Discussionpaper2014/1

Limits
Beyond
go4Dimension cadastre
SWITZERLANDMAY2014
Dimension Cadastre think tank: Cristiano Bernasconi, Daniel Steudler, Franois Golay, Fridolin Wicki,
Laurent Niggeler, Peter Dtschler, Pierre-Alain Trachsel, Robert Balanche, Roland Pfi, Xavier Comtesse
Beyond Limits
REFLECTIONS, VISIONS AND EXPECTATION
FOR A DYNAMIC FUTURE CADASTRE
Impressum
ThereportentitledDimensioncadastrethat
waspublishedinDecember2011gaverise
totheestablishmentoftheDimensionCadastre
thinktank.Newinformationandcommunication
technologies,alongwitheconomic,nancial
andpoliticalglobalisation,theincreasingmovement
ofpersonsandculturalandsocialchange,have
resultedinsignicantdierencesinthewayin
whichgeographicinformationsystems(including
cadastres)areperceived.Focusingonsixmaindrivers
ofchange,the2011reportsetouttoidentifyfuture
developmentsbydeterminingnewprofessionsbased
onfuturerealitywhileputtingforwardentirely
freshhypothesesregardingdevelopment.Itwent
ontoproposeadevelopmentinfourmain
strategicdirections.
@2014DimensionCadastreworkgroup,Federal
DirectorateofCadastralSurveying,Conference
ofCantonalCadastralServices(CSCC)andSwiss
EngineersandSurveyors(IGS).
ThisdocumentisavailableinGerman,French,Italian
andEnglish.
Authors:
CristianoBernasconi,IGS(SwissEngineers
andSurveyors),Sorengo
DanielSteudler,FederalDirectorate
ofCadastralSurveying,Wabern
FranoisGolay,FederalInstituteofTechnology,
Lausanne
FridolinWicki,FederalDirectorateofCadastral
Surveying,Wabern
LaurentNiggeler,SwissConferenceofCantonal
CadastralSurveyingServices(CCCS),Geneva
PeterDtschler,IGS(SwissEngineers
andSurveyors),Thun
Pierre-AlainTrachsel,SwissConferenceof
CantonalCadastralSurveyingServices(CCCS),
Neuchtel
RobertBalanche,FederalDirectorateofCadas-
tralSurveying,Wabern
RolandPfi,LandRegistry,Thun
XavierComtesse,ThinkTankadviser
andfacilitator,Geneva
Conception:ClineAuberson,CrescendocomSrl
andHlneCarrel,www.lncarrel.ch
Publisher:FederalOceofTopographyswisstopo
Addressforplacingorders:FederalOceofTopo-
graphyswisstopo,FederalDirectorateofCadastral
Surveying,Sefigenstrasse264,3084Wabern,www.
cadastre.ch.
Thisworkisprotectedbycopyrightlaw.TheFederal
OceofTopographyswisstopo,FederalDirectorate
ofCadastralSurveying,reservesallrightsarisingfrom
thisdocument,inparticularthoserelatingtotransla-
tion,reproduction,presentation,useofgraphsand
tables,radioandtelevisionbroadcasting,microlming
orreproductionbyanyothermeans,andstorageon
acomputer,exceptinthecaseofpartialuse.
InsofarastheFederalOceofTopographyswiss-
topo,DirectorateofCadastralSurveying,has
aninterestinthedisseminationoftheideaspre-
sentedinthisdocument,theusebythirdparties
ofthendings,informationandgraphscontained
thereinisexpresslywelcomedif,andonlyif,
thesourceiscitedinanexactandclearlyvisible
mannerandincompliancewiththeprovisions
ofcopyrightlaw.Anyinfringementsshallbesubject
toprosecutionundercopyrightlaw.
Introduction 05
Marking territory has always been an essential activity. From the ages of hunting
and gathering through to the periods of colonial wars, migration and early human settlement,
plotting land has always been a vital factor. And more recently, following the creation
of states as we know them today, land surveying has become a crucial factor with respect
to property ownership : here, cadastres which are a kind of basic map play a decisive role,
while maps themselves which depict the beauty of a country stimulate our imagination.
The1:100,000DufourMap(1)depicting
reliefswasfollowedbytheinitialseries
ofMichelinmaps(2)whichwerepublished
from1905onwardsforusebymotoristsand
includedkeysindicatingdistancesandroad
gradients,aswellastheconditionofroadside
vergesand,atatimewhenbreakdownswere
common,thelocationofrepairandllingsta-
tions,aswellascateringfacilitiesalongside
Frenchroads.Fromthatera,whatremainsis
thefamousMichelinstarandcongestiononthe
motorways.Thennotsolongago,Google(3)
launcheditsconceptoftheinteractivemap:
basedonimagesoftherealworld,thistechno-
logymadeitpossibleforpeopletoviewtheir
propertyontheircomputerin3DviaGoogle
Earth,andtolocaliserestaurants,shopping
centresandvariousotherfacilities.Thisnew
approachtotheprovisionofgeographicdata
wasquiteunexpectedforpeoplewhowere
accustomedtousingpapermapssuchasthose
producedbyDufourandMichelin.However,
withtheadventofdigitalimageryprovided
byGoogleEarthandtheevenmoredetailed
imageryofGoogleStreetView,professional
surveyors,geomaticians,geographers,etc.,all
begantoaskthemselveswhatthefuturemight
holdforthem:Whatremainstobedone?
andWhowillberesponsiblefordoingwhat?.
Itistothisrstquestionthatthisdiscussion
paperisgoingtotrytogiveafresh,strong
andcoherentresponse.Withrespect
tothesecondquestion,whichbroadly
speakingreferstoaredistributionoftasks
betweentheprivateandthepublicsector
andbetweenthevariousstakeholders
atthemunicipal,cantonalandfederallevels,
aseconddiscussionpaperistobepublished
inthecourseof2015.Butitisthequestion
ofwhatremainstobedoneinthewake
ofGooglethatisthefocusofattentionofthis
document.Ouraimistoapproachitinaway
thatisbothsimpleandcomprehensible
foreveryone,whileprovidingadditionalinforma-
tioninordertoexplainthetechnicaltermsused
inthedocument,aswellasincluding
alistofreferencesattheend.Theauthors
ofthisdiscussionpaper,whocollaboratedwit-
hintheframeworkoftheDimensionCadastre
thinktankformorethanayear,chose
toopenthedebateasbroadlyaspossible,inclu-
dingtothegeneralpublic,sothatdiscussions
couldextendbeyondthespecicscope
oftheinitiated.
Thedecisiontoopenthedebatealsotook
accountofthefactthatcadastresandmaps
havealwaysbeen,andremain,veryfashionable
andpopularrepresentationsineachperiod
inwhichtheyarepublished,anditistherefore
clearlyapparentthatthemeasurement
oflandservesthepurposesofmarking
theboundariesofpropertyownership
(myland/yourland)withintheframework
ofacadastre,aswellasprovidinglandmarks
fororientation.
Firstlyitshouldbenotedthatmodernelectronic
devicessuchasthesmartphonearethecentre-
pieceofthisnewapproachandrepresentakey
instrumentofchange.Initially,thenationalmaps
andcadastrewereproducedonpaper
andbasedonanaloguetechnology,thenafer
theintroductionofinformationtechnology
andtheInternetthefocusshifedtoelectronic
systemsanddigitaltechnologies.Thisdevelop-
menthasgivenrisetotheuseofmobiledevices
suchassmartphones,laptopsandtablets,rather
thandesktopcomputerswhichhadbeenwidely
useduntilfairlyrecently.Thistransformation
iscrucial,becauseinthefutureitistheland
itselfwhichwillprovidetheinformation.Once
asmartmobiledevicehasxedonatargeted
territory,thealgorithmsbegintheircalculation
inordertodetermineasuitablerepresentation
bylookingforalltherelevantdatainCloud
databases.Whyalgorithmsinsteadofbasic
searches?Becauseallsortsofcalculations,
interpretationsandnewrepresentationsareacti-
vatedtogetherwiththesearched-fordata.
