www.geoinformatics.

com
G Multi Surveying Interview G GeoMax
G Nokia Maps G Infoterra Rapid Surveyor
Magaz i ne f or Sur veyi ng, Mappi ng & GI S Pr of es s i onal s
September 2008
Volume 11
6
I
N
T
E
R
G
E
O
S
P
E
C
I
A
L
P
A
G
E
6
4
.
Say hello to
ERDAS IMAGINE.
Author Manage Connect Deliver Geospatial Business Systems
Monitor change over time more efficiently and
frequently with ERDAS IMAGINE

.
Perform change detection, mosaicking and
resolution merge of multiple, dissimilar-type
images without artifacts. Detect significant
differences in imagery acquired at different
times. Analyze information present in all bands of
multispectral data. Map data in a variety of GIS and database
formats.
ERDAS IMAGINEs comprehensive set of tools are easy-to-
learn and use helping you detect, analyze and map our
changing Earth, creating geospatial information for greater
business advantage.
Say hello to the Earth to Business Company at
or
Focus on Surveying
A quick look at the cover and table of contents of this issue shows a heavy focus on survey-
ing. From the leading surveying companies we present you with a multi-interview on the
implications of business and technology developments on the global surveying market. From
the user-perspective we decided it would be a good idea to start a series of total station
reviews. For this we asked Dutch surveyor Niek Rengers to perform a series of total station
user tests. The first test results are presented in this issue, and reading them has turned out
to be an educational experience for me as a non-professional surveyor.
The whole issue is not about surveying however, as the focus shifts to GIS. Talking about
GIS, I had the opportunity to visit the ESRI User Conference in San Diego, which was all
about GIS trying to keep up with todays ongoing technological developments. One thing
that became clear was that the desktop is just one element in a platform that is on the rise,
and that data analysis is just as important as data collection.
Continuing our Neogeography articles, we provide an interview with Nokia Maps. Their release
of Nokia Maps 2.0 enables users to employ maps for their daily transportation activities, and
not only for in-car use. Pedestrian navigation is at the moment a new market, but more and
more uses for transportation-related GIS are being uncovered as we speak. This brings me to
the need for imagery. With ever increasing frequency, distributors of imagery are popping up
around the globe as a result of the growing demand for digital visual information. This,
combined with major improvements in image quality, is a trend that hasnt gone unnoticed
by the big GIS companies.
I would like to conclude with something I came across a while ago. Its always nice for
people from outside the industry to become enthusiastic about the possibilities of GIS and
the like. I was pretty excited by the fact that the rock group Radiohead used laser scanners
to shoot their new music video instead of cameras. The striking results are similar to the
images you can see in Infoterras article on their new Rapid Surveyor, which promises faster
and more innovative ways of surveying.
Enjoy your reading!
Eric van Rees
evanrees@geoinformatics.com
September 2008
3
GeoInformatics provides coverage, analysis and
commentary with respect to the international surveying,
mapping and GIS industry.
Publisher
Ruud Groothuis
rgroothuis@geoinformatics.com
Editor-in-chief
Eric van Rees
evanrees@geoinformatics.com
Editors
Frank Arts
fartes@geoinformatics.com
Florian Fischer
ffischer@geoinformatics.com
Job van Haaften
jvanhaaften@geoinformatics.com
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.com
Remco Takken
rtakken@geoinformatics.com
Joc Triglav
jtriglav@geoinformatics.com
Columnists
Sam Bacharach
Stig Enemark
James Fee
Contributing Writers
Hugo Coppen
Anthony Denniss
Erik Donkers
Florian Fischer
Ruud Groothuis
Peter Hobbs
Menno-Jan Kraak
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
Catherine Pennington
Eric van Rees
Joc Triglav
Account Manager
Wilfred Westerhof
wwesterhof@geoinformatics.com
Subscriptions
GeoInformatics is available against a yearly
subscription rate (8 issues) of 85,00.
To subscribe, fill in and return the electronic reply
card on our website or contact Janneke Bijleveld at
services@geoinformatics.com
Advertising/Reprints
All enquiries should be submitted to
Ruud Groothuis rgroothuis@geoinformatics.com
World Wide Web
GeoInformatics can be found at:
www.geoinformatics.com
Graphic Design
Sander van der Kolk
svanderkolk@geoinformatics.com
ISSN 13870858
Copyright 2008. GeoInformatics: no material may
be reproduced without written permission.
GeoInformatics is published by
CMedia Productions BV
Postal address: Street address:
P.O. Box 231 Noordzijde 2-b
8300 AE 8302 GL
Emmeloord Emmeloord
The Netherlands The Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0) 527 619 000
Fax: +31 (0) 527 620 989
E-mail: mailbox@geoinformatics.com
Topcon Review
GeoInformatics presents a series of robotic total station user tests.
Per issue one particular robotic station will be tested from a certain
brand. The first instrument that has been tested is the Topcon IS-03.
Infoterra is Rapid Surveyor
With the arrival of Optechs new Lynx Mobile Mapper technology, Infoterra
quickly realised that here was a technology that could really help unlock
the potential of mobile laser mapping and could be operated from a
moving vehicle. Their new complete mobile laser mapping solution,
called Rapid Surveyor, integrates lidar scanning, camera, data extraction
and processing toolkits, and mobile deployment using a Nissan
Pathfinder 4x4 vehicle.
C o n t e n t
4
September 2008
Articles
Coastal Surveying Techniques 16
A Case Study at Happisburgh, Norfolk, UK
Innovative Location Based Services 24
Freitimer a Location-based Tool
Double Differencing 30
Civilian Control
Next Generation Mobile Laser Mapping Technology 46
Enabling Detailed Mapping of the Environment
Strong Road Safety Policy 60
A Preventive Location-oriented Approach
Reviews
Topcon IS-03 Imaging Station 6
Multi-user Test Robotic Total Stations Part 1
Hemisphere XF101 and Archer 12
Though Match
Stimulating, Practical and Helpful 45
Source Book on Designing Maps
Interviews
Nokia Maps 2.0 20
Moving into the Area of Pedestrian Navigation
Serveying at Length 34
Leading Surveying Companies on
Market Developments
An Interview with Geokosmos 48
A Talk at the Booth during the ISPRS
Congress in Beijing
Surveying Instruments with a
New Productivity Approach 50
GeoMax Interview
Paul Ramsey on Open Source 56
On Performance, Legislation and Growing Importance
Page 6
Page 46
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
5
September 2008
On the Cover:
Niek Rengers at work with the Topcon IS-03 Imaging Station. See p. 6
Nokia Maps 2.0
After its mass market success in the
automobile industry, mapping is on
the rise in the area of mobile
phones. Released at the end of May,
Nokia Maps 2.0 is Nokias most
recent service in mobile phone map-
ping.
Page 6
Coastal Surveying Techniques
Catherine Pennington and Peter Hobbs describe work by the British
Geological Survey (BGS), who are using terrestrial laser systems and other
surveying techniques to improve our understanding of coastal erosion in
different geological environments. .
Page 16
Columns
Enabling the GeoWeb 81
By James Fee
CityGML: Smart 3D 23
By Sam Bacharach
Development through Partnerships 75
By Stig Enemark
Conferences
Mashups, Web-GIS and 3D-GIS 54
ESRI International User Conference 2008
Intergeo special 64
Calendar 82
Advertisers Index 82
Page 20
Multi-user Test Robotic Total Stations Part 1
Topcon I S-03 I magi ng St at i on
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.
The first instrument to be tested is the Topcon IS-03.
By Niek Rengers
is then performed. Of particular interest is
user friendliness during the surveying and
pegging out. The test factors are listed in Box
1. The first test is of a Topcon IS-03 Imaging
Station.
The configuration as supplied is as follows:
Instrument: Topcon IS-03 Imaging
Station
Controller: FC-200 RS-1
Remote Controller: RC-3R
Prism: A7R
Software: TopSURV 7.1
every test so that the different instruments
can be compared. The instruments have been
provided by their Dutch distributors.
Testing method
We have chosen to do a user test, which
means that standard deviations and so on
will not be considered. Each manufacturer is
asked to 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
provide operating instructions. A test survey
Choosing a total station is not an easy job.
Depending on the type of survey and the cir-
cumstances in which the survey is to take
place, a potential user will select a certain
make and a certain type of total station. To
gain more insight into the day-to-day use of
a robotic total station, GeoInformatics has
asked Niek Rengers, a surveyor with Grontmij
in the Netherlands, to put a number of robot-
ic total stations from different international
manufacturers through their paces. The tests
will all be carried out under the same condi-
tions and the same structure will be used for
Every instrument will be tested on:
1. delivery and instructions for use
2.overall impression of the instrument
and controller (field book)
3.user friendliness
4.pegging out
5.surveying
6
Revi ew
September 2008
Instruments in case.
opposite to one another.
Above these two buttons there is another but-
ton for focusing the image if one doesnt use
autofocus. The space between grip and view-
er is rather small so your fingers can get stuck
when unpacking the instrument from the case.
The lens is very clear and the cross hairs are
easy to adjust. The optical plumb is enclosed
inside the instrument, but the Circular level
inside the Tribrach is not clearly visible when
centering above a set up point. This is some-
what inconvenient (see image 3). Furthermore,
the lock of the leveling screw block is sealed
with a terminal to prevent unauthorised
removing or movement from the Tribrach. This
lock can be removed by turning the screw.
The aerial for radio connection can be raised
to use at long distances. The version that was
tested had a grip with integrated receivers that
receive the signal from the RC-3R remote con-
troller. The battery holder is also on the right
side of the instrument. The batteries have a
convenient grip and are easy to reach. Power
consumption is quite high: the internal batter-
ies last around two-and-a-half hours, possibly
because the batteries were new (3,5 hours
should be normal according to the manufac-
turer). The instrument is supplied with three
internal batteries. On the left side is a CF-slot
for a memory or WiFi card. On the bottom
there is a USB connection. The keyboard is
alphanumerical, backlit and easy to use. Many
operations, however, occur through the touch
screen.
Delivery and Instructions
Sufficient time was given for instructions (in
English) on operating the instrument. Of
course not everything was covered, but the
reviewer got a good impression of how the
instrument works. The operating manual (on
CD) and quick guides were provided in Dutch.
In addition there was a concise print version,
as well as one for the TopSURV software.
Instrument
With the exception of the prisms and an
optional external battery, everything fits inside
one case. As you can see, this case is quite
large (Image 1). The contents include a con-
troller, charger, batteries, measuring tape, tools
and even a lens cloth. If the user
leaves the charger at home, the prism
also fits inside the case.
The instrument itself, which weighs
around 7 kilograms, is transported
lying flat and seems solid and nice-
ly finished. The version as delivered
has a one-sided control (two-sided
is available as an option). The
servo motors work well and
dont make any noise. On the
right side of the instrument are
the control buttons for the hor-
izontal and vertical edge.
They have both rough and
accurate control abilities and
drive the servo motors.
Intuitively, they work
Revi ew
September 2008
7
Image 2.
Image 3.
Controller
The controller is attached to
the prism stick and the remote con-
troller RC-3R can be attached to the
top of the prism. This combination
weighs around three kilograms.
The controller and remote controller
have a battery that will last for more
than one day of surveying. The con-
troller is controlled with the touch
screen. The battery can be charged
with a connection from the side of the
controller or in a desktop charger. On
the bottom of the controller are,
among others, two USB connections
for external storage.
User Friendliness During
Surveying and Pegging out
If a surveyor is expecting one type of
method, a certain amount of explanation
is required to operate this instrument and the
TopSURV software. The software on the instru-
ment runs on Windows CE. The main menu is
the Windows Desktop, with Standard
Measurement and TopSURV as the main appli-
cation for all recording of data. In Standard
Measurement the instrument is literally just a
normal theodolite with distance surveying.
There is no input of code possible, only values
as angle and distance are displayed. A very
handy option is that when the user turns the
instrument on, it returns to the mode it was in
when it was turned off. This means that the
user doesnt need to return to the main menu
to switch off the instrument. This is very handy
for robotic surveying.
There are a few adjustments in the always-
accessible menu under the star button (*) such
as electronic level, second viewer position and
the like. The horizontal and vertical edge are
very stable in the event of heavy movement
and no possible distortions were recorded.
Auto-focus is an standard on the IS one gets
accustomed to very soon. In combination with
a screen image, points that are recorded with-
8
Revi ew
September 2008
Image 4: Controller FC-200
The controller is attached to the
prism stick and the remote
controller RC-3R can be
attached to the top of the
prism. This combination
weighs around three
kilograms.
out a reflector can be arranged very well. The
reflector-less distances are recorded very quick-
ly and can even be clipped for a certain area,
so that surveying can take place just in a cer-
tain distance range.
To be able to perform robotic surveying, a few
easy operations are required in the instrument
to set the external link so that TopSURV on the
controller can take over control. When locked,
the instrument follows the user well, particular-
ly over large distances over more than twenty-
five metres. Distances less than twenty-five
metres cause more problems and movements
with the prism have to equal and slow, other-
wise the instrument will lose the prism.
However, it is convenient to place the Rc-3R
Remote controller on the prism. The Rc-3R
doesnt have to be turned on all the time, but
if the instrument may lose the prism when sur-
veying, it is easier to tune in and the prism can
be found sooner.
The displays on the instrument and controller
are not always readable in sunlight. Much rele-
vant information about settings, battery volt-
age and radio connections is visible on the con-
troller display. The control buttons are clear and
in alphabetical order. I would prefer to see a
qwerty keyboard. When brushing the instru-
ment, buttons can be pushed inadvertently. It
is possible to lock the keyboard and the touch
screen of the instrument when performing
robotic surveying. What the user can do is effect
a temporary freeze by pushing the (Func) and
(*) buttons at the same time. The user can exit
this situation by means of the Escape key so
that the user returns to the normal user modes.
This option is handy when you have to wipe
drops of water from the screen.
Software and Pegging out a Survey
The TopSURV pack is the surveying pack that
this instrument is all about. The menu structure
of TopSURV is very clear, but once the user is
constructions in TopSURV besides normal sur-
veying and pegging out are co-supplied.
Conclusion
Robust instrument
Reasonably easy to access, even for first-
time users
Touch screen use sometimes brings about
unintentional and undesired actions
Only one crash occurred with the result that
the TopSURV shortcut had to be placed on
the screen again
In the Near Future
In this user test, imaging and scanning func-
tionalities were not reviewed. This is a scan of
a certain area (frame) that is indicated by the
user. The instrument rapidly surveys automati-
cally all points and saves these. With the aid
of Topcons software a DTM (among others)
can be made. In the near future, a new ver-
sion of TopSURV will be released that will also
include imaging on the field controller. That
way, the Topcon-IS will be done full justice.
On the display of the fieldbook one sees then
exactly the same as through the lens of the
instrument. That way it is no longer necessary
survey reflector less any points from behind
the instrument. On the display of the field-
book you can point out the right spot and the
reflector less surveying will do the rest.
Reaction of the Manufacturer:
The IS also has the following imaging
advantages:
1. Ability to touch the screen and the
instrument will turn to the point
2. Dual cameras displaying a wide image and
through the lens view
3. Points measured are displayed on the
video image
4. The IS has leading reflector less capability
with the smallest laser footprint and
longest range, allowing measurements to
surfaces not normally possible.
Niek Rengers niek.rengers@grontmij.nl is a
professional surveyor at Grontmij in the Netherlands.
This review represents his own opinion. For more
information, have a look at www.topcon.eu. Thanks
to Topcon EU for providing the reviewed instrument
and software.
inside a particular menu, it may be necessary
to try and find out what a certain function
means. Input and output of different formats is
possible (such as .DFX and .TXT formats).
TopSURV is a software package based on coor-
dinates. As for the common output, The user
can export many formats directly from the log-
ger without Topcon Link, including user defined
and RAW data. The software stores all data in
a single file. Survey data and as pegged data
are classified differently and can be exported
separately or with the original data.
Many organizations,
such as the Dutch
cadastre (Kadaster in
Dutch) make use of an
extensive coding sys-
tem. In case of such a
coding system, its easi-
er to place a sort of
mask on top of it. This mask gives the user a
better view where certain elements of the cod-
ing have to be placed.
For instance:
Pc_LcObj_Pntnr_Emaat_Emaat >>> (mask)
20 010750 4500 >>> (code)
As one can see, there are spaces and optional
room in the coding.
Spaces can be added in the field and set as the
standard coding.
Pegging out is very easy with this instrument,
especially the option with a graphic indication
of where the prism is located in relation to the
pegging point and the instrument. In tracking
mode the values and the graphical image con-
stantly show where the user is located, so that
he or she can easily walk to the right spot. The
pegging point can be chosen from a list, but
also by touching the screen. All conceivable
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Revi ew
9
September 2008
Image 5: RC-3R Remote Controller
Image 6: Coding
ArcGIS

9.3Improving Your Entire

Data Management
Better Maps
Dissemination
Data courtesy of the City of Boston.
Data Management
ArcGIS 9.3 provides new
tools for accessing data
within an organization,
including the addition of
PostgreSQL and Microsoft

SQL Server

2008 support, a
new image service, version
management, enhancements
to geodatabase replication,
and better geocoding.
Better Maps
ArcGIS 9.3 includes many
enhancements that make it
easier than ever to create
and share production-quality
maps. These enhancements
include a new Disperse
Markers tool and, via Maplex

for ArcGIS, better contour
labeling and more control over
where labels are placed inside
and around polygons.
Dissemination of
Information
ArcGIS 9.3 makes dissemination
of geographic information
much easier. New tools
that aid in dissemination
include improved map cache
management, which allows
ArcGIS

9.3 offers a complete suite of software that

compliant environment. With ArcGIS, you also get the
instructor-led and online training, and new online
resource centers.
maps to be published more
quickly, and a series of
JavaScript

