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e g a k c a . P y t i iv t c u d o r d p l e s f s a l c - d
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g n i k r o u w o p y e e o k
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p . S d e v r e s e s r t h g i l r l . A d e t i m i n L o i t a g i av e N l b m i r , T 3 1 0 2
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e d a r e t r o a r y P e v r u , S S U C O . F s e i r t n u o r c e h t n o d i e an c f f o
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e w o y P l p m i : S 0 S 3 U C O F
AMERICAS
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The article outlines the development and the main features of the very
lightweight small-format digital frame cameras that have been designed and
produced by Tetracam for the acquisition of false-colour and multi-spectral
photography from both manned and unmanned airborne platforms. By Gordon Petrie
Tetracams Range of Airborne Products
I Introduction & Background.
When I rst contributed an overview of airborne digital frame
cameras for GEOInformatics magazine in its issue for Octo -
ber/November 2003, it included a quite short account of the small-
format cameras that were being made by the Tetracam company,
which is based in Chatsworth, California, U.S.A. Later, in 2006, I
included the companys cameras in an overview paper that was pre-
sented at an ISPRS conference held in Paris. Now, ten years after
rst mentioning them, the companys camera designs have devel-
oped substantially further in terms of their technology, while, at the
same time, its product range has expanded considerably. So it is
interesting to once again review the companys current range of
products in some more detail.
Although many small-format airborne digital camera systems simply
make use of the professional cameras that are manufactured by
major commercial suppliers such as Canon and Nikon, Tetracam is
distinctly different in that its cameras have been designed and built
in-house specically for airborne applications. Furthermore, original-
ly the companys cameras were designed expressly for agricultur-
al monitoring applications and were used mainly by farmers,
crop consultants, agronomists, etc. While this has remained an
important market for the company, its range of markets has increased
markedly. In particular, it is one of the few manufacturers and sup-
pliers of lightweight airborne multi-spectral camera systems that
can be tted to small manned and unmanned aircraft. The compa-
nys development and short-run production facilities are located in
Chatsworth, California and Gainesville, Florida. They are comple-
mented by high-volume, low-cost manufacturing operations located
in Hong Kong and in Shenzhen, China.
II ADC Camera Series
The most basic model of single-lens small-format camera that has
been produced by Tetracam ever since the company was established
in the year 2000, has always been its ADC (Agricultural Digital
Camera). In its original form [Fig. 1(a)], it featured a Motorola
CMOS area array that generated a 1,280 x 1,020 pixels = 1.3
Megapixel image. This CMOS array was equipped with a Bayer
mosaic lter that produced its images in the red (R), green (G) and
near infra-red (NIR) parts of the spectrum. The resulting false-
colour images could be viewed directly in the aircraft on a tiny
screen that was tted to the back of the camera [Fig. 1(b)], while
the digital data was stored on a compact ash card. The camera
was also equipped with (i) a USB port to allow it to be connected
to a laptop computer; and (ii) a serial port that gave a connection
to a GPS receiver. The body of this very small battery-operated cam-
era measured 5.5 x 3 x 2 inches (14 x 7.5 x 5 cm) without the lens,
while its weight was a mere 1 lb (0.5 kg).
By 2006, the ADC camera had been re-designed and featured a
CMOS chip from OmniVision that could generate false-colour (R, G,
NIR) images that were 2,048 x 1,536 pixels = 3.2 Megapixels in
size, with each pixel being 3 m in size. Currently, in 2013, the
ADC range comprises ve different models. These are labelled as
C a me r a s & UAV s f o r Ag r i c u l t u r e , F o r e s t r y & Ve g e t a t i o n Ap p l i c a t i o n s
April/May 2013
Fig. 1 (a) An early model of the Tetracam ADC camera, as seen looking towards the top and the front of
the camera. (b) The ADC camera featured a colour LCD viewfinder and display fitted to the back of the cam-
era. (Source: Tetracam)
[a]
[b]
27
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(a) the ADC; (b) the ADC Air; (c) the ADC Lite; (d) the ADC Micro;
and (e) the ADC FX models respectively.
(a) The current model of the ADC camera [Fig. 2(a)] retains the 3.2
Megapixel CMOS array with its red, green and near infra-red (R,
G, NIR) sensitivity. The camera is supplied with a standard CS mount
that is compatible with a wide range of lenses; the standard lens
supplied by Tetracam has a focal length (f) of 8.43 mm. The exposed
image can still be inspected on the built-in LCD display on the back
of the camera [Fig. 2(b)]. Storage is provided by a 2GB certied
CF card. However the size of the current ADC model has been
reduced still further to measure 4.8 x 3.0 x 1.6 inches (12.2 x 7.6
x 4.1 cm) without lens. Furthermore it has been lightened to weigh
12 ounces (340 grams) without internal batteries - when power is
being supplied by an external 12 volt DC source - or 18 ounces
(520 grams), when equipped with eight AA-sized alkaline batteries.
Essentially this camera is intended primarily for use as a hand-
held terrestrial camera, designed for the ground monitoring of
crop canopies and vegetation although it can, of course, be used
for airborne operations.
(b) The ADC Air model has been re-engineered, ruggedized and
weather-proofed (including a screw-on lens hood) in order to with-
stand the harsh environments that may be encountered in airborne
use e.g. when the camera may be mounted externally on a light
aircraft [Fig. 3] or when placed on terrestrial platforms or
towers that are exposed to the weather. The image format-size,
spectral coverage, lens and the image storage capabilities of the
ADC Air model are similar to those of the ADC model. However
power is supplied from a 12 V DC external source that is provided
with the camera, rather than batteries. Furthermore there is no LCD
display screen on the back plate of this particular model. The cam-
eras dimensions are 5.4 x 3.5 x 3.2 inches (13.7 x 9.0 x 8.0 cm)
with its lens hood in place, while its weight is 22 ounces (630 grams)
without its multi-I/O cable.
(c) The ADC Lite model is a
lightweight version of the ADC
Air Camera [Fig. 4]. This
models light weight 7 ounces
= 200 grams, which includes
that of the lens is intended for
those airborne applications in
which weight is a critical factor.
In particular, it is aimed at those
lightweight UAVs (unman -
ned aerial vehicles).that can
only carry a small payload. Again the image format-size, spectral
coverage, lens and image storage capabilities are similar to those
of the previous two models.
(d) The ADC Micro [Fig. 5] is a still lighter weight (3.2 ounces =
90 grams) model in the ADC series with a very low power con-
sumption, which is intended for use in very lightweight UAVs.
The specication of the image format-size and spectral characteris-
tics of the images and those of the camera lens and the image stor-
age capacity are again similar to those of the preceding models in
the ADC series.
(e) The ADC FX (Filter Expe ri -
men tation) model is designed
expressly to correlate specic
wavelengths in the visible and
NIR parts of the spectrum with
particular plants; with plant or
soil conditions; or even with
certain chemical compounds or
plant canopy chemistry. The
camera is identical in appear-
ance to that of a standard ADC camera [Fig. 6].However it differs
from the standard ADC model in that it is tted with a single SXGA
(1,280 x 1,024 pixels = 1.3 Megapixel) CMOS imaging array
which is identical to the area arrays that are used in Tetracams cur-
rent Mini-MCA multi-spectral cameras that will be discussed below.
The incoming radiation from the ground passes through the spe-
cic optical lter that has been selected by the user before being
focussed by the lens to be imaged on the CMOS array. Thus essen-
tially it generates a full-resolution monochromatic image at the select-
ed wavelength. Thus it does not use a Bayer mosaic lter, nor is
there the need for a subsequent interpolation of the spectral values
for each pixel as is required with the Bayer lter. Selection and t-
ting of this specic lter can take place in the eld.
Fig. 2 (a) The current model of the Tetracam ADC camera as seen from the front. (b) The ADC camera,
as viewed from the back, showing the enlarged LCD display, which now includes a small side panel showing
the camera status. (Source: Tetracam)
Fig. 4 The very lightweight ADC Lite airborne
camera. (Source: Tetracam)
Fig. 5 (a) The ADC Micro ultra-lightweight airborne camera as seen from the back. (b) The ADC Micro
as seen from the front showing the opening cut in the front plate for the lens. (Source: Tetracam)
Fig. 6 An ADC-FX camera at left, with its box of nar-
row-band filters at right. (Source: Tetracam)
[a]
[b]
[b] [a]
[a]
[b]
Fig. 3 (a) The ADC Air model as seen from the front, with its protective lens hood unattached at right.
(b) The ADC Air model as seen from the side, showing its connector sockets and with its lens hood in place
over the camera lens. (Source: Tetracam)
28
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Currently, Tetracam supplies four narrow-band optical lters
with coverage in the red, green, blue and NIR bands as standard
items with the purchase of any ADC-FX camera.However customers
can specify (and pay for) additional optical lters within the wave-
length range from = 450 nm in the visible part of the spectrum to
= 1,050 nm in the near-infrared (NIR) part of the spectrum.
Obviously the ADC-FX system may be used as a test bed for evalu-
ating individual narrow band lters and their impact on vegetation
indices or on their ability to discriminate particular types of vegeta-
tion or to accentuate the presence of specic compounds in the result-
ing image.