Inamannerofspeaking,thelandwillidentify
itself(detectionviageo-trackingandcompara-
tivevisualidentication),andthedesired
representationisformedbeforeoureyes
forexample,thevillaIwanttobuildonaplot
oflandIintendtobuy,oramulti-dimensional
representationinrealtimeofanewcomplex
intersection(withseveralformsoftransport:
train,tram,motorcar,cyclelane,pavements,
etc.).Thisisthetechnologyofthefuture.
Wewillthereforehavetoreorientourselves
onwhatamountstoareversalofpastpractices:
wewillnolongergotothelandwith
ourinstruments,measurements,representations
ormaps.Instead,itisthelandthatwillcome
tousviaelectronicanddigitaltechnologies
throughdirectpositioningandinstantaneous
calculationofdatabypredenedalgorithms.
Wewillbeginbydiscussingthesenewvisions,
thenwillgoontolinkthemwithpresent-day
realityinordertoproposeakindofdevelop-
mentcomprisingseveralstages(milestones
orlandmarks)withtheaimofdrawingup
aroute,adirection,aplantofollow
forthecadastreofthefuture.
Introduction
06
Smart devices to
play a central role
in cadastral issues
07
(0) Tithe collection schemes (land taxes) were introduced in the 17th century for scal reasons, then
the concept of a cadastral survey encompassing all regions of the country came into being at the political
level towards 1800 during the era of the short-lived Helvetic Republic. In the course of the rst half of the
18th century, manual surveys of plots of land were carried out here and there in accordance with the polygo-
nal method in the signatory cantons of the Concordat of Surveyors of 1868. The introduction of the Civil Code
in1912resultedintheabandonmentofthescalcadastreinfavourofalegalone(propertyrightsandobligations).
(1) Dufour Map is the name given to a 1:100,000 scale atlas of Switzerland that was based for the rst time
on precise geometric measurements. The project comprising 25 sheets approximately 70 x 48 cm in size was
realised in the period from 1845 to 1864 by Guillaume-Henri Dufour, a Swiss topographer and army ocer.
The projection method that was used was an equivalent conical projection. The point of origin for height mea-
surementswasPierreduNiton,thealtitudeofwhichwasatthattimeestimatedat376.2metresabovesealevel.
At around the beginning of the 20th century, the rst proofs for a new map serie of Switzerland were
produced. Since the introduction of the federal law in 1935, national maps at all scales comprise the series
of ocial maps of Switzerland still in eect today. They are renowned throughout the world. Today,
theseriesofnationalmapsareavailableatthefollowingscales:1:25,000(247maps),1:50,000(78maps),1:100,000
(23 maps), 1:200,000 (4 maps), 1:500,000 (1 map) and 1:1,000,000 (1 map). They are updated every six years.
(2)TherstMichelinmapwasonlypublishedin1905ontheoccasionoftheGordonBennettCup(anaviationtrophy).
Itfeaturedamorerapidmethodofconsultationandfoldingthankstoitsaccordion-styledesignusingpaperwith
2x10foldsof11x25centimetresaformthathasbeenretaineduntiltoday.In1911,Michelinmadesignicantprogress
whenitintroducedtheindicationofmileageguresonitsmaps,thenwentontoincludellingstationsandrestaurants.

(3) Google Maps is a free on-line cartographic service. It was created by Google and was launched in 2004
in the USA and Canada, and in 2005 in Europe. It allows users to view maps and to zoom in from large-scale
right down to individual streets. Fixed images depicting details of certain streets can also be viewed via
a gateway to Google Street View. Three types of views are available in Google Maps, which now covers the
entireworld:astandardviewwithnamesofstreets,districtsandtowns;asatelliteimage;andobliqueaerialviews.
Plot of land as the nucleus of every real
representation
Changing World
Examining the evolution of the cadastre and of surveying and its various aspects
means above all tracing the development of the methods and technologies from
drawing board and pencil to computer, from 2D to 3D, from terrestrial measurement
to global navigation satellite system (GNSS) (4), from terrestrial surveying to photogram-
metry, from databases to knowledge bases, from analogue to digital technology, etc.
Thepaceofthisevolutionacceleratedconside-
rablyinthepastfewdecadesfollowingthecom-
binedeectsofnewInternetapplicationsand
themorerecentadventofmobiledevices,as
wellastheextraordinaryriseofsocialnetworks
(Facebookhasmorethanabillionmembers).
Theworldiscertainlyevolving.Theboundaries
betweentheprivateandthepublicsphereare
disappearing.Governmentshavebecomemore
vulnerabletoexternalinterventions,andare
ofenbeingpressuredbynewtechnological,
entrepreneurialandsocialplayers.Everything
ischangingrapidly.
Severalaspectsoftheserapidchangesparticu-
larlyattractedourattentionduringthevarious
meetingsoftheDimensioncadastre
thinktankin2013.Someofthekey
elementsareoutlinedbelow:
>Technology
Thepastfewyearshaveaboveallbeencha-
racterisedbytheadventofelectronicdevices
suchasthesmartphoneandtablet.Wecan
nowcarrydigitaltechnologyinourpockets.Itis
mobileandcanaccessdataallovertheworld.
Whenweanswerourmobilephone,weno
longersayHello,wesaySowhereareyou?.
Whetherwearetravelling,onourwaytowork,
athome,orevenshoppingorenjoyingleisure-
timeactivities,wearealwaysreachable.Mobility
isnowtheprimedrivingforcebehindtechnolo-
gicaldevelopment.
Todaysdevicesnolongertaketheformofpas-
siveterminalslinkedtocentralsystems.Theyare
computersintheirownright,equippedwithan
operatingsystemandcountlessappsthatcan
bedownloadedatrelativelylowcost.Thanks
tothisinnovationwenowhaveportableintel-
ligenceatourdisposal.Therefore,thesecond
keyelementconcernssmarttechnology
(i.e.smartmobiledevices).
Furthermore,thesedevicescanndtheirown
wayaroundthankstoglobalnavigationsatellite
systems(4).
Thispermitsacontextualpresence,insitu.
Essentially,aglobalnavigationsatellitesystem
indicatesourlocationthankstoitsintegrated
09
geo-positioningtechnology.Itisthiswhichtells
uswhereweare.Thismayseemslightlyconfu-
sing,sinceinthepastwehavealwaysbeen
accustomedtondingourownway.Butnow,
thisinformationisdirectlyprovidedassoonas
weactivatethesystemandindicateourdesired
destination,i.e.therouteweshouldtakeisdis-
playedonscreen.Andevenifwedeviatefrom
thedisplayedroute,thesystemautomatically
recalculatesthebestonetotake.Thisisreally
quiterevolutionary.Weneedneverlose
ourwayagain.Fromnowon,allwehave
todoisindicatewherewewanttogo,
andthesystempointstheway.
Withthesedeviceswecanalsoinstantlytake
photosandshootvideofootage.Thisisafarcry
fromPolaroidtechnology,sincedigitalimages
canbemodied,transmittedandstored,and
remainpermanentlyatourdisposal.Itisthekey
factorinthecomingdecade.Morethanhalfthe
tracontheInternetwillinvolvevideotechno-
logy.Wearemovingawayfromthewrittenword
andinthedirectionofimagery.Wearepaving
thewayforanewsemantics,anewlanguage
andanewframeworkofunderstanding.
>Data
Otherchangesarenowtakingplace,for
exampletheuseofdatamining(5),anewap-
proachtotheanalysisof,andsearchfor,infor-
mationinlargedatabases.Thisdevelopment
hascausedaconsiderableamountofanger
andconcernthroughouttheworldfollowing
therevelationsbyEdwardSnowden(anAme-
ricanITspecialistandformeremployeeofthe
CIAandNationalSecurityAgency[NSA],who
discloseddetailsofanumberoflarge-scale
surveillanceprogrammescf.Wikipedia),which
drewattentiontothetruepowerandmagnitude
ofdatamining.Todayitispossibletocongure
algorithmsthatwillsolelysearchfortherele-
vantdatathatarerequired.Automatictrading
onWallStreethadalreadybeenexploitingthe
potentialofsomeofthesealgorithms,butdata
miningisrevealinganentirelynewaspect.Infu-
ture,wewillbeabletolookbeyondstatisticsin
ordertoevaluatehumanbehaviour.Andwithout
adoubt,itwillalsobepossibletoutilisethese
technologiesintheareaofgeo-localisationthis
issomethingwewillcomebacktolater.
