TomTom Introduces Speak & Go with the TomTom Via 130

Amsterdam, 3 May 2012 – TomTom has today released the TomTom Via 130, featuring a new Speak & Go function. Drivers can control the device with just the sound of their voice, as well as making hands-free calls, which helps them keep their hands on the wheel and their focus on the road.
Speak & Go recognises over 1,000 commands and their synonyms, so drivers can talk naturally and input addresses with ease. Plus, the TomTom Via 130 takes safe and simple driving one step further, with hands-free calling via Bluetooth® enabling drivers to make and answer calls safely in the car.
“The new Speak & Go feature helps increase focus and concentration by allowing users to keep their hands on the wheel,” says Corinne Vigreux, Managing Director of TomTom. “Just say an address, a Point of Interest or simply ‘take me home’, and TomTom plans your route straight away. Interacting with your navigation device has never been easier; it slots perfectly into your everyday drive.”
The Via 130 is pioneering TomTom’s lifetime free daily map changes. Updates are based on reports from TomTom’s Map Share community of 21 million, and help drivers to deal with frequent road changes such as new speed limits and blocked roads. A Map Share service has previously been available to certain customers using maps which are less than 12 months old, but it will now be offered to cover the lifetime of a device.
Also launched today was the TomTom Via 135, which has all of the same features and functionalities as the Via 130, but a larger screen size. The TomTom Via 130 has a 4.3” screen, and the TomTom Via 135 has a 5” screen.
Pricing and availability
The TomTom Via 130 (with a 4.3” screen) is now available for purchase starting from €159*.
The TomTom Via 135 has all of the same features on a 5” screen, and is available for purchase starting from €179*.
New to the TomTom Via 130 and 135:
Speak & Go 
Recognises over 1,000 spoken commands and their synonyms, so drivers can speak naturally to interact with their device. This is a vastly improved version of TomTom’s existing voice command and control function.
Other features of the TomTom Via 130 and 135 include:
Hands-free calling via Bluetooth
Allows drivers to make and answer phone calls safely while driving.
Advanced lane guidance
Gives drivers extra clarity when navigating difficult junctions.
Improved IQ Routes
Uses real travel information shared by millions of drivers to get the best routes and arrival times at every time of day.
TomTom Map Share
Provides drivers with free daily map changes for life from the TomTom Map Share Community.
Integrated mounting
A convenient foldaway mount that is integrated with the device, so it is always there when needed.
*Prices may differ per country
About TomTom


Founded in 1991, TomTom (AEX:TOM2) is the world’s leading supplier of in-car location and navigation products and services focused on providing all drivers with the world’s best navigation experience. Headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom has over 3,500 employees and sells its products in over 40 countries.
Our products include portable navigation devices, in-dash infotainment systems, fleet management solutions, maps and real-time services, including the award winning TomTom HD Traffic.

SAM, Inc. Receives National ACEC Engineering Excellence Award

Austin, TX - Surveying And Mapping, Inc. (SAM, Inc.), a nationally recognized provider of geospatial data solutions, has received a national Honor Award in the 2012 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition held by the American Council of Engineering Companies. The competition has been held since 1967 to honor and recognize outstanding achievements within the engineering community for the top 24 engineering projects each year.

SAM, Inc. was recognized for a project that utilized mobile LiDAR mapping to support streetscape improvements for downtown Austin's historic Sixth Street. The project was performed for the City of Austin Public Works Department. The award was given jointly to SAM, Inc. and the City of Austin.

A distinguished panel of 25-30 judges representing industry, government, academia, and media selected the winning projects based on uniqueness, originality, technical merit, value to the engineering profession, complexity and how successfully the projects met the needs of the client.

The award was presented at a gala event held during the ACEC National Conference in Washington D.C. on April 17, 2012. The president of SAM, Inc., Samir "Sam" G. Hanna, attended the event with other executives of the firm to accept the award. The Director of Public Works for the City of Austin also attended the ceremony.

SAM, Inc. is proud to have been recognized with this award for engineering excellence. We are committed to delivering the highest quality geospatial solutions and look forward to providing these for other engineering clients and programs in the future.

Photo available: a high-resolution photo of the award winners is available online at http://www.saminc.biz/photo-acec-national-award

Founded in 1994, SAM, Inc. is a leading provider of complete geospatial data solutions with advanced surveying and mapping technologies. SAM, Inc. offers land surveying, airborne, mobile and terrestrial LiDAR scanning, digital aerial mapping, subsurface utility engineering, and geographic information system (GIS) services. The firm's wholly owned subsidiary, SAM-Construction Services, Inc. (SAM-CS, Inc.), also offers a full suite of construction phase services.

SAM, Inc. is one of the fastest growing land surveying and aerial mapping companies in North America and has recently experienced unprecedented growth driven by the electric utilities and oil and gas industries. The company has invested several million dollars in surveying and mapping technology and continues to be an industry leader in advancing geospatial technology expertise.

The firm is able to develop innovative and cost-effective final products through routine integration of data across their service disciplines and continuous investment in training and new technologies. SAM, Inc. combines its experience, qualifications, and resources to solve the most challenging problems and deliver the best value, all in-house. For more information, visit www.saminc.biz.

Intergraph® Announces ERDAS IMAGINE® 11.0.5 Now Available

Intergraph® is proud to announce a new minor release of ERDAS IMAGINE®, now available to all customers with ERDAS 2011 software. Users can download ERDAS IMAGINE 11.0.5 from the product webpage. This release includes changes from all previous service packs released for ERDAS IMAGINE 2011.

ERDAS IMAGINE is a leading geospatial data authoring system, incorporating geospatial image processing and analysis and remote sensing into a single powerful, convenient package. ERDAS IMAGINE enables users to easily create value-added products such as 2D and 3D images, 3D flythrough movies and cartographic-quality map compositions from geospatial data. Intergraph has paired GeoMedia® and ERDAS IMAGINE to deliver a comprehensive suite of image processing coupled with GIS analysis and data management capabilities. GeoMedia is a powerful GIS data management and analysis package that enables users to realize the maximum value of their geospatial resources.

Enhancements since the release of ERDAS IMAGINE 2011 include more Live Link connections between ERDAS IMAGINE and GeoMedia, providing truly connected image processing and GIS products. Brought together by a single organization, users can easily leverage these two products in unison to construct a larger, clearer geospatial picture. Specifically, the Live Link changes enable users to:

Connect the GeoMedia Map Window and ERDAS IMAGINE Viewer
Natively read GeoMedia Warehouse files in ERDAS IMAGINE
Write to GeoMedia Warehouse Attributes in the ERDAS IMAGINE spatial modeler
Export GeoMedia Warehouses to shapefiles
Import shapefiles to GeoMedia Warehouses
Users can also take advantage of other enhancements, including the cloud remover in MosaicPro, a tool for creating seamless image mosaics. Users can now quickly and easily remove clouds from their image mosaics by digitizing cloud areas and manually adjusting the radiometry of individual images. MosaicPro now also allows users to use batch and distributed processing when outputting image tiles. In addition, this release provides support for new sensor models, including the VisionMap A3 aerial sensor and the Pleiades satellite constellation. ERDAS IMAGINE’s classification capabilities are also strengthened in this release by offering new options for supervised classification, spectral angle mapping and spectral correlation mapping.

“While dubbed a ‘minor’ release, ERDAS IMAGINE 11.0.5 incorporates noteworthy changes that provide tremendous value and open up new possibilities for our customers,” said Steve du Plessis, Global Product Line Executive – Remote Sensing, Intergraph.  “Since the last release, customers will recognize performance advances enabling processes to run faster, added support for the newest sensors on the market and many smaller changes that contribute to the overall strength and usability of ERDAS IMAGINE. This is a great time for all ERDAS IMAGINE customers to begin leveraging these upgrades to ensure they’re getting the most from their software investment.”

To learn more about ERDAS IMAGINE and the other products within the Intergraph Geospatial portfolio, please visit www.intergraph.com/geospatial/products.

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.

Carnegie Mellon Researchers Create Dynamic View Of City Based on Foursquare Check-in Data

Pittsburgh - The millions of "check-ins" generated by foursquare, the location-based social networking site, can be used to create a dynamic view of a city's workings and character, Carnegie Mellon University researchers say. In contrast to static neighborhood boundaries and dated census figures, these "Livehoods" reflect the ever-changing patterns of city life.

Researchers from the School of Computer Science (SCS) have developed an algorithm that takes the check-ins generated when foursquare members visit participating businesses or venues, and clusters them based on a combination of the location of the venues and the groups of people who most often visit them. This information is then mapped to reveal a city's Livehoods, a term coined by the SCS researchers.