APIs for mashup-

style development. These
new APIs allow JavaScript
developers to easily embed
ArcGIS Server Web mapping
applications into any Web site.
Mobility
The new ArcGIS Mobile
application increases data
accuracy and enables real-
time decision making in the
SDK now offers enhanced
map control rendering, data
storage capabilities, and
expanded projections.
Planning and Analysis
Many modeling tools have
been enhanced, and some
entirely new tools have
been added to help users
get more answers from
their data. These include
a new scatterplot matrix
graph, improvements to the
Near tool, and advanced
Ordinary Least Squares and
Geographically Weighted
Regression tools.
Copyright 2008 ESRI. All rights reserved. ESRI, the ArcGIS logo, www.esri.com, Maplex, the ESRI Globe logo, and ArcGIS are
trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions.
Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.
Planning and Analysis
Mobility
Finland
France
www.esrifrance.fr
F.Y.R.O.M.
www.gisdata.hr
Germany
www.esri-germany.de
Georgia
www.geographic.ge
Greece and Cyprus
www.marathondata.gr
Hungary
www.esrihu.hu
Iceland
www.samsyn.is
Israel
www.systematics.co.il
Italy
www.esriitalia.it
Malta
www.geosys.com.mt
Moldova
www.trimetrica.com
The Netherlands
www.esrinl.com
Norway
www.geodata.no
Poland
www.esripolska.com.pl
Portugal
www.esri-portugal.pt
Romania
www.esriro.ro
Russia
www.dataplus.ru
Austria
www.synergis.co.at
Belgium and Luxembourg
www.esribelux.com
Bosnia and Herzegovina
www.gisdata.hr
Bulgaria
www.esribulgaria.com
Croatia
www.gisdata.hr
Czech Republic
www.arcdata.cz
Denmark
www.informi.dk
Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania
www.hnit-baltic.lt
Slovak Republic
www.arcgeo.sk
Slovenia
www.gisdata.hr
Spain
www.esri-es.com
Sweden
www.esri-sgroup.se
Switzerland
www.esri-suisse.ch
Turkey
www.esriturkey.com.tr
Ukraine
www.ecomm.kiev.ua
UK/Ireland
www.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,
exlension !-!235. europe@esri.com www.esri.com
GIS Workflow
www.esri-finland.com
field. Also, the ArcGIS Mobile
benefits of an established and active user community,
improves organizational workflows within a standards-
What if you are collecting GIS data in the harshest of
environments and need a flexible solution?
Most PDAs can connect to an external GPS but
hardly stand up to the abuse of a harsh environment
and you need to carry two pieces of equipment.
An alternative is buying an integrated PDA / GPS
solution but that means you are still carrying the
GPS with you when you dont need it.
We review an alternative; the Juniper
Archer handheld with the Hemisphere
XF101 GPS kindly lent to us by the Dutch
dealer, Nautikaris BV.
By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
Juniper Archer PDA
The Juniper Archer is not just a ruggedized
PDA; it is among the toughest on the market.
It has been tested to the US military specifi-
cation 810F for just about anything with the
exception of gunfire. It is also dust and water-
proof to IP67 and there is now a special ver-
sion that can be used in hazardous condi-
tions.
However tough the unit is said to be; it is not
exceptionally heavy or bulky. One minor set-
back I found is the way the port cover is
attached. As with other devices, it seems that
the port cover was added as an afterthought.
It consists of a loose piece of rubber that
mainly relies on the ports themselves to stay
attached to the device. Whenever a port is
used (e.g. for charging), the cover quite easi-
ly falls from the device.
The Archer supports quite a few different
types of connectivity, ranging from Bluetooth
through expansion card slots to a USB host
device. Bluetooth can be used to connect to
a mobile telephone for receiving differential
corrections. The expansion slots can be used
for a GPS receiver (as in this review) or for a
WiFi extension card. The
COM port and / or USB host
port can connect to a
wealth of other data collec-
tion devices such as a bar
code scanner.
The only drawback to the
Archer I could find was the
touch screen display; even
with the backlight turned
fully on it was hard to dis-
tinguish similar colours,
such as purple and blue,
when next to each other.
Hemisphere XF101
The Hemisphere XF101 is the sister of the XF100
model. Where the XF101 is made especially for
the Archer PDA, the XF100 is for the Tripod Data
Solutions Recon. The difference between the
two is the adaptor that the actual receiver con-
12
Revi ew
September 2008
Number of channels 12 GPS L1 code, (including 2
SBAS channels
)
Communication Bluetooth, SD-card (SDIO),
CF-card expansion slot, 2 x
USB (1 host); COM port
Processor (Archer) 520 MHz
Battery life Approximately 10 - 20 hours,
depending on use and
settings.
Weight 0.5 kg (Juniper Archer)
0.3 kg (Hemisphere XF101)
Though Match
Hemisphere XF101 and Archer
nects to. The adaptor has an outer shell and
compact flash card extension that fit the Archer
PDA quite nicely.
Pocketmax
The Pocketmax software is used to control the
XF101. Strangely enough the software was not
included in the box with the XF101. I was
required to download it from the Hemisphere
website and install it to the Archer, which was
easy enough.
The software makes it possible to change just
about any setting in any type of Hemisphere /
Crescent receiver as well as displaying just
about anything you would like to know. In that
respect it is one of the easiest and most expan-
sive programs Ive seen so far.
The software allows simple data capture (raw
data, NMEA messages and points / lines)
although it is not possible to set, for example,
a different geodetic datum.
Data Acquisition
Since the XF101 behaves as a general COM port
and the Archer is a standard PDA running
Microsoft CE, one could use virtually any data
collection software. For this review I conducted
a few tests with PocketMax to see how the
XF101 would hold itself in conditions where
most mouse type GPS solutions would fail. In
that respect the system behaved comparable
to integrated GIS / GPS solutions.
One thing I noticed was that it took a lot more
time than stated in the brochure for the cold
start / acquisition of the satellites. Getting the
receiver to lose the GPS signal was very hard;
although the precision of the position output
suffered when there was a lot of shielding.
The receiver is equipped with the so-called
COAST technology that makes it possible to
have a differential position even when the
differential signal is not available. During the
tests I made use of the Egnos (SBAS) correc-
tion signal and found that the technology did
indeed work. With the receiver stable and
receiving a differential signal, there was an
indication that sub meter precision was a
possibility.
Conclusion
When looking for a GPS / data collection
solution that is both flexible as well as fully
ruggedized, the Archer / XF101 combination is
certainly one to check out. It does have a few
minor flaws but behaves as expected for
everyday use.
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.com is editor of
GeoInformatics as well as project manager at IDsW.
This article represents his personal views. For more
information on the GPS and PDA:
www.hemispheregps.com, www.junipersys.com.
The receiver is GIS grade and is
relatively big and heavy. It has not
been tested to military specifica-
tions but is conforming to the IP67
specification. It has an internal bat-
tery that is charged through the
compact flash slot. All communica-
tion is done through the PDA; the
receiver itself has no buttons. There
is only one LED available and that
is to indicate whether the receiver
has power or not. The receiver has
a connector which links to an
external (geodetic) antenna.
Archer and XF101
Connecting the XF101 to the Archer
is easy enough; unscrew the top
cap of the Archer and replace it
with the adaptor delivered with the
XF101. The compact flashcard slides
nicely into the CF slot and the adaptor can
(and should) be screwed tightly to the PDA.
The GPS unit is then fitted to the adaptor and
the PDA should immediately register it as an
extra COM port. One of the problems I had
was that the Archer did not always seem to
recognize the XF101 and prompted me for the
correct driver (information for which I could
not find in the documentation).
Since the XF101 behaves as a generic exten-
sion to the Archer there are no specific set-
tings to be made. Out of the box the XF101 is
set to communicate with default settings. If
you want to change the settings you need the
Pocketmax control software supplied by
Hemisphere or some terminal program for
sending commands to the XF101.
The combination of XF101 and Archer looks a
bit bulky, but even though it is relatively heavy
compared to other integrated systems, the
weight distribution is good. The only disadvan-
tage is that the SD card slot is a lot harder to
reach and will require de-mounting the GPS
and adaptor.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Revi ew
13
September 2008
Hemisphere XF101 and Juniper Archer combination
Modular set-up
Archer communications module
I believe in precision.
The new Leica ScanStation 2: this high-denition 3D laser scanner
for civil engineering and plant surveying is a ne example of our
uncompromising dedication to your needs. Precision: yet another
reason to trust Leica Geosystems.
Precision is more than an asset when your reputation is at stake, its an absolute necessity.
Zero tolerance is the best mindset when others need to rely on your data. Thats why precision comes rst at Leica
Geosystems. 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 eld. When it has to be right.
You can count on Leica Geosystems to provide a highly precise solution for every facet of your job.
Leica Geosystems AG
Switzerland
www.leica-geosystems.com
A Case Study at Happisburgh, Norfolk, UK
Coastal Surveying Techniques
This article describes work by the British Geological Survey (BGS) who are using terrestrial laser systems and
other surveying techniques to improve our understanding of coastal erosion in different geological environments.
These include chalk cliffs in Kent and Sussex, steep Jurassic cliffs in Yorkshire and Dorset and soft cliffs in Kent,
Norfolk and Yorkshire.
By Catherine Pennington and Peter Hobbs
England has some of the fastest retreating
coastlines in Europe, the South coast and East
coast being particularly susceptible to erosion
due to the relatively weak nature of the cliff
material. Although these processes have
affected the coast for millennia, the conse-
quences of erosion are most visible when it
affects coastal communities, destroying
homes, roads and infrastructure.
Understanding the processes behind coastal
erosion, how humans have affected natural
systems and how climate change may further
change the pattern of erosion is vital if we
are to plan occupancy in such a changeable
environment.
Surveying Coastal Recession
Coastal recession in the UK is typically moni-
tored using sequential aerial photographs or
by field measurements in reference to specif-
ic fixed points or marker posts. Many practi-
tioners use this information, usually present-
ed in the form of an annual rate of recession
to guide policy on shoreline management or
defence policies. However, such information
only provides a part of the story about coastal
erosion, and is of limited value in long term
or wide-area planning. In order to plan, on a
regional or national scale, it is necessary to
understand:
Mechanisms of erosion whether erosion in
an area is caused primarily by simple marine
erosion, or whether there are other processes
such as landsliding or gulleying that signifi-
cantly affect cliff recession.
Changes over time whether the average
rate of erosion actually describes the pattern
of erosion or whether change happens in
large episodes or in cycles.
Structure within the cliff whether there are
processes within the cliff, such as landslides,
drainage patterns, or changing geology that
are significant controls of cliff recession.
BGS uses photogrammetry/remote sensing
methods combined with GPS and site survey-
ing techniques in order to survey coastal
recession. Remote sensing information and
planimetric photogrammetry provide relative-
ly rapid and repeatable methods of measur-
ing coastal erosion, but are limited to mea-
surements in the vertical plane, often missing
detail about erosion mechanism. Oblique pho-
togrammetry can be used but capturing the
necessary photographs and making measure-
ments from them is costly and complex.
Detailed measurements can be made using
conventional surveying equipment such as
GPS and total stations. However these meth-
ods can only collect limited amounts of infor-
mation and are severely limited by the
amount of time it takes to carry out and pro-
cess the surveys. There is also the very con-
sideration that these techniques require an
operative to be within close proximity to the
cliff, which clearly carries significant health
and safety implications.
LiDAR Techniques and Strategic
Research Approach
Terrestrial LiDAR (Light Distance And Ranging),
commonly known as terrestrial laser tech-
niques offer a relatively cheap and effective
method of surveying that surmounts most of
the limitations of these other techniques. The
16
Ar t i cl e
September 2008
One the BGS terrestrial laser scanners BGS NERC.
method enables accurate measurement of
complex, and often dangerous, cliff features
from a safe distance. The method is also rel-
atively simple and cheap when compared to
other techniques such as photogrammetry.
Importantly, the equipment is also highly
portable, allowing rapid deployment and mea-
surement in the event of a particular event.
BGS Terrestrial LiDAR
BGS has been operating terrestrial LiDAR sys-
tems since 2000. The technique is used in a
range of areas including the virtual preser-
vation of important geological exposures, the
monitoring of inland landslides, embank-
ments and quarries and recently, as part of
the volcano eruption warning system at the
Soufrire Hills volcano in Montserrat.
As with any surveying activity, selection of
equipment is vital. There are currently over
thirty specialist laser scanners and rangefind-
ers available in the UK market from compa-
nies including Riegl Leica and MDL. Beyond
this, there are many more types of rangefind-
er, levels, total stations and similar equipment
that can be used for similar activities. BGS
identified its needs based upon site scale
(typically 0.2-2km wide), portability (max two
person carry), battery life (minimum 2 hours),
surveying accuracy (2-25 mm), instrument
range (10-2000 m) and ruggedness (survey-
Coastal Erosion and Accuracy Issues
Carrying out these surveys poses a number
of challenges in maintaining accuracy. At most
sites, the equipment is sited on a soft, sandy
beach that may result in subsidence of the
instrument as it operates a scan (10-40 min-
utes). Errors are minimised by the use of spe-
cially adapted tripods, and by making regular
backsight measurements to fix the position
of the survey. Accuracy also varies with the
complexity and reflectivity of the cliff surface,
weather conditions, and ground conditions.
Although the accuracies achieved, typically
100 mm but within a range of 20-500 mm
(depending upon site) are poor by engineer-
ing or architectural surveying standards, it
represents a major step forward for geologi-
cal surveying in what are often hostile envi-
ronments with no fixed points. Accuracy is
also an order of magnitude greater than that
achieved by some airborne or satellite borne
techniques.
Coastal Erosion at Happisburgh
Happisburgh is a village on Norfolks North
Sea coast with a population of 1400 people
in about 600 houses. The village contains a
notable stone church dating from the 14th
Century, an impressive manor house, listed
buildings and a famous red and white striped
lighthouse (Figure 2). Although now a coastal
ing in coastal and volcanic sites).
BGS selected two terrestrial laser scanners
from Riegl: the long-range (800 m), camera
equipped, Riegl LPM-i800HA and the very
long-range (2000 m) Riegl LPM-2K. These
scanners offer a compromise between the
density and precision of measurement,
swathe width, and maximum survey distance.
Typically, the scanners are operated 100-600
m from the target, enabling a continuous mea-
surement swathe of 200-600 m.
Terrestrial LiDAR for Surveying Cliff
Erosion BGS Experience
BGS research in this area is centred on a num-
ber of sites that contain active landslides or
cliff and shore platforms that are undergoing
active recession. They have been selected as
areas of active landsliding considered to be
representative of a particular type of coastal
erosion, or of a particular geological
sequence. Since 2000, sites have been moni-
tored at 6, 12, 24 or 36 monthly intervals,
enabling analysis of changes in space and
time. At each site, it has been possible to
slowly build our understanding of the cliff
recession process, examining patterns of land-
slide cyclicity, cliff recession, embayment for-
mation, quantification of material loss to the
sea, and the influence of geotechnical prop-
erties upon these factors.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
17
September 2008
Eroding cliffs at Happisburgh, Norfolk Mike Page.
www.topcon.eu
g
r
a
f
i
t
-
w
e
r
b
e
a
g
e
n
t
u
r
.
d
e
Only from Topcon, the pioneer
of Digital Imaging Surveying.
IS Imaging Station
- Digital Imaging Technology
- Total Station Image Scanning
- 2000 meters reectorless
- Intelligent Feature Recognition
IS Imaging Station
village, Happisburgh was once some distance
from the sea, parted from the coast by the
parish of Whimpwell, long since eroded away.
Historic records indicate that over 250 m of
land were lost between 1600 and 1850. More
recently the town was affected by the tragic
floods of 1953 that claimed the loves of 76
Norfolk residents.
Coastal defences built at Happisburgh have
slowed down the rate of retreat. However,
large sections are now in disrepair. Sea-level
rise and climate change, including increased
storminess, may also increase the rate of ero-
sion.
Surveying at Happisburgh
Rapid erosion of the cliffs at Happisburgh
means that we can observe processes that
would normally take thousands of years. This
means that we can look for patterns in the
erosion at Happisburgh, which may help our
understanding of sites elsewhere that are
eroding more slowly. BGS has been surveying
at Happisburgh since 2000. The surveying
team sets equipment up on the beach in front
of the eroding cliff line, and scans a swathe
of cliff up to 800 m in width, depending on
weather and tidal conditions. Scans typically
take up to 20 minutes, collecting 2000 indi-
vidual measurements of the cliff face per
minute from a distance of 100-150 m. These
points are held in a bundle or point cloud
positioned relative to the scan position. These
are rectified to Ordnance Survey Grid
Coordinates using backsight information and
results of GPS survey measurements. The
number of individual scans varies according
to the scale and complexity of the site, but a
typical campaign results in 5-10 scans that are
stitched together to form a single cloud. The
point cloud may also be converted to a solid
surface model for further analysis and com-
parisons.
Figure 3 shows a recession model based on
six scans at Happisburgh, made annually
between 2000 and 2006. Where there are
defences, the surveys have shown an average
erosion rate of approximately 1-2 m per year,
but elsewhere in more exposed parts, the ero-
sion rates exceed 7-10 m per year. Results
from the surveys show an average loss of sed-
iment of around18 000 m3 per year is lost
from a section of 200 m of cliff, this equates
to approximately 36 000 tonnes of sediment
annually.
Erosion at Happisburgh is largely controlled
by the geology at site. Surveying from the
coast has revealed that the cliffs at
Happisburgh is made up of sands and clays,
mostly deposited in glacial conditions about
430,000 to 630,000 years ago. These deposits
are weak and easily eroded, but also vary
considerably at the site. Scan results have
shown that erosion occur in a sequence con-
trolled by layers of sand and gravel that influ-
ence the movement of groundwater as it
drains from the mainland towards the cliff.
Further analysis is underway to determine
whether there is cyclicity to this pattern that
can be seen elsewhere.
Catherine Pennington cpoulton@bgs.ac.uk is
a Coastal Geologist. Peter Hobbs prnh@bgs.ac.uk is a
Engineering Geologist. For more information about
British Geological Survey, please have a look at
www.bgs.ac.uk/
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
19
September 2008
Recession model based on six annual scans at Happisburgh 2001-2006.BGS NERC.
www.dimacsystems.com
info@dimacsystems.com
We offer the only MEDIUM
FORMAT cameras WITH FMC
WE EXHIBIT ! Booth 5.103
|u|0|||ng
the promises of
d|g|to| oer|o|
|mogery
DiMAC SYSTEMS
Europe O|0ce:
Luxemburg
Tel + 352 26 51 21 66
North Amer|co O|0ce:
Colorado, USA
Tel: +1 303 651 2018
True modularity for
both mopp|ng & ortho
A NEW range of solutions
scaled to your project and budget
DiMAC
WiDE
Our large format DiMAC 2.0
(10 500 x 7 200 Mp)
now equipped with our
new compact IT Rack
DiMAC
LiGHT
Our medium format DiMAC 2.0
(7 200 x 5 400 Mp)
fully upgradeable
to DiMAC
WiDE
DiMAC
ULTRALiGHT
Our medium format
camera (39 Mp) in a compact
and inexpensive package
TRUE COLOR