III MCA Camera Series
Like the ADC series, the MCA (Multiple Camera Array) series of
multi-spectral cameras has been steadily developed through
successive generations up till the models that are currently being
offered by Tetracam. Originally the MCA camera comprised four
individual cameras that were tted together in a block in the typical
pattern of multi-spectral cameras. Each camera was tted with (i) a
VGA (640 x 480 pixels = 0.3 Megapixel) CMOS imaging array;
and (ii) the appropriate lter to produce grey-scale images in the
red, green, blue and near infra-red parts of the spectrum respective-
ly. When combined together, they could produce either true-colour
or various types of false-colour image. Later models were then
produced with a greater number of channels (cameras), each of
which would generate larger-format multi-spectral images.
(a) In its later form, the MCA camera typically comprised an inte-
grated block of four or six cameras, with each being tted with an
SXGA (1,280 x 1,024 pixels = 1.3 Megapixels) CMOS imaging
array. Each channel was also tted with the appropriate (different)
lter in order to produce the RGB + NIR combination of images as
before. The four-channel MCA4 version [Fig. 7] was 7 x 6 x 4 inch-
es (17.9 x 15.3 x 10.1 cm) in size without lenses and weighed 4
pounds (1.8 kg). The six-channel MCA6 version was 8 x 7 x 4 inch-
es (20.3 x 17.9 x 10.1 cm) in size and weighed 2.85 kg. The body
containing the block of cameras was then tted with the appropriate
set of four or six identical lenses, one for each channel, to provide
the capability of focussing the incoming radiation reected from the
ground. The array of lenses and the set of individual optical lters
could be interchanged by the user as required.
(b) Currently Tetracam is placing most emphasis within the multi-
spectral side of its activities on its lightweight Mini-MCA camera,
which is available either in four, six or twelve channel forms [Fig.
8(a)]. These cameras are designed specically for operation on
lightweight UAVs. The dimensions of the six-channel Mini-MGA-6
model [Fig. 8(c)] are 4.52 x 3.07 x 3.14 inches (11.5 x 7.8 x 8.0
cm), while its weight is 1.6 pounds (630 grams) with its lenses
already tted.
Each of the component cameras in the Mini-MCA system has a nar-
row-band lter, the particular set of lters being selected by the cus-
tomer at the time when the order is placed [Fig. 9]. The lters can
be changed later in the eld by the user. However there are some
limitations to doing so principally that, during manufacture, each
camera has been set up in the factory for optimum focus based on
the wavelengths of the specic lters that have initially been select-
ed by the user. So users are advised by Tetracam that they should
only replace a Mini-MCA lter by one that is near the wavelength
of the lter that was originally tted into that camera.In the visible
part of the spectrum, the wavelengths of a new lter should be with-
in plus or minus 100 nm of the original value. In the near infra-
red (NIR) part of the spectrum ( >700 nm), replacement lters
should be within plus or minus 50 nm of the original wavelength.The
replacement of lters lying
April/May 2013
Fig. 7 (a) An MCA4 four-channel multi-spectral camera with its lens array detached and sitting to the left
of the camera. (b) The MCA4 camera with its attached four-lens array pointing upwards. (Source: Tetracam)
Fig. 8 (a) A block diagram showing the overall concept and arrangement of the four, six and twelve
channel Mini-MCA cameras. (b) A four-channel Mini-MCA4 multi-spectral camera with the filters placed
over the lenses. (c) A recent example of a six-channel Mini-MCA6 camera in which the filters have
been placed behind the lenses. (Source:Tetracam)
Fig. 9 A diagram showing the spectral coverage of a six-channel Mini-MCA6 multi-spectral camera that has been
produced by the particular set of six narrow-band filters that have been chosen by the user. (Source: Tetracam)
Fig. 10 A diagram of the Incident Light
Sensor (ILS) which is an optional
attachment to a Mini-MCA6 multi-spectral
camera. The ILS device displaces one of
the six imaging channels of the camera;
thus only five channels are imaging the
terrain. (Source: Tetracam)
[a]
[b]
[b]
[c]
[a]
29
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
beyond this range requires factory re-focusing of the unit.
Looking to the future, Tetracam is developing a thermal-IR imager
that operates in the LWIR (8 to 14 m) part of the spectrum and fea-
tures a 320 x 240 pixel array employing uncooled micro-bolometer
technology. It is planned to be available for sale as an optional chan-
nel on the Mini-MCA camera later this year (2013). Another Mini-
MCA option that is already available is the Incident Light Sensor
(ILS). This comprises a set of lters that match those on the Mini-MCA
camera and are placed over the ends of a bre-optic bundle [Fig.
10]. This transmits the incident radiation to an array of measuring
sensors that measures the radiation in each spectral band, thus allow-
ing a comparison of the incident radiation values with the reected
radiation values being measured by each of the multiple cameras of
the Mini-MCA at the instant of capture of each image.
IV UAV Platforms
Since nowadays quite a substantial part of Tetracams business is
concerned with the supply of its cameras to the operators of UAVs,
the company has cooperated closely with a number of manufactur-
ers and suppliers of both xed-wing and rotary-wing UAVs
[Fig. 11] to ensure that its cameras can be tted to the suppliers air-
craft without undue difculty. Thus Tetracam also bundles its systems
with various suppliers of these unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
However Tetracam also offers its own Hawkeye UAV platform,
which is equipped with its own ADC and MCA cameras. The
Hawkeye UAV is a parafoil that is tted with a powered four-
wheeled buggy on which any of the cameras in Tetracams ADC
and MCA ranges can be mounted, together with the required auxil-
iary equipment such as a GPS receiver, autopilot, motor, battery,
etc. [Fig. 12(a)]. The parafoil [Fig. 12(b) & (c)] is designed to oper-
ate in relatively calm weather conditions, where wind gusts are
below 20 mph (32 kph).In fact, the aircraft ies quite slowly at
approximately 10 knots per hour, its forward speed being deter-
mined by the parafoil wing and the wind conditions only. It is
designed to operate either autonomously or under manual control.
In the former case, the aircrafts ight mission may be pre-pro-
grammed via its autopilot, GPS receiver and the so-called Ground
Control Software (GCS). This enables users to pre-plan the mis-
sions ight path; to identify the camera exposure positions; and to
monitor the aircraft as it moves along its pre-planned path.The air-
craft also contains a built-in safety feature that provides consider-
able protection against damage in case of any mechanical malfunc-
tion.Since its parafoil is always being deployed, then should its
motor fail, the Hawkeye UAV is designed to simply oat to the
ground, hopefully minimizing damage to itself, to its payload and to
any ground objects that it might strike.
V Software
Tetracam produces its own Windows-based PixelWrench2 soft-
ware for use with the images captured by its ADC and MCA ranges
of cameras. Thus it can open and process image les written in
Tetracams proprietary formats, as well as those utilizing standard
image le types such as JPEG, TIFF, BMP and PNG. The software
also provides a powerful suite of image editing tools and can carry
out different segmentation operations on the acquired imagery.
Furthermore the software can also be used to extract various vegeta-
tion indices such as NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetative Index)
and SAVI (Self-Adjusted Vegetation Index) and to display the results
in a colour-coded image format. The PixelWrench2 software also
incorporates a GPS Log Distiller that allows the setting of camera
operational parameters and the processing of the GPS data that has
been collected in-ight, together with the capability of being able to
handle KML les for use with Google Earth. In this particular con-
text, Tetracam can supply users with its own FirePoint 100 GPS
receiver, which is designed expressly for use with all of its ADC
and MCA camera systems.
SensorLink is yet another Windows-based program that provides
the capability of ight planning, including (i) the distance and head-
ing that are required for the airborne platform to y to each way-
point during the ight; (ii) the triggering of the ADC or MCA cam-
era when it reaches the pre-planned positions during the ight; and
(iii) the recording of the GPS positions measured at each exposure
station. GetShot is still another program that helps to automate
image capture, storage and retrieval in-ight.
VI Products and Applications
The various attributes of false-colour and multi-spectral aerial pho-
tography are very well known and there is no need to repeat them
here in any detail. However it is interesting to note two or three rep-
resentative areas where Tetracams small-format ADC and MCA cam-
eras have found extensive application. Thus, in the agricultural
sector, the resulting false-colour photography has been used exten-
sively (i) to monitor crop growth in relation to the occurrence of dis-
ease; (ii) to manage the application of fertilizers; (iii) to estimate
the potential harvest yield; (iv) to help facilitate the management of
Fig. 11 (a) A flight test being undertaken by Tetracam using a Robota Triton fixed-wing UAV. (b) A six-channel
Mini-MCA multi-spectral camera mounted below a lightweight rotary-wing UAV. (Source: Tetracam)
Fig. 12 (a) The powered buggy
of the Hawkeye UAV. (b) This
Hawkeye UAV is about to be
launched. (c) A Hawkeye UAV in
flight. (Source: Tetracam)
[b] [a]
[b]
[c]
[a]
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31
precision farming; etc. [Fig. 13(a)]. In the forestry sector, the
photography has been used (i) to identify the distribution of specic
tree types and species [Fig. 13(b)]; (ii) the occurrence of disease;
(iii) the extent of re damaged woodland; etc. Field scientists under-
taking land use and vegetation mapping have also made
extensive use of the false-colour and multi-spectral aerial photogra-
phy produced by the ADC and MCA camera systems, including the
information given by mapping the NVDI values that can be derived
from the resulting imagery [Fig. 13 (c)].
