Telmap’s Ultra-local Content Vision Becomes a Reality

Telmap, pioneers in mobile location-based services, is proud to share the evolution of its ultra-local vision in the past year.
Delivering users with ultra-local content in their home countries is a key pillar in Telmap’s product strategy of serving all users’ on-the-go needs. Therefore, Telmap prides itself for delivering the most localised location companion tailored to specific segments, markets and geographies.
During 2011, Telmap has been busy identifying the leading content brands in each of its key markets, working together with those brands on integrating the most popular content in each geography into the Telmap Mobile Location Companion, so users in these countries can enjoy the content they trust and are most familiar with.
Here are some of the leading content providers contracted in each country:
Germany:

• PRINZ Event Guide / Top Guide, DER FEINSCHMECKER and MERIAN - Prominent events, city and travel guides
• Das Örtliche - The leading local search and directory service in Germany
• Advantago - Sponsored search provider
• KaufDA - Mobile coupons provider
• COUPIES - Mobile coupons provider
• MyMobai - Mobile coupons provider
• Madvertise - European  mobile advertising network
• Becom Systemhaus - Funny and celebrity voices in German

France:

• LaFourchette - Restaurant guide and booking services
• Dis Moi Ou - User reviews, offers and deals
• Admoove - Location-based advertising
• Yourbandeals - Mobile coupons provider
• Sentinelo - Mobile coupons and special offers provider
• Xolyn - Funny and celebrity voices in French
• Small TV Productions - Funny and celebrity voices in French

South Africa:

• Eat Out / Eat In - Leading restaurant and food shopping guides 

UK:

•  Ordnance Survey Points of Interest - Coming from Great Britain’s national mapping agency
• Good Pub Guide - Independent and trusted pub reviews
• Podcast Multimedia - Funny and celebrity voices in English for the UK 

Spain:

• El Tenedor - Restaurant guide and booking services provider
• Yell Spain - The leading Yellow Pages company 

Italy:

• Seat Pagine Gialle - The Local Internet Company 

Israel:

• Yellow pages Israel - The leading business directory
• Rest.co.il - Israel’s top restaurant guide and restaurant coupons
• Onmyway - Leading provider for coupons, vouchers and daily deals
• Ynet - Israel’s leading news and lifetime portal
• Seret.co.il - Top movies and cinema  guide
• Pango - Mobile parking payment service
• Tel-o-fun - Bike rental service in Tel-Aviv
• Mapa - Local GIS and POI provider

Global, cross-country contents:

• Michelin - World’s leading restaurant and hotel guides
• Lonely Planet - World’s Leading Travel Publishers
• TripAdvisor - World’s largest travel website
• Yelp - Urban city guide and user reviews
• HRS - Hotel Reservation Service - One of world´s leading hotel booking platform
• NAVX - Gas prices updates
• ARC Europe - Real-time parking information
• INRIX - real-time traffic information and incident alerts
• Eventseekr - Global events information
• AccuWeather - Accurate, detailed, and local weather information for 2.7 million locations worldwide
• Cyclops - Worldwide live safety alerts
• xAd - Sponsored Search provider
• Wanderlust Media - Celebrity voices

“We believe that having access to local content that’s relevant and up-to-date, coming from a brand you know and trust is a key success factor for the Telmap Mobile Location Companion. We have dedicated a lot of time and effort in the past year, to make sure we get the leading brands in each of our key markets on board, and we will continue on the same path in 2012.  We believe these efforts will result in increased user satisfaction, as users discover the reliability and accuracy of the service and realize they can  count on the on-the-go value derived from the location companion”, said Motti Kushnir, Telmap Chief Marketing Officer.
We invite you to come and experience Telmap’s ultra-local experience at the Telmap booth at Mobile World Congress (Hall 7 Booth# C42), Barcelona, Spain, February 27-March 1, 2012.  
About Telmap
Telmap, which was acquired by Intel in 2011, is a world leader in mobile location-based services, providing mobile operators with white label, hosted and managed location-based services that are fully designed to open new business opportunities and generate new revenue streams. The company has established a solid reputation for providing its customers with innovative, value added end-to-end mobile location based services that enrich on-the-go experiences through integration of local content, community interactions, and relevant retail offers.
Telmap’s flagship product, the Mobile Location Companion, caters to all users’ needs while out and about, with location central to everything: social interactions, deals and promotions, exploration of one’s surroundings, and more.
A complementary web companion is also available, as well as a robust location platform with a set of APIs to support Telmap customers in delivering a strong LBS strategy.
Telmap is the #1 provider of choice for mobile location-based services and its technology has been selected by leading industry players such as Orange France, Vodafone, Vodacom, Cell C, SFR, O2, Telefonica, SingTel, OPTUS, Cellcom, Pelephone, Partner and more.

URISA Invites Comments on the Geospatial Management Competency Model

URISA invites experienced geospatial professionals of all kinds – particularly those with management experience – to review and comment on a draft Geospatial Management Competency Model (GMCM). Reviews by GIS professionals, professional surveyors, photogrammetrists and remote sensing scientists, programmers and application developers who specialize in geospatial applications, educators with specialized expertise in Geographic Information Science and Technology, and others whose work relies on geospatial technologies and data analysis are all welcome to participate.
A URISA Task Force prepared the draft for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA). Reviews will be reported to the Task Force and DOLETA, and will used to refine and validate the GMCM. Reviewers who share contact information will also receive results of the public review as well as copies of the revised GMCM.
Links to the draft GMCM and an online questionnaire for reviewers are available at http://www.urisa.org/gmcm_review. The questionnaire will remain open through March 31, 2012.
The Geospatial Management Competency Model (GMCM) specifies 74 essential competencies and 17 competency areas that characterize the work of most successful managers in the geospatial industry.
The GMCM builds upon DOLETA’s Geospatial Technology Competency Model, which specifies the foundational, industry-wide, and industry sector-specific expertise characteristic of the various occupations that comprise the geospatial industry (http://www.careeronestop.org/CompetencyModel/pyramid.aspx?GEO=Y).
URISA convened a task force composed of ten experienced geospatial managers and one facilitator at the 2011 GIS-Pro Conference in Indianapolis to produce the GMCM for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA).
URISA’s qualifications to organize the GMCM effort include its nearly 50-year history as one of the founding organizations of the GIS profession, its successful organization of the GIS Certification Institute and the URISA Leadership Academy, and its healthy working relationships with other professional and scientific associations in the geospatial field through the Coalition on Geospatial Organizations (COGO).

Esri Press Publishes Collection of Geospatial Lessons for Universities

Redlands, California - SpatiaLABS from Esri Press are independent computer lab activities that introduce, enhance, and reinforce spatial reasoning and analytic skills that apply to a variety of disciplines. Students working with SpatiaLABS use mapping technology and visualization tools, including Esri's ArcGIS software, to solve real-world problems.
The unique lab activities focus on teaching students how to approach a spatial problem rather than the mechanics of geospatial tools. Covering a broad range of subjects, SpatiaLABS include more than 50 titles such as Forest Planning for Sensitive Wildlife Species, Impacts of Sea Level Rise and Storms on Manhattan, Predicting West Nile Virus Outbreaks, and Customer Profiling: Demographic and Lifestyle Segmentation.
"I introduced all the topics from the [SpatiaLABS] description list to the class and then let the students pick the material they were interested in. I was intrigued with how devoted students became to doing these labs and how hard they were willing to work to discover the meaning of the information," says Dave Skiles, GIS program coordinator, Front Range Community College.
Delivered on DVD, the labs are provided in editable file formats to allow educators to customize each lab for their specific courses or include local data if desired. The level of difficulty and time to complete each lab varies, providing a range of materials instructors can use to accommodate students with different abilities and interests.
SpatiaLABS are available for an annual site license fee. To learn more and to order, visit esri.com/spatialabs or call 1-800-447-9778. Outside the United States, visit esri.com/distributors to contact your local Esri distributor.
About Esri Press
Esri Press publishes books on GIS, cartography, and related topics. The complete selection of GIS titles from Esri Press can be found on the web at esri.com/esripress.
About Esri
Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in geographic information system (GIS) technology, Esri software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide, including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at esri.com/news.

