers optoelectronic systems, multi-spectralcamera systems for earth observation, andsensor systems for orbit and attitude controlof satellites as well as software. In the sensor systems area its focus is on
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
21December 2008
3D image, City of Jena, Germany © Jena-Optronik GmbH.
I believe in innovation.SmartStation – the world’s first total station with integrated GPS
is a fine example of our uncompromising dedication to your needs.
Innovation: yet another reason to trust Leica Geosystems.
Leica Geosystems AG Switzerland
www.leica-geosystems.com
Innovation is intelligence – tap it and let your work flow.
You want the tools of your trade to be state-of-the-art. That’s why Leica Geosystems is continuously innovating to better
meet your expectations. Our comprehensive spectrum of solutions covers all your measurement needs for surveying,
engineering and geospatial applications. And they are all backed with world-class service and support that delivers
answers to your questions. When it matters most. When you are in the field. When it has to be right.
You can count on Leica Geosystems to provide a highly innovative solution for every facet of your job.
What exactly is Web 2.0?
The most recent Version of theInternet
Changes can often happen very quickly and that certainly goes for changes in the digital world. The Internet was for
a long time just that ‘the Internet’, but nowadays everyone is talking about Web 2.0. But what exactly is Web 2.0?
Is it a big change or is it nothing more than a good sounding term that sounds bigger than it actually is?
By Lambert-Jan Koops
24
Art ic le
December 2008
The term Web 2.0 stands for a new phasethat has started in the development of theWorld Wide Web. The term implies that evenmore versions could follow, and also that a pre-ceding phase has existed, Web 1.0. If you’venever heard of Web 1.0, you should not beashamed. Web 1.0 is a term that has beenmade up to describe the development phasethe internet went through from around 1994until the beginning of the 21st century. In 1994the gopher-protocol for internet was surpassedby http-based browsers, such as Mosaic.Experts disagree about the exact date of theend of the Web 1.0 period: where one speaksof 2004, the other mentions 2001with the burstof the internet bubble as the ending period. Web 1.0 was the stage when large numbers ofconsumers discovered the internet. During thisperiod the first search engines appeared, thefirst browser war between Netscape andMicrosoft Explorer took place and the MP3became a standard for saving music files. Thetypical features that distinguish Web 1.0 fromWeb 2.0, were statistic websites instead ofdynamic generated content. Besides that, theuse of frames and online guest books were dis-
tinctive, along with GIF-buttons that had a stan-dard size of 88 by 31pixels and HTML-type doc-uments that were sent through e-mail.
Interactive Web ApplicationsThe change that comes with Web 2.0, is thedevelopment of the World Wide Web from a col-lection of separate sites to an independent plat-form with fully interactive web applications. The‘new’ internet consists of pages that containfunctions which allow users to perform a rangeof tasks. Typical techniques used to enable thisare Flash and/or AJAX. With this functionality itis possible to give a website the same look andfeel as a normal desktop application, such asWord or Excel, and allow the user to change thecontents of a web page in realtime. These arecalled ‘Rich Internet Applications’ (RIA’s). Forthis, the user doesn’t need to install any soft-ware on his or her pc, but only needs to startany internet browser. Thanks to Flash and AJAX it is not only possi-ble to offer functions of existing desktop appli-cations on the internet, but also new function-alities, such as forum software and publicationtools that have been designed for weblogs.
Also, popular sites such as YouTube and Flickrare typical Web 2.0 products.
Four LevelsThe Web 2.0 level of the current software isdependent on the way the consumer makesuse of it. Tim O’Reilly, the man who introducedthe term Web 2.0 stated that there are fourdifferent levels to be distinguished. Appli -cations on level zero work online as well asoffline. The packs of level one also workonline as well as offline, but have dispositionover heavier functions when they are usedonline. On level two, offline use is still possi-ble, but the focus lies in its online functional-ity. Eventually, level three applications will onlyfunction on the internet. This is because theycannot perform their functions stand-alone asthey are dependent on input from onlinesources such as Wikipedia, for example.
A Single SourceOne of the biggest carriers of Web 2.0 isGoogle. The company developed the RIA’sGoogle Docs and Spreadsheets and is theowner of YouTube. In addition, the company
owns the well-known geographic tool GoogleEarth, a typical Web 2.0 program of level two.This may sound contradictory, because userswho see their internet connection die whenusing Google Earth, will see the message:“Google Earth can not establish a new ses-sion with the EarthServer”. Although GoogleEarth keeps on working only data that arelocally available (in cache) will be displayed.A reason for classifying Google Earth on leveltwo, lies in the fact that the basis data for thesoftware come from one single source. If auser were to save all data from theEarthServer locally, he would still be able todeploy a big part of the functionality. In thesame way, a route planner can work with partof the roadwork that has been saved in thecache and interaction with other users is notstrictly necessary. For extras, however, aninternet connection is necessary. For example,those who want to study photos originatedby other users through Google Earth, will haveto follow the hyperlink to the place on theinternet where this photo is saved. Also, forviewing information added by third parties onlocations, an internet connection is required.
Map ApplicationsA company such as Autodesk also talks regu-larly about Web 2.0 possibilities for the CADand GIS systems the company develops.Mostly this is done by Geoff Zeiss. The termis primarily linked with the MapGuide-suite,which consists of three parts: AutodeskMapGuide Studio, Autodesk MapGuideEnterprise and MapGuide Open Source. It ismentioned explicitly that there is a new func-tionality available for creating Web 2.0-typemap applications with the 2009 version of thesoftware. With this functionality end users canview and analyse ‘spatial’ information. Tosummarize, MapGuide itself is not so much
products, for example in the form ofProjectWise. Less obvious Web 2.0 develop-ments have, as is the case of Autodesk, notyet been communicated. According to a pressrelease, the BE Careers Networks ResumeCenter makes use of a new system based onWeb 2.0, while the term is also linked to thedeveloping software Generative Components.This deals with a platform that allows usersto share ideas and learn about this way ofdesigning. For the company’s geospatial prod-ucts, it makes use of Web 2.0 technology,although until now it has not been stressedmuch in terms of communication.
GIS on the WebOne company that has published several arti-cles on Web 2.0 is ESRI. For example, it hasbeen mentioned explicitly as a motivation forthe development of GeoWeb. GIS on the webis, in the words of CEO Jack Dangermond:”…abig, widely-spread, partitioned cooperation ofknowledge and discovery that promotes andmaintains the worldwide sharing of informa-tion and interoperability. I foresee a whole setof applications that will cooperate synergisti-cally for diverging goals. Our current individu-al systems will be adopted in a sort of sys-tem of systems.”Dangermond’s quote may sound ratherabstract, but it comes down to the fact thata product such as GeoWeb is not absolute interms of functionality and content. Becauseend users add data to the system, it will growinto a very rich source of information. It ismuch larger that the sum of its parts, a verytypical thing for a Web 2.0 application.
ConclusionFor some time now, the term Web 2.0 hasbeen mentioned more and more in articlesand press releases. However, this does notmean that a revolution is taking place in thedigital world. It’s a fact that a whole lot ofWeb 2.0 functionality has been added to soft-ware during the last few years, without explic-itly mentioning this fact. For example, look atall cooperating software in the field of geog-raphy, building, designing and planning.Currently Web 2.0 is a fashionable term thatis used more actively by one party than theother. It’s a term that describes the use of cer-tain techniques, nothing more and nothingless. A software developer can develop Web2.0 without knowing he’s working with Web2.0. For those of you who haven’t heard aboutWeb 2.0 you haven’t missed much, only a def-inition.
Lambert-Jan Koops [email protected] is a formereditor of GeoInformatics. For more information, have
a look at www.autodesk.com, www.bentleyl.com,www.wikipedia.com and tim.oreilly.com.
Web 2.0 oriented, as are the products thatcan be made with it. However, a product fromAutodesk that does have explicit features ofWeb 2.0 is Buzzsaw. This is a web-based sys-tem that is meant to exchange building infor-mation between owners, commissioners,designers, architects, contractors and otherstakeholders during the lifecycle of a build-ing. This all makes it a Web 2.0 software pro-gram from level three. The use of the soft-ware has no value at all if none of the partiesupdate their system at the moment that newinformation is available.
Sharing IdeasActually, all online cooperating tools signifythat they’re on level three of the Web 2.0scale. In this way, a company such as Bentleyis occupied with the development of such
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
25December 2008
Google Earth is Web 2.0 of level two.
Tim O’Reilly invented the term Web 2.0 and dividedthe application into four levels.
Art ic le
December 200826
Making Forest Management simpler and less costly
Magellan’s latest GPS Tools The latest GIS and GPS technologies are offering new efficiencies for land managers.
Forest and woodlot property mapping and management are increasingly more accurate and less
time-consuming tasks with the newest handheld GPS receivers. Now field teams can accurately
map and inventory more types of data in less time to permit land managers to maintain
up-to-date and comprehensive resource data. The rugged all-in-one quality of the new handheld
Magellan MobileMapper CX GIS/GPS receiver is proving especially valuable to land managers
in both Europe and the United States.
By Robert Wick
Navigating to the work site with the MobileMapper CX.
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27December 2008
Visit www.lidarmap.org to view the conference programImage courtesy of 3001 Inc.
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Astor Crowne Plaza New Orleans, USAJanuary 26-28, 2009
Timber trespass can be a serious problem,but once a tree falls on a neighboring proper-ty, it is a little late to discuss property bound-aries. Fortunately, property owners, timbercompanies and government agencies nowhave available new tools to make markingwoodlot boundaries faster, simpler and lesscostly. The newest GPS receivers coupled with thelatest geographic information system (GIS)software and topographic and orthophoto-graphic map overlays are giving foresters anew and more efficient way to mark forest andwoodlot boundaries and better manage theentire spectrum of forest resources. Manyforesters in North America and Europe areembracing the new technology. Take Tom Caperton and his son, Stephen, theyflag and paint timber parcel boundaries forDeNoon Lumber Company, an Ohio-based lum-ber and timber company. As early adopters ofthe new technology, the Capertons have beenusing a Magellan MobileMapper CE GPS receiv-er GIS unit for the past three and a half years.After DeNoon buys the timber on a parcel,Caperton is responsible for flagging and paint-
MobileMapper. But because most of the areashe works in are not serviced by beacons andoften he is down in deep ravines, a beaconsignal is not always available. However with a backpack external antenna,Caperton says he gets meter to sub-meteraccuracy and uses WAAS corrections. DeNoon operates between 10 and 15 timberharvesting crews working 150 to 200 parcelsannually in Ohio, West Virginia andPennsylvania. Using a MobileMapper CE withTDS SOLO Field GIS mapping software,Caperton is continually on the move from par-cel to parcel throughout the region. His sched-ule is so hectic “sometimes logging crews arewaiting for us on site when we arrive,” hesays.
Heavy Work ScheduleWith Caperton’s non-stop work schedule, heestimates he’s in the field marking woodlotboundaries with his Magellan MobileMapper CE,GPS/GIS receiver about 30 hours virtually eachand every week during the past three and ahalf years.“The accuracy of MobileMapper CE and its suc-
ing the harvest boundaries to ensureDeNoon's harvesting crews do not encroachupon adjacent properties. “The timber harvestcrews are then instructed to leave a smallbuffer zone between the flagged boundariesand the harvest line,” he says.All of Caperton’s work is done in real time.“We never go back to the office to post-pro-cess data,” he says. “We must flag and paintwhile we’re on the parcel.”Caperton carries an external antenna in hisbackpack as well as the MobileMapperBeacon, which improves real-time positioningaccuracy by providing DGPS corrections to the
Marking woodlot boundaries and collecting resourcewith the MobileMapper CX handheld GIS/GPS receiver.
Partner South-East EuropeLicence sponsor Organiser
cessor the MobileMapper CX has shown itselfto be particularly good even under treecanopies where one would normally expect tolose lock at least some of the time,” says JacekPietruczanis, Magellan product marketing man-ager, GIS solutions. “The MobileMapper CX isso productive under foliage thanks to its abili-ty to set the SNR (signal to noise ratio) maskin the receiver. The forester can adjust thislevel to obtain position data even in verydense foliage. For example, setting the SNRnumber to the lowest possible level meansthe MobileMapper CX will only reject very‘noisy’ signals. This setting should be usedonly when a position is absolutely requiredeven with the possibility of some error.”The MobileMapper CX is consistently produc-tive under foliage. But in rare instances, whenvery dense foliage causes accuracy to fall out-side the sub-meter range, an optional exter-nal antenna can easily improve results to sub-meter quality.During a recent test conducted by the JRC(Joint Research Centre – European Com -mission), MobileMapper CX was tested anddemonstrated in difficult environments,where the conditions of measurements (vis-ibility of satellites) were unstable for the par-cel borders due to forest trees, and evenon parcels covered completely by forest. “Inboth cases MobileMapper CX was achievingsurprisingly good results which were belowthe maximum threshold buffer allowed by theEU Regulation” says Pietruczanis.
OverseasIn another example of the growing popularityof the new GPS/GIS units, this one on the otherside of the Atlantic, the Latvian State ForestService (SFS) has just outfitted its entire mobileworkforce with MobileMapper CX handhelds. InLatvia these new digital GPS positioningdevices are replacing measuring tapes and sur-vey compasses.The SFS purchased 124 Magellan MobileMapperCX handheld GPS/GIS units, which were dis-tributed to foresters in 11 state-managed forestsand 113 local forest jurisdictions. The Mobile -
forest fire measurements, game cadastre man-agement, game supervision, and biotope stud-ies, including bird nesting studies and animalcounts. According to Juris Zarins, GIS divisionhead for SFS, the MobileMapper CX is deliver-ing the one-meter accuracy required for mark-ing forest cutting boundaries and the two-meter accuracy that they require for othertasks. The units run ESRI ArcPad 7.1, a GISand field mapping software, and are load-
ed with the state forest service andorthophoto background maps. SFS chose the MobileMapper CX for its con-venience, simplicity and combination GPSreceiver and GIS data collector in a singleunit. Since the units would be used by fieldforesters skilled in analog cartography andsurveying methods, but not digital equip-ment, it was important that the new digitalequipment be easy to use. SFS consideredbuying separate pocket PC and GPS devicesconnected by Bluetooth, but the rugged all-in-one quality of the MobileMapper CX wassignificantly more appealing.The SFS is a state-administered civil insti-tution within the Latvia Ministry ofAgriculture, responsible for pursuing a uni-fied forest policy, controlling observanceof the provisions of statutory acts, imple-menting support programs, and ensuring
the use of sustainable forest managementpractices in all of Latvia’s forests.
