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Magaz i ne f or Sur veyi ng, Mappi ng & GI S Pr of es s i onal s
December 2008
Volume 11
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This is only the Beginning
A quick glance at the table of contents in this issue shows a focus on laser scanning.
In sunny California, I was present at the Leica High Definition Surveying and Airborn Sensor
User Conference 2008 and witnessed many inspiring and informative user stories from all
over the world. Some of those stories you will find in this and in subsequent issues of
GeoInformatics. Two things struck me at this conference. The first was the successful integra-
tion of scanning hardware and software into an industry that is so diverse. And the second
was the creativity with which laser scanners are now being used. Almost every speaker
stressed the importance of software products that give highly detailed views of scanned
objects for their customers. Also, with the growing popularity of scanners, new markets are
emerging for products in fields such as forensics and archaeology. This is good news for
companies who are facing the current downturn in the global economy and have to change
their market strategies.
Continuing the laser scanning theme we included some interesting user stories. On the cover
you can see spectacular gypsum crystals, some of which are up to 12 meters in length. In
the accompanying article from Virtualgeo, you can read how the process of surveying and
modelling caves in Mexico has been successfully undertaken. Cultural heritage projects are
a different, but still very interesting field in which laser scanning and photogrammetric
methodologies are being used. The article on Heritage 3D presents an extensive analysis
of how 2D and 3D techniques can be merged and how laser scanning can be used for
archaeology projects. And this is only the beginning...
Enjoy your reading,
Eric van Rees
evanrees@geoinformatics.com
December 2008
3
GeoInformatics provides coverage, analysis and
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James Fee
Contributing Writers
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Gerald Albe
Erminio Paolo Canevese
Mario Carrera
Andrew Connell
Laura Daz
Annett Feige
Paolo Forti
Hermann Klug
Lambert-Jan Koops
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
Robert Marschallinger
Caradoc Peters
Lon van der Poel
Adam P. Spring
Remco Takken
Roberta Tedeschi
Trisha Twiss
Andrew Wetherelt
Robert Wick
Peter Zeil
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Account Manager
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wwesterhof@geoinformatics.com
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c r o s s m e d i a l p u b l i s h e r
Scanning the Caves of Naica in Mexico
The mine of Naica, in Chihuahua, Mexico became world famous at the
beginning of the last century when gypsum crystals found there proved
to be the largest in the world at that time. In 2005 an international
program was launched to study all the scientific aspects related to
the gypsum crystals. Particularly important was verification by
the Italian company Virtualgeo, as to the possibility of sur-
veying the caves with laser scanning technology, with the
intention of generating a three-dimensional digital model
of the Cueva de los Cristales with the proprietary soft-
ware CloudCUBE.
Multi-brand Test
Robotic Total Stations Part 3
GeoInformatics is presenting a new series on user
tests of robotic total stations. Each of the next sev-
eral issues will include the results of testing a dif-
ferent robotic station. The same structure will be
used for every test so that comparisons can be made
between the different instruments. This, the third test in
the series, is of a Leica TCRP1201+.
C o n t e n t
December 2008
Articles
Laser Scanning Technology in Extreme Environments 6
Scanning the Caves of Naica in Mexico
A new generation from Jena 18
Instruments and Solutions for Earth Observation
The most recent version of the Internet 24
What exactly is Web 2.0?
Magellans latest GPS Tools 26
Making Forest Management simpler and less costly
GNSS Update 30
Solar Cycle and beyond
Spatially Explicit Modeling of Phosphorus Emissions 32
Integrating GIS and Remote Sensing
for Hydrological Modeling
Open Source in Spain: the gvSIG Project 36
A GIS Desktop Solution for an Open SDI
GeoBIM 40
Subsurface Geo Building Information Modelling
3D Laser Scanning and its 2D Partners 50
Looking forward to a Harmonious Future together
Page 6
Page 14
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
5
December 2008
On the Cover:
A general overview of the Cueva de los Cristales (Mexico). In 2005 an inter-
national program was launched to study all the scientific aspects related to
the gypsum crystals inside the cave. Among them, particularly important was
the verification, by the Italian company Virtualgeo, of the possibility to survey
the caves with laser scanning technology and the realization of the three-
dimensional digital model of the Cueva de los Cristales with the proprietary
software CloudCUBE (see article, page 6).
Photo credit: Roberta Tedeschi, Speleoresearch & Films and La Venta Exploring Team Archives.
Subsurface Geo Building Information
Modelling
In most geotechnical or construction projects civil engineers have to
conscientiously consider both technical subsurface objects and natural
bedrock objects. From a civil engineers perspective, there is an urgent
need to extend the Building Information Model concept to the subsurface
realm, incorporating the surrounding natural environment.
Page 6
Magellans latest GPS Tools
The latest GIS and GPS technologies are offering new efficiencies for land
managers. Forest and woodlot property mapping and management are
increasingly more accurate and less time-consuming tasks with the newest
handheld GPS receivers. Now field teams can accurately map and
inventory more types of data in less time to permit land managers to
maintain up-to-date and comprehensive resource data. The rugged
all-in-one quality of the new handheld Magellan MobileMapper CX GIS/GPS
receiver is proving especially valuable to land managers in both Europe
and the United States.
Page 26
Implementing Geocortex Esstials 56
Migrating Vernons existing Mapping Platform
GeoVisionary 58
Where Virtual Reality Technology meets GIS
Product Review
Leica TPS 1200+ 14
Multi-brand Test Robotic Total Stations Part 3
Columns
Data Discovery 55
By James Fee
Conferences
Biggest GIS Event outside of the US 44
ESRIs EMEA User Conference in London
Leica Geosystems HDS and Airborne 46
Sensor User Conference
Sharing Worldwide User Experiences
Calendar 62
Advertisers Index 62
Page 40
Scanning the Caves of Naica in Mexico
Laser Scanni ng Technol ogy i n
Ext reme Envi ronment s
The mine of Naica, in Chihuahua, Mexico became world famous at the beginning of the last century when gypsum crystals
found there proved to be the largest in the world at that time. In 2001, three new caves were discovered in the same mine
containing truly gigantic gypsum crystals. In 2005 an international program was launched to study all the scientific
aspects related to the gypsum crystals. Particularly important was verification by the Italian company Virtualgeo, as to the
possibility of surveying the caves with laser scanning technology, with the intention of generating a three-dimensional
digital model of the Cueva de los Cristales with the proprietary software CloudCUBE.
By Erminio Paolo Canevese, Roberta Tedeschi and Paolo Forti.
such an extraordinary site. However, for the
past two years a multidisciplinary, systematic
study on the caves of Naica and their gigan-
tic gypsum crystals, has been underway,
thanks to an agreement between Compagnia
Peoles, the mine owner, Speleoresearch &
Films from Mexico City and the Italian explor-
ing team La Venta.
The purpose of the project, which will last four
years, is not just to carry out multidisciplinary
research in the various fields of interest con-
cerning the caves, but also to search for a
are exhibited today in many of the most
important mineralogical museums around the
world.
After almost 100 years, 170 meters below the
surface, the mining advancement works
discovered another three natural cavities
containing huge, very transparent gypsum
crystals. Here in the Cueva de los Cristales,
they can reach up to 12 meters in length and
almost 2 meters in diameter, creating a true
forest of crystals (Image 1).
From 2001 to 2008 few persons could visit
Since the beginning of its exploitation at the
end of 19th century, the mine of Naica has
been revealed to be one of the richest in sil-
ver on earth. Its international fame increased
in 1910 when the mining activity discovered
just 120 meters deep from the entrance, a
cave (the Cueva de las Espadas). Although
just a small cave, it was composed of an 87
meter corridor, which was completely covered
with gypsum crystals which were as much as
two meters in length. The cave was rapidly
stripped of a large part of its treasures, which
6
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
Image 1 A general overview of the Cueva de los
Cristales (Roberta Tedeschi, Speleoresearch & Films
and La Venta Exploring Team Archives).
results of the laser scanning survey carried
out by Virtualgeo, which are introduced and
developed in detail.
Geological Setting
The mine of Naica is located in a semideser-
tic area about 100 km south-east of
Chihuahua, the capital city of the Mexican
state bearing the same name, which borders
on the USA (Image 2). This area is crossed by
a series of low ridges, along a NW-SE direc-
tion. The mine opens on the northern side of
one of these ridges, the Sierra de Naica. It is
an anticline, composed of carbonate forma-
tions, 12 km long and 7 km wide, outcrop-
ping from a wide alluvial plain.
The structural control on the localization of
the ore bodies was affected by two different
families of faults, of which Gibraltar fault and
Naica fault are the most important. These two
An international team of researchers has been
organized to answer all these questions, in
which more than 40 scientists from 17 univer-
sities and 2 research centres are participat-
ing.
The first results of the Naica Project were illus-
trated in December 2007 during the confer-
ence Naica caves: exploration, documenta-
tion, research organized by the Department
of Earth and Geo-Environmental Sciences of
Bologna University (Italy). Besides reporting
on the first output of the laser scanning sur-
vey, Virtualgeo set up a structure equipped
for stereoscopic visualization, making possi-
ble a virtual visit in three-dimensions of the
caves, using pictures taken in stereoscopy by
the company.
This article explains the geological setting of
the area, a genetic-evolutionary description of
the caves and their crystals, together with the
December 2008
7
Image 2 Geological sketch of the Sierra de Naica with the location of the actually known caves (after FORTI
2008b, modified).
Image 3 3D laser scanning
in the Cueva de los Cristales
in Naica (Mexico).
possible way to keep such a geologic won-
der available for future generations.
Why did such big crystals grow?
When did it happen and how long did it
take?
Which relationships exist between ore
bodies and crystals?
Was the crystals genesis at least partially
influenced by micro-organisms?
Apart from the huge crystals, what kind
of speleothems grew?
What was the speleogenetic evolution of
the caves of Naica?
Are the caves evolving at the present time?
What was and what is now the impact of
human activity on the caves and
crystals?
How to preserve the caves of Naica
and at the same time allow their public
fruition?
Is it possible to keep accessible the caves
and their crystals after the end of mining
activities?
(Speleoresearch & Films)
faults have always controlled the hydrother-
mal circulation; in fact, these structures direct
almost the whole of the waters coming out
from the deep mining galleries even today.
Nowadays the mining activities have reached
-760 meters in dept, 640 meters under the
original piezometric level. It is necessary
therefore to pump about 1 m3/s of water out
in order to proceed to the ore body exploita-
tion. It is expected that mining activity will
end in 5-7 years, which means the water
pumping operations will also cease. As an
immediate consequence, the caves and their
crystals will be submerged under 170 meters
of thermal water.
Gypsum Crystals Genesis and
Evolution
The three caves found at -290 meters (Cueva
de los Cristales, Ojo de la Reina and Cueva
de las Velas), although very close each other
host gypsum crystals which are different both
in size and shape.
In all the three cavities euhedral crystals are
present which are transparent and very pure
even with numerous fluid inclusions. They
often have a tabular prismatic habit up to 2
meters in length. Their remarkable dimen-
sions, the particularly acute angles and the
vertical alignment of crystals sometimes cre-
ate an impressive and huge shark teeth-like
structure.
In two of the three caves, crystals almost com-
pletely cover the walls, transforming them into
gigantic geodes. Only in the Cueva de los
Cristales is the greater part of the roof not
covered with gypsum crystals. However, this
cavity has the crystals with the biggest dimen-
sions. There are about one hundred prismatic
crystals, rare swallowtail-twin, very long and
well developed from the floor to the roof of
the cavity, often exceeding 8 meters in length
(Image 1). Their growth was halted only
recently when less than 20 years ago, the
mine dewatering operations suddenly
deprived the crystals of the thermal water in
which they were growing. It was possible to
compute the age of the gigantic crystals: the
fist absolute dating with 230Th/ 234U method
indicates an evolution time around 400-
500.000 years.
Cavities Evolution throughout Time
Until recently studies focused on the process-
es which allowed the huge gypsum crystals
to grow while the evolutionary stages that
characterised the different caves of Naica were
completely ignored. However, this has now
changed with recent studies.
Undoubtedly, the Cueva de las Espadas is the
most interesting and important cave for the
speleogenetical study. During its evolution it
passed through all the environments and was
the scene of all the processes which charac-
terized Naica. The deepest caves (Cristales,
Reina and Velas) quickly passed from deep
phreatic to vadose condition when, about 20
years ago, the mine dewatering depressed the
groundwater below level -290.