TomTom Delivers Data in Esri’s File Geodatabase Format

Esri Federal GIS Conference, Washington, DC - February 22, 2012 - TomTom today announces the availability of its MultiNet suite of map products in Esri’s file geodatabase format.   As GIS datasets increase in size, TomTom is offering enterprise customers a data solution that improves versatility, optimizes performance and allows for customizable storage configuration.  Large TomTom datasets may now be consumed directly by Esri applications in a file geodatabase format that is configurable within the customer’s environment, saving time and effort for GIS professionals. The geodatabase format enables Esri users to utilize their TomTom data within multiuser access and editing environments for desktop, server and mobile environments,

“By providing map data in file geodatabase format, TomTom is enabling the most efficient use of Esri software,” said Dan Adams, Vice President, Location and Live Services at TomTom.  “The availability of this format provides a more complete solution, underscoring TomTom’s commitment to Esri and its users.”
“At Esri, we believe that geospatial data should not only be easy to use but also scalable,” saidChristophe Charpentier, Manager of Content at Esri.  “TomTom is proving to be a proactive and responsive partner by delivering a customized solution for our users.” 
TomTom provides file geodatabase format for the following products:  MultiNet, MultiNet Enterprise, MultiNet Administrative Areas, MultiNet Census Enabled Geocoding Layer, MultiNet Locality Index, and MultiNet Post.
About TomTom
TomTom is a global supplier of location and navigation products and services. We provide consumers and enterprise, government and automotive industry customers with digital maps, traffic intelligence, navigation software, PNDs, automotive systems, fleet management services, smartphone apps, fitness devices, POIs and speedcam intelligence. 
Headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom has over 3,500 employees and operates from 50 locations in 35 countries.
TomTom (AEX: TOM2) is listed on NYSE Euronext. More information can be found at www.tomtom.com. For the most up-to-date route planner, including live traffic information please visit www.tomtom.com/livetraffic

POWER Engineers Welcomes Paul Downing to the GIS/AMS Business Unit

Hailey, Idaho - POWER Engineers, Inc. (POWER) announced today that Paul Downing II has joined the GIS and Asset Management (GIS/AMS) Business Unit. Over the past 18 years, Paul has successfully managed the implementation of enterprise solutions involving GIS, work management and asset life-cycle information technology solutions. His proven experience includes business process documentation, program management, quality assurance, development of key performance indicators, and professional services management. Based in Atlanta, Paul will provide a local management and consulting presence for POWER’s regional engagements in the southern states.  He will be using his consulting skills to assist our clients with Cityworks® projects as well as other program and project opportunities.
“I'm impressed by the depth of professional experience and the caliber of technical knowledge for me to draw upon as a member of POWER's GIS and Asset Management Solutions team,” stated Paul. “It’s our shared vision that we can grow POWER's presence in the Southeast by providing superior consulting services for existing and future clients in the Cityworks, ArcGIS®, ArcFM and other product families.”
Bart Koenig, POWER’s GIS/AMS Business Unit Director, said, “I’m extremely pleased that Paul has joined our team to support our growing Cityworks and GIS client base in the Southeast. POWER has a solid reputation for partnering with our clients to solve their unique requirements in an efficient and cost-effective way, and we know that Paul will help us continue our strong growth as a leader in Cityworks® AMS and PLL solutions.”
About POWER Engineers
POWER Engineers is a global consulting engineering firm specializing in the delivery of integrated solutions for energy, food and beverage, facilities, communications, environmental, and federal markets. POWER Engineers offers complete multidiscipline engineering and program management services. Founded in 1976, it is an employee-owned company with more than 1,500 employees and over 33 offices throughout the United States and abroad. POWER’s GIS and Asset Management Solutions group provides experience with industry-leading technologies and a wide range of solutions for electric, gas and water utilities and local governments.  For more information, please visit www.powereng.com.

Pictometry® Roof Measurement Reports Now Available Through AccuLynx

ROCHESTER, NY, February 22, 2012 – Pictometry International Corp., the expert in high resolution aerial imagery and measurement analytics, is partnering with AccuLynx, the leading business management software provider for roofing contractors. As a result, AccuLynx will now offer Pictometry Roof Measurement Reports inside their industry leading software. This new capability will be exhibited by both Pictometry and AccuLynx at their booths (nos.1609 and 861) at the International Roofing Expo in Orlando, starting today at the Orange County Convention Center.
“Roofing contractors rely on AccuLynx software for every aspect of their business, from billing and estimating to project scheduling. Now, we are giving them the ability to order the most precise and comprehensive roof measurement reports on the market today, from the provider with the best coverage in the industry. Best of all, they can do all this without leaving their workspace,” said AccuLynx CEO Richard Spanton Jr. “By offering our customers roof measurement reports from the industry source for aerial intelligence, we’re confident that we will also be enabling them to grow their businesses by reducing operating and field costs.”
Pictometry Roof Measurement Reports provide all the answers needed to create an accurate estimate for a customer requiring roof repair or replacement, including detailed aerial imagery of the structure from multiple perspectives, detailed line drawings, pitch values and directions, and complete roof takeoff measurements.
“We are excited to partner with AccuLynx to provide roofing contractors with a more comprehensive, single solution that will enable them to run their business more competitively and improve customer service,” said Kevin Reilley, President of Pictometry Business Solutions. “With over a decade of experience in producing intelligent aerial imagery and measurement solutions, users of Pictometry Roof Measurement Reports can work with confidence, knowing that their estimates will be delivered quickly, accurately and with the answers they need to create a competitive estimate for every job.”
Pictometry creates highly accurate Roof Measurement Reports with data derived from Pictometry imagery. Pictometry imagery is captured using a patented process that geo-references images, attributing a latitude/longitude coordinate to each pixel and enables users to make highly accurate remote measurements of structures and land features including area, height, distance, elevation, bearing, pitch and more – directly on imagery.
About Pictometry

Pictometry International Corp. -- the leading provider of data-rich aerial Imagery, Analytics, Integrations and Reports - specializes in the capture of high resolution aerial oblique imagery. Using its patented capture technology, Pictometry produces imagery that is among the highest quality, highest resolution imagery in the world. Geo-referenced and accurate for location-based planning, Pictometry® Intelligent Images™ enable users to measure sites and structures for area, distance, height, elevation and more – without leaving the office. Assessment, Insurance, Construction, Oil & Gas and other industries use Pictometry imagery daily, overlaying it with GIS data and integrating it into existing systems to create an enterprise-wide productivity tool. Pictometry’s vast image library of 145 million data-rich images is continually-updated and includes imagery captured in 150 countries and territories around the world including all major U.S. markets. Pictometry International Corp. is based in Rochester, N.Y. To learn more, visit us online at www.pictometry.com

OGC Announces 5th International Augmented Reality Standards Community Meeting

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) announced that the Fifth International Augmented Reality (AR) Standards Community meeting will take place March 19 and 20, 2012 in Austin, Texas, USA. This meeting is being sponsored by Khronos Group http://www.khronos.org and sponsored/hosted by the OGC in cooperation with the University of Texas.
Participants will learn the status of activities and discuss progress in all relevant standards development organizations, including:

• Open Mobile Alliance Mobile AR Enabler
• W3C Points of Interest and GeoLocation WGs
• ISO/JTC SC 29 MPEG-A Part 13
• ISO/JTC SC 24 Working Group 9 on AR
• Web3D Consortium AR Work Group
• Open Geospatial Consortium ARML 2.0

Developers and providers of AR tools, platforms, applications, services and data are invited to attend. Participation is open to anyone, but registration is required. To register, visit https://store.opengeospatial.org/event/120319ar .
Position papers and the status updates of six international standard development organizations will form the basis of the meeting's agenda and discussions.  Additional information about the meeting goals and steps to register/prepare may be found at: http://www.perey.com/ARStandards/fifth-international-ar-standards-meeting/
About the OGC
The OGC is an international consortium of more than 440 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OGC standards support interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. OGC standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled. Visit the OGC website at http://www.opengeospatial.org/contact.

Russian SRCAMB Selects Intergraph’s ERDAS IMAGINE & APOLLO to Aid Infectious Disease Management

Intergraph^® announces that the Russian State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (SRCAMB) in Obolensk has implemented both ERDAS IMAGINE^® and ERDAS APOLLO to help support its spatial-temporal approach for processing data related to infectious diseases and conduct risk analysis of biologically hazardous objects. NeoGeography R&D Group and Navgeocom, authorized Intergraph Geospatial resellers in Russia, are now working directly with the Russian State Research Center on implementation.
ERDAS IMAGINE provides the SRCAMB with the ability to process and analyze satellite imagery to assess environmental impact factors. It also serves as an access point for acquiring relevant information, assisting in the analysis of environmental impact factors and aiding further research and development.
ERDAS APOLLO supports the SRCAMB by providing a common, reliable framework from which specialists, as well as the public at large, can access relevant data and the value-added products created in ERDAS IMAGINE. This includes cataloging and deploying all the available satellite imagery. The end-user utilizes ERDAS APOLLO to search, harvest and deploy the information, and ERDAS IMAGINE to measure and analyze the relevant data. From the ERDAS APOLLO interface, users can access spatially located information aggregated from the different software packages installed at the client side.
“By using ERDAS IMAGINE in conjunction with ERDAS APOLLO, we will be able to provide a unique level of situational awareness for infectious disease monitoring, reducing biological risks and threats for the public,” said Igor Govorunov, Information Department Chief, State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology in Obolensk, Russia.
Some of the core areas that both ERDAS products support include:

• Cataloging of primary, geographically located information about biological and chemical safety
• Development of the first-ever seasonally correct geographical context based on satellite imagery
• Analysis of environmental factors of infectious diseases
• Capabilities for rapid net-centric incident information based on WFS-T service Research and development in providing healthcare solutions.