Also,weshouldnotoverlooktheissueofopen
data(6),whichisnowgainingground,especially
withinpublicadministrations,basedonthe
conceptoftheopennessoftheInternetand
opensourcesofware.Thisissomethingthatwill
becomerealityforeveryoneinthefuture.
>Social networks
Atthesociallevelitistheremarkablyrapidrise
ofsocialnetworkswhichisbringingaboutwhat
amountstothebiggestchangeinsocialbeha-
viourindecades.Thesenetworksenablepeople
tosocialisefreelywithothersatlowcost,with
varyingdegreesofcommitmentandforan
indenitedurationinanewkindofcommon
interestclub.PeoplejoinFacebookinorderto
sharetheirlifewithasmallgroupoffriends.
The pressure of
technological deve-
lopment is driving
social change
Changing World
10
(4)Aglobalnavigationsatellitesystem(GNSS)isageo-locationtoolthatfunctionsatthegloballevel.Therstsys-
tem Global Positioning System (GPS) was introduced by the United States Defense Department. It quickly be-
came apparent that signals transmitted via satellite can be freely received and utilised, and that a receiver is able
to detect its location on the surface of the planet with unprecedented accuracy if it is equipped with electronic
circuitsandthenecessarysofwareforprocessingtheincomingdata.Thusanyoneequippedwithareceiverofthis
sortcanuseitfornavigationpurposes.GPShasalsoenjoyedenormoussuccessinthecivilianworldandgivenrise
to immense commercial development in a broad variety of sectors, including maritime navigation, road navigation,
tracking of heavy goods vehicles, leisure-time activities (e.g. hiking), etc. At the same time, scientic circles quickly
developedandutilisedthepropertiesofsignalstransmittedviasatelliteforabroadvarietyofapplications,including
geodesy,thetransferoftimebetweenatomicclocks,studiesoftheatmosphere,etc.TheUSGlobalPositioningSys-
tem was subsequently complemented by a Russian (Glonass), a Chinese (Beidu) and a European (Galileo) system.
(5)Thepurposeofdataminingistoobtainknowledgeorknow-howbyanalysinglargequantitiesofdatausingautomated
orsemi-automatedmethods.Here,theaimistoutiliseasetofalgorithmsfromavarietyofscienticeldssuchasstatistics,
articialintelligenceorinformationtechnologyinordertoconstructmodelsbasedonobtaineddata,i.e.toidentifyuseful
structuresorpatternsthatcomplywithpredenedcriteria,andtoderiveasmuchusefulknowledgefromthemaspossible.
(6)Thetermopendatareferstonumericdataofpublicorprivateorigin.Thedataconcernedmaybeproducedbyacom-
munityorapublicservice,andtheirdistributioniseectedinastructuredmannerinaccordancewithamethodologyand
anopenlicencethatassuresfreeaccessandutilisationbyeveryone,withoutanytechnical,legalornancialrestrictions.
Open data also simultaneously stands for a movement, a philosophy of free access to data and the prac-
tice of publishing freely accessible and utilisable information. It is part of a trend that regards public in-
formation to be common property, the dissemination of which is in general and public interest. In some
countries, especially in Europe, laws and directives require communities to publish certain data in digital form.
Data mining is going to speed up
the mass exploitation of big data
Theybecomelinkedininordertofurthertheir
career.Theytweetinordertoexchangeviews
ontopicalmattersandkeeponeanotherupda-
ted.TheyuseappssuchasSnapChatinorderto
sendinstantmessages.Theyactivatesquarein
ordertosearchforformerfriendsandacquain-
tances.Theytubetheirpersonalvideoson
Youtube,blogtheirideasandthoughts,post
theirnoticesonPinterest,sharetheirmailon
Google+,theirspaceonMySpace,theirPower-
pointpresentationsonSlideShare,theirlocation
onCraigslistor,forexample,onRezonanceif
theyliveintheregionofGeneva.
Thisdevelopmentrepresentsacompleteres-
tructuringofsocialrelationships.Itisnotdriven
byreligiousmovementsorcliques,andevenless
bypoliticalcirclesorunions.Herethedecisions
arebeingtakenbyeachindividualcitizen.This
empowermentistheveryessenceoftheon-
goingsocialrevolution.
Wearemerelyintheveryearlystagesofa
lengthyprocessofsocietalreinvention,andit
isnecessarytolookbeyondFacebookandco.
inordertotrulygraspthesignicanceofthe
ongoingtransformation.
Weshallbekeepingthisinmindinour
discussionpaper.
11
Positioning
Cadastral surveying (7) formed the basis for the development of the cadastre, alongside
the land register, as well as cartography. Without surveying, it would not have been possible
to calculate the size of plots of land and the value of properties, nor would maps have been
able to serve any useful purpose. Above all, it was essential to be able to measure with a high
degree of precision, and in view of this the focus was entirely on making accurate calculations.
Wearealsowitnessingtheendofsurveyingin
theconventionalsense,becausepositioningwill
bejustasaccurateandmoreorlessobtainable
inrealtime.Inanycase,surveyingwillusearefe-
rencesystem,thathasbeenentirelyvirtualised,
andanaddressnomenclature(URI),forexample
forpointsofreferenceorplotsofland.
Surveyinginthestrictestsensewillbequickly
supersededbyothermethodssuchasvirtual
representation(calculation),withlittleinterven-
tionontheground.Inanycase,thecontribu-
tionsfromsurveyorsaswehaveknownittodate
willdecrease.Thiswillmeantheendofthepro-
fessionofsurveyorasweknowittoday.Sowhat
doesthismeanfortheirfuture?Inourviewthey
willhavearoletoplayinthetransitionprocess,
i.e.asprofessionalsinchargeofchangingand
adaptingrepresentationsofproperties,andthe
managementoflandandaugmentedreality.We
shallcomebacktothistopic.
Itisthereforenecessarytohaveamediumanda
longtermstrategicvisioninordertobeableto
denetheadaptationoflegislation,theredis-
tributionoftasksandaboveallthefutureser-
vicestobeintroduced.Onethingthatiscertain
todayisthefactthatocialsurveyingprovides
datathatareessentialforacountryseconomic
developmentthroughtheguaranteeofprecision
ofcadastralmeasurements,basedonthesystem
ofpropertyownershipinmodernnations.This
ocialguaranteeclearlyneedstoberetained.
Butitisnecessarytoknowhowthecomplex
systemwillevolveandchangewitharound
7millionobjects(plotsofland,buildings,etc.),
withtheirmetrictransformation,theirdeve-
lopmentin3Dor4D(history),aswellasthe
openingupofdatatomorepeoplecapableof
addingrelevantinformation.
Sooner or later it
will be necessary to
regulate algorithms
12
Butourstartingpointwillbetoregardthe
cadastreasapositioninginstrument.Whatis
goingtochangeintheoperatingmethodisthat
positioningwillnolongerbesecuredsolelyby
technologiessuchasglobalnavigationsatellite
systems,butalsothroughvisualrecognition.Itis
bypointingoursmartdeviceatabuilding,aplot
ofland,azoneorevenalandscapethatrecogni-
tioninitsentiretywillfunction:theterritorywill
signalourpositiontouswithabsoluteaccuracy.
Inamannerofspeaking,thelandwillbecome
themapencompassingallmaps,includingthe
cadastre,asalreadydemonstratedexperiment-
allybyGoogleGlass.Theevolutionofpositio-
ningmethodswillhaveboththeoreticaland
practicalrepercussions.Letustakeabrieflook
atsomeofthese:
Visualrecognitionmeansprovidingtheimage
withanorientation.Welookfromaviewpoint
withacardinaldirection.Thisisanewinputin
territorialdata,unlikecadastralrepresentation
whichtoacertainextentwasneutralintermsof
orientation.Itwaspossibletorotatethemap
inalldirectionswithapointerindicating,for
example,north.Here,theorientationisxedand
dependsonaviewpoint.Forexample,during
themodicationofaplotofland,weselectthe
objecttobemodied,viewitandarealsoable
toseetheconsequencesofthechanges,for
exampletheencroachmentofanewroadon
apropertywithtreestobefelled.Theresults
areimmediatelyvisibleinvirtual(real)represen-
tationonthemobileelectronicdevice(smart
phone,tablet,laptop,etc.).Themodication
isnolongerabstract,itisvisible.Itleadsto
discussionsandnegotiationsonpossiblealter-
natives.Wecanrotateitthrough360degrees.