VII Conclusion
Airborne false-colour and multi-spectral frame photography have both
been around for many years, originally using lm cameras, before
being transformed with the advent of the new technology of the digi-
tal imaging era. However it has been very interesting to observe the
way and the extent to which Tetracam has exploited this new tech-
nology. Indeed, with the help of a large network of partners and inte-
grators, the company has ensured that the technology has been intro-
duced to a world-wide user community in the closely related
agricultural, forestry, vegetation, land use and environmental sectors.
If the UAV market does indeed expand in the way that is being pre-
dicted, then the company is well placed to exploit it further.
Gordon Petrie is Emeritus Professor of Topographic Science in the
School of Geographical & Earth Sciences
of the University of Glasgow, Scotland,
U.K. E-mail Gordon.Petrie@glasgow.ac.uk;
Web Site http://web2.ges.gla.ac.uk/~gpetrie
Fig. 13 (a) A false-colour photo of a cultivated field and an area of woodland that has been acquired by
a Tetracam ADC camera. (Source: Estudio GyD) (b) A mixed wooded and grassy area captured using a
Tetracam ADC-Lite camera. (Source: Microdrones). (c) An NVDI image that has been derived from aerial
photography acquired by a Tetracam ADC camera using the PixelWrench2 software. The NDVI images show
the user-defined colour codes; the total percentage of each colour occurring in the image is shown in the
adjacent legend. (Source: Tetracam)
[b]
[c]
[a]
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Maptitude 2013 is a personal computer GIS package from Caliper Corporation.
It provides a wide array of thematic mapping, data entry, and editing functions,
and sophisticated geospatial data manipulation. Package includes GISDK
programming tool for the creation of macros and user interfaces. A Web-based
version of Maptitude is also available. A list of new features and new data
coverage is available at the Caliper website.
By Grant Ian Thrall
Maptitude 2013
Background
The Maptitude Mapping Software from Caliper Corporation contin-
ues to stand among my favorite GIS software and data packages. I
have reviewed Maptitude on many occasions and contexts in the
antecedents of GeoInformatics beginning circa 1990 (Geo Infor -
matics.com, GeoInfoSystems, GeoSpatial Solutions). Many of my
MOOC-MOCC videos on my YouTube channel utilize Maptitude.
The commentaries on Maptitude are all favorable for the time peri-
od and state of the art then existing GIS industry. I do have appreci-
ation for Esris ArcMap Business Analyst; indeed, without Business
Analyst, I could not execute the business geographic analysis that I
require in my daily work. At the same time, without Maptitude on
my Alienware m15x laptop, my productivity would suffer signicant-
ly.
A complement to the geospatial products on my workstation,
Maptitude suits those users who require a GIS software and data
package that is not in the cloud and who work within a constrained
budget. At the same time, Maptitude is a high value at any price
point. Many features beyond the base product are available at no
additional charge. With the included GISDK development language,
Maptitude is expandable to special unique functionality and routine,
repeatable operations.
Driving Calipers Maptitude
A show-and-tell sample of Maptitude follows. A complete list of new fea-
tures added for Maptitude 2013 is at www.caliper.com/PDFs/Maptitude-
2013-New-Features.pdf. While the videos may refer to earlier versions
of Maptitude, the concepts, procedures, and user interface remain the
same in the 2013 version of Maptitude.
Figure 1A is Maptitudes About screen. You must have your com-
puter connected to the Internet to install Maptitude. Warning, do not
attempt to install Maptitude on multiple computers. Calipers software
A S of t war e Revi ew
April/May 2013
Figure 1A:
About Maptitude
And License
Figure 1B:
Maptitude Start Splash Screen
33
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
piracy protection is state-of-the-art. There is a license registration num-
ber and Maptitude interacts with Caliper servers for registration. If a
second installation of Maptitude is revealed by two-way pings or an
attempt to register the same unique software ID on a second comput-
er, both software installations will be disabled. This in my opinion is
a good thing as it allows Caliper to maintain a low price.
Caliper has designed Maptitude to minimize both the clicks from
start and the frustration a novice may have after start. A splash
screen immediately displayed at start prompts you to input the pur-
pose of the session. Say, Restore the previous session is chosen;
the myriad of data layers and themes are automatically saved when
you exit Maptitude which makes continuation from session to ses-
sion quite seamless and automatic. Or, say the radio button Create
A New Map shown in Figure 1B is instead selected. Then a Map
Wizard form appears Figure 1C on which the scale and location of
geography from which to start is proposed, including national, state,
county, city, 5-digit ZIP code level. If as in Figure 1C a US Address
is selected, then Maptitude will locate the address and automatical-
ly zoom to that location.
If the addresses you are analysing are from another country, then
the data package for that country needs to be selected when
Maptitude is ordered from Caliper. Not only do the other countries
require alternative databases, but their addressing system may dif-
fer from standards adopted by the US Postal Service (USPS). For
example, instead of the US 5-digit ZIP code, Canada has postal
codes like L8S 4K1 which requires different software code.
Alternatively, if the radio button County is selected, then a county
name is input. I input my county of residence Alachua and then
Maptitude loaded the appropriate and commonly accessed point,
line, and polygon layers for that geography as shown in Figure 1D.
Use the packaged data to create dynamite thematic maps. Examples
are at my channel, and at Calipers website. See Calipers website
for the extensive list of data layers and their attributes that are includ-
ed in the base package, data layers available as options, and coun-
tries with data coverage.
Maptitude Functionality
New to GIS? Then think of the software as a spatial spreadsheet.
GIS software provides the functionality to spatially manipulate data,
visualize spatial data, and make and capture spatial data. GIS
replaces neither reasoning nor knowledge of a substantive body of
literature; rather, GIS enables and enhances. The burden of what to
do with GIS functionality falls upon the user.
The value added by GIS depends upon how it is used. Maptitude
provides both the novice and the expert with necessary GIS func-
tionality and both may not require a more costly GIS software pack-
age.
Figure 1D: Began At County Level And Input Alachua Figure 1C: Select Scale And Location Of Geography To Begin
Figure 2A:
Probability Of A Mortgage Failure In Florida 2010,
By 5-Digit ZIP Code according to ForeScoretm ZIP.
Figure 2B: Probability Of A Mortgage Failure In SE Michigan 2010, By 3x3 Mile Grid Translation From
ForeScoretm ZIP, 5-Digit ZIP Codes. (Thrall and Capozza, 2012. From Grant Thrall,
http://youtu.be/oMOEgNAMh8Y)
34
Differentiation in GIS software products arises
from specialized attribute data, unique niche
functionality, included ready-made reports that
summarize and present specialized attribute
data, wide-area enterprise solutions that must
meet all of a multitude of differentiated user
needs, and even GIS Culture. Just as
Starbucks has its own cultural vocabulary, the
GIS industry has a culture and vocabulary that
may differ between academics, and various
technology vendors. GIS does require a learn-
ing curve. Various GIS packages may overlap
in functionality, and their look and feel is often
different. So there is resistance to going out-
side of a culture that has become comfortable.
In a government or corporate setting, those who use GIS or rely on
GIS output prefer to stay within the same culture to ease transferabil-
ity and communications. However, if geospatial concepts like
buffer and overlay are understood, and the sequence of and
rationale for geospatial procedures are known, then familiarity with
one GIS product will quickly translate into familiarity with others. I
have learned from teaching and performing geospatial analysis for
business that Maptitude is among the easiest to learn and yields
high productivity.
Below are some examples of the capabilities of Maptitude from my
own actual work.
Transform your at database le into a spatial layer
Spatial operations on data require that the data be tagged to location.
There are a variety of means by which data can be tagged to a map. If
the map object (point, line, polygon) has a data attribute eld whose
values are in common with values within an attribute data eld (either
text or numerical) of a at or relational data le, then the GIS software
can link or join the data les using included RDBM (relational database
management) functionality. An example is 5-digit ZIP code (technically,
ZCTA) polygons that can be associated with your data le via a data
eld populated with 5-digit ZIP codes that are correct for each data
record. The same is true for nations, territories, states, counties, and road
segments.
Figure 2A displays the probability of mortgage failure from ForeScoretm
ZIP. The 5-digit ZIP code polygons are included within the Maptitude
package, as are state boundary polygon, water bodies, Interstate, and
place names. ForeScore ZIP (www.ufanet.com)
is the creation of University of Michigan Professor
of Finance, Dennis Capozza. Figure 2A demon-
strates that regardless of the complexity and
uniqueness of the calculations employed in the
creation of the attribute data, which is consider-
able in the case of ForeScore ZIP, the attribute
data can be visually displayed within Maptitude
if there is a eld in common with a map object.