Maps for New York, San Francisco and Pittsburgh are available on the project website, http://livehoods.org/. People can help choose the next city to map by voting on the Livehoods Facebook page.

"Our goal is to understand how cities work through the lens of social media," said Justin Cranshaw, a Ph.D. student in SCS's Institute for Software Research.

Part of the emerging field of Urban Computing, the Livehoods project takes advantage of the proliferation of smartphones and the location-based services they make possible. In this case, the researchers analyzed data from foursquare, but the same computational techniques could be applied to many location-based databases.

Livehoods thus provide a powerful new tool that could be used to address a wide variety of urban problems and opportunities. The researchers are exploring applications to city planning, transportation and real estate development. Livehoods also could be useful for businesses developing marketing campaigns or for public health officials tracking the spread of disease.

"In urban studies, researchers have always had to interview lots of people to get a sense of a community's character and, even then, they must extrapolate from only a small sample of the community," said Raz Schwartz, a Ph.D. student at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and a visiting scholar at SCS's Human-Computer Interaction Institute. "Now, by using foursquare data, we're able to tap a large database that can be continually updated."

The Livehoods project is led by Norman Sadeh, professor and co-director of the Institute for Software Research's Ph.D. program in Computation, Organizations and Society, and Jason Hong, associate professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute. The team will present its findings June 5 at the International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (ICWSM) in Dublin, Ireland.

All of the Livehoods analysis is based on foursquare check-ins that users have shared publicly via social networks such as Twitter. This dataset of 18 million check-ins includes user ID, time, latitude and longitude, and the name and category of the venue for each check-in.

In their study of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, the researchers found that the Livehoods they identified sometimes spilled over existing neighborhood boundaries, or identified several communities within a neighborhood. The Pittsburgh analysis was based on 42,787 check-ins by 3,840 users at 5,349 venues.

For instance, they found that the upscale neighborhood of Shadyside actually had two demographically distinct Livehoods — an older, staid community to the west and a younger, "indie" community to the east. Moreover, the younger Livehood spilled over into East Liberty, a neighborhood that long suffered from decay but recently has seen some upscale development.

"That makes sense to me," observed a 24-year-old resident of eastern Shadyside, one of 27 Pittsburgh residents who were interviewed by researchers to validate the findings. "I think at one point it was more walled off and this was poor (East Liberty) and this was wealthy (Shadyside) and now there are nice places in East Liberty and there's some more diversity in this area (eastern Shadyside)."

The researchers found that one Pittsburgh neighborhood, the South Side Flats, contained four distinct Livehoods, including one centered on bars popular with college students, another centered on a new shopping district dominated by chain stores and another that focused on a supermarket. Again, these Livehoods made sense to residents familiar with the area.

The study has limitations. Foursquare users tend to be young, urban professionals with smartphones. Consequently, areas of cities with older, poorer populations are nearly blank in the Livehoods maps. "You can literally see the digital divide," Schwartz said. Likewise, foursquare members don't check-in at all of their destinations — hospitals, for instance. But the researchers contend that the limitations are those of the data, not the methodology.

Safe and Blue Marble Geographics’ Partnership Introduces New Possibilities in Data Transformation

Vancouver B.C. -  May 1, 2012 - Safe Software and Blue Marble Geographics announced today that they have teamed up to bring the best of both of their products together in one authoring environment to increase the possibilities of what can be achieved in the use and distribution of spatial data. With the release of the GeoCalc Extension for FME, in addition to FME’s industry-leading format support and flexible transformation capabilities, users can have access to Blue Marble’s highly accurate coordinate transformations directly through FME Workbench.

The GeoCalc Extension for FME allows those relying on GeoCalc’s coordinate transformations to bring them into FME’s intuitive graphical user interface where they have access to FME’s unparalleled format support and data transformation capabilities.

“GeoCalc and FME are highly complementary products,” says Patrick Cunningham, President of Blue Marble Geographics. “By integrating the two, our users can take advantage of FME’s excellent data transformation authoring environment, while directly accessing the highly accurate coordinate transformations they rely on in GeoCalc.”

For FME users, access to the Blue Marble coordinate engine means more choice in coordinate transformations, and increased vertical height conversion accuracy and flexibility.

“We are very excited about how this integration will increase the possibilities of what users can achieve with FME,” says Dale Lutz, Vice President of Development at Safe Software. “For example, we are seeing an explosion in the use of 3D data, particularly LiDAR, and GeoCalc’s superior geoid selection means more accurate reprojection results.”

With the GeoCalc Extension, FME users with a valid Blue Marble Desktop GeoCalc license can select the GeoCalc datasource for use in coordinate transformations directly from FME Workbench. Through the Blue Marble Desktop administrative tools, they can also guide end users to preferred coordinate systems and transformations by specifying which GeoCalc systems and geodetic objects are available for import into FME.

The integration also provides access to fine datum shift control, including the option of processing shifts with late binding transformations or direct datum transformations, avoiding the potential loss introduced by using an interim WGS84 datum shift.

The GeoCalc Extension for FME is currently in beta and will soon be available from Blue Marble Geographics. Those interested in more information email Blue Marble at info@bluemarblegeo.com.

Safe Software Inc. is the maker of FME® and the global leader in spatial data transformation technology. FME makes it possible to transform spatial data to use and share. It solves more spatial data transformation challenges across more formats than any other solution, making it easier for professionals to solve data interoperability headaches and help their organizations meet their business goals and required standards.  Today, FME is the dominant technology for spatial data transformation. It powers our FME Desktop and Server software and the solutions of more leading spatial data application vendors than any other technology. It's used by tens of thousands of customers worldwide across a wide range of industries. Learn more about achieving total spatial data mastery at www.safe.com.

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.

MAPPS to Testify at Congressional Field Hearing on Federal Geospatial Spending

Reston, VA  - May 1, 2012 - MAPPS (www.mapps.org), the association of private geospatial firms, will testify before a Congressional oversight field hearing to advocate for greater coordination of the Federal government's geospatial activities, a coordinated effort to inventory the land the government owns, and a reduction of government duplication of and competition with the private geospatial profession.

John Palatiello, MAPPS Executive Director, will testify before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources of the House Committee on Natural Resources. The hearing is on Thursday, May 3 at 9:00 AM (MT) at Pikes Peak Regional Building, 2880 International Circle, Colorado Springs, CO.

The hearing "Federal Geospatial Spending, Duplication and Land Inventory Management" will focus on the Federal government's reliance on geospatial data, a need to understand how much of the federal budget is spent on geospatial activities, and the amount of duplication that exists between agencies and the private sector. The hearing will concentrate on legislation introduced by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), H.R. 4233, Map It Once, Use It Many Times Act, a bill to enhance the use of gesoapatial data, products, and services and increase the efficiency of Federal geospatial activities. Witnesses will also testify on the H.R. 1620, Federal Land Assets Inventory Reform (FLAIR) Act, a bi-partisan bill to improve Federal land management by developing a multipurpose cadastre of Federal real property by eliminating duplicative and out of date land inventories.

MAPPS has advocated for the reorganization of Federal geospatial activities, including governance, strategic investment in data, structure, and defining the proper roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, including government and the private sector.

In 2009, Palatiello testified at a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing stating "Bold, decisive action is needed to eliminate the extraordinary waste, duplication and inefficiency in the Federal government's geospatial activities, the lack of a strong partnerships in Federal agencies' relationship with State and Local government, and the insidious extent to which there continues to be unfair government competition with the private sector".

Joining Mr. Palatiello as witnesses will be Brian Raber, CMS, GLS, GISP, Vice President, Merrick & Company (Aurora, CO), a member of the MAPPS Board of Directors; Leonard Gilroy, Director of Government Reform at the Reason Foundation; Anu Mittal, Director, Natural and Environment Division, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Brian Myers, PLS,  Licensed Land Surveyor, on behalf of the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) and Dr. Steve Jennings, Associate Professor & Acting Chair, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs.

Following the hearing, the Colorado chapter of MAPPS, CO-MAPPS, will hold a quarterly membership meeting with Rep. Lamborn as the guest speaker. The chapter members will discuss topics involving the private geospatial community in the State. CO-MAPPS has been working with Governor John Hickenlooper's (D) administration on an economic development initiative focused on leveraging the significant concentration of geospatial firms in the state.

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.