Gypsum deposition in the caves at -290 con-
tinued until 20 years ago when the mine
dewatering operations caused them to com-
pletely drain. It has to be said, however, such
an event did not mean the end of the evolu-
tion of these caves: on the contrary. Now, in
fact, all the cavities of Naica have the same
speleogenetic evolution, which by means of
oxidation, acid aggression, and strong evapo-
ration processes is giving off a series of new
minerals, also rare. Unfortunately, the pro-
cesses which are activated when draining
takes place are also responsible for the con-
densation phenomenon on the surface of gyp-
sum crystals. This means they could not only
risk losing their main aesthetic characteristics
of lustre and transparency but also, objective-
ly, their complete destruction in the medium
term.
Laser Scanning Survey of Naica
Caves
In the Naica Project, Virtualgeos work entered
in the frame of the investigations concerning
the topography of the caves, which consisted
of laser scanning surveying of Cuevas de los
Cristales (Image 3) and de las Espadas (Image
4). The aim of the survey was to document
the present conditions of the caves by con-
structing a high precision three-dimensional
geometric database, to include colour param-
eters of the morphology and visual aspect of
the caves and crystals. It is an essential oper-
ation, designed to safeguard the knowledge
and value of a unique ecosystem which will
probably be submerged under water when
mining activities cease in a few years.
Virtualgeo has been working in the field of
geomatics, software development and com-
munication since 1994. It supplies services for
the study, preservation and evaluation of cul-
tural and environmental heritage. Since its
inception, the company has been character-
ized by its use of advanced instruments and
software solutions. On the first official expe-
dition of the project, in May 2007, Virtualgeo
carried out the survey with a phase shift
technology based-laser scanner under the
direction of its technical manager, geologist
Roberta Tedeschi. On surveying in caves,
problems were found with the extension and
development of cavities (which often imply
operative and logistic difficulties) as well as
the irregular shape of surfaces. Such surfaces
are difficult to measure with a high detail level
using traditional survey techniques because
of their extension and intrinsic complexity as
well as the kind of hypogeal environment.
Under these conditions, traditional survey
techniques allow only rough surveys. It is
hard to identify a morphometric survey
method that can be automatic, and valid for
all types of hypogeal contexts and different
application cases. One that can minimise mea-
surement errors, reduce operating times and
costs (operations on site and during data
elaboration) and increase the quality and
quantity of acquired information. In addition,
the caves of Naica have peculiar features mak-
ing them difficult to survey. The survey cam-
paign was carried out in extreme ambient con-
ditions (48C temperature and humidity close
to 100% in the Cueva del los Cristales) both
for technicians physiology and laser scanner
functionality (which is guaranteed by the pro-
ducer to work 5 up to 40C of ambient tem-
perature and without condensation). The pro-
hibitive microclimate with the limited risky
mobility around the crystals to move and fix
the scanning stations with all the survey
equipment (laptop, cables, power supply
devices, etc.), affected the activity of techni-
8
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
Image 4 3D laser scanning in the Cueva
de las Espadas in Naica (Mexico).
(Speleoresearch & Films)
cians who could work only wearing the spe-
cial equipment prepared by La Venta team for
the whole expedition. The total duration of all
the necessary survey operations in the caves
was 3 hours (over 2 working days), of which
20 minutes were taken for the scanning. In the
Cueva de las Espadas and Cueva de los
Cristales, 4 scans were affected with a phase
shift technology-based laser scanner, which
measures the distance of the surveyed object
comparing three pulses of different wave-
lengths reflected back to the scanner (techni-
cal data concerning such laser scanner are list-
ed in Table 1). The spatial coordinates and,
thanks to the camera incorporated in the laser
scanner, RGB colour values of more than 43
million points were acquired. The number of
scans and the millions of points generated by
the laser scanner, the amount of pictures taken
by the integrated camera and the full weight
of the digital data obtained from the survey
campaign in Naica are listed in Table 2.
gle gypsum crystal.Exploiting the functionali-
ties offered by CloudCUBE software, the work-
flow proceeded to the three-dimensional
model, the morphology of the cavity and its
giant crystals. The three-dimensional digital
model of the Cueva de los Cristales is visible
in shade modality, in Image 7. With
CloudCUBE it is possible to rapidly obtain
from the three-dimensional model of the cave
any type of dimensional information, such as
horizontal and vertical compound sections
(which are sections combined with line eleva-
tions and point clouds images), and axono-
metric projections and cutaways of the caves
present conditions. The digital model can be
generated with levels of detail which can be
customized according to the specific use to
which the 3D model is designed. Such use
can be scientific (and allow also the dis-
tance study of caves) or connected with pub-
lic dissemination. Besides the study of the
caves present conditions, with CloudCUBE
each specialist can produce digital models to
use for simulation and verification processes
of various study hypotheses (related to
speleogenesis, for instance) or in evaluation
of project hypotheses for the preservation of
caves, with the possibility to elaborate on
graphic-numeric representations.
The three-dimensional digital reconstruction
of the Cueva de los Cristales is the result of
a pilot investigation, which found in laser
scanning technology and a reverse modelling
methodological approach, a practicable solu-
tion to document an object in the most
complete way possible, limiting the risks
associated with insufficient and/or inadequate
data acquisition. It is a practical approach that
can be extended to whatever contexts in
which it is necessary to manage a remarkable
morphologic complexity, and a large amount
of survey data. Moreover, in Naica the rapidi-
ty of the data acquisition by laser scanning
allowed us to get over the obstacle of ambi-
ent conditions, which objectively could not be
overcome by any other kind of traditional sur-
vey.
Conclusion
Although the multidisciplinary research pro-
ject onn the caves of Naica has only recently
started, some of the results obtained are
already of extraordinary interest. In fact, an
absolutely new mechanism was discovered,
based on the differences in solubility between
gypsum and anhydrite below 59C, which
allowed the gigantic gypsum to develop. Also,
for the first time, perfectly preserved pollens
have been found inside the gypsum crystals,
which seem to allow particularly interesting
paleoclimatic reconstructions. At last, in the
field of microbiology, the research of
Data Elaborations and First Outputs
After registering the scans of the Cueva de las
Espadas, the post-processing of the data
acquired with the laser scanner was per-
formed with CloudCUBE, the software devel-
oped by Virtualgeo for managing and three-
dimensional modelling of point clouds on an
AutoCAD platform. The work required the
importation of the point cloud data in
AutoCAD. Once the cloud had been visualized,
it was carefully cleaned and filtered to remove
noise and non-significant points. The output
of this preliminary phase for the Cueva de los
Cristales is given in Image 5. The following
stage focused on the Cueva de los Cristales
and consisted of organizing the point cloud
to obtain an efficiently ordered basis, accord-
ing to the requirements and purpose of the
survey, on which it was possible to work with
time optimization. Image 6 displays a point
cloud divided into sub-clouds, identified with
different colours, each corresponding to a sin-
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
9
December 2008
Image 6 Cueva de los Cristales: organization, on AutoCAD platform with Virtualgeo CloudCUBE software,
of the point cloud in sub-clouds. Each sub-cloud corresponds to a gypsum crystal.
Laser scanner CAM2 LS 880
Range 0,6 metres 76 metres
Measurement Speed 120.000 points/second
Systematic Distance Error +/- 3 millimetres at 25 metres
Vertical Field of View 320
Horizontal Field of View 360
Scanning Time 2 million points in 20 seconds
Weight 14,5 kg
Camera Nikon D70
Pixel 6,1 M
Cueva de los Cristales Cueva de las Espadas
Number of scans acquired 1 3
Number of points acquired 13.180.893 30.032.525
Number of 2D images acquired 10 30
Amount of laser data acquired 1 gigabyte 3 gigabyte
Amount of 2D images acquired 45 megabyte 135 megabyte
Table 1 Technical data concerning the laser scanner used by Virtualgeo to survey the Cuevas de los Cristales and
de las Espadas in Naica.
Table 2 Number of scans and millions points acquired by laser scanner, amount of pictures taken by the
integrated camera and full weight of digital data for each of the caves surveyed by Virtualgeo.
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extremophile micro-organisms, even if just
started, seems to be very promising and the
discovery of new species is expected within a
short time. The possibility of using a laser
scanner for the morphometric survey of the
caves, galleries and crystals of the mine, was
verified. As was the ability to treat the
acquired point clouds by means of a reverse
modelling logic, with the tools provided by
CloudCUBE in order to obtain a three-dimen-
sional digital reconstruction of the hypogeal
contexts.
All the research has to be completed within a
short time. In fact, all the karst phenomena
at level -290 will only be accessible for anoth-
er few years until the mining activities come
to a halt and the caves are submerged under
170 meters of thermal water.
produced a series of videos to document all
the exploration and scientific research phases
carried out inside these caves. In this regard,
as proved by Virtualgeo, it is extremely impor-
tant to use laser scanning to survey caves and
crystals in order to create a high precision
three-dimensional database. With this
detailed information it is possible to produce
three-dimensional digital models and graphic
representations for purposes of specialist
study. This information will also be available
to different disciplines for various applica-
tions, and scientific dissemination, and should
the requirement arise, allow an exact repro-
duction to be created of such a geological
wonder of our planet Earth.
Erminio Paolo Canevese
erminio.canevese@virtualgeo.it is president of
Virtualgeo s.r.l. and S.P.A.R.T.A. s.r.l.
(Societ Promozione Analisi Realizzo Tecnologie
Avanzate - Promotion Analysis Realization Advanced
Technologies Company), owner of the Studio
Topografico Canevese (Canevese Surveying Company),
and applies since 1985 to geomatics and
communication supporting preservation and
advancement of architectural, archaeological
and environmental heritage.
Roberta Tedeschi roberta.tedeschi@virtualgeo.it has a
Geology degree and has been applying to new
technologies connected with geomatics for 20 years.
She is technical manager of Virtualgeo s.r.l. and
partner of S.P.A.R.T.A. s.r.l. working in the
field of environmental planning.
Paolo Forti paolo.forti@unibo.it is Professor of
Speleology and Geomorphology at Bologna University.
In over 40 years of researches he explored and studied
caves in more than 50 counties in 4 continents. His
main fields of interests are speleogenesis and karst
minerogenesis.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Speleoresearch & Films and
exploring team La Venta for their collabora-
tion, CAM2 S.r.l.-FARO Technologies Inc. for
the laser scanner, Compaa Minera Peoles
for the permission to access the mine.
Actually, the gypsum crystals of Naica run the
risk of being destroyed before that time
because of the condensation phenomena. In
fact the walls of all the caves at level -290
cool down quite rapidly (data available regis-
ter a mean cooling of 0.5C per year) because
of the forced ventilation of the mining gal-
leries (Image 8). This means the cave walls
will soon reach a sufficiently low temperature,
with respect to hot vapours rising from the
bottom of the mine, to reach and go beyond
the dew point with the immediate conse-
quence of a rapid dissolution of gypsum crys-
tals. This process has already started in the
smallest cave at -290 (Ojo de la Reina), where
the big gypsum crystals are dissolving and
rapidly transforming into calcite speleothems.
Temperature data registered has indicated
that the same process
would start inside the
Cueva de los Cristales
in two years at
most.Therefore one of
the main purposes of
Naica Project is to
find the best way to
safeguard and pass
on to future genera-
tions a large part of
such an unbelievable
underground world
and, in case it would
be absolutely impos-
sible, to leave the
most complete and
punctual documenta-
tion. For this reason
Speleoresearch &
Films, with La Venta,
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
Image 6 Cueva de los Cristales: organization, on AutoCAD platform with Virtualgeo
CloudCUBE software, of the point cloud in sub-clouds. Each sub-cloud corresponds to a gypsum
crystal.
Image 7 Cueva de los Cristales: three-dimensional model of the cave and crystals,
visualized in shade modality, obtained on AutoCAD platform with Virtualgeo
CloudCUBE software.
Image 8 - Diagram showing the temperature decrease in Cueva de los
Cristales and Ojo de la Reina in the last six years.
11
ArcGIS

9.3Improving Your Entire

Data Management
Better Maps
Dissemination
Data courtesy of the City of Boston.
Data Management
ArcGIS 9.3 provides new
tools for accessing data
within an organization,
including the addition of
PostgreSQL and Microsoft

SQL Server

2008 support, a
new image service, version
management, enhancements
to geodatabase replication,
and better geocoding.
Better Maps
ArcGIS 9.3 includes many
enhancements that make it
easier than ever to create
and share production-quality
maps. These enhancements
include a new Disperse
Markers tool and, via Maplex

for ArcGIS, better contour
labeling and more control over
where labels are placed inside
and around polygons.
