PositionIT

Epson broadens wide-format printer offering in South Africa

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Epson brand has been respected for its high-quality wide-format photo printers by the photography market for a long time, and now the company has expanded its focus towards the CAD, GIS and engineering markets with the Epson SureColor T-Series wide-format inkjet printers. Epson is aiming to snag 20% of this vertical market by 2015 (see page 4).
Contact Vernon Mellors, Epson, Tel 011 465-962

Geomatics Profession Bill: the saga continues

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Reading through the submissions at the recent parliamentary public hearings into the Geomatics Profession Bill, it was evident that GISSA, SAGI, IMSSA, and PLATO had common concerns about the somewhat indifferent consultation process, the inadequate defining of the geomatics profession, and the representivity of the new geomatics council.
Most parties making submissions expressed their frustrat

Epson broadens wide-format printer offering in South Africa

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Information from Epson The Epson brand has been respected for its high-quality wide-format photo printers by the photography market for a long time, and now the company has expanded its focus towards the CAD, GIS and engineering markets with the Epson SureColor T-Series wide-format inkjet printers. Epson is aiming to snag 20% of this vertical market by 2015. Epson has created a new line of profe

Practicing the full monty

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

by Karl van Rensburg, Professional Land Surveyor Land surveyors practising within the cadastral field are in general relatively successful; however from my interaction with colleagues, many are negative and pessimistic about the future of the profession (more so the younger colleagues). Land surveyors in general have not analysed this discontent, for the reason that they are spending an abnormal

Is a GISc Technologist a professional registration? Our winning letter!

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Dear Editor I am registered as a GISc Technologist with PLATO.
My employer has a policy whereby employees registered with statutory bodies get recognition. In our department there are engineers (geotech, structural and civil), architects, quantity surveyors and myself as a GIS specialist.
The engineers' registrations are recognised in terms of Professional Engineer and Professional Engineeri

Initial response from PLATO

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

To whom it may concern PLATO is a registration body established ito Act 40 of 1984.
This council is created through legislation and consequently the registration categories are determined in terms of that legislation.
Four categories of registration have been created: Professional NQF level 8 Technologist NQF level 7 Technician NQF level 6 In Training The fact that statutory bodies wit

WIN

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Send us your letters and be in line to win great prizes! This month's winner receives a Spectra Precision QM75 Laser Distance Meter The Spectra Precision QM75 is the first handheld distance meter that is designed and built specifically for the tough construction environment. The use of engineered plastics, rubber over-mould and clever electronic isolation make the QM75 the most robust laser dis

Response from PLATO

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Dear Editor Clearly there is confusion between being registered as a "Professional" versus being registered with a "Professional Body".
PLATO does not prefix its registration categories with "Pr.". This, however, does not make the registration any more or any less legitimate. The "Pr." prefixed to ECSA designations means no more than "Registered".
The writer is a registered "Technologist", r

Public hearings on the Draft Geomatics Profession Bill

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Information from the Parliamentary Monitoring Group The parliamentary portfolio committee on Rural Development and Land Reform held public hearings on the Draft Geomatics Profession Bill on 16 April 2013. The South African Council for Professional and Technical Surveyors (PLATO), the South African Geomatics Institute (SAGI), the Geo-Information Society of South Africa (GISSA), the Institute of Min

Submission from the South African Council for Planners (SACPLAN)

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Tshisa Madima, Deputy Chairperson, South African Council for Planners (SACPLAN) noted that this Bill was similar to the Planning Professions Act (Act 36 of 2002), in that both pieces of legislation aimed to regulate town and regional planning, and land surveying.
In general, SACPLAN welcomed the Bill, but was concerned about the potential conflict caused by overlapping interests and professiona

Summarised summissions from institutes and organisations Submission from the South African Council for Professional and Technical Surveyors (PLATO)

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Paul Marshall, President of the South African Council for Professional and Technical Surveyors (PLATO), set out the concerns of this body. He noted that the Geomatics Profession Bill (the Bill) aimed to establish a statutory council to maintain a high level of technical, professional and ethical standards in order to protect the public, and to ensure credibility for its registered members. Thi

Submission from the South African Geomatics Institute (SAGI)