The 5-digit ZIP code is the attribute eld in com-
mon between ForeScore ZIP and the USPS 5-digit
ZIP code polygons. In this example, all the com-
plex calculations required for the creation of
ForeScore ZIP are executed outside the GIS soft-
ware product. However, GIS has the capability
of internal spatial data calculations such as aver-
aging or totaling the value of a target ZIP code
with adjacent ZIP codes. GIS software allows for
the transformation of the geographic containers
(point, lines, polygons) to other geographic con-
tainers that better suit the data and enhances visu-
al interpretation and analysis. An example of this
in Figure 2B is the transformation from irregular-
ly shaped and sized 5-digit ZIP codes polygons
to instead a polygon layer of uniform size and
shape - namely, squares.
Mark Monmonier (1996) writes in his How To
Lie With Maps that thematic maps based on
irregular sized and shaped polygons such as ZIP
codes in Figure 2A can be visually misleading,
especially if the thematic data is an aggregate
sum, not a proportion or percentage of the whole. With Geography
Professor Monmoniers criteria in mind, consider Figure 2B, which is of
the same database as Figure 2A but for Michigan. A uniformly sized
rectangular polygon grid is created in Maptitude. The 5-digit ZIP code
layer is overlaid with the new square grid, and data proportionately
passed from the ZIP code polygon layer to the square grid polygon
layer. In this manner, Finance Professor Dennis Capozza and I have
reduced visual bias created by ZIP code polygons that are of irregular
size and shape. In other words Ceteris Paribus Etiam Geographia
(Thrall & Capozza, 2012); holding geography constant is important.
The grid transformation is not for all, however. Business decision makers
often have mental maps comprised of ZIP codes of which they have
knowledge and intuition; therefore, the business decision makers often
require data at the 5-digit ZIP code level both as input and in the nal
summary report.
Points, lines, and polygons can all be used to pass information to a
grid. In Figure 3A I have hurricane tracts dating from 1851. Attributes
for each line segment in the vector are wind speed and air pressure.
A variety of mathematical transformations can be used when the line
data of Figure 3A is transformed into data for a grid cell via the over-
lay procedure in Figure 3B. I chose to execute a simple average of
attributes: wind speed and pressure for the vector line segments within
each grid cell. For a video demonstration of grid creation with
Maptitude, and grid overlay onto a vector data layer including pass-
ing attribute data from vector to the grid, see Thrall, video, February
10, 2010. Figures 4A and 4B are thematic maps of the derived val-
ues of the grid cells of Figure 3B.
Say an analyst with an insurance underwriter
has, using data like that in Figures 4A and 4B,
created a data layer showing the probability
of hurricane damage to real property.
Probability multiplied by property value is the
expected value. The analyst is charged with cal-
culating the risk and exposure of a portfolio of
properties from hurricanes. The properties with-
in the portfolio need to be tagged to the map,
with each property subsequently being
assigned a risk probability based upon loca-
tion within a grid cell.
Maptitude includes address match geocoding.
Maptitudes included address match geocoding
engine yields a high and accurate hit rate. High
April/May 2013
Figure 3A: Hurricane Vector Tracts Which Include Wind Speed, Air
Pressure, Hurricane Name, 1851-2010. Displayed In Maptitude.
Figure 3B: 6x6 Mile Grid Overlaying Hurricane Vector Tracts. Grid
Created In Maptitude (From Grant Thrall, 2010, Part 1: Vector To
Grid Cell Geospatial Data Transformation Preliminary To Calculating
Risk Attributable To Hurricanes In North Central Florida.
http://youtu.be/uWNrYlEt9cU)
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hit rates with Maptitudes geocoding engine, as with most geocoders,
require the address eld to include 5-digit ZIP codes within which to
begin an efcient search for location. A video of Maptitude geocod-
ing procedure is at Thrall (video, Dec 3, 2009). Maptitudes software
interface between version 5.0 of the video and the current Maptitude
2013 version remains the same.
Access spatial data layers via the internet
Spatial data is readily available via the Internet and comes in a vari-
ety of GIS formats. A strong selling point for Maptitude residing on
your computer regardless of the other full-featured GIS software it
may have as a neighbor is that Maptitude can read and write most
commonly available GIS formats. Format conversion engines on the
market can easily exceed the market price of Maptitude. Maptitude
is also for the large part Open GIS in that spatial data layers can
be open simultaneously in their native formants, and operated on,
without translation to a common format. Maptitude offers an open
door to the myriad of geospatial data offered via the Internet, some
available without charge, some at various price points.
GIS without reasoning is merely descriptive
The above demonstration provided examples of stage 1 geospatial
reasoning, Description (Wofford & Thrall, 1997). Over 85% of all
data is inherently spatial. It is what we do with the descriptive mea-
surements that matters. Figure 2B gives rise to conjectures and
hypotheses about why the high probability areas for mortgage fail-
Figure 4A: Grid Of Hurricane Average Wind Speed
From Hurricane Vector Tracts, 1851-2010. Calculated
In Maptitude.
Figure 4B: Dual Theme Map Of Grid Of Hurricane
Average Wind Speed, And Variable Sized Dot Map Of
Air Pressure Derived From Hurricane Vector Tracts,
1851-2010. Calculated In Maptitude (Grant Thrall,
2010, Part 2: Vector To Grid Cell Geospatial Data
Transformation Preliminary To Calculating Risk
Attributable To Hurricanes In North Central Florida.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBX7DdFQLdQ)
36
ure are also associated with - make your own list. So the GIS ana-
lyst wants to advance to the second stage of geospatial reasoning,
Explanation. Explain why the red in Figure 2B occurs where it does,
so that the analyst can proceed to Stage three, Prediction. Predict
the viability of a nancial institutions portfolio of mortgages by 3x3
mile zone; and in Figure 4B, predict the expected loss of the mort-
gage portfolio due to a hurricane. The analyst asks, increase or
decrease exposure, at what expected value? The prediction is used
to improve judgment.
The Buffer
It has been argued that the spatial buffer is the most valuable proce-
dure that GIS adds to RDBM (Marble and Peuquet, 2009). A trade
area is a buffer around a map object. In geospatial corporate real
estate market analysis, I need to calculate trade areas. Can Maptitude
satisfy this need? Can Maptitude be my GIS tool for advancing
through the stages of geospatial reasoning? Indeed it can.
Figure 5A displays a sample of the algorithm methods with which
Maptitude can calculate a trade area: geographic proximity or
Voronoi polygon within which a location is closer to one destination
than to any competing destination, radial distance, or political
boundary. And Figure 5B displays a drive distance or drive time
trade area calculation that is included in the base Maptitude. There
are other, much more complex procedures for trade area calcula-
tion, appropriate for specic kinds of industry and purposes. Business
geographers will be particularly interested in the new shortest path
routines that are provided in the Maptitude 2013 version. If the user
knows the algorithms, then Maptitudes GISDK can operationalize
and make the calculation repeatable and routine.
Census Tracts, ZIP codes and other polygons can be overlaid with
the trade area polygons like those of Figures 5A and 5B, with sub-
sequent calculations performed with the newly derived trade area
polygon attributes. These calculations can serve as input to support
stage 4 geospatial reasoning: Judgment.
A drive-distance trade area polygon of say three to four miles could
then be overlaid onto small geographic area units such as block
data from the US Census. Block level attribute data can be down-
loaded from the US Census web site at no charge. The overlay could
generate total population estimates by drive distance. Trade area
polygons with different drive distances can be weighted differently
based upon the demographic composition of people within each,
and the drive distance between the trade area polygon and the des-
tination. Maptitudes geospatial functions include the ability to split
the drive-distance trade area polygons while proportionately allocat-
ing attribute data values to each split polygon; this process can be
employed to capture directionality within a trade area, differentiat-
ing northwest sectors from say southeast.
For example, from general economic geography theory we know that
demand for products at a destination location is greater if the origin
location is near. Origin locations might be a households place of resi-
dence, place of work, or another trafc-generating land use. The desti-
nation location might be a restaurant, retail center, and so forth. Shortest
path spatial algorithms can be used to derive line vectors of shortest
path distance between origin and destination; the line vector can then
be buffered and attribute data within the buffer can be evaluated. For
example, if a prospective customer must pass through a high crime
area, then we know from behavioral geography that within the cus-
tomers mental map, the distance between origin and destination will
be stretched further apart thereby decreasing expected demand. A
model to predict aggregate demand for a destination generally gives
greater weight the shorter is the path between origin and destination.
Conclusion
Maptitude is easy to learn. It includes sufcient point, line, and poly-
gon data and their attributes that most users need to begin geospa-
tial analysis. The program opens with the geospatial data in attrac-
tive cartographic display, such as Interstates that are clearly
distinguishable from state highways. Being Open GIS it easily
adds specialized data bases from a myriad of data sources. The
included geospatial functionality will serve most analyst needs. The
GISDK development language allows the expansion of unique func-
tionality that the analyst may require. And the package is available
at a price point that will not provide a barrier. University course
instructors can arrange attractive student pricing for their students if
the package is adopted as an integral component of the instruction.
Grant Ian Thrall, Grant@Thrall.us, President American Real Estate Society
and President Business Geography Advisors.