Dissemination of
Information
ArcGIS 9.3 makes dissemination
of geographic information
much easier. New tools
that aid in dissemination
include improved map cache
management, which allows
ArcGIS

9.3 offers a complete suite of software that

compliant environment. With ArcGIS, you also get the
instructor-led and online training, and new online
resource centers.
maps to be published more
quickly, and a series of
JavaScript

APIs for mashup-

style development. These
new APIs allow JavaScript
developers to easily embed
ArcGIS Server Web mapping
applications into any Web site.
Mobility
The new ArcGIS Mobile
application increases data
accuracy and enables real-
time decision making in the
SDK now offers enhanced
map control rendering, data
storage capabilities, and
expanded projections.
Planning and Analysis
Many modeling tools have
been enhanced, and some
entirely new tools have
been added to help users
get more answers from
their data. These include
a new scatterplot matrix
graph, improvements to the
Near tool, and advanced
Ordinary Least Squares and
Geographically Weighted
Regression tools.
Copyright 2008 ESRI. All rights reserved. ESRI, the ArcGIS logo, www.esri.com, Maplex, the ESRI Globe logo, and ArcGIS are
trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions.
Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.
Planning and Analysis
Mobility
Finland
France
www.esrifrance.fr
F.Y.R.O.M.
www.gisdata.hr
Germany
www.esri-germany.de
Georgia
www.geographic.ge
Greece and Cyprus
www.marathondata.gr
Hungary
www.esrihu.hu
Iceland
www.samsyn.is
Israel
www.systematics.co.il
Italy
www.esriitalia.it
Malta
www.geosys.com.mt
Moldova
www.trimetrica.com
The Netherlands
www.esrinl.com
Norway
www.geodata.no
Poland
www.esripolska.com.pl
Portugal
www.esri-portugal.pt
Romania
www.esriro.ro
Russia
www.dataplus.ru
Austria
www.synergis.co.at
Belgium and Luxembourg
www.esribelux.com
Bosnia and Herzegovina
www.gisdata.hr
Bulgaria
www.esribulgaria.com
Croatia
www.gisdata.hr
Czech Republic
www.arcdata.cz
Denmark
www.informi.dk
Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania
www.hnit-baltic.lt
Slovak Republic
www.arcgeo.sk
Slovenia
www.gisdata.hr
Spain
www.esri-es.com
Sweden
www.esri-sgroup.se
Switzerland
www.esri-suisse.ch
Turkey
www.esriturkey.com.tr
Ukraine
www.ecomm.kiev.ua
UK/Ireland
www.esriuk.com
www.esri.com/whatsnew
For more information, please contact your local distributor or call ESRI
Europe at +31-10-217-7788 or ESRI headquarters at +1-909-793-2853,
exlension !-!235. europe@esri.com www.esri.com
GIS Workflow
www.esri-finland.com
field. Also, the ArcGIS Mobile
benefits of an established and active user community,
improves organizational workflows within a standards-
Multi-brand Test Robotic Total Stations Part 3
Leica TPS 1200+
GeoInformatics is presenting a new series on user tests of robotic total
stations. Each of the next several issues will include the results of testing
a different robotic station. The same structure will be used for every test
so that comparisons can be made between the different instruments.
This, the third test in the series, is of a Leica TCRP1201+.
By Lon van der Poel
14
Pr oduct r evi ew
Every instrument will be tested on:
1. delivery and instructions for use
2. overall impression of the instrument and controller (field book)
3. user friendliness
4. stake out routine
5a. surveying (one man)
5b. surveying (reflector less)
6. additional functions
Choosing a total station is not an easy job. Depending
on the type of survey and the circumstances in which the
survey has to take place, a potential user will select a cer-
tain brand and type of total station. To gain more insight
into the day-to-day use of a robotic total station,
GeoInformatics has asked Lon van der Poel, a surveyor
and educator in the Netherlands, to put a number of robot-
ic total stations from different international manufactur-
ers, through their paces. The tests will all be carried out
under the same conditions and the same structure will be
used for every test so that the different instruments can
be compared. The
instruments have been
provided by their Dutch
distributors.
Testing Method
We have chosen to do
a user test, which
means that standard
deviations and so on
will not be considered.
Each manufacturer is asked
to provide a robotic total station
that can be operated by one person,
along with accompanying software, for two
days. We have also asked the manufacturer to provide
operating instructions. A test survey is then performed. Of
particular interest is user friendliness during the surveying
and pegging out. The test factors are listed in Box 1. The
third test is of a Leica TCRP1201+
The configuration as supplied is as follows:
Instrument: TCRP 1201+ ( R1000)
Controller: RX1250TC
Prism: GRZ122
Software: SmartWorx
Delivery and Instructions
The instrument was delivered as a complete working set
including tripod and prism pole. First the simulation soft-
ware was downloaded from the internet so most of the
Best thing to do is to mount
the unit on the pole.
December 2008
Box 1.
explanation of the system could be done inside,
which was nice, because outside it was raining
continuously. A Dutch user manual was inside
the case and on my request all available man-
uals were downloaded and saved on my hard
disk. After we went through the most important
options we went outside for some field experi-
ence.
Instrument
The instrument is supplied in a compact carry-
ing case. The prism and datacollector are in
another case of the same size. So the first thing
I did was mount the prism on the pole and try
to find a place for the datacollector, so that I
would not need to carry around the second
case. The charger can charge up to four batter-
ies at the same time, so no hassle with lots of
chargers and power cables. All the batteries for
this system are Li-Ion and fit in this charger. By
replacing a small part of the charger you can
also charge older types of batteries, which
makes this charger a true universal charger. The
charger does not fit in the carrying cases.
The manufacturer remarks that for this, Leica
has developed a smaller charger which fits into
the carrying case and this charger can also be
used to charge a battery in the car. Only one
battery fits into this charger.
The horizontal and vertical movement is done
via endless screws, or just by grabbing the
instrument and turning it in the desired direc-
tion. Moving the instrument with the endless
screws feels like a non-motorised instrument,
so no learning curve for users which are used
to non-motorised instruments. But the idea is
that you will not stand behind the instrument
much, since it is a one-man system. The manu-
facturer remarks that when reflectorless mea-
surements are taken the surveyor is likely to be
behind the instrument.
The motors make some noise, but when you
are behind the instrument the motors are not
used and when you are in one-man mode you
are not close to the instrument so you dont
hear the noise.
The EGL light is placed in the top part of the
telescope. This EGL can help you with the guid-
ing of the instrument when you are surveying
alone, or guiding the rodman in case you do a
stake out with somebody behind the instru-
ment. The handle of the instrument contains
the radio and can be removed easily, although
I do not see much use in taking off the handle
in this configuration. The operation time of the
batteries is between four and eight hours
according to the Leica support engineer, who
delivered the instrument. Four or eight hours is
a big difference. Of course the operation time
depends on how you use the instrument. Do
you use it in tracking mode or STD mode, do
you have the EGL on or off, and which intensi-
Field Book and Remote Control Unit
The datacollector has no cables connected to
anything else and has the same screen as the
instrument. Behind the battery is space for a
CF card. However, due to a combination of the
shape and size of the unit it is not easy to hold
it in your hand, so the best thing to do is to
mount it on the pole.
After delivery of the instrument I of course want-
ed to have a look at it immediately. So I turned
on the instrument and wanted to turn on the
remote unit but did not manage to do it. Did I
not pay sufficient attention during the delivery
and explanation of the instrument or did I break
the instrument? Luckily I found out that you just
needed to press the power key for a couple of
seconds to turn the unit on.
The function keys are very nice. No need to
touch small buttons on the touch screen, since
most options are available under Function keys.
This took me some time to get used to, since I
am used to a data collector without function
keys. But the more I used the instrument, the
more I started using the Function keys.
Stake Out
The stake out is very intuitive. It is easy to load
500 points for a stakeout job.
The only strange thing on the screen is that the
display shows the message forward -53.123
meter. The forward notice gives me the feeling
I need to move forward, but the minus sign
gives me the feeling I need to move forward in
a negative direction, so that means backwards.
This is based on the following idea: The dis-
tance between you and the orientation point
(in most cases the instrument) has to become
smaller. So, in case the stake out point is
between you and the instrument the distance
has to become smaller which is shown by the
minus sign. Although this explanation by the
support engineer sounds nice, I can not get
used to that minus sign.
The manufacturer remarks that the visual guides
can be changed within the configuration of the
stake out application.
User Friendliness during Surveying
(One Man)
Since I am used to an optical plummet I was
wondering how I should turn on the laser plum-
met because this was not discussed during
delivery of the instrument. So I turned on the
instrument and the laser plummet turned on
automatically and the accurate digital bubble
was shown on the screen.
Also a tool for measuring the height of the
instrument was in the carrying case. This spe-
cial measuring tape has two sides. One side
has a normal centimetre scale and the other
side has a scale which takes the slant angle
into consideration. At an instrument height of
ty of the EGL do you use etc. My experience
was that the battery in the instrument (which
is the bigger one) lasts longer than the battery
in the fieldbook. During my test it lasted around
five hours, which means that you can work a
full day with the four delivered batteries (two
for the instrument and two for the fieldbook).
In case need to you can put the battery of the
fieldbook in the instrument. The other way
around does not fit. The manufacturer remarks
that they think it is user friendly as well if the
robotic pole is lightweight therefore only the
small battery is foreseen on the pole.
The instrument comes with a laser plummet,
and two circular levels. One in the tribrach,
which is hardly visible due to the size of the
instrument, and one at the place where nor-
mally the plate level would be. The manufac-
turer remarks that the level on the tribach is
best used when only using a reflector carrier.
While setting up the instrument the level on the
instrument is best used.
The sensitivity of this circular level is better than
the one in the tribrach. The instrument comes
with two displays. The colour display is very
clear, but no comment can be given on its visi-
bility when used in sunshine, since the test was
done in the Netherlands and the weather was
typically Dutch, which means clouds and fog,
but luckily no real rain.
Data can be stored on the instruments internal
memory (optional), or on the internal CF card,
or on the data collector. Everything is stored in
the DBX database. At a later stage you can
decide which items of the database you want
to use for output.
With the help of different configuration sets you
can configure the instrument to suit your own
needs, and the settings can be saved. In the
event that somebody else uses the instrument
you can reload your own settings when you
want to start surveying again.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Pr oduct r evi ew
15
December 2008
The tested configuration.
0.5m the difference between vertical height and
slant height is 10mm and at an instrument
height of 1.8m this difference is 3mm. This is
taken care of by the special scale, which you
can see via a special mirror, avoiding the need
to lie down on the ground in order to take a
reading.
When I turned the remote unit on, it made an
automatic connection to the total station, which
is very user-friendly feature.
After creating a project and entering the station
number, I aimed at the backsight. First I thought
that for my backsight I would have to use the
datacollector, but the screen on the instrument
shows the same as the screen on the datacol-
lector, so the backsight can also be initiated
from the instrument. In order to do so, I want-
ed to put the pole firmly in the grass, but the
shock was too much for the holder, and the
datacollector fell to the ground. Later the sur-
vey support engineer explained that I should
have locked the holder by pushing a special
button, which I had seen but did not know what
it was used for. This special button avoids the
problem of the datacollector accidentally com-
ing loose in its holder.
The second time I used a backsight I did not
want to initiate it from behind the instrument,
so I choose to walk to the backsight location
and put the prism on the point. Since I just had
the pole and no tripod with me, I put the pole
up-side-down to improve the accuracy. The
prism has a nice point which is the centre of
the prism, and this point you can put on top
of your nail. In this case you need to take the
datacollector off the pole and than you realize
it does not fit properly in your hand.
The manufacturer remarks that there is a hand
strap available to attach the data collector to
the wrist in case the surveyor does not want
to make use of the holder connected to the
prism pole. I surveyed a lot of points to test
the tracking and after making some adjust-
ments to the tracking settings I was happy. You
can tell the instrument what it should do in case
it loses the prism. Should it stop and do noth-
ing or should it keep moving in the same direc-
tion with the same speed as it was moving
before it lost track? Should it initiate the Power
search after loss of lock or should it initiate the
ATR (Auto target Recognition, which is another
way to find the prism)?
First the setting was that it should move on for
three seconds and than stop and wait.
Since I thought that it would automatically start
the search I would stop as soon as I heard that
the tracking was lost and wait for the instru-
ment to find me again, but that of course did
not happen. So after changing the settings to
my preferences, I walked up very close to the
instrument and was impressed by the tracking
of the instrument. Even at half a meter distance
the instrument was still following the prism and
I could continue surveying the side of the bicy-
cle lane on which the instrument was set up.