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Peter Newmarch, President, SA Geomatics Institute (SAGI), noted that SAGI was a voluntary organisation for registered persons working in the fields of land surveying, photogrammetry, remote sensing, town planning, geographical information systems (GIS) and land management. The Bill would have a direct impact on SAGI members.
Newmarch claimed that the drafters of the Bill seemed to have shown

Submission from the Geo-Information Society of South Africa (GISSA)

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Morena Letsosa, representative, Geo-Information Society of South Africa (GISSA), said that this society had several proposals on the Bill.
In relation to definitions, he suggested that the term "Geospatial Information Science (GISc)" needed to be clearly defined.
He suggested that the definition of "geomatics practitioner" had to be amended. It was currently biased towards the surveying prof

Submission from the Institute of Mine Surveyors of South Africa (IMSSA)

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Donovan Andersen, President, Institute of Mine Surveyors of South Africa (IMSSA), noted that mine surveying was a branch of mining science and technology. It included all measurements, calculations, and mapping that served the purpose of ascertaining and documenting information, at all stages from prospecting to exploitation and utilising mineral deposits, both by surface and underground working

Northern Provinces branch annual general meeting

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Northern Provinces Branch of the South African Geomatics Institute (SAGI) held its annual general meeting on 19 April 2013 at Pumulani Lodge outside Pretoria. Chairperson Altus Strydom welcomed delegates to the meeting and introduced the keynote speaker Trevor Venter from Optron who spoke on "Our changing world and the role of the surveyor".
Venter kicked off by saying that surveyors used t

Keynote speakers for SASGI 2013

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The South African Geomatics Institute (SAGI) and EE Publishers, the organisers of the South African Surveying and Geomatics Indaba 2013, are pleased to announce the line-up of keynote speakers for the geospatial event of 2013. The keynote speakers are: Geoff Zeiss, Principal of Between the Poles Consulting; Roger Haagmans, Principal Scientist at the European Space Agency; Prof. Michael Barry, hold

Profiles of keynote speakers for SASGI 2013

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Geoff Zeiss has more than 20 years experience in the geospatial software industry and 15 years experience working with utilities, communications, and public works in enterprise geospatial IT.
For the past ten years he was responsible for thought leadership for the utility industry program at Autodesk.
Prior to joining Autodesk, Geoff led software development at Vision* Solutions where he l

Taking GIS to Scifest 2013

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Scifest Africa 2013 took place in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape from 13 to 19 March 2013. The festival was officially opened by the Minister of Science and Technology, Derek Hanekom, at the Settlers Monument. The theme for this year's event was "Science on the move" with the focus on exploring transport and anything that moves. This was done in support of plans by Bloodhound SSC to break the World Lan

Successful user conference

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Intergraph Southern Africa 2013, hosted by Intergraph, Geo Data Design, Geospace and Intergraph Systems Southern Africa, was held on 5 March at the Wanderers Club in Illovo, Johannesburg. Delegates were exposed to the group's new, streamlined approach to geospatial, which connects and leverages all genres photogrammetry, remote sensing, and GIS in a dynamic, unified suite. They learnt about

Bloemfontein hosts annual GIS conference

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

GISSA Free State has issued an invitation to its XIV Annual Free State Conference which will be held in Bloemfontein at the Bains Game Lodge from 17 to 18 October 2013.
The theme of the conference will be "Spatial Dimensions towards a better South Africa".
Three-dimensional geographic technology is enhancing our perspective and the potential of the world around us, but how are we utilising t

Optron VIP Partners Conference

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Optron is hosting a VIP Partners Conference to be held during the afternoon of Monday 22 July 2013 at Emperor's Palace, prior to the South African Surveying and Geomatics Indaba on 23 24 July, at the same venue. Optron is the Diamond sponsor for the surveying indaba.
The Optron VIP Partners Conference will offer the latest news and technological developments, with a focus on building relation

SA and Russian space agencies sign RadioAstron agreement

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Minister of Science and Technology Derek Hanekom has welcomed the signing of an agreement between the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos). The agreement, on the RadioAstron space satellite, was signed on 26 March 2013 in Durban, coinciding with Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to South Africa.
The RadioAstron satellite was lau

Company hosts 40th data show

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

AfriGIS, a leading supplier of spatial and other datasets, hosted its 40th data show on 7 March 2013 at the Bytes Technology Centre in Midrand.
Maintenance releases are issued every quarter to ensure that new developments and name changes are incorporated in the updated datasets.
The company's maintenance processes ensure that any gaps or errors in the data are addressed through a dedicated

Gauteng branch and National AGMs

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The GISSA Gauteng AGM, incorporating the GISSA National AGM, was recently held at the Eskom Academy of Learning in Gauteng.
After the GISSA Gauteng Chairperson's report, Quintin Haywood presented "An investigation into changes in land cover patterns in the Richards Bay area using Landsat imagery."