Internet: www.caliper.com
YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/GrantThrall
April/May 2013
Figure 5A: Geographic Proximity, Political Boundary, Radial Distance Trade Area Calculations
Within Maptitude
Figure 5B: Drive Distance or Drive Time Trade Area Calculations Within Maptitude (From Grant Thrall,
http://youtu.be/ZfkeOYNYTYE)
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Optech, manufacturer of advanced lidar and camera survey instruments, is gear-
ing up for its most anticipated event of the year, the third Imaging and Lidar
Solutions Conference (ILSC). This years conference, held in Toronto, Canada, over
June 25-27, is drawing attendees from across the globe to network and discuss
new technologies and best practices for remote sensing. By the editors
O
ver a dozen workshops and
seminars will be available for
visitors to attend, split into air-
borne and mobile/terrestrial
surveying streams. The air-
borne stream will focus on exploiting Optechs
capabilities in lidar-camera integration with
associated customized mounts and workow
tools, while the mobile/terrestrial stream will
highlight specic applications such as geolo-
gy, mining and civil engineering.
Attendees will learn about new applications
and upcoming trends for remote sensing, as
well as best practices and new techniques for
their entire surveying workow, from planning
through data acquisition to post-processing
and calibration. They will also gain an under-
standing of how to optimize the collection of
Optechs highly precise and accurate data.
This year, the primary topics will include
enhanced efciencies and productivity
through sensor renements, complete integrat-
ed solutions, real-time displays for complete
coverage verication, and multi-sensor ight
planning and processing
software.
Esri Lidar Lab
As a result of Optechs
recent partnership with
Esri, the creator of ArcGIS,
Esri will be presenting a
special two-part workshop
on managing, producing
and sharing lidar data and
3D information. The Esri
Lidar Lab will show atten-
dees how to analyze, cat-
alogue and manipulate
their data to make it more
accessible to their cus-
tomers and empower them
to make better-informed
decisions. The Esri 3D Mapping Lab will intro-
duce attendees to modern workows for man-
aging, producing and sharing their lidar and
imagery data through an enterprise and cloud
architecture.
Between workshops, attendees will get a
chance to mingle and network at the vendor
fair, which will have booths from major names
in the remote-sensing industry. Optechs prod-
uct managers will also be on hand to talk with
attendees about their survey challenges, listen
to feedback and discuss their specic needs.
ILSC attendees will get a close look at some
of the new technologies Optech has released
in the last year. Models of Optechs Orion
H300 ALTM and its new gyrostabilized
mount, the Pegasus HA500 ALTM, and the
CS-series of digital cameras will all be on dis-
play, as well as several recent and upcoming
enhancements for Optechs survey planning,
ight management and post-processing soft-
ware. Live demonstrations of the Lynx Mobile
Mapper and ILRIS Terrestrial Laser Scanner
will enable attendees to examine these instru-
ments in action and learn practical tips from
Optechs eld crews.
To characterize the rapidly changing face of
remote sensing, Optech has arranged two
keynote speakers for June 26 and 27. The
CEO of Teledyne DALSA, Mr. Brian Doody,
will talk about the strategic thinking behind
Teledynes recent acquisition of a controlling
stake in Optech, and Optechs promising
future within the remote sensing industry. He
will also give his views on the major trends
facing the remote sensing industry, including
consumer- and professional-grade sensors,
factory photogrammetry, key markets for digi-
tal imaging, and advanced applications.
The Director of Imagery for Esri, Mr. Lawrie
Jordan, will discuss how technological
improvements in real-time surveying have
opened up an entirely new application for
GIS, namely dynamic operations and support
for emergency response and related activities.
This being the year that Optech ofcially
became an Esri business partner, Mr. Jordan
will provide insight into how Optechs cus-
tomer base will benet
from this relationship.
The ILSC will be held in the
Holiday Inn Toronto York -
dale. This new location is
directly opposite Torontos
largest mall, the Yorkdale
Shopping Cen tre, and is a
single subway ride from
this cosmopolitan citys
sce nic downtown core
with its entertainment and
sports venues.
More information and registration
options are available on Optechs web-
site at www.optech.com/ilsc2013.
New Tec hnol ogi es and Bes t Pr ac t i c es
April/May 2013
www.PacIcCrest.com
2:13 PM
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The long awaited BeiDou Interface Control Document (ICD) is here. Just a few
days after the publication of the last GNSS update in this magazine, the ICD for
the Open Service signal B1l became available. Originally it was only available
in Chinese, but thanks to the University of New Brunswick there is now an
English version as well (gge.unb.ca/test/beidou_icd_english.pdf). The Chinese
navigation office has also managed to translate their website pages to English
(en.beidou.gov.cn) so we can now all enjoy the news.
By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
BeiDou, GPS and Galileo
W
ith the release of the ICD
and an English section on
the website, the name of
the system has now also
formally changed. In the
past the system was named BeiDou/Compass;
Compass, which indicated the regional sys-
tem, has been dropped in favor of BeiDou.
The logo of the system has also been updat-
ed accordingly. The logo shows the yin/yang
symbol in dark and light blue together with
the Big Dipper constellation to indicate respec-
tively the Chinese culture, space and earth
and the long Chinese navigation tradition.
BeiDou ICD details
The ofcial ICD conrms what we already
knew unofcially; in 2020 there should be
ve Geo stationary (GEO) satellites, 27
Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites and 3
Inclined Geostationary Orbit (IGSO) satellites
bringing the total up to 35 satellites. The
MEO satellites are the most interesting satel-
lites for those living outside the
Asian region as these are the ones
which will provide the global cov-
erage with an inclination of 55
and an altitude of 21,528 kms.
The geostationary satellites will pro-
vide additional coverage between
58.75E and 160E.
The signal structure of the B1 sig-
nal is quite similar to that of GPS at
a nominal frequency of 1561.098
MHz. The signal uses Quadrature
Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) togeth-
er with Code Division Multiplex
Access (CDMA). All together the
signal strength is about half that of
GPS with a specicied -163 dBW
where GPS achieves a -160 dBW
at ground level.
Galileo: rst results
With four satellites operational, the
rst results of Galileo only position-
ing are now becoming available
whenever the four satellites are vis-
ible together. A test done by the
Munich Technical University over
a 2 hour time period showed a 3D
position to be within 1.5 meters. This posi-
tion was calculated using a dual frequency
receiver using E1 and E5a frequencies.
Besides the absolute position a phase differ-
encing computation was also performed
using the E1, E5a, E5b and E5 AltBOC sig-
nals. The results were compared with the sig-
nals from four GPS satellites in order to
achieve a good comparison. These tests
showed comparable results for the GPS and
Galileo computations taking into account that
the four satellites employed did not have
good constellation geometry.
GNS S Updat e
April/May 2013
New BeiDou logo (source: en.beidou.gov.cn)
Detail of the BeiDou ICD, navigation message structure (source:gge.unb.ca)
41
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
The results for Galileo should improve when
more satellites become available. So far the
outlook for more satellites is good. Despite
budget overruns to launch the rst four satel-
lites (3 billion Euros for four satellites); the pro-
gram has requested an additional 6.3 billion
euros from 2014 to 2020. The additional bud-
get should cover the operational costs of both
Egnos and Galileo, the completion of the ini-
tial constellation of 14 satellites and the pro-
curement costs for the second stage of a fully
operational constellation of 30 satellites. The
budget has been approved by the member
states, but must still pass European Parliament
which can accept or reject the entire EU bud-
get. Approval is expected over the summer.
Based on the current status and budget, the
afore-mentioned date of initial services by the
end of 2014 is deemed almost impossible to
achieve by experts.
An added feature of the Galileo satellites (as
well as for the Glonass K1 satellites) is the
capability of relaying Search And Rescue
(SAR) messages. Navigation satellites from
Galileo and Glonass will form a new addition
to the so-called Cospas Sarsat system. This
system, which has been in place for over 30
years, relays UHF distress messages from air-
craft and ships to rescue centers on shore. The
SAR capability has been tested on the second
pair of satellites and was found to be in good
working order. Further tests will be performed
with the satellites before they become an oper-
ational aspect of the Cospas Sarsat system,
which has, to date, saved approximately
31,000 lives.
GPS
In early March the rst GPS III satellite was
powered up by Lockheed Martin. This is the
rst step to delivering the satellite for launch
availability in 2014. The power up will lead
to further electrical and hard-
ware-software testing of the
satellite. The rst satellite is
part of a contract for four
satellites of the GPS III mod-
ernization program. In addi-
tion to the complete devel-
opment of the rst four
satellites, Lockheed Martin
was also awarded a con-
tract to produce so-called
long lead parts for the next
four satellites. The US Air
Force plans to purchase up
to 32 GPS III satellites.
The Japanese QZSS system, which augments
the local GPS signals with additional GPS sig-
nals from Quasi Zenithal satellites, has
leapfrogged the US GPS system in that it is
now capable of transmitting L5 navigation
messages. Although three GPS satellites are
also capable of this, they are currently not
transmitting the message. Initial tests from
Tokyo University show that the L5 signal is
basically robust enough to perform code
phase measurements. Further tests with carri-
er phase measurements were simulated. They
could not be performed in the eld as only a
single QZSS satellite is currently in orbit.