“Throughout Russia, numerous organizations are discovering the value of robust data management solutions that provide true interoperability and security,” said Martin Ehrhardt, EMEA Geospatial Manager – Sales & Channel, Intergraph Corporation. “Solutions like ERDAS APOLLO and ERDAS IMAGINE allow global organizations to manage and address real-time needs that directly impact local populations.”
For more information about ERDAS IMAGINE or ERDAS APOLLO, please visit www.intergraph.com/geospatial.
About Intergraph
Intergraph is the leading global provider of engineering and geospatial software that enables customers to visualize complex data. Businesses and governments in more than 60 countries rely on Intergraph’s industry-specific software to organize vast amounts of data to make processes and infrastructure better, safer and smarter. The company’s software and services empower customers to build and operate more efficient plants and ships, create intelligent maps, and protect critical infrastructure and millions of people around the world.
Intergraph operates through two divisions: Process, Power & Marine (PP&M) and Security, Government & Infrastructure (SG&I).  Intergraph PP&M provides enterprise engineering software for the design, construction, operation and data management of plants, ships and offshore facilities. Intergraph SG&I provides geospatially powered solutions including ERDAS technologies to the public safety and security, defense and intelligence, government, transportation, photogrammetry, and utilities and communications industries. Intergraph Government Solutions (IGS) is an independent subsidiary for SG&I’s U.S. federal and classified business.
Intergraph is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hexagon AB, (Nordic exchange: HEXA B) and (Swiss exchange: HEXN). For more information, visit www.intergraph.com and www.hexagon.com.

MAPPS to Host Policy Luncheon February 23 on Remote Sensing Technologies in Airport Surveys

Reston, VA - February 21, 2012 - MAPPS, the only national association for private geospatial firms will host a Washington Policy Luncheon on Thursday, February 23 in Washington, D.C. during the Esri federal user conference. The forum will focus on the recently released FAA Advisory Circular "Standards for Using Remote Sensing Technologies in Airport Surveys" (AC 150/5300-17C). Mike McNerney, Ph.D., P.E. of the FAA is the featured speaker.

Dr. McNerney will discuss the opportunities available for private sector geospatial firms for airport survey contracting. This is an opportunity for private sector firms to gain knowledge on the specific geospatial data, including LiDAR, the FAA is seeking to collect through the airport GIS surveys. He will also discuss the implementation process for the circular and the eligibility of airports to receive grants through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). Dr. McNerney will also review the data verification process for the airport GIS program.

"This is a very timely forum for private firms to understand how their capabilities can be utilized to upgrade GIS for the nation's airports and learn about their clients' eligibility for AIP grants," said John Palatiello, MAPPS Executive Director. "We hope private firms that are interested in competing for these contracts that will be in Washington D.C. and attend the event."

The MAPPS Federal Policy Luncheon will take place at 12:00 Noon at the City Club of Washington at Columbia Square, 555 13th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Advanced registration is required. The fee is $65.00 for MAPPS members and $80.00 for non-members. Lunch will be included. To register, please visit www.mapps.org

About MAPPS

Formed in 1982, MAPPS is the only national association exclusively comprised of private firms in the remote sensing, spatial data and geographic information systems field in the United States. The MAPPS membership spans the entire spectrum of the geospatial community, including Member Firms engaged in satellite and airborne remote sensing, surveying, photogrammetry, aerial photography, LIDAR, hydrography, bathymetry, charting, aerial and satellite image processing, GPS, and GIS data collection and conversion services. MAPPS also includes Associate Member Firms, which are companies that provide hardware, software, products and services to the geospatial profession in the United States and other firms from around the world. Independent Consultant Members are sole proprietors engaged in consulting in or to the geospatial profession, or provides a consulting service of interest to the geospatial profession.

MAPPS provides its 160+ member firms opportunities for networking and developing business-to-business relationships, information sharing, education, public policy advocacy, market growth, and professional development and image enhancement.
For more information on MAPPS, please visit www.MAPPS.org.

California GIS Community to Convene in Sacramento for CalGIS 2012

CalGIS 2012 - the 18th Annual California GIS Conference - will take place April 11-13, 2012 at the Sheraton Sacramento. The conference features a comprehensive educational program, networking events and an exhibit hall.
Themed “Capitalizing on Spatial Technology”, the conference opens on Wednesday, April 11 with numerous workshops, meetings, and a Levee and Wine tour. On Thursday, April 12, Scott Gregory, the State of California’s GIO, will update attendees on statewide GIS activities and priorities followed by a Town Hall session, where attendees will share their perspectives about issues impacting the profession.
Sessions on topics ranging fromWeb and Open Source ResourcesforGIS to Visual Simulations and the Use of LiDARwill provide attendees with top-quality education on Thursday and Friday. An Ignite session and a poster session will complement the multiple breakout sessions.
The California Geographic Information Association (CGIA) will honor 2012 award winners and Dr. Dawn Wright will provide a keynote address on “The Age of Science and Big Data”.
The committee is organizing a number of networking events including a geocaching tour of downtown Sacramento and an urban bike tour.
Don’t miss the best in California GIS this April in Sacramento. For details and registration, visit www.calgis.org.
Sponsored by:

• Northern California Chapter of URISA - host chapter
• Southern California Chapter of URISA
• Central California Chapter of URISA
• California Geographic Information Association (CGIA)

GAF Applies Earth Observation For Improved Governance Of Informal Mining

GAF AG, in a team together with DLR (German Aerospace Center - Germany) and IES (Institute for Environmental Security - Netherlands), is carrying out a contract to use optical and radar remote sensing sensors and interpretation techniques to locate, map and monitor small-scale and artisanal mining (ASM) operations. In many countries, information about ASM is largely incomplete and, as a consequence, ASM activities remain informal and outside of governmental supervision andregulation.
Especially in remote, poorly accessible or security sensitive areas, satellite-based remote sensing is the most efficient tool for area-wide mapping and monitoring. In this project, very high resolution optical image data, stereo data and radar-based coherence analysis is being applied and interpreted together with other geo-data such as mining cadastre information. This involves the following information being extracted from earth observation images for monitoring ASM activities:

• location and description of mining activities (activity maps and disturbed terrain analysis e.g. trenches, pits, stockpiles)  and change detection
• rough estimation of extracted material 
• infrastructure (e.g. processing plants, transportation routes) and influx/efflux of population

This information is used to create up-to-date reconnaissance maps and dossiers with a description of current mining activities in order to facilitate the work of in-situ mines inspectors. In addition, a methodology for country-wide mines verification is being developed.
The project covers a range of settings with artisanal mining for metals, coal, gold, gemstones as well as quarries in several selected pilot areas. Cases are selected from GAF`s international activities within the mineral resources domain; recent GAF project countries include Guyana, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Uganda, Madagascar, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Papua New Guinea.
Artisanal or small-scale mining is largely a poverty driven activity and is typically practiced in the poorest and most remote rural areas of countries by a largely itinerant, poorly educated populace with little else available in the way of alternative employment. Today, an estimated 13 million people in about 30 countries across the world are small-scale/artisanal miners, with about 80 - 100 million people depending on such mining for their livelihoods. ASM can be environmentally damaging and often has serious health and safetyconsequences for workers and surrounding communities. Many of the potential economic benefits of the small-scale mining sector are also lost as a result of poor practice with regard to mining, processing and marketing. The compiling of an inventory is a first step towards regularizing the sector, i.e. the enforcement of health, safety and environmental standards and the collection of royalties. Governments can then also grant operators proper legal title and provide technical, marketing and training support.
The project is funded under the European Space Agency (ESA) "Timely Situation Awareness for Law Enforcement and Intelligence Application" contract, which forms part of the Value Added Element (VAE) programme. The purpose of the VAEprogrammeis to support industry in the use of earth observation data. The project started in autumn 2011 and is scheduled to run for 18 months.
About GAF AG – Germany 
GAF AG, an e-GEOS, Telespazio company, is globally active and has an international reputation as an experienced provider of project design, management and implementation services in the fields of geo-information, satellite remote sensing, spatial IT-consultancy and capacity building for private and public clients.GAF provides solutions in the sectors of mining and geology, natural resources, water and environment, security, land and renewable resources. Over the past 27 years, GAF has been active in more than 100 countries throughout Europe, Africa, South America and Asia.