Research in to the utilisation of computerised and board games to teach GISc Concepts was then

Call for nominations for CSI

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Minister for Rural Development and Land Reform, has invited interested persons to nominate suitable candidates to serve as members of the Committee for Spatial Information (CSI). The call was made in terms of section 5(3) of the Spatial Data Infrastructure Act. The CSI will consist of the following members appointed by the minister: Two persons in the full-time employ of the department.

One

Geospatial software for UNIGIS international network

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

UNIGIS has selected Intergraph's geospatial education offerings to provide leading GIS, remote sensing and photogrammetry tools to its universities and enrolled students. UNIGIS, a network of universities cooperating in the design and delivery of distance learning in GIS, was founded in 1990 and currently includes sites in fourteen countries.
Members of the UNIGIS network offer postgraduate mas

Successful sectional title workshop

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

SAGI Northern Provinces Branch held a workshop on Sectional Titles on 10 April 2013 at Pumulani Lodge north-east of Pretoria.
H-C Frank-Schultz, who worked at the Pretoria Surveyor General's office for 12 years as a PA before retiring in 2011, presented the workshop. The function was attended by 98 members of the survey fraternity as well as other interested persons.
The framework for th

Mobile laser scanning workshop

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

3D Laser Mapping has announced the date and venue for the 2013 Terrasolid annual training conference.
The hands on event offers parallel streams allowing delegates to select topics of interest with sessions including an introduction to mobile laser scanning, creation of 3D city models and the production of orthorectified data. It will take place at 3D Laser Mapping's newly opened regional headq

The old and the new: archaeology and positioning technologies

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Information from Topcon The theory of human evolution is itself constantly evolving, and as archaeologists unearth more fossils and ancient human remains the technology used to explore these theories continues to evolve too. Total stations are used in archaeology to accurately record positioning information of artifacts, sediment and fossils as they are discovered. This information is then use

Increased productivity in harsh environments

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Information from Trimble In 2011 Spectra Precision introduced Z-Blade positioning technology which allows surveyors to be more productive by enabling them to work with GNSS in places where it was previously impossible or inefficient, such as dense tree canopy or urban areas. This article describes how Z-Blade technology increases positioning availability in difficult environments and how its perfo

Accident scene reconstruction in underground mining operations

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

by Dr. Patrick Foster, University of Exeter; Simon Barnes, Lucas Flumm and James Jobling-Purser, 3D Mine Surveying; and Francois Stroh, 3D Laser Mapping With safety being the number one value within mining, civil, commercial and industrial settings it is imperative that any breach of safety resulting in an accident or loss of life is investigated thoroughly. This can involve considerable amounts o

Solutions for hydrographic and positioning markets

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

C&C Technologies South Africa is focused on the provision of solutions to the hydrographic and positioning markets and carries a comprehensive pool of demonstration and rental equipment and offers technical support and training of hydrographic and complimentary marine products from leading survey equipment manufacturers. The company has offices in Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg. It has a proven tr

SA dealer for global construction distribution network

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Trimble has announced that CLM Positioning Solutions has been appointed as the SITECH Technology Dealer to serve countries in the Southern African region. The company joins the premier network of SITECH dealerships a fully dedicated global distribution network offering a comprehensive portfolio of construction technology systems available to the heavy civil construction contractor. Dealers rep

Municipality sets up own CORS network

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Selçuk city, one of the most popular tourism attractions of Turkey, is located on the Izimir costal area. GNSS positioning technology has been widely applied everywhere in Turkey, but the national VRS network is not perfect, especially in the coastal areas of Izimir. For a long time, the positioning accuracy has been rather low and the fixed RTK solution was not stable. Consequently Selçuk munic