TRUE FMC
UPGRADEABLE
MODULAR

COST EFFECTIVE
Moving into the Area of Pedestrian Navigation
Nokia Maps 2.0
After its mass market success in the automobile industry, mapping is on the rise
in the area of mobile phones. Released at the end of May, Nokia Maps 2.0 is
Nokias most recent product in mobile phone mapping. With this new service,
users are offered not only driving navigation features but also pedestrian
navigation and orientation, multimedia city guides and more. Christof Hellmis,
Director Navigation & Routing Solutions, tells all about new product features,
the importance of user contributions and the challenges ahead.
By Eric van Rees
Could you explain the new functionalities
of Nokia Maps 2.0 as compared to Nokia
Maps 1.0?
Nokia Maps 2.0 is, in various dimensions, a new
kind of service that continues in part our first
service, Nokia Maps 1.0, but that is clearly tar-
geting new experiences and uses. Besides
adding more map layers and things like satel-
lite imagery, we are venturing into pedestrian
navigation. Maps 2.0 has the first dedicated
pedestrian navigation service for the end user.
As such, we are putting emphasis on much
more than in-car use, and extending it to what
people do during the day, since not everybody
is driving all the time. Nokia is the first, I think,
to have hybrid architecture, which means once
you have downloaded the map data to your
mobile device, it resides on the device and you
dont need to go online any more to consume
data. Secondly, we also provide global base
mapping without any extra cost. And this hybrid
scenario, without going online, is also a first
that Nokia is providing to the industry. Thirdly,
in providing GPS and location capabilities to
the mobile device on a large scale, Nokia is also
the first, I think, to make these kinds of ser-
vices really mass market.
What kinds of licensing models are
available for Nokia Maps 2.0?
We offer one subscription fee and the only thing
that is premium is the navigation part, mean-
ing guidance. You get turn-by-turn instructions
in a car or specific guidance when youre walk-
ing. In the dimensions of the price these ser-
vices are either geographic coverage, where
theyre licenses for a region, for a continent or
even for the whole world, or the duration of
the service (one week, one month, six months
or twelve months). These are the key dimen-
sions for pricing, but of course as you can imag-
ine we want to make the pricing as simple as
possible, and this is why we make the premi-
um services as simple as possible. We dont
really think in terms of having a lighter map
that costs less or a heavier map that costs
more. We believe that doesnt really make
sense. People should make use of the full map
resources and key functionality that provides
real end-user benefits, like turn-by-turn guid-
ance. This requires extra licensing, because col-
lecting the attributes is quite a heavy invest-
ment for our partners to undertake.
20
I nt er vi ew
September 2008
Christof Hellmis
You also add specific information about
buildings and shops in your maps. What
kind of data is this?
At the moment we rely on standard location
information provided by our partners including
NAVTEQ. This will be extended in the coming
months because one use case is to find things
like Business ABC, Restaurant X, Hotel Z etc.
We need to enable this kind of use case. Thats
why we will add more content sources, so that
people can easily find the location theyre look-
ing for. At the moment we have close to 40 mil-
lion points of interest, globally, in our database.
Of course much more information exists around
the world and essentially were trying to move
to a model where the user can find anything
theyre looking for.
How can users of Nokia Maps 2.0 add
data to the map?
Users can already add their own data to the
map: they can define any location they like and
give it a certain name or category. These kinds
of locations are then saved as what are called
personal landmarks. With Maps 2.0 we also
enable collections for the user. You can find
these in the application ID, you can collect a
set of locations and say these are my favorite
bars in Amsterdam or the best theaters in
Berlin, and you can store the collection locally
on this device. The next step will be to make it
possible for you to share your collections with
others and publish them, so that others can
make use of them.
Pedestrian navigation use is already
common in Asian countries. What do
you expect of it outside that region?
The experience we try to provide to the user is
how to get from a to b: it offers very specific
routing that can be used in a city. It offers spe-
cific data, meaning specific pedestrian walk-
ways, visual information about polygons and
geometries, house geometry, entrances and
other things as well. Its our first step in the
evolution of pedestrian navigation. It also pro-
vides specific pedestrian guidance, meaning
base maps on a GPS position from a map.
Information on where you have walked previ-
ously is indicated with a red cross and you get
direction information on where you should walk
next in order to get to your destination.
This kind of pedestrian mapping is in its early
stages. The traditional map data providers such
as NAVTEQ have started to merge into this mar-
ket which can be bundled with a mobile device.
These guys are coming from the automobile
industry which was the only application that
used high-quality vector maps. What you see
on mobile devices, whether mobile phones or
tablets or multi-media devices or anything else.
Like the camera and the music player, they will
be standard elements which some people will
use a lot and others will use less often. And
this is essentially what we intend to do: build
it into an open platform that provides a certain
level of abstraction, meaning the map. And
other partners are invited to innovate on top
and help provide compending services for the
user base.
The main challenge ahead is to provide a plat-
form that allows easy innovation on top. As in
the past, a lot of smaller companies had to
build complete solutions from the very bottom
to the top, meaning they had to build their own
mapping infrastructure, service provision etc.
simply because there was no platform that went
mobile and enabled innovation opportunities.
If we come to this, and this is clearly what we
want to do, it will be a prerequisite that a lot
of partners, maybe in the media and other
industries, are easily able to innovate on top
of the services as we do on the internet. We
need to move towards an internet model that
goes across mobile devices and also the web,
so that cross-media services and applications
can be built easily. I think this is the biggest
challenge, going forward.
We work a lot with usability studies and
we try to innovate and try to test. Its
difficult to test things that havent been
done before, and the end user has
is that companies such as NAVTEQ are requir-
ing specific data that is available for pedestrian
use. What were going to see is that the map
data providers will focus much more on pedes-
trian navigation as this market opens up, and
users will also have to generate map data that
is relevant for the pedestrian by adding loca-
tions, points of interest, or simply GPS traces
of walkways and other geometries that are of
relevance.
How do you see the future of mobile
phone use and mapping? What are the
main challenges?
Since location is an inherent part of the mobile
experience for the individual, it is clear that
sooner or later these kinds of mapping and
location-related services will become pervasive
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt er vi ew
21
September 2008
Nokia Maps on Nokia N95
GeoMax a complete range
of fresh products that wont
squeeze your budget!
As a European company, we at GeoMax understand that
you work in demanding environments and require
excellent price-to-performance without compromising
quality, thats why we build products that Work when you do!.
www.geomax-positioning.com
GeoMax A Hexagon Company
info@geomax-positioning.com
www.geomax-positioning.com
no idea what it is or how
to use it. This means
you sometimes have to
break a little on com-
promises and take some
risks, and with some ele-
ments it may not be clear
if its really successful or
not. Thats the internet
model: you try it out and
after you see how it is
received, you may change
or refine it. At Nokia we do
this a lot, with increasing
frequency and effort.
Because, especially in the
mobile internet, the next
offering is just one click
away. I dont think we can
count on everybody using
Nokia Maps if the experience
is not good enough. People
will go to alternative experi-
ences if Nokia Maps doesnt
live up to the promise.
Since Nokia Maps is a global product, how do you serve mar-
kets that may differ from country to country? What are the
most important user needs?
The markets are sometimes very different from a sheer mapping and
data perspective. Youre pretty well aware that in some countries the
concept of house numbering does not really exist. So its difficult to
offer the same kind of address search across all countries if in one coun-
try there are no house numbers. We need to adapt for individual behav-
iors and needs when people are dealing with locations, and for map-
ping for the individual countries. This is not easy and requires local
know-how, but thankfully Nokia has a lot of local people in different
countries who help us build the experience.
One key element concerning user needs is coverage. Digital mapping is
not available everywhere in the world, partly because of high invest-
ment costs. People really like to have mapping wherever they go; peo-
ple like maps because it provides them mastery over their daily life.
Unfortunately, we still have some open spots on the planet where map
data is simply unavailable. What can be done? Satellite imagery can
help, but it does not provide the same kind of functionality as vector
maps. Element number one is definitely extending the coverage of, lets
say, basic maps, but also maps that are navigable, in other words that
have all the required attributes to provide proper routing and turn-by-
turn navigation. Element number two is providing additional layers of
content and information on the map, for pedestrian use, for auto use
and for other stuff, because people use maps in many different con-
texts. A lot of innovation is required in this regard. And very often its
less of a technical problem than just a question of getting the data,
aggregating it and providing it in the right format so that it can be used
by everybody. These are the main areas where we see strong market
demand.
Eric van Rees evanrees@geoinformatics.com is
editor-in-chief of GeoInformatics.
For more information, have a
look at http://maps.nokia.com.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
23
September 2008
Photographs of cityscapes are useful for certain purposes, but the
amount of information in a photograph is quite limited. 3D models
of cities contain a bit more information. 3D models enable animated
fly-throughs, but today most 3D models are, basically, only geome-
try. Solar aperture analysis, flood plain analysis, acoustic analysis,
line-of-sight analysis and analysis of the dispersion of airborne bio-
logical threats require more information. The OGCs new CityGML
standard www.opengeospatial.org/standards/citygml encodes many
of the necessary ingredients.
The OGC 3D Information Management (3DIM) Working Group focus-
es on the convergence of CAD, AEC, geospatial, 3D visualization, and
urban simulation to serve stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of
building and infrastructure investment: planning, design, construc-
tion, ownership, operation, and decommissioning. The 3DIM Working
Group and participants in AECOO-1, a major OGC standards testbed
www.opengeospatial.org/projects/initiatives/aecoo-1, aim to give
building owners, builders, tenants, emergency responders, commu-
nity planners, the traveling public and others a much richer collec-
tion of data about the built environment.
These capabilities will come with widespread development of appli-
cations that use an open 3D city model encoding that is harmonized
with various other standards. CityGML, developed by the German
North Rhine Westphalia Sig3D organization, is an emerging and glob-
ally important OGC standard for Web-based sharing of urban mod-
els, design drawings and other data and services. CityGML provides
the means for applications to manage multiple levels of detail, from
terrain to light bulbs.
The recently begun OGC AECOO-1 (Architecture, Engineering,
Construction, Owner and Operator) Testbed
www.opengeospatial.org/projects/initiatives/aecoo focusses on
1. Decision support and general communications - connecting
building models with business processes
2. Energy analysis during design
3. Cost estimation during design
CityGML plays an important role in the Testbed and the
further development and testing of standards that support such
activities.
Column
CityGML: Smart 3D
Sam Bacharach is
Executive Director,
Outreach & Community Adoption at the
Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC)
sbacharach@opengeospatial.org
www.opengeospatial.org
Nokia Maps on Nokia N95
Foto: Christof Hellmis
Freitimer - a Location-based Tool
Innovative Location Based Services
In June I visited i-locate, a start-up for mobile geo-services in Regensburg,
Germany. The associates of i-locate, Ralph Buchfelder and Fabian Angerer,
invited me for a talk about their new mobile service, Freitimer. Freitimer is a
location-based community service for free-time activities which was launched in
autumn 2008. The interview turned out to be a gripping conversation about
the stony ground of location-based service operators and the future
prospects of mobile information systems.
By Florian Fischer
The Real Breakthrough for LBS is
NowHopefully!
Location-based services (LBS) have been
denoted the killer application for a few years
now. And slowly but surely they have gath-
ered momentum. According to the LBS
Temperature Meter 2008 by Berg Insight there
is considerable optimism among LBS profes-
sionals. A large proportion of them believes
that the LBS market will grow by 25% or more
in 2008. Admittedly, while there is life, there
is hope. However, there is strong evidence
that the future of LBS is quite a bit more than
wishful thinking. The technological infrastruc-
ture is already established. More than 3.3 bil-
lion mobile phones are used worldwide. The
24
Ar t i cl e
September 2008
Gartner Group forecasts that GPS handsets
will represent around 40% of sales in 2011,
up from 13% in 2007. And the mobile inter-
net is coming up with better bandwidths,
enhanced area coverage and more attractive
pricing models. Which is all to say that, after
a lot of hype around the year 2000, location-
based services are anticipated to finally make
a breakthrough in the mass market. This trend
is underscored by recent market develop-
ments exemplified in the activities of Nokia.
The Finnish mobile vendor has rapidly been
transformed into a mobile service company.
The acquisition of Gate 5, a vendor of navi-
gation and routing software, NAVTEQ and
Plazes.com, a location-based social network-
like Garmin and Magellan, map specialists like
TeleAtlas and NAVTEQ and countless service
providers like i-locate. All of them specialize
in different products, yet the differences
between them are diminishing. Where are the
differences, for instance, between a pedestri-
an navigation system and a restaurant finder
that normally includes navigation features as
well? Only in the marketing perspective of the
respective vendors, as their system capabili-
ties tend to converge more and more.
We Have Learned the Hard Way
In the first wave of location-based services,
many prototypes were done in cooperation
with municipal administrations, tourist agen-
cies and mapping agencies. But many of
these projects never reached an operative sta-
tus. Ralph Buchfelder from i-locate says that
Siemens had set up a project as early as 1999.
They still had technological challenges con-
cerning positioning, mobile data transmission,
and the small displays, he states and men-
tions that their focus was solely on the soft-
ware. Today the actual challenge is market-
ing and how to make your product operative
and successful. RegMobil is the name of i-
locates first product, a mobile city and tourist
information system for Regensburg in
Germany that utilizes geographic information,
even to OGC standards. The prototype was
brought to market quite successfully by
Regensburgs retail associations as the out-
come of a student research project at the
ing platform, clearly indicates Nokias vision
of the mobile information society. According
to Berg Insight, next to the notorious map-
ping and routing services, community services
and entertainment and games are predicted
to become relatively more successful in the
future. Experts even believe that location-
enhanced local search and information ser-
vices will be the most successful services in
three years time.
New Mediated Spaces are Emerging
Urban life reached the digital sphere long ago.
Web-based city portals, event calendars,
night-life guides, city-wikis, and community
platforms stimulate peoples need for infor-
mation about their peers and their environ-
ment. They are used in everyday life by citi-
zens, tourists and business canvassers to
organize their urban activities. Thus these
mediated spaces even influence the produc-
tion and re-production of the urban social fab-
ric and are an essential part of our postmod-
ern society. Location-based services have just
been on the fringes of urban information por-
tals so far but it seems that they might occu-
py a very central place in the urban informa-
tion ecology of the future. Geographic
information will pervade the urban informa-
tion space. Many different vendors have seg-
mented the market for mobile and location
services: vendors for mobile devices like
Nokia and TomTom, mobile providers like
Verizon and Vodafone, positioning specialists
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
25
September 2008
Fabian Angerer and Ralph Buchfelder, associates of i-locate in their new office on the campus of the
University of Regensburg, Germany
University of Regensburg. However, the plan
to operate the system in concert with
Regensburgs city administration failed due to
political hurdles and limited willingness to
pay, even though the technical infrastructure
already existed. Legal regulations for admin-
istrative bodies do not allow for sophisticat-
ed automated filtering and weighting because
every business, which is to say every Point-
of-Interest (POI), has an equal right to be pre-
sented.
After this lesson we attempted to implement
the system independently, comments Fabian
Angerer. They implemented a Content
Management System (CMS) to provide an
account for every retailer in Regensburg. Now
the small retailers were in charge of keeping
their own data up-to-date. This time, lack of
motivation and poor internet literacy on the
part of the retailers involved overshadowed
any success. We have learned the hard way,
concedes Ralph. Meanwhile we only use
RegMobil for educational purposes during our
lectures at the university. Both Ralph and
Fabian are studying geography at the
University of Regensburg and are lecturers for
GIS-related courses as well.
The Main Problem is
Commercialization
We were highly motivated to continue
because we were among the first to develop
such a location-based platform, Ralph
explains as the reason why they did not quit
after the failure of RegMobil. Today i-locate
lists over 140 different mobile location-based
service platforms on their website. Almost all
of them were prototypes that disappeared
except for a couple that were brought to mar-
ket. Ralph Buchfelder points out: The main
problem is commercialization. Mobile services
do not yet touch the mass market because
there are too few users. He names the cur-
rent pricing models for mobile internet and
the lack of awareness of the costs of internet
transactions. In comparison to the fixed price
of a SMS, costs for mobile internet are still
somewhat unmanageable for the user.
Moreover, the widely-used JavaME implemen-
tations are scruffy and APIs are missing. Ralph
explains that an individual adjustment for
every type of mobile phone is eventually nec-
essary. And that kind of handcrafting is very
expensive, Fabian adds. Of course one can
use software packages and commercial
databases for automatic adjustment, but they
are expensive and complicated and thus
unprofitable for smaller projects. In the face
of all these hurdles and setbacks in their first
project, i-locate developed Freitimer. It is a
location-based tool to plan and organize free-
time activities with your friends. The concept
of Freitimer orientates on current location-
based social network platforms. It does not
simply flow with the mainstream, though, and
it possesses some refreshing innovations that
make it unique und useful.
Plan Your Free Time and Just
Arrange It
Einfach mal was ausmachen is the slogan
of Freitimer (www.freitimer.de). Just arrange
it would be a good translation of the aim of
this platform that is currently available in
Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The plat-
form consists of a LAMP architecture (see
image above) with a Zend Framework and the
Freitimer core on top. The core can integrate
external services such as Google Weather. The
user gets a web client and a mobile client
both utilizing XHTML. Freitimer is based on
two ideas. Users will have an easy-to-use tool
to arrange spare-time activities with their
friends, and all information that is needed will
be processed specifically for each user.
Freitimer is not a location-based social net-
working platform such as Plazes or Loopt. You
can only contact real-world friends or, more
precisely, you at least need to know their
mobile phone numbers. It is just about
arranging activities, states Ralph Buchfelder.
Thus the platform does not aim at location-
based social networking and the much dis-
cussed total spatial visibility of ordinary
online social networks. However, Freitimer
connects people and places to ease the orga-
26
Ar t i cl e
September 2008
How does Freitimer Work?
If you want to plan an activity with your friends, just go to the Freitimer
website (www.freitimer.de), create an account and log in. Then you
can register an appointment, for example meeting for a beer on
Saturday evening around 8 p.m. at Kellys Irish Pub on the market
square. This proposal will be sent to your friends by email and prob-
ably by SMS. It is mandatory to have your friends mobile phone num-
bers in order to connect with them. Your friends can accept or decline
your invitation. They can also log into Freitimer and get a map with
additional information about the proposal. Invitations can be forward-
ed to others who are not in the original group.
The system design of Freitimer
nization of an activity but keeps private net-
works established outside of the platform.
Freitimer will be used precisely when you
need to plan something. Not for more and not
for less, comments Fabian Angerer. Ultimately
it is a platform for organizing a real-world
event rather than for spending time in
cyberspace.
The Credo is Purposeful Usage
This is quite contrary to current mainstream
business models, as most platforms try to
generate additional traffic by extra features,
games and whatever else keeps people
online. The formula is simple: more features
imply more clicks. These are translated into
page impressions (PI), the ultimate indicator
for selling advertisements. With 10,000 users
and many page impressions, the commercial-
ization of advertisements is a solid business
foundation. However, more sophisticated indi-
cators including the time spent on pages and
greater expertise in the adoption and appro-
priation of mobile services might entail more
effective commercialization. Page impressions
are, in fact, poor indicators of the real use of
arrangements and serve as a very effective
channel for mobile advertisements. The
potential budgets for mobile advertisements
are still not utilized. At the moment there is
even a demand surplus by mobile advertis-
ers. With 100,000 users per month you can
properly line your pockets, twinkles Fabian.
Clearness and Quality is a
Commitment
Constant improvement will be on the agenda
of i-locate till the end of 2009. Clearness and
quality of information is an i-locate commit-
ment. A user will have notification for more
than ten POIs at the same time. Sophisticated
collaborative filtering, weather-related filtering
and broker-bid related filtering ensure this.
But these activities will cost some money and
of course we strive towards raising capital,
comments Ralph. Content that includes POI
sets and additional attribute information will
be added to Freitimer step by step.
Cooperation with content providers is desired
but it can be quite tricky. The level of detail
of information and comprehensive coverage
by area and theme in the recreational domain
services, but at the moment they are an
established, even entrenched indicator. This
is the reason most investors encourage por-
tal operators to provide unnecessary features
in order to boost use of the virtual pastime
and the number of clicks. If you refuse the
diktat of page impressions and advertise-
ments, the only solution is license fees or fees
from broker services. Page impressions rule
the market for online platforms. Only services
that are free of charge can reach a broad pub-
lic as consumer habits in the internet domain
are still developing. Thus advertising is the
common way to make money at the moment.
Everyone wants to earn money with adver-
tising is Fabian Angerers diagnosis, but you
are hooked on traffic which can be very risky.
Thus we thought about something that com-
plements an ad-sponsored business model
and also fits our philosophy of purposeful
usage.
In future i-locate will cooperate with event
agencies to extend their content for activities
and implement a business model based on
the brokerage of activities. Concurrently an
SMS gateway might improve notification for
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
27
September 2008
Freitimer is available as web client and mobile client
THE CHALLENGES OF MAPPING URBAN HOLLAND.
AS SEEN BY NOVATELS GPS+INS TECHNOLOGY.
Moerdijk, Oostakkee or wherever; you can now map cities as if youre right there. Thanks to
Cyclomedias 360-degree panoramic digital mapping with NovAtel precise positioning technology
onboard, the world appears in 3-D because, well, it is. Incorporating NovAtels SPAN GPS+Inertial
Measurement Unit system, accurate and robust positioning data is possible even in challenging urban
conditions where GPS alone is limited.
3-D mapping is just one of many worldwide applications successfully utilizing NovAtels precise
positioning products.
To learn more about the products that powered this application,
navigate your way to novatel.com.
NovAtels precise thinking makes it possible.
1-800-NOVATEL (U.S. & Canada) or 403-295-4900
|
Europe +44 (0) 1993 852-436
|
SE Asia & Australia +61 (2) 8668 4073
|
sales@novatel.com
are fairly important. Standard data providers like Tele Atlas and
NAVTEQ do not fulfil the former requirements. Alternative sources for
content are city administrations, though wide-area coverage will turn
out to be an exhausting adventure. Then again a retail chain like
Starbucks could provide area coverage and level of detail but the
thematic diversity is another challenge. One is ultimately bound to
providers like mecomo.com, mapandroute.de and acxiom.com which
offer a high level of detail. Leisure and tourism specialists such as
Varta and Merian unify editorial quality, depth of information and
comprehensive coverage by theme and area, but integration of their
data cannot be accomplished without close cooperation.
User-generated content might be a promising source of data as it is
cheap and considered to provide a close match to the demand of
other users. Fabian professes that OpenStreetMap does not achieve
our required level of detail but possibly our users could help con-
tribute content to Freitimer. However, we could not abstain from an
editorial review in order to assure quality. The reliability of
Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) is often cited as an issue
that casts doubt on its benefits. Sometimes this is valid, but
Freitimers small-scale personal online networks could provide the
right environment for trustworthy VGI.
A Real Innovative Service
Mobile services that integrate geographic information are important
tools to navigate and organize the spatial and thematic diversity of
leisure-time activities today. Leisure-time activities are a basic need
in our leisure- and experience-oriented society. Many activities require
a physical meet up with people who have dissimilar spatio-temporal
schedules that have to be handled ex ante. Freitimer is a platform
that relieves some of the difficulties regarding the handling of these
schedules. In fact, using Freitimer is not intended to be the pastime
itself but is meant to be used to boost the organization of your leisure
time. You certainly need at least two people to use it. Such platforms
are commonly used by groups of about four people, according to the
findings of Plazes.com. It then offers significant advantages through
its integrative spatial and personal view of every single activity and
the embedded private social network feature. However, it is ques-
tionable how broad its use will be. There are other platforms such
as Googles calendar and Doodle.ch that offer quite easy-to-use invi-
tation tools and easy scheduling. Nevertheless, I consider them less
comprehensive than Freitimer is now and will be in the future. I expect
Freitimer to outdo rival platforms through its focus on usability, the
strong connection to real-world activities and the integration of geo-
graphic information. Finally, it is a true innovation in location-based
services and another good example of the convergence of LBS and
community software. Hopefully many early adopters will convince
their friends to use it and help LBS to gain momentum, thus con-
firming the present optimism among LBS professionals.
Florian Fischer ffischer@geoinformatics.com is Contributing
Editor GIS for GeoInformatics.
Links:
i-locates Freitimer, a location-based tool to plan
free-time activities with your friends: www.freitimer.de or www.freitimer.mobi
Overview of LBS providers by i-locate:
www.i-locate.de/index.php?page=anbieterubersicht
Malm A. & J. Fagerberg (2008): LBS Temperature Meter 2008 by Berg Insight:
www.lbsinsight.com/filearchive/1/1099/LBS%20Insight%20Survey%202008.pdf
RIEGL USA Inc., Orlando, Florida, info@rieglusa.com
RIEGL Japan Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, info@riegl-japan.co.jp
RIEGL LMS GmbH, A-3580 Horn, Austria, office@riegl.co.at

Laser Scanners for
terrestrial, airborne
& mobile applications
RIEGL presents its
innovative new
V
w
w
w
.
r
i
e
g
l
.
c
o
m
For more information meet us at

