Yupiteru Selects u-blox QZSS Technology for Enhanced Radar Detector in Japan

Thalwil, Switzerland - March 8, 2012 - u-blox, the Swiss positioning and wireless module and chip company, scored an industry first by providing advanced QZSS satellite positioning technology to Yupiteru, a Japanese manufacturer of telecommunications and car electronics for the Japanese market. Based on u-blox’ QZSS-enabled LEA-6H satellite receiver module, the GWR73SD radar detector with touchscreen provides enhanced positioning performance and radar detection, plus vehicle diagnostic capabilities.  

“u-blox’ quick time to market with QZSS receiver technology allowed us to be the first on the market with a highly accurate, highly reliable positioning device that already capitalizes on the first QZSS satellite in service” said Mr. Atsushi Ishibashi, responsible for marketing at Yupiteru, “The GWR73SD is particularly attractive for drivers in urban environments in Japan where GPS satellites can be blocked by tall buildings.”

QZSS, or “Quasi-Zenith Satellite System”, is a new GPS augmentation system supporting Japan and Southeast Asia based on high-elevation satellites. The system can boost GPS accuracy to below one meter, especially in urban canyons such as Tokyo as the satellites are geostationary in the sky directly overhead in Japan. The first QZSS satellite has been in service since 2011.

Performance of QZSS navigation systems will continue to improve as the 4 satellite configuration reaches completion in the late 2010s. 

About u-blox

u-blox is a leading fabless semiconductor provider of embedded positioning and wireless communication solutions for the consumer, industrial and automotive markets. Our solutions enable people, devices, vehicles and machines to locate their exact position and wirelessly communicate via voice, text or video. With a broad portfolio of GPS modules, chips, and software solutions together with wireless modules and solutions, u-blox is uniquely positioned to enable OEMs to develop innovative solutions quickly and cost-effectively. Headquartered in Switzerland and with global presence in Europe, Asia and the Americas, u‑blox employs approximately 210 people. Founded in 1997, u-blox is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
(www.u-blox.com)

About Yupiteru

Established in 1970, Yupiteru Corporation is a Japanese based electronics manufacturing company, manufactures radio, radar, telecommunications, security and car electronic equipment. The company has facilities in Japan, China and Hong Kong. (www.yupiteru.co.jp)

New Coastal Lidar Data Added to the NOAA Coastal Services Center Digital Coast

The NOAA Coastal Services Center provides access to lidar data contributed by many different local, state, and federal agencies. New lidar is always being added, the most recent additions include:

1. 2008 lidar from St. Johns County, Florida
2. 2010-2011 lidar of coastal California from the California Coastal Conservancy
3. 2010 USGS topobathy lidar of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
4. 2004 USGS topobathy lidar of western Florida
5. 2009 lidar from Chatham County, GA
6. 2011 National Geodetic Survey Post Hurricane Irene lidar,  North Carolina
7. 2007-2011 lidar from Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.  

The Coastal Services Center serves this data through the Digital Coast Data Access Viewer which allows users to also access other data sets including imagery and land cover. To access the lidar data please visit www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/data/coastallidar/. Customized provisioning from the Digital Coast allows coastal professionals to reduce project costs associated with data searches and internal processing.

Esri and UNOSAT to Host Conference in April

The GIS for the United Nations and the International Community Conference will take place April 3–5, 2012, at the World Meteorological Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Esri and United Nations Institute for Training and Research's (UNITAR) Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) organized the conference to demonstrate and discuss the role of GIS in global challenges. Attendees will consider how GIS can provide the analytic knowledge required to make better decisions on issues that are critical for the planet.

"In today's world, we face many global challenges brought on from natural and man-made events," says Jack Dangermond, Esri president. "From an office in Geneva to a refugee camp in Africa, GIS enables better collaboration and visualization and rapid dissemination of critical information when and where it's needed most. No matter the mission, geography is at the heart of a more resilient and sustainable future."

The aim of the conference is to bring together experts from the United Nations and other international and nongovernmental organizations, government agencies, and the private sector. During breakout sessions, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, they will learn how to best apply geographic information science to devise better responses to regional and global challenges.

"This conference is a good opportunity to take stock of geographic information technology and its benefits for the international community at large, especially for decision makers," says Francesco Pisano, manager of UNOSAT. "The more GIS is understood and adopted, the more our work as experts in satellite analysis will be useful and relevant. I am very pleased with the partnership with Esri."

The final day of the event includes a postconference workshop where attendees will learn how to extend the reach of their GIS using various free resources from Esri. The workshop includes presentations on implementation, resource topics, and demos from Esri staff as well as a hands-on exercise showing how to get started with ArcGIS Online.

Registration is by invitation only and will include humanitarian and development senior executives, practitioners, researchers, nonprofit consortia, and others. Those interested in applying to receive an invitation may do so on the conference website. To learn more, visit gisfortheun.com.

Distinguished Speakers to Provide Insights on Advanced Computational Design at SmartGeometry 2012

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, announced that registration is now open for the SmartGeometry 2012 Conference. This widely acclaimed conference is the world’s premier event focused on computational and parametric design tools, technologies, and methodologies that allow and encourage new forms of architectural and structural expression. The conference takes place March 23-24, 2012, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), in Troy, New York, and carries the theme “Material Intensities – Simulation, Energy, Environment.” Among this year’s many distinguished speakers providing insights on advanced 3D designare Enric Ruiz-Geli, director, Cloud 9 Studio; Robert Hull, Department of Material Science and Engineering, RPI; Manfred Grohmann, Bollinger+Grohmann Engineering; Perry Hall, visual artist and musician; and Evan Douglis, dean of the School of Architecture, RPI. For additional information about the conference and to register, visitwww.SmartGeometryConference.com/2012. 

The SmartGeometry 2012 Conference includes:                              

• “Talkshop” Day, March 23 – Through a series of panel discussions, this interactive first day provides an opportunity to share with tutors and participants critical reflection on the advanced design work of the previous four days during the SmartGeometry 2012 Workshop companion event. The hands-on workshop is being held March 19-22, 2012, at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Centerat RPI and is being hosted by RPI.It enables architectural and engineering professionals, academics, and students to explore this year’s challenge, “Material Intensities.” The challenge recognizes that the built environment comprises spaces and boundaries abundant with vibration, fluctuating intensities, shifting radiants, and flows, rather than inert constructions enclosing physically sealed spaces. It invites workshop participants to realize digital design prototypes infused with material behavior employing GenerativeComponents – Bentley’s generative design software.
• “Symposium” Day, March 24 – Day two includes insightful presentations by renowned experts on the theory and practice of computational and parametric design approaches. Annually, this is regarded as the world’s premier symposium on the interaction of new technologies, methodologies, and principles with design practice. The speakers will showcase major projects that explore the range of ways in which material informs design.
• Reception, March 24 – The conference ends with a social gathering celebrating the innovation, creativity, and leadership of the generative design community. It also provides an opportunity to view the work developed during the four-day workshop.