Solution for hydrographic and topographic survey

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Riegl Laser Measurement Systems and Applanix Corporation have announced that the Applanix AP50 GNSS-Inertial sensor system was successfully integrated with Riegl's VQ-820-GU topo-bathymetric airborne laser scanner on board the Schiebel Camcopter s-100 UAV. The Riegl VQ-820-GU is specifically designed to survey sea beds, the grounds of rivers or lakes and is well suited for combined land and hydrog

Reducing downtime for machines and job crews

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Trimble Remote Assistant provides real-time technical support to field crew personnel or earthworks machine operators, without the time and cost of waiting for a technician to drive to the construction site. As a key feature of the Trimble Connected Site for construction, Remote Assistant offers significant benefits to both workers on the job site and support personnel in the main office. Less d

Boosting mine safety

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Safety is one of the primary advantages of putting the Topcon Imaging Station (IS) to work in a mining environment. A robotic total station with the auto-scanning capabilities of a laser scanner, the IS makes dangerous areas accessible for the surveyor. Areas for which survey data was unavailable in the past can now be surveyed reflectorless over a distance of up to 2000 m. The product combines

Geospatial companies merge

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Leading geospatial services company AAM has announced its merger with Vekta, as part of a major investment in Australia's geospatial sector. The combination of the two industry leaders positions AAM as one of the largest geospatial services providers in Australasia and the Asia Pacific Region. The merged company will continue to provide geospatial services to the Australasian, Asia Pacific and A

Geomatica re-launched as GeoM

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

South African based geospatial services company Geomatica has re-launched as GeoM following a major evolution in its business. The company, which specialises both in airborne and terrestrial laser scanning projects, has made a significant investment in new laser scanning hardware, recruited experienced professionals and undertaken a complete marketing makeover. GeoM is responding to market demands

Laser scanner for underground applications

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The I-Site 8200 laser scanner can be coupled with a range of accessories to provide a complete scanning system for underground drives, tunnels and stopes, as well as surface stockpiles and silos.
Processing of scan data can be undertaken in I-Site Studio and I-Site Void software. In demanding underground operations the focus is on safety and ease of setup, requiring comprehensive scan cover

All-in-one surveying data collection device

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Trimble Slate Controller combines the convenience and ease-of-use of a smartphone with rugged durability. Partnered with Trimble Access and the Trimble R4 GNSS receiver, the product provides a dedicated GNSS solution that is effective for both real time and post-processed GNSS surveys. Offering voice, SMS text, and 3.75G cellular data transfer capabilities on GSM cellular networks worldwide,

New company provides UAV survey services

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

New aerial survey company, AirMap, provides precision aerial survey services using state-of-the-art unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. The UAV carries a high resolution camera, an auto pilot controller and a battery operated propeller on a light weight (500 g) frame, making it an easy-to-use and environmentally friendly system.
Traditionally, aerial photography and mapping is a costly

First Galileo position fix

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Europe's new age of satellite navigation has passed a historic milestone the very first determination of a ground location using the four Galileo satellites currently in orbit together with their ground facilities. This fundamental step confirms the Galileo system works as planned. A minimum of four satellites is required to make a position fix in three dimensions. The first two were launched in

Aerial survey company opens new offices

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Geosense, Getmapping's wholly owned subsidiary in South Africa, has opened a new office in Centurion which will be the new centre of flight operations and the focus of the company's extensive lidar capability. Geosense now has three offices in Africa Cape Town, Centurion and Nairobi. Matt Murphy, managing director of Geosense says that it makes sense for the company to base their lidar processin

Tough reflectorless total station

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Nikon recently introduced the new NPL-322 Total Station an economic, versatile, and easy-to-use platform that ensures you get the job done right. The NPL-322 is available in a 5 cm dual face model and a 13 cm single face model to meet your specific accuracy needs.
Both NPL-322 total station models feature a reflectorless EDM with up to 200 m range.
Using the same rechargeable long life L

Using GIS effectively in mining and exploration

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

by Charl Retief, Esri South Africa The challenge being faced by GIS professionals in the mining sector is not so much a technological one but rather one of value. In an economic environment where budgets are being slashed, how do GIS professionals working in the mining environment ensure that their departments survive and provide value to the overall operation. GIS is a transformational technolo

Selling data quality to senior executives

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

by Nigel Turner, Trillium Software Although the benefits of data quality (DQ) improvement appear self-evident to people intimately involved with DQ, a constant frustration is that others in the organisation do not recognise its importance. This article tries to help those working in DQ to overcome this problem, and turn senior executives into allies and not blockers of DQ improvement. Our organi