NRCS Texas Adopts GTS Technology

The Texas Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is a federal agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that works hand-in-hand with the people of Texas to improve and protect their soil, water, wetlands and other important natural resources. For decades, private landowners have voluntarily worked with NRCS specialists to prevent soil erosion, improve water quality and promote sustainable agriculture.

In an effort to more effectively collect, document and share geo-referenced information in the field, NRCS recently acquired several Laser Range Finders and G700SE-M GPS-enabled field cameras from Geo Tactical Solutions, Inc. (GTS). Originally intended for Disaster Response and Damage Assessment applications, NRCS has recognized the potential of GTS’s advanced GPS camera systems to bring value to a much wider range of applications such as natural resources surveying, biological surveying and investigations, support for soil and watershed assessments, and farm investigations to name a few.

The Laser Range Finders are used in the field for collecting distance and elevation data, while the G700SE-M GPS cameras are used to geo-tag photographs along with compass heading and detailed attribute data for each photograph using the camera’s ‘memo’ feature. “Combined, these tools give NRCS field scientists and engineers the ability to capture rich photos that answer the critical Who, What, When, Where and Why questions,” explained Todd Lushinsky, Business Development Manager at Geo Tactical Solutions. “By acquiring this data, each image collected is transformed from being just a photo into a powerful information source,” Mr. Lushinsky continued.

The unique ability to easily map photographs collected with the G700SE-M GPS camera was also an important factor for NRCS. The Agency uses an enterprise-level Geographic Information System (GIS) for storing, mapping and sharing geo-referenced information. Having the ability to enhance their geo-database and digital maps with hyperlinked photographs allows users within the Agency to pull up images associated with certain geographic features of interest. Attribute information attached to each photograph such as operator’s name, date of photo capture, time of photo capture, environmental conditions, project ID, etc. may also be stored in the geo-database and made available for viewing by any user with appropriate database access.

This technology is still in its infancy at NRCS Texas. However, the obvious benefits of acquiring more complete and accurate information in the field and integrating photographic data with their enterprise GIS should continue to spark interest throughout the Agency and lead to more beneficial uses.

Geo Tactical Solutions is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that provides advanced GPS cameras, GPS modules, and photo mapping software to military, federal and commercial customers worldwide. Learn more at: http://www.geotacticalsolutions.com/

LizardTech to Exhibit at Several Conferences in May

Seattle, WA - LizardTech®, a provider of software solutions for managing and distributing geospatial content, is set to have a busy month of May, exhibiting at five different conferences.

Showcasing the company’s entire line of geospatial products, LizardTech representatives will be available for product demonstrations and to answer questions at the following shows:

April 30 – May 2 in Houston, Texas at the Esri Petroleum GIS Conference in booth number 511.
May 8 – 9 in Bloomington, Ind., at the 2012 Indiana GIS Conference.
May 15 – 16 in Syracuse, N.Y., partnering with GIS Services at the New York State Geographic Information Conference in booth number 20.
May 22 – 23 in Grantville, Pa., at the 2012 Pennsylvania GIS Conference in booth number 24.
May 29 – 31 in Sao Paolo, Brazil partnering with Engesat International at the MundoGeo Connect Latin America Conference in booth number 28.
The software products demonstrated at these shows will be: LizardTech 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. To see a complete list of LizardTech’s upcoming shows, visit www.lizardtech.com/events/

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.

SuperGeo Becomes Strategic Partner of Motorola to Provide Android GIS Solutions

SuperGeo Technologies, the leading global provider of complete GIS software and solutions, announced the local collaboration with Motorola Solutions. SuperGeo will be marketing Motorola ET1, the industrial grade and Android-powered tablet in Taiwan. In this business partnership, Tatung System Technologies Inc., the primarily authorized agent of Enterprise Mobility Solutions in Taiwan, will cooperate with SuperGeo to enhance the local sales.

To assist Motorola Solutions in achieving the wide distribution and introducing the industrial grade and Android-powered tablet— ET1, to a variety of industries in Taiwan, Tatung System Technologies develops join forces with SuperGeo to release the optimal mobile GIS solutions for field mapping applications. Featuring IP 54 standard, MIL-810G certification, high durability, waterproof and shockproof advantages, Motorola Solutions ET1 is designed to endure bumps, supporting stable computing in enterprise environments and maximum productive efficiency of mobile GIS software.

Covering both Windows Mobile and Android operation platforms, SuperGeo’s mobile GIS solutions can be deployed on various mobile devices to assist surveyors in performing spatial data collection and measurement with ease, and further enhancing data accuracy and reliability. To cope with the demand among diverse GIS applications, SuperGeo offers comprehensive mobile GIS software for Android OS including SuperSurv 3, SuperGIS Mobile Tour, and Mobile Cadastral GIS. Enterprise users can employ rugged Motorola Solutions ET1 during outdoor survey, for better manipulation.

As a leading GIS software provider, SuperGeo continually engages in GIS research projects and innovations to provide customers with customizable or ready-to-use GIS solutions. The collaboration with Motorola Solutions and Tatung System Technologies aims to bring ideal mobile GIS solutions for more users. The three-party alliance hopes to satisfy the demands of mobile applications in each business and consequently create a win-win situation for the industry.

Motorola Solution ET1 with SuperSurv 3, the data collection app for Android

More information of Tatung System Technologies, please visit http://www.etatung.com.tw/Motorola.aspx

More information about Mobile GIS software is available at http://www.supergeotek.com/products_all_product_list.aspx

More information about Motorola Solutions ET1, please visit http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Business+Product+and+Services/Tablets/ET1+Enterprise+Tablet_US-EN

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. More information about SuperGeo is available at www.supergeotek.com

Police Forces Choose RIEGL Laser Scanners from 3D Laser Mapping

Nottingham, UK - 1 May 2012 - More than half of Police Forces awarded funding by the UK's Department of Transport for the purchase of high tech laser scanners have purchased RIEGL devices from 3D Laser Mapping. The state of the art laser scanning systems will be used to rapidly collect evidence at the scene of collisions helping to reduce the length of road or lane closures and minimise congestion on our roads. Data collected by the scanners will be used by Collision Investigators to produce high quality graphics and detailed plans of collision scenes for use in subsequent enquiries and court cases.

14 Police Forces out of 22 awarded funding have ordered a total of 26 RIEGL laser scanners. 3D Laser Mapping has already supplied a number of these devices and is rolling out the remaining equipment supported by a comprehensive training programme. The GBP 2.7 million Department of Transport funding, together with police and the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) contributions, enabled the purchase of 39 scanners by 22 forces in total.

North Yorkshire Police was one of the first to select the RIEGL VZ-400, “We researched the market to determine what laser scanning systems were available and then conducted a week long comparison of two devices,” commented Dave Foster, Senior Collision Investigator. “At the end of this trial we concluded that only the VZ-400 could meet our requirements offering an impressive performance coupled with an ease of use. During this process we liaised with other forces to share our experiences and findings.”

Forensic Collision Investigator Duncan Thurlwell of Essex Police added, “We also undertook extensive research; comparing scanner manufacturers and attending multiple demonstrations and testing events. In the end we chose the RIEGL because of the speed of data capture. It was a primary requirement of the DfT scheme that the chosen scanner should reduce road closure times and we believe the RIEGL scanner will enable us to achieve this.”

Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Joint Forensic Collision Investigation Unit drew heavily on the results from independent trials of laser scanning system conducted by the Metropolitan Police Force; existing users of the REIGL VZ-400. “The specification of the RIEGL scanner was not matched by any other on the market. This easy to use device will enable faster evidence collection and the quality of data will enhance the product delivered to the Courts,” commented Gary Baldwin, Supervisor of the Forensic Collision Investigation Unit.

The RIEGL VZ-400 laser scanners purchased have been proven to provide a significantly greater level of detail and colour compared to other laser scanners and can be used during the day, even in low light conditions, and at night. The VZ-400 utilises unique echo digitisation and online waveform analysis to achieve superior performance and accuracies of measurement, even under adverse weather conditions. Achieving accuracies of 5mm at ranges of up to 600 metres the VZ-400 can measure up to 122,000 points per second with a 100 x 360-degree field of view 

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 

RIEGL has over thirty years experience in the research, development and production of laser rangefinders, distancemeters and scanners. Primarily a technology company RIEGL specialise in producing technically innovative solutions for specific applications working in partnership with organisations such as 3D Laser Mapping to produce powerful turnkey solutions for multiple fields of application. 