hall 5, booth 5.319
Online Full-Waveform Analysis
Complete Digital Processing
Pulse Repetition Rates
up to 200 kHz
- Line
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
29
September 2008
Civilian Control
Double Differencing
While researchers from Delft University have announced the first
double-difference measurements from Galileo satellites, the United States
is proposing to discontinue the L1 and L2 P(Y) codes that are currently
being used by almost all commercial RTK receivers.
By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
On May 16 the US Department of Defence
issued a notice for public comment propos-
ing to discontinue P(Y) codes as we know it
on both L1 and L2 frequencies on modernized
satellites (starting 2020). This could be an
important decision for the professional com-
munity that currently relies heavily on this sig-
nal for code phase solutions such as RTK
dGPS. The recent addition of L2C on the satel-
lites solves this problem technically, but not
all receivers are yet capable of using L2C in
their code phase algorithms.
GPS III
GPS III now looks like it will definitely become
a reality with US Under Secretary of Defence
John J. Young having signed an acquisition
decision memorandum on May 9 of this year.
The order to build the first eight satellites, a
contract worth approximately $1.4 billion
(Euro 0.83 billion), has been given to
Lockheed which was in a race with Boeing for
this contract. The first launch is projected for
2014.
L1 / L5
There is a new draft version of the Interface
Control Document for the L1C and L5 signals
which are respectively scheduled for the Block
III and Block IIF satellites. The expected
launch of the satellite with the L5 demonstra-
tion payload has been postponed indefinite-
ly but at least until September this year.
In the meantime it seems that the number of
available satellites will not rise above 31 in
the near future. This is the result of the US
military using receivers that have problems
coping with 32 satellites at a time. A total of
nine GPS satellites are now in the so-called
single string mode, indicating that for some
critical parts only one is still functioning.
Galileo
GIOVE-B, the second Galileo satellite, began
transmitting navigation data on May 7. The
signal sent out by GIOVE-B is the actual GPS-
Galileo common signal that will become L1C
in GPS III. In the meantime ESA will continu-
ally monitor the GIOVE-B transmissions.
Several measurements are performed relating
to transmitted signal power, center frequency
and bandwidth, as well as the format of the
navigation signals generated on board.
Researchers at Delft University (Netherlands)
have used the signals from GIOVE-B to pro-
duce the first Galileo double-difference sig-
nals, paving the way for RTK applications in
the future.
EU Parliament
On April 23 the European Parliament adopted
the Galileo legislation with 607 votes in favor
to 36 votes against (8 abstentions). "Galileo
will be the first common European infrastruc-
ture," said Etelka Barsi-Pataky, Parliament's
rapporteur for the Galileo project. "Galileo
30
Ar t i cl e
September 2008
A screen in the control room displays the spectra of signals received from GIOVE-B shortly after the spacecraft
began transmitting navigation signals. (source www.esa.eu)
and EGNOS are made-in-Europe programs,
and not programs of a particular member
state or a particular company. This project is
a step towards a stronger Europe."
Parliament also made another statement say-
ing that there is a need for Galileo to serve
the European Unions defence and security
needs, which is a clear change from previous
policies to regard Galileo as a purely civil sys-
tem.
On June 12 the European Parliament held a
public hearing on Galileo and Egnos entitled
the way forward. Representatives of
European institutions and industries present-
ed their views on both Galileo and Egnos.
Without the former Galileo concessionaire it
is assumed that the public sector will fill this
gap.
Chances for Lockheed and Boeing?
With the new legislation there is a guarantee
of fair competition and minimal dependence
on a single supplier whilst giving high-quality
services at fair prices. In the meanwhile both
Lockheed and Boeing, the major builders of
the current GPS system, are hoping for a
chance for admission to the Galileo project.
There are, however, a lot of objections from
the European aerospace contractors to the EU
procurement rules where Galileo is concerned.
Denis Ranque, chief executive of Thales
Group, stated: "The EU imposes competition.
This is an error. Galileo is unique in Europe.
It is the first infrastructure program that
Europe is building. We can't apply rules that
were designed for other things."
Galileo versus Compass
There is quite some discussion going on
between the EU and China regarding the rela-
tion between Compass and Galileo. Since the
EU needs to commit to a specific signal struc-
ture it needs to know what China intends to
lunar lander and base stations will give astro-
nauts a picture of their surroundings similar
to what drivers would see when using a GPS
device on earth. The researchers have named
the entire system the Lunar Astronaut Spatial
Orientation and Information System (LASOIS).
Gagan
Gagan, Indias satellite-based augmentation
system (SBAS), is progressing into the final
step: the building of an operational system.
According to Raytheon, who are leading a
team that is bidding to build and implement
the finalized system, GAGAN will provide SBAS
service for civil aviation across South and East
Asia.
Raytheon has some experience here since it
also helped develop and implement WAAS in
the United States and MSAS in Japan.
Jamming
With GPS increasingly invading our lives and
forming the basis of any modern military
force, more and more attempts at jamming
arise. South Korea reported, for example, that
North Korea has been attempting to export to
Middle East countries, including Iran and
Syria, a device, copied from a Russian unit,
that is capable of jamming GPS signals. But
China is also in this game deploying special
vans that are equipped with electronics to jam
GPS signals.
In addition to the large-scale military jammers,
there are also small localized jammers
available over the internet that can prevent
car (or people) tracking systems from
working.
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.com is project manager
at IDsW and freelance writer and trainer.
This article reflects his personal opinion.
do with Compass. China has filed frequency
registrations with the International
Telecommunication Union, and launched its
first medium orbit satellite in April 2007.
The potential global Compass signals as cur-
rently specified would interfere with Galileos
Public Regulated Service (and GPS military
code) signals. This means that neither Europe
nor the USA could jam the Compass signal
without also jamming their own security-relat-
ed signals.
Glonass
With the constellation remaining relatively sta-
ble at 12 operational satellites (and four
undergoing maintenance) and the Russian
Audit Chamber having critiqued the commer-
cial plans, there are still some companies that
believe in Glonass. Spirent Communications
(UK) launched a Glonass L1 / L2 simulator a
couple of months ago. In combination with
the companys existing GPS and Galileo simu-
lators this allows manufacturers to easily test
new GNSS receivers without having to actual-
ly receive the signals.
Navigation on the Moon - LASOIS
If all the current navigation systems are not
enough for you, check out the new kid on the
block. Ohio State University (USA) is currently
developing a system for use on the moon.
The full navigation system will rely on signals
from a set of sensors including lunar beacons,
stereo cameras, and orbital imaging sensors.
NASA astronauts will next return to the moon
in 2020 according to plans, taking with them
a system that will use images taken from orbit
combined with images from the surface to cre-
ate maps of lunar terrain. Motion sensors on
lunar vehicles and on the astronauts them-
selves will allow computers to calculate their
locations. Signals from lunar beacons, the
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
31
September 2008
Advertisement for the
public hearing on
Galileo / Egnos
Artist impression of
the GNSS system for
use on the moon
(source:
www.ohio-state.edu)
Leading Surveying Companies on Market Developments
Surveying at Length
The surveying market is changing rapidly. Because of all new technological and market developments, GeoInformatics
asked six leading companies in the surveying market about their views on business and technological developments in
relation to their market position. The interviewees are Jhannes Schwarz (Leica), Robert Wick (Magellan), Jan van der
Weijden (Sokkia), Ewout Korpershoek (Topcon), Jurgen Kleim (Trimble), and JeanPierre Josqui (Pentax).
By Joc Triglav
What is your assessment of the current
global surveying market situation and of its
near future prospects? How do you evaluate
your companys current and expected future
position on this market? In your opinion,
which are the main distinct shifts in busi-
ness and technological development?
Leica: The current global surveying market sit-
uation will follow the general global economic
situation, and as ever with a certain degree of
latency. The main shifts in business are, as with
most products in similar industries, a growing
demand for increased productivity and func-
tionality at a lower price. The main technologi-
cal developments are related to the coming
together of previously quite separate survey-
ing instruments; the extending of the function-
ality of the instruments especially within the
software; the simplification in the use of sur-
veying instruments; and changes relating to
communication and data transfer tech-
nologies.
Magellan: The global surveying market
is one of the most dynamic and presents
one of the most significant growth areas
today for GNSS technology. Magellan
concentrates exclusively on GNSS-capa-
ble survey instruments having no pres-
ence in the optical survey instrument
market. Magellan is the GNSS Surveying
Value Proposition Leader, offering the
right product at the right time at the right
price.
After a market fragmentation phase, the
surveying market is entering into a con-
solidation phase, leaving the market-
place with few major players. Magellan
remains one of these major players and
is very well positioned to gain a signifi-
cant market share and to be among the
top 2 or 3 leaders in the GNSS instru-
ment market segment.
The main shifts in business developments we
see are:
1. Expanding distribution into new
geographies
2. Increasing cooperation with business
partners
3. Outsourcing of manufacturing
4. Shortening time to market
The main shifts we see in technology develop-
ments are:
1. New GNSS technologies, such as the com-
bination of multiple satellite constellations,
improving instrument ease-of-use while also
reducing cost of ownership, and increasing
product reliability.
2. The integration of more types of real-time
communications.
3. The increasing use of standards to ensure
compatibility among competing brands.
Sokkia: Global differences in application
approach and requirements both technological
and economical make the surveying market a
very interesting market to supply to. Sokkia is
one of the worlds oldest surveying instrument
manufacturers with almost ninety years of expe-
rience which show that our company has the
flexibility to adapt market changes.
Decades ago, it was purely the intelligence of
the surveyor who made the difference in sur-
veying challenges. With the revolution of infor-
mation technology which also discovered our
industry a lot of errors are eliminated due to
clever software. But despite all help from soft-
ware, Sokkia never lost sight on its main focus
offering continuous reliability and precision.
Sokkia will continue to develop with the same
values. We see a shift towards customized
applications where automation is the keyword.
It is not only the surveyor but a chain of branch-
es and technologies that need accurate posi-
tioning. Think about specific applica-
tions in steelworks, roading,
tunneling, construction and agricul-
ture.
Topcon: The rapid expansion of tech-
nologies on virtually all fronts creates
many new opportunities for our cus-
tomers and an environment of
change. Major developments focus
on automation of processes and work
flows, with communication and
remote access leading the way for our
customers to increase efficiency, pro-
ductivity and overall quality. From a
technology point of view, mass data
acquisition technologies in form of
photo and video capture are emerg-
ing fast and offering our users true
opportunities to capture reality in all
its shapes, forms and dimensions. To
combine and integrate different tech-
nologies into new efficient products
34
I nt er vi ew
September 2008
Robert Snow, Product Marketing Director at Magellan
is one of the challenges for us as a
manufacturer; use the flexible handling
of GNSS receivers and get a height ref-
erence via unique laser technology to
build a reliable control system for sur-
vey and machine control like mmGPS.
We are convinced that Topcon has all
ingredients to continue to bring indus-
try leading solutions via own develop-
ments and strategic partnerships.
Trimble: In changing environments
organizations are looking to be more
productive with its resources
whether it is through enhanced train-
ing, embracing new technologies or
pursing new and changing business
opportunities.
Trimble has pioneered many of the
innovative technologies that have
changed the way surveyors work.
These workflow innovations include real-time
kinematic (RTK) GPS, servo and robotic total
stations, and VRS (GNSS network infrastructure)
technology. Trimble continues to enjoy strong
growth in its surveying business by providing
the industry with innovative solutions.
Recognizing changing market trends combined
with our technology leadership has made it
possible to continuously provide our customers
with enhanced productivity solutions.
By focusing on our customers requirements, we
continually enhance our product offerings. For
example, we have added an innovative training
component called Trimble Knowledge Network
to our solutions. The Trimble Knowledge
Network is a new training platform that allows
for the deployment of blended training delivery
options for Trimble Engineering and Con -
struction customers and distribution partners
worldwide. These blended training options
include self-study, instructor lead and live inter-
active programs. It operates by a centralized
learning management and content management
system that deploys blended training in offline
and online options. We offer these blended
learning options to key accounts, customers
and distribution partners. Results can be mea-
sured via testing and we can tie training to any
employees work performance plan. In summa-
ry, we want to ensure that Trimble solutions are
leveraged most effectively in the field.
transport and civil engineering,
utilities and communications,
natural resources management,
government and military. Many
of these applications use air-
borne information, but would
also benefit from ground-based
positioning and imaging. While
satellite and aerial imaging pro-
vide exceptional overhead
views and long-range details,
the only way to capture com-
prehensive eye-level views is
from the ground. A ground-
based sensor such as the
Trimble VX Spatial Station is an
ideal solution that delivers mil-
limeter positioning accuracy,
3D measurements and video
imagingall in one package.
In a nutshell, convergence is
driving shifts in technology development and
business. At Trimble, we see that the tradition-
al industry boundaries are blurring. The field
and office are overlapping as data processing
and engineering expertise move closer to pro-
jects. Surveyors are adding data management
abilities to their skills portfolio. Engineering and
spatial data are being tracked with project time-
line and accounting data. Survey instruments
are combining GPS, optical, and high-accuracy
GIS and imaging capabilities. And construction
machinery is utilizing GPS and lasers to enable
3D machine control that puts design surfaces,
grades and alignments in the cab, allowing
automatic, accurate real-time positioning for
earthmoving operations. Put simply, everything
is coming together, integrating, converg-
ingconnecting. With this in mind, Trimbles
Connected Site survey solutions fosters this
convergence and offers a vision for the future
now; ultimately to improve productivity and
change the way work is done.
Pentax: Both technology and consumer behav-
ior have undergone important changes and the
trend toward consolidation of surveying equip-
ment manufacturers seems to be continuing.
Also we can see new players gaining market
share in the surveying market this by only using
prices as weapons, but we will certainly be able
to expand our market share by capitalizing on
our precision technology and imaging technol-
Secondly, Trimble added a Spatial Imaging port-
folio to our well-known Integrated Surveying
solutions. Our Integrated Surveying portfolio
focuses on the land surveying products such as
the Trimble R8 GNSS System, Trimble S8 Total
Station for everyday survey work and monitor-
ing applications, the Trimble S6 Total Station
and many others including the workflow hard-
ware and software solutions. Trimbles new
Spatial Imaging portfolio is focused on
enhanced 3D solutions and increased data com-
munications with products such as the Trimble
GX 3D Scanner and the Trimble VX Spatial
Station. For example, the Trimble VX Spatial
Station is an advanced positioning system that
combines optical, 3D scanning and video capa-
bilitiesTrimble VISION technologyto mea-
sure objects in 3D and to produce 2D and 3D
data sets for spatial imaging projects. The
Trimble VX Spatial Station revolutionizes the
scope of services that surveyors, engineers,
mapping and geospatial professionals can offer
as well as provide them with an entry into spa-
tial imaging applications to enhance business
opportunities. The Trimble VX Spatial Station
enables users to blend extremely accurate
ground-based information with airborne data
to provide comprehensive datasets for use in
the geospatial information industry. With recent
advances in the geospatial arena, more oppor-
tunities and applications for spatial imaging
data are being identified for industries such as
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt er vi ew
35
September 2008
Jean-Pierre Josqui, General Manager at Pentax
ogy heritage. Pentax is probably the only com-
pany that has full command of all imaging tech-
nologies from capture to output itself. While the
growth rates in the conventional surveying
instruments are actually flattening out, the GPS-
receivers and Robotic Total Stations segments
are still strongly growing this because of the
growing demand in productivity and for a bet-
ter and more competitive total cost of owner-
ship (TCO). I would say that currently no major
new technological market dynamic has been
initiated in the market place but there is a dis-
tinct trend in wireless connectivity which opens
up a new kind of mobility.
How is your company ensuring the quality
of instrument production process and the
final product quality of the instru-
ments and their accessories?
Which are the most significant
distinctions in the field of product
quality between your company
and your competition?
Leica: Leica Geosystems, with its
long history in the production of sur-
veying instruments has always had
an enviable reputation for producing
the highest quality surveying instru-
ments. This reputation extends all
the way back from instruments such
as the Wild T2 and up to current
products such as the Leica TPS1200+
or Leica GPS1200. This is not by
chance - this is achieved through
quality being present in all aspects
of an instrument from the initial
concept, through the design and
development and continuing into the
production and testing process. Reliability, both
in the instrument itself and the measurements
made from the instrument are of paramount
importance.
This dedication to quality and reliability extends
to all of Leica Geosystems accessories, too, as
it is pointless to try to achieve 1 accuracy from
a 1 total station mounted on a tribrach which
cannot deliver the same level of accuracy and
reliability this is somehow the same as mount-
ing poor quality tyres on a Ferrari and then won-
dering why the road handling is not as would
be expected. The overall quality of a surveying
system is only as good as the components
within the system, and beyond the hardware
and software the quality of superior customer
support.
Magellan: Instrument production quality is
one of the key aspects on which Magellan is
focusing its attention in order to increase cus-
tomer satisfaction and loyalty while reducing
the cost of ownership. The process we use to
ensure quality is based on statistical monitor-
ing and root-cause analysis. We have a dedi-
cated Quality Team whose role is not only to
ensure that our quality standards are met but
also to make product quality our competitive
advantage and differentiation. We audit our
suppliers quality processes as well as our own.
Manufacturers do not share information on
return rates so it is difficult to compare product
quality. However, to be a major player of 20
years in this industry as Magellan has been
requires that product quality be high. Magellan
offers free firmware upgrades for the life of the
product unlike most of our competitors, which
allows the customer to benefit from our contin-
uous improvements at no extra charge.
Sokkia: Sokkia continuously invests in the
improvement of its production methods and
processes. The fast amount of knowledge and
experience in our company was and is reflect-
ed in the professionalism end reliability of our
products. We think we can say we build the
most reliable instruments in our industry.
No matter the conditions our instruments will
perform as expected. Many end-users will con-
firm the quality, reliability and accuracy of our
products. Sokkia is market leader when it
comes to build extreme accurate angle mea-
surement devices. Apart from this we have lift-
ed phase-shift electronic distance measurement
to a new level where speed, accuracy and range
(both short and long) is represented in our
remarkable EDM-Red-tech EX technology.
And referring to the comparison test of GNSS
products in this magazine last year, we can say
we have the best GNSS technology and algo-
rithms in the market today.
Topcon: Topcon has an extensive global R&D
and manufacturing network, with facilities and
resources in all continents. Manufacturing is run
via tightly controlled procedures according to
the industrial standard norms and workflows
that span all these geographical centres of
activity. With the recent acquisition of Sokkia,
we have started to completely rebuild our engi-
neering and manufacturing facilities in Japan,
to ensure highest efficiency, quality control and
product reliability. After the initial move towards
manufacturing in low labour rate countries sev-
eral years ago, we are now finding that quality
and overall performance can be achieved at
generally higher standards for very competitive
pricing in Japan, Europe and USA as well.
Quality and reliability are critical elements of
our products; our users need to
rely on our products when they
are working in the field, often far
away at remote locations, and
during day and night. The best
way to underline the quality of
our products are the generally
long warranty periods that we
back them up with; upto 5 years
standard for specific products.
Trimble: At Trimble quality is
part of our core company values.
In our manufacturing facilities
around the world, we adhere to
strict production quality control
processes. Trimble instruments
are specified, calibrated, and
tested according to international
standards for accuracy, such as
ISO and DIN. Calibration is an
important part of the process to
ensure the specified high-accuracy demanded
for surveying applications. In addition, all
Trimble instruments are shipped from our fac-
tories with an individual certificate which con-
firms the testing according to Trimble's specifi-
cation.
Primary quality differentiators for Trimble
include the companys history of innovation,
strict manufacturing processes, proven in-field
use and our world-class distribution network.
In the area of innovation, Trimble has led the
way with virtually every key technology used in
surveying today, including:
Invented the first GPS survey system
Develop and use our own GPS/GNSS boards
Developed VRS network technology
Invented Robotic total stations everyone
else has been following for 15 years
Invented Real Time Kinematic (RTK) technol-
ogy and made real-time GPS surveying
accessible
36
I nt er vi ew
September 2008
Ewout Korpershoek, Director at Topcon Europe Positioning
Developed Servo and Autolock technology
Lead the development of the Integration of
technologies to increase productivity scan-
ning for surveyors (Trimble GX 3D Scanner),
all-in-one GNSS systems with integrated
communications, combining traditional
optics with imaging and scanning (Trimble
VX Spatial Station), seamless software data
and work flows regardless of sensors used
A second differentiator is our strict manufactur-
ing control processes that include testing,
calibrations and certification for all survey
products.
And finally, our world-class global distribution
network is local to our customers, which means
local services and training as well as regional
certified calibration facilities.
Pentax: Surveyors cannot do an effective job
without high quality instruments. In general, we
could say that, since our founding in 1966,
Pentax Industrial Instruments has always been
driven by the concepts of Innovation, Precision
and Customer satisfaction. The adherence to
these principles has been the main source of
our success. As one of the most important parts
of the surveying instruments is the telescope.
It is the precision optics that really makes
Pentax stand out against other products on the
market. Since Pentax has a great heritage and
unchallenged expertise in designing sophisti-
cated optics. This is our DNA.
How does your company adapt with your
surveying instruments and other products
to the increasing convergence of measuring
techniques? In your opinion, which direc-
tions of these convergence developments
are most promising and most useful from
the surveyors point of view?
Leica: Leica Geosystems probably understands
the convergence of surveying technologies bet-
ter than most other instrument manufacturers.
In 2005 we launched the worlds first and only
SmartStation, the mounting of an RTK GNSS
antenna on a total station. This coming togeth-
er of surveying technologies was not simply a
mechanical exercise in screwing an antenna
onto a total station handle. The two surveying
technologies and methods were integrated at
every level within the powering of the anten-
na from the total station, within the surveying
software, within the database of the surveyed
data allowing the surveyor to quickly and eas-
ily determine the location of the total station.
Almost 50% of all Leica TPS1200 total stations
sold in Germany are now sold as a
SmartStation. For these customers, time con-
suming and error prone traverses are a thing
customer needs at the same time not saddling
the user with rarely used capabilities. One size
fits all can quickly become one size fits none
Sokkia: Convergence of different measurement
technologies has their pros and cons.
Combining all different techniques into one
instrument sometimes could miss the objective
since not all surveyors have the wide spectrum
of surveying tasks in their portfolio.
It is software that brings different sensors, tech-
niques and data together. Software packages
support multiple different sensors like digital
levels, robotic total stations and GNSS
receivers. By this our instruments can be simul-
taneously used in projects for machine control,
mining, tunneling etc
Topcon: Customers are looking for the right
solution for their job. No matter what the tech-
nology. Quality, efficiency and ease of use are
the decisive criteria. For this, Topcon has been
focussed in the past decades to either develop
or acquire technologies needed to satisfy our
customers needs. Integration of technologies
is critical for future success, as it will offer
improved and new ways of working. A perfect
example is Topcons new imaging total station,
which incorporates traditional robotic survey
optics, with laser scanning for mass data acqui-
sition, as well as photo and video imaging
capabilities. Another example is Topcons
Handheld GPS+Glonass receiver that incorpo-
rates a digital camera for photo, bar code read-
ing and complex measurements. In both these
products you can immediately recognize, what
we believe will be one of the most decisive
common denominators, namely imaging capa-
bility, to truly offer the surveyor what he is
looking for.
Trimble: Since 1997 Integrated Surveying has
been a key component in Trimbles develop-
ment efforts, which is based and dependent on
our system design. This ranges from internal
data communication between different sensors,
structure of data bases, data security and relia-
bility, backwards compatibility while preparing
for new trends, such as 3D. The advantages for
our customers are tremendousthey can
obtain timely, complete and compatible data
sets with different technologies, such as total
stations, GNSS, scanning, image and video
information.
Across Trimble, R&D efforts are focused on ways
to make our customers more productive. This
includes R&D research in optics, lasers, 3D
scanning and imaging, communications, infor-
mation and database management, GNSS, soft-
ware, ruggedized field computers, network
infrastructure, Web services, machine guidance
and automation, precision timing, and much
of the past.
The Leica SmartPole followed shortly later with
the GNSS antenna being mounted onto a 360
prism. Again, this was more than a mechanical
exercise the two surveying technologies and
methods were once more integrated at every
level.
The next surveying technologies to come
together could be a scanner and a total station.
Some manufacturers already claim to produce
such instruments, but a true scanner can sur-
vey hundreds of thousands of points per sec-
ond not tens. Perhaps equally interesting to
watch in the future will be the merging of sur-
veying technologies and non-surveying tech-
nologies such as the Internet, digital images,
data transfer and so on.
Magellan: We see the increasing demand for
convergence of different measuring techniques
within the same product or solution. For exam-
ple GNSS receivers are being combined with
total stations, laser range finders and reflectors,
cable locators, compasses, digital cameras, etc.
This convergence starts with compatibility
between different devices (first-level conver-
gence) and ends with a full hardware and soft-
ware integrated solution within the same device
(being all-in-one or allowing modular config-
uration and choice).
Magellan from the very beginning has been
integrating different measuring techniques with
first-level convergence. As convergence demand
becomes more frequent and more affordable,
Magellan has started to provide combined prod-
ucts integrating the GNSS instrument with elec-
tronic compass and digital camera.
However, we do not believe that fully integrat-
ed products combining several different mea-
surement techniques like GNSS and total sta-
tions will be a major market demand. There will
always be a compromise required between,
e.g., size, weight and price of the product, and
its performance and utility. Modular rather than
dedicated combined products are more suitable
because they allow flexible configurations and
specific feature integration based on specific
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt er vi ew
37
September 2008
Jurgen Kleim, General Manager of Trimbles
Survey Division
more. Creating value for our
customers is most probably the
best way to summarize this
question. We continually trans-
late market trends and cus-
tomer requirements into prod-
uct offerings that enable
productivity and transform the
way work is done through the
application of technology.
Beyond this, we are continuing
to challenge ourselves to meet
or exceed the needs of the sur-
veying community. We strive to
stay in front of the challenges
faced by surveyors so that our
solutions exceed these expec-
tations.
For example, growth opportuni-
ties in the geospatial informa-
tion industry and technology
convergence provided the cata-
lyst for the development of the
Trimble VX Spatial Station.
Based on the industrys direction and the need
for accurate data, our engineers and in-house
surveyors were the first to combine optical posi-
tioning, 3D scanning and video capabilities to
offer surveyors and geospatial professionals a
dynamic solution that answers their real-world
needs today while also equipping them for
tomorrows challenges. We can also look
Trimble's data contoller innovations, where sur-
veyors can use one data collector to control all
of their instruments in the field, even a 3D scan-
ner.
We can also revisit the Connected Survey Site
model which creates seamless working relation-
ships among Trimble products, technologies
and services through support, infrastructure and
partnerships. Taking Integrated Surveying to the
next level, the Connected Site solution enables
surveyors to choose from a broad range of
options, including surveying techniques, com-
munications channels and facilitating services
such as GNSS infrastructure in one fully-inte-
grated and interoperable surveying solution.
Surveyors benefit from complete data compati-
bility with Trimble field and office software;
increased flexibility in employing the best tools
and techniques for the job at hand; the adap-
tation of specialized technologies to fit the ideal
workflow of surveyors; and the localization of
surveying solutions to address specific market
needs throughout the world.
Another example of convergence is the German
AAA Model. This is a new approach to spatial
information management by combining their
Geodectic Control Station Information System
(AFIS), Cadastre Information System (ALKIS) and
the Topographic-Cartographic Information
System (ATKIS) into one, online database.
Pentax: With the launch of the Visiofamily
of products Pentax has introduced in 2006
the V-300DN series of total stations that
included a digital imaging unit with 3.1
megapixel CMOS and with digital zoom this
to ensure a high picture quality at the point
of measurement.
For many year, surveying instrument manufac-
turers have been developing different prod-
uct lines while trying to find synergies
between them to lower development costs.
So today there is still headroom to add a mul-
titude of functions but one criterion for such
an integration is that they must be useful to
the surveyor and they must be easy to use
and even more that it make sense. What real-
ly matters is the human machine interface
(HMI).
Also is the surveying industry entering into a
fascinating new dimension by shifting the
focus to a Web-based Environment.
Surveying field software products present
an area where constant improvements are
frequent in most brand names in order to
ensure the surveyors easier usage and
better productivity. How do you sense the
surveyor's needs? On which specific field
software capabilities is your company
focused most and why? How do you
evaluate the possibilities to standardize the
software across the borders of brand
names?
Leica: Surveyors needs are sensed in a vari-
ety of ways. Leica Geosystems has an advan-
tage in this respect due to its global and far
reaching distribution network and mix of deal-
ers and direct sales.
Feedback is constantly flow-
ing from Leica Geosystems
end users (and non-Leica
Geosystems end users)
through sales channels to
the development teams in
Switzerland. In addition to
this, our Application
Engineers are constantly
travelling the globe meeting
customers not only to lis-
ten to what they say but to
watch how they work.
Sometimes surveyors them-
selves are not aware of
what improvements can be
developed by the industry
to increase their productivi-
ty. Leica Geosystems has
additional tools within our
support channels to make it
even easier for develop-
ment to gain access to cus-
tomers needs and wishes.
Obviously, within field software development,
Leica Geosystems focuses on the areas where
further productivity gains can be made: data
transfer, handling of images and background
maps, speed of measuring points, ease of
use, reduction in the number of key strokes
etc. Standard operating systems such as
Windows CE or Mobile make it much easier
to run individual software on a variety of data
logger platforms. More difficult is to steer the
instruments themselves with the communica-
tion protocols not always being available.
Magellan: Magellan employs licensed land
surveyors and works closely with our busi-
ness partners to keep pace with the chang-
ing demands of the surveying industry.
Magellan is focusing on surveying field prod-
ucts, and the field software is a critical part
of this focus. Our company is recognized for
providing easy-to-use and intuitive software
solutions. Magellan provides these easy to
use solutions and also uses Business
Partnership to provide more complex and fully
featured solutions including compatibility with
optical instruments. Our broad software port-
folio allows us to provide the best software
solution required by each target market and
type of customer.
Software compatibility with different products
is assured by using industry-standard data
formats. We do not think and do not expect
any specific standardization of the surveying
software across the borders or brand names
except through these standard data formats.
38
I nt er vi ew
September 2008
Johannes Schwarz, President Geomatics Division, Leica Geosystems
Sokkia: Sokkia always found it extremely
important to speak the language of the cus-
tomer. This is reflected in the way we have
setup different focus groups within our compa-
ny. Most of our staff have been working in the
field and have years of practical experience This
is reflected in the philosophy of our software
like SDR+, Spectrum Survey, GSR-NET Link etc.
Apart from that we give the freedom to soft-
ware developers to incorporate our command
structure in local software solutions. This means
that local popular surveying software, not nec-
essarily developed by Sokkia, is open to hook
up to Sokkia products. Different countries favor
different methods of calculation and proce-
dures. That is what we have to respect in a
European area with over 35 countries, 22 lan-
guages and plenty of surveying cultures and
data formats. We call that global reach, local
touch.
Topcon: Within Topcon we focus on bringing
solutions to the market. Field software general-
ly is a critical part of that, offering the user
access and control over the hardware he is
using. We have various end user- and key-pilot
customer programs that run in close conjunc-
tion with product management and engineer-
ing, and at the same time we try to nurture a
customer awareness culture inside our own
company, that stimulates all our employees to
continuously listen to the demands and work
with our customers closely.
For a manufacturer like Topcon, the field soft-
ware is an integral part of our solution, and
therefore a very important element. Especially
as we keep on bringing unique new technolo-
gies to the market, we need tailored and
focussed software to offer maximum benefit of
use, and not limit our customers access to true
innovations.
Furthermore, what we find today is that field
software is differentiated probably as much or
even more across the geographical borders of
countries and local rules and customs. This is
probably the biggest challenge manufacturers
are facing. By the way we have an open inter-
face policy, which allows any international,
national or local software company to connect
to our hardware.
Trimble: At Trimble, customer feedback
through many touch pointswhether it be with
a local distributor, regular customer visits, sur-
veys, road shows, our Dimensions User
Conference or others meansprovides many
avenues to take the pulse of surveyors to
access their needs. Trimble solutions are
designed by licensed surveyors from around the
world who work in our R&D, marketing, sales
and training and support departments. In addi-
tion, we also have a discussion forum for our
Magellan: The capability to send collected
data immediately to the office is relatively new
but is developing quite rapidly. There are two
different approaches here; one can either
embed high-end surveying products with wire-
less communication capabilities, or use exist-
ing wireless communication devices such as
smart phones. Both approaches assume there
is a wide band wireless internet communication
(such as Wi-Fi, 3G, etc.) available so that large
data sets can be quickly, easily and cost effec-
tively sent to the office. While this is certainly
the case in urban areas, it is far less the case
in developing areas where the cellular infras-
tructure follows the surveyors rather than leads
them. While new technologies, such as Wi-Max,
may improve this situation, it will certainly take
time to become a common and dominant sce-
nario in many areas of the world.
Magellan has been aware of this trend and
need, and for some time now has been imple-
menting by such capabilities as Bluetooth, Wi-
Fi/WLAN or GPRS data modems into its prod-
uct. Implementing wireless communication
capabilities is a must feature for our profes-
sional products, but the use of this technology
for tightly integrating the office and field is only
just now becoming of interest to the early
adopters. It has not yet reached the main-
stream surveying market.
Sokkia: Already before the introduction of
PDAs and Bluetooth Sokkia developed its own
SFX technology. This technology was built in
our equipment in order to send and receive
data through a GSM network. Only a cell phone
was needed to get data as quick as possible
from or to the office.
Todays standards from consumer electronics
are also adapted in our instruments. It gives a
short learning curve as we use the same
technologies and media as our users known
from their phones, cameras and audio systems.
It saves travelling time from the surveyor but
also it gives more room to adapt project
changes. The latest project update coordinates
are available in the field just in a single
moment. And thats because of the modern
communication technology.
Topcon: Remote access and control, smart
communication, process control are all elements
that can make work processes more efficient,
faster and better. This also applies to many
survey applications.
For this reason, Topcon is using industry stan-
dard controller platforms like Windows on both
total stations as well as all our field controllers,
to allow the use and application of industry
standard communications and other 3rd party
solutions. This has been our philosophy for
worldwide users called Trimble Survey Team
program to express their needs.
Trimble is focused on the total solution for its
users, which includes field software, data col-
lectors, positioning sensors and office software.
Field software is an important part of the solu-
tion and it can vary depending on geographic
regions and their specific requirements.
We evaluate the possibilities of standardizing
on software based on our users feedback and
participation in industry forums and study
groups. We output a variety of standard indus-
try data formats including LandXML and NMEA.
Our philosophy is to provide the most efficient
interface and workflow for our customers.
Pentax: An increasing level of quality require-
ments and ever more demanding productivity
standards make it crucial for surveying manu-
facturers to develop easy-to use field software
which can be customized and localized when-
ever required. Therefore Pentax has adopted on
his W-800 Series of Total Stations the now
almost universal Windows CE based approach
which is far more convenient. Ensuring that sep-
arate surveying instruments from different
brands work together as a unified whole is pos-
sible when applying an open software platform
strategy. To this end, we developed a new field
data collection software - with a simple software
architecture allowing the user juggling tasks.
With traditional field data collectors used
with surveying instruments measurement
data are batched and downloaded later in
the office. Now the smart mobile phones
and wireless internet communication tech-
nologies are starting to enter the market
and replace them sending the data between
the field and the office immediately. How
big is this need in the modern surveying
world and how far is your company in
implementing modern mobile communica-
tion technologies in your products?
Leica: With the Internet explosion and wide
range of communication possibilities (WLAN,
GSM, GPRS, UMTS, CDMA etc) it is difficult to
ignore the potential of the new communication
technologies. No longer is it needed to drive
into the survey office in the morning to pick up
the data which needs staking simply down-
load using WLAN while drinking a coffee in the
local coffee shop on the way to the job. And
this is only the beginning: As communication
networks extend and data transfer times
reduce, the possibilities increase exponentially.
Leica Geosystems of course is heavily involved
in the utilisation of these technologies in all
areas of hardware and software.
I nt er vi ew
39
September 2008 Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
The worlds rst
wide format
TonerPearl