Zarins says, “We are still in the beginningphase of rolling out the MobileMapper CXs.What we like best now is the device’s mobilityand the convenience of having a GPS and hand-held PC in one device. Its performance is quiteacceptable for our work, particularly since weare able to take into the field large amounts ofnecessary data, including raster data, and useit together with the ESRI ArcPad application”.
Robert Wick, [email protected] writes about the latest GPS and GIS technologies.
For more information, have a look athttp://pro.magellangps.com
Mappers are loaded with forest digital back-ground maps in 1:10000 scale, showing forest,road and river information, and forest invento-ry data base information.The MobileMapper CXs are used for a wide vari-ety of tasks, including navigating to the forestproperties, boundary cutting measurements,
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
29December 2008
MobileMapper CX
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DIGITAL
Solar Cycle and beyond
GNSS UpdateThe next solar cycle is coming. The “older” surveyors amongst us will remember the last cycle with its peak in 2001.
The “younger” generation however has been pampered with stand-alone GPS accuracies of 2-3 meters and
sub-meter dGPS results. One can however reasonably expect that this will not last.
By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
Sun spots cause heightened amounts of charged particles in the iono-sphere. During normal circumstances a single frequency GPS receiveruses a model to determine the delay of the signal through the iono-sphere. But during a solar storm the amount of particles will deviatefrom that in the model, resulting in a position degradation of meters.Users of multiple frequency receivers are less affected but will probablyshow a reduction in baseline lengths.The solution: new signals, but whether they will be available on timeremains to be seen.
GPSGPS Satellite SVN37, which was retired just under a year ago, was re-activated in October and is once again transmitting as PRN01. The satel-lite has only a single healthy clock and as such there is no guarantee
that it will operate for long. For that reason it has been set unhealthyinitially and is not included in the broadcast almanacs.Meanwhile, the launch of the Block IIR-20 satellite with its L5 demon-stration payload has been delayed again, with an expected new launchdate sometime in 2009. Either this satellite or the first block IIF satel-lite must be launched before August 26, 2009 in order to keep the L5frequency allocation. The delay is the result of problems with the DeltaII launcher provided by Boeing while the first IIF satellite is still ‘indevelopment and build’ at Boeing.Boeing has been awarded a $153.5 million contract to demonstrateHigh Integrity GPS technical concepts. The objective is to combine sig-nals from the Iridium satellites as well as the GPS satellites to enhanceavailability, integrity, accuracy and the jam-resistant capabilities for war-fighters. Iri dium is a satellite communication system with worldwidecoverage.
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Russian Proton-K rocket with Glonass satellites en-route to the launch platform.
Russian Proton-K rocket on the launch platform.
December 2008
Terminiation of P(Y)code in 2020In the last GNSSreview the possibletermination of theP(Y) code on both L1and L2 was men-tioned. On September23, the US Depart -ment of Defense (DoD)published a noticestating that it willindeed cease to sup-port codeless / semi-codeless GPS accessas of December 31,2020. This means thatafter this date there isno guarantee that thecurrent L1 / L2 typereceivers, as used forexample in RTK sur-veying, will work. TheDoD has stated that it "will reassess the transition date should signifi-cant GPS program delays arise."
InteroperabilityGPS - GalileoThe United States and Europe have renewed their vows for the interop-erability of GPS and Galileo. Representatives from both have met atthe US Naval Observatory in Washington (USA). One result of the jointwork has been the so-called common civil signal referred to as L1c(GPS) and E1 Open Service (Galileo). This signal is already being trans-mitted by Giove-B as well as a GPS-Galileo time offset signal.
Compass versus the WorldThe interoperability between Chinese built Compass and Galileo / GPSis running less smoothly. So far Galileo / GPS have assumed thatCompass would do something about the signals planned on Galileo /GPS frequencies. Although no definitive answer has been given to thatassumption, a recent study from Taiwan suggests that interoperabilityis not high on the Compass priority list.Compass will consist of 35 satellites in total and should begin opera-tion in 2013. Of the 35 satellites, 27 will be orbiting similarly to theother GNSS. Three satellites will be in so called inclined geo-syn-chronous orbits while the last 5 will be geo-stationary. With this mixthe satellite visibility of Compass will be improved relative to otherGNSS. One of the conclusions of the study is that “Compass alone can pro-vide similar performance to the Galileo / GPS combined system”. As aresult there is a good possibility that there is, from the point of viewof system design, no need for integration of GNSS over Asia.
GalileoSurrey Satellite Technology (SST) has received an award from theEuropean Space Agency (ESA) for its contribution to the Galileo pro-gram in general and Giove-A in particular. Giove-A, which was supposedto operate until spring 2008, has already had its mission extended.Furthermore the satellite appears to be more robust than Giove-B sinceit remained unaffected by a surge of radiation that forced Giove-B intosafe mode for a week in September.The in-orbit testing for Giove-B has meanwhile been completed by SST,
determining that it isfunctioning as expect-ed. Accor ding to SSTthe new Maser clockson board Giove-Bpromise im provedaccuracy compared tothe rubidium clock onGiove-A.
Procurement PlanThe European Com -mis sion (EC) has nar-rowed the list ofpotential contractorsdown to 11. With theprocurement processopen to non-Europeancompanies, a consor-tium lead byLockheed Martin isnow in the running forbuilding the ground
control system.The procurement as a whole is not progressing very quickly accordingto Astrium Satellites and Thales Alenia Space which have urged the ECto accelerate the process. At the moment it is expected that no con-tracts will be signed until at least mid-2009. How this will affect theplanning of Galileo is unclear.
GlonassIn September 2008 a total of three Glonass satellites had been suc-cessfully launched, bringing the number of satellites to 17 at the timeof writing. Another 3 satellites are planned for launch on December 25,2008. The intention is still to have 30 Glonass satellites in orbit by2011.The good news is that the Russian space program has received addi-tional funding of $2.6 billion from the Russian government, most ofwhich will go into new satellites. In addition, Putin has plans to signfor another $1.8 billion. Meanwhile production of the first Glonass-K satellites is well under way,with the first scheduled for launch in 2010. This type of satellite shouldlast at least 12 years compared to the few years the current Glonass-Msatellites last.
GaganThe Indian government has approved a $169 million funding for theIndian GPS-aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) project. Accordingto Indian Aviation Minister Praful Patel the Gagan system would “cer-tainly be in place by 2011”.Gagan is the Indian equivalent to the US WAAS; European Egnos andJapanese MSAS.
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk [email protected] is
project manager at IDsW and freelance writer and trainer. This article reflects his personal opinion.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
31
Artist impression of the Galileo system
December 2008
Integrating GIS and Remote Sensing for Hydrological Modeling
Spatially Explicit Modeling ofPhosphorus Emissions
Surface drainage contains nutrients and pollutants of diverse origin. While point sources are in most cases easily
identified, the diffuse inflow via different channels is difficult to account for. Analyzing annual land-use and
water-balance changes using GIS and remote sensing techniques can contribute to a spatial quantification of the
impact on substance flows in mesoscale catchments. In the framework of the project "SeenLandWirtschaft",
grassland areas of the Mondsee catchment were evaluated with regard to the emission of phosphorus discharge
to surface waters.
By Hermann Klug and Peter Zeil
Integrating various Data Sources for Water ResourcesManagementHydrologists incorporate many data sources to assess water quantity andquality in spatially explicit terms. In this respect GIS and remote sensingtechniques have emerged as a significant support tool for hydrologicalmodeling. Both tools provide consistent methods for catchment analysisusing standardized data sets like climate data (precipitation, evapotran-spiration), digital elevation models (DEM) for surface terrain modeling,land use and land cover (LULC) information derived from up-to-date satel-lite imageries, hydrological data (streams, rivers, ditches, gauging sta-tions), soil properties, and finally information on the geological setting.Together with remote sensing derived layers, GIS is accepted as a stan-dard for assembling and generating water resources information within aspatial decision support system (SDSS).Traditional water resources management systems primarily integrate time
series of observations collected for water resources phenomena. Theseinclude, for instance, daily rainfall, stream flow, and water quantity atgauging stations. With the use of GIS, this concept has been broadenedto include geospatial data describing the properties of certain water envi-ronments. With an aggregated synthesis of spatial and temporal datasets,the water resources management system evolves into a HydrologicInformation System (HIS). Integrating datasets provides the basis for sys-tematically linking geospatial processes with time series collected at hydro-logical stations. This originates in the fact that the movement of waterthroughout the environment can be traced and hence makes it possibleto construct time-sequenced maps of water and dissolved nutrient flows(Figure 2).
The Phosphorous Emissions – Linking Parcels and RiversDitches, channels, rivers and streams transport water partly contaminated
with dissolved or particle-bound nutrient sub-stances. They result from various sources such aswaste treatment plants, industry or agriculture.With these substances involved, water quality isdecreasing and substantial pressures on theecosystem are increasing – especially consideringthe eutrophication of lakes. These driving factorsare also affecting drinking and bathing waters.These circumstances are being addressed by theEuropean Union which is making an effort to copewith these pressures through the implementationof the Water Framework Directive (WFD), set upin the year 2000. The WFD (Directive 2000/60/EC)seeks to ascertain water quality by identifyingpoint and non-point source effects with subse-quent steps to ease these pressures by estab-lished action plans.The monitoring and evaluation of these actionplans require information about the spatiallyexplicit registration of runoff as well as the trans-
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December 2008
Figure 2
port and substance exchange processes based on quantitative field mea-surements and modeling. While point sources are easy to detect, diffusesources are difficult to estimate. Nowadays, however, non-point sourceemissions in particular have substantial effects on the ecological statusesof surface waters. Hence, state-of-the-art integrated modeling approachesare used to link up different input and output datasets. These combina-tions are realized through the ModelBuilder framework in ArcGIS 9.2 andallow for the transparent deduction of phosphorus emission calculations.Mathematical modeling is applied to different spatially explicit processes,controlling flows and fluxes of water and substances in the landscape. Inparticular, dissolved phosphorus transport as well as particle bound dis-charge of phosphorus are of importance when considering the nutrientstatus of lakes. This article proposes a geo-processing procedure toenhance spatially lumped and semi-lumped models by including weightedvariables to consider the spatial variation of emissions. This procedure isevaluated for the Mondsee catchment in Austria comprising 96 sub-catch-ments where water samples have been taken for calibration. The charac-terization of the nutrient balance has been established by means of thefollowing pathways of distribution: surface runoff, water-driven soil ero-sion, land drainage retention, interflow and groundwater as well as directdischarge through the atmosphere (Figure 3).
Main ObjectivesThe main objective of the Interreg IIIa project "SeenLandWirtschaft" wasto secure and enhance socio-economic and ecological functionality in theBavarian and Austrian pre-alpine "Lake District" with particular focus onthe description of diffuse emissions pathways of phosphorus consideringtransport-related processes based on topographic and climate influences.Since water pollution control noted an increase of phosphorus loads tothe Mondsee and Irrsee in the years 2002 and 2003, the quality of thosewater bodies (see fugure 6) has seemed to decrease due to the eutrophi-cation of lakes causing toxic algal blooms. If the process of eutrophica-tion and respective oxygen consumption continues, a change from aero-bic to anaerobic conditions might result in the death of plants and fish.However, we assumed a change in the system cycle causing increasingsubstance flows and hence increased loads of phosphorus to surfacewaters. Therefore, an investigation program encompassing a measuringprogram with 96 measuring sites and the development of a dispersionmodel describing the behavior of phosphorus in a defined hydrologicalsystem was implemented.
The Case Study AreaThe pre-alpine Lake District in the wider region around the Austrian city ofSalzburg, capital of the federal state of Salzburg, is endowed with abouta dozen medium-sized lakes (plus a large number of small ones). Thestudy area is embedded in a landscape of hills in the north and west, andalpine mountains in the south. Although the Lake District can be regardedas one natural entity created by glaciers, the lakes are situated in differ-ent administrative regions: some in the federal state of Salzburg, some inwhat is known as the "Salzkammergut" area which belongs mainly to thefederal state of Upper Austria, and some in the German federal state ofBavaria. This has implications for environmental planning and publicaction, which require collaboration across state and national borders.Accordingly, different parts of the Lake District are subject to different leg-islative conditions regarding, for instance, the regulations governing con-struction, the use of lakeshore areas, (waste) water management, envi-ronmental protection, and the preservation of nature (Figure 4).
Discharge Constituent ProcessesSince water is the driving factor for phosphorus transport, a precise reflec-tion of discharge processes is an indispensable requirement. The total vol-ume of rainwater which is not lost by evaporation contributes to discharge.This net precipitation is then split into two pathways: surface runoff andinfiltration. Water infiltrated into the soil can either be transported lateral-ly through interflow processes or vertically, percolating and contributing togroundwater recharge. Furthermore, water infiltrating to the soil can becollected within land drainage facilities (retention). Depending on the kindof distribution channel the water follows, water concentration time speedsup or slows down. When there is longer contact time (retention period) ofthe nutrients dissolved in the water, the self-purification potential of soilsand streams lowers the nutrient contribution to the lakes. This buffercapacity or regulation potential is dependent on the efficiency of nutrientdegradation through organisms, immobilization or precipitation based oncertain soil properties or elements (e.g. Fe, Ca, and Al), the overall reten-tion period, and the filtration rate through the soil.