Therepresentationbecomesakindofstageon
whichchangescanbeviewedinrealtime.
Thesecondtheoreticalandpracticalconse-
quenceconcernsthelegalrecognitionofalgo-
rithms.Untilnowwesetouttodenedatabases
ofobjects,cadastrallayers,etc.Butfromnowon,
inadditiontoalltheexistingorfuturedatabases
wewillalsobestoringandarchivingalgorithms.
Thesewillnowrequireocialcertication
becausetheywillformthebasisoftherecons-
titutionofdatasetsanddata.Ocialobjects
willbestructuredonthebasisofvisualrecon-
naissancesurveys,buttheywillstillneedtobe
legallysecured.
Thealgorithmbasehastobecomelegaland
needstobecontrolledthrough,forexample,
measurement.
(7) Cadastral surveying data form the basis of numerous business sectors, as well as use within the adminis-
tration and in daily life. Real estate ownership, for example, is recorded in the land register on the basis of
such data. If an architecture oce is planning to construct or manage a building, it needs precise data rela-
ting to the boundaries of the property, the location of pipes and channels beneath the ground, and count-
less other details. Specialists nd the necessary details in the land register and in a variety of plans, ranging
from the local land-use plan to zoning plans and utility asset maps. All these details are based on cadastral sur-
veying data. With the latest technology, this can be done by measuring the surface accurately and reliably and,
for example, determining the boundaries of plots of land, the type of ground cover and the altitude of the site.
Numerous political decisions
directly depend on official data
13
These ocial data are collected with great care and are constantly updated. In some countries, par-
ticularly in Europe, laws and directives require organisations to publish public data in digital form.
The cadastral representation of objects or categories of objects
provides layered spatial and geo-localised information about
property or land value based on a classication by type of object.
Therepresentationofobjectsisproducedusing
datarelatingtotheallocationoftheland,to
roadsanddistributionnetworks,andtoindivi-
dualbuildingsandstructures.
Thisstrictdenitionisbasedontheconstraint
ofthelegalsecurityofthecadastre,andonits
uniqueness,itscompletenessanditsaccuracy.
Today,thenationalcadastrefunctionsinaccor-
dancewiththeprincipleofsubsidiarityandis
thusabovealltheresponsibilityofthecantons.
However,duringthepastfewdecadesacer-
tainnumberofnewcategorieshavecomeinto
beingatthefederallevel,andasaconsequence
thecantonshavehadtomakeadjustments,for
exampleforissuesrelatingtopollutedsites,
landuseorzonesexposedtonoise(according
tothecadastreonpublic-lawrestrictions
tolandownership).
Thelegalbasishasbeenanessentialfactor
inthehistoricdevelopmentoftheexisting
cadastrestodate,basedonsurveysandentries
inthelandregister.Butincreasingly,andinthe
wakeofdigitaltechnologyandthepoliticalcall
forprofessionallandmanagement,newcate-
gorieshaveevolvedandthusgivenrisetonew
levelsofrepresentation.
Whiletechnologicalandpoliticalpressureshave
ledtotherapiddevelopmentofthecadastrein
thepasttwodecades,particularlyfollowingthe
adventoftheInternetin1993(i.e.littlemorethan
20yearsago),wehavetoanticipatethatsocial
changes,inparticulartheincreasedinvolvement
ofthepublic(accesstoopendata,appsand
opensourcesofware),andsocialnetworks(e.g.
participationinactionsandactivitiessuchas
Wikipedia,eBirds,Youtube),willgiverisetoa
radicalnewapproach,namelyasocietydriven
morebyalegitimatethanalegalimpetus.
Explanations:
Iflegalbaseswereconstitutionalelementsinde-
mocracies,especiallyintheWest,thesituationis
quitedierenttoday.Infactitnowappearsthat
anactiondeemedlegitimatecanprevailover
anationallegalsystem.Examplesofactionsby
non-governmentalorganisationssuchasGreen-
The legitimate
ofen prevails over
the legal
The Objects of the
Cadastres 14
peacerecentlydemonstratedthisinRussia.And
thiswasalsoseentobethecaseinSwitzerland
inconnectionwiththeblacklistofcountriesre-
gardedbytheOECDastaxhavens.Although
Switzerlandspositionwasbasedonsovereign,
andthuslegalfundamentals,thelegitimate
pressureexertedbysomeofthemajorOECD
memberstatessucedtocauseSwitzerlandto
quicklybendoneofitsmostessentialprinciples,
namelytheruleoflaw.
Thisdierentiationbetweenapositionbased
onlegalfundamentalsandonebasedonlegiti-
mateactionsisaconstitutingelementofsocie-
tiestoday,andespeciallyofglobalgovernance.
Asmoreandmorepeoplebecomeinvolvedin
socialnetworks,theywillcontinuetoexertpres-
sureinthissense,andifweconsiderthedeve-
lopmentofpublicopinion,transparencyandthe
politicallycorrectinsocietyinthecourseof
thepastfewdecades,wecannolongerhave
anydoubtaboutthisprocessofsocietalchange.
Asaconsequence,newobjectswillappearin
thecadastre.Thesewillbasicallybeofthefol-
lowingthreetypes:
Firstly,objectsdenedontheonehandbythe
authorities,forexamplesuchasthebasicaccu-
mulationofhistoricaldata(e.g.achronologyof
themodicationsofplotsofland),andonthe
otherhandbythepublic,forexamplesuchas
dataofageneralnaturewhichformakindof
commonpropertyinlightofwhattakesplace
inWikipedia.Wecanenvisagearepresentation
withaddedobjects,augmentedreality,com-
mentsandadditionalhistories.Akindoffh
dimensionafer3Dand4D.Thisdimensionstill
largelyremainstobecreated,evenifwecan
perceiveitsrelevanceintheoutsourcingofdata
acquisitionandthecreationofnewapplications.
Secondly,wewillseetheformationoflargesets
ofalgorithmswhichwillalsohavetobeocially
validatedinonewayoranother.Thesealgo-
rithmswillinparticularrepresentthecalculation
inrealtimeofpositioningandmeasurements.
Thecentralauthoritieswillsoonerorlaterhave
topayattentiontothemandregulatethem.
Andthirdly,virtualobjectssuchasscenesof
developmentin3D,generatedimagesofthe
past(historicalreconstitution)orctitiouslms
representingobjectsonplotsofland,orthe
divisionsofthelatterintodevelopmentzones
forvirtualrealitiesinvariousareassuchas,
forexample,tourismorland-useplanning,will
increaseinnumber.
Thesethreeparadigmshifswillgiveriseto
changesinlegislation,aswellaschangesinpro-
fessionalpracticeswithnewdivisionsoftasks,
bothamonginstitutionsandbetweenthepublic
andprivatesectors.
15
Dimensions, Big Data
and Data Mining
In order to gain an understanding of the evolution of the cadastre, it is necessary
to consider the question of the dierent dimensions and objects that are involved.
Whenrepresentationwasplanar,wewere
dealingwithaworldinwhichobjectswere
describedintwodimensions(i.e.in2D).Maps
andplansweresucient.Butforcartographers
ofthenineteenthcenturythiswasnolonger
adequate,andthisiswhyrepresentation,still
in2D,ofcontourswasinvented,whichgave
theillusionof3D.Therepresentationofpipes
andconduitsbeneaththeground,andofthe
heightofbuildings,slopeofroofs,etc.,ledtothe
creationofwhatwenowcall3Dwithingeogra-
phicinformationsystems.Butmodications,and
abovealltheirpreservationtogetherwiththeir
stilllegiblenotesonoldplansandmapsdespite
thefactthattheyhadbeenpartlyerased,gave
risetotheillusionofhistoricaldevelopment.
Today,withtheaidofdigitalstorageofdatait
isandwillremaineasiertoobtainahistoryof
modicationsofthecadastralsystemandthus
oftherecordedobjects.Inareassuchastourism
andland-useplanning,aswellasregionaleco-
nomicdevelopment,therearealsocallsfordata
tobeattachedorlinkedhistoricallytobuildings
andland.Temporal(4D)dataofthistypearenot
currentlyregardedasanintegralpartoftheca-
dastralsystem,andinthefuturetheyshouldbe
incorporated,includingatthelegislativelevel.