For further information see www.riegl.com

1Spatial Wins Top Safe Software Sales Awards

Sydney, Australia, 1st May 2012. 1Spatial is delighted to report that the company received two top sales awards at the recent Safe Software Value Added Reseller (VAR) Event in Vancouver, Canada.

1Spatial Australia was named as a Top Sales VAR at the annual event in Safe’s hometown of Vancouver. The award for Top Sales recognises the highest overall sales performance amongst the VARs across all products in the Safe Software range. 1Spatial Australia was also presented with the award for Top FME Server sales, which was shared with con terra GmbH.

Part of the 1Spatial Group, based in Cambridge, UK, 1Spatial Australia has been a Safe Software reseller for over 10 years and has been a Platinum Partner since 2010. The awards further strengthen the 1Spatial Group’s partnership with Safe Software, following the announcement earlier this year of a new ‘FME Practice’ in the UK, offering training and consultancy services from FME Certified Professionals.

Commenting on the awards, Brett Madsen, Regional Manager – Australia/New Zealand for 1Spatial added:

“It’s great to be recognised by Safe in this way. The FME products provide great functionality and benefit to our customers and Safe provide thorough and professional support. The awards are testament to the hard work of the team here in Australia and we don’t intend to stop now! It’s also great to be using our experience to work with our colleagues in the UK, supporting their efforts to build a strong FME customer base right across the group.”

Sonia Grewal, 1Spatial’s Partner Manager at Safe Software said:

“We’re pleased to be able to celebrate 1Spatial’s success with them in this way. 1Spatial have such a strong technical capability in our products and great attention to detail when it comes to ensuring the customers’ needs are satisfied with local support, training and consulting services. 1Spatial’s success is testament to their commitment to working closely with us and in ensuring our customers see a rapid return on their investment in FME.”

We see data differently. 1Spatial’s rules-based approach to capturing, validating and managing data enables customers to have confidence in not only their operational data, but also that with a location element. Even those with ‘big data’ are able to process and analyse information in a way traditional technologies do not allow.

By using Socium, 1Spatial’s cloud platform, to automatically validate and correct their data, customers benefit from unrivalled time and cost savings using a truly scalable, zero infrastructure environment.

1Spatial’s technology underpins data management and processing solutions across the globe. Customers range from National Mapping Agencies to Utilities, Defence and government departments, all working to improve efficiencies, reduce risk and promote continuous innovation. Visit www.1spatial.com

Safe Software is the maker of FME and the pioneering global leader in spatial data transformation technology. FME empowers users to confidently transform spatial data so it can be used and shared - where, when and how it’s needed. Available in seven languages, FME’s unmatched transformation capabilities and support for 275+ spatial and non-spatial formats enables you to quickly overcome data challenges so you can focus on your objectives. Discover why organizations and leading vendors worldwide rely on FME to quickly overcome barriers to using and sharing spatial data. Visit www.safe.com.

London 3D Tree Map Helps Assess Green Infrastructure

Coalville, Leicestershire, 01 May 2012 - A digital map of trees created by aerial mapping company Bluesky is helping to support a range of environmental projects in London. Using Bluesky’s tree map The Ecology Consultancy (TEC) and the Green Roof Consultancy (GRC) have undertaken a Green Infrastructure (GI) Audit on behalf of Hammersmith London Business Improvement District (BID) to assess the quality and extent of existing GI resources and provide recommendations for enhancing urban greenspace. Derived from aerial photography the Bluesky tree map, called ProximiTREE, details the exact location of all trees and includes measurements of tree height and canopy extent.

Forming part of the City wide ‘Drain London’ project, the work will consider all elements that form the network of natural and semi-natural spaces in the west London district. The long-term aim of the project is to increase the quality and quantity of green space and enable climate change adaptation. The study specifically looked at the contribution of trees to the urban landscape and their vital role in reducing the effects of storm water flooding, providing wildlife habitat and green corridors, minimising the urban heat island phenomena and improving the environment for residents, business and visitors.

“Working with London Borough of Hammersmith we already had access to some information about trees in the public domain,” commented Ben Kimpton, Senior Ecologist at TEC, “but in a dense urban environment this formed only a small fraction of the actual GI. In order to fully understand the role and impact of trees in both the public and private landscape and inform future strategy we needed the full picture and Bluesky’s ProximiTREE data provided this.”

The ProximiTREE map layer, created and supplied by Bluesky, complemented data already held by project partners such as Hammersmith and Fulham Council and the Greater London Authority and data collected during field surveys. Processed using ArcView GIS (Geographical Information System) the data underpinned the project deliverables which included a written report, maps of both existing and proposed features, workshops and a tour of the study area.

ProximiTREE is derived from the most accurate and up to date aerial photography. Using overlapping images the exact location of every tree can be mapped and the height and extent of its canopy derived. ProximiTREE is suitable for use in most desktop Geographical Information Systems (GIS), web mapping applications and Computer Aided Design (CAD) packages. Both 2D and 3D versions of the map are available and ProximiTREE works alongside existing Bluesky datasets such as 3D buildings, terrain models and aerial imagery.
 
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.


www.bluesky-world.com

The Ecology Consultancy provides clients, in all sectors, with expert advice on wildlife and conservation issues.  The team of specialist ecologists deliver sustainable solutions with the minimum disruption to a project. The comprehensive range of services include: habitat and vegetation surveys; protected species and fauna surveys; EcIA and HRA; GIS mapping; public enquiries; biodiversity research and training; ecological management plans, detailed mitigation schemes, habitat creation and enhancement programmes, BREEAM New Construction, CfSH and CEEQUAL assessments, specialist green roof and green wall advice and design.

www.ecologyconsultancy.co.uk

The Green Roof Consultancy is a company jointly owned by The Ecology Consultancy, Gary Grant and Dusty Gedge. Its leading experts in green roofs and walls provide a range of services for anyone involved in their planning, design and construction, including planners, designers, consultant architects, landscape architects, local authorities, main contractors, sub-contractors and small builders.

http://greenroofconsultancy.com/

Hammersmith London is responsible for delivering a Business Improvement District (BID) to Hammersmith; a new type of public-private partnership. Previously known as Greater Hammersmith, Hammersmith London was one of the first UK BIDs and has been broadly recognised as one of the best. Hammersmith London is a not-for-profit organisation providing additional or improved services as identified and requested by local businesses, to the baseline services provided by the public bodies in the area.

www.hammersmithlondon.co.uk

MundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica 2012 Fair has Free Admission

MundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica 2012, the largest event of geospatial industry in Latin America, taking place from May 29 thru 31 at the Frei Caneca Convention Center in Sao Paulo (SP), Brazil, has a fair of services and products with free admission.

The fair will feature the presence of multinational companies, through local representatives, such as Google Enterprise, Nokia, TomTom, Vexcel/Microsoft, Trimble, Topcon, Ruide, Hexagon, DigitalGlobe, RapidEye, Astrium, GeoEye, PCI, among others.

“We already have many of the leading industries operating in Brazil in the service area and all major national product distributors. We are currently negotiating with more international companies that wish to attend the event and learn more about the local market“, says Emerson Granemann, director and publisher of MundoGEO, organizer of MundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica.

Thus, repeating the success of the first edition, that went on June 14 thru 16, 2011, MundoGEO#Connect 2012 is expecting to bring more than 10,000 professionals, including participants of the technical activities and other fair attendees, and people connected via social networks and online seminars, which are going to transmit approximately 10% of the event.

Service
MundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica 2012
Where: Frei Caneca Convetion Center, Sao Paulo (SP), Brazil
Date: May 29 thru 31
Information: http://mundogeoconnect.com/2012/en

MundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica 2012, the largest gathering of geotechnology industry in Latin America, held May 29 thru 31 at Frei Caneca Convention Center in Sao Paulo (SP), will have a fair with the latest news in the geospatial industry. More than 50 companies will be presented between two floors of the Frei Caneca Convention Center. Furthermore, visitors who register in advance will participate on the daily raffle at the event (http://mundogeoconnect.com/2012/credenciamento/ ).

MundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica 2012 fair will feature the presence of multinational companies, through local representatives, such as Google Enterprise,Nokia, TomTom, Vexcel/Microsoft, Trimble, Topcon, Ruide, Hexagon, DigitalGlobe, RapidEye, Astrium, GeoEye, PCI, among others.

“We already have many of the leading industries operating in Brazil in the service area and all major national product distributors. We are currently negotiating with more international companies that wish to attend the event and learn more about the local market,” says Emerson Granemann, director and publisher of MundoGEO advertises MundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica.