Phosphorus Concentration RatesThe amount of phosphorus discharge is based on its concentration withinorganic and inorganic matter of the topsoil. However, inorganic phospho-rus compounds are not easily soluble. In part they are present in mineralform, especially in Al, Fe and Ca bounds. Organic phosphorus connections
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Art ic le
33December 2008
Figure 3
occur in adsorbed form in orthophosphate ions and hence are also nearlyinsoluble. Based on the high phosphorus adsorption potential of mineralsoils, the phosphor content of the soil solution is very low. Phosphorus ishighly immobile within the soil. Considerable phosphorus loss is thereforeassumed by soil erosion processes. Hence, the phosphorus content oftopsoil is a crucial parameter in modeling phosphorus emissions. But in agrassland-dominated area like the Mondsee catchment, soil erosion isassumed to be low. However, it is not only soil erosion that causes phos-phorus emissions. Surface runoff and infiltration through macro pores alsocarry soluble nutrients; this is especially the case under sandy layers, soilswith a high groundwater level and after fertilization with slurry shortlybefore heavy rain events. Therefore, we consider grassland intensity animportant parameter explaining phosphorus emissions. The number ofcuts is related to the frequency with which fertilizers are brought out. Thereason is that the amount of nutrients brought to the field equilibratesthe nutrients taken off of the field. Additionally, the datasets from theIntegrative Administration Control System (IACS) which provides data onfarm and parcel relations as well as livestock numbers help to capture theannual nutrient farm balance and an estimate of the amount of nutrientsbrought to the farm parcels.
Estimating the Number of GrasslandCutsThe number of grassland cuts per growing sea-son (during the year 2005 in this case) was takenas the measure for grassland intensity. Theassumption is that a higher percentage of inten-sively-used plots (more than two cuts per year)will result in a higher amount of nutrients beenoffloaded. The nutrient dynamics imply that mate-rial is removed in the form of harvested grass, butalso an increase in disseminating manure for bal-ancing out the removal, whereby the timing of themanure offload is critical with respect to precipi-tation. An increased contribution of nutrientstransported into the surface drainage seems mostlikely. Several pathways are possible: surfacerunoff, drainage channels, interflow, the ground-water system and erosion.Monitoring annual land use changes to locateareas of different intensities was carried out bythe monthly acquisition of satellite imagery from
the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and ReflectionRadiometer) sensor. Two ASTER scenes following in sequence are com-bined for Spectral Temporal Change Classification (STCC). This results in aspatially explicit representation of grassland intensity documented by thenumber of cuts during the 2005 growing season (Figure 5).
Surface RunoffSurface runoff reflects the portion of water which flows above groundbefore reaching surface water bodies. Hence, it is dependent on runoffand drainage capacity. While the first mainly depends on average groundslope and vegetation cover (percentage of cover and vegetation type), thelatter is influenced by rainfall (amount, intensity, storms, duration, fre-quency), time distribution of precipitation, soil moisture, soil water reduc-tion time based on pore size distribution and pore volume.
Particle Bound Phosphorus EmissionsSoil erosion caused by surface water runoff can be estimated using theUniversal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). Predicting soil erosion by means ofUSLE has already been implemented as a standard by the German Institutefor Standardization (DIN 19798). The predicted erosion represents the
potential long-term average annual soil loss intons per hectare and year, and this amount of lossis compared to the "tolerable soil loss" limits.The soil erosion equation consists of a numberof parameters which can be processed within aGIS: the rainfall and runoff factor by geographiclocation (R), the soil erodibility factor (K), theslope length-gradient factor (LS) to be derivedfrom DEM data, the crop/vegetation and manage-ment factor (C) to be derived from satelliteimagery and/or correspondence with farmers, andfinally the support practice factor reflecting theeffects of practices that reduce the amount andrate of the water runoff (P).
Interflow and Groundwater DischargeThe process of water percolating into the soil iscalled infiltration. This subsurface drainage isbased on pores filled up with air and water. Theamount of water able to infiltrate is dependentupon soil texture, pore volume, pore size distri-
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Figure 4
Figure 5
bution, and soil moisture. When talking about subsurface runoff (inter-flow), we mean the lateral runoff within the macro pore system or matrixwater flows while the percolation processes are perceived as vertical. Wheninfiltrating water is blocked by certain soil horizons, the soil matrix cannotabsorb more water. In this case, lateral flows following the surface slopestowards more permeable horizons occurs based on hydraulic gradients.
Drainage RunoffFor those agricultural fields which have undergone hydro melioration inrecent times, water is captured in drainage retention facilities to dry outthe respective parcel of land for better management. In this case water isno longer contributing to groundwater recharge but instead is directlytransported through ditches to rivers and lakes. Therefore, data capturingthe drainage facilities is required. If these datasets are not available, geo-processing algorithms exist which can estimate the location of thoseparcels of land which are potentially drained.
Combination of Transport ConcentrationsSumming up all the phosphorus emissions from the different pathwaysleads to a distributed representation of the nutrient discharge. However,as explained above, water discharge is based on a couple of interconnect-ed processes which are influenced by different location properties. Due tothese interconnections we are able to conceptually aggregate some ofthese processes which are strongly correlating and therefore reacting insmaller variances. These semi-distributed quasi-homogeneous units arecalled Hydrological Response Units (HRU).
DiscussionGeographical Information Systems are perfect tools to support spatial con-siderations in the context of integrated water resources management. Thiscomprises data storage and geo-processing while, so far, the considera-tion of time in a GIS is limited. The time dimension is not fixed as a coor-dinate or time stamp within dynamic processes. A work-around measureis to sequentially number different datasets and allocate them in a certaintime span for the representation of flow dynamics.GIS are also limited in modeling special hydrological flow equations.However, Darcy flow algorithms supporting the calculation of pollution dis-
charge, for example, are available in ArcGIS. The precipitation-dischargemodels can be applied using map algebra functions such as flow accumu-lation, flow direction and slope within catchments. But again, GIS in com-parison to special hydrological modeling environments remain limited inconsistent calibration and validation procedures.
ConclusionThrough ArcGIS 9.x, ESRI provides a sophisticated environment for dis-tributed spatially explicit modeling. In particular, the geo-processing capa-bilities with ModelBuilder, python, VB, VBA and other programming lan-guages besides ArcObjects are convenient tools either to apply alreadyexisting methodologies or to develop new ones. Customized tasks can becompiled as Dynamic Link Library (DLL) files and subsequently distributedamong the community or directly integrated in ArcGIS.Many free and commercial tools have been developed in recent years, butnone of them is comprehensive enough to capture all options. Since notall of them deliver the source code for free, there should be enough spacefor more than one phosphorus emission modeling (PEM) application inthis field. Therefore, hydrological modeling in ArcGIS is neither somethingnew nor does this approach replace an existing solution; it occupies aniche that, so far, has not been filled adequately by other software solu-tions. The specific strength of ArcGIS is the support of different data storagefacilities (personal and file geodatabase, Oracle Spatial or any other freespatial database solution) and the performance of the geo-processingtasks. In particular, solutions in dataset interoperability supporting variousproprietary and non-proprietary file formats make them very handy andintegrable through data exchange mechanisms. Furthermore, the visualiza-tion capabilities in digital or analogous maps, 3D (animations) as well asdistribution to virtual globes such as ArcExplorer fit the needs of GIS pro-fessionals. The same applies to the pre-processing steps such as coordi-nate transformation or data quality assurance facilities.
Hermann Klug [email protected] a researcher at the Centre forGeoinformatics (Z_GIS) at the University of Salzburg, Austria. Peter Zeil has 20+
years of professional experience in water resources management. With a professionaleducation in geophysics and hydrology, his research and in situ project expertise
complement the scientific facets of many national and international projects.
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Figure 6
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December 2008
A GIS Desktop Solution for an Open SDI
Open Source in Spain: the gvSIG Project
GvSIG is European Commission project for creating a large open source GIS, that had its origin in Valencia, Spain. It was
developed for the Regional Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport in Valencia, but now has many collaborating
organizations for expanding the GIS. This article describes the user requirements for such a system, its functionality
as a powerful SDI client and different phases of the project in developing this open GIS.
By Alvaro Anguix, Laura Díaz and Mario Carrera
gvSIG started in 2002 when the Regional Ministry of Infrastructureand Transport (CIT) of Valencia started to analyze the process of migrat-ing the organization’s computer system to an open source system. Thefirst phase was to achieve an analysis of different proprietary softwareapplications used in all areas of the organization. The main goal ofthis exhaustive analysis was to find open source projects equivalentto each proprietary application. When studying the GIS applicationsused in the CIT, the conclusion was that there was no equivalent inthe open source world for these applications, using mainly ESRI andAutodesk products, but there were many open source developmentprojects that could be used to develop an open source GIS with agood chance of success. After an extensive user survey regarding the actual needs of the vari-ous GIS users at the agency, it was determined that a full GIS was notnecessary for 90% of the users. Instead they only needed access tospatial data, a simple query capability, and the ability to overlay andcheck for consistency and basic output. Therefore, the CIT published acall for tenders to build such a client application, with the main restric-tions being that the software should be open source and available fortesting in both Java and C++ versions, and to be able to run on bothWindows and Linux platforms. The winning bid, consisting of a work-
ing prototype, has since been developed into a fully-functional GIS. Inthe beginning, the development process was a four-way effort betweenthe government agency funding the project (CIT), the company select-ed to implement (Iver), a university consultant on interoperability mat-ters (University Jaume I), and the wider open software developmentcommunity.
Platform IndependentAn analysis of the current software used by the technicians showedthat there was no equivalent open source GIS and CAD software thatfulfilled their requirements, the most basic of which were “it must beeasy-to-use and powerful enough to cover all their GIS needs.”After this conclusion it was necessary to find out what exactly were theuser requirements, and which tools were they using. This was the firsttask of the gvSIG project. The final report containing the GIS and CADusers needs included an evaluation from users which lead to the con-clusion that 90% of them utilized just 20% of the functionality of theproprietary software. With this information it was deemed affordableand possible to develop a software solution in open source to sharewith the rest of the GIS community. The main characteristics of the pro-ject inherited from the migration process had to be:
View overlapping local and remote data from Cadastre WMS and IDEE WMS Data editing overlapping WMS Cadastre layer
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December 200837
• Platform independent• Modular; it must be developed using independent modules adding
scalability value. • License GNU/GPL as the open source license adopted. • It must follow the current standards defined by the Open Geospatial
Consortium (OGC).The first prototype of gvSIG was released on October 2nd, 2004, andwith an ongoing development process newer and more stable versionshave been released leading to the current 1.1.2 version.
gvSIG GIS Desktop ApplicationNowadays gvSIG is considered a powerful SDI client. As a GIS applica-tion gvSIG is able to work with most of the known data formats includ-ing raster and vector formats like shapefile, dxf, dwg, dgn and most ofthe geospatial databases such as Postgis, Mysql, Oracle and SDE. Itprovides the most common GIS tools such as data loading, map navi-gation, distance measurement, and can query map information. It alsocontains thematic cartography, legend edition using the most commonlegend types, labeling, feature selection, data tables with statistics,ordering, table relations, table linking, layout manager, geoprocessingtools, CAD, raster processing, etc. Its SDI client condition allows the connection, through the use of stan-dards, to OGC Services like OGC WMS (raster and vector data returnedas georeferenced map images), OGC WFS (advanced access to vectordata), and OGC WCS (advanced access to raster information), accessingdata and being able to overlap and combine it in gvSIG map views.Discovery service client is also provided within gvSIG which can be usedto localize data resources within an SDI. The discovery services imple-mented in gvSIG are Catalogue Service (the user can perform searcheslooking for cartographic resources using keywords like name, theme,scale etc.) and Gazetteer Service (a service with a list of georeferencedterms, i.e., a list in which each toponym has information about its geo-graphic coordinates).
Integrating Advanced CAD ToolsCAD software is used in many fields from architecture to industrial design.The technicians at the Conselleria de Infrastructuras y Transporte used theCAD proprietary software (AutoCAD and MicroStation) for cartographic use. Inthis migration to OS, it was decided to integrate such tools within gvSIG toget rid of the proprietary software and license costs. At the same time anoth-
er phase started called “Integrating CAD, geoprocessing and topology tools ingvSIG”.The main goal was not implementing a standalone CAD application but tointegrate the required CAD tools within gvSIG. These tools let users rigorouslyedit the cartographic data. This way users did not need to edit the data usingCAD programs, create topology and then analyze the data in GIS applications.With these tools everything was integrated in the same application, so that allthe required functionality was available in gvSIG. The 1.0 version of gvSIGincorporated this functionality for the vector data edition. Since then usershave been able to modify, create and delete elements as well as edit, forinstance, a shapefile, a layer from a spatial geodatabase or a CAD-format file.gvSIG is provided with tools for inserting elements like points, polygons, lines,ellipses, etc., and tools to modify their rotation and symmetry. Newer ver-sions will include frequently-used CAD tools such as lengthen, cut-out, etc.
Integrating Advanced Raster ToolsNowadays gvSIG provides some of the typical tools of raster GIS. Withthe current version we can add some of the most common formats towork with raster information like georeferencing images, set imagetransparency, adjust brightness and contrast, and highlight. Spatial analysis functions are being added to gvSIG as part of the newraster functionality, with visualization and visual analysis tools utilizing
Colour tables applied over an Envi image
Route calculation with gvSIG
histograms, masks, colour tables, and image processing. In the sameway gvSIG aimed to integrate both raster and vector worlds by imple-menting an advanced module to vectorize and rasterize data.A parallel project of huge interest is the project being developed bySEXTANTE team. SEXTANTE (Territorial Analysis System of Extremadura)is a project developed by the University of Extremadura and financedby Junta de Extremadura. Initially it was an application over the SAGASIG main development .. The intention was to migrate all this func-tionality to gvSIG This effort has been a success, since the SEXTANTEExtension of gvSIG is now ready and available for download, includingfunctions oriented towards the morphology and hydrology fields. Allthe available functions developed are listed in the gvSIG website docu-mentation.