LizardTech Exhibits at Esri Federal GIS Conference and Reflects on 20 Years in Business

LizardTech^®, a provider of software solutions for managing and distributing geospatial content, is exhibiting this week at the 2012 Esri Federal GIS Conference in Washington, D.C. in booth #401. This year the company celebrates its 20^th anniversary, a milestone that is both exciting and reassuring.
Founded in 1992, LizardTech pioneered the MrSID^® file format, which became the de facto standard among the geospatial community. Before MrSID came along, dealing with geospatial imagery required specialized workstations, since datasets that were hundreds of megabytes in size were completely unwieldy, and imagery resolution was in the tens of meters. Imagery was practically unusable. The introduction of the MrSID format in 1992, which compressed georeferenced image data at high ratios without sacrificing the visual quality of the image, opened up the field of geospatial image use.
“I think the key to our success is that we listen to our customers and provide quality software that’s in demand,” said Jon Skiffington, director of product management. “At the end of the day it’s all about what our customers want and need, and developing a file format that’s been accepted by the majority of the geospatial community is the greatest achievement of all.”
At the Esri Federal GIS Conference Skiffington will be on hand to answer any questions pertaining to the history of the company. He will also be conducting demonstrations of GeoExpress^® software, which enables geospatial professionals to compress and manipulate satellite and aerial imagery,Express Server^® software for high-performance delivery and publication, and LiDAR Compressor^™software, which turns giant point cloud datasets into efficient MrSID files.
For more information about LizardTech’s geospatial software products, visit www.lizardtech.com
About LizardTech
Since 1992, LizardTech has delivered state-of-the-art software products for managing and distributing massive, high-resolution geospatial data such as aerial and satellite imagery and LiDAR data. LizardTech pioneered the MrSID technology, a powerful wavelet-based image encoder, viewer, and file format. LizardTech has offices in Seattle, Denver, London and Tokyo. For more information about LizardTech, visit www.lizardtech.com.
About Celartem
Celartem Technology Inc. http://www.celartem.com/ develops and sells innovative technologies for storage, access and distribution of rich media content. Celartem has developed technology in the areas of digital image compression, scalable image viewing and secure content distribution and management. Celartem is listed on the Osaka Securities Exchange, JASDAQ: 4330. Established in 1996, Celartem is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and has a wholly owned subsidiary, Celartem Inc. d.b.a. LizardTech with headquarters in Portland, Oregon

Bricsys Releases Bricscad V12 for Linux

Gent, Belgium and Merrimack NH - Bricsys NV, the developer of Bricscad for design professionals, has announced the release of Bricscad V12 for the Linux operating system. All three editions – Classic, Pro, and Platinum – bring to the Linux world powerful 3D modeling and CAD API programming equal to the Bricsys product line running on Windows.

Bricsys simultaneously announced no price increase for Bricscad V12 Linux, and that it plans to release the entire Bricscad V12 suite on Mac OSX in the second half of 2012.

New in Briscad V12 for Linux

All editions of the new Bricscad V12 for Linux software feature a 2D constraint solver as powerful as that found in much more expensive CAD packages. Users are able to attach many kinds of constraints to 2D elements, including perpendicular, parallel, and concentric.

Other improvements common to all editions include the ability to trim hatches, add custom hatch patterns, define page setups, generate live section planes, and model in 2D and 3D with visual styles. An improved raster engine allows GIS applications to smoothly zoom and pan very large bitmaps.

New In Bricscad V12 Pro Edition

The Pro edition of Bricscad V12 for Linux offers powerful 3D direct modeling, the modern way to design products in 3D, together with dynamic dimensions to allow fast and accurate modeling operations. Users are able to toggle smoothly between 2D and 3D design modes – switching between familiar environments and direct modeling operations.
A new intuitive user interface element called the “Quad Cursor” allows users to create and edit 3D models with a minimum of clicks. Hovering the cursor over edges, faces, and solids highlights them instantly, and makes available at-cursor buttons for direct operations, such as push-pull, rotate, and chamfer – all in real-time. In addition, users can perform 3D operations in real-time rendered visual modes.

New in Bricscad V12 Platinum Edition

The Platinum edition of Bricscad V12 for Linux contains everything found in the Pro edition, and adds a revolutionary 3D constraint solver for .dwg-based modeling. Users are able to add 3D constraints to edges, faces, and many kinds of solid primitives. A constraint control panel lists the constraints, and users are able to view constraints in the model simply by selecting them in the panel.

In addition, the Platinum edition importantly protects users against over-constrained models. It also includes a design intent detector, which can analyze repetitive operations on elements, detect the intentions of users, and apply the appropriate operation automatically.
"Through our contacts with Linux users, we have come to understand their strong need for a professional 3D engineering solution,” explained Erik De Keyser, CEO of Bricsys. “The release of Bricscad V12 Pro and Platinum makes it clear that we have made this happen.

“Together with the many APIs we released for Linux over the last twelve months, we achieved our goal of creating the building blocks for a real .dwg-based engineering platform for Linux,” he added. “By bringing the powerful capabilities of Bricscad V12 to Linux users, we reconfirm our commitment to fully supporting this market.”

For a comprehensive list of new features, please see www.bricsys.com/en_INTL/bricscad/features.jsp.

Availability and Pricing

All editions of Bricscad V12 for Linux will be available for download in English on February 20, 2012. Other language versions are expected by the end of March. A no-charge, 30-day trial version is available to Linux users through DEB, RPM, and TAR.GZ installers from www.bricsys.com.

The Platinum edition is priced from US$675; other editions sport lower prices. New licenses and upgrades are available through local Bricsys resellers or online from the Bricsys e-store at www.bricsys.com/estore.
 
About Bricsys

Through a network of 70 offices on four continents, Bricsys is a global provider of engineering software. Its product portfolio consists of Bricscad design software, Vondle extended SaaS platform, and modeling and constraint solving components technology.

Bricscad is the powerful alternative CAD platform that enables .dwg-based applications to serve the growing markets of AEC, mechanical design, GIS, and civil engineering.

Bricsys products are available in 17 languages, with more languages in development. Every month, the company transparently reports to its customers the status and development of its software products. Wherever they are around the globe and around the clock, customers can communicate support requests directly to the Bricsys support team.

Bricsys is a founding member of the Open Design Alliance and thereby contributes to interoperability in the engineering industry.

For more information about Bricsys, contact us through www.bricsys.com.

GRASS GIS 6.4.2 Released

We are pleased to announce the release of a new stable version of GRASS GIS. This release fixes bugs discovered in version 6.4.1 of the program and adds a number of new features. This release includes over 760 updates to the source code since 6.4.1. As a stable release series, the 6.4 line will enjoy long-term support and incremental enhancements while preserving backwards-compatibility with the entire GRASS 6 line.
The new wxPython graphical user interface (wxGUI) has been updated with many new features and tools. Python is now a fully supported scripting language, including an updated Python toolkit to simplify the authoring of personal scripts, support for NumPy based array calculations, and a Python application interface for the GRASS C libraries. Additionally, MS-Windows support continues to mature.
GRASS 6.4.2 debuts ten new modules, a new GUI cartographic composer tool, a new GUI object-oriented modeling environment, and improved infrastructure for installing community supplied add-on modules.
Read the full story at http://grass.osgeo.org/announces/announce_grass642.html
About GRASS GIS
The Geographic Resources Analysis Support System, commonly referred to as GRASS, is an Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS) and geospatial analysis toolkit. For nearly three decades, GRASS has provided powerful raster, vector, and geospatial processing engines in a single integrated software suite. GRASS includes tools for spatial modeling of raster and vector data, visualization, the management and analysis of geospatial information, and the processing of satellite and aerial imagery. It also provides the capability to produce sophisticated presentation graphics and publication-quality hardcopy maps. GRASS has now been translated into twenty languages and supports an extensive array of data formats. It is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).
GRASS differs from many other GIS software packages used in the academic and professional worlds in that it is developed and distributed by users for users, mostly on a volunteer basis. Its code and spatial processing algorithms are open and transparent, and the software is distributed free of charge. The source code is also freely available, allowing for immediate customization, examination of the underlying algorithms, the addition of new features, and faster identification and patching of bugs.