printer
Ride the wave of color
The Oc ColorWave 600 uses color Oc TonerPearls to give you the best of toner
and inkjet in one machine. That means high quality color and black & white on plain
paper for a wide range of applications. It means an A0 color impression in half a
minute. It means effortless prints that are robust and waterfast. All from an entirely
clean and sustainable system that takes your business beyond the ordinary.
www.oce.com/colorwave
many years ; with all Topcon GPS+GLONASS
survey sets, robotics or mid range total stations,
any user can easily access the Internet via his
mobile phone from the field, communicating to
the office or anything else.
In addition, Topcon has recently established an
exciting new service called SiteLink, offering a
wide range of telematics subscriptions and
solutions to our customers, ranging from sim-
ple remote access and data logging to com-
plete, advanced fleet management solutions.
Trimble: Wireless communications is and has
been a core competency for Trimble; beginning
with the first radios that were used to receive
differential corrections and perform RTK sur-
veys. We have continually used the latest in
communications technologies to enhance and
enable our products/solutions. WiFi and
Bluetooth are available on Trimbles data col-
lectors and, connections to a network while in
the field are available today with Trimbles solu-
tions. In fact, our customers have been send-
ing emails, using instant messaging, and trans-
ferring data from the field to office since 2005.
Pentax: A crucial aspect in the job of a survey-
or is availability of the correct data in the field
and how fast he can get back to the office in
order to further process the data. Smart mobile
phones are small and inexpensive having initi-
ated a new market dynamic and are the future
of mobility.
This trend will continue and we will see more
communication functions implemented into our
surveying instruments.
What is your comment to this provo cative
statement, often heard in the
surveying community: While surveying
instruments are becoming ever smarter, the
surveyors are getting ever dumber?
Can the global surveying community really
afford this statement to be(-come) true?
Leica: It is pointless asking the question as to
whether the global surveying community can
really afford this statement to be (-come) true.
Tens of thousands of surveyors and non-sur-
veyors measure hundreds (sometimes thou-
sands) of points per day. Instrument manufac-
turers are not going to stop product
development in order to save the surveyor.
Indeed the surveyor actually drives this process
by asking for easier to use instruments.
The question should therefore be Where does
the surveyor go, when surveying instruments
are becoming ever smarter? The surveying
community should not complain about the fact
that anybody can and does now survey and
stakeout points rather they must adapt to an
ever-changing surveying world at every level:
recording.
Sokkia: Lets put this as follows: If I buy
myself a state of the art digital photo camera,
does it make me a good photographer? You
need to know the principles of the profession
of surveying. Off course there is a difference
between todays surveyor and his colleague
30 years ago. A lot of mathematical pitfalls are
no longer an issue and resolved in the way
software solutions control this. It does not
make the surveyor dumber but a new genera-
tion of end-users handling surveying chal-
lenges smarter. The new generation has the
possibility of using sophisticated software
solutions.
Topcon: If you look at it only from one angle,
I have to say you are right. Steps in technolo-
gy development were huge in the last decades
and also job description and profession require-
ments have changed rapidly, what means that
standard jobs like data collection or stake-out
can be done today more or less automatically
by any user or even by construction machines.
As the technology that is available gets more
advanced and offers new functionalities, we are
faced with the challenges to change and have
to adapt work flows and procedures to maxi-
mize the use and efficiency. These are the con-
stant challenges that we, and our customers
are faced with.
Trimble: In general, all of our lives and pro-
fessions are evolving and changing to due tech-
nological innovation.
Exploit new measurements basing on new tech-
nologies (for example, scanning) and the com-
ing together of measurement technologies (for
example, the SmartStation and SmartPole);
increase efficiency by utilising the most reliable
instruments (measurements and hardware) and
accessories; investigate the communication
technologies which can save time consuming
trips to the office. As with all other species, sur-
veyors (and instrument manufacturers) develop
with a Darwinian type evolution, only the fittest
and those smart enough to adapt to a rapidly
changing environment will survive.
Magellan: The same statement has been
applied to children who can no longer add
and subtract without a calculator. In both
examples the truth is somewhat different.
Providing tools that make someones job eas-
ier does not make that person dumber, it frees
up their mind and time to increase their pro-
ductivity. On one hand surveying products are
becoming more and more complex, but at the
same time more intuitive and much easier to
use. The result is that more of the math is
done by the instrument and less training is
required to operate the instrument. On other
hand, with surveying product democratisation,
more and more people can use the instru-
ments on a regular or occasional basis to find
accurate positions. At the same time, this
does not mean that there is or will be no need
for high surveying competencies and skills,
particularly in the area of licensing and legal
recording.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt er vi ew
41
September 2008
Jan van der Weijden, Managing Director at Sokkia
With this in mind, surveyors have embraced
new technologies to meet the daily challenges
they face to provide more accurate information,
faster and efficiently to improve productivity. In
fact, that statement couldnt be further than the
truth surveyors are smarter than ever before.
In staying ahead of the curve, surveyors are
keeping up-to-date with the technological
improvements that are available for use on a
day-to-day basis. These skills and expertise are
setting them apart because they know how to
use the tools productively, the potential errors
and limitations in their operation and what
specific data to collect to create their deliver-
ables.
For example, laser scanninganother technol-
ogy that has been added to the surveyors arse-
nalis changing the methods and processes
used to collect positioning information and
other types of data. In contrast to traditional
single-point measurement methods, scanners
are able to capture thousands of points per sec-
ond as well as digital images that provide visu-
al detail for reference and analysis of complex
scenes.
While laser scanning provides a convenient
means for collecting rich 3D data, the amount
of data the surveyor needs to work with can be
daunting. Scanning is not solely about collect-
ing millions of millimeter positions over an
entire scene. To be a productive tool for the
surveyor, a scanning solution needs to focus
the collection of information on the areas that
the surveyor specifically needs. The solution
also needs to provide the end deliverable quick-
ly. Without easy integration, productivity gained
in field data collection is lost through delays in
office processing. Advancements in scanning
technology, such as Trimble SureScan tech-
nology are moving in this direction. SureScan
allows surveyors to define a uniform resolution
for an entire scan in one simple frame. This
allows the surveyor to capture a consistent
spacing between 3D points over a framed sur-
face, giving them the data they need, not just
more data. Again, technology is helping the
surveyor achieve success.
As I mentioned before the field and office are
overlapping as data processing and engineer-
ing expertise move closer to projects. Surveyors
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt er vi ew
43
September 2008
UNI__GIS
Educating GIS Professionals Worldwide www.unigis.org/uk
Study for a postgraduate qualification in GIS
by distance learning
With over 16 years of experience presenting distance learning courses
to professional standards, UNIGIS offers you access to the premier
international network of Universities in GIS education.
Our courses meet the learning needs of busy professionals, or those
seeking to enter the GIS industry. We support you with personal
tutors, on-line help and optional residential workshops. Our courses
are assessed by coursework - there are no examinations.
Find out why the UNIGIS postgraduate courses are so successful:
call +44 161 247 1581, fax. +44 161 247 6344, email unigis@mmu.ac.uk,
or visit our web site at http://www.unigis.org/uk
WE ALSO OFFER:
Flexible entry requirements
Specialist pathways in GIS, GI Science, GIS &
Management and GIS & Environment
Course modules supported by key textbooks,
software and on-line resources
Flexible study options - full distance learning
or distance learning plus residential workshops
No examinations - full continuous assessment,
plus credit for prior learning or experience
Networking with an international community
of GIS professionals
are taking on new roles and adding data man-
agement abilities to their skills portfolio which
allows them to make more decision in the field
instead of waiting for the office. The technolo-
gy and tools are allowing surveyors to be more
productive.
Pentax: One important criterion for the inte-
gration of additional assistance functions to the
user is that these functions must be useful to
the surveyor and they must be easy to use.
Generally speaking people shouldnt have to
understand computers; computers should be
able to understand people! In a world in which
smart devices serve people, instrument keypad,
surveying field software and so on shouldnt
stand in the way of what really matters com-
munication.
Joc Triglav jtriglav@geoinformatics.comis editor of
GeoInformatics.
For more information, have a look at www.topcon.eu,
www.sokkia.net, www.trimble.com/survey,
www.pentax.com, www.leica-geosystems.com,
www.magellangps.com.
MobileMapper

6
True Mobile GIS for Everyone
MobileMapper 6 provides a complete set of all necessary features required of a
mapping device for anyone who needs productive data collection and efficient asset
management in the field. Unlike consumer-grade units, the low-cost easy-to-use
MobileMapper 6 offers full compatibility with popular GIS software to enable
companies to select and use GIS software of their choice.
The MobileMapper 6 comes with Microsoft Windows Mobile 6, a color touch-screen,
and has Bluetooth for wireless connectivity. This handy feature-rich GPS includes an
integrated 2-megapixel camera, an embedded speaker and microphone to enrich
the collected data with pictures and voice notes.
With MobileMapper 6, Magellan innovates and fills a market gap in GIS data
collection between high-cost devices and consumer-grade products.
Check out today www.pro.magellanGPS.com to equip your GIS crew
with MobileMapper 6
2008 Magellan Navigation, Inc. All rights reserved. Magellan, the Magellan logo and MobileMapper are trademarks of Magellan Navigation, Inc.
All other products and brand names are trademarks of their respective holders.
Features

High-sensitivity GPS

Rugged and IPX7

Windows Mobile 6

2-megapixel digital camera

Bluetooth connectivity
For more information:
France (HQ) +33 2 28 09 38 00
Russia +7 495 980 5400
Netherlands +31 78 61 57 988
professionalsales@magellanGPS.com
Affordable GIS/GPS with
nothing missing
Boost your accuracy with
NEW post-processing feature!
VISIT US AT INTERGEO
Hall 5, Booth 5338
Sourcebook on Designing Maps
A Stimulating, Practical and Helpful Book
Menno-Jan Kraak discusses Cynthia Brewers book,
Designed Maps: a Sourcebook for GIS Users, which
aims to stimulate its readers design creativity.
Browsing and reading books like Designed
Maps is a pleasure for everyone who likes
maps. It offers armchair travel with a high car-
tographic design flavor. This book is a typical
ideation work. Similar books exist: Pictorial
Maps by Nigel Holmes and Maps: A Visual
Survey and Design Guide by Southworth and
Southworth, for instance, offer a wide variety
of maps. The maps in these books, however,
as well as those in exhibition catalogs such
as Cartes et Figures de la Terre and Tales From
the Map Room: Fact and Fiction about Maps
and their Makers by Peter Barber and
Christopher Board, emphasize the extraordi-
nary, the amusing and the mistakes.
Designed Maps: a Sourcebook for GIS Users
distinguishes itself from the above titles. As
written in the preface, the goal of the book
is to present a broad collection of excellent
map designs to inspire those who want to
create attractive maps that communicate
information effectively. The intention is to
stimulate the design creativity of the readers.
The maps described in it are all doable and
can be created in software available to the
readers of the book.
The chapters cover different map categories.
In addition to topographic and reference
maps, special-purpose maps for tourism and
infrastructure, categorical, and quantitative
thematic maps are all treated. This might not
seem too different from the publishers ESRI
Map Book series. However, every chapter has
an introduction describing the particular cate-
gory. A feature of the book is that for each
chapter the author has selected one map that
she has redesigned, not necessarily to
improve the map but to show that, depend-
ing on audience and medium, a different
design approach might be useful.
In the above Figure an example of this
approach is given. It shows part of the map
of the authors Penn State campus. Map 1
shows the original map, while map 2 was
designed with emphasis on one of the col-
leges. Map 3 focuses on the name of the
building, and Map 4 is a simplified black-and-
white version of the original map.
Rules
In the discussions and descriptions of the
maps throughout the book, Brewer empha-
sizes several cartographic design rules.
Among them are label placement, the figure-
ground relation and visual hierarchy in the
map content (important things should be
noticed first). The visual variables (the way
map symbols can vary in size, shape, orien-
tation, value and color) are also covered, with
emphasis on aspects of color which is not
so strange when you realize Brewer is the
inventor of the online Color Brewer tool.
Images three and four show two random
examples of the books sixty maps. The dis-
cussion of details of National Geographics
map of Korea focuses on the boundaries and
the use of fonts for geographical names.
The utility map of Downey, California shows
an example of visual hierarchy with the air
photo below light-colored parcel information
and bright line symbols for the water, sewer
and storm drainage systems.
The book concludes with some tips on how
to do some of the designs using ArcGIS. It
also comes with a list of cartographys best
known textbooks and journals for further
reading.
Verdict
For those who have a mapping project in
mind and need inspiration, browsing this
book will be very stimulating. For those who
want to learn about the practice of map
design, reading the text accompanying the
maps will be helpful. For those who just like
maps, this book will be a pleasure to read.
Menno-Jan Kraak kraak@itc.nl is head of ITCS
Geo-Information Processing Department. He is a
member of the editorial board of several
international journals in the field of
Cartography and GIS.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Revi ew
45
September 2008
Designed maps a
Source Book for GIS Users
Cynthia Brewer
ESRI Press
ISBN: 978-1-58948-160-2
Number of pages: 170
$ 26,-
Map 1. Map 2. Map 3. Map 4.
46
Enabling Detailed Mapping of the Environment
Next Generation Mobile Laser Map
With the arrival of Optechs new Lynx Mobile Mapper technology, Infoterra
quickly realised that here was a technology that could really help unlock the
potential of mobile laser mapping and could be operated from a moving vehicle.
Their new complete mobile laser mapping solution, called Rapid Surveyor,
integrates lidar scanning, camera, data extraction and processing toolkits, and
mobile deployment using a Nissan Pathfinder 4x4 vehicle. The collected data
that can be used to build an immersive 3D environment, among others.
By Dr Anthony Denniss
Ar t i cl e
September 2008
Over the last few years weve grown accustomed to the incredible
level of detail made available through airborne sensor advances, with
technologies such as lidar offering impressive coverage and point den-
sity with operation day or night. Airborne sensors are excellent for
acquiring data over extensive areas, allowing city scale 3D models to
be created, but they do not really capture street level detail. It is this
street level detail that tends to make each city centre unique.
To capture this detail, Infoterra believes that there is an exciting new
opportunity opening up at the ground level - particularly with the intro-
duction of an entirely new generation of laser technology specifically
designed for mobile use from vehicles. Combining mobile lidar technol-
ogy with camera solutions will enable organisations to take their data
capture programme to another level, and for the first time allow the
creation of truly immersive and detailed records of the built or natural
environment such as highways, city centres and building facades.
The ability to capture all of this information at unrivalled resolution and
coverage - all from a moving vehicle makes this a very rapid and cost-
effective method of surveying. It is predicted that the method will quickly
make high quality 3D mapping an essential and routine tool for survey-
ors, planners and local authorities, helping them to first capture and then
improve the way that people manage and interact with the built and natu-
ral environment.
As a leading provider of geographic information products and services,
Infoterra has a reputation for innovation and for expanding its portfolio
to help enhance the business benefits that customers can gain from
using accurate spatial data. While there have been early generation
mobile scanning solutions using lidar technology, until now these sys-
tems have offered limited effectiveness as these systems do not use
laser sensors specifically designed for operation from a vehicle.
Optimising Laser Technology for Mobile Deployment
However, with the arrival of Optechs new Lynx Mobile Mapper technology
which comprises two 100 KHz rotating laser sensors combined with two
high frame rate imaging cameras we quickly realised that here was a
technology that could really help unlock the potential of mobile laser map-
ping and could be operated from a moving vehicle. We worked closely
with Optech during the later stages of the sensor development, not just
from a technology perspective but also by thinking about just what exact-
ly a mobile laser mapping system needs to achieve, how it can overcome
the barriers for effective data capture in a typical urban environment, and
how it can be best optimised for the applications it will need to address.
Turning Technical Theory into Operational Reality
The Lynx Mobile Mapper technology has been adopted by Infoterra to cre-
ate the new Rapid Surveyor system. Like all new technologies, transfer-
ring them from the R&D area of the business to a mainstream operation
always poses a few hurdles - primarily with Rapid Surveyor in the areas of
operational support around the service and with data dissemination. Key
issues raised included how to pre-plan surveys, taking into accounts fac-
tors such as point density, vehicle speed and time of day, with respect to
access and traffic conditions. From a data point of view, while the system
is able to collect large volumes of data, Infoterra needed to develop a
data extraction solution that was suitable for use with mobile lidar data,
allowing value added products to be derived.
We have now created a complete mobile laser mapping solution - Rapid
Surveyor - integrating lidar scanning, camera, data extraction and process-
ing toolkits, and mobile deployment using a Nissan Pathfinder 4x4 vehi-
cle. Initial trials have proved we can capture data at speeds of up to
50mph. Clearly this is a rapid mobile mapping solution, and one that could,
for example, enable major infrastructure mapping projects that would pre-
viously have taken months to be achieved, to be concluded in a matter of
days.
Our initial trials have highlighted the potential of Rapid Surveyor, with the
Optech technology successfully making up
to 200,000 measurements per second, and
allowing highly detailed 3D information to
be captured from a moving vehicle. We
have found that Rapid Surveyors unique
multi-directional design provides a com-
plete 360O field-of-view to maximise data
coverage within a 100m radius. In addition,
up to 600 colour images are simultaneous-
ly collected per minute by two cameras.
Owing to the position of the sensors on
this new mobile system - at an angle to the
vehicles motion and inclined off vertical -
the lasers cross each others field-of-view.
Therefore, when driving forward an object
is imaged twice by the sensors but not at
the same time, thereby minimising shad-
ows and occlusions. Also the front of
objects, such as bridges and road signs, are captured. As a result, all
objects are captured in their precise locations - including those not shown
on national mapping such as street furniture effectively mapping the
truly immersive 3D built environment.
Opening up a Broad Range of Applications
Rapid Surveyor captures an unprecedented level of high quality data with
a speed of capture far faster than traditional terrestrial-based surveys. Due
to each survey taking less time, but delivering an extremely accurate and
dense dataset, the Rapid Surveyor solution is highly cost-effective for a
wide range of applications. For example, Rapid Surveyor opens up new
possibilities for local & central government, as well as planning and infras-
tructure management, by allowing routine and report change detection
surveys to be undertaken.
Rapid Surveyor also represents an ideal solution for work on roads and
highways, particularly for structural surveys of complex objects such as
bridges which require multi-directional scanning. Rapid Surveyor can cap-
ture the detail of the road surface camber, road-side assets such as raised
and dropped kerbs, overhead cables, signs and nearby structures all in
one pass. This makes it a highly attractive solution for organisations that
need to catalogue infrastructure such as local authorities, road operators
and major engineering organisations.
In the world of engineering, Rapid Surveyor has been used to capture data
on complex structures such as the Humber Bridge. With one pass along
the Humber Bridge, in each direction, a complete set of data was captured
in minutes with no disruption to traffic (see illustration). Using this data,
engineers can quickly and easily construct a CAD model of the main struc-
ture for analysis.
Such data, up until now, could only be collected using repeated setups of
terrestrial laser scanners, making wide area or large structural surveys cost
prohibitive. In addition this new system has the real potential to provide
street level visualisation, where all objects are in their precise locations
and are a true representation of the built environment, data that can be
used to build an immersive 3D environment.
At Infoterra we are convinced that mobile laser mapping will become as
important as airborne lidar has become over the last 10 years given the
ever increasing demands for detailed information of our environment.
Dr Anthony Denniss is Technical Director of Infoterra Ltd. For more information,
have a look at www.infoterra.co.uk/data_mob.php
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
ping Technology
47
September 2008
Highway CAD model derived from Rapid
Surveyor data using Pointools software.
3D point cloud of highway collected by Rapid Surveyor at normal traffic speeds.
48
September 2008
It all started with a group of enthusiastic students from the Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography
who decided to combine their efforts and create a private geodetic laboratory. The team, headed by Sergey Melnikov,
aimed to put into practice their ideas in the fields of satellite-based geodesy, satellite-based navigation systems
and precise positioning. At that time the development of satellite-based geodesy was just beginning.
Their initial efforts were focused on investigating the first prototype satellite receivers designed in the USSR
for experimental determination of ground surface coordinates.
By Ruud Groothuis
And now, 15 years later, Geokosmos is a
leading surveying and mapping company
based in Russia, offering laser scanning and
aerial digital photography technologies for dif-
ferent applications. As a truly international
operation with subsidiaries and business part-
ners worldwide, Geokosmos primarily serves
customers in the following areas: power lines,
oil and gas, highways and railroads, forestry,
government, and coastal and marine.
Applications include traditional aerial topog-
raphy, cadastres, and 3D urban modeling in
conjunction with LIDAR data capture. The
companys current turnover can be divided
into 50% governmental (of which 50% is fed-
eral and 50% local) and 50% corporate.
An interview with Sergey Melnikov, founder
and president of Geokosmos, reveals that
passion and commitment to the industry
offers lots of opportunities.
Mr. Melnikov, an enthusiastic and realistic
man, is president of a company that has
shown double-digit growth over the past sev-
eral years. Every company with such rapid
growth faces managerial and logistical prob-
lems or challenges.
A clear view is needed in order to make things
happen. Besides, operating from inside
Russia, it is hard to conquer the world. One
needs to speak and understand the
local/regional language in order to be suc-
I nt er vi ew
A Talk at the Booth during the ISPRS Congress in Beijing
An Interview with Geokosmos
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
49
September 2008
cessful. The solution to this seems simple:
join forces with a strong European company,
for instance, to penetrate the European mar-
ket. And there lies the solution for
Geokosmos. Its recent strategic co-operation
with TerraImaging is a good example of how
to solve this problem, but it can come with
its own set of challenges.
TerraImaging has a strong position both inside
and outside Europe.
And here is the challenge: create synergy
between the companies and effectively deal
with the differences in culture and viewpoint
which can sometimes be a struggle.
Geokosmos, however, asserts that these dif-
ferences do not apply. And this can be said
to be unique since these kinds of co-opera-
tive efforts often dont succeed.
When talking with Jan Willem van der Vegt,
Managing Director of TerraImaging, and Mr.
Melnikov, I heard just the right arguments and
comments which assured me that the two cul-
tures, combined with knowledge and a pas-
sion for the industry, will without a doubt
form a very strong base for success.
Competitors like BLOM and Fugro also have
undertaken joint ventures in order to increase
their capabilities and remain at the forefront
of the market.
From TerraImagings point of view, it is neces-
sary to maintain its position and realize
growth in order to compete. The company has
first-rate brand strength, goodwill, experience,
and excellent standing within the industry. All
the more reason for Geokosmos to co-oper-
ate strategically with TerraImaging. Active out-
side Europe, Geokosmos has carried out pro-
jects in Asia and India and, most recently, has
finalized a major LIDAR project in Vietnam.
In order to be successful in South Asia and
Southeast Asia as well, Geokosmos appoint-
ed Mr. Abineet Jain, an experienced profes-
sional who has been given the challenge of
extending Geokosmos reach even further. Its
a completely different market, of course. Aerial
surveying, for instance, comes with a differ-
ent set of problems in Asia compared with
those found in a place like Europe.
Government rules and restrictions make it
harder: importing and exporting equipment is
much more difficult, one has to fly with mili-
tary people on board the aircraft, and, also
important, there is a restricted image resolu-
tion. There are also constraints regarding gov-
ernmental budgets. However, Mr. Jain is posi-
tive about the market in this part of the world
and the first tenders are already up and run-
ning. Hopefully at MapIndia in February next
year Mr. Jain will have success stories to pre-
sent!
During the ISPRS Congress, Geokosmos also
announced that it has signed a purchase
agreement with Vexcel Imaging GmbH for an
UltraCamX (UCX) large-format digital aerial
camera system. Vexcels distributor in the
region, Geolidar, represented Vexcel in the
sale. This unit is the 100th UltraCam sold
worldwide. For the past 15 years, Geokosmos
has conducted its aerial imaging with medi-
um-format digital cameras, a large-format
UltraCamD camera from Vexcel, and LIDAR
sensors. Because of our excellent working
relationship with Vexcel in the past and our
experience with the UltraCamD, the UltraCamX
was the only choice for us, explained Mr.
Melnikov.
Ruud Groothuis rgroothuis@geoinformatics.com is
owner of CMedia Productions BV, the publishing
company of GeoInformatics
I nt er vi ew
Ruud Groothuis (l), Sergey Melnikov and
Jan Willem van de Vegt (r)
Jena-Optronik GmbH
jas@jena-optronik.de
Explore the
next generation
The JAS 150s and its processing
software for the acquisition of
high resolution environmental
or geo-information data are
primarily designed as a long-term,
continuous information source.
We offer demonstration materi-
als, imagery and the sensor
model of the camera for procces-
sing purposes to you on demand.
Jena Airborne Scanner
JAS 150s
GeoMax Interview
Surveying Instruments with a New
Recently, Hexagon launched a new company called GeoMax. GeoMax is an
internationally active company that develops, manufactures and distributes
quality surveying instruments. In order to provide more information on this new
company, GeoInformatics editor Joc Triglav interviewed Mr. Alois Geierlehner,
Business Development Director of GeoMax.
By Joc Triglav
GeoMax is making a bit of a stir this
summer in the European market. Please
give us some background information on
your company.
In a nutshell: GeoMax is active in developing,
manufacturing and distributing quality survey-
ing instruments. With our portfolio we serve the
surveying, mapping and construction industries
with outstanding price-to-performance equip-
ment. We are an independent part of the
Hexagon group and we are now in Europe.
How is GeoMax, as a Hexagon company,
related to GeoMax Surveying Systems
(Wuhan) Co. Ltd. from China?
GeoMax started in 2005 as probably the first
wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) invest-
ed by a Western company in the surveying seg-
ment in China. Establishing our business in
Europe as well is therefore like returning to our
roots. Weve managed to occupy a significant
market share in Asia and we are convinced we
can repeat the same here in our home market,
Europe. For this weve set up, in addition to our
office in Asia, an office in Europe to be able to
serve the market better.
How are your companys research and
development, manufacturing and distri -
bution facilities organized and where are
they located? How and to what extent do
you utilize and integrate into Hexagons
extensive existing operations?
With production facilities in Europe, America
and Asia, we are a typical child of an interna-
tionally active group. The same is valid for R&D
where we can build on our network of special-
ists within the Hexagon Group. Especially in
R&D, where innovation cycles get shorter and
shorter, it is only possible to offer state- of-the-
art technology when you can cooperate within
a bigger group. Using these synergies GeoMax
can benefit from the decades of experience
within the group even though we are a young
company.
One of the main GeoMax marketing mot-
tos is a reasonable price level without
compromising on quality. How do you
achieve this standard in your produc-
tion? Which high-quality production
measures and standards are followed
during instrument production?
Price-to-performance is not only something we
print on our brochures but also the leading idea
whenever we start the development of new
products or define new processes. We dont
compromise on the quality of the components
we use, but we manage to keep a lean struc-
ture around it. This at the end results in the dif-
ference in price we are able to offer to the mar-
ket. GeoMax is fully ISO9001/14001 accredited,
which helps us to reach a consistent quality
and in the same way to reduce costs due to
established processes.
50
I nt er vi ew
September 2008
Geomax applications
Hexagon also owns Leica Geosystems,
the universally-known main player with a
long tradition in the surveying
instrumentation industry. How will your
company, as a newcomer, cohabit with
Leica Geosystems inside Hexagon?
Having leading companies in the industry like
ERDAS, NovAtel, Agatec, Mikrofyn and Leica
Geosystems in the same group is a bit like
growing up in a family with older brothers who
are all top of their class at the school youve
just joined. Our target is not to compete with
the companies within the family, but rather to
complete their offer to the market. When
looking at the market there is probably still
three quarters not covered by companies in the
group I would say more than enough room
for us to grow!
Which types of GeoMax surveying
instruments are already available on
the European market?
With three types of Total Stations, GPS/GNSS
RTK system, Digital Level, laser rotators, auto-
offer. We concentrate 100% on the dealer and
we expect the same from them.
What are your main target markets and
target user groups in Europe? How
would you evaluate the initial response
by the European market?
Our field is wide: putting it simply, one could
say everyone who works today within the
surveying and construction segment is a
potential user for us. The European
market is very demanding in regard to quali-
ty and reliability. What weve seen over the
last few years is that, due to increasing com-
petition in the market, price has also become
more and more of a criterion -- a need
GeoMax addresses with its price-to-perfor-
mance ratio. This was also reflected in the
positive feedback we received from the
market.
Joc Triglav jtriglav@geoinformatics.com is editor of
GeoInformatics. For more information, please have a
look at www.geomax-positioning.com.
matic levels, associated software and acces-
sories, GeoMax offers a complete portfolio for
the surveying and construction segment. The
feedback we got on these product lines was
very positive. Our target is to serve the mid-
range level of the market and we cover all the
bases with the current products. Nevertheless
we are already working on a further
expansion of our product basket.
What is your approach in establishing
an international network of qualified dis-
tribution and service partners throughout
Europe? Are you deman ding brand-exclu-
sive partnerships or do you allow your
partners to
complement their existing operations
with your product line?
You phrased the question in the right
way- we are building on partners. Targeting long-
term cooperation, we are selective with any
appointments. We see that several of our
partners have a very broad basket of equipment
they offer, from spray paint to laser scanners. We
demand exclusivity within the product range we
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt er vi ew
51
September 2008
Productivity Approach
Alois Geierlehner
PARTNERS
REGISTER NOW