The QZSS system functions as an augmenta-
tion to GPS around Japan. In the USA the Air
Force Research Laboratory has awarded a
contract to ITT Exelis for research into a small
GPS navigation satellite (GPS NAVSAT) as
augmentation to the existing GPS system in
signal-constrained environments such as urban
or mountainous terrain. The small satellites
should be easier to launch.
Augmentation Systems
As mentioned in previous GNSS updates, a
strong broadening of Space Based
Augmentation Systems is at hand. At the
moment there are three systems certied for
aeronautical use (WAAS in the USA, Egnos
in Europe and MSAS in Japan). Another two
systems are under development (Gagan in
India and SDCM in Russia) but not certied
Stand alone Galileo positioning results (source: www.gpsworld.com)
Phase differencing results of Galileo (left) compared to GPS (right) (source: www.gpsworld.com)
Kospas Sarsat concept (source: www.wikipedia.org)
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for use in aircraft operations as yet. This
poses a major disadvantage as only a small
part of the world has controlled SBAS cov-
erage whilst a large part of the world is
potentially covered by these systems.
Though the SBAS corrections from the vari-
ous systems cover almost the entire world in
terms of radio transmission, the main issue
is the location of reference stations. These
are currently concentrated around the USA,
Europe/Russia and Japan. This is changing
however, as was demonstrated by the open-
ing of the rst SDCM station outside of
Russia in Brazil. Further negotiations are
ongoing between Russia and Spain,
Indonesia and Australia proposing a wider
coverage of SDCM in particular and more
control of Glonass in general.
Whilst it is currently unknown when SDCM
will be ready for aircraft use, the Indian
Gagan system is scheduled for certication
in July this year. It should become opera-
tional in 2014 and service over 300 air-
ports in the Indian region. At the moment
the nal systems tests are being performed
by Raytheon who state that Gagan will be
the most advanced aeronautical augmenta-
tion system in the world. The total cost of
Gagan is around 145 million US Dollar.
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.com
is a freelance writer and trainer in the fields of positioning
and hydrography.
Worldwide coverage of SBAS systems. Green indicates the certified area, yellow the availability of SBAS signals (source: www.gpsworld.com)
43
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ingrid Van den Berghe, General Administrator, National Geographic Institute, Belgium is President of
EuroGeographics, an international not-for-profit organisation under Belgian Law (AISBL). At the Second
High Level Forum on United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), she highlight-
ed geo-informations role as the inter-linkage between economic, social and environmental issues and
announced a major new open data initiative for the sustainable development agenda.
EuroGeographics Newsletter
Those of us in the geospatial sector
have long seen how geo-information
provides a vital link among otherwise
unconnected information, enabling the
use of location as the basis for search-
ing, cross-referencing, analysing and
understanding data. As awareness
grows among politicians, scientists,
business leaders and citizens, so the
demand for reliable, authoritative geo-
information increases.
To meet the diverse needs of users, the
European National Mapping,
Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities
are continually developing ways to increase access to data.
In Belgium, we have responded to this challenge by redening the
role of the National Geographic Institute from data producer/gath-
erer to data integrator and now data broker. This change extends
beyond national borders, however, and applies also to our role in
coordinating the production of EuroGeographics EuroRegionalMap,
which has been developed using data gathered and integrated from
the Associations members.
The European Location Framework or E.L.F. will go even further. The
project - which started on 1 March - is led by the Norwegian
Mapping Authority. It will create a technical infrastructure to deliver
interoperable, cross-border geo-information by bringing together
authoritative national data for pan-European and international use.
The E.L.F. will be an important part of the European National
Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities contribution to
the UNs Global Map for Sustainable Development. Indeed para-
graph 79 of the UN System Task Team on Post-2015 UN
Development Agendas report to the Secretary-General states:
Improving access to geographical information and geospatial data,
and building capacities to use scientic information in areas such as
climate monitoring, land use planning, water management, disaster
risk reduction, health and food securi-
ty, will allow for more accurate envi-
ronmental and social impact assess-
ments and more informed
decision-making at all levels.
In response to this, and the wider
expectations of society, I am delight-
ed to announce that EuroGeographics
has made the 1:1 million scale topo-
graphic dataset, EuroGlobalMap
available free of charge for any user
under a new open data licence.
Produced using authoritative geo-infor-
mation provided by members, it com-
prises six themes: - administrative boundaries, names locations, trans-
port networks, settlements, elevation, and the water network - and
can be used for cross-border planning, monitoring and network anal-
ysis, as well as presenting environmental policies.
The move is part of a wider package of new licensing agreements
and lower pricing to enable more users to benet from members
pan-European data. The changes mean that EuroGeographics will
sell only European and regional coverage of its EuroBoundaryMap,
EuroRegionalMap, and EuroDEM products. Individual national
datasets and cross-boundary areas for each product will be avail-
able from licensed distributors and value-added resellers.
Our members are committed to ensuring that reliable, relevant and
up-to-date geo-information is readily available and easily accessi-
ble. Many already have national open data policies and this new
service - available from www.eurogeographics.org - means users
can now also benet from a high-quality, pan-European geographic
backdrop free of charge.
I welcome your responses to this new initiative and
you can contact me by emailing
president@eurogeographics.org. I look forward to
hearing from you.
When wor l d l eader s at t he UN r ec ogni s ed t he r ol e of i nt er- l i nkages i n
i t s r es ol ut i on T he F ut ur e We Want , we al l nodded i n agr eement .
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The International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) is the oldest umbrella organization
addressing information from imagery. For over 102 years, ISPRS has carried out its mission to develop
international cooperation for the advancement of photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information
sciences and their applications. Founded by Professor Eduard Dolezal from the Vienna University of Technology
on the 4th of July, 1910, the organization was originally named the International Society of Photogrammetry
(ISP) and renaimed ISPRS in 1980 with the advances of satellite remote sensing technology.
Overview of the International Society for
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS)
The principal activities of the Society are:
Stimulating the formation of national or regional societies of pho-
togrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences.
Initiating and coordinating research in photogrammetry, remote sens-
ing and spatial information sciences.
Holding international Symposia and Congresses at regular intervals.
Ensuring worldwide circulation of the records of discussion and the
results of research by publication of the International Archives and peer-
review Annals of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial
Information Sciences.
Encouraging the publication and exchange of scientic papers and
journals dealing with photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial infor-
mation sciences.
Representing the interests of ISPRS members and promoting the science
of photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences at
international fora such as Committees and organizations of the United
Nations, The Group on Earth Observations (GEO), The International
Council for Science (ICSU) and the International Organisation for
Standardisation (ISO).
ISPRS is committed to the distribution of research results through a variety
of publications. The ofcial peer-reviewed publication of the Society is the
ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Currently ranked
third among the top journals in this eld and pubished by Elsevier, the
Journal has achieved an Impact Factor of 2.885 and a 5-year Impact
Factor of 3.435. A second peer-reviewed publication is the ISPRS
International Journal of Geo-Information. This scientic, open-access jour-
nal published by MDPI since 2012, is the ofcial peer-reviewed publica-
tion of the Society on geo-information. It is free to readers and there is free
publication for well-prepared manuscripts submitted in 2013. The
International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial
Information Sciences contains the proceedings and scientic/technical
presentations of all ISPRS Congresses, Symposia and selected Conferences
and Workshops. In 2012, a new series, The International Annals of the
Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences was
established to publish selected, peer-reviewed scientic contributions of
ISPRS Congresses, Symposia and Workshops. Additional ISPRS communi-
cation occurs through the ISPRS eBulletin, published and distributed elec-
tronically about every two months. It contains current news, membership
information, references to the ISPRS Annual Reports, reports of ISPRS activ-
ities, keynote speeches, minutes of Council and Technical Commission
meetings and reivews of books, projects and technology. Further informa-
tion also can be found on the ISPRS website, www.isprs.org.
Individuals usually particpate in the activies of ISPRS through afliation
with one of the Member organizations. Ordinary Members are typically a
country, or region thereof, representing a whole community of photogram-
metrists, remote sensing and spatial information experts in that country or
region. Associate Members are organizations representing a community
without a national society and Regional Members consist of multi-national
associations of geospatial organizations established for the purpose of
considering issues of common interest, promoting regional cooperation
and convening regional conferences. Individuals who are distinguished in
their exceptional accomplishments within these elds are nominated and
elected as Honorary Members and Fellows are elected in recognition of
an individuals sustained and excellent service to ISPRS. A new Individual
Membership was approved in 2012 and procedures for this membership
category are in progress.
Eight Technical Commissions are responsible for the scientic activities of
ISPRS. Within each Commission are several working groups that focus on
particular topics within the Commissions area of interest. During the even
years between the four-year Congresses, each Technical Commission hosts
its own Symposium in the country of the Ordinary Member of the
April/May 2013
The ISPRS Council and Technical Commission Presidents met in Chengdu, China in December, 2012 for their
first Joint Meeting of the new 2012-2016 term.
45
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Commission Pressident. Full details for the Technical Commissions listed
below may be found at: www.isprs.org/technical_commissions/
default.aspx.