Integrating other Advanced ToolsThe main goal of gvSIG was cover-ing the requirements of most of thetechnicians at the Conselleria, thisgoal we can consider to have beenreached with the current gvSIG ver-sion 1.1.2. Furthermore, there wereusers at the Conselleria that madeup the smaller percentage having areal need for more advanced vec-tor tools for their daily work. Thosetools are currently being developedwithin the coming advanced mod-ules. Some of this new functionali-
ty has appeared in the latest gvSIG versions, where we can find fea-tures such as network topology creation, best route calculation, andOGC service publishing wizards.
gvSIG MobileAt the beginning of 2008, a smaller version of gvSIG was adapted foruse in mobile devices. It was gvSIG Mobile. It supports shapefiles, ECW,WMS and images, and is able to make use of GPS systems. Some GPSsupport tools in gvSIG Mobile are: connection to internal and externalreceivers, position and coordinate information, centre automatically,saving tracklogs and waypoints, and satellite constellation. In the current version, only the visualization of layers and the genera-tion of GPS tracklogs/waypoints are supported. There is an extensionavailable for gvSIG Desktop which allows cartographic information tobe exported from gvSIG Desktop to gvSIG Mobile.
Future WorkgvSIG is a European Commission initiative and a long term R+D+I pro-ject with funds to work in the integration of new functionality over thenext few years.By its very nature, gvSIG is an Open Source GIS which allows collabo-rators to grow in number. In the beginning the main partners were threeorganizations, namely CIT, IVER and University Jaume I. Nowadays, thereare many administrations, organizations and various private companiesthat are providing support at both the national and international level.Some of these include the Instituto Cartográfico Nacional de España,Laboratorio Nacional de Geomática, IRSTV from France, Cartheme inSwitzerland, el Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi de Colombia, JointResearch Centre from the European Commission, Instituto de DesarrolloRegional de Albacete, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Universidadde Alcalá de Henares, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Prodevelop,Fujitsu, Andago and Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir.
Alvaro Anguix [email protected] works at IVER Tecnologías de la Información.Valencia, Spain.
Laura Díaz [email protected] works at the Jaume I University of Castellón (Spain) Mario Carrera [email protected] is External Assistant at Conselleria de
Infraestructuras y Transporte. Generalitat Valenciana. For more information on the project, visit. www.gvsig.gva.es , https://www.gvsig.org
gvSIG source code repository SVN: http://subversion.gvsig.org/gvSIG
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December 2008
3D Extension
gvSIG Mobile
39
Subsurface Geo Building Information Modelling
GeoBIMIn most geotechnical or construction projects civil engineers have to
conscientiously consider both technical subsurface objects and natural bedrock
objects. From a civil engineer’s perspective, there is an urgent need to extend
the Building Information Model concept to the subsurface realm, incorporating
the surrounding natural environment.
By Fritz Zobl and Robert Marschallinger
mation Model (GeoBIM) as a straightforwardextension of the BIM concept – it enables themanagement of subsurface construction alongwith all geo-related (subsurface) data, suchas geological, hydrogeological and geotechni-cal objects and properties. In this article wedescribe the components, objects, features,prototype applications and the potential of aGeoBIM.
Virtual 3D City Models & BuildingInformation ModellingIn recent years, most virtual 3D city modelshave been realised as purely graphical or geo-metrical models, neglecting semantic andtopological aspects. KML or X3D/VRML arestrong in visualisation but have serious limi-tations regarding spatial relationships andsemantics. Therefore, these models are most-
ly used for visualisation purposes but not forthematic queries, analytical tasks, or spatialdata mining. Consequently, the City Geo -graphy Markup Language (CityGML) wasdeveloped in order to reach a common defi-nition of the basic entities, attributes, andrelations that can be shared across differentapplications. Features of CityGML are, forexample, digital terrain models, buildings,vegetation, water bodies, transportation facil-ities or city furniture. Going one step further,BIM technology enables detailed virtual mod-els of complete buildings. A BIM contains theprecise geometry and attribute data necessaryto support the construction, fabrication andprocurement activities needed to realise thebuilding. BIM also accommodates many of thefunctions for modelling the lifecycle of a build-ing, providing the basis for new constructioncapabilities and changes in the roles and rela-tionships among a project team. BIM facili-tates a more integrated design and construc-tion process that results in better quality atlower cost and reduced project duration.Architects, engineers as well as owners andfacility managers can realise significant bene-fits on projects by using BIM processes andtools to streamline the delivery of higher qual-ity and better performing buildings (6).Currently, BIM and virtual 3D city modelsmostly imply technical objects and relatedproperties above ground surface. In this arti-cle, we will focus on natural and technicalsubsurface objects and their role in a GeoBIMframework.
SubsurfaceGeoObjectsSubsurface geo objects build the undergroundor substratum we live on. These objects aredefined by their location, 3D shape, composi-tion, structure, physical properties, dynamics,and history of associated geological materi-als (geological information) as well as theirengineering behaviour (geotechnical informa-tion) and technical properties (technical infor-mation). We call this ensemble of objectsSubsur faceGeoObjects (‘S_GO’).The subsurface is predominantly made up ofnatural objects, formed and influenced bygeological and climate processes over millionsof years. These objects are named Subsur -faceNatureGeoObjects (‘S_NGO’). From a prag-matic GeoBIM perspective, S_NGO can be splitinto two categories: geological objects andhydrogeological objects. Due to natural varia-
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December 2008
Figure 1: Geo Building Information Model schematic, comprising geological objects (light yellow callouts), hydroge-ological objects (blue callout) and technical objects (orange callouts). Typically, a GeoBIM data set covers complexly-shaped, natural objects as well as the relatively simple shapes of man-made objects. Such a framework can current-ly be best maintained by a combination of B-REP solid modelling and database systems. See text for more details.
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is theprocess of generating and managing buildingdata during a buildings life cycle. Typically ituses three-dimensional, real-time, dynamicbuilding modelling software to increase pro-ductivity in building design and construction.The process produces the Building Infor -mation Model (also abbreviated BIM), whichencompasses building geometry, spatial rela-tionships, geographic information, and quan-tities and properties of building components.Therefore BIM can be used to demonstratethe entire building life cycle, including con-struction, facility management and mainte-nance, demolition and terrain remediation.Typically, BIM and virtual 3D city models por-tray above ground surface technical objectsand related properties.Hence, we propose a Geo Building Infor -
tion, S_NGO diversify and have a range frommicro- to macro scale. Therefore, the elementsof these categories can be further separatedinto several components (this clearly is appli-cation dependent – a tunnelling project insediments will be based on different designcriteria than one in hard rock), with a rangefrom minerals to lithological units for exam-ple. Examples for S_NGO are lithological unitslike gravel, marble or a shear zone, or agroundwater body (see Fig.1).In any engineering project, besides S_NGO,technical subsurface objects exist. We callthese technical objects Sub sur face Technical -GeoObjects (‘S_TGO’). Such objects are forexample all elements of subsurface infrastruc-ture facilities like pipes, wiring, caverns, gal-leries or tunnels and the subsurface compo-nents of any building (e.g. a foundation, asubsurface parking area etc.). During con-struction of these technical objects, informa-tion about S_NGO is acquired by exploration.
CAD systems, the total S_GO can be consis-tently combined via Boolean operations. Withdatabase information attached, S_GO canthen be subject to concurrent spatial andattribute queries in 3D.
Changes in S_GOPortraying a geotechnical project means keep-ing track of a dynamic system with S_GOchanges being mostly project-related: theadvancement of a tunnel, the excavation of abuilding pit, drilling and grouting activities,etc., will change both the S_NGO and theS_TGO ensembles. To a lesser extent, nature-induced changes also have to be considered- e.g. ground water level variation.The consistent incorporation of change ingeometry and shapes of associated S_GOobjects is a particular challenge for theGeoBIM concept (compare figure 3).
GeoBIM - Application Range andAdvantagesWhenever a new building is going to be con-structed, all relevant subsurface objects haveto be considered. In construction projects asound knowledge of position, geometricalshape and properties of subsurface objects isnecessary. This pertains to all phases of a sub-surface building’s life cycle: pre-design, design,construction and operation stages. As men-tioned above, subsurface objects can eitherbe natural objects (geology, hydrogeology), orexisting or planned technical objects such ascables, drain pipes or tunnels. In order toadapt the building to local conditions and toachieve secure and cost-effective construction,designers and engineers have to considerthese subsurface objects at the same time.Access to all data concerning location, shapeand properties of relevant subsurface objects,as well as data quality (statistical information)is of prime importance for the experts involvedduring the entire project. In tunnelling, thisneed is expressed by several concurrent devel-opment activities of 3D tunnelling documen-tation software.A Geo Building Information Modellingapproach enables the full, digital representa-tion of the building process and facilitates theexchange and interoperability of data.Typically, a GeoBIM data set comprises com-plexly-shaped, natural objects as well as therelatively simple shapes of man-made objects.Providing a development platform for designand administration tools of geospatial andgeotechnical projects, the location, geometry
S_NGO and S_TGO together make up theGeoBIM modelling framework (see figure 2).
Subsurface Modelling: B-REP Objectswith Database LinksWhile geometrical solid models portrayingS_TGO are the by-product of any up-to-date,CAD-based planning process, data on S_NGOtypically have to be acquired in the pre-pro-ject phase by exploration. Usual data sourcesare mapping, remote sensing, geophysics anddrilling. To be able to automatically interactwith technical subsurface geo objects, naturalsubsurface object data have to be trans-formed into solid models of S_NGO. Theindustry’s standard approach to geometricalsolid modelling is B-REP (7), which is offeredby CAD systems. Providing NURBS functional-ity, current CAD systems (e.g., AutoCAD,Microstation, CATIA) are able to portray thecomplex shapes of S_NGO in addition to thegeometrically straightforward S_TGO. In these
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41December 2008
Figure 2: Subsurface Geo Building modelling framework - GeoBIM. See text for detailed explanation.
Figure 3: Location, shape, properties and number ofS_GO changes. Any technical activity will change theS_NGO and S_TGO ensemble of a GeoBIM.
and properties of S_GOs need to conform toopen standards. This approach should enableengineers to build better and safer buildings,in a more efficient way.
Two Practical GeoBIM ExamplesGeo Building Information Models have beendeveloped using software from Autodesk(AutoCAD Civil 3D) and Bentley (Microstation).
REP) and attribute data (links to a relationaldatabase), describing the tunnel shell andassociated tunnel infrastructure like rails, pip-ing, electric lines and emergency equipment.In the GeoBIM environment, S_TGO andS_NGO can be related by Boolean operationsamong the solid objects and by databasequeries involving the geological, hydrological,geotechnical and technical attributes. As anexample, the possible impact of the shearzone (Fig. 2) on the tunnel can be highlight-ed by a combination of Boolean intersectionof relevant S_GO objects and a databasequery involving tunnel shell, tunnel infrastruc-ture and security equipment parameters. Oncea consistent GeoBIM has been established fora tunnel, maintenance work or future tunnelextensions like a parallel tube or emergencyexits can be scheduled in an economic way.Moreover, the S_GO framework is a quantita-tive foundation for technical simulations likeair pollution or fire propagation.
Design of Building Pits in Settled AreasBuilding projects in urban areas can be chal-lenging because of pre-existing infrastructure.When excavating a building pit, besides geol-ogy and hydrology, all existing subsurfacewiring, piping and foundations have to beconsidered (see figure 5). GeoBIM, in provid-ing the solid-based, full 3D management ofrelevant data, significantly reduces planningtime by integrating in an optimised manner,newly-planned and existing infrastructure.Moreover, the risk of damaging existing sub-surface infrastructure is minimised.
Fritz Zobl, [email protected], RobertMarschallinger, [email protected] Salzburg, Austrian Academy of Sciences.
www.oeaw.ac.at/giscience
GeoBIM video link: www.oeaw-giscience.org/downloadmaterial/GeoBIM
Links/ References:www.citygml.org
www.citygmlwiki.orghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_representationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonuniform_rational_B-
splineEastman et al., (2008): BIM Handbook: a guide to
building information modelling for owners, managers, designers, engineers and constructors,
Wiley
TunnellingTunnelling projects involve highly complexS_NGO and S_TGO arrangements (comparefigure 2 and figure 4). During tunnel planning,the building ground is thoroughly explored,yielding excellent data for the setup of theS_NGO solid model. The S_TGO, which is astate-of-the-art civil engineering by-product ofthe pre-project phase, holds all geometry (B-
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43December 2008
Figure 4: S_TGO associated with a tunnelling project (detail of Fig. 0). S_NGO in front of the shear zone (here:phyllite rocks) have been switched off to view the tunnelling infrastructure. The emergency shaft’s shell has been
rendered transparently to visualise the interior, e.g., the stairs and the elevator shaft. See text for details.
Figure 5: Building pit excavation in an area which was previously covered with buildings. Here, GeoBIM plays asignificant role in portraying the existing infrastructure.
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Conference
December 2008
ESRI’s EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) User Conference
Biggest GIS Event outside of the US
In London, during ESRI’s EMEA User Conference, the sympathetic ‘regionalisation’, gave this annual
event a nice and colourful British touch.
By: Remco Takken
Traditionally, ESRI’s User Conference for Europe, Middle East and Africais the biggest GIS vendor event outside of the US. In many respects,the gathering of 1,500 people from 6o countries functions as a region-alized summary of its considerably bigger San Diego counterpart.This means that ESRI founder and President Jack Dangermond also getshis own little space in London, where he can further emphasize hisvision for a ‘GIS for everyday life’. “We are all coming from many dif-ferent disciplines, working together on common ground.” About thepower of geo-information, he says: “we are already convinced, that’swhy we are here. But you are guilty of keeping the secret, because GISis still one of the best kept secrets in the world.”