Thereisonemoredimensionthatalsoneedsto
beaddressedifwewanttotakeaccountofthe
timevariableandsocialnetworks,namelythe
dynamicsocialdimensionofsuchacadastreof
thefuture.
Thisconcernstheeectsarisingfromahistory
ofmodications(4D)withtheopenbehaviour
ofthepopulation,companiesandpublicautho-
rities.Ifwetransformanelementoranobject,
thisleadstodirectorindirectimpactsonother
elements.Forexample,thosethatareaected
forreasonsofproximityorfunctionality(e.g.the
photovoltaiccapacityoftheroofsofanentire
townorcity),butalsoatthehistoricallevel,with
administrativeorlegalproceduresrelatingto
modicationsofland.Thisdynamicvisionshould
beintroduced,giventhattodaythefutureof
landuseisbeingdeterminedinincreasingly
complexprocedures.
Itisclearthat,withsuchanotionofadynamic
socialdimension,thingsaregoingtochange.
Oneimportantaspectofthisdynamicsideofthe
Towards a new
dynamic dimension
of the cadastre
17
Dimensions, Big Data and Data Mining
cadastreisthemanagementofwhatwereferto
asbigdata,i.e.verylargedatabases.Thehuge
volumesofdatastoredatthevariouslevels(i.e.
municipal,cantonal,federalandprivate)inthe
Swisscadastrehaveonlyfairlyrecentlybeen
linkedviatheplatformoftheInternet.Itisnow
possibletousethisplatformbyenteringsearch
requestsforspecicdata,withtheaidofsearch
engines(whichyieldavarietyofresults)orby
applyingdataminingalgorithms.Thelatterform
ofuseoflargedatabasesisclearlyattractive
sincetheresultsofthisminingofdataalso
yieldinformationrelatingtotendenciesand
trends.Datamininganticipateswhatishappe-
ninganddeveloping.Wetrytoanticipatewhat
isgoingtohappenandndoutwhatisgoingto
change.Quiteaprogram!Buttheevolutionis
clear.Originallywewereabletondaspecic
itembyenteringasimplerequest,thenwecould
obtainavarietyofresultsusingasearchengine.
Inthefuturewewillbeabletodiscoverthe
realityofpresentandfuturechangesthanksto
datamining.
18
Address Component,
Algorithms, Cloud and
Internet of Things
In the vision of dynamic smart interfaces, it is quite simply the real world we are going to
utilise. The land will become the map, so to speak all the maps, including the cadastre.
Smartdevices,whethersmartphones,tablets,
GoogleGlassdevices,videocameras,drones,
etc.,eachactasanintelligentsystemequipped
withgeo-localisation,visualisation,simulation
andanticipationfunctions.Theywillactinthe
realworldwithalgorithmsandhugedatabases
thatcanbeaccessedviaakindofInternet
Cloud.Withthemitwillbepossibletorepro-
duceanyrepresentationofrealityatanytime
andanywhere.Thismeansofviewingitemsis
infactalreadyrealitytoday,ifweconsidertrials
withGoogleGlassorintheeldoftourism,for
example(8).
Whatislackingisanunderstandingoftheimpli-
cationsforthecadastralsystem.Letusimagine
howthissystemmaylooklikeintwentyyears
fromnow:wecanassumethat,inadditionto
surface,lineandpointobjects,therewillalsobe
virtualandalgorithmicobjects.Togetherthese
willformthebasisofanewcadastralsystem.
Eachoftheseobjectswillbelongtoanew
nomenclaturerecordableinURIformatsothat
itcanbedirectlyaccessedviatheInternet.This
willresembleahugevirtualandreallibraryin
whicheachobjectwillhaveanaddressinthe
samewayaseachbookhasitsownformofiden-
tication(ISBN).
Thisnewaspectofaddressingobjectsiscrucial
forabetterunderstandingofhowthesystem
willevolve,becauseeachobjectwillbecome
completelyautonomousinitsprocessing.There
willbeacleardistinctionbetweenopenand
closed,accessibleandprivate.
Inshort,objectswillhaveaclearlydenedand
registeredownerordeveloperinthelandregis-
terorcadastre,orlaterinanewsystementity
thatwillgrouptheformersegmentstogether.
Butfornow,letustakealookatthissystem
basedontwokeyelements.

Development
in the direction
of objects that are
addressable,
intelligent and free
of their functional
activities
19
Ontheonehandthereisownership,andon
theotherthereisrepresentation.Theseare
likethetwosidesofthesamecoin.Ownership
remainsindividual,whilerepresentationmoves
intocommonproperty.Astheseobjectswill
possiblybeabletoreceiveanIPaddress,they
willbeaddressableanywhereandatanytime.
Theycanthereforebemanipulatedwiththeaid
ofalgorithms,whichthemselvesformanintegral
partofthesystemofavailableobjects.Fromthat
pointonwards,realityandrepresentationwillbe
separatedfromtheirformerrole.Sofar,reality
wasrepresentedonamap,forexample,butin
thefuturereality(theland)willoerallpossible
representations.Inamannerofspeaking,
realitywillberepresentedaccording
tohowwelookatit.
Howwillthisbepossible?
Quitesimply,onceasmartsystemhasgeo-loca-
lisedarealobject,itwillrefertothealgorithms
linkedtotheposition,theorientationandthe
visualaspect,inordertosubsequentlybeable
toprovideanaugmentedrealityofalldetails,
data,levels,virtualmodels,possiblealgorithmic
interpretationsconcerningthesamechosen
location,thecurrentsituationortheprecise
orientation.Thusalldatawillbeavailableina
contextualmanner,includingthosedatathat
areinsocialnetworksorlocation-basedproxi-
mitynetworkssuchasFourSquarefriends
today.Thisradicalchangeofperspectiveswill
forceustoadaptourpointofviewandthusour
approachtothequestionoftheevolutionof
thecadastre.Becauseweareinarealsituation,
wearenavigatinginadynamicenvironment.
Thismeansthatthecadastralsystemisgoingto
evolveinrealtime,notasitcurrentlydoeswith
severaltensofthousandsofmodicationsayear,
butratherattherateofseveralmillionmodi-
cationsaday.Virtualobjectsprovidingsocial/
territorialdatawillevolveatarapidpace.Repre-
sentationsoflandthathaveforsolongbeen
regardedasimmutablearegoingtochange
enormouslyandbecomepermanentlytrans-
formedbeforeoureyes.Undertheinuence
ofthisnewvision,thecadastreitselfwillalso
becomehighlydynamic.Thisiswhythesystem
ofaddressingcadastralobjectsisgoingtoshif
towardstheworldofInternetobjectswhere
eachwillhavethepossibilityofhavingitsownIP
addressandthusanassociatedelectronicchip.
Initially,allcadastralobjectswillbeprovided
withauniformresourceidentier(URI)sothat
theycanbeaddressedvirtually;latertheywill
begivenphysical(IP)addressessothatitwillbe
possibletoaddresssmartsystemsassociated
withtheobjectsthemselves.
Theimportantthingtorememberregarding
thefuturedevelopmentisthatwearemoving
towardsacadastreofsmart,realorvirtual
objects,ofprivateorcommonproperty,withina
societaldynamismandwithmoreorlessperma-
nentmodications.
A dynamic system
that projects us
into a 4D cadastre
Address Component,Algorithms,
Cloud and Internet of Things
20
Surveyors(inthefutureactingasbrokersof
thetransitionprocess)willbethearchitectsof
thistransformation,andwillthushavetoevolve
towardsatransformationalprofession.
Asfarastheobjectsformingthepresent-day
cadastreareconcerned,itcanalreadybesta-
tedthatinthefuturetheywillmostlybelinked
witheachotherviatheInternetplatform.This
isonlypossiblewhenaninnitenumberofIP
addressesisavailable.Butthefuturerealitywill
infacttaketheformofaplatformwhereobjects
willcommunicatewithoneanotherandinteract
withoneanother.Thiswillbeveryusefulinthe
frameworkofurbandevelopment,construction
ofnewroads,etc.Itwillbepossibletoprovisio-
nallydepositmeasurementinstrumentsinorder
tosimulatesituationssuchasrainfall,landslides
orexposuretosunlight.