OGC Announces Smart Grid Location Standards Ad Hoc Meeting

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) invites Smart Grid professionals to a Smart Grid Location Standards Meeting to be held on March 20 from 8:00-10:00 a.m. at the OGC Technical Committee Meeting in Austin, Texas, USA. This meeting is sponsored/hosted by the OGC, in cooperation with the University of Texas at Austin.
The ability to communicate geospatial information is seen as a crosscutting requirement in Smart Grid standards efforts worldwide. The OASIS eMIX (Energy Market Information Exchange) standard uses the OGC Geography Markup Languate (GML) Encoding Standard. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) CIM (Common Information Model) standard is "harmonized" with WXXM (Weather Information Exchange Model), which is an industry profile based on GML. More standards coordination and development, however, is required to enable efficient geospatial communication within smart grids and between smart grids and "neighboring" activities such as emergency response, disaster management, urban planning and building energy management.
Many of the OGC's domains of activity – sensor webs, weather, indoor/outdoor location integration, 3D city models, location services, data fusion and others – have significance for the Smart Grid. Many OGC members have a stake in the Smart Grid information technology market, the growth of which depends on the evolution of a standards infrastructure that includes location standards.
This meeting (an "ad hoc" meeting in the OGC's formal meeting nomenclature) has been set up to assess the level of interest in the community to tackle open geospatial standards for the Smart Grid. It is expected that OGC member participants will agree on near and intermediate term actions, which may include the drafting of a Smart Grid Domain Working Group charter.
The Smart Grid Location Standards Ad Hoc meeting is open to the public and admission is free, but Smart Grid Location Standards Ad Hoc Meeting attendees who don't plan to attend other OGC Technical Committee sessions must register via email at register@opengeospatial.org. See details of the OGC Technical Committee meeting at http://www.opengeospatial.org/event/1203tc.
OGC staff and Eric Nelson of Synaptitude Consulting will facilitate the meeting. We hope you will attend
About the OGC
The OGC is an international consortium of more than 440 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OGC standards support interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. OGC standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled. Visit the OGC website athttp://www.opengeospatial.org/contact.

Wildgoose Launches Olympics Aerial Photo Pack

Leicestershire, UK - 21 February 2012 - Education company Wildgoose has launched a new cross-curricular teaching resource based around the London Olympic Games. The interactive pack includes a CD-ROM packed with teaching activities and background notes as well as high-resolution aerial photographs of the Olympics site dating back to the 1960s. Wildgoose is part of Bluesky International, the UK-based aerial mapping company.
The digital resource features information on competing nations including reference information such as the country’s capital, language and major religion, past Olympic records including holders name and nationality as well as a comparison of modern and ancient Olympic events. The accompanying teacher’s notes include a range of activities covering Maths, English, Design and Technology, Geography, ICT, Modern Foreign Languages (MFL), Religious Education, Music and Physical Education. Each subject area includes learning objectives, detailed activity descriptions and learning outcomes.

The Wildgoose ‘Get Ready, Get Set, Go!’ resource also includes three A3 aerial photographs of the London Olympics site and its surrounding area. Taken between 1960 and 2010 these high resolution images show how the region has changed in the past fifty years and pupils are guided with an ‘I can see …’ activity to explore and interpret the images.

“As the countdown to the games gathers pace and excitement levels grow it is a good opportunity to harness this interest in the classroom,” commented Kathryn Lucas, Education Manager at Wildgoose. “By tying such a nationally significant event to a range of educational subjects we hope to promote learning by making it both enjoyable and relevant.”

Wildgoose has been providing resources for education for over 15 years and has grown into one of the UK’s leading school suppliers. For further information, or to request a copy of either of the Wildgoose education catalogues, please call Wildgoose on +44 (0)1530 518568 or visit www.wildgoose.ac
 

3D Laser Mapping Announce LiDAR Workshop Series

3D Laser Mapping has announced a programme of  educational workshops, beginning in Malaysia at the end of March 2012. Designed  to educate potential users of laser scanned data the ‘LiDAR Applications  Workshops’ will provide a thorough overview of data collection methods, explore  data processing and extraction methodologies and present examples of real world  projects. By presenting the benefits of this popular technology it is hoped the  events will attract practitioners and professionals from the fields of highways design and maintenance, urban design, drainage, hydrography and  mapping.
Organised by 3D Laser Mapping in partnership with local  surveying company Jalal Johari Consultants, the first of these events will take  place on the  28 and 29 of March 2012 at the Royale Chulan Hotel in Kuala  Lumpur.
“These events are designed to provide a complete overview  of both the technology and its application,” commented Jon Chicken, Managing  Director of 3D Laser Mapping. “We will take delegates through the data capture  process looking at both airborne and mobile solutions and explore data  processing and data management including issues of accuracy and coverage. We  will then demonstrate and provide evidence of successful applications of the  data that have delivered tangible savings.”
Highlights from the two  days will include An ‘Introduction to LiDAR’, ‘ Viewing and Manipulating’ laser  scanned data and ‘LiDAR Data and Geographical Information Systems’. Examples of  real world applications of laser scanned data that have achieved returns on  investment will include evidence from projects in the fields of transport,  utilities, asset management and city modelling.
“Many potential  users of laser scanned data have, in the past, been put off by expensive  start-up costs, projects that have overrun and data that has simply not  delivered,” added Jalal Johari, Principal Licensed Surveyor of Jalal Johari  Consultants SDN BHD. “By hosting events such as this we hope to break down these  barriers and overcome such misconceptions through education and real world  evidence.” 
The first LiDAR Applications Workshop will run  over two days on the 28th and 29th March 2012, with delegates choosing which day  is most applicable.
The event is free to attend; however attendance is by  invitation only.
Further information, including invitations can be obtained from Charlie Whyman, Business Development Manager at 3D Laser Mapping:
Charlie.Whyman@3DLaserMapping.com or +44 (0) 1949 838004. Announcements of  further dates and locations will follow.
3D Laser Mapping is a global developer  of laser scanning solutions for sectors such as mapping, mining and  manufacturing. 3D Laser Mapping specialises in integrating laser scanning  hardware with their own software and peripherals to create solutions at the  cutting edge of technology. Through a worldwide network of distributors 3D Laser  Mapping is able to provide frontline support and service for a growing  international client base. 3D Laser Mapping is also the Riegl Premier  Distributor for the UK, Ireland and sub-Saharan Africa and the leading  distributor of TerraScan software.
For further information see  www.3dlasermapping.com
Jalal Johari Consultants SDN BHD is a  licensed land surveying company in Malaysia leading the way in the technological  advancement of mobile terrestrial laser scanning and utility  mapping.
For further information see www.jalalconsults.com

GAF Awarded Contract for GIZ-SADC REDD Project

GAF AG in a partnership with Deutsche Forst Service (DFS) has been awarded by GIZ, a newly conceptualised REDD Project for the southern African region. The counterpart is the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Directorate (FANR). The project will add to the already well-established portfolio of REDD services that GAF offers. The current project aims to design a SADC regional Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system which can be used by the Member States; in order to do this a prototype design will be tested and implemented in at least three SADC countries.
The main project activities will be based on the four main building blocks which are:

• Developing a Regional MRV System
• Pilot Implementation of the Regional MRV System
  in (at least three) Pilot Countries
• MRV Capacity Building in SADC Pilot Countries
• Support of a MRV Pre-audit

The technical activities for these building blocks include the application of Earth-Observation (EO) based forest assessment methods for historic and current epochs using optical and radar data; the implementation of a terrestrial inventory for biomass accounting; the comparative calculations of carbon stocks and emissions and publication of the results. An important contribution of the project is the knowledge transfer via capacity building to the counterparts which is a pre-requisite for sustainability of the REDD+ activities to be implemented in the region. It is envisaged that the project will provide the SADC region with a uniform MRV system for the quantification of emissions resulting from deforestation and forest degradation that conforms to IPCC requirements and is supported by all Member States.
The valuable experience gained from the REDD Pilot projects being implemented by GAF and partners in the past 4-5 years in the Congo Basin countries such as Cameroon, Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic form an important basis for developing the regional REDD MRV for SADC.
About GAF AG
GAF, an e-Geos/Telespazio company, is an international consulting company with leading competence and expertise in applied earth observation and spatial information consultancies. GAF has worked in the last 25 years in more than 100 countries throughout Europe, Africa, South-America and Asia. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of services ranging from supply of geo-data (e.g. satellite and aerial imagery, digital elevation models), and geo-services (e.g. image processing, thematic mapping, GIS/DBMS applications and software development). GAF has a proven track-record in performing complete technical assistance projects in the natural resources and environment sector including dedicated capacity building and institutional support.

Sygic is the First GPS App to Reach 5 Million Android Downloads

Sygic GPS Navigation has reached over 5 million downloads on Android Market during past weekend. It is ahead of all third party navigation apps on the Android Market. The app, which is available as a 7-day free trial and covers regions on four continents, is ranking Top 10 Free Travel and Local apps in 39 countries. To celebrate this event the app is now on time limited sale at http://www.sygic.com.
Downloads of Sygic GPS Navigation app for Android have exceeded the figure of 100,000 in the first month after its launch. Today the app is flying with around the same number of downloads every three days.
"The demand for downloads of our app is so huge that we had to rebuild our server infrastructure completely from scratch. Ensuring accessibility all around the world was a challenge," says Peter Pecho, Co-Founder and Research & Development Director at Sygic.
"With so many customers asking questions, it was necessary to rethink the way we engage with our community. We brought our support onto an open forum. It is now much easier for users to interact with the Sygic team as well as with each other," says Simona Parnicka, Community Supervisor at Sygic.
To celebrate 5 million downloads on the Android Market the app is now on time limited sale at http://www.sygic.com.
Media contact: Simona Parnicka, sparnicka@sygic.com
About Sygic
At Sygic we develop and sell turn-by-turn voice guided GPS navigation for a wide range of mobile devices. We are working together with map industry leaders for supreme mapping support.
Our customers are considered a part of Sygic development family. We listen and respond to suggestions and ideas from our customers, to create the best product possible.
Sygic is currently ranking number 15 in Deloitte's Techno­logy Fast 50 Central Europe.