Commenting on this year’s conference agenda, SmartGeometry Director Xavier De Kestelier said, “The yearly SmartGeometry event combines an active workshop environment with two days of dynamic presentations and debates on how computational design impacts the built world.  Every year SmartGeometry evolves by setting ourselves a new challenge; this year’s challenge, entitled Material Intensities, strives to energize our digital prototypes and infuse them with material behavior through simulation and a focus on energy and environment. By combining the worlds of practice, industry, and academia, all engaged in active design and research, SmartGeometry events continue to push the boundaries of design and computation through leading-edge developments and discussion.”

For additional information about, or to register for, the SmartGeometry 2012 Conference, visit www.SmartGeometryConference.com/2012.

About the SmartGeometry Group 

SmartGeometry is run entirely by passionate volunteers who balance their professional careers (which often put them in competition with each other) with their investment of time and energy in the wider community. The magic of SmartGeometry lies in its curious mix of community and competition, which conspires to inspire and provoke. The excitement of each SmartGeometry event is the anticipation of the unknown and the creative mix and intensity of ideas. Each year generates heightened expectations that inevitably challenge current design methodologies. The directors of the SmartGeometry Group include Shane Burger, director of Design Technology, Woods Bagot; Xavier De Kestelier, associate partner, Foster+Partners; Lars Hesselgren, PLP/Architecture; Hugh Whitehead, Foster + Partners; and J Parrish, AECOM. For additional information, visit www.SmartGeometry.org.

About GenerativeComponents

GenerativeComponents (GC) enables architects and engineers to pursue designs and achieve results that were virtually unthinkable before. Empowered by computational methods, the designers can direct their creativity to deliver inspired, sustainable, better-performing buildings that are freer in form and use innovative materials and assemblies. GenerativeComponents facilitates this by allowing the quick exploration of a broad range of “what-if” alternatives for design components ranging from conventional building elements such as curtain walls, paneling, and stairs to overall building configurations and form for even the most complex buildings.

Among the leading architects and engineers around the world already taking advantage of this unique generative design software are Arup, BDP, Buro Happold, Foster + Partners, Grimshaw Architects, Henning Larsen Architects, HOK, KPF, Lem3a, Morphosis, PLP/Architecture, Populous, SHoP Architects, Snøhetta, Stantec, UNStudio, and Zaha Hadid Architects. GenerativeComponents is available for download at no cost at www.bentley.com/gc.

About Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Bentley is the global leader dedicated to providing architects, engineers, geospatial professionals, constructors, and owner-operators with comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure. Bentley’s mission is to empower its users to leverage information modeling through integrated projects for high-performing intelligent infrastructure. Its solutions encompass the MicroStation platform for infrastructure design and modeling, the ProjectWise platform for infrastructure project team collaboration and work sharing, and the AssetWise platform for infrastructure asset operations – all supporting a broad portfolio of interoperable applications and complemented by worldwide professional services. Founded in 1984, Bentley has grown to nearly 3,000 colleagues in more than 45 countries and over $500 million in annual revenues. Since 2003, the company has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions.

European And International LiDAR Mapping Forum Dates Announced

What a year it has been for the LiDAR Mapping Forum Series run by Intelligent Exhibitions. Not only did the 2nd outing of the European version wow audiences, once again establishing its popularity within the industry calendar but the International Forum based in the US set a new record for attendees!

On the back of all the recent success, the organisers are excited to announce the dates for both events with the European LiDAR Mapping Forum (ELMF) returning to Salzburg in Austria from 4-5 December 2012 and the International LiDAR Mapping Forum (ILMF) returning to Denver, Colorado in the US from February 11-13, 2013.

It is a welcome return to Salzburg for ELMF, when in 2011 it moved there from The Hague in the Netherlands and the new venue earned so much positive feedback from visitors and exhibitors alike that the organisers are delighted to return there for a second year. Director of ELMF, Versha Carter, explains, “We have been overwhelmed by delegates telling us how wonderful the venue was last year in Salzburg. The open-plan layout of the Congress building brought everyone together and was wellliked by delegates and exhibitors. Salzburg’s central location in Europe may have contributed to the increase in visitors from Eastern Europe, which is an important consideration for next year’s venue.
Salzburg also provided a special dimension with its Christmas markets that delegates were able to enjoy, as well as the drinks reception on the opening night which was very popular for networking.”

There were over 445 attendees from 40 different countries and interestingly, there were almost twice as many visitors from Eastern Europe as the first event. Across the water in the States, ILMF set a new record for attendees in January this year, when 773 professionals from 29 different countries turned up in droves for the 12th annual event. This proved once again that LIDAR, in its increasing variety of operational formats, is becoming the technology of choice for fast, accurate and quality geospatial data acquisition. Whether supporting highly detailed 3D urban mapping projects, forestry management, or railroad and power transmission line maintenance programs, LIDAR technology delivers the results needed by today’s demanding geospatial and mapping professionals.

Conference Chairman of both events, Alastair MacDonald of TMS International, believes each event producesconference programmes that represent a thriving community: “The quality of the paperspresented at both events was outstanding. The highly positive reaction to the topics from the delegates, which included many newcomers as end-users of LIDAR data, showed how important and relevant the chosen subjects were to the fast growing LIDAR community.”

In the coming weeks, the organisers will be launching a Call for Papers for both events whereby prospective authors will be able to submit their abstracts online, all of which will be peer reviewed by the Technical Committee of leading industry experts from across the spectrum of the LIDAR community, and both programmes will be announced later this year.

Running alongside both conferences will once again be the major exhibitions with more than 50 leading companies expected who will demonstrate new LIDAR products and a wide range of new technologies and services. Exhibitors historically include the LIDAR and complementary sensor manufacturers, survey service companies, data processing, GIS and management specialists and the latest mobile mapping vehicles. There will also be a series of LIDAR and associated systems workshop sessions available once again for delegates.

Janina Milner, first time exhibitor with Oxford Technical Solutions at ELMF said, “ELMF provided us with a great platform for showing our systems to key players in the industry. We were able to network with business partners, get feedback from existing customers and generate a great amount of promising sales leads. ELMF far exceeded our expectations and we'll definitely re-book our stand for the 2012 conference.”

Whilst Adam Hill of Blue Marble Geographics commented that, “Bottom line - the ILMF has become and will continue to be the premier LIDAR conference event that all organizations in this industry must attend.”