Thus, repeating the success of the first edition, that went on June 14 thru 16, 2011, MundoGEO#Connect 2012 is expecting to bring more than 10,000 professionals, including participants of the technical activities and other fair partakers, and people connected via social networks and online seminars, which transmit approximately 10% of the evenMundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica 2012, the largest gathering of geotechnology industry in Latin America, held May 29 thru 31 at Frei Caneca Convention Center in Sao Paulo (SP), will have a fair with the latest news in the geospatial industry. More than 50 companies will be presented between two floors of the Frei Caneca Convention Center. Furthermore, visitors who register in advance will participate on the daily raffle at the event (http://mundogeoconnect.com/2012/credenciamento/).

MundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica 2012 is supported by the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), Embrapa Monitoramento por Satélite, Empresa Paulista de Planejamento Metropolitano (Emplasa), Prefeitura de São Paulo, Serviço Geológico Brasileiro (CPRM), Diretoria de Serviço Geográfico do Exército (DSG), Comitê Permanente para a Infraestrutura de Dados Geoespaciais das Américas (CP-IDEA) and Instituto Panamericano de Geografia e História (IPGH), as well as international support of Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) and the Association of Technology and Geospatial Information (Gita).

MundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica 2012 is the largest annual event in the area of geomatics and geospatial solutions in Latin America and will take place between May 29 and 31 at the Frei Caneca Convention Center in Sao Paulo (SP), Brasil. With the theme "Sharing information for a better world", the expectation is to bring together 10,000 people in the sector, between participants in the seminars, forums and courses, the expo visitors and people connected via webinar and social networks. The event is organized by MundoGEO, with the support of IBGE, Emplasa, Sao Paulo City Hall, Embrapa Satellite Monitoring, Ministry of Defense of Geographical Service, among others. The event features several courses, seminars and forums, plus a marketplace with more than 70 global brands such as Google, Trimble, Hexagon, Erdas, DigitalGlobe, Leica, RapidEye, Astrium, GeoMax, Topcon, among others. Internationally, the event has the support of OGC, CP-Idea, IPGH, ISPRS, GITA, Directions Magazine, GIM International, V1 Magazine, Professional Surveyor and Geo Connexion. The first edition of MundoGEO#Connect took place between June 14 and 16 of 2011 in Sao Paulo (SP), Brazil, bringing together over 7,500 people.

MundoGEO, organizer of MundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica event, is a communication company that since its founding in 1998, has a mission to connect and integrate the community of geomatics and geospatial solutions in Latin America. For that, it uses MundoGEO magazine and the internet through social networks, webinars and MundoGEO web portal in Portuguese, Spanish and English. All these activities bring together more than 100 thousand professionals, positioning the company as leader in Latin America and one of the world's leading companies in this sector.

LMKR GeoGraphix® Upgrades to Blue Marble’s GeoCalc 6.5 for Maintaining Geospatial Integrity

Gardiner, Maine - April 30, 2012 - Blue Marble Geographics (www.bluemarblegeo.com) and LMKR (www.lmkr.com) are excited to announce that  the latest version of Blue Marble’s GeoCalc SDK has been embedded into GeoGraphix 2012 Release.  The GeoCalc developer toolkit is an industry leading coordinate transformation engine that allows software developers to easily include accurate coordinate transformation routines in a geospatial software application.  Trusted for nearly twenty years as the industry standard, GeoCalc performs complex 2D and 3D transformations and can be found under the hood of many of today’s most popular geospatial software applications used by the oil and gas industry.

The latest version of GeoGraphix® is released with version GeoCalc 6.5 which features a new vertical height offset method, with support for various new height models including the Australian Geoid Model of 2009 (AusGeoid09), OSU91A, Netherlands Vertical Model of 2004, Danish Vertical Reference of 1990, Référent Altimétrique France Continentale 2009, Référent Altimétrique Corse 2009, Swedish Geoid Model of 2008, and South African Geoid Model of 2010 (SAGeoid2010). The new vertical height offset method even allows users to create custom offsets from defined Geoids.  Additionally, accuracy tags have been added to all datum transformations to assist users with selecting the most appropriate datum shift for a specific transformation.

Other features available in 6.5 include:

Deprecation identifiers for all base GeoCalc object types.
Read and write GML geodetic objects directly to or from the Blue Marble Datasource.
Full support for HTDP Reference Frames and coordinate reference systems.
Data Source Audit Trail to track edits to the Geodetic Parameter data source.
Support for new string formatted coordinate systems, ATS, British National Grid, and GARS (Global Area Reference System).
Updated locking and signing features on Datasource objects.
“GeoGraphix has relied upon GeoCalc for many years, and we’re pleased that the latest version of GeoCalc will be delivered to LMKR GeoGraphix clients.  This release contains many of the recommendations suggested to us by geodesists at many of the oil and gas majors and by organizations like the Oil and Gas Producers (OGP) Geomatics Committee and the Americas Petroleum Survey Group (APSG).” stated Kris Berglund, Vice-President of Sales at Blue Marble.

“Maintaining geospatial integrity is ultimately the most important single requirement for our customers. A Marcellus well costs $5-7 million dollars to drill. If the bottom hole location is too close to another party’s lease line, that investment is severely compromised, so being able to rely on accurate locations to base drilling decisions is critical.  The inclusion of Blue Marble GeoCalc 6.5 into GeoGraphix provides the highest quality coordinate transformation library available in the market” said Scott Oelfke, GeoGraphix Product Manager.

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 nearly 20 years and currently serves hundreds of thousands of users worldwide. Learn more at www.bluemarblegeo.com.

LMKR is a petroleum technology company with an extensive solutions portfolio that includes reservoir-centric interpretation, modeling and analytics software, mobile technology solutions, E&P data services as well as geoscience and information management consulting solutions.  LMKR GeoGraphix® is a powerful Windows®-based geologic and geophysical interpretation system that combines industry-leading technologies supported by a common data and project architecture. It enables an individual geoscientist or the entire asset team to work more efficiently in a fully integrated and collaborative environment. GeoGraphix® provides unparalleled benefits by reducing business risk and increasing asset team productivity while keeping IT costs in check. Learn more at www.lmkr.com/geographix

DigitalGlobe Adds Tencent, China's Largest Internet Services Portal, as New Imagery Customer

DigitalGlobe, a leading global provider of high-resolution earth imagery solutions, today announced that Tencent, one of the world's largest online communities and Internet services portals, has signed a multi-year agreement for the use of DigitalGlobe high-resolution imagery. Under the terms of the agreement, DigitalGlobe will provide Tencent with images of 350 major Chinese cities via DigitalGlobe's exclusive distributor in China, China Siwei.
Tencent offers its more than 700 million online customers a range of services, including online gaming, social networking and instant messaging. DigitalGlobe's imagery will first be integrated into Tencent's online mapping service, enabling Tencent to provide a superior end-user experience, increase its subscription base, and expand the location-based features it can offer its customers.
"Tencent is excited to incorporate DigitalGlobe's industry-leading content into one of our most promising applications, the mapping service," said Wang Jianyu, head of Tencent's mapping service. "The launch of this service represents an important step in achieving our strategic goal of providing users with 'one-stop online lifestyle services.' High-resolution satellite imagery is now a basic requirement for any online mapping portal, because it enables a very intuitive user experience."
Moving forward, Tencent will have the ability to integrate the imagery across the full range of their social media and entertainment services, including their QQ instant messaging service, which is today one of the most widely used social media applications in China.
"DigitalGlobe is honored to be Tencent's key provider of high-resolution satellite imagery," said Takayuki Odawara, vice president of Asia Pacific commercial operations at DigitalGlobe. "With the addition of Tencent, one of the world's most influential and rapidly growing technology companies, DigitalGlobe now has relationships with the three largest internet companies in China. This will give us exposure to over half of the Chinese population."


DigitalGlobe is a leading global provider of commercial high-resolution earth imagery products and services. Sourced from our own advanced satellite constellation, our imagery solutions support a wide variety of uses within defense and intelligence, civil agencies, mapping and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure management, Internet portals and navigation technology. With our collection sources and comprehensive ImageLibrary (containing more than two billion square kilometers of earth imagery and imagery products) we offer a range of on- and off-line products and services designed to enable customers to easily access and integrate our imagery into their business operations and applications. For more information, visit www.digitalglobe.com.