19-22 January 2009

QEII Conference Centre, London
DGI 2009 Conference Focus:
Using GIS in military action: Iraq & Afghanistan case studies
Civilian case studies of GIS use the world over:
Heathrow Airport, Olympics, national security, crime
prevention, blue light services & police
Web enabling your GIS infrastructure and services
Effective use of mobile devices for GIS delivery
New technologies & infrastructure available for effective GIS use
Data management, sharing and common symbology
Networking with top government & military GIS professionals
For sponsorship opportunities please contact Nick Harragin.
Email: nick.harragin@wbr.co.uk or call 020 7368 9321.
The range of case studies from
different types of organisations
across the globe is phenomenal
you dont get that anywhere else
Dr John Peaty,
Special Projects, Defence Geographic Centre, Intelligence
Collection Group, UK Ministry of Defence
Lead Sponsor:
Co Sponsor:
Sponsored By:
T: +44 (0)207 368 9465 F: +44 (0)207 368 9401
E: dgieurope@wbr.co.uk W: www.dgieurope.com Quote Reference: GEO1
Register Now!
DGI - A Truly International Event, Representing:
Not one, but two new releases were highlighted during the plenary of the 2008 ESRI International User Conference
in San Diego. Lots of new features in ArcGIS 9.3 were displayed during live demos, and the ESRI developers team
gave a sneak preview of what will eventually be ArcGIS 9.4. As well, many special ESRI users were given ESRI Awards.
By Eric van Rees
There are so many new developments in
hardware and software that ESRI decided to
show two software releases at the annual
International User Conference in San Diego, held
August 4 to 8. In addition to the newest release
of ArcGIS 9.3 there was a preview of its sequel,
ArcGIS 9.4. The growing supply of geo-
data, the use of mobile GIS, web-GIS
and open standards create a new posi-
tioning of geo-professionals. ESRI is not
only looking at the short term, but also
the long term. For now this means bet-
ter performance of existing apps and
the integration of new techniques, such
as 3D-GIS, in the new version of ArcGIS,
9.3.
Emphasizing the green image of ESRI,
there was a lot of green talk during the
conference, such as a keynote address
on biodiversity. Of course ESRI sees a
big role for their products in making
better choices in spatial planning and
how to deal with natural resources. This
theme was a nice bridge to the ESRI
platform, that is becoming more and more a
Web affair. This Web-GIS, as ESRI president Jack
Dangermond put it in his plenary speech, con-
sists of a combination of desktop, server,
mobile and online in one integrated system that
will be developed further in the future.
ArcGIS 9.3
For now ESRI is exploring the possibilities of
this new platform by refining the individual
components and combining them wherever
possible. For the desktop application ArcGIS this
means much has been done about better per-
formance. A live demo showed the top
ten complaints about the performance
of ArcGIS and ten time-saving solutions
from the ESRI developers team. Crashes
occur most, and although no single
solution for this problem exists, the
demo showed what happens when a
user reports the crash by email: the
developers team compares the crash
with other similar reports and works on
a solution. Other practical and time-sav-
ing solutions that were shown are
reverse geo-coding and converting
graphics to features in ArcGIS 9.3. It is
striking that ESRI has based its 9.3
release on the geodatabase, that can
handle every type of data, and seems
to say farewell to the shapefile.
54
Event
September 2008
Mash-ups, Web-GIS and 3D-GIS
ESRI International User Conference
ESRI President Jack Dangermond
The Making a Difference Award honored two recipients. The first were
Rsario C. Grustide Prez and Ramn A. Prez for research about urban
poverty in the barrios of Caracas.
For map data ESRI is approaching partners
Microsoft and Adobe. With the latter ESRI is
working on support of geo-referenced PDF files
with feature and attribute information. ArcGIS
users can get a paid subscription for street
maps and aerial photography from Virtual Earth
and import this in ArcMap.
3D is also integrated in ArcGIS 9.3. An impres-
sive demo showed how a 3D design of a uni-
address, Jack Dangermond stressed the impor-
tance of imagery for doing GIS analysis and,
judging from the growth of imagery and remote
sensing data, this market will be of growing
importance in the GIS industry.
ArcGIS 9.4
During the afternoon part of the plenary ses-
sion on the first conference day, there was a
sneak preview of ArcGIS 9.4. Although it will
take some time, a lot of brainstorming and
research is being concentrated on this release.
In addition to further developing current inter-
faces and performance, ESRI is working on
such things as CAD integration, 3D editing
and analysis, BIM, mobile GIS and advanced
GPS.
One of the things that could be shown to the
public was a demo of Explorer 600, the 3D
GIS viewer of ArcGIS. This application shows
a ribbon on top of the screen, taken from
Microsoft Office 2007. This ribbon adjusts
itself to the behavior of the user and selects
the display functions by itself. Very interest-
ing is the switch from 3D to 2D cartography.
This will eventually result in a new 3D version
of ArcMap, but now were talking ArcGIS 10:
this is not something for the near future.
Eric van Rees evanrees@geoinformatics.com is
editor-in-chief of GeoInformatics. For more informa-
tion, have a look at
www.esri.com/events/uc/index.html
Thanks to Jim Baumann for providing imagery.
versity campus in Massachusetts can be used
for 3D analysis, such as creating a buffer around
a freeway or visualizing the number of labora-
tories within this buffer. It is expected that these
types of analyses will be of use in emergency
studies.
The current economic slump in the US was used
as a selling point in a demo of ESRIs business
solutions, such as Arclogics, that can be used
by logistics companies for performing spatial
analysis in order to save fuel.
ArcGIS Server
ArcGIS has an important place inside the Web-
GIS concept. ESRI offers ArcGIS Server in three
variants: basic, standard and advanced ver-
sions. Its primary function is data management,
but analysis, mobile GIS and 3D visuals are also
offered in the extended versions. ArcGIS Server
9.3 offers support to more database manage-
ment systems than before, such as the recently
released SQL Server 2008 from Microsoft. In the
field of web mapping, ESRI promises much
progress such as support of mash-ups which
are the integration and sharing of map data
through web services. Producing maps is not
only a task for a GIS professional, but also for
consumers and communities, a development
already emerging with TomTom MapShare. ESRI
also supports OGC standards, required for pub-
lishing maps on the web.
Special mention was made of the integration
of ArcGIS in imagery. Along with ITT Visual
Information Solutions (ITT VIS), ESRI has
worked on the integration of its own image pro-
cessing technology in ArcGIS Desktop and
ArcGIS Server, so that imagery can be managed
in a better way in ESRI software. In his keynote
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Event
55
September 2008
During the plenary session on Monday
August 4, the following awards were given
by Jack Dangermond, president of ESRI:
Making a Difference Award
Rosario C. Giusti de Prez
Ramn A. Perz
Grupo ESRI de Venezuela
Secretary Dirk Kempthorne
United States Department of the Interior
Enterprise Application Award
Mohamed Abd El-Wahab Hamouda
Director of Planning and Projects at CGIS
Centre for GIS - State of Qatar
Presidents Award
Jim Querry
Director of Enterprise GIS
Managing Directors Office
Division of Technology
City of Philadelphia
2008
Visitors at the Main hall
56
I nt er vi ew
September 2008
On Performance, Legislation and Growing Importance
Paul Ramsey on Open Source
Geospatial open source seems to be on the rise. During a June conference in
Delft (The Netherlands) on the use of open source, software architect Ramsey
held a keynote on the use of open source geospatial software. According to
Ramsey, the Google Suite can be seen a perfect example of a software suite to
produce maps, made for use by a mass audience. He stated that with a similar
architecture consisting of open source components, the same product can be
offered to the public. After his keynote, I had a chance to ask Paul about his
views on topics such as open source versus closed source, performance,
decision-making processes and legislation on the use of open source.
By Eric van Rees
Id like to start with a question about
the performance of open source. It
seems that open source is faster than
proprietary software. Is open source
faster on the server side compared to
closed source?
Well, it depends on which product you look
at, since different products have different
speeds. And you have to be really careful
about what you mean by performance.
Because performance, raw physical perfor-
mance, is only a small portion of the insti-
tutional decision on whether to use a prod-
uct or not. An institution only has so many
dollars, so what they really need to support
is X-transactions per dollar per second.
In terms of pure physical performance,
unfortunately benchmarks are un-publish-
able for the most part because proprietary
vendors dont like to publish physical
benchmarks of their software. They like to
have full control over that information.
However, there was a benchmark Mapserver
vs. ArcIMS, for example, that was done a
few years ago, presented at a open source
conference that showed operational perfor-
mance where Mapserver ran about 20 %
faster. Why? Because of a lighter architec-
ture.
We found similar things benchmarking
PostGIS versus Oracle Spatial. And there
PostGIS was much faster than Oracle Spatial.
And I can only assume this is because
Oracle Spatial is implemented on top of a
fairly heavy generic object structure.
Whereas PostGIS is a direct C-language
extension to PostgreSQL, that doesnt have
to build on top of an abstract feature model.
And also, Oracle supports and does all
things for all people it has a much wider
set of features, and you have to pay a price
at some point for having that.
So for physical scalability, in general open
source has been comparable or better.
Sometimes a lot better, sometimes just
similar. But once theyre similar, thats where
the dollars kick in. You say: well, the cost
of scaling the system when I use proprietary
software, is mostly in the expensive soft-
ware. If youre spending $20.000 to license
software for a $2.000 server, whats the scal-
ability equation going to be? Its going to
be all in the software.
Organisationally, if you do actually have the
scale your system a great deal, theres never
going to be any comparison. Even if open
source software is twice as slow, youll still
be better off just buying twice as many
servers. I mean, its interesting to know
whos physically faster, but from an organi-
sational decision-making point of view, what
are you getting for your dollars and where
are going to spending your dollars?
In your keynote, you mentioned the
importance of communities in open
source. As a whole, who is leading the
open source community?
So far open source has been hampered in its
expansion into big organisations, by the fact
that the people who understand it arent the
people who make the decisions. Open source
Paul Ramsey
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt er vi ew
57
September 2008
been nerd-led. So the nerds understand what
it can do but they dont get to choose tech-
nology necessarily. At best, they get to make
a recommendation. The decisions are made
at higher levels. And they also are made with-
in the context of existing technology. Any
organisation of more than a half dozen peo-
ple has already made a whole bunch of lega-
cy technology decisions.
So open source is going to have the same
problems that any non-incumbent vendor will
have. The incumbent vendor will always have
an advantage. So to the extent that, say,
Microsoft owns the whole market, anyone
whos not Microsoft, open source or other-
wise, is going to have a very hard time dis-
lodging them, because new IT decisions are
made within the context of previous deci-
sions.
What happens is that big organisations go
through generational changes: technology
changes and decision-maker changes. What
were going to see over the next ten or twen-
ty years is that the geeks and the nerds who
understand open source are going to move
from a technology advisory role to a decision-
making role. And theyre not going to swap
out their proprietary infrastructure immediate-
ly, because that would be stupid and uneco-
nomic. But when proprietary infrastructure
reaches the point of needing to be replaced,
there will be an opportunity for a decision
that takes into account all the alternatives and
not just a particular vendor.
What do you think of governmental
legislation on the use of open source?
Should people be obliged to use open
source by law?
It just has to do with data freedom.
As long as the vendors are adhering to a
nents, but your mainstream GIS practitioner is
an end-user, so they take whats put in front of
them. So, no, I dont expect open source GIS
to hit the mainstream GIS practitioner.
What IS going to change, is where is all the
activity is happening, the new stuff. Are
Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows relevant
in a world of Google and internet apps? Are
the people who are building internet apps all
that concerned with things like Microsoft
Windows and Office? No, not particularly. They
are using the tools that are at hand, like PHP,
like Python, open source libraries for doing
Javascript.
Whats happening is the mainstream of tech-
nological development is migrating away from
the place where the proprietary vendors have
full control. And the same thing is happening
in geospatial. So, yeah, for traditional desk-
top GIS its not going to change. Its still going
to be ESRI. But the place where the impor-
tant GIS growth is happening is moving away
from the desktop and to the server side, to
internet stuff. And thats where open source
is strong, 100% competitive in terms of tech-
nology, and a lot more flexible because the
lack of licensing, and the lack of a vendor
who wants to use their product line to tie
people into their suite at every level of the
technology stack.
Eric van Rees evanrees@geoinformatics.com is
editor-in-chief of GeoInformatics. Paul Ramsey
pramsey@cleverelephant.ca is software architect at
Clever Elephant www.cleverelephant.ca.
For more information on Paul Ramsey,
have a look at his blog at http://blog.cleverelephant.ca
certain concept of data freedom that mostly
has to do with open standards, and not open
source, I dont think the government should
be getting involved in terms of mandating a
certain solution.
Dont say use this technology, just say
achieve these goals. The goal should be data
freedom, thats a reasonable public policy
goal. By the same token, I think its impor-
tant in order to achieve good technology out-
comes that maybe thered be some mandates
around purchasing and technology selection
that say not you must select open source but
you must consider it.
Because, unlike proprietary software, theres
not going to be an open source vendor with
the marketing budget to drag the product into
a traditional product evaluation process. And
if the government does not avail itself of this
technology theyre missing a potential oppor-
tunity. So again, its a bad policy to ignore
options, right? So, a mandate saying look at
every option is probably a good one. A man-
date saying always select this option is prob-
ably not a good one.
GIS and CAD are becoming more and
more mainstream: ESRI with Google and
Microsoft, Bentley with Adobe, Autodesk
with Web 2.0 and open source connec-
tions. Is open source going mainstream?
Open source is still geek talk, for the most part.
The mainstream users know what theyre told,
and the primary source of geospatial informa-
tion for most users is their vendors. The biggest
GIS conference in North America is the now the
ESRI User Conference.
Now, I dont expect the average GIS practition-
er to go out there and teach themselves how
to do stuff. It would be particularly nice for sys-
tems architects to understand all the compo-
The 17th William T. Pecora Memorial
Remote Sensing Symposium
November 18 - 20, 2008 Denver, Colorado
See website for complete details
www.asprs.org/Pecora17
This conference extends the William T. Pecora Memorial
Remote Sensing Symposium tradition of emphasizing the
applications and benets of land imaging data. In addition,
given the recent release of an Ofce of Science and Tech-
nology Policy report recommending the United States
maintain a core operational capability for land imagery
through the creation of a U.S. National Land Imaging
Program, a special focus of Pecora 17 will be on the chal-
lenges of migrating satellite programs from research
missions to operational capabilities.
Keynote Speakers (invited):
Hon. Mark Udall
Dept. of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne
Dr. John Marburger, Office of Science and
Technology Policy
General Sessions Covering All Aspects
of Land Imaging
Landsat 5 25
th
Anniversary Celebration
Over 125 Relevant Technical Papers
Workshops on Current Issues
Wide Array of Poster Presentations
Extensive Exhibit Displays
PECORA
The Future of Land Imaging
...Going Operational
A Preventive Location-oriented Approach
Strong Road Safety Policy
Increasing road mobility has led to an increase in unsafe traffic operations. To
reduce the number of road victims, a crash database was developed in the
early 1970s in the Netherlands. Eventually, this database proved its value as is
now the basis for performing crash analysis through a GIS, provided by the
TatukGIS Internet Server. Dutch-based ViaStat employs specialists in monitoring
and analysing road safety data. CEO Erik Donkers and Chief Information Officer
Hugo Coppen explain how this database came into being and how it is now
used in combination with GIS applications and through the web.
By Erik Donkers and Hugo Coppen
At the beginning of the Seventies the Dutch
authorities realized that a special policy was
needed to reduce the growing number of road
casualties. During this period of economic
growth car ownership greatly increased and
additional motorways were constructed
throughout the country. The ever increasing
mobility took its toll in the form of an even
faster rise in the number of road casualties.
Currently a similar development is threatening
on a worldwide scale, particularly in countries
where economic growth is fuelling an increase
in mobility. By clearly opting for an active road
safety policy at the beginning of the Seventies,
the Netherlands has succeeded in turning the
tide. This policy is aimed at reducing the num-
ber of road casualties despite the fact that traf-
fic continues to grow. Although mobility in the
Netherlands is still increasing, the number of
road victims has decreased. The current traffic
policy assumes a further growth in road traffic
at around 40%, together with a further decline
of 45% in the number of road casualties by
2020.
Over the years the Netherlands has developed
a very strong policy that has resulted in a thor-
ough approach to road safety. This approach is
based on a model that can be applied every-
where. Compared to other European nations,
the Netherlands is now one of the four safest
countries in which to drive, a testament indeed
to the effectiveness of their road safety model.
Statistics as a Weapon
Every crash, particularly when it involves casu-
alties, causes grief. Many of these personal
tragedies take place every day on a year-round
basis. Nevertheless the Netherlands conscious-
ly did not opt for a detailed study of individual
crashes, but for an approach based on statis-
tics. The objective was to learn from earlier
dominant groups of incidents and to prevent
large numbers of similar incidents in the future
by mapping all crashes. By setting up a statis-
tical database with crash data, similarities
between crashes could be spotted and conse-
quently translated into measures to prevent
similar incidents.
The choice to register all crashes for reasons of
comparison made it necessary to encode the
crashes on the basis of a fixed methodology.
Crash-specific information was left out in favour
of uniformity and stability in the database. This
does not mean that crashes were no longer
reconstructed. Crash reconstruction still takes
place, but mainly to establish the question of
fault.
Instead of crash reconstructions, statistics
based on large numbers of encoded crashes
have made the most important contribution to
the Dutch model in its approach to reducing
road casualties. This approach was achieved by
agreeing on a systematic registration of traffic
crashes, and by making these data accessible
for analysis via a digital database, to all part-
ners in the field of road safety.
Crash Database
At the beginning of the Seventies a database
was built containing all traffic crashes in an
effort to counter the increasing number of road
accidents. The Ministry of Transport, Public
Works and Water Management and the Dutch
police jointly undertook this task and are still
carrying it out today.
Police
The police play an important role in setting up
the database because they are responsible for
the safety of all road users and maintaining traf-
fic circulation. Since they are on site anyway,
the police were given the concrete task of com-
pleting crash registration forms for every traffic
crash. This form was used within the police
organization itself, issued to the people
involved in the crash for insurance purposes,
and made available for the statistical database.
60
Ar t i cl e
September 2008
360 degree rotation pictures of a crash site can be opened by selecting the site on the map. This makes possible a
quick and easy review of the infrastructure at the crash location.
Verkeersongevallenregistratie Dienst [Traffic
Crashes Registration Service]
For the purpose of compiling its database, the
Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water
Management established the Verkeers on -
gevallenregistratie Dienst. This service received
a copy of the crash registration form of every
crash, from the police. The service was then
given the task of entering all forms into the
database in such a way that a clear overview
was obtained of the level of unsafe traffic routes
in the Netherlands.
Trend
The degree to which traffic safety had become
a problem could be made transparent by
obtaining a quick insight into the number of
road casualties per year. A classification was
made according to the type of victim, the
method of road use and the moment of the
crash. The victims were classified into fatal,
hospitalized or slightly injured. For the
method of participation a differentiation was
made between driver (including pedestrian)
and passenger. By also registering the time
and the date of a crash, it eventually became
possible to follow the trend and the distribu-
tion in time of various types of road casualties.
Crash circumstances
In addition to the number of victims it was also
realized that information was needed about the
causes and circumstances of the traffic crashes.
Eventually, the person-vehicle-road model was
chosen. This model is based on the fact that a
safe and stable situation is created if people
behave safely, vehicles are safe and roads are
organized safely. Via the crash registration form
the following information was obtained for the
model:
the behaviour of the persons involved in the
crash
the vehicles involved
the road circumstances
Location and manoeuvre
It was already known that some junctions had
more crashes than others. For mapping the
degree of unsafe traffic operations it was impor-
tant to know the exact location of the crash.
However, the difficulty lay in adding up crash-
es that took place in the same spots through-
out the years. After all, it concerned large num-
bers of traffic crashes stored in a database. The
police made a simplified drawing of the crash
situation and registered the street names, but
in an administrative database this resulted in a
lot of possible combinations. It was therefore
decided to use a digital road network, a very
revolutionary development for those days. This
made it possible to attach a unique location
indicator to the crash. Every junction and every
Use of the Personal Computer
At the beginning of the Eighties PCs became
affordable for daily office use. The manual pro-
cessing of the computer printouts was very
labour-intensive and had limited possibilities.
In 1986 VIA was the first consultancy agency to
ask the Verkeersongevallenregistratie Dienst of
the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and
Water Management for the crash data in a dig-
ital form on a diskette. In those days VIA devel-
oped a simple PC application with which the
police and road maintenance authorities could
carry out crash analyses themselves.
Cooperation began between the Ministry of
Transport and VIA: the Ministry supplied the
database and VIA the software. The Ministry
tested the software to ensure that the users
had high-quality software and the correct find-
ings at their disposal. Eventually, VIA obtained
the VOR-keur (a certificate for correctness)
from the Ministry. This development finally
resulted in the current ViaStat program.
Initially, the Dutch model for road safety was
aimed at reducing traffic crashes in established
problem situations. This is called a curative
approach. Later the policy was aimed at pre-
venting crashes, the preventive approach.
These two approaches can be subdivided fur-
ther into a location-oriented and a non-loca-
tion-oriented variant.
Curative Non-location-oriented Crash Analysis
Initially, PCs were only used for creating tables
and graphs. Gradually VIA developed a method-
ology which allowed for a step-by-step, zoom-
in-on-problems technique, by making selections
called funnel analysis. By diving deeper into
road section in the Netherlands was given a
unique number. By means of this number it
became possible to add up crashes at any
particular junction or road section.
As a result of this development not only all
crashes at the same location could be taken
together, but it also became possible to draw
up a manoeuvre diagram. This manoeuvre
diagram provided an insight into the movement
of the vehicles involved at the time of the crash.
The shape of the junction was known through
the digital road network, together with
information on which road the vehicle involved
was driving, and in which direction the vehicle
was heading just moments before the crash.
Computer Printout
The police registered the traffic crashes and the
Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water
Management encoded the crashes to enable
entry into the database. The data was made
available to all road maintenance authorities,
as they are responsible for the safe organiza-
tion of roads. It soon became clear that a
large number of the crashes took place in a
limited number of locations. Thick books with
computer printouts were offered, classified
according to junction and road section number,
so that the most important black spots were
identified. The computer printouts consisted
of long columns of codes that referred to
the stored information about the
parties involved, the circumstances, as well as
the location and manoeuvre data of crashes.
These data made it possible to conduct a
MATAC study (Manual Analysis of Traffic
Accidents Concentrations).
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
61
September 2008
The geographic selection of crash data using a defined route. The route in this case is selected using
a shortest path calculation.
Receiver shown
in actual size
The Power of GPS + GLONASS
in a compact, low-cost package
Dont let this compact, lightweight, integrated L1 GNSS package fool you. The rugged, robust GSR1700 CSX
can tackle your next big projectand at an affordable price. This convenient wireless survey system maximizes
productivity when used alone or in conjunction with total stations with fast, easy, centimeter accurate topographic
and control surveys.
Eliminate conventional surveying limitations Perform long-range,
accurate observations even behind obstacles with a lighter and more
convenient setup.
Superior Position Availability GPS and GLONASS satellite tracking
with PAC multipath reduction enable you to work in forests and urban
areas where other systems cannot.
Easy-to-use One button operation. No controller required.
Navigate, Locate, Survey This convenient feld workfow in SDR+
S/K Edition guides you through every step, then verifes that your survey
is complete before you leave the job site.
Increase functionality Meets todays needs and is expandable for
future functionality.
2008 POINT, Inc. SOKKIA is a trademark of SOKKIA TOPCON CO., LTD. All rights reserved.
sokkia.net
Powerful. Accurate. Anywhere.
We are exhibitor at
the Intergeo 2008
in Bremen, Germany
the causes of crashes, problems appear that
are dominant for a certain target group in cer-
tain circumstances. This approach therefore
maked it possible to tackle specific target
groups with specific measures.
Curative Location-oriented Crash Analysis
Later VIA was also the first to be able to create
a digital crashes map on a PC. The map pro-
duced an instant overview of concentrations of
traffic crashes for junctions, routes or areas. We
learned that a well-drawn crash map could say
a lot more than a thousand lines in a table. VIA
also automated the manoeuvre diagram of indi-
vidual crashes making the software the most
complete of its kind at that time.
Preventive Location-oriented Approach
The principle of prevention is better than cure
forms the basis for this approach. After all,
experience had taught that crashes can be pre-
vented by:
matching function, organization and use of
roads
introducing uniformity into the road
organization, aimed at recognizability of
roads
Because the software used a GIS (provided by
the TatukGIS Internet Server), it also became
instance is increased visibility in the dark, par-
ticular for cyclists in the Netherlands.
Preventive Non-location-oriented Approach
Over the years, the traffic crashes file has yield-
ed a lot of extremely useful information. One
component of this information focuses on the
behaviour of road users, which can be improved
upon by means of education. Crashes with
pedestrians crossing the road, in particular
young people, can be reduced by introducing
traffic education at an early age. Recently, VIA
even developed an Internet page for this pur-
pose: Safe2school.com. Using this site, students
can map their route between home and school,
mark unsafe locations along the way and
answer a questionnaire. This is also done with
TatukGIS Internet Server.
Armed with this information a specific educa-
tional programme can be drawn up. The child
learns about safe traffic behaviour and can
apply this knowledge directly to his or her own
route to and from school: location-oriented traf-
fic education.
Hugo Coppen is Chief Information Officer of ViaStat.
Erik Donkers is CEO of Viastat.
For more information, have a look at:
www.viastat-online.nl and www.tatukgis.com
possible to link other data to the digital road
network. In addition to the various map pre-
sentation options, the GIS functionality enabled
more in-depth analyses using geographical
selections from the map. For example, crash
data can be rendered in relation to road fea-
tures, such as the number of crashes in rela-
tion to speed limits. Other examples are the
function of the road within the total network of
roads, the significance of the road and the
direct environment, organization aspects,
speeds and traffic intensities. To be able to add
such data to the database, a project called
Wegkenmerken+ [road features+] was started
in the Netherlands some years ago. Within
ViaStat, a special module was developed for
this purpose.
Alternatively, data relating only to specific geo-
graphical crash concentrations, routes, or map
areas can be selected for in-depth analysis.
Detailed information for any crash can be
accessed directly via the map. Rendered map
images can be exported as Word or PDF files
for inclusion in consultancy reports. The digital
map data itself can be exported as shapefiles
in various formats, e.g., *.SHP, *.MIF, *.DXF,
*.GML, *.KML, etc., for use in other GIS pro-
grams.
Naturally, the crash data are also used to
improve vehicles. A very effective example for
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
63
September 2008
7.502
5
.
4
4
1
6.210
5.319
5.338
6.415
6.410
6.807
6
.
7
1
6
6.431
5.518
5.225
5.124
Hal l e 6 Hal l e
5
Hal l e
7
4
.
4
0
2
4.614
5.410
4.114
5.103
5
.
3
0
9
5.307
Atla4 5 307
Applanix 6 716
DiMAC Systems 5 103
ERDAS 5 518
ESRI 5 410
Geodis 5 225
Geokosmos 6 210
GeoMax 6 807
Jena-Optronik 5 441
Leica Geosystems 5 518
Magellan 5 338
NovAtel 5 309
Riegl 5 319
Sokkia 5 124
SuperGeo 6 431
Surveyors-Express 6 415
Topcon 4 114
Trimble 6 410
Hall nr. Booth nr.
Hal l e 4
Visit our advertisers
I nt ergeo
SURVEYORS - EXPRESS GmbH
Preview
INTERGEO
The Intergeo is the largest yearly event in Europe for GIS, mapping and surveying professionals.
We have created an overview of the largest companies that will be present at this major event
at the following pages.
CADdy Geomatics
The company CADdy Geomatics was founded in 1972 by Helmut
Wenninger as an engineering office. His emphasis is planning tasks,
building and architecture tasks. In 1982 the business area has been
extended by the CAD&GIS sector.
The established and matured software application CADdy Classic is one
of the most important tasks of an engineering office. The emphasis
sectors is surveying, civil engineering, GIS and mapping. Highlights are
the wide range of functions and branch profundity, while you dont
have to miss an easy user interface as well as an easy integration of
external data and the possibility to connect to public geodata servers.
CADdy GIS is an established and matured graphical information sys-
tem. Highlights are the wide range of functions, the automatic visuali-
sation and the layout-possibilities for the display of large geodata
stocks. But the collection as well as publication of geodata in different
web services is still a main pillar.
Visit hall 4, Booth nr. 4.612
CICADE
Since its setting up in 1985, CICADE has always been a forerunner in
the cartographic field.
CICADE has offered its client a complete range of services from the
aerial photography to finished orthophoto. CICADEs team executes and
controls the whole production process through to final delivery of the
product: digital aerial vertical photography, photogrammetry, DTM,
aerotriangulation, orthophotos, etc.
CICADE operates its own aircrafts fully equipped with the most
specialised aerial photographic technology.
Since 2001, CICADE has taken a step forward in the acquisition of
images by using LARGE FORMAT DIGITAL CAMERA powered by DiMAC
SYSTEMS. The DiMAC Camera has been exclusively designed to fit both
photogrammetric and orthophoto projects, enabling highly effective
small, medium and large scale mapping. The images produced reach
now an exceptional accuracy of 5 cm/pixel.
Lately, CICADE developed its skills into oblique aerial imagery, the new
generation of data acquisition.
66
I nt ergeo
September 2008
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt ergeo
67
September 2008
Located in Belgium, CICADE also concentrates its energy into projects
all over Europe (and more especially in France and Italy) as well as
Northern Africa, the Mediterranean region and the Middle East for both
local governments and businesses of all size.
Following are the services offered by CICADE:
Oblique aerial photography
Large scale territorial aerial surveying
Aerial photography (digital and analog)
Very high quality digitized map
Digitally enhanced aerial orthophoto maps (aero triangulation,
interior exterior orientation, DTM generation, orthorectification,
mosiacing)
Photogrammetry
Topographical surveys GPS
Digitally enhanced topographic map
LIDAR (Airborne laser scanner)
Visit hall 5, Booth: 5.103
DIMAC Systems
DIMAC Systems is a customer focused provider of digital aerial
cameras that have been designed to fit both mapping and orthophoto
projects.
Based on its modular architecture, DIMAC Systems offers medium and
large format digital cameras featuring essential requirements to
perform professional aerial data acquisition:
Area CCD sensor that produces frame-based imagery
True color imagery acquired from a color CCD
True forward motion compensation (FMC) performed directly on the
CCD during image acquisition
Flexible and modular system configuration that allows for an
optimal photogrammetric and orthophoto solution
Upgradeable design that allows straightforward enhancement to
state-of-the-art technology
Cost-effective digital aerial camera enabling quick return on
investment
At the moment, DIMAC Systems offers these technologies within three
specific products made to answer all the needs of aerial imaging
companies: two medium format digital aerial cameras, the
DiMACULTRALiGHT and DiMACLiGHT, as well as a large format digital
aerial camera, the distinctive DiMACWiDE.
DIMAC Systems combines innovative product development, strong man-
ufacturing, and support expertise, which allows it to fulfil the promises
of digital aerial imagery.
Visit hall 5, Booth: 5.103
PHOTOMOD
R
software offers high-tech and high-
performance solutions for professional photogrammetric
processing of the remote sensing data allowing you to extract
geometrically accurate spatial information. It covers all your
needs for high-precision digital terrain models creation, 3D
image features collection, images orthorectification, mosaick-
ing and digital maps making.
The new version of PHOTOMOD