(8) Digital technology for leisure-time activities: one example that is causing quite a stir on the
web is the use of digital maps of hiking and cycling trails. This is the most successful applica-
tion of swisstopo, Switzerlands ocial cartography custodian. Downloading a map for an active hi-
king weekend in the Alps is the almost essential nal activity before leaving work on Friday afernoon.
It should also be noted here that, because of poor coverage of the telephone network in the mountains, it is still
necessary to take along paper maps, or at least to have remembered to download the required map (see above).
But will there still be a need for the good old map in the future? Well, here it is important to know when the
link between real and virtual has become convenient, fast and obligatory. Our world is neither virtual nor real: it
is constantly confronted with both at the same time. It is this that demonstrates the power of the Internet:
acting in the one means making changes in the other. Google understood this well before the rest of the world.
21
Towards a Dynamic
Model
Moving towards a dynamic system that continues to provide re-
presentations by property ensures that the cadastral system can
evolve without losing all the work that has been put into it to date.
Thisdynamicsystemisessentiallyaseries
ofdepictionsofthestatusofthecadastre
atdierenttimes.Inthisway,aharmonious
developmentforthefutureispermittedwhile
thepossibilityisretainedtoproduce
virtualsimulationsandmodels.
Giventheapparentsimplicityofsuchamove
towardsadynamicmodel,weshouldnotover-
lookthedicultiesassociatedwiththemanage-
mentofdistincttemporalstatuses,particularly
intermsofthevolumeofdatathatwillrapidly
accumulate.Theprocessingofthedatafor
carryingoutsearchesordevelopingmodels
needstobedonewithparticularcare.Weare
certainlyenteringintotheageofverybigdata.
22
Bern
Bmpliz
Bern
Bmpliz
Nr. 26
Nr. 33
Bernstrasse
Nr. 26
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Bernstrasse
Bern
Bmpliz
Bern
Bmpliz
Nr. 26
Nr. 33
Bernstrasse
Nr. 26
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Bernstrasse
eerone uow trfen
Bern
Bmpliz
Bern
Bmpliz
Nr. 26
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Bernstrasse
Nr. 26
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Bernstrasse
DYNAMIC VISION (aD)
BY CAROUSEL
Bern
Bmpliz
Bern
Bmpliz
Nr. 26
Nr. 33
Bernstrasse
Nr. 26
Nr. 33
Bernstrasse
Control points
Land cover
Single objects
Heights
Local names
Ownership
Pipelines
Territorial boundaries
Areas of permanent subsidence or landslips
Building addresses
Administrative subdivisions
S1A1IC VISION (zD-sD)
BY LAYER
Augmented Citizen
Citizens are going to participate to an ever increasing extent in the reali-
sation of representations in the future. Crowd-sourcing will herald
a new era for cadastral professionals : the age of co-creation by the public.
Inthepreviouschaptersconcerningthemajor
changestakingplacetoday,wehavenotedthat
therehasbeenanincreaseintheroleplayedby
citizens(groupedintosocialnetworks)intheva-
lue-addedchain.ThanksprimarilytotheInternet
andso-calledsmartsystemsanddevices,people
nowndthemselvesinasituationinwhichthey
candirectlyinterveneininformationandpro-
ductionsystems.Blogs,feedback,applications
likeMash-up,etc.,enablethemtocontributeto
databases,includinggeographicinformationsys-
tems,tosuchanextentthatthesehavecometo
relyheavilyontheirinput.Consider,forexample,
feedbackonrestaurants,hotels,travel,visitsto
museums,etc.,inthetourismsector,orreviews
ofmusicandbooks,orcommentsonnumerous
otherproducts.Everything,oralmosteverything,
cannowbereviewed,commentedonorranked
byanyone.Theinformationaboutsuchitemsis
signicantlymodiedbecauseithasacquireda
subjectiveandmoreorlessemotionaldimen-
sion.Thiskindofcontributionisunexpectedfor
specialistsworkingwithcoldobjectslikemaps
andcadastres!Butweshouldnotoverlookthe
factthatmapslikeDufour,MichelinorGoogle
alreadyincludedcertainemotionalcomponents,
forexamplereliefs(Dufour),stars(Michelin)and
mash-ups(Google).Thewayforwardhasbeen
mappedout,andwearemovinginthedirection
ofintegratedinformationsystems:theobjective
andthesubjective,thelegalandlegitimate,the
realandthevirtual.Throughthisintegration
wedescribethecoreofourvisionforwhichwe
haveenhancedthedimensions,
theobjectsandtheinvolvedplayers
(orstakeholders).
Oneofthemajorchallengestobefacedinthe
futureconcernstheintegrationofthepublicas
stakeholdersinthecadastralsystem.Thesolu-
tionwillneitherbeobvious,noreasy.Initially
theanswerwillbetopromptpeopletosubmit
commentsregarding,forexample,footpaths
byaskingthemtointerveneprospectivelyto
reportidentieddangersandproblemsandto
givewarningssothattheircontributioncanbe
clearlybenecialtoothers.
Bychoosingtosubmitcommentstoprotect
others,peoplecaneectivelyparticipateina
positivemannerintheprogressofdynamic
Citizens as the
nations number
one geomaticians !
24
socialinformationsystemsinthecadastre.
Theycanalwaysbesubsequentlyaskedto
reportonerrorsincadastralsurveysbeforea
moreactivephaseofcreationofvirtualobjects
isinitiated.Thepaththatistakenwouldhaveto
bebothexperimentalandgovernedbyalegal
structure.Thiscombinationofexperimentation
andlegalframeworkshouldfacilitatetheacqui-
sitionofsucientknow-howtopermitprogress
towardsahighlydynamicsystem.
Itwillundoubtedlybenecessarytocreatea
newadvisoryserviceforusersatthelevelofthe
authoritiesresponsibleforthecadastralsystem
inordertosupporttheprovisionofinformation
bycitizens,similartotheWikipediamodelwhich
introducedrecentchangepatrollerstoverify
authenticityandvalidatethechanges,andto
identifyanydeliberateprovisionofmisinfor-
mationandsimilaracts,andthustoassurethe
receiptofusefulinputandtheecientmanage-
mentofidentiedproblems.
25
The new
Common Property
and Stakeholders
A new notion is emerging between private and public property, namely one that
could be referred to as common property or common asset, which to a cer-
tain extent takes the form of shared knowledge, or public and open know-how.
Thisconcernsneitherprivatenorpublicpro-
pertyassuch,andcanbedenedascommon
knowledgearisingfromthehistoryofplotsof
land,thecurrentcharacteristicstheyrepresent,
oreventheirpotentialprojectionintothefuture
(futureofobjectsinurbanplanning,land-use
management,etc.).Forexamplesofthenew
notionofcommonpropertywecanreferto
variousnewspaperarticles:LeTempsandNZZ
haveinitiatedaformofreportingofinformation
thatpermitspeopletodescribeaniconic
aspectoftheirlocationin100characters
(mapyourtown.nzz.ch).
Thisnewpresent-dayrealityanditsfuturepro-
jection(andevenitspast)willcombinetoyielda
certaindegreeofvalue-addedtoland.
Thisisacommonasset.Thankstotheirshared
history,currentrelevanceandfuturerole,these
assetsareessentiallyformedfromdataand
knowledge,andaregoingtobecomethecen-
tralissueintheareaoflandsurveying.Thiswill
involveknowledgerelatingtofootpaths,Google
StreetView,CityWikis,aswellasdedicatedweb
sitessuchasCraiglist(SanFrancisco),eBird.org
forbirds,etc.Virtualvisitstotouristdestinations,
butalsoknowledgeofthepastorpresentdeve-
lopmentofaparticularcity,districtorstreet,will
alsorefertothisconceptofcommonasset,and
willatthesametimebetiedtosurveysofthe
dierentlevelsdenedbygeomatics,cadastre,
geography(economicsandsociology),geology
(earthsciences),etc.