About the LiDAR Mapping Forums

The International and European LiDAR Mapping Forums are the premier global events focused on applying the technology of LIDAR and laser scanning to deliver outside mapping and imaging solutionsin a timely and cost-effective manner across a variety of markets. The core component of both events is the conference which introduces the latest concepts from commercial or academic research, leading edge innovations in technologies, improved operating practices, reports on actual project experiences and discusses new applications and markets being driven by the rapid improvements in LIDAR technology. During the conference the programme will focus on the use of LIDAR to support transport, urban modelling, coastal zone mapping, asset management and GIS applications. An international exhibition runs alongside the conferences with exhibitors involved in airborne, bathymetric and terrestrial LIDAR and mobile mapping systems, including system and component manufacturers, operators and service companies

GEO Announces Call for Participation in GEOSS Pilot with OGC Leadership

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) has announced a Call for Participation (CFP) in the 5th phase of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) Architecture Implementation Pilot (AIP-5). The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) provides leadership in AIP-5 and invites OGC members and other organizations to respond to the CFP. The CFP document is available at: http://earthobservations.org/geoss_call_aip.shtml.

AIP-5 places a priority on these areas:

• Increase GEOSS capacity to support several societal benefit areas (SBAs): Disasters, Health, Energy, Water and Agriculture. 
• Deploy user management and authentication to support GEOSS Data-CORE
• Conduct research to be considered for the GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI)

Responses to this CFP are requested by 11 April 2012. Discussion and clarification of the CFP and the initiation of AIP-5 will be the topic of weekly teleconferences. Agenda and logistics for these telecons are posted at http://www.ogcnetwork.net/AIPtelecons.

The Point of Contact for the AIP initiative is George Percivall, gpercivall@opengeospatial.org.

The OGC® is an international consortium of more than 435 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OGC Standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled. Learn more about the OGC at http://www.opengeospatial.org/contact. See our recent "What is the OGC?" video.

GEO (Group on Earth Observations) is a voluntary partnership of 151 governments and international organizations, launched in response to calls for action by the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and by the G8 (Group of Eight) leading industrialized countries. GEO is coordinating efforts to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems, or GEOSS.

Spatial Energy and Blue Marble Announce New Alliance for Energy Market

Gardiner, Maine – March 8, 2012 – Spatial Energy and Blue Marble Geographics today announced a new alliance to distribute content and software to the Energy market worldwide. Spatial Energy’s foundation imagery content will now be a freely available within the Global Energy Mapper™ software application.   Blue Marble Geographics will speed development plans for Global Energy Mapper to integrate with cloud imagery services provided by Spatial Energy and increase features focused on serving the Energy sector.

In addition, Spatial Energy Beijing Technology will serve as the exclusive distributor for all Blue Marble Geographics products in China and will create a Chinese language version of Global Energy Mapper.

“The Global Energy Mapper desktop application is a user friendly tool that provides easy access to streaming raster data layers from our Spatial on Demand™ cloud service offering,” said Spatial Energy President Bud Pope. “Non-GIS users can quickly re-project energy specific data, layout seismic, and well pad locations and form mash-ups of vector, DEMs, and imagery to create 3D renderings”

Developed specifically for customers in the oil, gas and mining professions, Global Energy Mapper enables users to import and export all types of Geospatial data in hundreds of formats as they view, edit and apply GIS functionality to popular raster, elevation and vector data sets. Built-in functionality developed for energy applications includes distance and area calculations, raster blending, contrast adjustment, elevation querying, line of sight measurement, and cut-and-fill volume determination. Global Energy Mapper also contains specialized oil and gas symbols and terminology.

“Blue Marble is committed to continuing development of software functionality that addresses the unique needs of oil, gas and mining companies,” said Patrick Cunningham, Blue Marble President. "We will continue to consult with Spatial Energy and its customers for their specific expertise to meet the needs of global operators, leveraging imagery, elevation and analytics to the workflows of energy company requirements."

Spatial on Demand is an enterprise geospatial data management and delivery system available by subscription from Spatial Energy. It gives organizations worldwide access to their own geospatial data sets, as well as free and premium Spatial Energy data sets, delivered seamlessly and securely via Spatial Energy's global cloud-based services directly into Global Energy Mapper and other popular oil and gas mapping packages such as Esri, IHS Petra and IHS Kingdom, Geographix, Google Earth, Petrel and AutoCAD.

The Spatial on Demand image layers now available for free in Global Energy Mapper via its’ global cloud service include the following:

• Bing Maps – Imagery and Streets Hybrid Layer
• Global SRTM Hillshade Data – Color
• Landsat Natural Color
• Landsat 7,4,2 Band Combination
• Global Basemap Reference Layer
• One Meter USA Up-to-Date Basemap
• USA National Elevation Data Set
• USGS Topographic Maps

Global Energy Mapper customers will also have the option of purchasing Premium Spatial on Demand imagery products inside the desktop software for immediate streaming delivery to the application. Premium products include aerial and satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, SPOT (Astrium), Aster, Intermap, Landsat, East View Cartographic, and RapidEye.

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 expertise and is the developer of The Geographic Calculator and GeoCalc SDK.  In November 2011, Blue Marble acquired Global Mapper, LLC. and is pleased to introduce Global Mapper desktop and SDK software to its product line.

About Spatial Energy

Headquartered in Boulder, Colo., Spatial Energy is committed to providing the best value for energy-specific imagery, imagery solutions and online enterprise imagery and data management service for oil and gas companies operating globally.  Imagery is available on demand from our data archives, by tasking satellites and aerial providers, by speculative collection and by hosting corporate imagery.  OurEnterprise Remote Sensing Solutions(ES2)provides one source for a full range of remote sensing services developed by energy industry experts.  Simplified contracting and pricing is guaranteed for any of our services, along with global service delivered 24/7 and fast, online access and storage of solution results. Our data is tailored for use with energy-specific geological and geophysical desktop applications, as well as web applications and geoportals.  We offer subscription programs such as the Spatial Energy Partner Program (EPP), BasinWatch and Spatial on Demand (www.spatialondemand.com) to provide simplified, cost effective access to acquiring and managing imagery and related services as a corporate asset.  Visit www.spatialenergy.com.

Mobile Coupons to Generate Revenues of $9 Billion

Digital coupons represent the fastest growing segment of the coupon industry, and accounted for 10% of all coupons redeemed in 2010, up from 1% in 2006. The market for online coupons is expected to reach $5 billion in 2011, with mobile accounting for just 15% of the overall digital market. However, in a recently published study, ARCchart expects mobile’s share of the digital coupon market to steadily grow over the coming years, generating revenues of $9 billion by 2016.