Telmap Introduces A New Navigation Experience On Its Mobile Location Companion

Telmap, pioneers in mobile location-based services, today announces the introduction of a new, fresh navigation experience on its Mobile Location Companion.

The new navigation experience leverages the latest developments and trends and navigation-related best practices, as well as today’s devices strong graphical and computing power.

Therefore, the new navigation experience includes advanced orientation, safety, efficiency and fun features for a superb user experience:

• Traffic flow for better routing calculations and improved ETA (estimated time of arrival)
• Speed limits and current speed indications as well as customized alerts for going over the limit
• Smoother and easier panning, zooming and rotating of maps during navigation
• 3D POIs for better orientation
• Shortcuts to home and work addresses for efficient commuting
• Clearer graphic illustration of next manoeuvre and turns as well as improved lane detection
• Richer graphics and maps with more objects and layers such as rivers, lakes, parks, industrial areas, and more combined with cool animations

“The new navigation experience significantly enhances the user experience we can deliver. This is part of our constant efforts to enhance the Location Companion’s capabilities both in terms of ultra-local services and content layers that answer user’s needs while on-the-go, but also in terms of graphical representation of the user’s environment. We strive to take full advantage of the graphical and computing power of today’s devices, and stay ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation around the on-the-go experience (navigation included) in order to provide a superb experience to our users,” said Oren Nissim, Telmap Chief Executive Officer.

The new navigation experience will be deployed gradually with all of Telmap’s customers in the near future.
About Telmap

Telmap, which was acquired by Intel in 2011, is a world leader in mobile location-based services, providing mobile operators with white label, hosted and managed location-based services that are fully designed to open new business opportunities and generate new revenue streams. The company has established a solid reputation for providing its customers with innovative, value added end-to-end mobile location based services that enrich on-the-go experiences through integration of local content, community interactions, and relevant retail offers.
Telmap’s flagship product, the Mobile Location Companion, caters to all users’ needs while out and about, with location central to everything: social interactions, deals and promotions, exploration of one’s surroundings, and more.
A complementary web companion is also available, as well as a robust location platform with a set of APIs to support Telmap customers in delivering a strong LBS strategy.
Telmap is the #1 provider of choice for mobile location-based services and its technology has been selected by leading industry players such as Orange France, Vodafone, Vodacom, Cell C, SFR, O2, Telefonica, SingTel, OPTUS, Cellcom, Pelephone, Partner and more.

DMTI Spatial Celebrates Ten Years of Support to Canadian Academia with SMART Program

DMTI Spatial Inc. (DMTI), Canada's leading provider of Location Intelligence solutions, is thrilled to celebrate ten years of its SMART (Spatial Mapping Academic Research Tools) program. The program assists a consortium of libraries at over forty Canadian universities and colleges, including the University of Toronto, York University and the University of British Columbia, reaching over 9000 students and faculty members annually. The aim of the SMART program is to provide affordable access to data in support of social science, engineering, research, business and environmental geographic educational programs. This data has helped individuals at member institutions with such impactful projects as determining emergency routes and plotting the best locations for hospitals and new energy sources. DMTI has lent continued support by providing licenses for its data products, including CanMap® and Platinum Postal CodeOM Suite, to these institutions to use for teaching and research purposes. Over the past decade, DMTI contributions have equated to over $70 million worth of software and data.
"The SMART program really opened the door for academics wishing to use Canadian spatial data," said Marcel A.J. Fortin, GIS and Map Librarian, Map and Data Library, University of Toronto. Mr. Fortin manages the relationship with DMTI on behalf of the consortium and plays an instrumental role in supporting the program and the participating institutions. "Prior to the SMART program, there were few opportunities for university students and faculty to use quality Canadian mapping data for research and teaching. DMTI's data is now very prevalent at SMART program institutions, being utilized in everything from first year lectures to more complex projects like advanced geocoding and the creation of 3D elevation models."
"It was very generous of DMTI Spatial Inc. to provide Canadian academic institutions a suite of vector data, DEM, imagery and geocoding software through the SMART Program, especially at a time when geospatial data was not readily available or affordable," said Trudy Bodak, Librarian Emeritus, York University. "At York University, the data was heavily used by graduate and undergraduate students for a variety of projects including plotting emergency routes, travel times and bicycle routes, and determining the best locations for new golf courses, hospitals and wind turbines. I always used DMTI data as an example in my GIS Library instruction classes, because there is so much value and flexibility in using it for research analysis."
"DMTI is extremely proud of our involvement over the past decade with the SMART program, with our data being a part of everything from introductory GIS classes to helping plot new hospital locations," said John Fisher, CEO, DMTI. "It is important for us to support Canada's universities and colleges, helping these current and future leaders in the community by providing the world-class data they need to stay at the top of their field."
For more information regarding DMTI Location Intelligence solutions please visit www.dmtispatial.com

About DMTI Spatial Inc.

DMTI has been providing industry leading enterprise Location Intelligence solutions for more than a decade to Global 2000 companies and government agencies. DMTI's world-class Location Hub platform uniquely identifies, validates and maintains a universe of location-based data. DMTI is the creator of market leading Mapping Solutions and maintains the gold standard for GIS location-based data in Canada.

Zebra Imaging, Inc., the leader in 3D holographic displays and visualization technologies, have announced that it will conduct its first 3D Geospatial Challenge. This 3D Geospatial Challenge is sponsored to encourage participants from the GIS community to use Zebra Imaging's software tools and print services to portray their GIS data using holographic technology. Zebra's unique visualization ZScape™ product delivers unequaled levels of spatial understanding and communication. Zebra Imaging has created thousands of 3D maps for the U.S. Department of Defense and has now adapted its 3D capability for Esri ArcGIS® Desktop 10. Users of Esri® ArcScene™ 3D Analyst™ extension can combine 2D and 3D data to create high resolution, color holographic GIS prints. The 3D holographic print can display detailed topography, cityscapes, and other data-rich GIS applications in industries such as exploration geology, hydrology, archeology, forestry, park services, city governments, public safety and defense. "Zebra Imaging's holographic 3D prints provide a powerful and captivating method of conveying 3D geospatial data to diverse groups - ones that may not be familiar with GIS software. With our technology and print services, 3D data can be brought out of the computer and into the hands of decision makers, enabling faster analysis and fuller understanding," said Steve Arling, Vice President of Business Development for Zebra Imaging. "The 3D Geospatial Challenge is about inspiring new ways and approaches for visualizing GIS projects. It's about getting the data unplugged from the computer and in front of a broader audience. It's about facilitating communication," Arling added. The 3D Geospatial Challenge kicks off just prior to the Esri Federal GIS conference held February 22-24, in Washington, D.C. As an Esri Business Partner, Zebra Imaging will be exhibiting 3D prints to demonstrate to the GIS community how to leverage the power and technology 3D holographic imaging offers. Zebra Imaging wants to help accelerate the evolution of traditionally 2D GIS data into 3D. The Challenge Participants in the Zebra Imaging 3D Geospatial Challenge will compete by framing their 3D data set using Zebra Imaging's ZScape™ Preview or ZScape™ Exporter software. http://store.zebraimaging.com/download.aspx Each entry will be reviewed by a panel of Zebra Imaging judges for the following: Creativity Design efficiency Technical complexity Usefulness of application Zebra Imaging will select three winners from the following industries: Public Safety, Planning, and Defense. Winners of the challenge will receive a 24" x 24" 3D holographic print of their data and an illumination stand. The winning concepts will be displayed at the Zebra Imaging Booth at the Esri International User Conference the week of July 23, 2012 in San Diego, CA. For more information regard1Spatial Announces New Appointments In Australian Office nsive and portable medium.