Even with great tracking the instrument will lose
the prism due to obstructions. In this case you
can use the power search feature to find the
prism again. This works very well except for two
occasions. In my case there was a significant
height difference on the testing location. When
I moved too much in a vertical direction I first
needed to rough aim the instrument in a verti-
cal direction before initiating the power search
otherwise the instrument would not find me.
If the instrument is already aiming at the prism
or the approximate direction of the prism and
you press the power search, the instrument will
not find the prism. It presumes that the prism
it was tracking is not the correct prism and
therefore ignores it. Stepping aside a few steps
and initiating the power search quickly solves
this. The manufacturer remarks that if the instru-
ment is pointed at the prism a surveyor should
not perform a power search but press DIST
instead. The instrument will then lock onto the
prism without having to perform the power
search first in which case it presumes that the
prism at which the instrument is pointed at is
not the prism that the surveyor wants to find.
So if it is the prism the instrument should lock
onto just press DIST.
Reflectorless Measurement
The reflectorless measurement works very
nicely. Measuring to black gravel works to
approximately 75m. This is one of the
most difficult targets to measure since
the angle of inclination is small and the
colour of the object is dark, which
means that it absorbs most of the sig-
nal. A black chimney and sign-
posts could be measured at a
distance of more than 100m.
However, measuring a cable
above the highway at
218m was not possi-
ble.
With reflectorless
measurement to cor-
ners of buildings
you still need to be very
careful.
Aiming at the corner of
building with another build-
ing just 29m behind it, may
result in incorrect values in
the order of meters. The
manufacturer remarks
that this only occurs
when using Tracking
as the EDM type in
which case the
instrument con-
tinuously does
single inde-
pendent dis-
tance measure-
ments (so no checks
are being performed).
When doing a single
measurement on the cor-
ner of a building with the
reflectorless EDM, the
standard mode
16
Pr oduct r evi ew
The instrument has
two similar operating
panels on the sides.
The charger can charge up to four batteries at
the same time.
Battery holder.
Also, a tool for measu -
ring the height of the
instrument was in the
carrying case. This
special measuring
tape has two sides.
should be used, in which case the instrument
does three independent distance measure-
ments. If there are big differences between the
measured distances the instrument will
give a warning that multiple surfaces
are being measured and the user
should check the point that was tar-
geted.
For reflectorless measure-
ments to corners I still pre-
fer to use special offset
functions of software, such
as measuring two
points on the wall and
than aim to the corner
and measure only
angles and store the
intersection. Unfor -
tunately I ha ve not
been able to find this
kind of solution on this
instrument.
That manufacturer remarks
that with the application COGO
(standard/free application) an
intersection point can be cal-
culated based on two
points measured on a
wall and a TPS obser-
vation. It was not
clear that the sur-
veyor wanted such
functionality
before he began
testing so this
was not explained dur-
ing the initial training.
Scanning (Additional
Function):
The additional software
option reference
plane was also
installed on the
instrument,
which makes it
possible to
use the
ferent colors and symbols can be assigned to
points, so a proper map can already be made
in the field. In the case where two points are
very close together you cannot zoom in further
than the scale of 0.5m, which means that on
the screen you see an area of around 2m,
which is not sufficient to see if the side of a
small tree or the centre of a small tree has been
measured. I rarely use the help in any software
but since this is a new instrument to me and I
could not immediately find what I was looking
for I just gave it a try. No help available was
the reply. The graphic display or the database
seems to slow down the interface. In the case
of the scan a total of 700 points were measured
and changing from the scanning screen which
contains the numbers of points measured, the
number of points which still have to be mea-
sured, and the number of points rejected plus
how much time is needed to finish the job, the
system is busy for 10 seconds to build up the
graphic display and after those 10 seconds it
continues with the measurement. 3500 points
49 seconds. Going from the graphical screen
to the scanning screen, you dont see any delay
in the measuring of the scanning points. The
output from the instrument to the CF card is
easy to understand. Export formats are limited
to user defined Ascii or GSI or DXF.
The manufacturer asks why is the word limit-
ed used? Because of the self definable ascii
export we can transfer data from the instrument
to almost any kind of software package. You
can define what you want to export and in
which format.
Summary
Instrument follows prism very well
Power search works nicely when you do not
move too much in the vertical direction
Datacollector is designed to be on the pole
Scanning a nice but rarely useful option
Reflectorless measurement to corners
needs attention
The user-assignable keys can make the
software user friendly
Lon van der Poel lpo@leop-bv.nl is a professional
surveyor and educator. This article represents his own
opinion. For more information, have a look at
www.leica-geosystems.com. Many thanks to Leica for
providing the reviewed instrument
Reaction of the Manufacturer
The manufacture noticed that in some situa-
tions the user lacked some TPS-1200 experi-
ence to know which choices he could make to
make his work easier which is not so strange
when taking into account the fact that he only
had about 2-3 hours of training and no prior
experience what so ever with a Leica TPS1200
total station.
instrument for scanning. In case the points dif-
fer too much from the predefined area a warn-
ing can be given. During this scanning phase
the instrument stopped responding and
showed a strange screen. Pressing ESC or OK
had no effect. In addition, the power off did not
work, so finally I just removed the battery and
the message on the screen was gone. Turning
the instrument on again solved the problem.
You can continue scanning and dont need to
define the reference area again, but you do
need to define the scanning area again. In order
to survey (scan) a facade with a 5cm grid the
instrument is busy for more than the whole day.
Unfor tu nately the software does not give the
option to use TRK or fast, so the whole survey
has to be done in Standard mode. The scan-
ning option is a nice feature but I dont see
many applications where it can be used and
effectively save time. A pile of sand might be a
nice application, but in case you can access it,
it is faster to survey the break lines. Adding
some points (during your coffee break, since it
now is a zero-man solution) by doing a scan
with a bigger interval is an option.
Software
A big benefit of the software is that you can
configure it to suit your own needs. The REC
button is by default stored under the F3 key,
which is in the centre of the datacollector, and
therefore difficult to press without looking at
the datacollector. Jasper, the Leica Support
Engineer, pointed out that this key can also be
defined to the users preference. So I could
place it under the F6 key which is on the side
of the datacollector and make it much easier
to find without looking at the keys.
Nowadays it becomes more common to mea-
sure directly in the map. The software gives you
the ability to do so, but the points surveyed
are not automatically shown in the map. The
manufacturer remarks this is strange because
every point measured is directly shown in the
screen. It is not clear what happened here and
maybe the zoom level should have been adjust-
ed. To show the points surveyed you need to
refresh the screen. Lines can be drawn in dif-
Pr oduct r evi ew
17
December 2008
By replacing a small part of the charger you can also charge older types of batteries.
Instruments and Solutions for Earth Observation
A new Generation from Jena
Jena-Optronik GmbH is a true pioneer of multi-spectral cameras
for spaceborne and airborne applications. With promising cutting-edge
technologies, the company operates as one of the international
leading providers of optoelectronic instruments and systems for
aerospace and security. Consequently, Jena-Optronik develops
instruments for the acquisition of information, information
processing and data representation.
For more than 30 years the company has been providing
precise solutions which result in successful products and
projects in space as well as on Earth.
By Gerald Albe and Annett Feige
Observing the Earth line-by-line
The main emphasis of Jena-Optronik is on the
application of optoelectronic technologies for
Earth Observation and Remote Sensing.
Whether meteorological satellites or cameras
for the acquisition of environmental or geo-
information data the solutions are primarily
designed as a long-term, continuous informa-
tion source. This technology trend is support-
ed by one of the latest developments the
multi-spectral aerial camera Jena Airborne
Scanner JAS 150s. The sensor's advanced con-
struction enables the simultaneous acquisi-
tion of nine bands of information: five
panchromatic CCD lines capture photogram-
metric and 3D information, while four lines
capture data in the red, green, blue and near-
infrared band. Therefore only one flight is
needed for multi-spectral, panchromatic,
coloured orthophotos and data for the digital
surface model.
The JAS cameras counterpart in space is the
product line JSS (Jena Spaceborne Scanner).
This satellite-based observation system bene-
fits from the experience gained with our multi-
spectral camera MKF 6, which was a six-chan-
nel camera on the MIR Space Station
operating in a single frame modus and using
film as the imaging and storage media. Jena-
Optronik applies modern imaging principles
and components to build low-cost optical
spaceborne scanners in the VIS/NIR and SWIR
wavelength ranges. This leads to instrument
designs optimised with respect to minimum
size and mass, power consumption, and cost.
The first Jena Spaceborne Scanners were the
payload of the RapidEye mission. The
RapidEye satellite system is composed of five
identical earth observation satellites each
equipped with one multi-spectral imager from
Jena-Optronik as the heart of the platform. On
top of a DNEPR rocket all five satellites were
launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on 29th
of August this year. With the help of the
imagers, the German company RapidEye AG
will establish a commercial geo-information
service able to gather over 4 million km of
high resolution, multi-spectral imagery per
day. Covering the Earths surface continuously
line-by-line (pushbroom principle) the Jena-
Optronik imager enables the precise data
acquisition of a 75 kilometre-wide (approx)
strip of land with a pixel size of 6.5 metres
out of 630 kilometres. Working in five spec-
18
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
One of the latest developments: The multi-spectral aerial camera Jena Airborne Scanner JAS 150
Jena-Optronik GmbH.
tral channels, and covering the wavelength
range from visible to near infrared, it will pro-
vide pin sharp, multi-spectral, high resolution
images. The formation of the satellite system
enables constant global coverage and there-
fore up-to-date information on a daily basis.
Due to the high repetition rate, the data
gained will provide important information in
the fields of environmental monitoring, land-
scape architecture and disaster management.
Beyond that there is going to be an increased
commercial benefit for potential end users
such as agricultural insurers, who need to
forecast or report damages, institutions such
as the EU, companies which trade in agricul-
tural commodities and farm corporations that
rely on precision crop management.
With the development of the multi-spectral
imagers for RapidEye Jena-Optronik success-
fully entered the market of satellite-based
earth observation instruments. The Jena-
based company will be a member of the core
team of Sentinel-2 for optical earth observa-
the use of in-field spectral channel separa-
tion, which allows the user to tailor individu-
al channel GSD (ground sampling distance)
and features like TDI (time delay and integra-
tion). State-of-the-art detector arrays and
read-out electronics can easily be employed.
The reflecting telescope design can be expect-
ed to support the most demanding upcoming
requirements on image quality and ground
resolution. METimage is supported by the
German Aerospace Center (DLR) with funds
from the Federal Ministry of Economics and
Technology.
High Performance Data Acquisition
The Jena Airborne Scanner JAS 150s together
with its photogrammetric processing software
provides data with very high spatial resolu-
tion, positional accuracy and radiometric res-
olution.
Using the JAS 150s, images with a ground
pixel resolution of 5 cm [2 inches] at a flight
altitude of 1000m [3280 feet] can be achieved
at multiple stereo angles. When flying over an
area, it is possible to record the nine CCD
lines, including four multi-spectral bands as
well as five stereo panchromatic channels,
simultaneously in identical high resolution.
Using the five stereo panchromatic channels
the number and size of blind spots can be
minimized.
With the ASM software in combination with
SOCET SET or inpho software the acquired
data can be used for mapping of large areas
as well as for creating highly-precise digital
elevation models and orthophotos. Software
integrations for further processing software
packages are possible on request. Jena-
Optronik offers the adaptation to all preva-
lent peripheral systems in order to reduce
costs. It also offers several different modes to
acquire a JAS150s, including buying, leasing
and renting.
Further performance features of the Airborne
Scanner JAS 150s:
A new high-performance lens for all nine
channels provides the highest geometric
accuracy
High-precision geo-referencing with an aver-
age error in subpixel range
High radiometric resolution of 12 bit
tion and Sentinel-3 for the observation of the
oceans within the European earth observation
program GMES (Global Monitoring for
Environment and Security).
Furthermore, the imaging radiometer
METimage is a planned German contribution
for future operational Earth observation plat-
forms in polar orbits (EUMETSAT Post-EPS). A
core item of the instrument is a rotating tele-
scope scanner to cover the large swath width
which all polar platforms need for global cov-
erage. The derotated image makes possible
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
Detail Jena Airborne Scanner JAS 150: Connection to rack Jena-Optronik GmbH.
Gocher Heide, Germany Jena-Optronik GmbH.
19
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Only from Topcon, the pioneer
of Digital Imaging Surveying.