Partnership enables real-time GIS

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

OSIsoft, producer of the PI System, a leading operational data infrastructure for real-time data and events, and Esri, a global leader in geographic information systems (GIS), have announced a strategic partnership to enable the vision of real-time GIS. By bringing together ArcGIS and the PI System, customers will not only know where things are but what they are doing in real-time, says Jack Dange

Speeding up project execution

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Intergraph has announced the launch of SmartPlant Cloud, the company's Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, a dynamic cloud computing environment to support the entire SmartPlant Enterprise portfolio. The product removes the need for customer hardware and infrastructure and allows users to access SmartPlant Enterprise applications, project and plant maintenance environments via a simple URL, reg

Historical airphoto processing workflow introduced

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

PCI Geomatics, has introduced the Historical Airphoto Processing Workflow, also known as HAP. The HAP workflow was designed to work with historical airphotos, providing a semi-automated means to align, orthorectify, and mosaic from hundreds to thousands of digitally scanned airphotos. The system can greatly reduce manual labour, double throughput, and achieve high accuracy. The company is introduc

New best practice document

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has adopted "Semantic annotations in OGC standards" as an OGC Best Practice. The OGC is an international consortium of more than 480 companies, government agencies, research organisations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OGC standards provide standard ways of locating and transporting net

Spherical imaging system for GIS applications

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Point Grey has released the Ladybug5 camera, the next-generation version of the popular Ladybug series of 360-degree cameras. The new LD5-U3-51S5C redefines past performance benchmarks, boasting an impressive 30 megapixels of total resolution covering 90% of a full sphere; a 5 Gbit/s USB 3.0 interface; and a ground-breaking post-processing workflow that provides high dynamic range, superb image

Open source project graduates from incubation

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The GeoServer project has graduated from incubation and is now a full fledged OSGeo project. Andrea Aime, a long time member of the GeoServer Project Steering Committee (PSC), has been appointed as project officer.
GeoServer is an Open Source Java Web App allowing users to publish, share and edit geospatial data. It is well known for its ease of use, excellent documentation and active developme

Dataset reveals retail market potential

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The SA Expenditure Indicator data product helps the end-user to determine the potential retail market size of an area. In this task, the user is assisted by twelve different retail categories underpinned by the Fernridge AfricaEye demographics and the Fernridge Retail Expenditure model. The expenditure data is summarised to suburb level to permit the end-user to make micro-level decisions about

New edition of best-selling workbook

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Getting to Know ArcGIS for Desktop, Third Edition, from Esri Press is a fundamental workbook for GIS beginners that introduces the underlying principles of GIS within the context of a structure ArcGIS lesson plan. Originally published in 2001, this bestselling textbook has been has been enhanced for ArcGIS 10.1 compatibility and offers many new graphics and discussions about current geospatial t

Study maps greenhouse gas emissions to building street level

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Information from Arizona State University Arizona State University (ASU) researchers have developed a new software system capable of estimating greenhouse gas emissions across entire urban landscapes, all the way down to roads and individual buildings.
Until now, scientists quantified carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at a much broader level. Dubbed "Hestia" after the Greek goddess of the hearth

July Features

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Multimedia data visualisation and presentation systems and techniques; contour modelling; 3D spatial modelling and visualisation systems; 3D fly-throughs and virtual environments; voice-aided presentation techniques; associated data visualisation products, systems and services.

Mapping the location of lost WWII fighter plane

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

by Kevin Corbley, Spatial Energy A lost World War II British Royal Air Force fighter plane in Egypt offers lessons in the varied uses of satellite imagery. Word spread quickly in Egypt that a Polish exploration group had discovered a fighter plane that had crashlanded in the Western Desert during World War II. The remarkably well-preserved condition of the aircraft (guns and ammunition still int

Imagery helps fight locust plagues

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

DMC International Imaging (DMCii) is helping the Algerian Space Agency (ASAL) to predict the spread of locust plagues across North Africa as part of a pro-active approach to tackle the destructive phenomenon using satellite imagery. Every year, North Africa is subjected to locust plagues that threaten to decimate crops and endanger countries' food security. The satellite imagery is used to assess