1Spatial is pleased to announce the appointment of Brett Madsen to the position of Regional Manager, Australia/New Zealand, based in the 1Spatial office located in Sydney, Australia.
Brett brings wealth of experience, having previously managed Lagen Spatial in Australia for 10 years, prior to its acquisition by the 1Spatial Group in April 2011. The appointment is the next step in the development of the business.
Brett’s appointment is just one of several changes going on in the 1Spatial Australia office. Benjamin Crockett has been appointed to the role of National Sales Manager for Australia and Matthew Robinson has been appointed Team Leader - Technical Solutions. Benjamin will be looking after the Sales and Marketing functions, while Matthew will be responsible for the Technical and Professional services functions.  In addition, Natalie Cooney takes on an expanded role as Office Manager.
Strong sales, a growing customer base and the ambition to continue building the company’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region are the reasons behind the internal changes. New positions, to be advertised shortly, will add to these positive changes and support the continued growth.
Commenting on the appointments, Brett said:
“This new position will enable me to actively contribute to 1Spatial and lead the team here locally to deliver on our corporate objectives. The other internal changes will enable the team to develop and flourish in line with their strengths and support continued business growth as the 1Spatial Group enters a new chapter.”
Nic Snape, Managing Director of 1Spatial added:
“Following the acquisition of Lagen Spatial and the integration of the two businesses, it was important that we supported the great work that was already going on and made provision for expansion of the business. We are encouraged by the commitment and energy shown by the team based in Australia and excited about the opportunities in the region. As the 1Spatial Group enters a new era following the recent merger with Avisen plc, the team in Australia have an important part to play.”
About 1Spatial
1Spatial is an industry leader in the provision of intelligent data quality and integration solutions for organisations worldwide that need to trust their location-based information. For more than 40 years, 1Spatial has been providing solutions and services to public and private sector organisations who handle high-volumes of business critical data. By automating the transformation of complex and distributed data into accurate and valuable information, organisations can improve operational efficiently, reduce costs, manage compliance and improve decision making. For more information, visit www.1spatial.com

Zebra Imaging Announces 3D Geospatial Challenge

Zebra Imaging, Inc., the leader in 3D holographic displays and visualization technologies, have announced that it will conduct its first 3D Geospatial Challenge. This 3D Geospatial Challenge is sponsored to encourage participants from the GIS community to use Zebra Imaging's software tools and print services to portray their GIS data using holographic technology. Zebra's unique visualization ZScape™ product delivers unequaled levels of spatial understanding and communication.
Zebra Imaging has created thousands of 3D maps for the U.S. Department of Defense and has now adapted its 3D capability for Esri ArcGIS® Desktop 10. Users of Esri® ArcScene™ 3D Analyst™ extension can combine 2D and 3D data to create high resolution, color holographic GIS prints. The 3D holographic print can display detailed topography, cityscapes, and other data-rich GIS applications in industries such as exploration geology, hydrology, archeology, forestry, park services, city governments, public safety and defense.
"Zebra Imaging's holographic 3D prints provide a powerful and captivating method of conveying 3D geospatial data to diverse groups - ones that may not be familiar with GIS software. With our technology and print services, 3D data can be brought out of the computer and into the hands of decision makers, enabling faster analysis and fuller understanding," said Steve Arling, Vice President of Business Development for Zebra Imaging. "The 3D Geospatial Challenge is about inspiring new ways and approaches for visualizing GIS projects. It's about getting the data unplugged from the computer and in front of a broader audience. It's about facilitating communication," Arling added.
The 3D Geospatial Challenge kicks off just prior to the Esri Federal GIS conference held February 22-24, in Washington, D.C. As an Esri Business Partner, Zebra Imaging will be exhibiting 3D prints to demonstrate to the GIS community how to leverage the power and technology 3D holographic imaging offers. Zebra Imaging wants to help accelerate the evolution of traditionally 2D GIS data into 3D.
The Challenge
Participants in the Zebra Imaging 3D Geospatial Challenge will compete by framing their 3D data set using Zebra Imaging's ZScape™ Preview or ZScape™ Exporter software.
http://store.zebraimaging.com/download.aspx
Each entry will be reviewed by a panel of Zebra Imaging judges for the following:

• Creativity
• Design efficiency
• Technical complexity
• Usefulness of application

Zebra Imaging will select three winners from the following industries: Public Safety, Planning, and Defense.
Winners of the challenge will receive a 24" x 24" 3D holographic print of their data and an illumination stand. The winning concepts will be displayed at the Zebra Imaging Booth at the Esri International User Conference the week of July 23, 2012 in San Diego, CA.
For more information regarding the challenge: http://www.zebraimaging.com/challenge
To register for the challenge: http://www.zebraimaging.com/challenge_register
About Zebra Imaging

Zebra Imaging, Inc. designs, develops and manufactures state-of-the-art 3D holographic displays for a variety of 3D visualization applications in government, military, and commercial markets which dramatically improve situational awareness, collaboration and decision-making. Customers include Federal and Department of Defense agencies, leading architecture and engineering firms, and State and Local government agencies who need to clearly and effortlessly demonstrate sophisticated 3D data in a comprehensive and portable medium.

Blue Marble Geographics to Feature Global Mapper Software at the 2012 AAG Conference

Gardiner, Maine - Blue Marble Geographics (www.bluemarblegeo.com) will be exhibiting for the first time at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographics in New York, NY from February 24th - 28th, 2012. Visit Booth 1221 to learn about the latest updates to Global Mapper Version 13.1 to be released in March, as well as Blue Marble’s survey to GIS conversion suite, the Blue Marble Desktop featuring the Geographic Calculator.
Blue Marble’s GIS visualization, geospatial data manipulation and conversion solutions are used worldwide by thousands of GIS analysts at software, oil and gas , mining, civil engineering, surveying, and technology companies, as well as governmental and university organizations.
Blue Marble has become well known for their cutting edge data conversion processing software. Global Mapper is a powerful and affordable GIS application that that combines a comprehensive array of spatial data processing tools with access to an unparalleled variety of data formats. Developed for both GIS professionals and map enthusiasts, this versatile software package is equally well suited as a standalone GIS data management tool or as a complement to an established GIS setup.  Global Mapper is an excellent tool for new GIS users based on its ease of use and natural scaling of functionality.
“We are excited to exhibit at the AAG,” stated Blue Marble President. “This conference has grown to be an excellent venue for GIS users in education and beyond and we are looking forward to meeting many Global Mapper users and introduce our software to a new audience.”
About Blue Marble Geographics

Blue Marble Geographics of Gardiner, ME is a leading developer and provider of software products and services for highly accurate geospatial data conversion solutions. Blue Marble is known for their coordinate conversion and GIS visualization software expertise including the Geographic Calculator and GeoCalc SDK, as well as Global Mapper. The company has been writing GIS software tools and solutions for almost 20 years and currently serves hundreds of thousands of users worldwide. Learn more at www.bluemarblegeo.com.

BIMobject Launches Global BIM Object Portal

The Abvent Group, editor and publisher of Artlantis, is pleased to announce the launch of BIMobject, a new resource for architects and designers working with BIM/CAD modeling software.  Architects, designers, interior designers, engineers, and construction companies can search, filter, and download BIM objects into their own CAD/BIM systems such as ArchiCAD, Autocad, Revit, or Allplan.  Many of the objects are in Artlantis format.
The web-based portal supplies the building industry with digital replicas of products used by architects, designers, and construction companies. BIM objects can be downloaded free of charge. Users will have access to products with the product information integrated into their BIM system.  As a result, manufacturers gain high visibility for their products and are integrated into the design and construction process.
"Abvent is pleased to share the news about this innovative architectural and design resource with Artlantis users," Xavier Soule, CEO of Abvent said.  "BIMobject offers obvious benefits for architects, designers, and manufacturers alike," he continued.
All product information is integrated into each BIM object.  Architects and designers do not have to interrupt their design process to look for product information.  Materials, configurations, types, classifications, custom 2D symbols, optimized 3D geometry as well as other relevant product information are immediately available.  Links to the manufacturers' websites and PDF files for installation and maintenance documentation are included with each BIM object as well.
About BIMobject

BIMobject creates virtual product and web catalogues for use by CAD/BIM users.  BIMobject links CAD/BIM technology to the building industry to develop and manage digital replicas of their products as BIM objects.  BIMobject also assists companies with market analysis, business and lead generation, and helps manufacturers publish their BIMobjects in the most effective way possible.  BIMobject puts building and interior design products at the architects' fingertips, allowing them to download and use them in their design and specification process.
About Abvent

Since 1985, the Abvent Group has offered innovative image and design solutions for CAD and BIM professionals in the fields of architecture and design.  Abvent's cutting-edge approach to digital imagery has resulted in unique products and services that are innovative, powerful, and easy-to-use.