IS Imaging Station
- Digital Imaging Technology
- Total Station Image Scanning
- 2000 meters reectorless
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IS Imaging Station
Extremely stable and reliable
Identical high resolution in all channels
The spectral separation of the RGB und NIR
bands is optimally suitable for remote sens-
ing requirements
With the thermally stabilized sensor head
solid data acquisition is possible even
under difficult environmental conditions
A 1.1 TB solid state storage, which can be
swapped during the flight, allows uncom-
pressed, lossless and secure data recording
Three different types of rack systems for
camera control, data storage, operation and
monitoring of the acquired data are avail-
able as per customer requirement
Strong Partnership
Founded in 1991, Jena-Optronik GmbH was
built upon the space department of Carl Zeiss
Jena from Jenoptik and DASA (which became
later a part of todays EADS). In 2005, JENOP-
TIK AG took over all shares. In recent years
the company has become one of the leading
instrument and system providers in the avia-
tion and aerospace market. In addition, Jena-
Optronik offers comprehensive services for the
analysis of recorded data. Today Jena-
Optronik, which has around 140 highly quali-
fied employees at its site in Jena, is a 100 per-
cent subsidiary of JENOPTIK AG. The location
laser distance measurement equipment for
industry and defense, laser sensors for simu-
lation, environmental sensors and metrology
as well as infrared camera systems for ther-
mal imaging, security and night vision.
The division maintains production sites in
Wedel near Hamburg, Jena, Essen and
Altenstadt. The origins of the division go back
to ESW GmbH and Jena-Optronik GmbH as
well as the sensor systems business unit of
JENOPTIK Laser, Optik, Systeme GmbH.
Gerald Albe gerald.albe@jena-optronik.de, 32, born in
Thuine, Germany, studied computer science at the
University Bielefeld; after his diploma he became
responsible for the development of the processing soft-
ware for the JAS150 camera of Jena-Optronik GmbH
in 2005; since May 1st 2008 Mr Albe is Director of the
Airborne Sensors division of the Jena-Optronik GmbH.
Annett Feige annett.feige@jena-optronik.de, 29, born
in Halle/Saale, Germany; studied Media Design at the
Bauhaus University Weimar; after her diploma she
became responsible for the public relations activities
of Jena-Optronik GmbH in 2004; since October 1st
2008 Mrs. Feige is Director Marketing of the Defence
& Civil Systems division within JENOPITK AG.
For further information please visit the website:
www.jena-optronik.de.
of Jena, the German Optical Valley, is endowed
with the unique potential of tradition and
experience. The combination of abstract and
applied research together with a powerful
industry is outstanding within Germany.
Since January 2008 the defence and
aerospace business has been combined in the
JENOPTIK AG Defence & Civil Systems divi-
sion. This division combines electrics/ -
electronics, mechatronics, laser sensor
systems, infrared technology, optics, opto -
electronics and software within complex com-
ponents, systems and facilities.
It focuses on the areas of optical sensors and
information systems, ground-based observa-
tion platforms for intelligence and reconnais-
sance as well as military and civil vehicle and
aircraft equipment. This includes the genera-
tion and supply of electrical energy, stabiliza-
tion technology for weapons and optoelec-
tronic sensors, radomes for military aircraft as
well as composite structure elements for civil
aircraft, in addition to mechatronic compo-
nents and subsystems.
For the security and space industry Jenoptik
offers optoelectronic systems, multi-spectral
camera systems for earth observation, and
sensor systems for orbit and attitude control
of satellites as well as software.
In the sensor systems area its focus is on
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
21
December 2008
3D image, City of Jena, Germany Jena-Optronik GmbH.
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What exactly is Web 2.0?
The most recent Version of the
Internet
Changes can often happen very quickly and that certainly goes for changes in the digital world. The Internet was for
a long time just that the Internet, but nowadays everyone is talking about Web 2.0. But what exactly is Web 2.0?
Is it a big change or is it nothing more than a good sounding term that sounds bigger than it actually is?
By Lambert-Jan Koops
24
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
The term Web 2.0 stands for a new phase
that has started in the development of the
World Wide Web. The term implies that even
more versions could follow, and also that a pre-
ceding phase has existed, Web 1.0. If youve
never heard of Web 1.0, you should not be
ashamed. Web 1.0 is a term that has been
made up to describe the development phase
the internet went through from around 1994
until the beginning of the 21st century. In 1994
the gopher-protocol for internet was surpassed
by http-based browsers, such as Mosaic.
Experts disagree about the exact date of the
end of the Web 1.0 period: where one speaks
of 2004, the other mentions 2001with the burst
of the internet bubble as the ending period.
Web 1.0 was the stage when large numbers of
consumers discovered the internet. During this
period the first search engines appeared, the
first browser war between Netscape and
Microsoft Explorer took place and the MP3
became a standard for saving music files. The
typical features that distinguish Web 1.0 from
Web 2.0, were statistic websites instead of
dynamic generated content. Besides that, the
use of frames and online guest books were dis-
tinctive, along with GIF-buttons that had a stan-
dard size of 88 by 31pixels and HTML-type doc-
uments that were sent through e-mail.
Interactive Web Applications
The change that comes with Web 2.0, is the
development of the World Wide Web from a col-
lection of separate sites to an independent plat-
form with fully interactive web applications. The
new internet consists of pages that contain
functions which allow users to perform a range
of tasks. Typical techniques used to enable this
are Flash and/or AJAX. With this functionality it
is possible to give a website the same look and
feel as a normal desktop application, such as
Word or Excel, and allow the user to change the
contents of a web page in realtime. These are
called Rich Internet Applications (RIAs). For
this, the user doesnt need to install any soft-
ware on his or her pc, but only needs to start
any internet browser.
Thanks to Flash and AJAX it is not only possi-
ble to offer functions of existing desktop appli-
cations on the internet, but also new function-
alities, such as forum software and publication
tools that have been designed for weblogs.
Also, popular sites such as YouTube and Flickr
are typical Web 2.0 products.
Four Levels
The Web 2.0 level of the current software is
dependent on the way the consumer makes
use of it. Tim OReilly, the man who introduced
the term Web 2.0 stated that there are four
different levels to be distinguished. Appli -
cations on level zero work online as well as
offline. The packs of level one also work
online as well as offline, but have disposition
over heavier functions when they are used
online. On level two, offline use is still possi-
ble, but the focus lies in its online functional-
ity. Eventually, level three applications will only
function on the internet. This is because they
cannot perform their functions stand-alone as
they are dependent on input from online
sources such as Wikipedia, for example.
A Single Source
One of the biggest carriers of Web 2.0 is
Google. The company developed the RIAs
Google Docs and Spreadsheets and is the
owner of YouTube. In addition, the company
owns the well-known geographic tool Google
Earth, a typical Web 2.0 program of level two.
This may sound contradictory, because users
who see their internet connection die when
using Google Earth, will see the message:
Google Earth can not establish a new ses-
sion with the EarthServer. Although Google
Earth keeps on working only data that are
locally available (in cache) will be displayed.
A reason for classifying Google Earth on level
two, lies in the fact that the basis data for the
software come from one single source. If a
user were to save all data from the
EarthServer locally, he would still be able to
deploy a big part of the functionality. In the
same way, a route planner can work with part
of the roadwork that has been saved in the
cache and interaction with other users is not
strictly necessary. For extras, however, an
internet connection is necessary. For example,
those who want to study photos originated
by other users through Google Earth, will have
to follow the hyperlink to the place on the
internet where this photo is saved. Also, for
viewing information added by third parties on
locations, an internet connection is required.
Map Applications
A company such as Autodesk also talks regu-
larly about Web 2.0 possibilities for the CAD
and GIS systems the company develops.
Mostly this is done by Geoff Zeiss. The term
is primarily linked with the MapGuide-suite,
which consists of three parts: Autodesk
MapGuide Studio, Autodesk MapGuide
Enterprise and MapGuide Open Source. It is
mentioned explicitly that there is a new func-
tionality available for creating Web 2.0-type
map applications with the 2009 version of the
software. With this functionality end users can
view and analyse spatial information. To
summarize, MapGuide itself is not so much
products, for example in the form of
ProjectWise. Less obvious Web 2.0 develop-
ments have, as is the case of Autodesk, not
yet been communicated. According to a press
release, the BE Careers Networks Resume
Center makes use of a new system based on
Web 2.0, while the term is also linked to the
developing software Generative Components.
This deals with a platform that allows users
to share ideas and learn about this way of
designing. For the companys geospatial prod-
ucts, it makes use of Web 2.0 technology,
although until now it has not been stressed
much in terms of communication.
GIS on the Web
One company that has published several arti-
cles on Web 2.0 is ESRI. For example, it has
been mentioned explicitly as a motivation for
the development of GeoWeb. GIS on the web
is, in the words of CEO Jack Dangermond:a
big, widely-spread, partitioned cooperation of
knowledge and discovery that promotes and
maintains the worldwide sharing of informa-
tion and interoperability. I foresee a whole set
of applications that will cooperate synergisti-
cally for diverging goals. Our current individu-
al systems will be adopted in a sort of sys-
tem of systems.
Dangermonds quote may sound rather
abstract, but it comes down to the fact that
a product such as GeoWeb is not absolute in
terms of functionality and content. Because
end users add data to the system, it will grow
into a very rich source of information. It is
much larger that the sum of its parts, a very
typical thing for a Web 2.0 application.
Conclusion
For some time now, the term Web 2.0 has
been mentioned more and more in articles
and press releases. However, this does not
mean that a revolution is taking place in the
digital world. Its a fact that a whole lot of
Web 2.0 functionality has been added to soft-
ware during the last few years, without explic-
itly mentioning this fact. For example, look at
all cooperating software in the field of geog-
raphy, building, designing and planning.
Currently Web 2.0 is a fashionable term that
is used more actively by one party than the
other. Its a term that describes the use of cer-
tain techniques, nothing more and nothing
less. A software developer can develop Web
2.0 without knowing hes working with Web
2.0. For those of you who havent heard about
Web 2.0 you havent missed much, only a def-
inition.
Lambert-Jan Koops info@lambertjan.nl is a former
editor of GeoInformatics. For more information, have
a look at www.autodesk.com, www.bentleyl.com,
www.wikipedia.com and tim.oreilly.com.
Web 2.0 oriented, as are the products that
can be made with it. However, a product from
Autodesk that does have explicit features of
Web 2.0 is Buzzsaw. This is a web-based sys-
tem that is meant to exchange building infor-
mation between owners, commissioners,
designers, architects, contractors and other
stakeholders during the lifecycle of a build-
ing. This all makes it a Web 2.0 software pro-
gram from level three. The use of the soft-
ware has no value at all if none of the parties
update their system at the moment that new
information is available.
Sharing Ideas
Actually, all online cooperating tools signify
that theyre on level three of the Web 2.0
scale. In this way, a company such as Bentley
is occupied with the development of such
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
25
December 2008
Google Earth is Web 2.0 of level two.
Tim OReilly invented the term Web 2.0 and divided
the application into four levels.
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
26
Making Forest Management simpler and less costly
Magellans latest GPS Tools
The latest GIS and GPS technologies are offering new efficiencies for land managers.
Forest and woodlot property mapping and management are increasingly more accurate and less
time-consuming tasks with the newest handheld GPS receivers. Now field teams can accurately
map and inventory more types of data in less time to permit land managers to maintain
up-to-date and comprehensive resource data. The rugged all-in-one quality of the new handheld
Magellan MobileMapper CX GIS/GPS receiver is proving especially valuable to land managers
in both Europe and the United States.
By Robert Wick
Navigating to the work site with the MobileMapper CX.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
27
December 2008
Visit www.lidarmap.org to view the conference program
Image courtesy of 3001 Inc.
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January 26-28, 2009
Timber trespass can be a serious problem,
but once a tree falls on a neighboring proper-
ty, it is a little late to discuss property bound-
aries. Fortunately, property owners, timber
companies and government agencies now
have available new tools to make marking
woodlot boundaries faster, simpler and less
costly.
The newest GPS receivers coupled with the
latest geographic information system (GIS)
software and topographic and orthophoto-
graphic map overlays are giving foresters a
new and more efficient way to mark forest and
woodlot boundaries and better manage the
entire spectrum of forest resources. Many
foresters in North America and Europe are
embracing the new technology.
Take Tom Caperton and his son, Stephen, they
flag and paint timber parcel boundaries for
DeNoon Lumber Company, an Ohio-based lum-
ber and timber company. As early adopters of
the new technology, the Capertons have been
using a Magellan MobileMapper CE GPS receiv-
er GIS unit for the past three and a half years.