Thisinformationwillbecomeaknowledgebase
thatwillread,describeandinterpretlandin
amannerthatisfarremovedfromthebrutal
conquestsofanot-so-distantera(9).Thiscould
beoneofthemainfocusesofthecadastralsys-
temofthefuture.
Forsurveying,cadastreandlandregisterpro-
fessionals,theredenitionoftheconceptof
commonpropertyasneitherprivatenorpublic,
butsomewhereinbetween,posesthefollowing
questions:
A new common
asset between
private and public
property
26
Firstly,whohastherighttoassessand
validatepropertyifitbecomesacommon
asset?
Secondly,whoisgoingtomanagetheasso-
ciateddatabase?
Andthirdly,whichappealbodieswillbe
created?
If,forexample,anassetwithahistoricalback-
groundisattachedtoanobjectinthecadastre,
itbecomesanintegralpartofthelatterand
itwillbenecessarytobeabletovalidatethis
moveandsettleanyresultingdisputesthat
mayarise.ThemethodadoptedbyWikipedias
recentchangepatrollersrepresentsonepoten-
tialsolution,buttherearemanyotherstobe
considered.
Whilethevariousprofessionshavebeenwell
deneduntilnow,wehavenonethelessbecome
awarethat,withtheadventofinformation
technologyandtheInternet,theprofession
ofgeomaticianakindofhybridcombining
theprofessionsofsurveyorandITspecialist
withaportionofgeographer,whospecialises
inthemanagementofgeographicinformation
systemshascomeintobeing.Butnow,the
adventofbigdata,opensourcesofware,data
mining,cloud,etc.,isgoingtogiverisetoother
newprofessions.Butthatisnotall:itisbeco-
mingincreasinglyapparentthatthereisanother
dicultythatwillhavetobeovercome,namely
thatofdealingsuccessfullywithabroad,or
evenaverybroadvisionorapproach.Wecould
evenspeakofakindofcadastre@large.This
newconceptindicatesthatinsteadoffavouring
afunctionalapproachbydeningthetopicsto
beprocessed,wewillmoveinthedirectionof
avision-at-largeonthepartofallstakeholders,
inotherwordsfavouringmulti-stakeholders
ratherthanglobalthematisation.Thismeans
thattheviewsandactionsofstakeholderswill
bemoreimportantthanaglobalsolutionorthe
rangeofspecicsolutionsforspecicprocesses.
Thisisallapparentlythankstotheincreased
involvementofthepublicinthevariouspro-
cesses.Wehavenochoicebuttoincorporate
them,becauseinadirectdemocracyweenter
intoaprocessofresolutionofproblems,nota
solutionentirelyimposedbyprofessionals.
(9)ThesigningoftheTreatiesof1648alsoreferredtoasThePeaceofWestphaliawereasignicantgeopolitical
eventinworldhistoryinthattheymoreclearlyexpressedthenotionthatgovernmentswerethesolestakeholders
inlargeareasofland.InwesternEurope,itistheendoftheHundredYearsWarthatmayberegardedastheend
ofalternativehypotheses.Thefactthatthecharacteristictraitsofthemodern-daystatehavebeeninplacesince
thebeginningofthe14thcenturyissomethingthatisnowmorewidelyconsidered.Thisperiod,whichcontinues
until1945,orevenupto1989,dependingonwhichprocesstheemphasisisplacedon,commencedwiththeNeoli-
thicmannerofmakingsociety.Ortoputitanotherway,thismeansthatthestateregimeofthepastcontributed
towardstheinstallationandpreservationofsocietiesinaccordancewithNeolithiclogic.Followingtheconclusionof
thedebatebetweensedentarypeoplesandconqueringnomads,whichsetthetoneintherstphaseoftheNeoli-
thicperiod(untilthevictorybyRussiaandChinaovertheTatarsandtheMongols),theNeolithicmethodoforga-
nisationprevailedwhileconstantlyshifingthebalancebetweenpeacefulproductionandmilitarymight.Thisisthe
explosivemixturethatbringswarlikecloudspresagethestorm(toborrowtheexpressionbyFrenchSocialistJean
Jaurswithregardtocapitalism):sinceitcanbedeemedmoreeectivetotakewhatothershaveproducedinstead
ofproducingitoneself,oensivegeopoliticsmakessense,andifsocietyacceptsit,itislikelytostructuresocietyin
itsentiretytothisend.Itisthusnotsurprisingthatinapredatoryworldthefocusinthedirectionofconventional
warfareisstronger.Today,inIranorRussia,asrecentlyinIraq,thereiswidespreadtemptationtothinkoftheworld
asacake,themakingofwhichisoflittleinterest,andwhichonlyhastobedividedup.Duringthistime,othersnone-
thelesswanttobakeitandimproveitstaste.
JacquesLvy
27
Tomorrows
Applications
With intelligent devices such as smart phones, tablets, video cameras, drones, etc., we
can envisage a broad variety of potential new applications for the cadastre of the future.
Potentialapplicationsaselection:
Onthespotvisualisationofcadastral
objectsinsuperimposedrealform,suchas
plotsofland,speciczones(landuseareas,
zonesexposedtonoise,etc.),underground
utilities(pipelines,channels,etc.).
Onthespotvisualisationofthelandregis-
ter,withnamesofowners,plotsofland,
restrictionsandotherdetails.
Onthespotandrealtimevisualisationof
potentialmodications,simulationofland
changes,templates(elevationofbuildings),
roadsandfootpaths,etc.
Onthespotvisualisationofsupplementary
data,e.g.historicalinformation,comments
andinputfromthepublic,asisalreadythe
caseforfootpaths(asnotedabove).
Onthespotandrealtimevisualisationof
simulations,e.g.projectsfornewbuildings,
withthedepictiontakingaccountofneces-
sarymodicationsatthecadastrallevel
(changestoplotsofland,reallocations,impli-
cationsregardingnoise,etc.).
Onthespotvisualisationofnewgeo-re-
connaissanceapplications,includingreco-
gnitionoflandscapes,names,naturalareas
(e.g.mountainpeaks),historicsites(battle
grounds,dwellings,famousgures),recent
occurrences(avalanches,accidents,ooding,
naturaldisasters,etc.).
Possibilitytosubmitinreal-timeatageo-
localisedandvisuallyaccessibleplace
commentsandinformation,evenconcerning
suchmattersaschangesinMichelinGuide
starsorLikesonFacebook.
Possibilitytorefertocalculationandmeasu-
rementalgorithmsonthedisplayfordif-
ferentformsofelectronicsystems,including
personaldrones.
Possibilityforcitizensthemselvestochange
ordevelopalgorithmstomeetnewrequire-
ments,referringtoplatformsofalgorithmsas
futurecreativerobots.
Possibilitytorefertosimulationgameson
theground(futurerolegames).
29
Activationinrealtimeofcadastralobjects
providedwithintelligence(smartchips)in
theworldofInternetobjects.
Onthespotandrealtimeactivationofob-
jectsconnectedtotheInternetwhilepassing
throughasmartsystem,e.g.duringawalk
alongafootpathorduringavisittoatourist
destination,inordertocarryoutexchanges
ofdataormakedirectpayments.
Weshallstopourlistingofpotentialnewappli-
cationsthere,becausethenumberappearsto
beinnite.Whennewproductsareintroduced,
especiallynewtechnologies,itisonlythelimits
ofthecollectiveintelligencethatcandetermine
thedevelopmentpotentialofnewapplications.
Itisclearthatplacingthedatasetsofcadastral
systemsatthedisposalofthepublic(opendata)
authorisescompaniestodevelopvariousapps
thatwillleadtopotentialdevelopmentsdes-
cribedabove.Itiscertainlytheprivatesector
whichwilldevelopvastnumbersofsuchapplica-
tions,evenifsomewilloriginatefromthepublic
sector.Butitisaboveallthecerticationand
validationofdataandalgorithmsthatwillbe
theprincipaltaskoftherelevantauthorities
inthefuture.
Apps will be the
basis of all land
representations,
including those
in the cadastre
Tomorrows Applications
30
Conclusions
and Discussion
The recognition of plots of land has always led to the desire to mark them. Land-
marks and xed points of reference have made it possible to measure them, and it
could perhaps be stated that man is constituted of the territory suited to his size.