As newspaper readership declines and consumers increasingly look online for savings, digital coupons are gaining significant momentum. Higher smartphone penetration has provided a solid base for coupon providers to build their propositions, either through an aggregator service such as Groupon or LivingSocial, or via brand-specific loyalty sites designed, built and distributed by the brands themselves.

Improved handset cameras and displays have turned phones into scanners, enabling coupon technologies such as QR codes and Microsoft tags, which offer a richer experience than traditional MMS-based barcode which suffered from reliability and compatibility issues. Although NFC will take time to gain traction, ARCchart expects that this emerging technology will eventually provide a substantial boost mobile couponing.

Local content and social sites like FourSquare are using the combination of GPS and mobile vouchers to create compelling and contextual services for opt-in subscribers. Retailers also see the benefits of creating localised or on-the-fly offerings to increase footfall, with pioneers like Starbucks running campaigns to promote new products.

The mobile coupon space has seen significant activity over the last two to three years as companies jostle for dominance, and the ARCchart study provides a detailed analysis of the mobile couponing ecosystem, examining in particular the recent spate of M&A activity taking place within the industry.

PayPal’s recent announcement that it too will dip its toe in the mobile coupon market starting the first quarter of 2012 ensures that the market will continue to ramp as major industry players stake out their position.

ABOUT ARCchart

ARCchart is an independent research and consulting firm focusing on all aspects of the wireless communications sector. Based in London, ARCchart's depth and breadth of analysis provides a global perspective on wireless technology and industry developments.

Combining original thinking with exceptional knowledge and experience, ARCchart assists clients in making sound commercial decisions about technologies, market strategies and competitive positions. With strong roots in the tracking of M&A activity across the communications space, ARCchart's strategic advice covers all aspects of the wireless value chain - ranging from semiconductors and WLANs to network operators, handsets and mobile applications. ARCchart is an affiliate of London-based investment bank ARC Associates.

Altus Positioning Systems Receives Certification to Sell Surveying Products in Russia

Altus Positioning Systems announces that the company is now certified to sell its high-precision APS-3 GNSS surveying products in Russia.

The certification was awarded by the Russian Federal Agency on Technical Regulation and Metrology (ROSSTANDART) in late 2011. Moscow-based Technokauf LLC, a provider of surveying equipment and software, managed the certification process and will resell the certified Altus products in Russia.

“During testing, we found the Altus APS-3 high-precision GNSS receiver to be one of the best modern receivers with outstanding technical characteristics. The unit includes an open architecture, and reliably received signals from GPS, GLONASS and SBAS satellites,” said Valentin Tsukanov, general director of Technokauf. “Extreme temperature tolerance is very important in Russia. The Altus receivers operated dependably in temperatures ranging from -40 to +65 degrees Celsius. We also tested the Altus equipment to ensure it met all of the parameters noted in the user manual and other official documents, especially the accuracy in static and RTK modes.”

“The strenuous testing of our products, performed in various conditions, validates the reliability of Altus’ technology,” said Neil Vancans, president of Altus. “This significant certification opens up an important new market for us. We see considerable opportunity for growth in Russia within the construction, oil and gas, renovation and industries, as well as architecture and infrastructure projects.”

The Altus 136-channel APS-3 is a compact, lightweight, portable GNSS RTK receiver. It is based on the high-precision Septentrio multi-frequency AsteRx2e engine. The unit is completely configurable from the data collector via Bluetooth for either base or rover operation with the internal UHF radio or for network rover operation with the internal quad-band GSM/GPRS modem. Its removable 2-GB SD card enables plug-and-play of raw data transfer for post processing.

Technokauf LLC supplies surveying equipment and software to Russia and CIS countries. The company’s staff includes experienced survey professionals, and resells well-known brands manufactured in the USA, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.

About Altus Positioning Systems

Founded in 2006, Altus Positioning Systems is based in Torrance, Calif. The privately held company provides high-precision GNSS surveying equipment through an international network of sales representatives in key countries around the world. For more information, visit www.altus-ps.com.

Dewberry Announces Agreement with Amazon Web Services

Dewberry, a nationally recognized consulting firm based in Fairfax, Virginia, has recently become a reseller of Amazon Web Services, signaling a drive toward flexibility and accessibility for the company’s clients and their computational solutions.

Through its relationship with Amazon Web Services, Dewberry will continue to offer consulting and managed services; along with general hosting cloud infrastructure (IaaS) and GIS cloud provisioning services, 24/7 call center support and training. These benefits support Dewberry’s already robust, in-house GIS expertise, IT architecture design services, and integrated program and project management experience.

Since 2008, Dewberry has migrated hundreds of terabytes of data to the cloud for 30+ government agencies in support of cloud implementation strategies. Dewberry is an Esri Gold Business Partner.

Formore information, contact Jeffrey Poplin at jpoplin@dewberry.com.

About Dewberry

Dewberry is a leading professional services firm with a proven history of providing architecture, engineering, and management and consulting services to a wide variety of public- and private-sector clients. Recognized for combining unsurpassed commitment to client service with deep subject matter expertise, Dewberry is dedicated to solving clients’ most complex challenges and transforming their communities. Established in 1956, Dewberry is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, with more than 40 locations and 1,800+ professionals nationwide. To learn more, visit www.dewberry.com.

PCI Geomatics and University of New Brunswick receive Innovation Award

PCI Geomatics, a world-leading developer of geoimaging software and systems, announced today that it was the co-recipient of a prestigious Synergy Award for Innovation for 2011, along with the University of New Brunswick (UNB).

The Synergy Awards for Innovation were launched in 1995 by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to recognize partnerships in natural sciences and engineering research and development between universities and Canadian industry. Since their inception, the Awards have honored the most outstanding achievements of university-industry collaboration in the natural sciences and engineering.

On February 27^th, 2012, Mr. David Stanley from PCI Geomatics, along with his UNB counterpart Dr. Zhang, attended an event to honor the award recipients. The event was held at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, the Governor General of Canada’s official residence. Mr. Stanley and Dr. Zhang were presented with the award by His Excellency the Right Honorable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada.

PCI Geomatics and the UNB were selected to receive this award under Category I, Small and Medium Sized Companies, for their innovative work on new pansharpening algorithms developed for high-resolution optical satellite imagery. These new algorithms - developed by Dr. Zhang and implemented into PCI’s commercial Geomatica software - allow for the fusion of high-resolution panchromatic imagery with lower-resolution color imagery to create sharp, high-resolution pansharpened images that contain color.