After DeNoon buys the timber on a parcel,
Caperton is responsible for flagging and paint-
MobileMapper. But because most of the areas
he works in are not serviced by beacons and
often he is down in deep ravines, a beacon
signal is not always available.
However with a backpack external antenna,
Caperton says he gets meter to sub-meter
accuracy and uses WAAS corrections.
DeNoon operates between 10 and 15 timber
harvesting crews working 150 to 200 parcels
annually in Ohio, West Virginia and
Pennsylvania. Using a MobileMapper CE with
TDS SOLO Field GIS mapping software,
Caperton is continually on the move from par-
cel to parcel throughout the region. His sched-
ule is so hectic sometimes logging crews are
waiting for us on site when we arrive, he
says.
Heavy Work Schedule
With Capertons non-stop work schedule, he
estimates hes in the field marking woodlot
boundaries with his Magellan MobileMapper CE,
GPS/GIS receiver about 30 hours virtually each
and every week during the past three and a
half years.
The accuracy of MobileMapper CE and its suc-
ing the harvest boundaries to ensure
DeNoon's harvesting crews do not encroach
upon adjacent properties. The timber harvest
crews are then instructed to leave a small
buffer zone between the flagged boundaries
and the harvest line, he says.
All of Capertons work is done in real time.
We never go back to the office to post-pro-
cess data, he says. We must flag and paint
while were on the parcel.
Caperton carries an external antenna in his
backpack as well as the MobileMapper
Beacon, which improves real-time positioning
accuracy by providing DGPS corrections to the
Marking woodlot boundaries and collecting resource
with the MobileMapper CX handheld GIS/GPS receiver.
Partner South-East Europe
Licence sponsor Organiser
cessor the MobileMapper CX has shown itself
to be particularly good even under tree
canopies where one would normally expect to
lose lock at least some of the time, says Jacek
Pietruczanis, Magellan product marketing man-
ager, GIS solutions. The MobileMapper CX is
so productive under foliage thanks to its abili-
ty to set the SNR (signal to noise ratio) mask
in the receiver. The forester can adjust this
level to obtain position data even in very
dense foliage. For example, setting the SNR
number to the lowest possible level means
the MobileMapper CX will only reject very
noisy signals. This setting should be used
only when a position is absolutely required
even with the possibility of some error.
The MobileMapper CX is consistently produc-
tive under foliage. But in rare instances, when
very dense foliage causes accuracy to fall out-
side the sub-meter range, an optional exter-
nal antenna can easily improve results to sub-
meter quality.
During a recent test conducted by the JRC
(Joint Research Centre European Com -
mission), MobileMapper CX was tested and
demonstrated in difficult environments,
where the conditions of measurements (vis-
ibility of satellites) were unstable for the par-
cel borders due to forest trees, and even
on parcels covered completely by forest. In
both cases MobileMapper CX was achieving
surprisingly good results which were below
the maximum threshold buffer allowed by the
EU Regulation says Pietruczanis.
Overseas
In another example of the growing popularity
of the new GPS/GIS units, this one on the other
side of the Atlantic, the Latvian State Forest
Service (SFS) has just outfitted its entire mobile
workforce with MobileMapper CX handhelds. In
Latvia these new digital GPS positioning
devices are replacing measuring tapes and sur-
vey compasses.
The SFS purchased 124 Magellan MobileMapper
CX handheld GPS/GIS units, which were dis-
tributed to foresters in 11 state-managed forests
and 113 local forest jurisdictions. The Mobile -
forest fire measurements, game cadastre man-
agement, game supervision, and biotope stud-
ies, including bird nesting studies and animal
counts. According to Juris Zarins, GIS division
head for SFS, the MobileMapper CX is deliver-
ing the one-meter accuracy required for mark-
ing forest cutting boundaries and the two-
meter accuracy that they require for other
tasks. The units run ESRI ArcPad 7.1, a GIS
and field mapping software, and are load-
ed with the state forest service and
orthophoto background maps.
SFS chose the MobileMapper CX for its con-
venience, simplicity and combination GPS
receiver and GIS data collector in a single
unit. Since the units would be used by field
foresters skilled in analog cartography and
surveying methods, but not digital equip-
ment, it was important that the new digital
equipment be easy to use. SFS considered
buying separate pocket PC and GPS devices
connected by Bluetooth, but the rugged all-
in-one quality of the MobileMapper CX was
significantly more appealing.
The SFS is a state-administered civil insti-
tution within the Latvia Ministry of
Agriculture, responsible for pursuing a uni-
fied forest policy, controlling observance
of the provisions of statutory acts, imple-
menting support programs, and ensuring
the use of sustainable forest management
practices in all of Latvias forests.
Zarins says, We are still in the beginning
phase of rolling out the MobileMapper CXs.
What we like best now is the devices mobility
and the convenience of having a GPS and hand-
held PC in one device. Its performance is quite
acceptable for our work, particularly since we
are able to take into the field large amounts of
necessary data, including raster data, and use
it together with the ESRI ArcPad application.
Robert Wick, robertwick@verizon.net writes
about the latest GPS and GIS technologies.
For more information, have a look at
http://pro.magellangps.com
Mappers are loaded with forest digital back-
ground maps in 1:10000 scale, showing forest,
road and river information, and forest invento-
ry data base information.
The MobileMapper CXs are used for a wide vari-
ety of tasks, including navigating to the forest
properties, boundary cutting measurements,
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
29
December 2008
MobileMapper CX
Subscribe to the Digital GeoInformatics, FREE OF CHARGE !!
DIGITAL
Solar Cycle and beyond
GNSS Update
The next solar cycle is coming. The older surveyors amongst us will remember the last cycle with its peak in 2001.
The younger generation however has been pampered with stand-alone GPS accuracies of 2-3 meters and
sub-meter dGPS results. One can however reasonably expect that this will not last.
By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
Sun spots cause heightened amounts of charged particles in the iono-
sphere. During normal circumstances a single frequency GPS receiver
uses a model to determine the delay of the signal through the iono-
sphere. But during a solar storm the amount of particles will deviate
from that in the model, resulting in a position degradation of meters.
Users of multiple frequency receivers are less affected but will probably
show a reduction in baseline lengths.
The solution: new signals, but whether they will be available on time
remains to be seen.
GPS
GPS Satellite SVN37, which was retired just under a year ago, was re-
activated in October and is once again transmitting as PRN01. The satel-
lite has only a single healthy clock and as such there is no guarantee
that it will operate for long. For that reason it has been set unhealthy
initially and is not included in the broadcast almanacs.
Meanwhile, the launch of the Block IIR-20 satellite with its L5 demon-
stration payload has been delayed again, with an expected new launch
date sometime in 2009. Either this satellite or the first block IIF satel-
lite must be launched before August 26, 2009 in order to keep the L5
frequency allocation. The delay is the result of problems with the Delta
II launcher provided by Boeing while the first IIF satellite is still in
development and build at Boeing.
Boeing has been awarded a $153.5 million contract to demonstrate
High Integrity GPS technical concepts. The objective is to combine sig-
nals from the Iridium satellites as well as the GPS satellites to enhance
availability, integrity, accuracy and the jam-resistant capabilities for war-
fighters. Iri dium is a satellite communication system with worldwide
coverage.
30
Ar t i cl e
Russian Proton-K rocket with Glonass satellites en-route to the launch platform.
Russian Proton-K rocket on the launch platform.
December 2008
Terminiation of P(Y)
code in 2020
In the last GNSS
review the possible
termination of the
P(Y) code on both L1
and L2 was men-
tioned. On September
23, the US Depart -
ment of Defense (DoD)
published a notice
stating that it will
indeed cease to sup-
port codeless / semi-
codeless GPS access
as of December 31,
2020. This means that
after this date there is
no guarantee that the
current L1 / L2 type
receivers, as used for
example in RTK sur-
veying, will work. The
DoD has stated that it "will reassess the transition date should signifi-
cant GPS program delays arise."
Interoperability
GPS - Galileo
The United States and Europe have renewed their vows for the interop-
erability of GPS and Galileo. Representatives from both have met at
the US Naval Observatory in Washington (USA). One result of the joint
work has been the so-called common civil signal referred to as L1c
(GPS) and E1 Open Service (Galileo). This signal is already being trans-
mitted by Giove-B as well as a GPS-Galileo time offset signal.
Compass versus the World
The interoperability between Chinese built Compass and Galileo / GPS
is running less smoothly. So far Galileo / GPS have assumed that
Compass would do something about the signals planned on Galileo /
GPS frequencies. Although no definitive answer has been given to that
assumption, a recent study from Taiwan suggests that interoperability
is not high on the Compass priority list.
Compass will consist of 35 satellites in total and should begin opera-
tion in 2013. Of the 35 satellites, 27 will be orbiting similarly to the
other GNSS. Three satellites will be in so called inclined geo-syn-
chronous orbits while the last 5 will be geo-stationary. With this mix
the satellite visibility of Compass will be improved relative to other
GNSS.
One of the conclusions of the study is that Compass alone can pro-
vide similar performance to the Galileo / GPS combined system. As a
result there is a good possibility that there is, from the point of view
of system design, no need for integration of GNSS over Asia.
Galileo
Surrey Satellite Technology (SST) has received an award from the
European Space Agency (ESA) for its contribution to the Galileo pro-
gram in general and Giove-A in particular. Giove-A, which was supposed
to operate until spring 2008, has already had its mission extended.
Furthermore the satellite appears to be more robust than Giove-B since
it remained unaffected by a surge of radiation that forced Giove-B into
safe mode for a week in September.
The in-orbit testing for Giove-B has meanwhile been completed by SST,
determining that it is
functioning as expect-
ed. Accor ding to SST
the new Maser clocks
on board Giove-B
promise im proved
accuracy compared to
the rubidium clock on
Giove-A.
Procurement Plan
The European Com -
mis sion (EC) has nar-
rowed the list of
potential contractors
down to 11. With the
procurement process
open to non-European
companies, a consor-
tium lead by
Lockheed Martin is
now in the running for
building the ground
control system.
The procurement as a whole is not progressing very quickly according
to Astrium Satellites and Thales Alenia Space which have urged the EC
to accelerate the process. At the moment it is expected that no con-
tracts will be signed until at least mid-2009. How this will affect the
planning of Galileo is unclear.
Glonass
In September 2008 a total of three Glonass satellites had been suc-
cessfully launched, bringing the number of satellites to 17 at the time
of writing. Another 3 satellites are planned for launch on December 25,
2008. The intention is still to have 30 Glonass satellites in orbit by
2011.
The good news is that the Russian space program has received addi-
tional funding of $2.6 billion from the Russian government, most of
which will go into new satellites. In addition, Putin has plans to sign
for another $1.8 billion.
Meanwhile production of the first Glonass-K satellites is well under way,
with the first scheduled for launch in 2010. This type of satellite should
last at least 12 years compared to the few years the current Glonass-M
satellites last.
Gagan
The Indian government has approved a $169 million funding for the
Indian GPS-aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) project. According
to Indian Aviation Minister Praful Patel the Gagan system would cer-
tainly be in place by 2011.
Gagan is the Indian equivalent to the US WAAS; European Egnos and
Japanese MSAS.
Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
hlekkerkerk@geoinformatics.com is
project manager at IDsW and freelance writer and trainer.
This article reflects his personal opinion.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
31
Artist impression of the Galileo system
December 2008
Integrating GIS and Remote Sensing for Hydrological Modeling
Spatially Explicit Modeling of
Phosphorus Emissions
Surface drainage contains nutrients and pollutants of diverse origin. While point sources are in most cases easily
identified, the diffuse inflow via different channels is difficult to account for. Analyzing annual land-use and
water-balance changes using GIS and remote sensing techniques can contribute to a spatial quantification of the
impact on substance flows in mesoscale catchments. In the framework of the project "SeenLandWirtschaft",
grassland areas of the Mondsee catchment were evaluated with regard to the emission of phosphorus discharge
to surface waters.
By Hermann Klug and Peter Zeil
Integrating various Data Sources for Water Resources
Management
Hydrologists incorporate many data sources to assess water quantity and
quality in spatially explicit terms. In this respect GIS and remote sensing
techniques have emerged as a significant support tool for hydrological
modeling. Both tools provide consistent methods for catchment analysis
using standardized data sets like climate data (precipitation, evapotran-
spiration), digital elevation models (DEM) for surface terrain modeling,
land use and land cover (LULC) information derived from up-to-date satel-
lite imageries, hydrological data (streams, rivers, ditches, gauging sta-
tions), soil properties, and finally information on the geological setting.