TheUnitedNations,forexample,hascarried
outcadastralactivities.Today,inakindofmeta-
phoricalreversal,itisthelandthathastakenthe
upperhandanddeterminesouractivities.Itis
nowbecomingthemap,sotospeak.Bylooking
atthelandscapewiththeaidofmobileand
intelligentdevicessuchassmartphones,tablets,
GoogleGlassordrones,weareabletoobtain
imagesofaugmentedreality.Think,forexample,
oftheimagesreceivedinrealtimebypilots
ofjetghtersandsuperimposedontheir
communicationequipment,orthevideo
imagestheyrequireinordertoaccomplish
theirdangerousmission.
Thisvirtualitythatwasformanyyearsused
solelyforspecialeectsonthebigscreenhas
meanwhilebecomeareality,andwillundoubte-
dlyenjoyincreaseduseinthefuture,whether
foractivitiesviawebcamsorviaapplications
forsmartdevices.Sohowhasthistechnology,
whichwasalreadyinusebyarmedforcesinthe
1990s,comesofar?
Toanswerthisquestionwecancitethree
keyelements:
Firstly,theInternethasprovidedacom-
monplatformandsimpliedcommunica-
tionbetweensystemsthatwerepreviously
incompatible.
Secondly,theintroductionofgeo-localisation
viaglobalnavigationsatellitesystemsmeans
thatanylocationcanbeviewedinrealtime
andatanytime.Thepublichasbeenableto
usethistechnologythanks,forexample,to
thedevelopmentofnavigationsystemsfor
useinmotorvehicles.
Andthirdly,visualrecognitionhasmade
possibletheremoteidenticationof,for
example,thenamesofmountains,sitesand
monuments.
Thecombinationofthesesystemshasmadeit
possibletodepictmoreorlesscomplexdata-
setsandimagesonscreen.Thankstotheuti-
lisationoflarge-scaledatabases(orbigdata),
smartdeviceshavedevelopedrapidly,andwill
continuetodoso.Thevisionsoutlinedinthis
discussionpaperarethusveryrealistic.Soitis
notthequestionoftechnologythatwillbethe
focusoffuturediscussionsatthepoliticallevel,
butratherthesocialchoicesthatwillbepre-
sentedtous.
31
Thisdiscussionwasmainlyinitiatedaroundthe
issuesrelatingtoopendataandopensource
sofware.Whilewecanalreadyfeelthegood
intentionsofpublicadministrationsandpoliti-
cianstousethehugedatabasesforthebenet
ofeveryone,thedebatehastakenadrastic
newturnwiththecapacitiesofdatamining
andcertainalgorithms,andabovealltheuseto
whichtheyhavebeenput,inparticularinthe
USAbytheNationalSecurityAgencytospyon
certainpeopleandorganisations.Thediscussion
willclearlybecloudedbydoubtsregardingthe
non-privateuseofpersonaldatauntilatechni-
calorlegalsolutionisfoundforassuringbetter
protectionoftheprivatesphere.Thisisamajor
challenge,becauseunlesstheproblemcanbe
satisfactorilyresolved,therewillalwaysremaina
greatdealofsuspicionregardingtheintentions
ofgovernmentsandtheirleaders.
Theothermainaspectoftheongoingdiscussion
concernsthequestionofhowtoopenupbig
datatothepublic,andnotonlytocompanies.
TheideabasedonthemodelofWikipedia
wouldbetooervirtualcommunities(social
networks)thepossibilityofaccessingthesedata
withoutrestrictionandfreeofcharge.
Therenowwevesaidit:freeofcharge.The
introductionoftheInternetinitiatedtheconcept
ofaccesstoinformationwithoutcharge,andthis
ledtotheofencomprehensivemodicationof
businessmodelsandactivities.
Sohowcanweincorporatetheopeninguppro-
cesswithoutharmingtheprivatesphereatthe
sametime(aquestionthatisillustratedbythe
discussionconcerningFacebook)?Andhowcan
weretaintheconceptofaccesswithoutcharge
withoutharmingthebusinesssector?Theseare
socialissuesthatthecurrentdebateisonlynow
beginningtoaddress.
Asfarasthisdocumentregardingthefutureof
thecadastreisconcerned,thereareseveralkey
issuestobediscussed:
Firstly,thegrowingimportanceofthelegiti-
mateversusthelegal.Herewecaninterpret
thephenomenonasaconfrontationbetween
aprioriandaposteriorilegislation.Codever-
susjurisprudence.Toacertainextentitisthe
shiffromacontinental(apriori)lawtowards
theAnglo-Saxon(aposteriori)worldthatwe
havebeenwitnessinginthelasttwodecadesin
Switzerland.Atpresentthedebateisstillvery
emotional,butitwillhavetocalmdownsooner
orlater.
Secondly,thereisthequestionoftherelevance
ofintroducingnewobjectsintocadastralsys-
tems.Followingtheintroductionof3D,weare
nowwitnessingtheemergenceof4Dwiththe
historyofmodications.Butuntilthispossibility
becomesopenlydesired,thereisnoreason
toacceptobjectswithmoreinformation
ordetailsuchaszonemanagementplansbe-
causemodels,estimates,thevirtual,etc.,
Land will be enti-
rely and continually
in motion as a re-
sult of informatio-
nal change
Conclusions and Discussion
32
areboundtofollow.
Thirdlythereisthequestionofthepublicas
stakeholder,asconsumer/playerandco-creator
offutureinformationsystems.Crowdsourcing
appearstobeinvadingtheterritoryofthe
Internetanditisconceivablethatitcouldaect
everything,includingmattersreservedforpublic
administrations.InSwitzerlanditistherefore
essentialtomakepreparationsforthisdevelop-
ment,evenifthedebatehasbarelycommenced.
Andnally,thereisthecentralquestionof
ownership,theprivate/publicaspectandthe
newconceptofthecommonasset.Thisis
stillinitsinfancytotheextenttowhich,inour
society,itinitiallyconcernstheissueoftranspa-
rency.Butifwecanseethenamesoftheowners
ofallplotsoflandthroughoutthecountryon
oursmartphone,itisdiculttoimaginehowthe
questionofprotectionoftheprivatespherecan
beaddressed.Thequestionoftransparencyand
privacyhasnotyetbeenresolvedatthesocial
andpoliticallevels.
Inthisdiscussionpaperwehaveconsidered
someoftheissueswhichwillbediscussedin
thefutureandwillconcernsocietyasawhole.
Butwearewellawarethat,fortheinvolved
professionals,anothermatterappearstobejust
asurgent,namelytheredistributionoftasks.In
otherwords,whowillberesponsibleforwhatin
thefutureatthemunicipal,cantonalandfederal
levels,intheprivateandpublicsectors,andat
theprofessionalandprivatelevels.Thisissuewill
formthesubjectmatterofaseparatediscussion
paperwhichweintendtoprepareinthecourse
of2014andpresentin2015.
Ourconclusioncanperhapsbesummedupby
reversingAlfredKorzybskisaphorismThemap
isnottheterritory:
The territory is
the map.
33
Mensuration ocielle suisse(SwissCadastralSurveying),Bern,2012,FridolinWickietal.ISBN978-3-302-10031-9
Gouvernance gomtrie variable(VariableGeometryGovernance),AvenirSuisse,2012,XavierComtesseetal.ISBN
978-2-940450-13-8
Cadastre 2014,FIG-Commission7,1998,KaufmannetSteudler,www.g.net/cadastre2014/
INSPIRE,Brussels,2012-2013,paperspublishedbytheEuropeanCommissionconcerningtheURIaddress
cadastre,Bern,Magazineforprofessionalsincadastralsurveying,2012and2013issues,withpresentationofresultsof
theCadastralSurveying2030studycarriedoutbyFridolinWickiandalargepanelofexperts
Dimension Cadastre(DimensionoftheCadastre),Olten,2011,XavierComtesseandGiorgioPauletto
References
Beyond Limits
CONTENTS
Introduction
Changing World
Positioning
The Objects of the Cadastres
Dimensions, Big Data and
Data Mining
Address Component, Algorithms,
Cloud and Internet of Things
Towards a Dynamic Model
Augmented Citizen
The new Common Property
and Stakeholders
Tomorrows Applications
Conclusions and Discussion
5
9
12
14
17
19
22
24
26
29
31