4.4

New GCP survey module
Basic GPS support for navigation
3D objects exporting to AutoCAD
Distributing processing for fast orthomosaicking
as well as:
automatic block dividing into strips / frames based
on the image file names
searching for GCPs from projection centers
modified correlation algorithm for the rotated images
new tools for processing of the background
for orthomosaicking
supporting satellite images in PHOTOMOD StereoLink
pan-sharpening process improvements


Contact information:
Tel.: +7 495 720 51 27
Fax: +7 495 720 51 28
E-mail: info@racurs.ru
sales@racurs.ru
Internet: www.racurs.ru
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt ergeo
69
September 2008
ERDAS
ERDAS The Earth to Business Company helps organizations har-
ness the information of the changing earth for greater advantage.
ERDAS solutions streamline decision-making processes and increase
productivity. We create Geospatial Business Systems that transform our
earths data into business information.
ERDAS will be in Hall 5, Booth 5.518 at INTERGEO, showcasing ERDAS
APOLLO 2009, a new generation Geospatial Business System that elim-
inates the walls between GIS, photogrammetry and remote sensing,
extending geospatial data to business applications throughout an orga-
nization. ERDAS will also be highlighting the new releases of ERDAS
TITAN, ERDAS IMAGINE and LPS.
Visit Hall 5, Booth 5.518
ESRI
For more than 30 years, ESRI has been the leading developer of GIS
software with more than 300,000 clients worldwide. ESRI software is
used in all 200 of the largest cities in the United States and in more
than 60 percent of counties and municipalities nationwide. In Germany,
ESRI Inc. is represented by ESRI Geoinformatik GmbH. Founded 1979
the company has over 200 employees in Kranzberg, Leipzig, Hannover,
Bonn and its Suisse offices Zurich and Nyon (near Geneva).
At INTERGEO 2008 (booth 5.410) the user-friendly features of ESRI's
recently-released ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 and the software's many enhance-
ments will be demonstrated. ArcGIS is a complete system for author-
ing, serving, and using geographic information. It is an integrated col-
lection of GIS software products for building and deploying a complete
GIS on desktops, servers, or custom applications; over the Web; or
in the field.
ArcGIS 9.3 continues to expand the use of GIS throughout the enter-
prise. From GIS professionals to decision makers, clients, and the pub-
lic, GIS information and analysis can be made available wherever it is
needed. Whether you need to perform spatial analysis, manage large
amounts of spatial data, or produce cartographically appealing maps
to aid in decision making, ArcGIS allows you to use one common plat-
form to meet all your GIS needs. And because ArcGIS is built using
technology standards, it will integrate well with your existing systems.
Visit hall 5, Booth nr. 5.410
Fugro
The new FLI-MAP 400 system exceeding
expectations
In the latest FLI-MAP 400 laser scanning sys-
tem the Multiple Pulse in Air technique (MPiA)
of the scanner got extra attention. The high
scan rate of FLI-MAP 400 (150 KHz) was cur-
rently limiting the maximum flight altitude above ground level as an emit-
ted pulse needed to be returned to the scanner before a next pulse could
be emitted. The MPiA technique makes it possible the scanner sends out
a next pulse even before the previous has returned. This makes it possi-
ble to increase the altitude while maintaining the high scan rate.
The test flights proved it was possible to collect data up to a flight alti-
tude of 950 m without problems using the MPiA technique. This increased
flight altitude does not seem to compromise the accuracies FLI-MAP 400
is famous for.
Another new option for the new FLI-MAP 400 system is the increased
scan rate of 250 KHz this will make it possible for the system to fly much
faster while maintaining a high point density. The combination of higher
scan rate with the MPiA technique will cause hardly any
compromise on maximum flight altitude while using the high scan
frequency option.
An additional new feature is the real-time laser point encoding whichs
allows for direct on the fly encoding of RGB color values for each laser
point. This allows the operator to have a better view on the data while
capturing and after the flight the color attribute data is directly
available.
Furthermore the new FLI-MAP400 system will also be equipped with an
option to offer almost double image resolution resulting in still 10 cm
pixel resolution at high flight altitudes.
Visit Hall 5, Booth 5.315
GEODIS Brno
GEODIS Brno, Ltd., is the biggiest
photogrammetric and surveying office in the
Czech Republic and belongs to the most important firms in European
Geo-Informatic market. Company was founded in 1990, nowdays with
more than 460 employees in 12 firms in the Czech Republic, Austria,
France, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria.
GEODIS Brno offers full service solutions in following areas:
Surveying
Real estate cadastre
Landmanagement
Photogrammetry
Laserscanning
CAD/GIS data processing
GEODIS Brno, spol. s r.o., as one of the most important firms in
European region, is going to attend to the Fair, as every year.
Visit hall 4, Booth no 4.614
www.supergeotek.com
www.getac.com
Mai l :servi ce@supergeo.tw Tel :+886-2-2546-7700
Mobi l e GISExpert
Mobi l e GISExpert
PS535E Rugged GPS PND + SuperPad
Ann-|mpact
Ann-dust
Water-proof
I|e|d survey sohware
l con sn// do my
best in ony dirty
environment.
PS535E -Rugged GPS PND
MIL-STD-810F and IP54 compl i ance
Mi crosoft Wi ndows Mobi l e 5.0 Premi um
Transfl ecti ve 3.5" TFT LCD
Embedded hi gh sensi ti vi ty GPS recei ver
Embedded 802.11 b/g and Bl uetooth
Long battery l i fe provi des al l -day power
SuperPad -Mobi l e GIS Software
Work and Navi gate wi th GPS
Survey wi th a Di gi tal Camera
Route Pl anni ng on PDA
Abundant Symbol s and Patterns
Powerful Edi ti ng Tool s
Capture and Recti fy Images
Hi ghl y fl exi bl e customi zati on capabi l i ty
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt ergeo
71
September 2008
GeoMax
GeoMax, a company of the Hexagon Group, Sweden, shows a range of
new products at Intergeo 2008 that work when you do by optimizing
quality and productivity, and with outstanding price-to-performance.
GeoMax provides a comprehensive portfolio of integrated instruments
for the surveying, mapping and construction industries, such as the
GeoMax ZTS600, a series of robust, easy to use total stations. The
tough but versatile product design and its broad range of features
make it the perfect instrument for day-to-day use.
GeoMax introduces with its ZGP800 a GPS/GNSS system to surveyors
that provides true price-to-performance and takes surveying productiv-
ity to the next level! RTK GPS provides surveyors instantly with cen-
timetre coordinates for setout and survey.
The ZDL700 digital level for surveying and construction lets the user
go digital for the entire leveling task with super fast measurement
speed in combination with the simplicity of the one-push measure.
Vist hall 6, Booth 6.807
GEOKOSMOS
GEOKOSMOS developed and put into practice a unique combined tech-
nology of aerial survey with simultaneous use of laser scanner (LiDAR),
large-format digital camera and two or fore oblique medium format
digital cameras.
The technology makes it possible to collect big amount of high
accuracy geospatial data in different forms, create multiple types of
output products providing effective tool for planning, development and
management of urban territories.
Complete set of output products
Orthophoto maps for the scales M 1:1000 - M 1:10000
Digital topographic maps M 1:1000 - M 1:10000
Digital Terrain Model
Oblique Images
3D models
In-house developed software product for processing the data captured
by means of the combined air survey technology
Main features:
Interactive creation of 3D models of buildings!
Fast (on the fly) automatic selection of perspective or vertical
images which optimal represent a specified point from all
perspectives and their visualization on the screen
Spatial measurements on oblique pictures (coordinates, height,
length, area)
Features collection (vectorization)
Visit hall 6, Booth 6.210
SURVEYORS - EXPRESS GmbH
Lupinenweg 108, 61118 Bad Vilbel
Vermessungsinstrumente & Zubehr
LandsurveyingInstruments & Equipment
++49 6101 541354 Fax 55
TOTAL STATIONS THEODOLITE LASERDISTANCEMETER
CONSTRUCTION-LASERS LEVELS SURVEYING EQUIPMENTS
...new and secondhand Total Stations on Stock.
Brandmarks:
Sprinter - Baumeister - Swiss-Style-Level - Swiss-Style-Theo
V
i
s
i
t