Financial Crisis in PerspectiveWhile Dangermond refuses to talk too much about what he calls ‘returnson investment and the financial crisis’, thanks to GIS analysis, he doescome up with some revealing insights on suburban house foreclosures inSouthern California. “On the map you can easily see that the financial cri-sis didn’t affect the downtown areas so much. Those cheaper suburbanhomes got more expensive when fuel prices doubled. Maybe this startedthe whole thing. There’s a different crisis going on, it’s the crisis of ourplanet. And there is no safety bank, no bail out. The planet changes byour footprint, and it’s affecting the sustainability of what we do.” He alsoaddresses the British floods in the recent past. “There are more important
things at stake than money. We know that GIS can do a lot of things, butit can’t stop the floodings.”
Real Life DemoStrikingly, the real life demo held at the plenary sessions during the firstday, showed a flood scenario, with a clear focus on (mobile) GIS and flooddisaster management. This indeed has been one of the big issues in theUK lately, where GIS can help. The demo showed GIS has a role to playin flood prediction, prevention, planning and improving response.For non-UK visitors, it was informative to see how British analysts conse-quently pointed out climate change as the primal reason for the recentfloods. The ongoing growth of the British population, recent landscapedesign in risky environments and the oddities of chance calculation weren’ttaken into account as you would expect from a country where rain hasbeen a constant factor for centuries.RSA Group underwriter Timothy Mitchell made clear that the floodingsindeed were a fairly recent problem. He also commented on risk manage-ment in the western world in general: “As a country develops, insurancedevelops with it. The good news is that the insurance companies taketheir knowledge with them into developing countries.” Mitchell elaborat-ed on the use of GIS and spatial information in risk management. Althoughhe concluded that mapping allows insurance companies to do a betterjob, he wistfully added: “we now have to really use the GIS that we have.”
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Conference
December 2008
Time Saving Top 10, Imagery ServerAs ESRI Inc’s speaker David McGuire, formerly with ESRI UK, rightly statedin his Technology Vision: “Terrorism has incited the city, but today onlyabout six percent of all Londoners see this as their ‘number one’ issue.”McGuire practically played a home game, and it showed in the foyer, wherebook sales of his recent title “The Business Benefits of GIS; A ROIApproach” skyrocketed.In the ‘Top Ten of Time Savers’ the automatic errorreport ironically ranked at the number one position, as if to make thepoint again that ArcGIS 9.3 indeed had many bugs and errors. It toppedother useful tricks as ‘pause labels’ and ‘table sorting’.As in San Diego, quite a lot of time was scheduled for a sneak preview of9.4, due for release next year. With only 50 percent of the conferenceattendees using 9.3 over 9.2, these ‘forward looking statements’ seemeda bit over the head of the general user. More useful was the explanationaround the technical breakthrough of ArcGIS Imagery Server, which is nowboth vector and imagery software. It not only serves out images to thedesktop or to the web, with Imagery Server it is also possible to roaminto the metadata of the individual source information of each pixel andsee where it came from. The normal process in the case of non-matchingaerial photo mosaics was to recreate the entire mosaic. With ImageryServer, newly collected imagery or historical data can be updated one byone.
Instant AtlasWithout any doubt, one of the outstanding new GIS applications of2008 is Instant Atlas. Shortly after ESRI UK acquired GeoWise, theyreleased Instant Atlas, essentially a six-step wizard to create a map (re-) using template styles with a nice looking front-end as a result.Gareth Walters of GeoWise showed how you would typically get yourdata from different sources, pick a style and publish a map with thisone tool.With others, rather than geo-focused users in mind, Instant Atlas makesit possible to resize the map in favor of statistical charts. For namingand labeling map points a simple ‘sticky tool’ is provided in order tosee which chart belongs to a place on the map. It’s a tool to take seri-ously. For instance, metadata are running down the side of the Tableof Contents.
EMEA and MEAThe EMEA formula of this User Conference was a success. By skippingalmost all American user stories and cases, a rainbow of GIS relatedtopics emerged out of disparate regions like Australia, Bahrain and, ofcourse, the UK.Although, or maybe because, the 2008 edition of the ESRI UserConference EMEA was the biggest in its 12 years of existence, thingsare going to be different next year. European users will be invited tocome to Vilnius, Lithuania, while the rest of the world (the ‘MEA’ in‘EMEA’) will be directed to the city of Bahrain. Nice! This might be seenas a gesture both to the ‘new’ European countries in the EU and to theupcoming GIS communities in the Middle East. With great, goodhumoured speakers, such as Sheikh Nawaf Bin Ibrahim Alkalifa ofBahrain, exotic stands in the Expo and women in full Burqa taking noteson GIS applications during workshops, ‘London 2008’ might very wellgo into history as one of the most colorful editions of this event.
Remco Takken [email protected] is a contributing editor of GeoInformatics. Additional information
about the subjects mentioned in this article can be found on www.gisforeverydaylife.com and www.esri.com.
in London
In the ‘Top Ten of Time Savers’ the automatic error report ironically ranked at thenumber one position, as if to make the point again that ArcGIS 9.3 indeed had
many bugs and errors.
Two young ESRI employees re-enact their volunteering work with MapAction, togeth-er with MapAction Chief Executive David Spackman OBE (in a very British hat).
MapAction is a charity that helps to get aid to the right places in disasters, by pro-viding relief agencies with frequently updated situation maps.
45
Sharing Worldwide User Experiences
Leica Geosystems HDS andAirborne Sensor User Conference
on workshops were provided which focused onhigh definition surveying and airborne sensorapplications. The High Definition Surveyingevent covered the latest available informationon applications, workflows and business fac-tors, and updated product insights. Also, a plancontest was held whereby companies couldshare their electronic and hard copy plans(drawings) of civil/survey, building/heritage, andplant projects with others (see text box).TheAirborne Sensor part was primarily about in-depth product training, supplemented by user
presentations. Overall, the presentations of thetwo parallel tracks consisted of user stories witha fine balance between US users and users fromoutside the US, ranging from China to Belgium.During three days, parallel sessions for bothtracks were held.
Offering Hardware and SoftwareSolutionsThe conference was opened by Juergen Dold,president of Leica’s Geospatial SolutionsDivision. In his keynote address, he men-
46
Conference
December 2008
In San Ramon, California, Leica held the High Definition Surveying and Airborne Sensors Worldwide User Conference 2008.
The company actively invited users to openly share their experiences about the use of their products, both
hardware and software. Cultural Heritage projects, the maintenance and use of oil and gas installations, and many more
topics were discussed during three days of presentations by Leica users worldwide. Also, panel discussions, a plan contest
and a dinner cruise in the Bay Area for entertaining and networking
purposes made this a well organised and informative event.
By Eric van Rees
From October 26 to October 30, the 2008Leica Geosystems High Definition Surveying andAirborne Sensor Worldwide User Conferencewas held in San Ramon, California. This eventcombined two separate events, namely theLeica High Definition Surveying (HDS)Conference and Airborne Sensors Conference.This year’s event attracted 400 visitors, com-pared to 300 in 2007. The conference wasdesigned to allow users to share their experi-ences while visitors were encouraged to net-work in between sessions. In addition, hands-
Booth networking
tioned the growing importance of the soft-ware components in Leica’s portfolio, recog-nizing the customer’s need for not only ‘get-ting the rich data, but also sharing the richdata’. Leica offers their clients an integratedproduct portfolio that combines metrology,geosystems and geospatial solutions.Hexagon and Leica Geosystems thereforedecided to do both hardware and softwarecomponents, a decision that seems to havepaid off, as one conference visitor stated, “thesoftware has finally caught up with the hard-ware.” Talking about Leica Geospatial Solutions, Doldstated that “we drive the innovation toimprove field and office productivity”. Notonly is there more and more information avail-able in organisations, people want to shareand manage these data as well through timeand their organisation. This increases thevalue of information, and to manage the data,the ERDAS company launched ERDAS Apollo2009, a geospatial business system that wasalso presented during the conference. The conference was not just about successesthough: during the conference some of thepresentations focused on achieving successparticularly in the face of the challengescaused by the current economic turmoil. Twopanel discussions were about how to effec-tively market high definition surveying bothinternally and externally today, and the chal-lenge of attracting and recruiting new staff forlaser scanning companies and departments. Several of Leica’s scanning products were dis-cussed in detail, such as the Leica Scanstation2 and the Leica HDS6000, together with theaccompanying software, Cyclone andCloudworx. These products were also on dis-play in various booths outside the conference
“best overall performance” of tested pulsescanners; it was the only scanner of this typehaving noise below 2mm over the wholerange of white and gray reflectivity. It also hadthe best accuracy based on spatial distancesbetween spheres.
halls. The purpose for which Leica’s HDS prod-ucts are used varies greatly, as do the typeof organisations that use these products.Multinational organisations as well as single-person companies were present to share theirexperiences, problems and solutions.
Modelled Point CloudsAndreas Marbs from the FachhochschuleMainz (The University of Applied Sciences),Germany, discussed the latest performancetests of the Leica ScanStation2 (pulse scan-ner) and Leica HDS6000 (phase scanner). TheUniversity of Applied Sciences compared theperformance of both scanners with a list ofother brands tested. To do this, they chose auser’s approach to measure the accuracy ofthe laser scanners. For this they compared theresults of modelled point clouds againstknown geometry in the object space, verifiedby precise surveying methods. The result is acomprehensive report about scanner perfor-mance. The HDS6000 turned out to have the‘best overall performance’of all phase scan-ners tested, with an average accuracy at closerange (<10 meters), excellent accuracy at midrange (10 to 25 meters), and by far the low-est noise (up to 25m) of all tested phasescanners. The Leica ScanStation2 showed the
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Conference
47December 2008
HDS Plan ContestFor the first time, Leica introduced a plancontest so that conference attendees couldshare their work with others. Electronic andhard copies of drawings and plans werereviewed in three categories, namely‘Plant’, ‘Civil Survey’ and ‘Buildings/ -Heritage’. The winners are:
Building/Heritage First Prize: Allen & CompanySecond Prize: BHC Rhodes
Civil/SurveyFirst Prize: Manhard Consulting Ltd.Second Prize: Dynasty Group
PlantFirst Prize: Allen & CompanySecond Prize: RLS Group
Juergen Dold, president of Leica’s Geospatial Solutions Division
Paul Walsh of StatoilHydro
Paul Walsh from StatoilHydro, Norway, spokeabout the company’s growing use of HDS,including extensive project, operations, andmaintenance uses of TruView. StatoilHydro isone of the world’s largest crude oil and gassuppliers and the biggest seller of oil prod-ucts in Scandinavia. The company usesTruView for photorealistic laser scan data rep-resentation of its oil and gas installations, andbrings them to the engineer’s desktop. It isintuitive, free and web based, and functionsas central overall laser scan administrationand maintenance. Besides that, it offers freemeasuring and mark-up possibilities. 3D visu-als play an important role in the concept ofsolving the challenges of having personnel,suppliers and systems offshore, onshore andin different countries. Walsh stated that it isimportant in “bringing the data to the expertsrather than bringing the experts to the data.”Since StatoilHydro currently has the world’slargest implementation of PDMS (Plant DesignManagement System) Global, including 41PDMS facility models in 3D, this is more thannecessary. How does a small civil/survey firm take advan-tage of HDS in a stressed economy? Gus Riosof Diamond West (California) explained howhis company managed to take advantage ofHDS in the last year. In 2005-2007, businessfor Diamond West was very good with 75%
of its projects done for architects, governmentand developers, and the remaining 25% gen-erated through engineering and serviceproviders. In January 2008, a challengingeconomy began: the company had to dosome serious marketing by visiting and speak-ing at conferences, and undertaking seriousnetworking initiatives. The company succeed-ed in successfully filling the void by provid-ing consulting services to past scan clientsand 3D visualisation to new clients (architectsand developers). With this new strategy, thecompany saw its 2008 revenue share change,with 50% now coming from architects, devel-opers and government, and 50% from engi-neering and service providers. Conclusion: byacting smart, it is indeed possible to takeadvantage of HDS in a stressed economy.
Eye CandyOne field that sprung out in terms of eyecandy, was the preserving of cultural heritageand archaeology projects in various regionsof the world. One of the most entertaining speakers wasConor Graham of Gridpoint Solutions(Northern Ireland). His informative and oftenfunny presentation showed the use of laserscanning for architectural stone surveys,archaeological surveys for land developmentapprovals, and much more. This two-man
company was the first to offer HDS servicesin Northern Ireland and because of this, theytried to cover as many HDS sectors as possi-ble, although their focus lies in the commer-cial and public funded heritage/archaeologysectors. Graham discussed such a project:scanning the 14th century Nenagh CastleTower, for a public plan to conserve andrestore the tower and its surroundings. AnHDS survey met all the client’s requirements,namely a 3D HDS archive, 2D ‘unwrappedstone by stone’ external elevations and 2Dexternal sections. Graham was also very posi-tive on the benefits of HDS for site measure-ment, since it allows sites to be handed overfor the construction phase much soonerbecause heritage and archaeological featuresare recorded fully, accurately, and very quick-ly. Publication of heritage site archives on theweb, via TruView, also adds value for clients.
3D ModellingA similar application for cultural heritage wasshown in the Airborne track at October 28.Professor Li Deren from Wuhan University(China) spoke about digitalizing the MogaoCaves, which form a system of 492 templescontaining Buddhist art. His presentationfocused on generating 3D data of all thecaves and the 200 km2 area around them, inorder to create high-precision 3D models and
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Conference
December 2008
Juergen Dold giving the opening keynote.