Telogis is a Highlighted forSaaS Provider the IntelliDrive® Fleet Safety Solutions Program

Telogis, Inc., the platform for location intelligence, is a highlighted Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider for the new IntelliDrive^® Fleet Safety Solutions program offered by Travelers. IntelliDrive Fleet Safety Solutions provides consulting services and resources to help customers create a better understanding of how fleet vehicles are operated. This includes everything from speeding and hard braking to helping eliminate false or exaggerated claims by third parties. These systems not only help improve safety and awareness, but telematics-based coaching can help companies reduce accidents and their associated costs, as well as the total cost of insurance.
Travelers is offering its IntelliDrive Fleet Safety Solutions for local and intermediate fleet customers through Travelers and to its long haul trucking fleets through its Northland division, one of the largest trucking insurance carriers in the country. The applications for this service apply to small, medium and largefleets serving a wide range of businesses, from automobiles used for sales callsto box trucks used for delivery of goods to large trucks used in construction and long haul. Key benefits of a telematics solution also include better fuel efficiency and routing, reduced wear and tear on vehicles, identification of unauthorized vehicle use and stolen vehicle retrieval.
“Auto accidents are the leading cause of workplace injuries and fatalities,” says Chris Hayes, director of transportation, Travelers Risk Control. “By reducing the risk of motor vehicle accidents, customers not only limit their liability, but preserve the life and health of their employees. IntelliDrive Fleet Safety Solutions can help by turning insights into concrete ways to improve fleet safety and reduce the substantial costs of operating a fleet.”
“Safety and telematics go hand-in-hand,” says Gary Hallgren, vice president of corporate strategy, Telogis. “Telematics helps businesses identify and act upon driving behaviors and situations that put employee safety and asset security at risk. We’re excited to work with Travelers and Northland to provide customers with the safety and operational benefits of our location intelligence platform.”
Business owners and fleet managers can contact their Travelers Agent for more details, or visit Travelers.com/IntellidriveFleet for local and intermediate fleet operations or northlandins.com for long-haul operations supported by Northland Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Travelers. For more information on Telogis and its premium line of SaaS location intelligence solutions, including fleet management, multi-vehicle route optimization, work order management and mobile integration, visit Telogis.com.
About Telogis

Telogis, Inc., the platform for location intelligence, is dedicated to enhancing the value of its customers’ businesses through intelligent integration of location technology, information and services. Telogis was established in 2001 and is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., with offices in Europe and Latin America as well as development centers in Austin, Texas, and Christchurch, New Zealand. Telogis’ products and services are used and distributed in more than 60 countries worldwide. To learn more about Telogis, visit www.telogis.com or call toll free at 866-TELOGIS (866-835-6447).

At Embedded World 2012, McObject Exhibits & Its CEO Presents Two Papers

McObject®, developer of the eXtremeDB® In-Memory Database System (IMDS), announced that the organizers of Embedded World 2012 – the world’s largest embedded systems conference and exhibition – have chosen McObject Co-Founder and CEO Steve Graves to present two papers as part of the event’s technical program. McObject will also exhibit at Embedded World in Hall 4, booth 4-108, with engineering and sales personnel on-hand to offer demos and answer attendees’ questions about the company’s embedded database software.
Embedded World chose Graves’ two papers in a competitive process that sought presenters and topics offering high technical value for attendees. His first presentation, Should Dynamic Memory Allocation Be Taboo in Embedded Systems?, takes place on Wednesday, February 29 at 1:30 p.m. in the event’s Software Development in High Level Languages track.
Dynamic allocation, or handing out memory to application processes as needed at run-time, became popular with the growth of the C and C++ languages. Graves’ presentation weighs dynamic allocation’s benefits – primarily convenience – against its risks, which include memory leaks, fragmentation and unpredictable performance. The talk leads to an understanding of the technique as a "blunt tool" and presents more precise and safer alternatives in the form of custom allocators that match specific allocation patterns.
The second presentation, Resolving Resource Contention, the Key Multi-Core Software Challenge, on February 29 at 4:30 p.m., is part of Embedded World’s Multicore Sessions. The talk focuses on the slowdown that can occur when tasks executing in parallel must contend for shared system software resources. It examines two typical conflicts and presents solutions that illustrate a generic approach to solving resource contention in that they divide a contested resources, give each thread or task its own copy, and then optionally merge or pass results to another process.
“McObject is honored to have our CEO chosen to share insights in two presentations at this prestigious event, and glad for the chance to assist embedded developers who seek new and effective approaches to memory allocation and multicore optimization,” said Chris Mureen, McObject’s chief operating officer.
“In addition, we invite engineers facing another common software challenge – managing the growing volumes of complex data in today’s smart embedded systems – to visit McObject in Hall 4, booth 4-108 and learn about our embedded database products, including the new eXtremeDB Cluster. By managing data stores across multiple hardware nodes, eXtremeDB Cluster dramatically increases net processing power available for data management, reduces system expansion costs, and delivers a more scalable and reliable database solution for increasingly data-intensive real-time applications.”
Embedded World 2012 takes place from February 28, 2012 to March 1, 2012 in Nuremberg, Germany. To make an appointment during the event, e-mail McObject or call 1-425-888-8505.
About Steve Graves
Steve Graves co-founded McObject in 2001. As the company’s president and CEO, he has spearheaded McObject’s business growth and managed eXtremeDB’s development as the most powerful embedded database solution for real-time systems. Prior to McObject, Mr. Graves was president and chairman of Centura Solutions Corporation, and vice president of worldwide consulting for Centura Software Corporation (NASDAQ: CNTR); he also served as president and chief operating officer of Raima Corporation. Mr. Graves is a member of the advisory board for the University of Washington’s certificate program in Embedded and Real Time Systems Programming.
About eXtremeDB
In the eXtremeDB product family, developers of embedded systems software obtain the following features: 

• A core in-memory database system (IMDS) architecture that delivers database responsiveness measured in microseconds
• Small footprint – code size of 150K or less
• Highly scalable via 64-bit support and a multi-version concurrency control (MVCC) transaction manager
• Flexible on-disk and hybrid storage capability (eXtremeDB Fusion)
• Distributed database capability and fault-tolerance (eXtremeDB Cluster and eXtremeDB High Availability)
• Advanced features including event notifications, remote procedure calls, RC4 encryption, cache prioritization, custom collations and more
• Transaction logging & ACID (Atomic, Consistent, Isolated and Durable) transactions
• Multiple database indexes including R-tree for location-based queries and Patricia trie for phone routing and IP filtering
• Highly portable, with support for the widest range of embedded and server platforms and available source code

About McObject
Founded by embedded database and real-time systems experts, McObject offers proven data management technology that makes applications and devices smarter, more reliable and more cost-effective to develop and maintain. McObject counts among its customers industry leaders such as Dalian Commodities Exchange, Stockgroup Information Systems, BAE Systems, Nokia Siemens Networks, Northrop Grumman, EADS, JVC, Tyco Thermal Controls, F5 Networks, CA, Motorola and Boeing. Based in Issaquah, WA, McObject is committed to providing innovative technology and first-rate services to its customers and partners.

Landsat 5 Suspension of Operations Extended

Landsat 5 Earth imaging operations have been suspended for an additional 90 days while the U.S. Geological Survey Flight Operations Team (FOT) continues to investigate options for the resumption of imaging.
Landsat 5 imaging was halted in November 2011 when an electronic component vital to transmission of the satellite's Thematic Mapper (TM) data began showing signs of imminent failure. Following an unsuccessful attempt to recover the backup electronic component, the FOT is exploring potential changes to operational procedures for the primary component.
"The challenge of attempting to recover operations of malfunctioning, 3-decade-old components in an unmanned satellite orbiting more than 400 miles above Earth is daunting to say the least," said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. "Regardless of whether any additional data is collected, Landsat 5 has already exceeded all expectations for longevity."
Should no significant improvement in transmitting TM data be realized, a very limited amount of transmission life would remain. In that case, TM imaging will be prioritized to collect growing season imagery over the Northern Hemisphere.
Meanwhile, the USGS is researching the prospect of recovering the secondary imaging instrument on Landsat 5, the Multispectral Scanner (MSS), which was turned off many years ago. The MSS instrument collects imagery in four spectral bands at 79-meter resolution and uses a different data transmission scheme than the TM instrument. MSS data would provide some data continuity in the event TM data could no longer be transmitted. However, the current condition of the instrument is unknown and the reception and ground processing capabilities for its data would have to be reconstituted. 
As it approaches the 28th anniversary of its launch, Landsat 5 is in a safe state while the USGS is doing everything it can to restore imaging operations. Should neither the restoration of TM data transmissions nor the revival of the MSS instrument succeed, the USGS will proceed to decommission the satellite. The FOT is now developing the procedures required to turn off all systems and safely lower the orbit of Landsat 5, should this step prove necessary.
The USGS-operated Landsat 7 remains in orbit collecting global imagery. Since its launch in 1999 with a 5-year design life, Landsat 7 has experienced an instrument anomaly which reduces the amount of data collected per image. Landsat 8, currently called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, is now scheduled to be launched in January 2013.
For further details and the latest information about the status of Landsat 5, visit the USGS Landsat Missions website.
The Landsat Program is a series of Earth observing satellite missions jointly managed by the U.S. Geological Survey and NASA. Landsat satellites have been consistently gathering data about our planet since 1972. They continue to improve and expand this unparalleled record of Earth’s changing landscapes for the benefit of all.