Together with remote sensing derived layers, GIS is accepted as a stan-
dard for assembling and generating water resources information within a
spatial decision support system (SDSS).
Traditional water resources management systems primarily integrate time
series of observations collected for water resources phenomena. These
include, for instance, daily rainfall, stream flow, and water quantity at
gauging stations. With the use of GIS, this concept has been broadened
to include geospatial data describing the properties of certain water envi-
ronments. With an aggregated synthesis of spatial and temporal datasets,
the water resources management system evolves into a Hydrologic
Information System (HIS). Integrating datasets provides the basis for sys-
tematically linking geospatial processes with time series collected at hydro-
logical stations. This originates in the fact that the movement of water
throughout the environment can be traced and hence makes it possible
to construct time-sequenced maps of water and dissolved nutrient flows
(Figure 2).
The Phosphorous Emissions Linking Parcels and Rivers
Ditches, channels, rivers and streams transport water partly contaminated
with dissolved or particle-bound nutrient sub-
stances. They result from various sources such as
waste treatment plants, industry or agriculture.
With these substances involved, water quality is
decreasing and substantial pressures on the
ecosystem are increasing especially considering
the eutrophication of lakes. These driving factors
are also affecting drinking and bathing waters.
These circumstances are being addressed by the
European Union which is making an effort to cope
with these pressures through the implementation
of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), set up
in the year 2000. The WFD (Directive 2000/60/EC)
seeks to ascertain water quality by identifying
point and non-point source effects with subse-
quent steps to ease these pressures by estab-
lished action plans.
The monitoring and evaluation of these action
plans require information about the spatially
explicit registration of runoff as well as the trans-
32
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
Figure 2
port and substance exchange processes based on quantitative field mea-
surements and modeling. While point sources are easy to detect, diffuse
sources are difficult to estimate. Nowadays, however, non-point source
emissions in particular have substantial effects on the ecological statuses
of surface waters. Hence, state-of-the-art integrated modeling approaches
are used to link up different input and output datasets. These combina-
tions are realized through the ModelBuilder framework in ArcGIS 9.2 and
allow for the transparent deduction of phosphorus emission calculations.
Mathematical modeling is applied to different spatially explicit processes,
controlling flows and fluxes of water and substances in the landscape. In
particular, dissolved phosphorus transport as well as particle bound dis-
charge of phosphorus are of importance when considering the nutrient
status of lakes. This article proposes a geo-processing procedure to
enhance spatially lumped and semi-lumped models by including weighted
variables to consider the spatial variation of emissions. This procedure is
evaluated for the Mondsee catchment in Austria comprising 96 sub-catch-
ments where water samples have been taken for calibration. The charac-
terization of the nutrient balance has been established by means of the
following pathways of distribution: surface runoff, water-driven soil ero-
sion, land drainage retention, interflow and groundwater as well as direct
discharge through the atmosphere (Figure 3).
Main Objectives
The main objective of the Interreg IIIa project "SeenLandWirtschaft" was
to secure and enhance socio-economic and ecological functionality in the
Bavarian and Austrian pre-alpine "Lake District" with particular focus on
the description of diffuse emissions pathways of phosphorus considering
transport-related processes based on topographic and climate influences.
Since water pollution control noted an increase of phosphorus loads to
the Mondsee and Irrsee in the years 2002 and 2003, the quality of those
water bodies (see fugure 6) has seemed to decrease due to the eutrophi-
cation of lakes causing toxic algal blooms. If the process of eutrophica-
tion and respective oxygen consumption continues, a change from aero-
bic to anaerobic conditions might result in the death of plants and fish.
However, we assumed a change in the system cycle causing increasing
substance flows and hence increased loads of phosphorus to surface
waters. Therefore, an investigation program encompassing a measuring
program with 96 measuring sites and the development of a dispersion
model describing the behavior of phosphorus in a defined hydrological
system was implemented.
The Case Study Area
The pre-alpine Lake District in the wider region around the Austrian city of
Salzburg, capital of the federal state of Salzburg, is endowed with about
a dozen medium-sized lakes (plus a large number of small ones). The
study area is embedded in a landscape of hills in the north and west, and
alpine mountains in the south. Although the Lake District can be regarded
as one natural entity created by glaciers, the lakes are situated in differ-
ent administrative regions: some in the federal state of Salzburg, some in
what is known as the "Salzkammergut" area which belongs mainly to the
federal state of Upper Austria, and some in the German federal state of
Bavaria. This has implications for environmental planning and public
action, which require collaboration across state and national borders.
Accordingly, different parts of the Lake District are subject to different leg-
islative conditions regarding, for instance, the regulations governing con-
struction, the use of lakeshore areas, (waste) water management, envi-
ronmental protection, and the preservation of nature (Figure 4).
Discharge Constituent Processes
Since water is the driving factor for phosphorus transport, a precise reflec-
tion of discharge processes is an indispensable requirement. The total vol-
ume of rainwater which is not lost by evaporation contributes to discharge.
This net precipitation is then split into two pathways: surface runoff and
infiltration. Water infiltrated into the soil can either be transported lateral-
ly through interflow processes or vertically, percolating and contributing to
groundwater recharge. Furthermore, water infiltrating to the soil can be
collected within land drainage facilities (retention). Depending on the kind
of distribution channel the water follows, water concentration time speeds
up or slows down. When there is longer contact time (retention period) of
the nutrients dissolved in the water, the self-purification potential of soils
and streams lowers the nutrient contribution to the lakes. This buffer
capacity or regulation potential is dependent on the efficiency of nutrient
degradation through organisms, immobilization or precipitation based on
certain soil properties or elements (e.g. Fe, Ca, and Al), the overall reten-
tion period, and the filtration rate through the soil.
Phosphorus Concentration Rates
The amount of phosphorus discharge is based on its concentration within
organic and inorganic matter of the topsoil. However, inorganic phospho-
rus compounds are not easily soluble. In part they are present in mineral
form, especially in Al, Fe and Ca bounds. Organic phosphorus connections
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
33
December 2008
Figure 3
occur in adsorbed form in orthophosphate ions and hence are also nearly
insoluble. Based on the high phosphorus adsorption potential of mineral
soils, the phosphor content of the soil solution is very low. Phosphorus is
highly immobile within the soil. Considerable phosphorus loss is therefore
assumed by soil erosion processes. Hence, the phosphorus content of
topsoil is a crucial parameter in modeling phosphorus emissions. But in a
grassland-dominated area like the Mondsee catchment, soil erosion is
assumed to be low. However, it is not only soil erosion that causes phos-
phorus emissions. Surface runoff and infiltration through macro pores also
carry soluble nutrients; this is especially the case under sandy layers, soils
with a high groundwater level and after fertilization with slurry shortly
before heavy rain events. Therefore, we consider grassland intensity an
important parameter explaining phosphorus emissions. The number of
cuts is related to the frequency with which fertilizers are brought out. The
reason is that the amount of nutrients brought to the field equilibrates
the nutrients taken off of the field. Additionally, the datasets from the
Integrative Administration Control System (IACS) which provides data on
farm and parcel relations as well as livestock numbers help to capture the
annual nutrient farm balance and an estimate of the amount of nutrients
brought to the farm parcels.
Estimating the Number of Grassland
Cuts
The number of grassland cuts per growing sea-
son (during the year 2005 in this case) was taken
as the measure for grassland intensity. The
assumption is that a higher percentage of inten-
sively-used plots (more than two cuts per year)
will result in a higher amount of nutrients been
offloaded. The nutrient dynamics imply that mate-
rial is removed in the form of harvested grass, but
also an increase in disseminating manure for bal-
ancing out the removal, whereby the timing of the
manure offload is critical with respect to precipi-
tation. An increased contribution of nutrients
transported into the surface drainage seems most
likely. Several pathways are possible: surface
runoff, drainage channels, interflow, the ground-
water system and erosion.
Monitoring annual land use changes to locate
areas of different intensities was carried out by
the monthly acquisition of satellite imagery from
the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection
Radiometer) sensor. Two ASTER scenes following in sequence are com-
bined for Spectral Temporal Change Classification (STCC). This results in a
spatially explicit representation of grassland intensity documented by the
number of cuts during the 2005 growing season (Figure 5).
Surface Runoff
Surface runoff reflects the portion of water which flows above ground
before reaching surface water bodies. Hence, it is dependent on runoff
and drainage capacity. While the first mainly depends on average ground
slope and vegetation cover (percentage of cover and vegetation type), the
latter is influenced by rainfall (amount, intensity, storms, duration, fre-
quency), time distribution of precipitation, soil moisture, soil water reduc-
tion time based on pore size distribution and pore volume.
Particle Bound Phosphorus Emissions
Soil erosion caused by surface water runoff can be estimated using the
Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). Predicting soil erosion by means of
USLE has already been implemented as a standard by the German Institute
for Standardization (DIN 19798). The predicted erosion represents the
potential long-term average annual soil loss in
tons per hectare and year, and this amount of loss
is compared to the "tolerable soil loss" limits.
The soil erosion equation consists of a number
of parameters which can be processed within a
GIS: the rainfall and runoff factor by geographic
location (R), the soil erodibility factor (K), the
slope length-gradient factor (LS) to be derived
from DEM data, the crop/vegetation and manage-
ment factor (C) to be derived from satellite
imagery and/or correspondence with farmers, and
finally the support practice factor reflecting the
effects of practices that reduce the amount and
rate of the water runoff (P).
Interflow and Groundwater Discharge
The process of water percolating into the soil is
called infiltration. This subsurface drainage is
based on pores filled up with air and water. The
amount of water able to infiltrate is dependent
upon soil texture, pore volume, pore size distri-
34
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
Figure 4
Figure 5
bution, and soil moisture. When talking about subsurface runoff (inter-
flow), we mean the lateral runoff within the macro pore system or matrix
water flows while the percolation processes are perceived as vertical. When
infiltrating water is blocked by certain soil horizons, the soil matrix cannot
absorb more water. In this case, lateral flows following the surface slopes
towards more permeable horizons occurs based on hydraulic gradients.
Drainage Runoff
For those agricultural fields which have undergone hydro melioration in
recent times, water is captured in drainage retention facilities to dry out
the respective parcel of land for better management. In this case water is
no longer contributing to groundwater recharge but instead is directly
transported through ditches to rivers and lakes. Therefore, data capturing
the drainage facilities is required. If these datasets are not available, geo-
processing algorithms exist which can estimate the location of those
parcels of land which are potentially drained.
Combination of Transport Concentrations
Summing up all the phosphorus emissions from the different pathways
leads to a distributed representation of the nutrient discharge. However,
as explained above, water discharge is based on a couple of interconnect-
ed processes which are influenced by different location properties. Due to
these interconnections we are able to conceptually aggregate some of
these processes which are strongly correlating and therefore reacting in
smaller variances. These semi-distributed quasi-homogeneous units are
called Hydrological Response Units (HRU).
Discussion
Geographical Information Systems are perfect tools to support spatial con-
siderations in the context of integrated water resources management. This
comprises data storage and geo-processing while, so far, the considera-
tion of time in a GIS is limited. The time dimension is not fixed as a coor-
dinate or time stamp within dynamic processes. A work-around measure
is to sequentially number different datasets and allocate them in a certain
time span for the representation of flow dynamics.
GIS are also limited in modeling special hydrological flow equations.
However, Darcy flow algorithms supporting the calculation of pollution dis-
charge, for example, are available in ArcGIS. The precipitation-discharge
models can be applied using map algebra functions such as flow accumu-
lation, flow direction and slope within catchments. But again, GIS in com-
parison to special hydrological modeling environments remain limited in
consistent calibration and validation procedures.
Conclusion
Through ArcGIS 9.x, ESRI provides a sophisticated environment for dis-
tributed spatially explicit modeling. In particular, the geo-processing capa-
bilities with ModelBuilder, python, VB, VBA and other programming lan-
guages besides ArcObjects are convenient tools either to apply already
existing methodologies or to develop new ones. Customized tasks can be
compiled as Dynamic Link Library (DLL) files and subsequently distributed
among the community or directly integrated in ArcGIS.
Many free and commercial tools have been developed in recent years, but
none of them is comprehensive enough to capture all options. Since not
all of them deliver the source code for free, there should be enough space
for more than one phosphorus emission modeling (PEM) application in
this field. Therefore, hydrological modeling in ArcGIS is neither something
new nor does this approach replace an existing solution; it occupies a
niche that, so far, has not been filled adequately by other software solu-
tions.