New lens for digital aerial camera system

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Microsoft UltraCam has announced the immediate availability of the 210 mm lens for the UltraCam Eagle digital aerial camera system which offers an exchangeable lens system. The 210 mm lens captures the same high dynamic, excellent quality, detailed imagery as other UltraCam systems, with the added benefit of flying at high altitudes, e.g.
5 cm imagery at 2000 m altitude.
This allows data c

Designed for CAD/GIS environments

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Océ South Africa has announced the arrival of a solution for computer-aided design (CAD) and geographic information system (GIS) environments its latest wide format print solution, the Canon iPF765. With its space saving design, user friendly front access, flat stacker basket and "hot swap" ink tanks the iPF765 offers top quality and accuracy. The solution is designed for medium to large workg

Indoor venue maps available

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

MapIT, has announced that Micello, their international partner, has 15 000 indoor venue maps worldwide including 65 shopping malls and nine airports in South Africa. This data enables enterprises to deploy an extensive array of maps in mobile and desktop applications. Micello is a leading indoor map and navigational data supplier for many GIS and mapping platforms and this additional content will

High-speed scanner for 3D documentation

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Focus3D is a high-speed 3D scanner for detailed measurement and 3D documentation. The integrated colour camera delivers 70 megapixel of photorealistic colour data and the multitude of sensors allows a high degree of automation in post processing. It uses laser technology to produce incredibly detailed three-dimensional images of complex environments and geometries in only a few minutes. The

New oblique digital aerial system

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Microsoft's UltraCam Osprey is a new digital aerial system that combines a high performing photogrammetric nadir camera with oblique image capture capabilities. This third generation camera builds on the UltraCam Eagle technology, including advanced electronics to achieve an exceptional signal/noise ratio; solid state storage of 3,3 TB; and a modular housing concept that integrates all component

Processing software for 3D laser scanning data

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Trimble RealWorks Version 8.0 software includes a new 3D database engine, automated targetless registration and web viewing capability incorporating RealWorks' Scan Explorer interface. These new enhancements will allow surveyors, contractors, engineers and geospatial professionals to rapidly process 3D laser scanning data and expedite the creation of deliverables for their clients, increasing prod

Easy access to global imagery base map

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Spatial Energy, a provider of geospatial solutions to the worldwide energy industry, has introduced the TapSpatial mobile app for the iPad. Designed with oil and gas professionals in mind, TapSpatial allows iPad users to access a global imagery base map, import other spatial data content, and mash up layers into custom maps they can take into the field for offline use. Available for free at the Ap

Enhanced aerial digital camera system

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Optech, has released its new CS-6500 aerial camera system. A direct advance from the CS-4800 camera, the CS-6500 inherits the CS-4800's robust and proven design while providing enhancements and new features.
As a result, the CS-6500 is a highly efficient camera that offers a fast cycle time, an electronic shutter, panchromatic or colour CCD sensors, interchangeable lenses, and a metric-quality

Agents for acoustic imaging and measurement technology

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

C&C Technologies South Africa with offices in Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg has been appointed the sub-Saharan Agent for Teledyne BlueView, the world leader in compact acoustic imaging and measurement technology. Teledyne BlueView provides 2D and 3D scanning sonar technology and is currently deployed on AUVs, ROVs, surface vessels, fixed positions and portable tripods providing state-of-the-a

GIS platform for utility management helps with disaster management

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Information from Schneider Electric Inefficiencies in utility's asset management practices leads to adoption of a GIS solution that enables a more sophisticated and unified way of managing of its electric, natural gas, wastewater, and water sectors. The new centralised geodatabase also played a key role during last year's wildfires which threatened residential and commercial infrastructure in the

Using GIS to estimate background radiation levels

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

by Jacques Bezuidenhout, Stellenbosch University and Wilhelm Herbst, GISCOE Granite contains very high levels of natural radioisotopes which results in high levels of natural background radiation in the surrounding area. Different locations were selected on the West Coast Peninsula and gamma ray measurements were done to determine the levels of natural radioactive isotopes in the soil in order to

Streamlining photo-based geospatial field data collection

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

GeoSpatial Experts has established a global network of resellers for its new GeoJot+ field data collection system.
A subscription-based cloud solution, GeoJot+ combines GeoSpatial Experts' popular GPS-Photo Link photo-mapping software and GeoJot mobile app to streamline photo-based geospatial field data collection for teams of field users.
Resellers partner closely with their customers, prov