Pictures from the event and of the Synergy award itself can be viewed here: http://www.pcigeomatics.com/pressnews/photos/SynergyAwards/

New Version of Esri Aeronautical Solution Improves Data Quality for Airports

The Esri Aeronautical Solution—Airports GIS Package version 2 is now available for download from Esri. This updated offering expands the number and types of preconfigured automated validation checks to include those used by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during data submission as well as critical and noncritical attributes. 

 Esri Aeronautical Solution—Airports GIS Package is a software suite specifically developed to help US airports and the consultant community meet the requirements of the FAA Airports Surveying—GIS program. Version 2 includes more than 300 preconfigured validation checks developed from the FAA's 18B specification, enabling airports to improve their data quality and better comply with FAA review.

Current Esri Aeronautical Solution customers can simply download the Airports GIS Package from the Aeronautical Solution Resource Center. New customers can take advantage of special pricing for the Esri Aeronautical Solution—Airports GIS Package until the end of June 2012. For full details, please contact an Esri representative at aero@esri.com. 

For more information, visit esri.com/airportsgis. 

StreetMapper Cuts Cost of Highway Surveying Projects by 50 Percent

Nottingham, UK - Dutch surveying company Geomaat is capturing millimetre accurate measurements in record times to support a range of highway design, construction and maintenance projects. Using the mobile laser mapping system StreetMapper, and specially developed point cloud software, Geomaat can calculate highly accurate cutting, milling and asphalt figures, create as built models and undertake change detection.  
 
“In the past these types of measurement were undertaken using total stations which was time consuming, and therefore costly, and had a big impact on other road users,” commented Jolle Jelle de Vries, Managing Director of Geomaat. “For example a 10km stretch of highway would have taken at least 20 nights to survey, each night requiring extensive traffic management or road closures. The resulting measurements would then have taken about a week to process. Using StreetMapper we can deliver a new design, from start to finish, in less than a week!”
 
“This is a huge advantage in itself – we estimate savings for our clients of up to 50 per cent,” he continued. “However the benefits do not end there. Using StreetMapper we measure everything, in 3D, within a 300 metre corridor of the survey vehicle. Unlike traditional surveying techniques, this means we never have to revisit the site we can just extract extra points if and when needed.”
 
Geomaat are unique in their highway surveying capabilities combining mobile mapping techniques with specialist highways design, construction and maintenance expertise. Recent projects undertaken by Geomaat that have benefited from the use of the StreetMapper mobile mapping system include a project to upgrade the A50 between Ewijk and Valburg on behalf of the Rijkswaterstaat, an executive of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, a project to upgrade the runway at Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport and surveying over 500 kilometres of highway in support of LEM Contracts (Lifetime Maintenance). Using StreetMapper, Geomaat is also hoping to work with Municipalities to support the introduction in 2012 of a new BGT (Basic Registration History and Topography) law.
 
StreetMapper has been specifically designed for the rapid 3D mapping of highways, runways, railways, infrastructure and buildings. Using vehicle-mounted lasers offering a 360-degree field of view, StreetMapper enables high precision mapping to a range of 300 metres, a capacity of 550,000 measurements per second per sensor and recorded accuracies in independent real world projects of better than 10 millimetres.
  
Geomaat is an independent surveying specialist based in the Netherlands. Employing experienced, professional surveyors across the northern provinces Geomaat can provide surveying solutions tailored to the most challenging environments. From site specific GPS surveys to topographical measurements Geomaat has completed projects involved with transport, utilities, government and construction.
 
For further information see www.geomaat.com
 
 
StreetMapper has been developed by UK based 3D Laser Mapping in conjunction with German based guidance and navigation specialist IGI mbH. The system employs the latest laser scanning technology for improved field performance and accuracy, precision navigation including a solution for reduced GPS coverage in urban areas, combined with a flexible, modular configuration and increased ease of use and deployment.
 
For further information see www.streetmapper.com
 
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
 
IGI mbH was founded in 1978. The primary goal of the company was to manage airborne sensor systems for flight guidance, sensor control using GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and INS (Inertial Navigation Systems). Today the portfolio includes additional sensor systems using LiDAR, digital camera systems and thermal camera systems.
 
IGI covers a wide variety of expertise in optics, electronics, mechanics, software development, and analytics through a team of highly qualified scientists, engineers and technicians. With over 30 years of experience, IGI offers not only integration of various sensors but also complete sensor systems for airborne and terrestrial survey missions.
 
For further information see www.igi-systems.com

Blom Launches V3.2 of BlomDESKTOP Viewer™

Blom announces the release of version 3.2 of the BlomDESKTOP Viewer, desktop application for geospatial data, with enhanced features and a collection of new functionalities, tools and datasets.
The main features of this new version of BlomDESKTOP Viewer are based on enhancing the user experience with new datasets such as the spherical imagery of BlomSTREET™ and high resolution LiDAR models.
To enhance the capability of the BlomSTREET product, BlomDESKTOP Viewer 3.2 now provides a complete integration with the Cyclomedia API offering full measurement capabilities of points, lines, heights, areas and volumes as well as year filtering, export, print and vector reprojection capabilities. New BlomSTREET datasets are also being added to our catalogue.
BlomDESKTOP Viewer LiDAR features have been developed to allow our users to work with continuous LiDAR models online, retrieving new data from the servers as needed and minimizing the needs to manually load new areas when moving to different sections of terrain. A powerful terrain profile tool is also included. It is now possible to define terrain profiles over the maps or imagery and extract the data from the LiDAR datasets to perform on-the-fly detailed measures of objects, making BlomDESKTOP Viewer and invaluable tool for utilities and forestry companies among others.
Featuring additional enhancements to the user interface (help messages, tooltips, north compass, metadata information on-screen…) and performance, there is also a new, powerful way of geocoding address points using locally stored shapefiles. This includes the ability for the user to define fields to be used in the geocoding process.
BlomDESKTOP Viewer continues providing a complete showcase of Blom online geoservers capabilities, BlomURBEX™ and BlomURBEX 3D™, in terms of functionality and available datasets, including access to third party geospatial data from Blom partners and Blom’s unique database of BlomORTHO™, BlomOBLIQUE™ and Blom3D™ datasets.
Applications for BlomDESKTOP Viewer are vast, from exporting imagery for evidence reports or presentations, to use as an asset management tool. The software can be easily used throughout an organization with minimal installation effort and a small amount of training time.
BlomDESKTOP Viewer will update itself to version 3.2 when launched. If you do not have the application installed yet, contact your local Blom representatives to provide you a license for the application.
About Blom