u
s

a
t

H
a
l
l

6

B
o
o
t
h
/
S
t
a
n
d
6
.
4
1
5
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt ergeo
73
September 2008
HRDLICKA
HRDLICKA is one of the biggest land surveying and geodata compa-
nies in the Czech Republic and the leader of the HRDLICKA GROUP
(including GIS SERVICE PRAGUE in Czech Republic, HRDLICKA
SLOVAKIA in Slovakia, HRDLICKA HUNGARIA in Hungary and GEODA-
TA BULGARIA in Bulgaria).
Companies of the HRDLICKA GROUP offer complex services in geodata
maintenance and management, web solutions for supporting the
spatial data distribution, GIS solutions, land surveying etc. More than
130 employees of HRDLICKA GROUP provide a guarantee for fast and
practical solutions in surveying and geodata management in Central
and Eastern Europe.
We provide our services to different kinds of clients private persons,
companies, municipalities and public administration and especially
clients in the gas, water and electric distribution. The main goal of our
activities is to provide our clients with tools for better planning and
effective managing of their networks.
In this field we offer External map service (EMS) and GEODATA on-line.
Both services are based on MAWIS, web application supporting the
spatial data distribution via Internet/Intranet. MAWIS enables easy
access to maps 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from any computer
connected to the Internet. Main feature of the application is variable
access to data based on user accounts enabling browsing, download-
ing or monitoring of the outputs.
We are also concerned in data acquisition for GIS including GIS data
capturing, CAD/GIS data processing, data storage and regular updat-
ing, data distribution via Internet/Intranet and consulting. Not least of
our sphere of business is complete spectrum of surveying services that
we provide.
Vist hall 4, Booth 5.118
Infas GEOdaten GmbH
As one of the leading companies in geomarketing with over 25 years
of experience, the pioneering company Infas GEOdaten provides full
service geomarketing from one source. Only Infas GEOdaten gives
answers to strategic questions such as sales district planning, location
planning, market area analysis, expansion planning, improvement of
promotional activities and much more. These products are offered in
different levels, down to the fines micro-geographical level.
The unique comprehensive business solution offered b Infas GEOdaten
contains a four-columned model:
Marketdate, Geodata, Analyses, Geosystems & Services
t
For 43 European countries Infas GEOdaten provides market data with
more than 50 characteristics, e.g. purchasing power, socio demograph-
ic information or points of interest. Infas GEOdaten provides a unique
micro-geographic database (MicroBase) with marketdata down to build-
ing-level, like building characteristics as well as consumer and busi-
ness addresses for many countries.
Ge t
Building coordinates, administrative boundaries, micro-geographical
grids, digital high qualitative background maps (GEOstreet+)
74
I nt ergeo
September 2008
A is:
Analysis of markets and potentials, planning and structuring of sales
areas, customer segmentation, definition of target groups and analysis
for the expansion of store locations etc.
Geo & :
Geosystems: Infas GEOdaten develops specific systems for geomarket-
ing purposes.
JCoder the most efficient geocoding software for all European
countries.
MarktAnalyst the unique geomarketing all-in-one solution for Europe
based on the ArcGIS software platform of ESRI.
e:
Consulting, support, project management, software training and a
dedicated service hotline round off the companys portfolio.
Visit Halle 5, Booth 5.410
Jena-Optronik GmbH
Explore the next generation: The Jena Airborne Scanner
JAS 150s together with its photogrammetric processing
software provides data with high spatial resolution,
very high positional accuracy and radiometric resolu-
tion. Using the JAS 150s images with a ground pixel
resolution of 5 cm at a flight altitude of 1000m can be
achieved at multiple stereo angles.
Jena-Optronik has a profound understanding of your needs. With
promising future technologies, we operate as one of the international
leading providers of opto-electronic instruments for aerospace. More
than 30 years of experience and precise solutions stand for successful
products and projects in space as well as on Earth.
Visit hall 5, Booth 5.441
Leica Geosystems
Leica Geosystems presents a broad array of inno-
vative solutions at Intergeo, with a brand new
booth layout. Come and visit us!
Leica AR25 meets the challenges faced by opera-
tors of GNSS networks and reference station. It
is the next generation of high performance choke ring antenna, cover-
ing all present and currently planned GNSS constellations and signals,
including L-Band (SBAS, CDGPS and OmniStar).
The next generation of digital imaging and laser scanning sensors com-
pletely upgrades Leica Geosystems airborne sensor solutions. With the
Leica ADS80 Airborne Digital Sensor, we also introduce a whole new
workflow, Leica XPro, for the most productive digital airborne imaging
solution.
Visit Hall 5, Booth 5.518
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
75
September 2008
Partnership is the gateway to the future.
This statement is based on my experiences as the President of the
International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) and my participation in inter-
national co-operation initiatives with different partners over many years.
Partnership in this regard should not be understood only as public-
private partnership, but also partnerships between the United Nations
agencies and non-governmental organisations. A final partnership
concerns the interaction between surveying practice and the vendors
providing technology development through hardware and software
products.
This was well demonstrated during the latest FIG Working Week held
in Stockholm, Sweden, June 14-19, 2008. The theme of the conference
was Integrating Generations and the program included a fully-
integrated seminar with UN-HABITAT on Slum Upgrading through
Innovative Finance Mechanisms. In addition, there was a special forum
for the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the various national cadastral
and mapping agencies.
Partnership with UN agencies has been developed by FIG over the last
two decades or more. It has proved to be vital in any sense and espe-
cially in terms of contributing to the global agenda, such as achieving
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This partnership is a
driving engine and should enable a better understanding of the every-
day work of the surveying profession in contributing to the MDGs.
Partnership between FIG and the various national cadastral and
mapping agencies has a much longer history. However, there is still
room for improvement to allow a better opportunity for interaction
between public agencies and private practice. Such an opportunity
should also enable CEOs to have a special forum at the FIG annual
conferences. This was offered for the first time at the FIG Working Week
in Stockholm and was very positively received.
Partnership between surveying practice and the vendors of hardware
and software is an important development opportunity. Much technol-
ogy development is driven by the market and the contributions of the
vendors which are of great importance to the role of the whole
geospatial industry. Partnership with the vendors is an ongoing pro-
cess, paving the way towards future development.
Yes, partnership is the gateway to the future it provides a win-win
opportunity for all stakeholders to achieve their primary goals. This is
something that professional organizations like FIG should consider
seriously in the coming years.
Column
Development through
Partnerships
Prof. Stig Enemark
enemark@land.aau.dk
is President of FIG and Professor in Land
Management at Aalborg University,
Denmark
Magellan
Right Feature, Right Time, Right Price
At Intergeo 2008 Magellan Profes sional showcase a fully renewed
survey and mapping product range.
ProMark 500: High-precision real-time GPS+GLONASS system for
land surveying and construction
ProMark 3 RTK: Affordable survey & mapping all-in-one GPS
solution
MobileMapper 6 and MobileMapper CX: Low-cost handheld GPS for
accurate mapping and GIS data collection
Magellan is a world leader in providing intuitive, efficient and
affordable GPS/GNSS solutions for the professional and consumer
markets.
Visit Hall 5, Booth 5.338
Nikon-Trimble
Nikon-Trimble Co., Ltd. (Tokoyo, Japan) will be showcasing its
NPR-302 Series of Nikon Total Stationshigh precision, long-range
reflectorless mechanical total stations with laser pointers. The Nikon
NPR-302 Series offers three models, the Nikon NPR-362, NPR-352
and NPR-332 and features 3 and 5 angle accuracy models. Each
offers superior Nikon optics, performance and reliability, making
them ideal for a variety of surveying applications. The Nikon
NPR-302 Series offers a distance measurement accuracy of up to
(2 + 2 ppm x D) mm and use a patented technology to providing
long distance reflectorless measurement range of up to 300 meters
(1,000 ft.).
Visit hall 7, Booth 7.300
NovAtel
NovAtel Inc. is a leading original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of
precision Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) components
and subsystems, including receivers, antennas, enclosures and
firmware. The companys reference receivers are at the core of
national aviation ground networks in the USA, Europe, China, Japan
and India. This year at INTERGEO, NovAtel will be featuring several
new innovative products including new GNSS + INS solutions, a
revolutionary new GNSS antenna, plus new NovAtel positioning
firmware. Come see us at Booth# 5.309 or check us out on the web
at www.novatel.com NovAtel Inc. is based in Calgary, Canada and
is part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden.
Visit Hall 5, Booth 5.309
I
N
T
E
R
G
E
O
,

B
r
e
m
e
n
,

3
0
.
0
9
.
-
2
.
1
0
.
2
0
0
8
V
i
s
i
t

u
s

i
n

H
a
l
l

5
,

B
o
o
t
h

3
0
7
I
N
T
E
R
G
E
O
,

B
r
e
m
e
n
,

3
0
.
0
9
.
-
2
.
1
0
.
2
0
0
8
V
i
s
i
t

u
s

i
n

H
a
l
l

5
,

B
o
o
t
h

3
0
7
never search again
9
.
-
2
.
1
0
.
2
0
0
8
0
7
...Capture - Indexing - Mapping - Photo Reports
To streamline your GIS workflow
G
E
O
C t I d i M i
Geo-Imaging...
compatible
www.gps-kamera.de
Simplify capture and GPS location indexing of your photos.
Enhance your GIS workflow with this GPS- and compass enabled digital
camera. Communicate Photos via USB, Bluetooth or WiFi. Use GPS
PhotoMapper software to convert image sets to shapefiles or geo databases
and to integrate photos into ArcMap documents for query and printing.
Mobile photo capturing solution for GIS
R
e
s
e
lle
r
s
W
A
N
T
E
D
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt ergeo
77
September 2008
PENTAX Ahead of Vision
PENTAX has started its journey to the top. After the successful intro-
duction of the W-800, the V-200 and the V-300 total stations, PENTAX
will launch 2 new high-quality instruments during Intergeo.
PENTAX will also disclose the first instruments of its second brand,
Profile. The Profile brand, made by PENTAX, has been created to
address the highly competitive construction market. It will comprise
different types of construction instruments such as levels, lasers, total
station and accessories.
The PAL lasers are the first series brought into the market under the
Profile brand. The launch models are for interior and/or exterior use
and are supplied in three laser ranges. Built for the builders, all five
self-leveling rotating lasers enjoy a superb robustness, extreme ease-
of-use, IPX6 water resistance, rechargeable battery packs and attrac-
tive pricing.
Visit Hall 7, Booth 7.502
RapidEye
RapidEye is a geospatial information provider focused on integrating
customized and industry specific solutions into the workflow of global
customers in agriculture, forestry, energy, infrastructure, government,
security and emergency. Working together with clients, RapidEye can
assist any organization or industry able to benefit from geospatial
imagery-derived knowledge.
RapidEye's constellation of five earth observation satellites offers an
unrivalled combination of advantages. Delivering near real-time prod-
ucts in five spectral bands with five meter pixel spacing, the system is
able to revisit the same point on earth every day and can obtain more
than 4 million square kilometers of earth observation data daily.
RapidEye's satellite constellation serves our core business of integrat-
ing customized and industry specific solutions into each customers
workflow. Our Individualized consulting produces distinct geospatial
solutions that take advantage of our core capabilities of multi-tempo-
ral analysis, change detection, vegetation identification and feature
extraction.
Employing over eighty multi-national individuals with specialized know -
ledge from a myriad of fields, the RapidEye team is expected to grow
to over 130 by the end of this year. The combination of the right
A Giant Leap
in the Precision Measurement of Mammoth Structures
Extreme Accuracy Automated Measurement Wireless Communication
SOKKIAs groundbreaking technology sets the new standard in industrial,
construction and monitoring applications.
0.5 Angle Accuracy
Industrys highest angle measurement accuracy
NET05
Automated 3D Station
Ideal Monitoring Machine
An exclusive auto-pointing algorithm makes
NET05 (zero-five) ideal for
automatic deformation monitoring.
Sub-millimeter EDM
0.5mm + 1ppm with reflective sheets
0.8mm + 1ppm with prisms up to 3,500m
1mm + 1ppm reflectorless measurement
2008
We are exhibitor at
the Intergeo 2008
in Bremen, Germany
people, the right system and the right approach is sure to make
RapidEye the right choice for your geoinformational products and
services.
www.rapideye.de
Visit Hall 5, Booth 5.532
Sokkia
SOKKIA is an important
player in the surveying,
civil engineering, cadas-
tral, monitoring, build-
ing, construction and industrial measurement market. In a worldwide
partnership with GLM, Germany, SOKKIA is the leading manufacturer
and supplier of specific high-accuracy industrial measurement solu-
tions. We will be represented on the Intergeo 2008 this year with our
biggest stand ever, introducing our brand new L1 GNSS receiver.
Come and visit us at InterGEO 2008 in Bremen to see our latest prod-
ucts and developments. Feel the freedom to move with our ground-
breaking robotic total station, the SRX. For a real SRX experience, visit
our live Capoeira demonstrations; the ultimate feeling of freedom.
Visit Hall 5, Booth 5.124
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
I nt ergeo
79
September 2008
Spectra Precision
Spectra Precision (Colorado, US) will be showcasing the Spectra
Precision Nomad data collector running the new Field Surveyor 2.0 field
software for its FOCUS 10 Total Stations and EPOCH 25 GPS Systems.
The rugged data collector and field software solution provide increased
functionality for surveying applications including topographic data col-
lection, staking and layout, boundary and cadastre, and comprehen-
sive COGO and roading routines.
The Nomad comes standard with an 806 MHz processor, 128 MB of
memory and integrated Bluetooth technology, a navigation grade GPS
receiver, and 802.11g (WiFi).
www.spectraprecision.com
Visit hall 7, Booth 7.300
Star-Apic Group
With twenty five years of experi-
ence, offices all over Europe and
many partners worldwide, the
STAR-APIC Group is a leading
provider of software and solu-
tions in the field of geographic information systems (GIS) and busi-
ness applications for network management, and local and national gov-
ernment. Thanks to its strength and technological innovation, the
STAR-APIC Group can supply Integrated Enterprise Solutions, that fit
perfectly with modern system architectures and meet the fundamental
needs of organisations to :
integrate and share geographic information around a powerful and
interoperable database (back-office),
distribute and exploit data on different platforms (enterprise,
internet, mobile devices, DVD-ROM) according to users needs
(front-office).
A world class development and support team can provide both the
products, training and services to enable users to meet their geospa-
tial and cartographic objectives.
www.star-apic.com
info@star-apic.com
Stora Enso
Stora Enso produces EnsoMOSAIC digital aerial imaging system for
cadastral and basic mapping and for land use and vegetation mapping
applications, as well as for corridor surveys. EnsoMOSAIC has been
operational since 1994.
Stora Enso will introduce in Intergeo 2008 extended EnsoMOSAIC with
a complete set of tools for aerial imaging and stereo mapping. To com-
plement the existing image capture and automatic ortho-processing
we have added a direct connection with ESPA Systems software for
stereoscopic 3-D data extraction. Stora Enso now provides a full pro-
duction line for stereo mapping with software, hardware and support
services.
EnsoMOSAIC image processing software has been enhanced for fast
managing of large format aerial imagery, such as data capture with
UltraCam series. Also, a new seamline editor is included for improved
orthomosaics in urban areas.
www.ensomosaic.com
Visit hall 6, Booth 6205
Topcon Europe Positioning
Positioning technology is at the heart of a growing number of diverse
industries. Though these industries do not seem to have much in com-
mon, they have one aspect in which they are all the same. The accu-
rate positioning technology of Topcon is at the heart of their opera-
tions, offering efficiency and time saving where it is most needed.
This is why Topcon will use Intergeo 2008 to present its innovative
positioning solutions under the theme: Bridge the Gap. With this spe-
cial theme Topcon will be showing the company as a builder of bridges.
With technologies which offer added value to the core business of many
80
I nt ergeo
September 2008
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
81
September 2008
The GeoWeb has turned a corner and its
champions are realizing its promise as a
robust conduit of geospatial information.
The GeoWeb is the Internet, not just some
little corner of it, and just like the Internet,
the GeoWeb can be used by anyone, any-
where, on any platform device. For exam-
ple, use of ESRI ArcGIS Server is no longer
limited to those with access and use of
its proprietary services. The time is right
for those who want to take part in this
new open GeoWeb environment.
So what does this mean for those who
want to see how they can take part in the
GeoWeb movement? Well first off, make
sure you are implementing solutions that
are open sourced. Make sure those solu-
tions offer up information and data in for-
mats that people can use and enhance.
Second, make your data discoverable;
spend time making your data easily
usable. For example, ensure that Google
crawls your information. Soon we will
begin seeing spatial results start showing
up in Google and those services will
become extremely popular.
You can choose to ignore spatial search,
but someone else is sure to step into your
space and offer such services. The idea
that 10 people can use 10 different soft-
ware packages and collaborate on
geospatial products is very powerful. Just
like the Internet, GeoWeb saves everyone
time and money.
Column
Enabling the
GeoWeb
James Fee
james.fee@rsparch.com
is Geospatial Manager at
RSP Architects Ltd.
partners. Partners, who are more than happy to join Topcon at the exciting, and centrally placed,
stand in hall 4.
Topcon is the perfect bridge between technologies (GNSS and Total Stations), between hardware
and application software, between survey- and construction users and industry, between Topcon
and local software/application partners. Topcon will show its role as a multi-level and applica-
tion brand for any positioning solution. Innovative technology which is needed in different indus-
tries like: survey, construction, agriculture, telematics and mobile business.
Visit hall 4, Booth Hall 4 / 4.114, Hall 4 / 4.402
Transoft Solutions
Transoft Solutions is developer of innovative and time-saving CAD-based software for engineer-
ing and architectural design communities. Transofts software AutoTURN is a comprehensive
vehicle turn and swept path analysis software, that is the worlds most widely used program of
its kind.
Visit hall 7, Booth 7.221
Trimble
Trimble (CA, USA) will feature its complete port-
folio of positioning solutions designed to work
together to connect the workflow for all phases
of survey and geospatial applicationsfrom
GNSS and GPS survey systems, mapping/GIS
receivers, optical total stations and 3D scanning to VRS network infrastructure technology as
well as field and office software. Visitors will see demonstrations of Trimbles Integrated Surveying;
spatial imaging; monitoring, engineering and tunneling; construction; and power, process and
plant solutions on the stand. This years theme, Connecting You with the Future of Surveying,
demonstrates how making the right connections can provide new opportunities and improve
productivity for surveyors and geospatial professionals.
Visit hall 6, Booth 6.410
Zoller+Frhlich
The company Zoller+Frhlich is one of the lead-
ing companies in 3D laser scanning and it is
represented internationally with subsidiaries in
Great Britain and USA. The IMAGER 5006, the
visual 3D laser scanner of Z+F, offers a large area
of application.
Visit Hall 7, Booth 7.613
Calendar 2008
Advertiser Page
Alta4 www.alta4.com 76
Applanix www.applanix.com 42
ASPRS www.asprs.org/pecora17 59
DAT/EM www.datem.com 63
DGI Europe www.dgieurope.com 53
DIMAC www.dimac.net 19
ERDAS www.erdas.com 2
ESRI www.esri.com 10, 11
Geodis www.geodis.cz 80
Geokosmos www.geokosmos.com 83
GeoMax www.geomax-positioning.com 22
Jena-Optronik www.jena-optronik.com 49
Leica Geosystems www.leica-geosystems.com 14, 15
Magellan www.magellan.com 44
Map World Forum www.mapworldforum.org 52
NovAtel www.novatel.com 28
Oc www.oce.com 40
Racurs www.racurs.ru 68
Riegl www.riegl.com 29
Sokkia www.sokkia.net 32, 33, 62, 78
Star-Apic www.star-apic.com 74
SuperGeo www.supergeotek.com 70
Surveyors-Express www.vermessen.de 72
Topcon www.topcon.eu 18
Trimble www.trimble.com 84
UniGIS www.unigis.org/uk 51
VR Mapping www.cardinalsystems.net 57
Advertisers Index
30 September-02 October INTERGEO
Bremen, Germany
E-mail: dkatzer@hinte-messe.de
Internet: www.intergeo.de
30-September-11 October Uncertainties in
Environmental Modelling
Vrsar, Croatia
Internet: www.sense.nl
October
01-03 October ESRI Latin American User
Conference
Santiago, Chile, South America
Tel: +56 2 481900
E-mail: info@esri-chile.com
Internet: www.esri-chile.com/lauc2008
05 October Interdisciplinary CODATA
Symposium, RMA - Risk Models and
Applications
Kiev, Ukraine
Tel: + 49 172 3211738
Fax: + 49 30 3728587
E-mail: office@Horst-Kremers.de
Internet: www.codata-germany.org/
RMA_2008
07-08 oktober 4th European Navigation
Event 2008
High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
Internet: www.navigationevent.com/
registration.html
05-14 October World Conservation
Congress
Barcelona, Spain
Internet: www.cms.iucn.org
06-10 October Laser Ranging, LIDAR
Barcelona, Spain
Tel: +34 93 556 92 80
Fax: +34 93 556 92 92
E-mail: luciana.oliveira@ideg.es
Internet: www.ideg.es
07-08 October European Navigation Event
2008
High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
Tel: +31 (0)40 263 11 31
Fax: +31 (0)84 724 46 94
E-mail: e.wendrich@jakajima.eu
Internet: www.navigationevent.com/
registration.html
07-09 October EuNavTec, International
Specialist Trade Fair for Satelite Navigation
Dresden, Germany
Tel: +49 (30) 27 89 03 23
Fax: +49 (30) 27 89 03 26
E-mail: eunavtec@ortec.de
Internet: www.ortec.de
07-10 October The 46th Annual Conference
of the Urban and Regional Information
Systems Association
New Orleans, LA, U.S.A.
Internet: www.urisa.org
18-23 October ESF-FWF Conference on New
Challenges in Earthquake Dynamics:
Observing and Modelling a Multi-Scale
Sytem
University Centre Obergurgl, tz Valley,
near Innsbruck, Austria
Tel: +32 (0) 2 533 2023
E-mail: corefice@esf.org
Internet: www.esf.org/conferences/08260
19-23 October ESRI Electric & Gas User
Group Conference
Indian Wells, CA, U.S.A.
Tel: +1 909 793 2853, ext. 4347
E-mail: prattanababpha@esri.com
Internet: www.esri.com/egug
20-23 October Second International Work -
shop on Semantic and Conceptual Issues on
GIS (SeCoGIS 2008) and 27th Conference on
Conceptual Modeling (ER 2008)
Barcelona, Spain
Tel: 33 2 98 23 42 06
Fax: 33 2 98 23 46 92
E-mail: claramunt@ecole-navale.fr
Internet: www.upc.edu/ER2008/index.shtml
20-26 October 14th International
Conference on Virtual Systems &
Multimedia
Limassol, Cyprus
Internet: www.vsmm2008.org
22-24 October NAVSUP'08, XVI
International Scientific and Technical
Conference "The Role of Navigation in
Support of Human Activity at Sea"
Gdynia, Poland
Tel: +48 (58) 626 28 70/ 626 26 58
Fax: +48 (58) 625 46 83
E-mail: conference@nawigacja.gdynia.pl
Internet: www.nawigacja.gdynia.pl
22-24 October EChallenges E-2008
Conferences
Stockholm. Sweden
Internet: www.echallenges.org
27-29 October CEE Rail 2008
Budapest, Hungary
Internet: www.terrapinn.com
27-30 October 2008 ESRI Homeland
Security GIS Summit
Scottsdale, AZ, U.S.A.
Tel: +1 909 793 2853 , ext. 2894
E-mail: kshearer@esri.com
Internet: www.esri.com/hssummit
27-30 October GeoInt 2008
Gayford Opryland, Nashville, Tennessee,
U.S.A.
Internet: www.geoint2008.com
27-31 October AARSE 2008, 7th
International Conference of the African
Association of Remote Sensing of the
Environment
Accra, Ghana
Tel: +233 21 500301/501796
Fax: +233 21 500310
E-mail: ed@cersgis.org
Internet: www.aarse2008.org
28-30 October ESRI Europe, Middle East &
Africa User Conference
London, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1296 745666
E-mail: EMEAenquiries@esriuk.com
Internet: www.esriuk.com/emea2008
28-30 October EMEA UC 2008, GIS for
Every Life
London, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1296 745666
E-mail: EMEA2008@esriuk.com
Internet: www.gisforeverydaylife.com
September
15-17 September RSPSoc 2008:
"Measuring Chance in The Eeart System"
Falmouth, United Kingdom
E-mail: rspsoc@rspsoc.org
Internet: www.rspsoc2008.org
15-18 September VIIIth International
Scientific and Technical Conference "From
Imagery to Map: Digital Photogrammetric
Technologies"
Porec, Croatia
Tel: +7 (495) 720 5127
Fax: +7 (495) 720 5128
E-mail: conference@racurs.ru
Internet: www.racurs.ru/Croatia2008
15-19 September SPIE Europe Remote
Sensing
Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Internet: www.spie.org
16-19 September ION GNSS 2008
Savannah, GA, Savannah International
Convention Center, U.S.A
Internet: www.ion.org
17-19 September The Perspectives: The
Role of Surveyors in the European
Economy and Society
Strasbourg, France
E-mail: contact@geometre-
strasbourg2008.eu
Internet: www.geometre-strasbourg2008.eu
22-24 September 1st International
Conference on Remote Sensing Techniques
in Disaster Management and Emergency
Response in the Mediterranean Region
Zadar, Croatia
Tel: +49 (511) 762 2482
Fax: +49 (511) 762 2483
E-mail: secretariat@earsel.org
Internet: www.earsel.geosat.hr
22-26 September CARIS 2008, Make a
Spatial Connection
Bath, United Kingdom
Tel: +1-506-458-8533
Fax: +1-506-459-3849
E-mail: caris2008@caris.com
Internet: www.caris.com
24-25 September AGI Geocommunity 2008
Stratford upon Avon, United Kingdom
Internet; www.agi2008.com
25 September NedGraphicsdag 2008
de Reehorst, Ede, The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (00 347 32 96 00
E-mail: cadgis.info@nedgraphics.nl
Internet: www.nedgraphics.nl/
documentendwl/Antwoordformulier%
20NedGraphicsdag%202008.htm
26-27 September Asia GIS Conference
2008
Busan, Korea
E-mail: suh@pknu.ac.kr
Internet: www.asiagis2008.com
28 September-01 October ESRI Health GIS
Conference
Washington, DC. U.S.A.
Tel: +1 909 793 2853, ext. 4347
E-mail: ctveten@esri.com
Internet: www.esri.com/healthgis
29 September-01 October 14th Australasian
Remote Sensing & Photogrammetry
Conference
Darwin, Australia
Tel: +61 407 271 357
E-mail: info@14arspc.com
Internet: www.14arspc.com
29 September-03 October FOSS4G 2008,
Open Source Geospatial:
an option for Developing Nation
Cape Town, Cape Town International
Convention Centre, South Africa
E-mail: foss4g2008@peoplesa.co.za
Internet: www.foss4g2008.org
Please feel free to e-mail your calendar notices to:calendar@geoinformatics.com
82
September 2008
With the right software inside,
everything else falls into place.
2008, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. Trimble and the Globe & Triangle logo is a trademark of Trimble Navigation Limited, registered in the United States and in other countries.
Survey Controller is a trademark of Trimble Navigation Limited. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SUR-169
No matter what happens on the job
today, you know youll be ready
with Trimble

Survey Controller

eld software. It gives you a
complete data collection solution
for optical, GNSS and Spatial
Imaging. One eld software gives
you the power to do it all, and
keep moving no matter what the
conditions. With Trimble, there are
no surprises. Just solutions. To learn
more, visit www.trimble.com/ready.
Trimble

Survey Controller

V
is
it u
s
a
t In
te
rg
e
o
H
a
ll 6
, S
ta
n
d
6
.4
1
0