Bridging the Gap between Geospatial and Construction

There is certainly a gap in information exchange between the geospatial and construction domains. This is a serious issue, mainly because geospatial systems and engineering surveys are not yet aligned and integrated with building information modelling (BIM). The BIM method is expected to move construction activities from plan-based individual work to model-based collaboration. Such a paradigm shift will bring huge opportunities regarding planning, building and management of the built environment in a more productive, open and sustainable way. Although it is still difficult to entirely close the gap between these two fields, this article shows how that gap can at... (read more)

2020-02-14 09:44:12

Scotland Joins the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement

The first collective geospatial agreement for Great Britain, allowing the public sector from England, Wales and Scotland to access Ordnance Survey (OS) geospatial data and expertise, has been achieved. The Scottish Government and Geospatial Commission have agreed that from 19 May 2020, Scotland is a part of the recently launched Public Sector Geospatial Agreement. This national agreement will now replace the current One Scotland Mapping Agreement (OSMA) and the Greenspace Scotland contracts. Scottish Government users, made up of 146 member organisations of the OSMA, will now access OS data and expertise via the PSGA. They will join Public Sector Members from... (read more)

2020-05-27 08:59:01

Effective Use of Geospatial Big Data

Server Solutions Hold the Key

To deal with today's unprecedented quantities of big data, mission-critical geospatial analysis systems require purposely designed software that has been tested in the most demanding environments. The heart of any geospatial analysis system, regardless of its location or configuration, is increasingly becoming the server. All systems face a similar challenge, whether the system is in the ‘cloud’, a secure data centre or on a single machine running in an office. This challenge is primarily the ability to deal with the ever-increasing quantities and variety of data the world now produces at an unprecedented rate. This article explains how, for mission-critical... (read more)

2017-11-01 11:45:06

A New Reality for Geospatial Professionals

Mixed-reality Tools Reveal Practical Advantages on the Worksite

For those who believe mixed-reality solutions are still pie-in-the-sky technology for gamers and super nerds, it may be time to reconsider. Analysts believe we have reached a tipping point in the evolution of virtual and mixed-reality solutions, with enterprise adoption now outpacing consumer markets like gaming and entertainment. According to a recent report by IDC, manufacturing and construction are the two biggest enterprise adopters. This article explores how mixed reality will help surveyors expand their services and gain the flexibility and agility needed to drive more efficient everyday operations. Mixed-reality solutions merge real and virtual worlds to create brand-new environments... (read more)

2018-07-13 03:35:29

Geospatial Prospects for the New Year

2018 is now upon us and promises to be interesting for everyone, with Brexit looming and an unstable economic and political situation, but there are encouraging developments as well. For geospatial surveyors, the rate of technical innovation will provide excitement. Rapid development of BIM, artificial intelligence (AI), drones and smart cities will keep everyone on their toes, and threats such as theft of instruments will require attention. This issue of GW covers many of these topics. Our theme is laser scanning and UAVs, and the keynote article by Mathias Lemmens reviews the current state of the art in point cloud... (read more)

2018-01-15 10:34:00

Events, Statistics, Geospatial Data and the UN

The FIG Working Week in Helsinki was well organised, well attended and achieved by collaboration. So is much else in the geospatial business. Jointly organized by FIG and the two Finnish members of FIG and the National Land Survey of Finland, the working week was a substantial amount of good technical and strategic papers and presentations, as well as a strong cultural element. In the UK, GEO Business demonstrated the diversity, health and general state of our industry and profession. In the UK, there are concerns affecting the industry from austerity to “Brexit”. These are ongoing and largely out of... (read more)

2017-07-04 12:40:42

Geospatial Modelling and Rights to Light

GW reports on last November’s RICS fascinating lecture by Andrew D. Thompson on how geomatics measurement techniques are being used in rights to light cases. Ever since man first began to live in clusters of buildings with windows there must surely have begun a test of neighbourliness. Don’t build too near my property and don’t obscure my view, would have been an early test of relations. In today’s highly developed and complex world we have necessarily developed highly sophisticated software tools, legislation, tables and guides to solve these problems. Andrew D. Thompson is a chartered surveyor who has specialised in... (read more)

2017-01-16 12:11:12

RIEGL Display at Geospatial World Forum 2017

This past week at Geospatial World Forum 2017 in Hyderabad, India, RIEGL displayed some of the latest products for terrestrial, mobile, airborne and UAV-based laser scanning, in cooperation with their distribution partner for India, MeaTech Solutions (www.meatechsolutions.com). RIEGL’s survey-grade UAV LiDAR platform, the RiCOPTER, was one of the highlights at the show and attracted many visitors to the booth. Several RIEGL presentations held during the conference discussed the industry-leading performance of RIEGL’s Waveform-LiDAR technology and how it is able to contribute to various surveying challenges in applications such as topographic mapping, hydrography, 3D city modeling, or first-responder support via high... (read more)

2017-02-01 01:07:42

UK Government Announces New Geospatial Commission

In his budget on 22 November, the Chancellor announced a new Geospatial Commission which is committed "to maximise the value of all UK government data linked to location, and to create jobs and growth in a modern economy." The Commission will work with government and the Ordnance Survey (OS) to work out how Mastermap can be made freely available, particularly to small businesses. The announcement is a further boost to the UK’s status as a world leader in digital innovation and is a recognition that there are many services dependent on location and that databases of geospatial information are used,... (read more)

2018-01-15 10:43:35

The Way Forward with the Geospatial Commission

By the time you read this, we will be into the 2018/19 evening lecture sessions. These evening events are a real fulcrum of interaction, geospatial market insight, outreach and a coming together of professionals from across our sectors. In many ways a display of RICS ‘soft’ power, the power to influence. The first two lectures feature the national and international focus of RICS Geomatics. William Priest from the Geospatial Commission gave the first lecture in October and Clarissa Augustinus ex-head of UN Habitat GLTN will give the second lecture on 29 November. Clarissa's lecture is previewed in this issue of... (read more)

2018-11-08 12:23:34