The Blom Group is the largest provider of geospatial services in Europe for both government agencies and private commercial organizations and companies. Blom owns exclusive spatial databases composed of maps, images and 3D models. Focused on online services, Blom provides data and solutions to its customers in many markets and allows its partners to create high added-value applications based on Blom data models and services. This strategy is backed by Blom’s major technical capacity in aircrafts, cameras, laser scanners and mapping systems. This makes it possible for all projects to be carried out within the company, assuring a high quality product is delivered both on-time and to budget. Blom has more than 1,000 employees and offices in 13 countries and its HQ is located in Oslo, Norway. Blom is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker BLO). For more information, visit www.blomasa.com

Williams-Meridian Provides Advanced Real Estate GIS and Market Data to TierraStar

Houston, Texas based Williams-Meridian Companies recently completed a successful trial of it's upcoming real estate analytical platform using the firm's extensive market data and geographic information systems (GIS) technologies for TierraStar Real Estate, a real estate brokerage, economic development and commercial development firm based in McKinney, Texas.
Using the company's rapid-deployment capabilities, Williams-Meridian provided a comprehensive set of geospatial data, high resolution images, demographic and income overlays, and land mapping tools to TierraStar in conjunction with the firm's robust financial analysis methods. Combining these elements into a customized platform, Williams-Meridian enabled TierraStar to shorten its real estate land acquisition advisory process significantly.
In a matter of only a few weeks after selecting Williams-Meridian, TierraStar was able to review virtually every individual land parcel in the entire San Antonio metropolitan statistical area, both privately-held and government-owned, relative to its demographic trending strength, site engineering capacity and financial viability from a return on investment (ROI) perspective. By using Williams-Meridian's proprietary technologies, TierraStar was able to rely on superior information sets and market data, better advise its existing commercial real estate client after months of using traditional channels, and complete the company's real estate brokerage services within a substantially shorter time. From initial project analysis to final cash closing on a large raw land parcel by the commercial real estate buyer, TierraStar completed its real estate services in only a few weeks using Williams-Meridian's technologies.
Upon project completion the company's President, Philip Williams, congratulated TierraStar by saying, "I believe that these technologies will play an integral part in what I sincerely hope is a lasting business relationship between Williams-Meridian and TierraStar, enabling your firm with a significant advantage over the big brokerage firms while we provide a level of service that far exceeds the traditional approach taken by them."
Company Overview
Williams-Meridian Companies is a privately held, commercial real estate development firm providing creative, full-service solutions to its valued partners. Based in Houston, Texas, Williams-Meridian offers a wide range of commercial real estate services to clients across the nation, including real estate consulting, corporate real estate strategies, leading or co-developing projects, or providing joint venture equity on select real estate investments or development projects across all real estate asset classes.

Free GstarCAD MC for Android Officially Released

Beijing, China - March 5, 2012 - GstarCAD, a leading 2D/3D CAD software provider today officially released its free GstarCAD MC (Mobile Client) application on the Android platform, aiming at bringing flexibility and convenience to wider range of mobile users.

GstarCAD MC for Android inherits all advantages of the previously launched applications for iPad, iPhone and iTouch. Functions include viewing, creating, annotating, editing and sharing CAD files directly on an Android device are still available. However, this application features with some new added functions and advancements.

Users can experience practical new functions with GstarCAD MC on Android. GstarCAD MC on Android is capable of remembering the recently used documents, enabling users to search their operation history more convenient. Besides, users can manipulate their drawings more flexible by using the menu of the application. In addition, users can directly exit from the program in one step, avoiding tedious procedures and saving a lot of time.

Advancements include local documents management, saving, zoom and pan functions, etc. Users are not only allowed to save their drawings, but also to specify the path. With this function, the management to the local files becomes more convenient. In order to exit from the full screen view, users will shake their mobile devices with the previously released applications, while with GstarCAD MC for Android they can approach this by pressing the menu key. When it comes to zoom and pan, GstarCAD MC on Android still supports operation with two fingers, but it also realizes this through the volume control key.

GstarCAD MC on Android is available today at no charge from GstarCAD website at: http://www.gstarcad.net/ver.php?id=15&for=1

GstarCAD

GstarCAD is the fast, powerful and .dwg-compatible CAD software for the industries involving AEC, mechanical, manufacturing, electrical, GIS, survey and mapping, civil, etc. It is the world-class 2D/3D CAD (Computer aided design) software platform based on IntelliCAD technology. GstarCAD's powerful functions, dwg-compatible programming platform, cost-effective solution and ease-of-use operating interface ensure that your design inspiration comes true skillfully and thoroughly at high speed.

Mapping the Nation Illustrates Broad Government Use of Esri GIS

Esri has released the second in the Mapping the Nation series, Mapping the Nation: Government and Technology Making a Difference. Including more than 100 full-color maps produced by 40 government agencies, it clearly illustrates how GIS technology can be used to evaluate and respond to social, economic, and environmental concerns at local, regional, national, and global levels.
"Geography is a common denominator in everything the federal government supports," says Christopher Thomas, director, government markets—federal, state, local at Esri. "The maps in this book attest to the limitless power of geography and GIS technology and show how government agencies rely on GIS analysis to facilitate initiatives, improve transparency, and deliver strong business models."
Mapping the Nation: Government and Technology Making a Difference (ISBN: 978-1-58948-315-6, 128 pages, US$19.95) is available at online retailers worldwide, at esri.com/esripress, or by calling 1-800-447-9778. Outside the United States, visit esri.com/esripressorders for complete ordering options, or visit esri.com/distributors to contact your local Esri distributor. Interested retailers can contact Esri Press book distributor Ingram Publisher Services.
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.
Esri, the Esri globe logo, GIS by Esri, esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, service marks, or registered  marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products or services mentioned herein may be trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of their respective mark owners.

POWER Engineers Announces New Executive Positions

POWER Engineers, a leading engineering consulting firm, has announced that it will implement a series of changes to its executive organizational structure during the first quarter of 2012. The restructuring will create a more efficient executive management structure that will guide the company toward continued growth and success.

Tim Ostermeier, P.E., will serve as POWER’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO). Tim will focus on managing the company with regard to business planning and execution, financial forecasting, risk management and quality assurance. He will also assume some operational executive management duties previously handled by CEO, Jack Hand. Tim has been with POWER for more than 18 years, and has been instrumental in guiding the company’s largest division.

Bill Hansen, P.E., will replace Tim as Executive Vice President of Power Delivery. Bill is another longtime POWER veteran. He joined the company in 1997 as a member of POWER’s Power Delivery team and has played a key role in developing the company’s nationwide presence. In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing all of POWER’s Power Delivery production business units, business development and associate support.