Founded in November, 1998, Tencent has grown into one of China's largest and most used Internet services portals. Since its establishment over the last decade, Tencent has maintained steady growth under its user-oriented operating strategies. On June 16, 2004, Tencent Holdings Limited (SEHK 700) went public on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is Tencent's mission to enhance the quality of human life through Internet services. Presently, Tencent is providing value-added Internet, mobile and telecom services and online advertising under the strategic goal of providing users with "one-stop online lifestyle services." Tencent's leading Internet platforms in China -- QQ (QQ Instant Messenger), QQ.com, QQ Games, Qzone, 3g.QQ.com, SoSo, PaiPai and Tenpay -- have brought together China's largest Internet community, to meet the various needs of Internet users including communication, information, entertainment, e-commerce and others. As of Sep 30, 2011, the active QQ users accounts for QQ IM amounted to 711.7 million while its peak concurrent users reached 145.4 million. The development of Tencent has profoundly influenced the ways hundreds of millions of Internet users communicate with one another as well as their lifestyles. It also brings possibilities of a wider range of applications to China's Internet industry.

AAG Offers Grants to Improve Careers in Geography Training

The AAG, through the Enhancing Departments and Graduate Education (EDGE) project funded by NSF, announces a grant program to support outreach, professional training, and related activities aimed at improving awareness of and preparation for business, government, and nonprofit careers in geography.

Twenty-four awards of $500 are available and will be granted on a competitive basis to support activities that address one or more of the following priority areas of the AAG’s EDGE project:

Broaden the participation of underrepresented students in undergraduate and graduate geography programs in the United States for careers and professional development;
Improve the preparation of students to work in international contexts and/or on issues that cross national boundaries or are global in scope;
Promote awareness of relationships between learning outcomes in geography programs and the needs of business, government, and nonprofit employers;
Enhance career development resources that prepare students for and connect them to business, government, and nonprofit employers.
To assist these efforts, the AAG will also provide awardees with an EDGE Career Development Kit that includes resources produced by EDGE and related AAG programs for careers and professional development. The Career Development Kit will include:
A copy of the new AAG book, Practicing Geography: Careers for Enhancing Society and the Environment;
20 copies of the AAG Careers in Geography brochure;
20 copies of the second edition of Why Geography Is Important, a brochure developed in partnership with Texas State University’s Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education illustrating how geographers are contributing to the study of important social and environmental issues;
20 copies of tip sheets on various professional development topics including working internationally, internships, career planning, and networking;
Offprints of research manuscripts stemming from the EDGE project;
A CD-ROM containing Powerpoint slides with information about professional geographers and geography careers
Various other careers-related giveaways, project brochures, flyers, and posters.
The AAG will consider a wide range of proposals that make use of the $500 grant, the EDGE Career Development Kit, and other available resources to support the priority areas outlined above. Potential activities eligible for support may include but are not limited to:
Organizing a professional development workshop at an AAG regional or annual meeting;
Planning an outreach event in collaboration with a careers center on a school or university campus with significant numbers of underrepresented students;
Preparing a proposal for an undergraduate or graduate course, seminar, instructional module or webinar on professional development in geography;
Sponsoring a visit by a professional geographer to a local high school or community college;
Implementing EDGE materials into an existing professional development course, workshop, or program for geography students;
Raising awareness among employers of how geographers are contributing to businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations;
Developing outreach and educational materials for local implementation which could also be shared more broadly through the AAG's Jobs and Careers website (www.aag.org/careers) or other distribution channels (e.g., videos, webinars, slideshows, posters, or brochures).
Per NSF regulations, awards may be used to pay for “direct costs for items such as stipends or subsistence allowances, travel allowances and registration fees paid to or on behalf of participants or trainees (but not employees) in connection with meetings, conferences, symposia or training projects.” Awards may also defray the costs of producing training and outreach materials such as those described above. To be eligible, awardees must be affiliated with a geography program in the United States and agree to complete a short evaluation report at the conclusion of their activities for NSF reporting purposes.
Activities funded by the EDGE grant program should occur between September 1, 2012 and July 31, 2013. Awards will be granted on the basis of the alignment of proposed activities with the EDGE priority areas and their potential for reaching diverse audiences and institutions.

To apply, please send a professional résumé or c.v. and a 250-500 word proposal describing the activities to be supported by the $500 grant to Dr. Michael Solem (msolem@aag.org). Applications are due by July 1, 2012 at the latest.

Amber Alert GPS V3 Named 2012 CTIA Emerging Technology Award Finalist

Amber Alert GPS (www.amberalertgps.com), the leader in child tracking and family safety, has been named a finalist for the 2012 CTIA Wireless Emerging Technology (E-Tech) awards. A product that gives children freedom and parent's peace of mind, Amber Alert GPS' newest device, the V3, is nominated in the Tablets, Notebooks and Embedded Wireless devices category amongst the year's most innovative wireless, consumer electronic and mobile products.

Featuring a combination of GPS technology and easy-to-use portal and mobile apps, along with AT&T wireless connectivity, Amber Alert GPS is the only high-quality tracking system designed specifically with children in mind. Allowing parents to wirelessly track and be notified of their child's location in nearly real time, the V3 device provides parents with the reassurance that their kids are safe and sound—without sacrificing childhood independence.

The Amber Alert GPS V3 enables parents and other caregivers to create specific "zones" around places a child frequents. These "zones" can encompass everything from a child's home to their school or soccer field and an alert will be sent to parents via email or text every time their child enters or exits an established zone. Tracking with Amber Alert GPS is also integrated with the National Sex Offender database, (updated every 24 hours), alerting parents via email or text when their child comes within 500 feet of a registered sex offender's home. The feature-rich device additionally includes speed notifications (allowing parents to know if their child is in a car going faster than they would like), as well as "bread-crumbing," which sends location notifications at specified intervals during the day. The V3 also features an SOS button which enables children to call for help with the push of a button and one-way voice monitoring.

All locations can be monitored via a secure, parent-friendly portal available at http://www.amberalertgps.com and controlled via computer or wireless phone. The V3 sends information to the portal continuously, providing accurate data on a child's location, 24/7. Parents with Smartphones can also use the Amber Alert GPS app to view locations on their child while on-the-go.

"Our goal at Amber Alert GPS is to provide kids the ability to freely explore the world while simultaneously providing busy parents peace-of-mind in regards to their child's safety and security," says Carol Colombo, CEO of Amber Alert GPS. "We are honored that our partner AT&T nominated us for this award and to be named a finalist in our category by CTIA."

Nominated products will be showcased on the exhibit floor during International CTIA Wireless in New Orleans. Public voting is currently open online and winners will be announced Wednesday,
May 9.

More information on the Amber Alert GPS V3 can be found at http://www.amberalertgps.com. For further details on CTIA and the Emerging Technology Awards, please visit http://www.ctia.org

Award winning Amber Alert GPS, Inc. is the leader in child tracking and family safety. Our mission is to make the world a safer place for kids, providing family freedom without compromise. Combining the latest GPS technology and a feature-rich, easy-to-use platform for apps, Amber Alert GPS gives busy parents assurance of their children's safety without sacrificing independence, whether at home or on-the-go. For more information on Amber Alert GPS, visit http://www.amberalertgps.com

Blueforce Releases M2M Cloud Service Software

Unattended machine sensors continue to deliver real value for life safety, decision support, and supply chain processes. Too often though, these machine sensors send their data into the cloud and then force the person who is relying on the data to go find it. When this use model is exacerbated across scores of sensors from multiple manufacturers, operational expediency and decision process decays rapidly.

Blueforce’s new Machine-to-]Machine (M2M) Cloud Service takes input from multiple, and disparate, unattended sensors (UGS) and normalizes the output into a standards-based information flow that can be viewed inside of Blueforce Tactical for Android, Blueforce Command Center Common Operational Picture (COP), or any Jabber/XMPP standards-based client. When combined with Blueforce Command Center, sensor data may be viewed alongside other mobile-based assets as well as shared in real]time on Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) using the product’s dynamic KML output. This cloud agent can be hosted on any Windows-based server platform and can support thousands of subscribed endpoints as well as hundreds of inbound sources and can be hosted on enterprise infrastructure or by an outsourced cloud service provider.

“Our new Machine to Machine Cloud Service Software delivers a cost effective and scalable solution to the challenge of capturing and sharing telemetry when multiple sensors from multiple vendors are pushing mission critical telemetry into the cloud. The software aggregates, normalizes, and securely pushes content to subscribed endusers who have a need to know”, said Michael Helfrich, Blueforce Development CEO.

Blueforce Development Corporation develops and delivers mobile and wireless collaboration and M2M software products for the national security, infrastructure protection, public safety, and personal life safety markets. More information can be found at http://www.blueforcedev.com/about-2/m2m/ or by calling Blueforce at 866-960-0204.