Virtual Architectural Environments, using sev-eral 3D visualizing technologies. To achievethis, point clouds were created with laserscanners of the caves and objects, to whichtextures were added from raw images. Theend result was a textured, highly accurate vir-tual model in 3D. By far the most impressive visuals came fromthe first presentation on Wednesday October29, where David Mitchell (Historic Scotland)and Doug Pritchard (Glasgow School of Arts)explained how Scanstation2 was used for her-itage projects. They showed highly-textured3D models of castles, bridges and the like, inbreathtaking visuals that are used for tourismpurposes. Although some attendees were crit-ical of the high costs involved in huge pro-jects of this sort, and were sceptical of theircontinuation when the economic tide is low,the speakers stated that this project turnedout to be a financial success and that it canattract tourists to Scotland who are curiousto see the ‘real thing’. Chris Ogier from ERDAS presented ERDASApollo, a photogrammetric workflow from thedesktop to the web. ERDAS creates softwaredesigned to turn imagery into information. Forextending geospatial data to business appli-cations throughout an organization, theyintroduced ERDAS Apollo, a suite of enter-prise products that includes ERDAS Apollo
geospatial applications and e-commerce abili-ties. This suite is just one step towards a biggeospatial business system from ERDAS, fromwhich other components will be released later.
ConclusionThe conference covered many different topicsfrom many different countries, and judgingfrom the reactions of visitors, it was a big suc-cess. The presentations were without excep-tion of a very high quality and the organisa-tion of the event was flawless. Everyoneenjoyed the networking opportunities duringthe conference, and also a cruise dinner inthe Bay Area, which was a nice occasionallowing everyone to enjoy the spectacularviews of San Francisco by night. Leica and allthe attendees can look back on this user con-ference with satisfaction. As hardware andsoftware technologies are constantly evolvingand being used for innovative and excitingnew applications, such as forensics, this real-ly is just the beginning.
Eric van Rees is editor in chief of GeoInformatics. For more information, have a look at
www.leica-geosystems.com. Thanks to Geoff Jacobs for providing imagery.
Server, ERDAS Apollo Image Manager andERDAS Apollo Solution Toolkit. The suite waslaunched in August 2008 and is meant fororganisations which have multiple CAD, GIS,remote sensing and photogrammetry systemsand want to deliver their data through theinternet, among other things. With ERDASApollo Server, raster and vector data can bepublished, catalogued and consumed. WithERDAS Apollo Image Manager, large volumesof gridded data can be served and managedcentrally throughout the enterprise. ERDASApollo Solution Toolkit is an advanced webtoolkit for building sophisticated web portals,
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Conference
49December 2008
Conor Graham of Gridpoint Solutions discussed a project on scanning the 14th century Nenagh Castle Tower in Northern Ireland.
Conor Graham
Looking forward to a Harmonious Future together
3D Laser Scanning and its 2D partners
In a perfect world, harmony would be applied to 2D survey and a rapidly
encroaching 3D perspective. Since 2001 projects and organisations like CyArk
and Heritage3D have embraced 3D technologies and tried to better understand
and use them within a cultural heritage context. This article discusses three
themes: the breakdown of 2D-3D barriers, the merging of digitisation
technologies like those of photogrammetry and laser scanning (at least in
terms of processing) and finally the increasing attempts to future-proof ancient
monuments and historic landscapes by producing ever-more detailed and
precise digital records which could survive erosion, vandalism and conflict.
A number of practical examples are used to illustrate the points made.
By Adam P. Spring, Caradoc Peters and Andrew Wetherelt
Arguments about the role of 2D and 3D arenot new. With the development of perspectiveby Renaissance artists like Leonardo DaVinciand Filippo Brunelleschi, the flat medieval artof the church was thrown into disarray. The flatmedieval art survived however because per-spective can only give an impression of 3D.Perspective cannot provide accurate z coordi-nates for the depth, and so 2D was needed formore serious technical drawings. 3D can alsobe seen as potentially deceitful or affected byartifice as it was an artistic technique associat-ed with special effects to draw the viewer's eyein a particular direction or to create illusions.
Even today people connect 3D representationswith cinematic effects, clever illusions or com-puter games, whilst 2D has remained thedomain of the rational and academic. This hasclouded people's perception of what digital 3Dis about. A perspective in a 3D world can bemeasured as accurately, easily and readily asfrom a conventional or digital 2D plan.Perceptions, or rather misconceptions, morethan anything else hold the archaeologicalcommunity back from the more widespread useof digital 3D recording. The boundariesbetween 2D and 3D, in terms of academic ver-sus popular, rational versus impressions have
become fuzzy. Indeed, for those who feel morecomfortable with 2D drawings, a 3D pointcloud can generate these as well.
Similarities between Laser Scanningand PhotogrammetrySurprisingly such 3D point clouds suffer vary-ing criticism depending on the means bywhich they are generated. Since 1998 the riseof the mid range laser scanner has had manya photogrammetry specialist shaking their fistwith a knowing and rebellious, "I've beendoing this sort of thing with cameras foryears". Whilst it is justified to put new tech-niques through their paces, criticisms of laserscanning have not wholly gone beyond thesuperficial and have predominately centredon cost. Fundamentally laser scanning andphotogrammetry are very similar. Both cap-ture photometric and geometric information –which means they deal with shape, colour,texture and size – to produce a cloud ofpoints made up of x,y,z co-ordinates. Grantedit is possible to produce similar, greatlywatered down, results using a well-estab-lished survey tool like a reflectorless total sta-tion on an automated setting. However it isthe speed and amount of information gener-ated which separate potential 3D survey toolsout from those traditionally associated with2D survey plans. A further distinction may be
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Art ic le
Figure 1: Gwithian archaeological landscape, showing
the bronze age site of GMX also with elevation colour
coding. Excavated by Charles Thomas et
al 1949 - 1969 .
December 2008
made between photogrammetry and midrange laser scanning, with the latter allowingfor instant results in the field.
The Merging of DigitisationTechnologiesInitially laser scanning and digital photogram-metry developed within a geomatics communi-ty, and this was equally true of their early appli-
is however that a 2D image has less informa-tion than its 3D counterpart. 2D images aremore selective and interpretive, which can be agood thing when specific information isrequired, but at least with digital 3D recordingthe choice to display in 3D or indeed in 2D isinstantly and readily available. Once the archae-ologist overcomes her or his fears or miscon-ceptions about laser scanning, the task is (asis common for most new approaches or tech-nologies) one of asking the right questions.Instead of asking for a plan or section for exam-ple, why not ask for what features of an objector structure need to be recorded, and at whatresolution or degree of accuracy this will beneeded. As for particular views or angles, thisis something that can be generated at the mod-elling phase. The archaeologist can manipulatethe object using a modelling programme untilthe required view is achieved, and an imagecan then be generated from that for publica-tion.
Criticisms and MisconceptionsThere are other criticisms of laser scanningthat are misjudgements that arise from a lackof engagement with the technology – forexample, the idea that extreme cost and theneed for specialist expertise prevent any real-istic access by ordinary archaeological practi-tioners. Whilst laser scanners are presentlycostly, prices are continuously reducing likemany other electronic goods in contrast tomost other goods. Despite present prices, thespeed of capture of millions of points in a fewhours compared to hundreds of points possi-
cation and growth in archaeology. As they werenew technologies, there was much concern withworkflows and technical issues like accuracyand error. Indeed an experimental and special-ist dialogue has dominated the literature. Thisis an unavoidable stage in the progress of anynew technique, but not one that need ultimate-ly stick or hinder its wider application. As aresult, a number of misconceptions aboundabout what 3D digitisation represents. Forexample, that digitisation is for geeks, that itcannot produce useful archaeological plans andsections, that it is for single objects or struc-tures and has no place in the real world of land-scape archaeology, and perhaps worst of allthat it is a lightweight irrelevance producingpretty models for public entertainment and tit-illation.Geeky, digitisation is certainly not, and its tech-nologies are much more accessible and easy touse than is popularly believed. Although it willstill take a long time to generate surveys oflandscapes as opposed to sites, in the shortterm this can be resolved by meshing smallerterrestrial scans and photogrammetry surveyswith those generated from the air like LIDARand from outer space such as satellite imagebased Google Earth. LIDAR and Google Earthimages are compatible with terrestrial laserscanners, so there is no problem with meshingthem together.Indeed, the idea that the 3D imagery is just forentertainment is probably strongly influencedby the fact that such images are most com-monly associated with computer games andmore recently with the cinema. The simple fact
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Art ic le
51
Figure 2: Hellenistic Theatre, Butrint, Albania – 3rd cen-
tury BC. Scanned at 20 mm resolution. Firm surface
geometry and range of visibility made it ideally suited
to
scanning.
December 2008
bly captured by a conventional total stationoperated by an experienced surveyor meansthat the value in terms of costed hours ofwork is soon recuperated. Here one mustremember that the accuracy of a laser scan-ner can be as great as 5mm, so this is highdefinition documentation (HDD). As for thesoftware to process and model the resultingpoint cloud (the mass of millions of pointsgenerated), it is already available as open-access programmes downloadable from theInternet – for example the modelling pro-gramme Blender.The idea that laser scanning is a highly spe-cialist and technical activity beyond the reachof ordinary mortals is likewise questionable.Companies like Leica and Riegel provide shorttraining courses for customers requiring onlythree days, putting it on a par with varioushealth and safety courses like First Aid. Tuitionfor open access software is readily availableon the Internet including on YouTube. Usercommunities have forums where people pre-sent their problems and receive advice.Photogrammetry too is beset with similar atti-tudes. However, a number of programmessuch as MESHLAB and Photosynth are avail-able to download free of charge with full easyto follow instructions.Finally, there is a widespread belief that digi-tal technologies are in competition with eachother: the false debate between laser scan-ning and photogrammetry; and that betweenlaser scanning and digital remote sensing.
The false Debate between LaserScanning and PhotogrammetryRecent literature has attempted to pit survey-ing and recording technologies against eachother in a pointless struggle for existence. Thefact is that these technologies are compatibleand complementary. Photogrammetry and laserscanning both rely on diodes that measureelectromagnetic radiation. The only differenceis which parts of the electromagnetic spectrumare being measured – visible light or infrared,and the use of mosaic filters that bias greenlight in cameras (in order to reflect the naturalbias in human eyes). Also, once the data hasbeen captured from a camera or a laser scan-ner, the data is equally recognisable by pro-cessing and modelling software. Indeed LIDAR,GPR or any other recording instruments willproduce digital coordinates that are compati-ble with and indistinguishable from all otherdigital coordinates.As for photogrammetry andlaser scanning being in competition, they actu-ally complement each other in the nature ofwhat they record. Photogrammetry is excellentat recording surface textures and colour differ-ences. Laser scanners record depth directlywithout having to resort to software that cancalculate the z or depth values. The values pro-duced by laser scanners are not influenced byproblems of contrast, and colour values can-not create visual illusions. Critically movingbetween these technologies can help the sur-veyor obtain a keener more accurate picture ofthe objects recorded.
52
Art ic le
Figure 3: 3rd Century Baptistery, Butrint, Albania,
showing 20th century Italian alterations made between
1924 and 1926 by Mussolini. Pillars were added to
make it look more “Roman”.
December 2008
On the other hand, laser scanning can capture,work with and recreate a primitive form of 4D(3D plus 1 D), which is essentially what archae-ology is all about. The full 3D data can revealthe abovementioned folds and irregularities inthe landscape. Additionally, the fourth dimen-sion can be recreated. People and their actionsare expressed through the passage of time orat least through chronologically arranged data.3D images from different times are comparedor animated through modelling programmes tocreate the fourth dimension.
Future-proofing Ancient Monumentsand Historic LandscapesThe role of mid range laser scanning and otherdigital techniques within archaeology is clear.Entire landscapes can now be recorded to scale,in real time, and preserved as digital archivesfor time immemorial. Much in the same wayfield reports are revisited and revised in the pre-sent, these digital records or time slices canalso be revisited in the future. The theoreticaland methodical implications such 'meta' arte-facts (digital artefacts produced from the coor-dinates of originals) encourage are endless, andas time goes on we shall see new branches ofarchaeology develop along with the technologyas the quality and range of data increases.With the rapid evolution of technology comesa continued alteration of storing data. Much inthe same way the floppy disk was replaced by
The False Debate between LaserScanning and Digital Remote SensingAerial and satellite imagery as remote sensingtechniques have already been transformed bydigital scanning technologies, and they cancover larger areas faster than terrestrial scan-ners. There are however some new ways inwhich terrestrial laser scanners can provide newadditional information as yet inaccessible fromaerial or satellite imagery. LIDAR scans andGoogle Earth provide what is known as 2D +1D. In other words 2D images, which are thenprocessed to calculate depth and transform toa sort of perspective 3D. Just like perspectivedrawing it is not possible to be absolutely sureof the third coordinate, the z coordinate, as itis not directly measured. Laser scanning, how-ever, does measure the z coordinates directly.Aside from providing directly measured z coor-dinates in more detailed surveys, laser scan-ning complements the dimensionality of digitaldata produced by Remote Sensing. RemoteSensing is essentially looking from a distanceor spying from afar. As such it only has onedirection of gaze. Take a landscape of cliffs over-looking a plain. An aerial view or a satelliteimage reveals the relief accurately with theslope of the cliffs and the surface of the plain.However, if there are any caves in the cliffs oruneven folds in the plain these could be missedor smoothed over as a unidirectional recordingwould have no way of revealing them.
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53
Figure 4: 3rd Century Baptistery, Butrint, Albania,
showing Mussolini’s pillars reconstructed to the height
of the highest standing example. Modelled in Cyclone.
December 2008
the CD and DVD these too will inevitably bereplaced by something else. This has directimplications when it comes to the storage ofany archaeological information saved in a digi-tal format. Projects like those run by RuthTringham and Michael Ashley (UC Berkeley) atÇatalhöyük and organizations like theArchaeological Data Service (ADS) have startedto address this issue by utilising the constantlydeveloping nature of the Internet. The mostinteresting forum for Scandata (sets of coordi-nated points created from scans) is the CyArkFoundation (CyArk.org).
ExamplesThe following examples demonstrate the powerof recording cultural heritage as 3D point cloudsof spatial information. The data comes fromfieldwork carried out using a mid-range laserscanner.