Bret Moffett has been designated POWER’s new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). POWER created the CAO position to formalize the responsibilities Bret held for a significant period of time during his tenure as Executive Vice President of Operations. Throughout his career at POWER, Bret has effectively executed a wide range of assignments, from software engineering to project management. He is a seasoned financial professional who continues to manage the day-to-day challenges of business operations.

“These changes are important for POWER,” stated Jack Hand, President and CEO. “POWER has been fortunate enough to have had significant growth over the last 10 years, and this change is just another step our management team is taking to maintain a strong focus on return on investment. The executive restructuring is in the best interest of the company and its employees.”

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 30 offices throughout the United States and abroad. For more information, please visit www.powereng.com

Pictometry Completes Image Capture for Kucera International Inc.

Pictometry International Corp. - the leading provider of aerial oblique Imagery, Analytics, Integrations and Reports - delivered 412 square miles of accurate and measureable 4-inch oblique imagery captured in Hamilton County, Ohio through a contract with Kucera International Inc. of Willoughby.
Hamilton County awarded its imagery bid to Kucera last year as part of an RFP (Request for Proposal) for use in the County's assessment and 9-1-1 departments. Originally, Kucera partnered with regional aerial provider GEOSPAN based in Minneapolis, MN to complete the capture. When it became apparent that GEOSPAN would not be able to fulfill the contract in an acceptable manner, Kucera turned to Pictometry.
"We subsequently realized we needed to align with a powerful provider and an expert in oblique imagery to complete the job, which is why we turned to Pictometry," said John Antalovich Jr., President of Kucera. "We knew we could rely on Pictometry's image capture expertise, not to mention their software and integration with Esri and 9-1-1 systems. Those added areas of expertise enabled us to deliver a more powerful and valuable tool that Hamilton County can leverage and utilize in multiple departments."
Kucera International Inc. provides comprehensive aerial mapping and related geomatic services including aerial photography and remote sensing, LiDAR, airborne control surveying, photogrammetric mapping, orthophotography, cadastral mapping and geographic information systems.
Pictometry, with a fleet of over 60 aerial capture aircraft, was able to respond quickly and plan, capture, process, and deliver oblique imagery for the full county in a short amount of time. In addition, Pictometry's powerful analytic software tools and expansive suite of integrated solutions allow county customers to get the most out of their oblique imagery.
"We were pleased to step in to ensure that Hamilton County received the best imagery possible for their annual assessment needs," said Robert Locke, President of Pictometry Government Solutions. "As evidenced by our 1,500 county and municipal customers, rich visual information like ours is what government customers need to work effectively and create an invaluable enterprise-wide tool."
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, NY. To learn more, visit us online at www.pictometry.com.

Esri Developer Summit Keynote Will Dispel Misconceptions about the Cloud

Steve Riley, technical leader, office of the chief technology officer (CTO) at Riverbed Technology, will provide the Keynote Address at this year's Esri Developer Summit. Riley's keynote, entitled In the Cloud, Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong, will seek to dispel myths and misunderstandings about the cloud and give a fresh perspective on geospatial development in decentralized data environments.
"For the 'digital native' generation, the cloud is the computer," says Riley. "There's no time for old-time lamentations about the good old days. To succeed today, you have to develop, manage, and secure for tomorrow."
Riley has more than 23 years of experience in information technology, with an emphasis on information security, local- and wide-area networks, and cloud computing. Before joining Riverbed, he worked at Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, where he specialized in information security, compliance, and policy. During that time, he traveled the world to speak at numerous telecommunications, information security, and Microsoft technical conferences.
The Esri Developer Summit will take place from March 26 to 29 at the Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, California. To register for the summit, visit esri.com/devsummit.
About Esri
Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in 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.

URISA Offers Two Certified Workshops at URISA Headquarters

Des Plaines, IL - URISA, the Association for GIS Professionals, is offering two URISA Certified Workshops at its Headquarters in Des Plaines, IL
Field Automation Options for Local Government
This workshop is designed to provide local government managers with practical guidelines for building an effective mobile GIS program across multiple departments. One way to meet demands for providing superior service levels and operational efficiencies under tightening budget constraints is to leverage new technology that places GIS data in the hands of field crews. This allows for improved management and better maintenance of work processes to properly appraise infrastructure assets and to meet service request response times.
Thursday, June 21, 2012, from 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
An Overview of Open Source GIS Software
Free and open source software (FOSS) has been offering choices to computer users for a number of years. Over the past few years the open source choices in GIS have been broader and more capable than ever before. This workshop will focus on GIS open source software. It will give an overview of current developments from technical and management perspectives. Selected packages and their applications in various projects will be demonstrated and discussed.
Workshop registration fees are $95 for URISA International members and $125 for nonmembers.

• Registration fee includes workbook, certificate of completion, and refreshment breaks – lunch is not included.
• Completion of an 8 hour workshop = 0.2 EDU points towards GISCI Certification.

For more information, or to register for either workshop, please visit http://www.urisa.org/workshops/calendar or contact URISA Education Manager, Jeni Griffith at jgriffith@urisa.org or by phone at (847)-824-6300.

Bluesky Launches New Thermal Mapping Service

Coalville, Leicestershire - UK, 06 March 2012 - Energy inefficient households in the UK are being pinpointed and directly targeted for improvement with a new end to end thermal mapping service from Bluesky. Using the latest survey equipment and advanced georeferencing techniques Bluesky capture raw thermal survey data and process the information all the way through to the production of bespoke, targeted marketing material.  Specialist thermal sensors mounted on survey aircraft record the heat loss from houses on cold, clear winter nights.  Poorly insulated homes are identified and matched to the correct address.

These targeted, easy to understand marketing materials highlight inefficient homes in an easy to understand map form. The postcard or other mailing document shows how the house compares to other properties in the same street and is sent directly to the homeowner. Commissioned by local authorities, energy companies or home improvement businesses these marketing campaigns inform homeowners that they may benefit from extra insulation and provide suggestions as to how to go about increasing insulation and reducing carbon emissions.

Bluesky has already captured thousands of square kilometres of thermal survey data across England on behalf of many local authorities, social housing providers and even police forces who use the survey results to identify properties used as cannabis factories. The latest commissioned surveys are being undertaken on behalf of a London Borough, the majority of local Councils in Surrey as well as Rushmoor Council in Hampshire and an urban regeneration company in Northern Ireland.

The thermal surveys will be captured by Bluesky using a ‘microbolometer’ thermal camera; a system specifically designed for airborne surveying and ideal for use in aircraft flying at night. Combined with an advanced navigation and positioning system and improved sensor control and user interface Bluesky’s new generation thermal mapping system allows measurements of heat loss from property roofs to be recorded with higher precision and more consistent results than other systems currently in use in the UK.