SuperSurv 3 to Support to Connect to Map Service of SuperGIS Server 3

SuperSurv 3, the mobile survey system, developed by SuperGeo, is going to support the connection to the map service of SuperGIS Server 3. That is to say, users are able to apply the map service of SuperGIS Server as the base map on their mobile devices during field investigation.

SuperSurv is the mobile GIS application specially designed for Android OS. Integrating with GIS and GPS technologies, SuperSurv allows users to easily collect and survey spatial data in the field with Android mobile devices. The main functions of SuperSurv include data collection, positioning, map display and waypoint guidance. With the GPS functions, the data of point, line and polygon can all be captured quickly. In the meantime, the waypoint and track log can be recorded and managed well.

In order to make field investigation much easier for surveyors, enterprises can publish the specified spatial data as map services. Thus, besides using SGT files, field surveyors will be able to collect data effectively by applying the map service as the base map instead of carrying plenty of map data.

SuperSurv 3 is going to support connection to the map service of SuperGIS Server 3 soon. To know more products information, please feel free to contact us by e-mail: staff@supergeotek.com or get on our website (http://www.supergeotek.com).

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.

Colombia’s IDEAM Selects Intergraph®’s ERDAS APOLLO to Protect Citizens

Intergraph® proudly announces that the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) in Colombia is now using ERDAS APOLLO to help generate and distribute critical information regarding potential disasters, as well as manage the sustainable use of Colombian natural resources.

As part of this critical mission, IDEAM provides environmental and hydrometeorological condition forecasts and alerts regarding situational changes that can cause disasters or impact natural resources. To maximize the benefit of these forecasts and alerts, IDEAM needs to ensure the timeliness of the data used to create them, and their rapid delivery to end users.

ERDAS APOLLO, now offered by Intergraph’s geospatial products division, is the market-leading enterprise solution for managing and delivering geospatial data and imagery. It consistently delivers more data, faster and with less hardware than competing image serving products. An interoperable OGC®/ISO-based solution, ERDAS APOLLO also easily delivers feature data, terrain and virtually any digital object in an enterprise.

Prior to its selection of ERDAS APOLLO, IDEAM’s process consisted of a daily download of 48 images from the GOES 12 satellite. Using these images, IDEAM prepared precipitation and temperature data, publishing them in PDF format. Specialized personnel at IDEAM used these data to issue environmental alerts in cases of extreme weather conditions capable of causing calamities such as landslides, floods and wildfires. They sent other types of maps generated from these periodic images to remote offices and users via DVD.

With ERDAS APOLLO, IDEAM plans to streamline this process. “We are opening access to a new portal implemented with ERDAS APOLLO, from which the general public can learn about the monitoring activities IDEAM develops to provide present-day information about the status of natural resources in Colombia,” said Ricardo Jose Lozano Picón, Head Director, IDEAM.

IDEAM selected ERDAS APOLLO because it offers a comprehensive data administration module that allows IDEAM to easily incorporate new images into its catalog and distribute them quickly. The software enables IDEAM to catalog raw data, automatically harvesting metadata, and provides interoperable CS-W services. For those images, it also provides interoperable OGC web services that can be consumed by other Intergraph products, or any other OGC-compliant SIG software.

In addition to assisting with the global efforts of IDEAM, ERDAS APOLLO will facilitate specific projects within the organization. “IDEAM is very pleased to make available a web-accessed nationwide monitoring system for deforestation in Colombia, and acknowledges the importance of selecting and using the Intergraph suite of products on this project,” said Maria Claudia Garcia, Subdirector of Environmental Studies, IDEAM.

Garcia continued, “The combination of Intergraph products has allowed us to successfully and quickly complete all the tasks related to data preparation and processing, generation of base maps, automation of tasks to create reports, geospatial data catalog creation and distribution or publication of our products.  With this portal, our users can strengthen their technical capability to design, execute and supervise projects related to reduction of emission coming from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).”

Since implementing ERDAS APOLLO, data administrators at IDEAM are able to better organize and manage raster data. Additionally, IDEAM’s data consumers report satisfaction with the speed of the image display in their browsers, and enjoy using the intuitive user interface to explore the catalog and display images along with their metadata.

Datum Ingeniería SAS, Intergraph distributor in Colombia, assisted IDEAM with the selection, implementation and customization of ERDAS APOLLO. A leading engineering consulting firm in Colombia, Datum is comprised of geospatial professionals with more than 30 years of experience in GIS, measurement systems, photogrammetry, remote sensing and meteorology. With this rich background, Datum offers high-quality, integrated geomatics services tailored to the unique requirements of each client. Datum is involved in the environmental, mining, oil and gas, construction and defensemarkets, among others.

“Datum is grateful for the opportunity to apply its expertise and knowledge to find an innovative solution that meets both IDEAM’s organizational and project needs,” said Oscar Guzman, Technical Manager, Datum Ingeniería SAS.

To learn more about ERDAS APOLLO and the other products within the Intergraph Geospatial portfolio, please visit www.intergraph.com/geospatial/products.

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). For more information, visit www.intergraph.com and www.hexagon.com

Trimble to Enhance its Office-to-Field Platform with the Acquisition of Google’s SketchUp

Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire SketchUp®, one of the most popular 3D modeling tools in the world, from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012, subject to customary closing conditions and expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. While financial terms are not being disclosed the transaction is not expected to be material to 2012 earnings per share.

SketchUp is currently used by millions of users annually—ranging from architects to engineering and construction firms to building and design professionals—for designing, modeling and visualizing projects. The SketchUp product and its vision of "3D modeling for everyone" has allowed modelers worldwide, across a wide range of industries, to express design concepts easily, accurately and efficiently. Additionally, SketchUp users benefit from its extensive third-party developer community that provides industry-specific solutions for a variety of customers.

As part of the SketchUp platform, Trimble will also partner with Google on running and further developing SketchUp's 3D Warehouse, an online repository where users can find, share, store and collaborate on 3D models. The site enables users to create collections of models, including 3D Buildings, and share them with fellow modelers around the world. Individual models can be loaded, saved and viewed in 3D from within SketchUp or a web browser. For the foreseeable future, Google will host and operate the 3D Warehouse for Trimble and together the companies will continue to offer the same capabilities, functions and services that are offered today. The ability for users to submit 3D Buildings for potential acceptance and viewing in Google Earth will be maintained. Currently the 3D Warehouse has almost two million user-generated models.

"SketchUp and the corresponding 3D Warehouse provide an important element of our long term strategy by enhancing the integration of our field presence with the wider enterprise," said Bryn Fosburgh, Trimble vice president. "Trimble has already created the de-facto standard for field data models and project management tools for our key markets. SketchUp, together with these existing capabilities, will provide a stand-alone and enterprise solution that will enable an integrated and seamless workflow to reduce rework and improve productivity for the customer. Users will be able to collect data, design, model, and collaborate on one platform. The combined capability will enhance our ability to extend our existing market applications including the cadastral, heavy civil, and building and construction industries. In addition, the SketchUp platform will enable Trimble, third-party developers and our distribution partners to efficiently develop new applications."

"Since its inception, the SketchUp team has been committed to providing a robust, user-centric solution to its community and we look forward to engaging their talent and expertise. Beyond extending the reach of the product into Trimble's commercial markets, we are committed to continuing to provide SketchUp as a free version to millions of users. Trimble and Google will also continue to collaborate on utilizing other Google tools for Trimble's markets that, along with SketchUp, will provide our customers innovative and productive tools that transform their work," concluded Fosburgh.

"In Trimble, we found a partner that will grow SketchUp in a way that best supports the SketchUp team and our users," said Brian McClendon, Google's vice president of engineering. "While at Google, the SketchUp community grew significantly because the team put users first, and we are confident they will continue to do so at Trimble. We at Google look forward to a continued partnership with Trimble and the SketchUp team."

As a part of Google, SketchUp's charter was to empower a worldwide community of users to create 3D models for whatever their imagination could envision. Examples range from household furniture to famous stadiums and other buildings. These users come from a variety of backgrounds, with a large part of SketchUp's user community coming from a professional architectural or engineering and construction background. As a part of Trimble, SketchUp will continue to support all of its current users through its Web site at: http://sketchup.google.com. Concurrently, the SketchUp engine will be integrated into Trimble's current solutions in its Engineering and Construction, Field Solutions and Mobile Solutions segments.