Gwithian, CornwallThe Gwithian project was conducted in July andAugust 2008. It included mid-range laser scan-ning of the archaeological landscape in westCornwall where parts of the 1949-1969 excava-tions by Charles Thomas took place, as well asGround Penetrating Radar sampling of specificareas. The laser scanned point cloud producedfrom the project was done at 10 cm resolutionover a 150 metre range and consisted of 5ScanWorlds (modelled areas created throughscanning) which covered a 64 hectare site inone day. Whereas Airborne LIDAR data is con-cerned with capturing height from above, theground-based laser system used allowed for ahigher resolution Digital Terrain Model to begenerated that also allowed for the colour cod-ing and enhancement of archaeological featureswithin that landscape as seen from the eleva-tion colour coding in Figure 1. Prior to theadvent of mid-range laser scanning, any record-ing of the geomorphology of a landscape would
have been impractical todo, let alone to berepeated easily manytimes in order to monitorits continuous alteration.
Butrint, Albania –Hellenistic TheatreFirm geometry and wideopen space presentedthrough the HellenisticTheatre at Butrint,Albania (Figure 2), reflect-ed the easy at whichdata can be capturedfrom very few positions –in this case just two. Interms of the way inwhich the laser scanner
was constructed to interpret the world, this islargely due to the 360 to 270° window of rota-tion that is allowed by the particular type oflaser scanner used for this job.
Carn Brea, CornwallThe juxtaposition between the weathered andirregular surfaces of the Neolithic tor and thegeometrically sound 1836 Bassett Monument(Figure 5) visualises a fundamental differencebetween High Definition Documentation (HDD)and the recording of archaeological monumentswith conventional or established survey toolslike the Total Station. Unlike the Total Stationor 2D survey, HDD is not concerned with thecapture of individual points. The main differen-tiation lies in the capture of entire surfaces inone traverse and the rapid acquisition of datain the field.
The Baptistery, Butrint, AlbaniaBetween 1924 and 1926, a group of Italianarchaeologists funded by Mussolini were sentto Butrint to reaffirm a strong Roman presenceon the site. A direct consequence was the re-interpretation and supposition of this agendaon to the material record. The Italian archaeol-ogists placed a ring of columns in the centre ofthe monument in order to 'restore' it to a moreRoman look. This is demonstrated through there-jigged Baptistery as seen in Figure 3. TheItalian columns were digitally exaggerated indigital space through modelling as seen inFigure 4.
ConclusionIn this article, we have tried to highlight the var-ious factors that must be considered using amid range laser scanner to record and preservearchaeological sites and artefacts as digital arte-facts within their own right. The relationshipbetween the physical world and the digital envi-ronments are not that straight forward and
there are several elements that need to betaken into consideration. This is especially thecase when we refer back to such meta artefactsin the future. In 2005 the Minister of Culture inGreat Britain addressed the value of laser scan-ning the heritage sector by seeing it as a meansof recording and preserving sites that are underthreat, as she put it no substitute for the realthing but an alternative. This paper builds uponthis by suggesting whilst ScanWorlds are nosubstitute for the actual thing they can act asa very valuable information tool proving theinformation present or the technology is takenfor granted. A standard of practice must be putin place that accommodates for the develop-ment of laser scanning in archaeology in thelong term. With the rapid evolution of suchyoung technology the impressive data setsalready available can only get better.In many ways a methodology needs to bedeveloped that has purpose in mind. What getsdone with the information after acquisition isas important as how it is acquired. In the longterm the recurring importance of addressingeach scan job with purpose in mind should alsoincorporate how the scan data can be used inthe immediate and long term, as well as bywhom it could and will be used (think abouthow the modeller could use this data and datasuch as note and photos gathered in the field).
Adam P. Spring, Heritage3D Project Officer,[email protected], Heritage3D.org
Caradoc Peters, University of Plymouth, Truro CollegeCampus, [email protected],
www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/dynamic.asp?page=staffdetails&id=rutcpeters
Andrew Wetherelt, Camborne School of Mines,University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus,
[email protected],www.exeter.ac.uk/cornwall/academic_departments/cs
m/staff/andrew-wetherelt/index.shtml
Websites: www.heritage3D.org
www.epoch.euwww.cyark.org
www.worldarchaeologicalcongress.org/site/home.phphttp://extranet.getty.edu/gci/recordim
The authors would also like to thank Jon Mills,University of Newcastle and Paul Bryan, Head of
Metric Survey, English Heritage, Meg Conkey, RuthTringham, Michael Ashley, Alex Baer, John Chenowethand Sara Gonzalez at UC Berkeley, Rand Epich at The
Getty Conservation Institute, , Sharron P. Schwartz,Robert Van Der Noort, Jean Taylor, Ainsley Cocks,
Arjun Sharma, Daniel Hunt, as well as the Cornwalland West Devon Mining Landscapes World Heritage
Site, Cornwall Heritage Trust and the CamborneSchool of Mines Trust.
54
Art ic le
Figure 5: The Bassett Monument at Carn
Brea (1836) and a Tor which formed part of
an earlier Neolithic Tor enclosure. This
shows the potential for scanning prehis-
toric ritual landscapes also.
December 2008
While the Shapefile and KML have both helped with data sharing, there
is limitless volumes of content that is remains inaccessible to users. For
a variant of reasons, the content is either locked up in proprietary for-
mats (DWG, ESRI File Geodatabase, MapInfo TAB) or is not indexed by
search engines. Paul Bissett of WeoGeo calls this “hidden content” and
claims that while there are approximately 800 TB of discoverable data
out there, 91,000 TB of digital content is not indexed and in turn not dis-
coverable. This means that only 0.009% of digital content is searchable
and if we equate this number to my local library with over 500,000
books, it means that I could only find 4,400 of them – a massive failure
of the Dewey Decimal system!
Data discovery and accessible content is important to the successful inte-
gration of the GeoWeb into our workflows. Unfortunately, we are proba-
bly missing critical datasets that could help us design tools to visualize
problems or solve questions. A client asked me the other day what web
services were available for their project and wanted to get a list for a
meeting she was having with her staff. The question highlights the chal-
lenge confronting us – where do we go to find spatial data services on
the web?
Google is attempting to index this “hidden content” but they cannot do
it alone. ESRI and Google have teamed up to make ESRI’s web services
discoverable by Google and other projects such as GeoServer have also
worked to make their services discoverable by Google’s Geo Search API.
This is a great start, but it still requires owners of the content to enable
their discovery by Google, Microsoft or Yahoo! Some data owners would
not benefit from making their data discoverable because of a variety of
reasons including security, proprietary concerns and development costs.
But for the data that is available, we need a Google search for spatial
data, and we need the equivalent of
Amazon.com for selling data.
Column
Data Discovery
James Fee [email protected] is Geospatial Manager at RSP Architects Ltd.
Have a look at his blog www.spatiallyadjusted.com
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com55
December 2008
Art ic le
December 2008
Nestled 440 km northeast of Vancouver, B.C. Canada, the City ofVernon is home to 36,000 people. With its snowy mountains, lush winer-ies and sunny beaches, Vernon seems to have it all. One of the keytools in managing the largest city in the North Okanagan RegionalDistrict is the City’s internal GIS application, originally based onAutodesk MapGuide open-source technology. When issues of perfor-mance and compatibility with the Regional District arose, the City ofVernon began searching for an internet mapping solution to replacetheir existing system. With a staff of about three hundred, they recog-nized the need to find an efficient and functional mapping platformthat would perform at least as well, if not better, than MapGuide.The City also knew that with 50-80 internal GIS users in various depart-ments, they needed an out-of-the-box application that would requireminimal staff involvement in developing the tools and functions theyneeded. After considering new web-GIS technology being released atthe time by both Autodesk and ESRI, the City of Vernon decided tomigrate to ArcGIS Server for the deployment of its server-based enter-prise GIS. From there, they sought ought options for an efficient, out-of-the-box solution.After initially starting the development of a Geocortex IMF/ArcGIS Server
Connector-based site, some compatibility problems with ArcSDE 9.2relating to SDE annotation led to Geocortex Essentials, which was still
Migrating Vernon’s existing Mapping Platform
Implementing Geocortex Esstials
Located in British Columbia Canada, the City of Vernon is home to 36,000 people.
When issues with performance and compatibility arose in their internal GIS system, the city decided
to migrate to ESRI’s ArcGIS Server for the deployment of server-based enterprise GIS. From there,
they began their search for an efficient, out-of-the-box application framework that provided
cutting edge tools and required minimal staff maintenance involvement – the solution:
Geocortex Essentials.
By Trisha Twiss
Essentials screenshots
Essentials screenshots
56
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
57December 2008
UNI__GIS
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a relatively early product. However, the City decided to license LatitudeGeographics’ Geocortex Essentials upon release of version 1.2 given thevariety of new features and the GUI-based Geocortex EssentialsManager.
Enterprise GIS for the CityDecember 2007 marked the start of Geocortex Essentials 1.2 implemen-tation in earnest, with “super user” training beginning in February 2008to initially deploy the new application. General staff were introduced to
the application in March 2008 with open-house demonstrations. One challenge posed by the transition to a new GIS application wasthe issue of data transfer, given that the City’s existing MapGuide reportscouldn’t be integrated with other applications. The technical teamdevised a solution; replicated data from MapGuide reports was deliv-ered in the form of working report templates that were compatible withEssentials. This effectively solved the issue of current and future datatransfer by giving the City the means to complete their own data entriesand conversions.To capitalize on their new application, City of Vernon also had GeocortexEssentials customized to integrate their TempestTM property manage-ment software. “One of the main reasons we chose the technologieswe did was that we wanted the ability to integrate our existing sys-tems and software to create a true enterprise GIS for the city,” observesBarend Donker, GIS Coordinator at City of Vernon.
Though there have been a few reports related to the speed of the 9.2-based application during times of heavy traffic, the system has beenwell-received by City of Vernon staff and the City is planning to lever-age new versions of ArcGIS Server and Geocortex Essentials as theycome available.
Trisha Twiss is writer and can be reached at [email protected]
For more information, have a look at www.geocortex.com
Essentials screenshots
Where Virtual Reality Technology meets GIS
GeoVisionaryGeoVisionary started out as a 3D visualisation suite for the British Geological Survey, but became more than a tool
for geologists: it makes data available also for external clients and visitors. The surveyor and geologist don’t
need to move from 2D to 3D anymore after using GeoVisioary. Andrew Connell explains what GeoVisionary is
all about, how it works and what the future has in store.
By Andrew Connell
The Inception of GeoVisionaryGeoVisionary is a happy accident. Out of theblue, Virtalis was asked to provide a 3D visual-isation suite for the British Geological Survey(BGS). A pioneer of modern geology, BGS hasan international reputation for excellence. Whatbegan initially as a simple suppler-customerrelationship has burgeoned into a rich partner-ship where both organisations have fed theother with ideas and expertise. Virtalis supplieda Virtual Reality (VR) suite for BGS’s head office
and then another to its regional office inEdinburgh. Once BGS realised the power of VRtechnology, it asked Virtalis to help them devel-op a stereoscopic surveying fieldwork softwareapplication. BGS aimed, with Virtalis’ help, tocreate a 3D model containing detailed dataabout the subsurface of the UK. BGS’ geolo-gists at the time were using various softwarepackages to help them develop their 3D mod-els, including GoCad, ArcScene and Fledermaus.Virtalis has also helped develop a software
application to aid interpretation of geologywithin the UK’s Assynt area and the NorthPennines Geopark. Using the tracking system,the Virtalis team quickly created a demonstra-tor system capable of immersing the user in thevirtual 3D geology and landscape, enablingthem to explore their data.
More than a Tool for GeologistsAs this prototype model gained more andmore features and groups of people came to
58
Art ic le
December 2008
GeoVisionary developed jointly byVirtalis and the British Geological
Survey allows the user to reallyimmerse themselves in multi-source
data in real time.
see it, there was a general realisation that themodel, but more importantly the technologythat lay behind it, could have an impact onmany more spheres than just geology. Assoon as the first demo version of what hasbecome GeoVisionary was developed, itbecame apparent that BGS and Virtalis hadcreated something of much greater signifi-cance than either of them ever intended. Inlate 2006, Dr. Stuart Clarke, a survey geolo-gist at BGS and responsible for the develop-ment of many of the 3D models, commented:“The 3D element doesn’t just interest geolo-gists. It makes our data available to visitorsand external clients by bringing them to life.Being able to represent in 3D what alreadyexists could help tear down the barriersbetween specialists and non specialists.”
What is GeoVisionary?Geologists and surveyors naturally think in3D, but until now they have had to translatetheir ideas onto a 2D record. This 2D record,in the form of a map, then has to be re-inter-preted into 3D. With GeoVisionary, the needto move from 3D to 2D and back again isnegated. A project team can work together toconstruct a 3D model, interact with the dataand interpret them as a group. These providethe capability to look at models from anyangle, allowing users to interact with thestereoscopic 3D environment dynamically andshare the experience with others. Viewingmodels in this way can reveal features and
BGS has found that when planning oranalysing a field survey, it can useGeoVisionary to assimilate material from vari-ous sources. For example, aerial photographs
correlations not previously appreciated by thesurveyor, and, just as importantly, they allowthose without training to envisage 3D from2D maps and cross-sections with ease.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
59December 2008
GeoVisionary enables the visualisation of terabytes of geoscience data, and allows other data, such as geotechnical, environmental and geochemical information to be overlaidonto it, giving a complete picture.
can be draped onto a digital terrain modeland radar, satellite imagery, digital bore holes,mine plans and any previous geological datacan be overlaid, giving the most complete pic-ture possible. Although it is possible to useGeoVisionary on a laptop or tablet PC out inthe field, it looks stunning when one is ableto view the data in 3D. BGS uses it on itsVirtalis StereoWorks system consisting of asingle large screen onto which stereo imagesare rear projected by a Christie Mirage S+4Kusing a Sun Ultra40 workstation as the imagegenerator. The projector is capable of extreme-ly high resolution and brightness, boastingone and a half mega pixels. The entire room’scontrol system has an integrated wirelesstouch panel, so that light and sound are allcontrolled from a single point. BGS’ VR roomsseat 18 people, and also have a wireless IS-900 tracking system from Intersense, allow-ing people to interact immersively with theirmodels.