Thermal surveys are flown during the early evening, after sunset, in order to capture the widest variations in temperature that can occur as a result of poor insulation or excessive energy consumption. The data can be produced ready for use in an organisation's Geographical Information System (GIS) or Bluesky can produce ready to be delivered marketing documents highlighting actual heat loss values for individual properties.

About Bluesky

Bluesky is a UK-based specialist in aerial imaging and remote sensing data collection and processing.  An internationally recognised leader with projects extending around the globe, Bluesky is proud to work with prestigious organisations such as Google, the BBC and Government Agencies.

Bluesky has unrivalled expertise in the creation of seamless, digital aerial photography, 3D landscape/cityscape visualisations and prints and also runs a national mapping centre, providing digital mapping, satellite imagery and aerial photography including ultra-high resolution imagery of cities and towns.

Bluesky is now leading the way developing innovative solutions for environmental applications including the UK’s first nationwide map of solar potential, citywide ‘heat loss’ maps, 3D maps of trees and their proximity to buildings and historical imagery.

SuperGIS Desktop 3.1 Launched Globally

SuperGeo Technologies, the leading global provider of complete GIS software and solutions, announced that the latest desktop GIS software—SuperGIS Desktop 3.1 is officially launched worldwide.
Applying whole new SuperGIS Engine 3 as the development core, SuperGIS Desktop 3.1 provides more abundant GIS tools for users to effectively display, edit, manage, query, and analyze spatial data in various fields. Containing all the functionality of SuperGIS Desktop 3.0, SuperGIS Desktop 3.1 significantly improves the performance of data processing and adds a large number of editing tools.
The SuperGIS Desktop 3.1 offers both Standard and Professional editions. The standard edition supports map display, spatial data editing, management, and analysis, etc. The Professional edition not only covers the functionality in Standard edition but also provides Topology Analyst, advanced geodatabase management, and VBA customization.
The built-in Topology Analyst in SuperGIS Desktop 3.1 allows various rules to validate the spatial relationship; also, supports to display the errors clearly. As to geodatabase, SuperGIS Desktop 3.1 supports personal and enterprise geodatbases, including Personal Geodatabase (mdb), SQL Server, Oracle Spatial, and PostgreSQL.
By utilizing SuperGIS Desktop 3.1, users can read, edit, and add the vector data in geodatbase. Furthermore, the professionals can also develop the GIS manipulation functions with VBA customization tool to develop a personal GIS platform.
SuperGeo provides free trial for users to experience SuperGIS Desktop 3.1. For more details, please visit http://www.supergeotek.com/productpage_SG3.aspx
About SuperGeo
SuperGeo Technologies Inc. is a leading global provider of GIS software and solutions. Since the establishment, SuperGeo has been dedicated to providing state-of-the-art geospatial technologies and comprehensive services for customers around the world. It is our vision to help users utilize geospatial technologies to create a better world.
SuperGeo software and applications have been spread over the world to be the backbone of the world’s mapping and spatial analysis. SuperGeo is the professional GIS vendor, providing GIS-related users with complete GIS solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms.

Merrick’s Sergio Aguayo Receives the First LiDAR Art Award

Merrick & Company’s (www.merrick.com) Sergio Aguayo, GISP, Senior Photogrammetrist, recently won first place in the International LiDAR Mapping Forum (ILMF) “LiDAR as Art” contest, announced by GeoDigital International. The awards program, just recently established, held its first competition at the end of 2011. Contestants were required to take airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) images and create art from that data.
Aguayo’s submittal entitled “Lighting up the Night” consists of five images captured from a testing site in the state of Utah.  After reviewing the images, Aguayo’s inspiration came from imagining driving on this road under a dramatic night sky, with a light source illuminating his way home. He added birds as a nice touch to creating depth and reality to the image. In order to keep the visual impact of the image, Aguayo kept the LiDAR points visible.
Aguayo was awarded an iPad from GeoDigital International as well as $1,000 to donate to a charity of his choice. He chose to contribute to the Overland High School soccer program, located in Aurora, Colorado.  In addition, Aguayo’s work was showcased at the ILMF 2012 conference and will be highlighted in promotional materials for the 2013 ILMF conference.
Having been with Merrick more than 10 years, Aguayo is a key person in supporting the photogrammetric and LiDAR discipline.  His responsibility includes the compilation of maps in different scales, has extensive experience on softcopy photogrammetric work stations, as well as works within many types of mapping software.
Merrick uses the most-advanced LiDAR sensors on the market today. Merrick has embraced this technology since 1997 and successfully provided these highly technical and definitive services to clients for a variety of applications including:

• Contour mapping
• 3-D perspective analysis
• Floodplain mapping
• Vegetation mapping
• Shoreline analysis
• Corridor/route studies
• Slope analysis
• Soil conservation

Merrick & Company is a $125 million engineering, architecture, design-build, surveying, and geospatial solutions firm, serving domestic and international clients in the energy, national security, life sciences, and sustainable infrastructure markets.  The firm is committed to sustainable design and construction practices through its 60+ LEED-accredited professionals and is continually expanding its in-house resources to serve tomorrow’s needs.  The employee-owned company maintains 10 offices in the U.S. as well as offices in Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

Blue Marble Releases 13.1 Update to Global Mapper

Gardiner, Maine - March 5, 2012 - Blue Marble Geographics (www.bluemarblegeo.com) is pleased to announce the release of Global Mapper version 13.1.  This update features new network licensing, enhanced geospatial PDF support and much more.  Blue Marble’s geospatial data manipulation, visualization 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.
Global Mapper 13.1 introduces Flex LM licensing to the software which provides multi-seat users with a flexible network licensing function. This efficient checkout or borrowing process allows easier access to the software across entire organizations, paving the way for new enterprise features in coming releases. The 13.1 update also introduces new geospatial PDF functionality such as the ability to import and export to 64-bit versions, the ability to select which layer to load from a geospatial PDF and the ability to load multi-page PDFs with geo-positioning.   Additional enhancements include support for LAS version 1.4 and LASzip files, GeoJSON formatted data, Digital Bathymetric Database Variable Resolution (DBDB-V), LandXML files and over fifteen additional new formats.  Version 13.1 also includes significant speed increases to the depression filling step when generating watersheds/drainage areas, added built-in access to land cover datasets and generation of grids from layers, significant enhancements to the Digitizer tool as well as many other minor enhancements and updates throughout the software.
“For a minor version release, this update is quite comprehensive,” stated Blue Marble President Patrick Cunningham.  “We are just starting to bring the support of our development team to assisting lead product developer, Mike Childs and we’re already seeing some great gains.   Look for many more great enhancements over the next year.”
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 its 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.