Technical Commission (TC) Names and Presidents:
TC I: Sensors and Platforms for Remote Sensing, Charles Toth, USA
TC II: Theory and Concepts of Spatial Information Science, Songnian
Li, Canada
TC III: Photogrammetric Computer Vision and Image Analysis, Konrad
Schindler, Switzerland
TC IV: Geospatial Databases and Location Based Services, Jiang Jie,
China
TC V: Close-Range Imaging, Analysis and Applications, Fabio
Remondino, Italy
TC VI: Education, Technology Transfer and Capacity Development,
Jianya Gong, China
TC VII: Thematic Processing, Modeling and Analysis of Remotely Sensed
Data, Filiz Sunar, Turkey
TC VIII: Remote Sensing Applications and Policies, Vinay K. Dadhwal,
India
In addition to the Technical Commissions, ISPRS operates through the
General Assembly, Council, Congress and Student Consortium. General
policy of the Society is determined by the General Assembly and each
Member organisation appoints one delegate and two advisors to attend
meetings of the General Assembly usually held during Congresses. The
Council is elected by the General Assembly to conduct the administrative
affairs of the Society in the interval between Congresses. Every four years
the ISPRS Congress is held in a different part of the world to gather inter-
national scientists, practioners and decision makers of all Technical
Commissions, Working Groups and Sister Societies. The most recent
Congress was held in August of 2012 in Melbourne, Australia and the
2016 Congress will be held in Prague, Czech Republic.
Council members for the 2012-2016 term are:
President: Chen Jun, China, chenjun@nsdi.gov.cn
Secretary General: Christian Heipke, Germany, isprs-sg@ipi.uni-han-
nover.de
First Vice President: Orhan Altan, Turkey, oaltan@itu.edu.tr
Second Vice President: Marguerite Madden, USA, mmadden@uga.edu
Congress Director: Lena Halounova, Czech Republic,
Lena.Halounova@fsv.cvut.cz
Treasurer: Jon Mills, United Kingdom, jon.mills@ncl.ac.uk
The ISPRS Student Consortium was founded in 2004 at the Istanbul
Congress in Turkey. Representing students and young professionals who
share interests in photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information
sciences, the student-led Student Consortium provides a platform for
exchange of information, networking and student-specic activities such as
summer schools. More information may be found at www.isprs-sc.org.
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During the FIG working week in Rome, from 6 to 10 May 2012, Bruno Razza,
board member of the organizing Surveyors association Consiglio Nazionale di
Geometri e Geometri Laureate and long-time CLGE delegate for Italy, was
appointed as incoming FIG Vice President. A few days after the start of his man-
date, he gives us his first impressions and priorities.
Pedro J. Ortiz
Bruno Razza, incoming FIG Vice President,
from Italy, takes our questions
Mr. Razza, please tell us about the
challenges you will face as a FIG
Vice President and how this will
impact on your work for CLGE?
On 1st January 2013, I started my
work as Vice President of FIG.
Personally this is an important position
that I hope to be able to perform with
energy, enthusiasm and dignity.
I have always had a particular inter-
est in surveyors in the private sector,
especially young surveyors, who live
and work for their profession.
Work in the private sector is difcult.
To be successful, you need courage
and passion, as well as a high level
of technical competence. This is par-
ticularly apparent now, because many
economies are in a situation of global
crisis.
Therefore, it is imperative that, at
national and international level, we
can nd common synergies, which will help all surveyors in their
work.
CLGE in Europe and FIG, within the world, can work together, with
ideas and initiatives that will help to standardise the rules, regula-
tions and procedures that guide the role of the surveyor.
How do you see this role of the surveyor and how
it develops?
This is a role that has become historically irreplaceable and even
more important as technology develops.
For this reason, the work of the surveyor, both in bygone times and
in the present, has the best of historical features and also advanced
techniques in technical achievement and cultural development.
Also the focus of the surveyor is on the land, the property, the utili-
ties and the people who live there. All
of these are identied in the overall
determination of a modern cadastre,
based on geo-information and the pro-
duction of a universal database; more-
over it is a technology which comple-
ments and provides for the service of
citizens and society.
You spoke about standardization.
Is there a real need for standard-
ization and what are the chances
of achieving this worldwide?
In Europe, CLGE is already working to
standardise rules and procedures,
helping to improve and intensify the
free movement of labour in the world,
the knowledge and competences, facil-
itating and promoting new business
opportunities for young surveyors. So,
this is a priority for European survey-
ors.
Then, since I am deeply convinced that
this dream could become a reality, I hope to bring this commitment
and these perspectives of global participation and sharing, within
FIG, with the support of my Italian fellows, and especially with the
support of other European surveyors.
By combining ancient topography mapping and modern Geomatics
we can produce maps and specialised data sets and land manage-
ment systems at every level and for every need.
But this can only be achieved with the skills and knowledge of high-
ly trained surveyors on the land and amongst the people. The sur-
veyors expertise will be required everywhere to ensure proper rep-
resentation of the places, the built infrastructure, the borders, the
human resources and territorial development opportunities.
More importantly, the work we do should complement the recogni-
tion of the rights that allow the improvement of the quality of life of
every citizen.
April/May 2013
Bruno Razza, addressing the FIG General Assembly gathered in Rome
47
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
T
he cadastre of public infrastructure
(PI) in Slovenia was designed in
2004 as a broad environment which
functions as a meeting place for the
infrastructure owners, who supply the
data into the system, and the data users. Its
purpose is to register all infrastructures, espe-
cially for local and state spatial planning, to
prepare the database for the registration of
the legal rights (ownership) of infrastructures,
and to establish a system for prevention of
damages. The establishment of the PI cadast-
re system resulted in direct benets to the sys-
tem users, as they can quickly and in one loca-
tion, obtain data on all PI objects at a
particular location. The Surveying and
Mapping Authority of the Republic of Slovenia
(SMA) is managing the whole system, where-
as owners are responsible for sending the
data, and geodetic surveyors are responsible
for quality. The following types of the infrast-
ructure are registered:
trafc infrastructure (roads, railways, har-
bours, airports, cableways),
energy infrastructure (electric energy
infrastructure, natural gas infrastructure,
heating infrastructure, oil transport infrast-
ructure),
public utilities infrastructure (water distri-
bution system, sewer system, waste
management infrastructure),
water infrastructure and
electronic communications.
As many as 6.100.000 facilities have been
recorded in the cadastre since it was establish-
ed on 1st January 2006. Up to now we have
collected nearly 85% of the existing infrastruc-
ture in Slovenia.
The Cadastre of PI, along with other real estate
records, is also a platform for developing new
projects and applications, for example Call
before you dig, Broadband coverage or
commercial mobile application iObcina
which covers the entire territory of Republic of
Slovenia.
Knowing where the underground utility lines
are buried before each digging project begins
helps to prevent injury, expense and penalties.
The costs (direct and indirect) incurred as a
result of damaged or destroyed infrastructure
are huge. SMA has put in place a system of
damage prevention via the Internet. The appli-
cation is operating in areas under the munici-
pality jurisdiction of Celje for now. This appli-
cation is not based only on the data collected
in the PI cadastre, but also on working closely
with individual infrastructure owners and ope-
rators of utilities for the purposes of verication
and data update. The web application Call
before you dig is free of charge for all users
and was created after the Faculty of Civil and
Geodetic Engineering Institute for Public Utility
- released a study addressing the best practices
relating to damage prevention.
Another very important system that has recently
evolved is theBroadband coverage informa-
tion system. This is an important tool for sup-
porting broadband development activities in
Slovenia. The Act of Electronic Com muni -
cation, regulating the broadband coverage,
was passed in early 2013. Owners of electro-
nic communication infrastructure are, from now
on, obliged to transmit not only the basic data
about their infrastructure but also the broad-
band coverage information to the cadastre of
PI. The information on broadband coverage for
the entire territory of Slovenia has been very
successful, particularly for planning and deci-
sion-making in the eld of broadband commu-
nication, one of the priorities of the Digital
Agenda of Europe European Commission.
This project can also be provided as an exa-
mple of good practice for other EU states.
The cadastre of Public Infrastructure at
The National level in Slovenia
In this article the authors explain the success of the Slovenian PI. It results from
the cooperation between the Public Sector (SMA) and the Private Sector (infras-
tructure owners and geodetic surveyors). After describing the system, the
authors explain the benefits of their common approach and the plans for the
near future.
Nikolaj arlah, Andrej
Mesner and Matja Grilc
48
PI is an important factor in the development
of each environment and information about
it is important in the management of space.
Since the establishment of the cadastre of PI
in Slovenia, we have achieved rationaliza-
tion in the processes related with space.
Space management in Slovenia with the PI
data has not only improved, but has also faci-
litated spatial monitoring. With easy access
and wider use, the PI data is gradually beco-
ming more comprehensive and of higher
quality. PI data with modern technologies
and access methods are today accompanied
by this information practically at every step.
Mobile application iObcina-mobile is a
WEB GIS software solution designed to run
on smart phones, tablet computers and other
mobile devices. It is based on HTML5 and
supports most modern mobile devices. In
general it is used to: search for, view, analy-
se and gain reports of the quantities of ele-
ments. It is also used for measuring distan-
ces and surfaces of all kinds and types of
geospatial data (especially PI information) in
a place that can be displayed on maps or
digital orthophotos. Each citizen can access
the data in real time. This application also
takes advantage of devices with integrated
GPS systems to provide current user location
or even track the user position in real time.