Improving efficiency and productivity in the field

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Dunea, a large water utility serving southern Holland, has completed implementation of the entire Tensing Mobility Platform suite with the addition of Tensing Mobile Workflow, Dispatch and Track & Trace to their existing Tensing Mobile GIS solution.
The complete solution optimises Dunea's entire field operations to improve efficiency and productivity in the field resulting in faster and bette

Faster, comprehensive sewer system analysis

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Innovyze, has introduced InfoMaster Sewer Generation V2.5 with new and improved analysis and reporting applications to enhance capital and operational planning, expand PACP data support, and automate asset renewal, rehabilitation and replacement processes. With InfoMaster Sewer, a utility can manage its entire underground infrastructure directly from the Esri geodatabase. InfoMaster includes direc

LBS tracking and security application

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Sensewhere, a leader in indoor positioning technology and location based services, has partnered up with South America's largest insurance company and Brazil's first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). Sensewhere has integrated its revolutionary positioning technology to deliver bespoke geo-fence features in a combined web and mobile application that will drive new safety and security services

Crowdsourcing project captures SA's water data

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

IBM marked World Water Day with the launch of a crowdsourcing project to help capture, share and analyse information about the water distribution system in South Africa. The project, called "WaterWatchers," is driven by a new mobile phone application and SMS capability that enables South Africans to report water leaks, faulty water pipes and general conditions of water canals. Every update will

Augmented reality helps utilities reduce emissions

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

ikeGPS, a maker of remote measurement and 3D modeling hardware and software solutions, has been shortlisted for the GE Australia & New Zealand Low Carbon Ecomagination Challenge. The challenge is an open call to businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and students in Australia and New Zealand with breakthrough ideas for reducing carbon footprints. Out of 191 entries, ikeGPS was selected to the sho

Software suite supports fusion reactor project

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

ITER, a global organisation of the European Union, China, Russia, Japan, India, South Korea and the United States, is building the world's largest and most advanced experimental nuclear fusion reactor in Cadarache, France.
ITER has selected Intergraph's SmartPlant Enterprise suite of products to handle the assembly, commissioning and construction of the plant, as well as its operations and main

People People People...

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Seen at the SAGI Northern Provinces AGM Seen at the GISSA Gauteng and GISSA National AGMs

United States Coast-to-Coast

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

by Rod McLeman I have always dreamed of touring the Unites States, having made several brief business trips over the years and, of course, having been brought up on a steady diet of Westerns, private eyes and Hollywood. One of the obstacles that arises early in the planning stage, is the sheer size of the country, at 10-million km², eight times the size of South Africa.
As usual, it took a ch

Geo Forum 2013

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

3 5 July 2013 Hosted by the Geological Society of South Africa, GeoForum 2013 is where the geological community will meet to interact and share information about developments in mineral deposit projects, commodity exploration and application of various geosciences techniques from an academic and industry perspective.
The geological exhibition and career fair will be the ideal networking platf

Optron VIP User Conference

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

22 July 2013 The Optron VIP User Conference is being held at Emperors Palace in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng on 22 July 2012. It will offer the latest news and technological developments, with a focus on building relationships and providing solutions for achieving success. The company is aware of the need to keep pace with the evolving requirements of its customers and the content of the conference will re

South African Surveying and Geomatics Indaba 2013

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

23 24 July 2013 The South African Surveying and Geomatics Indaba 2013 is being held at Emperors Palace in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The event is jointly hosted by the South African Geomatics Institute (SAGI) and EE Publishers and is expected to be the surveying and geomatics event of the year. PLATO has advised that delegates will be credited with one CPD point per day for attending the conference.

SA-GEO Symposium

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT
10 12 September 2013 The National Earth Observations and Space Secretariat (NEOSS) and the Department of Science and Technology will be holding the 2nd SA-GEO Symposium at the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape.
Contact http://sageo.saeoss.org

Copyright

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT
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Disclaimer

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT
Articles published in PositionIT do not necessarily reflect the views of EE Publishers or the the editor. In addition, views expressed by the editor do not necessarily reflect the views of EE Publishers or any other person or organisation associated with PositionIT.
It is a condition of publishing material in PositionIT that EE Publishers shall not be liable for any consequential or other damag