Communication is KeyAlthough GeoVisionary has not yet been usedin a surveying context by any users exceptBGS geologists, it is clear that this technolo-gy has changed the way in which they work.Virtalis has found that first and foremost VRtechnology fosters communication. The sys-tem allows teams of geologists to survey anarea before commencing fieldwork, thus build-ing an understanding of the terrain, combined
with any existing interpretations. This initialassessment allows surveyors to effectively tar-get fieldwork in areas where surveying is mostrequired. On completion of fieldwork, the sur-veyors can check their field interpretation inthe virtual landscape. This team approachallows colleagues to work together on pre andpost studies – things that had traditionallybeen solitary studies in the past.BGS surveyors report that, far from being sub-ject to interference from colleagues on theirprojects, a team approach has managed toavoid rework on several occasions, especiallyover the exact boundaries of the survey area,giving truly seamless mapping. Junior col-leagues can work alongside senior ones inthe VR suite and, during the shared pre-sur-vey stage, areas of especial interest can betargeted.GeoVisionary can also give surveys the kindof advantage that only those with a budgetstretching to a helicopter can dream of, as itallows the surveyor to suddenly fly up to20,000 feet to obtain an altered viewpoint, ora wider perspective. As no features areobscured by topography or landscape fea-tures, BGS survey teams have reported that,once they have digitized their fieldwork data,they are left with an efficiently gathered, sin-gle coherent picture.BGS scientists have branched out to useGeoVisionary on non-UK datasets. They haveeven deployed it in seabed environments and
on inter-planetary remote sensing data, suchas that available for Mars. Current work alsoincludes mapping projects in Ethiopia andTajikistan.
GeoVisionary – How it WorksGeoVisionary enables the visualisation ofunderlying geological modelling in 3D andallows photographs, maps and other relatedgeoscience data, such as geotechnical, envi-ronmental and geochemical information, tobe overlaid onto it.Initially, the team developing the GeoVisionaryprototype took parts of the UK’s ground sur-face model provided by IntermapTechnologies and draped certain key geo-science data sets, such as its digital bedrockand superficial geology from DiGMapGB50, onto it. The initial prototype results were encour-aging, but limited then by the amount of datathat could be loaded into the system.Nevertheless, teams of geoscientists wereable to view and interact with the surface andsubsurface models over regions of the UK forthe first time using immersive visualisationtechnology, or VR.These early successes led to more testing anddevelopment, with the creation of a UK widevirtual field reconnaissance system, integrat-ing national scale data holdings, existing 3Dsurface and subsurface models and a varietyof geoscientific or geo-environmental layers.Another key aspect of the design was to
60
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December 2008
enable the integration of already powerful GISsystems and associated geographic data,thereby avoiding a re-invention of systemsthat were already very familiar to BGS geosci-entists. This was achieved by combining thefunctionality of the i3DVF and MobileIntegrated Data Acquisition System (MIDAS)into a single Virtual Field Reconnaissance(VFR) tool that allows geological surveyors toreview mapping at both local, regional andUK scales. Delegates from the recent ESRIshow in the UK were astounded to see theirown familiar data rendered in 3DEveryone that has seen GeoVisionary remarksthat what impresses them is the quality anddetail of the images the team has achievedand its speed. It is possible to “fly” to anypart of a model in seconds. Nor is a powerfulworkstation needed to operate GeoVisionary.GeoVisionary was designed for geologists inthe field using laptops and in the office usingsingle or clustered Sun workstations. Even so,there are 70 billion triangles and 15 trillionpixels in the initial UK dataset alone, whichis understandable when you consider thereare height measurements every five metresand photographs of the terrain give a pixelfor every 25 cm. The System has built inseamless streaming of multi-resolution levelsof data, merging additional detailed pictures,geological notes, historical maps and subsur-face data from boreholes in real time.GeoVisionary is infinitely scalable, becausethe system only remembers where it is look-ing at any given moment. Each field of viewcomprises two million triangles which areupdated 100 times a second. The novel dataformats give the ability to visualise as you fly,continuously streaming both geometry andphotography to imperceptibly update theworld around you, giving a landscape thatrapidly morphs before your eyes.
years’ research between BGS and Virtalis.In addition, the Virtalis development team hasalready identified a series of more sophisti-cated features to add and is also creating spe-cialist modules for specific market sectors.BGS’ contacts in a range of organisations, bethey commercial or governmental, are help-ing immeasurably to obtain market feedbackfor the future direction of these GeoVisionaryvariants.
By Andrew Connell [email protected] is technical director of Virtalis Limited
Andrew Connell is a world authority in VirtualReality (VR) technologies.
For more information, have a look atwww.virtalis.com
The FutureOver the last year, the Virtalis DevelopmentTeam has been honing and refining the sys-tem and adding useful features to allow usersto easily get the best out of GeoVisionary. Theidea is that the technology, or high speed ren-dering capability, is hidden from the user.Although from a programming and VR per-spective what we have done is highly com-plex, the aim, if GeoVisionary is to become aGIS communication tool, is to make it as sim-ple to use and intuitive as possible. Refiningthe user interface and the data exchanges arethe first priorities, as GeoVisionary would thenbecome a specialist, niche software, able tobe used by a broad range of people andorganisations. GeoVisionary will be ready toship in New Year 2009 and is the fruit of two
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
61December 2008
Snowdon viewed in GeoVisionary. The 3D landscape visualising software was developed jointly by Virtalis and theBritish Geological Survey.
Calendar 2009
Advertiser Page
Cardinal Systems www.cardinalsystems.net 61
DAT/EM www.datem.com 55
ESRI www.esri.com 12, 13
Geomax www.geomax-positioning.com 64
Intergeo East www.intergeo-east.com 28
Leica www.leica-geosystems.com 22, 23
Lidar 09 www.lidarmap.org 27
Magellan www.pro.magellangps.com 2
Map World Forum www.mapworldforum.org 42
OmanHydro www.omanhydro.com 38
Racurs www.racurs.ru 10
Sokkia www.sokkia.net 63
Topcon www.topcon.eu 20
UNIGIS www.unigis.org/uk 57
Advertisers Index
23-25 February Trimble DimensionsLas Vegas, NV, U.S.A. Internet: www.trimble.com
23-25 February ESRI Petroleum User GroupConferenceHouston, TX, U.S.A.Tel: +1 909 793 2853 ext. 2894E-mail: [email protected]: www.esri.com/pug
26-28 February Navigating the Future ofSurveying Education. Workshop onEducational Management and MarketingVienna, AustriaE-mail: [email protected]: www.fig09.ov.at
March
08-13 March ASPRS Annual ConferenceBaltimore, MA, Baltimore MarriottWaterfront Hotel, U.S.A.Internet: www.asprs.org
13-17 March SPIE Defense, Security andSensing 2009Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.Tel: +1 360 685 5407Fax: +1 360 647 1445E-mail: [email protected]: www.SPIE.org
21-24 March ESRI Worldwide BusinessPartner ConferencePalm Springs, CA, U.S.A.Tel: 1 909 793 2853 ext. 3743E-mail: [email protected]: www.esri.com/bpc
23-26 March ESRI Developer SummitPalm Springs, CA, U.S.A.Tel: + 1 909 793 2853 ext. 3743E-mail: [email protected]: www.esri.com/devsummit
30 March - 01 April SPAR 2009: 3DImaging for Design, Construction andManufacturing OperationsDenver, Colorado, U.S.A.Tel: +1 978 774 1102Internet: www.sparlic.com
April
01-02 April GEO-09Coventry, United KingdomTel: +44 (0)1438 352617Fax: +44 (0) 1438 351989E-mail: [email protected]: www.pvpubs.com
01-03 April GISRUK 2009Durham, United KingdomTel: +44 (0)191 222 6353Fax: +44 (0) 191 222 6502E-mail: [email protected]: www.ceg.ncl.ac.uk/gisruk2009
19-22 April GITA’s 2009 Geospatial Infra -structure Solutions Conference & ExhibitionTampa, FL, U.S.A.Internet: www.gita.org
21-23 April GEO-SIBERIA 2009, 5thInternational Exhibtion and ScientificCongressNovosibirsk, RussiaInternet: www.geosiberia.sibfair.ru
22-23 April XCES, The Exhibition forConstruction and Engineering SurveyingYork Race Course, United KingdomTel: +44 0161 972 3112E-mail: [email protected]: www.ices.org.uk/xces.php
22-25 April REAL CORP 2009, 14thInternational Conference on UrbanPlanning, Regional Development andInformation Society Sitges, SpainTel: +43 1 90360 1240Fax: +43 90360 1299Internet: www.corp.at
27-29 April ESRI Southeast Regional UserGroup ConferenceJacksonville, FL, U.S.A.Tel: +1 909 793 2853 ext. 4347E-mail: [email protected]: www.esri.com/serug
May
03-08 May FIG Working Week and XXXIIGeneral Assembly - New Horizons acrossthe Red Sea - Surveyors Key Role inAccelerated DevelopmentEilat, IsraelTel: +45 3886 1081Fax: +45 3886 0252 E-mail: [email protected]: www.fig.net/fig2009
04-06 May 2009 ESRI Business GISSummitDenver, CO, U.S.A.Tel: +1 909-793-2853, ext. 2894E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.esri.com/bizsummit
04-08 May, International Symposium onRemote Sensing of Environment -Sustaining the Millennium DevelopmentGoalsStresa, Lago Maggiore, ItalyE-mail: [email protected]: isrse-33.jrc.ec.europa.eu/index.php?page=home
11-14 May BE Conference 2009Charlotte, NC, U.S.A.Internet: www.bentley.com
25-29 May The Second InternationalConference on Earth Obsevation for GlobalChanges (EOGC2009)Chengdu, ChinaE-mail: [email protected]: www.eogc2009.com.cn
25-29 May, International Conference onGeodesy, Cartography and Cadastre in the21st CenturyMoscow, RussiaTel: +7 9499) 261 62 43Fax: +7 (499) 267 25 18E-mail: [email protected]: www.miigaik.ru
June
02-05 June ISPRS Hannover Workshop2009 - High-Resolution Earth Imaging forGeospatial InformationHannover, GermanyTel: +49 511 762 2482Fax: +49 511 762 2483E-mail: [email protected]: www.ipi.uni-hannover.de/ipi-workshop.html
02-05 June 12th AGILE InternationalConference on Geographic InformationSience - Advances in GIScienceHannover, GermanyTel: 511 762 3465Fax: 0511 762 2780E-mail: [email protected]: www.agile2009.de
05-09 June URISA’s 2nd GIS in PublicHealth ConferenceProvidence, RI, U.S.A. Tel: 847 824 63 00 E-mail: [email protected]: www.urisa.org
09-11 June The International EmergencyManagement Society TIEMS 16th AnnualConferenceIstanbul, TurkeyTel: +90 (212) 285 3782Fax: +90 (212) 285 3782E-mail: [email protected]: www.tiems2009.org
15-18 June Intergraph 2009Washington, DC, Gaylord National Resort &Convention Center, U.S.A.Internet: www.intergraph2009.com
Januari
09 January - 07 February Exhibtion ofEvolution from Local Measures to theMeterBraine-l’ Alleud, BelgiumInternet: www.fig.net/events/2009/history_2009.htm
19-22 January DGI Europe, The Fifth AnnualGeospatial ConferenceLondon, United KingdomTel: +44 (0) 207 368 9465Internet: www.dgieurope.com
24-29 January SPIE Photonics West 2009San Jose, California, U.S.A.Tel: +1 360 685 5407Fax: +1 360 647 1445E-mail: [email protected]: www.SPIE.org
24-29 January OPTO 2009 - Part of SPIEPhotonics WestSan Jose, California, U.S.A.Tel: +1 360 685 5407Fax: +1 360 647 1445E-mail: [email protected]: www.SPIE.org
25-28 January GIS Ostrava 2009Ostrava, Czech RepublicTel: + 420 595 227 121Fax: +420 595 227 110E-mail: [email protected]: www.gis2009.com
26-28 January International LiDAR MappingForumNew Orleans, LA, U.S.A. E-mail: [email protected]: www.lidarmap.org/papers
27-29 January INTERGEO East 2009Istanbul, TurkeyE-mail: [email protected]: www.intergeo-east.com
Februari
02-04 February FIG Commission 3Workshop on “Spatial Information forSustainable Management of Urban Areas”Mainz, GermanyInternet: www.i3mainz.fh-mainz.de/FIG-Workshop
03-05 February ESRI California/Hawai/Nevada User Group ConferenceSacramento, CA, U.S.ATel: +1 909 793 2853 ext. 4347E-mail: [email protected]: www.esri.com/cahinvrug
08-14 Februari 2009 15. Internationale Geodätische WocheObergurglObergurgl, AustriaInfo: Dr. Thomas WeinoldTel: +43 (0) 512 507 6755Fax: +43 (0) 512 507 2910E-mail: [email protected]: www.uibk.ac.at/geodaesie/obergurgl.html
10-12 February Aquaterra 2009, SecondWorld Forum on Elta and CoastalDevelopmentAmsterdam, The NetherlandsTel: +31 (0)20 549 12 12Fax: +31 (0)20 549 18 89E-mail: [email protected]: www.aquaterraforum.com
10-13 February Second Map World Forum:A Promise for Sustainable Planet EarthHyderabad, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]: www.mapworldforum.org
18-20 February ESRI Federal UserConferenceWashington, D.C., U.S.A.Tel: +1 909 793 2853 ext. 2421E-mail: [email protected]: www.esri.com/feduc
Please feel free to e-mail your calendar notices to:[email protected]
62December 2008
Correction
The author of the article on page 64/65 In issue 7 (October/November 2008) of
GeoInformatics was mistakenly mentioned that as a spokesperson of Say Communications.
However, this should be mentioned as a spokesperson from MapInfo and not Say
Communications.
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