The Government of the Republic of Slovenia
passed the Mass Real Estate Valuation Act
in May 2006. The mass valuation system is
fully implemented in Slovenia and has alre-
ady been used as a basis for limiting social
transfers. The new national property taxation
law, based on the new mass valuation sys-
tem, is still waiting for the politicians. Some
of the data from PI cadastre, which signi-
cantly inuences the value of real estate (such
as proximity to rail, highway, gas pipeline
and power line) were used in the real estate
mass valuation.
Interoperability and interdisciplinarity are
trademarks of the cadastre of PI in Slovenia.
Inter-ministerial projects, such as broadband
coverage, could address best practices that
can be applied in other countries in Europe.
Finally, current benets of the PI cadastre at
a national level in Slovenia are:
Centralization of and access to data (cen-
trally accessible basic information about
all kinds of networks and facilities of PI),
Interoperability and interdisciplinarity (all
information about the occupancy of
space),
Indicator to stakeholders and owners (the
possibility of obtaining more detailed
information about PI),
Analytical power to examine policy issu-
es and options in a variety of contexts
(support processes of spatial planning,
environmental assessments, and spatial
analyses of data monitoring):
Making strategic and operational spa-
tial planning documents,
Building land and municipal tax,
Basis for the mass appraisal of real
estate,
Implementation of spatial policy ins-
truments,
Basis for prevention costs and dama-
ges Call Before you dig,
Basis for the Broadband coverage
investment....
Foundation for a database for all com-
mercial mobile applications.
Our plan for the future is to try to improve
the positional accuracy of data in the PI cad-
astre. We practice geodetic surveying
methods where there is reconstruction and
replacement of infrastructure currently under-
way. In other cases we use non-invasive
methods such as GPR (ground penetrating
radar). In the end our ultimate goal is to
record the complete ownership of the infrast-
ructure which we are hoping will happen
within the next few years.
April/May 2013
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April
17-19 April International Forum Integrated
Geospatial Solutions - the Future of Information
Technologies
Atlas Park-Hotel, Moscow, Russia
Internet: www.sovzondconference.ru/2013/eng
21-23 April Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event
(JURSE 2013)
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Internet: www.inpe.br/jurse2013
23-25 April ENC 2013 The European Navigation
Conference
Vienna, Austria
Internet: www.enc2013.org
25-26 April 3D Documentation Conference
Marina Mandarin Hotel, Singapore
Internet: www.3d-documentation-conference-2013.com
May
01-02 May GEO-South
Holiday Inn, Elstree, U.K.
Internet: www.pvpubs.com/events.php
13-16 May Geospatial World Forum
Beurs/World Trade Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
E-mail: info@geospatialworldforum.org
Internet: www.geospatialworldforum.org
13-16 May Be Together 2013, The Bentley
Institute International LEARNing Conference
Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
Internet: www.bentley.com
14-15 May MapInfo Professional Foundation Level
Training Course
CDR Group, Hope, Derbyshire, U.K.
E-mail: sales@cdrgroup.co.uk
Internet: www.cdrgroup.co.uk/train_mi2info.htm
15-17 May The fourth China Satellite Navigation
Conference (CSNC 2013)
Wuhan, China
Internet: www.beidou.org/english/news.asp
21-22 May Location Intelligence + Oracle Spatial
and Graph User Conferences 2013
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center,
Washington, D.C.
Internet: www.oracle.com
21-24 May ISPRS Workshop High-Resolution
Earth Imaging for Geospatioal Information
Hannover, Germany
Internet: www.ipi.uni-hannover.de/isprs_hannover
2013.html
22-24 May FOSS4G North America 2013
Marriott City Center, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.
Internet: http://foss4g-na.org
29-31 May UDMS 2013, 29TH Urban Data
Management Symposium
University College London, London, U.K.
E-mail: info@udms.net
Internet: www.udms.net
June
03-06 June Hexagon 2013 (ERDAS, Intergraph,
Leica, Metrology)
Las Vegas, NV, U.S.A.
Internet: http://2012.hexagonconference.com
03-06 June 33rd EARSeL Symposium Towards
Horizon 2020: Earth Observation and Social
Perspectives
Matera, Italy
Internet: www.earsel.org/symposia/2013-symposium-
Matera or www.earsel.org/welcome.html
03-07 June 11th Vespucci Institute Ontologies
and models for integrated assessments of multi-
ple-scale processes
Fiesole, Italy
E-mail: info@vespucci.org
Internet: www.vespucci.org
04 June 4th EARSeL Workshop on Remote Sensing
in Education and Training
Matera, Italy
Internet: www.earsel.org/SIG/ET/4th-workshop/index.php
06-07 June 4th EARSeL Workshop on Natural and
Cultural Heritage
Matera, Italy
Internet: www.earsel.org/SIG/NCH/4th-workshop/ -
index.php
06-07 June 6th EARSeL Workshop on Remote
Sensing of the Coastal Zone
Matera, Italy
Internet: www.earsel.org/SIG/CZ/6th-workshop/ -
index.php
08-09 June State of the Map US
Mission Bay Conference Center, San Francisco, CA,
U.S.A.
Internet: http://stateofthemap.us
10 June OpenStreetMap Professional Large Users
Summit
Marriott Union Square, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
Internet: www.eventbrite.com/event/5882802621#
11-12 June MapInfo Professional Advanced Level
Training Course
CDR Group, Hope, Derbyshire, U.K.
E-mail: sales@cdrgroup.co.uk
Internet: www.cdrgroup.co.uk/train_mi3info.htm
12-14 June FOSSGIS 2013
Gelnde der HSR Hochschule fr Technik, Rapperswil,
Switzerland
Internet: www.fossgis.de/konferenz/2013
16-22 June 13th International Multidisciplinary
Scientic GeoConference & EXPO SGEM2013
Albena Resort & SPA, Bulgaria
E-mail: sgem@sgem.org
Internet: www.sgem.org
18-20 June MundoGEO#Connect LatinAmerica
2013
So Paulo, Brasil
Internet: http://mundogeoconnect.com
23-27 June INSPIRE Conference 2013
Florence, Italy
Internet: http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu/events/confer-
ences/inspire_2013
25-26 June MapInfo Professional Foundation Level
Training Course
CDR Group, Hope, Derbyshire, U.K.
E-mail: sales@cdrgroup.co.uk
Internet: www.cdrgroup.co.uk/train_mi2info.htm
25-27 June ILSC 2013, 3rd Imaging and Lidar
Solutions Conference
Holiday Inn Toronto Yorkdale, Toronto, Canada
Internet: www.optech.com/ilsc2013
25-27 June RIEGL International Airborne, Mobile,
Terrestrial, and Industrial User Conference 2013
Marriott, Vienna, Austria
E-mail: userconference2013@rieglusa.com
Internet: www.riegl.com
July
02-05 July GI_Forum 2013
Salzburg, Austria
Internet: www.gi-forum.org
07-11 July The 9th European Conference on
Precision Agriculture
Lleida, Catalonia, Spain
Internet: www.ecpa2013.udl.cat/registration_acomoda-
tion.html
08-12 July Esri International User Conference
San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, U.S.A.
Internet: www.esri.com/events
23-24 July MapInfo Professional Foundation Level
Training Course
CDR Group, Hope, Derbyshire, U.K.
E-mail: sales@cdrgroup.co.uk
Internet: www.cdrgroup.co.uk/train_mi2info.htm
August
13-14 August MapInfo Professional Foundation
Level Training Course
CDR Group, Hope, Derbyshire, U.K.
E-mail: sales@cdrgroup.co.uk
Internet: www.cdrgroup.co.uk/train_mi2info.htm
25-29 August SPIE Optics + Photonics 2013
San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.
Internet: http://spie.org/optics-photonics.xml?WT.mc_ -
id=RCal-OPW
25-30 August 26th International Cartographic
Conference
Dresden, Germany
E-mail: manfred.buchroithner@tu-dresden.de
Internet: www.icc2013.org
September
04-06 September Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in
Geomatics (UAV-g)
Rostock University, Rostock, Germany
Internet: www.uav-g.org
04-06 September RSPSoc 2013
Glasgow, U.K.
E-mail: rspsoc@nottingham.ac.uk
Internet: www.rspsoc.org
Please feel free to e-mail your calendar notices to: calendar@geoinformatics.com
DATEM Systems www.datem.com 8
ERDAS www.erdas.com 30
Esri www.esri.com 9
Geneq www.geneq.com 35
Global Geo Supplies www.soft-mouse-3D.com 17
HEXAGON 2013 www.hexagonconference.com/geo 49
Leica Geosystems www.leica-geosystems.com 13
Microsoft UltraCam www.iFlyUltraCam.com 37
Microsoft UltraCam www.UltraCamOsprey.com 2
Optech www.optech.com 45, 51
Ordnance Survey www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk 23
Pacic Crest www.paciccrest.com 39
Racurs www.racurs.ru/France2013 42
Riegl www.riegllidar.com 31
Spectra Precision www.spectraprecision.com 25, 52
Advertisers Index
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April/May 2013
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Rue Thomas Edison
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