Trimble applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring position or location—including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilized to deliver the solution to the user and to ensure a tight coupling of the field and the back office. Founded in 1978, Trimble is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Loqate Delivers Advanced Technology for Global Address Search, Verification, and Geocoding

San Bruno, CA – Loqate Inc., the definitive source of everything location, today announced that it has shipped the 2012 Q2.0 release of The Loqate Engine to customers and OEMs. This release includes new query and search capabilities, strengthened parsing, new country identification functions, and enhanced transliteration and formatting for addresses in over 240 countries. Benefits to applications in which the Loqate components are integrated include better application control over the address verification process, more accurate results, and dramatically increased performance and throughput.


“As organizations become global, the importance of accurate and robust location information becomes critical to the success of that organization,” said Martin Turvey, CEO and President of Loqate. “In a little more than two years, the Loqate development team led by CTO Paul Flew has delivered a product set that in many cases surpasses those that have been on the market for over a decade. As a result, many software companies in the Data Quality and Master Data Management markets are making the shift to Loqate.”


The 2012 Q2.0 release is the capstone of a series of product releases begun in Q4 2011 to deliver new gains in performance and features to Loqate OEMs and resellers and ultimately their customers. Features delivered include: 


New Parsing, Query, and Format Tools to provide greater application control over the address search and verification process.
New Country Identification module to aid in data parsing and verification
New ports to Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, and System-Z platforms in addition to existing Windows, Linux, and Cloud Architectures
Verify process now based on Parse->Match->Format processes, resulting in an average of 5x performance improvement, significantly more in some situations
New caching and data management functionality for the Loqate Global Knowledge Repository to speed response time
New Account Management Facility to provide better management of address verification and geocoding transactions in The Loqate Cloud
Transliteration now exists for 10 languages and character sets – Latin, Kanji (Japanese), Cyrillic (Russia), Hellenic (Greece), Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese (Taiwan), Hangul ( South Korea ), Hebrew, Thai, and Arabic
The 2012 Q2.0 release is currently available to Loqate OEMs, Resellers, and customers. Detailed release and support information is available at http://www.loqate.com/support. More information on Loqate OEMs and Resellers can be found at www.loqate.com/partners.


Loqate Inc., the definitive source of everything location, can power applications with a combination of address capture, verification, and geocoding – all for 240+ countries. With global coverage, Loqate becomes the single global source for high quality, accurate location information.


Loqate corporate headquarters are in San Bruno, CA, USA. The company, founded in 2009, sells its products as components that are leveraged by software vendors, service providers, and systems integrators. Loqate has a focus on providing great technology along with unparalleled levels of support to clients and partners. The Loqate Engine enables software vendors to significantly enhance the functionality and capability of their own product offerings. For more information, see www.loqate.com.

European LiDAR Mapping Forum Launch Call for Papers

The Technical Committee for the third European LiDAR Mapping Forum (ELMF),which is taking place in Salzburg, Austria 4-5 December 2012, has recently announced a Call for Papers and invites any interested parties to submit their abstracts online at https://secure.smartregister.co.uk/events/Intelligent-Exhibitions/2012/ELMF-CFP/start.aspx by 25th July 2012.  The ELMF Technical Committee, led by Conference Chairman Alastair MacDonald from TMSI, will peer review each abstract and the final programme will be announced at the beginning of September.

TheELMF is the premier event in Europe focused on applying the technology of LIDAR and laser scanning to deliver outside mapping and imaging solutions in a timely and cost-effective manner across a variety of markets.  The conference is a unique platform on which to launch the latest concepts from commercial or academic research, leading-edge innovations in technologies, improved operating practices, reports on actual project experiences and to discuss new applications and markets being driven by the rapid improvements in LIDAR technology.  Over two days the conference will focus on the use of LIDAR to support transport, urban modelling, asset management, coastal zone mapping and 3D and GIS applications.  For a full list of topics please go to http://www.lidarmap.org/ELMF/conference/conference_programme.aspx

In addition, the organisers are delighted to report that, despite only recently launching the dates for the next European LiDAR Mapping Forum, they have been overwhelmed by the response from organisations wishing to exhibit.  Why such a rush?  It might have something to do with the fact that over 98% of exhibitors rated the 2011 exhibition as good or excellent!  For those that participate, not only are there outstanding networking, educational and marketing opportunities on offer but exhibitors have access to over 500 industry delegates from over 40 countries.  Being part of a 60 company strong exhibition including mobile mapping vehicles which provide real-time demonstrations, having access to the highly acclaimed programmes that run alongside the international conference and the opportunity to present in a full range of technical workshops, allows exhibitors to cost-effectively meet the major group of key industry colleagues.

TheELMF welcomes organisations involved in Airborne, Bathymetric LIDAR and Mobile Mapping Systems, including system and component manufacturers, operators, service companies and specialists in data handling and management, to exhibit or sponsor at the ELMF event.

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.”

The European LiDAR Mapping Forum builds on the successful 11 year track record of the International LiDAR Mapping Forum [ILMF], the premier international conference for LIDAR and Mobile Mapping which is held annually in the USA. With growing acceptance in Europe of the benefits of LIDAR in low-cost mapping, the European LIDAR community wanted a showcase for their fast growing number of applications, and so the ELMF was born.

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 solutions in 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.

Telogis Announces Latitude 2012

Telogis, Inc., the platform for location intelligence, will host Telogis Latitude, a forum of leading companies that have transformed their business and mission critical operations through the power of location intelligence. The conference, to be held May 21-24 at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, Calif., will give attendees the opportunity to network with their peers, share best practices with global enterprises and take part in interactive demonstrations of the Telogis Platform of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions. Telogis Latitude sponsors include industry leaders, such as Ford Motor Company, AT&T, Volvo Americas, Nokia, Travelers Insurance, Freightliner, ARI, Motorola, and Schrader International, that are all leveraging location intelligence to transform their customers’ operations.

“At Telogis, we strive every day to transform the way businesses use actionable data to streamline their mobile operations through our enterprise platform offering,” said Susan Heystee, executive vice president of sales, Telogis. “Our customers choose Telogis because of our premium technology and consistent delivery of measurable results — and we invite attendees to join us at Telogis Latitude to interact with our customers and learn how they’ve implemented Telogis solutions to enhance the productivity, safety, performance and efficiency of their mobile assets.”

Keynote presenters include:

Billy Beane, the Oakland A’s general manager and subject of the Academy Award Best Picture-nominee Moneyball, threw decades of conventional wisdom out the window and turned his small market team into major league contenders. Using advanced statistical analysis frowned on by scouts at the time, Beane signed players who were undervalued by the market but had a proven ability to get on base and score runs. The results are a benchmark in statistical analysis celebrated in sports and business alike. Hear Beane speak on these topics and relate how you can translate these successes to your business.
Scott Asplundh, CEO, Asplundh Tree Expert Co., will discuss how his company has leveraged the Telogis Platform to monitor, plan and adjust the usage of mobile resources and transform the way Asplundh does business.
Dave Cozzens, CEO, Telogis, will discuss the current state of the location-based services industry and how technology and application development are transforming industries and ushering in a new era of location intelligence.
Heystee will also moderate a discussion with industry luminaries such as Ford, Volvo, Nokia, Travelers Insurance, Motorola and AT&T on meeting the challenge of integrating real-time location-based intelligence into global go-to-market strategies. The panel, titled “Meeting Customer Demands for Location Intelligence in the Enterprise & Beyond,” will kick off the sessions on Tuesday, May 22.

Customer-led breakout sessions feature three business tracks — Operational Excellence, Executive & Best Practices, and Technical Platform — covering 18 educational topics. Topics include driving ROI, achieving operational excellence, vehicle telematics, route optimization and work management, fuel management, driver safety and insurance telematics. These breakout sessions will feature panels of Telogis customers and will address the most pressing needs of the audience. The sessions focus on industry best practices and how these leading customers are leveraging the Telogis Platform to achieve a more efficient and productive mobile workforce.

Following the Latitude event, training sessions will be offered to take a deeper look at the platform of Telogis offerings, including Telogis Fleet, Telogis Mobile, Telogis Progression, Telogis Route and Telogis GeoBase. These sessions include live demonstrations and real-world examples of optimizing fleets on the road, tracking their status against the plan, making real-time changes and customer notifications based on dynamic events, and the planning and work order optimization functions of the Telogis Platform.

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; Toronto; and Christchurch, New Zealand. Telogis’ products and services are used and distributed in more than 100 countries worldwide. To learn more about Telogis, visit www.telogis.com or call toll free at 866-TELOGIS (866-835-6447).