The specific strength of ArcGIS is the support of different data storage
facilities (personal and file geodatabase, Oracle Spatial or any other free
spatial database solution) and the performance of the geo-processing
tasks. In particular, solutions in dataset interoperability supporting various
proprietary and non-proprietary file formats make them very handy and
integrable through data exchange mechanisms. Furthermore, the visualiza-
tion capabilities in digital or analogous maps, 3D (animations) as well as
distribution to virtual globes such as ArcExplorer fit the needs of GIS pro-
fessionals. The same applies to the pre-processing steps such as coordi-
nate transformation or data quality assurance facilities.
Hermann Klug hermann.klug@sbg.ac.at a researcher at the Centre for
Geoinformatics (Z_GIS) at the University of Salzburg, Austria. Peter Zeil has 20+
years of professional experience in water resources management. With a professional
education in geophysics and hydrology, his research and in situ project expertise
complement the scientific facets of many national and international projects.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
35
December 2008
Figure 6
36
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
A GIS Desktop Solution for an Open SDI
Open Source in Spain:
the gvSIG Project
GvSIG is European Commission project for creating a large open source GIS, that had its origin in Valencia, Spain. It was
developed for the Regional Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport in Valencia, but now has many collaborating
organizations for expanding the GIS. This article describes the user requirements for such a system, its functionality
as a powerful SDI client and different phases of the project in developing this open GIS.
By Alvaro Anguix, Laura Daz and Mario Carrera
gvSIG started in 2002 when the Regional Ministry of Infrastructure
and Transport (CIT) of Valencia started to analyze the process of migrat-
ing the organizations computer system to an open source system. The
first phase was to achieve an analysis of different proprietary software
applications used in all areas of the organization. The main goal of
this exhaustive analysis was to find open source projects equivalent
to each proprietary application. When studying the GIS applications
used in the CIT, the conclusion was that there was no equivalent in
the open source world for these applications, using mainly ESRI and
Autodesk products, but there were many open source development
projects that could be used to develop an open source GIS with a
good chance of success.
After an extensive user survey regarding the actual needs of the vari-
ous GIS users at the agency, it was determined that a full GIS was not
necessary for 90% of the users. Instead they only needed access to
spatial data, a simple query capability, and the ability to overlay and
check for consistency and basic output. Therefore, the CIT published a
call for tenders to build such a client application, with the main restric-
tions being that the software should be open source and available for
testing in both Java and C++ versions, and to be able to run on both
Windows and Linux platforms. The winning bid, consisting of a work-
ing prototype, has since been developed into a fully-functional GIS. In
the beginning, the development process was a four-way effort between
the government agency funding the project (CIT), the company select-
ed to implement (Iver), a university consultant on interoperability mat-
ters (University Jaume I), and the wider open software development
community.
Platform Independent
An analysis of the current software used by the technicians showed
that there was no equivalent open source GIS and CAD software that
fulfilled their requirements, the most basic of which were it must be
easy-to-use and powerful enough to cover all their GIS needs.
After this conclusion it was necessary to find out what exactly were the
user requirements, and which tools were they using. This was the first
task of the gvSIG project. The final report containing the GIS and CAD
users needs included an evaluation from users which lead to the con-
clusion that 90% of them utilized just 20% of the functionality of the
proprietary software. With this information it was deemed affordable
and possible to develop a software solution in open source to share
with the rest of the GIS community. The main characteristics of the pro-
ject inherited from the migration process had to be:
View overlapping local and remote data from Cadastre WMS and IDEE WMS Data editing overlapping WMS Cadastre layer
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Ar t i cl e
December 2008
37
Platform independent
Modular; it must be developed using independent modules adding
scalability value.
License GNU/GPL as the open source license adopted.
It must follow the current standards defined by the Open Geospatial
Consortium (OGC).
The first prototype of gvSIG was released on October 2nd, 2004, and
with an ongoing development process newer and more stable versions
have been released leading to the current 1.1.2 version.
gvSIG GIS Desktop Application
Nowadays gvSIG is considered a powerful SDI client. As a GIS applica-
tion gvSIG is able to work with most of the known data formats includ-
ing raster and vector formats like shapefile, dxf, dwg, dgn and most of
the geospatial databases such as Postgis, Mysql, Oracle and SDE. It
provides the most common GIS tools such as data loading, map navi-
gation, distance measurement, and can query map information. It also
contains thematic cartography, legend edition using the most common
legend types, labeling, feature selection, data tables with statistics,
ordering, table relations, table linking, layout manager, geoprocessing
tools, CAD, raster processing, etc.
Its SDI client condition allows the connection, through the use of stan-
dards, to OGC Services like OGC WMS (raster and vector data returned
as georeferenced map images), OGC WFS (advanced access to vector
data), and OGC WCS (advanced access to raster information), accessing
data and being able to overlap and combine it in gvSIG map views.
Discovery service client is also provided within gvSIG which can be used
to localize data resources within an SDI. The discovery services imple-
mented in gvSIG are Catalogue Service (the user can perform searches
looking for cartographic resources using keywords like name, theme,
scale etc.) and Gazetteer Service (a service with a list of georeferenced
terms, i.e., a list in which each toponym has information about its geo-
graphic coordinates).
Integrating Advanced CAD Tools
CAD software is used in many fields from architecture to industrial design.
The technicians at the Conselleria de Infrastructuras y Transporte used the
CAD proprietary software (AutoCAD and MicroStation) for cartographic use. In
this migration to OS, it was decided to integrate such tools within gvSIG to
get rid of the proprietary software and license costs. At the same time anoth-
er phase started called Integrating CAD, geoprocessing and topology tools in
gvSIG.
The main goal was not implementing a standalone CAD application but to
integrate the required CAD tools within gvSIG. These tools let users rigorously
edit the cartographic data. This way users did not need to edit the data using
CAD programs, create topology and then analyze the data in GIS applications.
With these tools everything was integrated in the same application, so that all
the required functionality was available in gvSIG. The 1.0 version of gvSIG
incorporated this functionality for the vector data edition. Since then users
have been able to modify, create and delete elements as well as edit, for
instance, a shapefile, a layer from a spatial geodatabase or a CAD-format file.
gvSIG is provided with tools for inserting elements like points, polygons, lines,
ellipses, etc., and tools to modify their rotation and symmetry. Newer ver-
sions will include frequently-used CAD tools such as lengthen, cut-out, etc.
Integrating Advanced Raster Tools
Nowadays gvSIG provides some of the typical tools of raster GIS. With
the current version we can add some of the most common formats to
work with raster information like georeferencing images, set image
transparency, adjust brightness and contrast, and highlight.
Spatial analysis functions are being added to gvSIG as part of the new
raster functionality, with visualization and visual analysis tools utilizing
Colour tables applied over an Envi image
Route calculation with gvSIG
histograms, masks, colour tables, and image processing. In the same
way gvSIG aimed to integrate both raster and vector worlds by imple-
menting an advanced module to vectorize and rasterize data.
A parallel project of huge interest is the project being developed by
SEXTANTE team. SEXTANTE (Territorial Analysis System of Extremadura
)is a project developed by the University of Extremadura and financed
by Junta de Extremadura. Initially it was an application over the SAGA
SIG main development .. The intention was to migrate all this func-
tionality to gvSIG This effort has been a success, since the SEXTANTE
Extension of gvSIG is now ready and available for download, including
functions oriented towards the morphology and hydrology fields. All
the available functions developed are listed in the gvSIG website docu-
mentation.
Integrating other Advanced Tools
The main goal of gvSIG was cover-
ing the requirements of most of the
technicians at the Conselleria, this
goal we can consider to have been
reached with the current gvSIG ver-
sion 1.1.2. Furthermore, there were
users at the Conselleria that made
up the smaller percentage having a
real need for more advanced vec-
tor tools for their daily work. Those
tools are currently being developed
within the coming advanced mod-
ules. Some of this new functionali-
ty has appeared in the latest gvSIG versions, where we can find fea-
tures such as network topology creation, best route calculation, and
OGC service publishing wizards.
gvSIG Mobile
At the beginning of 2008, a smaller version of gvSIG was adapted for
use in mobile devices. It was gvSIG Mobile. It supports shapefiles, ECW,
WMS and images, and is able to make use of GPS systems. Some GPS
support tools in gvSIG Mobile are: connection to internal and external
receivers, position and coordinate information, centre automatically,
saving tracklogs and waypoints, and satellite constellation.
In the current version, only the visualization of layers and the genera-
tion of GPS tracklogs/waypoints are supported. There is an extension
available for gvSIG Desktop which allows cartographic information to
be exported from gvSIG Desktop to gvSIG Mobile.
Future Work
gvSIG is a European Commission initiative and a long term R+D+I pro-
ject with funds to work in the integration of new functionality over the
next few years.
By its very nature, gvSIG is an Open Source GIS which allows collabo-
rators to grow in number. In the beginning the main partners were three
organizations, namely CIT, IVER and University Jaume I. Nowadays, there
are many administrations, organizations and various private companies
that are providing support at both the national and international level.
Some of these include the Instituto Cartogrfico Nacional de Espaa,
Laboratorio Nacional de Geomtica, IRSTV from France, Cartheme in
Switzerland, el Instituto Geogrfico Agustn Codazzi de Colombia, Joint
Research Centre from the European Commission, Instituto de Desarrollo
Regional de Albacete, Universidad Politcnica de Madrid, Universidad
de Alcal de Henares, Universidad Politcnica de Valencia, Prodevelop,
Fujitsu, Andago and Confederacin Hidrogrfica del Guadalquivir.
Alvaro Anguix alvaro.anguix@iver.es works at IVER Tecnologas de la Informacin.
Valencia, Spain.
Laura Daz diazl@uji.es works at the Jaume I University of Castelln (Spain)
Mario Carrera carrera_marrod@gva.es is External Assistant at Conselleria de
Infraestructuras y Transporte. Generalitat Valenciana.
For more information on the project, visit. www.gvsig.gva.es , https://www.gvsig.org
gvSIG source code repository SVN: http://subversion.gvsig.org/gvSIG
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
3D Extension
gvSIG Mobile
39
Subsurface Geo Building Information Modelling
GeoBIM
In most geotechnical or construction projects civil engineers have to
conscientiously consider both technical subsurface objects and natural bedrock
objects. From a civil engineers perspective, there is an urgent need to extend
the Building Information Model concept to the subsurface realm, incorporating
the surrounding natural environment.
By Fritz Zobl and Robert Marschallinger
mation Model (GeoBIM) as a straightforward
extension of the BIM concept it enables the
management of subsurface construction along
with all geo-related (subsurface) data, such
as geological, hydrogeological and geotechni-
cal objects and properties. In this article we
describe the components, objects, features,
prototype applications and the potential of a
GeoBIM.
Virtual 3D City Models & Building
Information Modelling
In recent years, most virtual 3D city models
have been realised as purely graphical or geo-
metrical models, neglecting semantic and
topological aspects. KML or X3D/VRML are
strong in visualisation but have serious limi-
tations regarding spatial relationships and
semantics. Therefore, these models are most-
ly used for visualisation purposes but not for
thematic queries, analytical tasks, or spatial
data mining. Consequently, the City Geo -
graphy Markup Language (CityGML) was
developed in order to reach a common defi-
nition of the basic entities, attributes, and
relations that can be shared across different
applications. Features of CityGML are, for
example, digital terrain models, buildings,
vegetation, water bodies, transportation facil-
ities or city furniture. Going one step further,
BIM technology enables detailed virtual mod-
els of complete buildings. A BIM contains the
precise geometry and attribute data necessary
to support the construction, fabrication and
procurement activities needed to realise the
building. BIM also accommodates many of the
functions for modelling the lifecycle of a build-
ing, providing the basis for new construction
capabilities and changes in the roles and rela-
tionships among a project team. BIM facili-
tates a more integrated design and construc-
tion process that results in better quality at
lower cost and reduced project duration.
Architects, engineers as well as owners and
facility managers can realise significant bene-
fits on projects by using BIM processes and
tools to streamline the delivery of higher qual-
ity and better performing buildings (6).
Currently, BIM and virtual 3D city models
mostly imply technical objects and related
properties above ground surface. In this arti-
cle, we will focus on natural and technical
subsurface objects and their role in a GeoBIM
framework.
SubsurfaceGeoObjects
Subsurface geo objects build the underground
or substratum we live on. These objects are
defined by their location, 3D shape, composi-
tion, structure, physical properties, dynamics,
and history of associated geological materi-
als (geological information) as well as their
engineering behaviour (geotechnical informa-
tion) and technical properties (technical infor-
mation). We call this ensemble of objects
Subsur faceGeoObjects (S_GO).
The subsurface is predominantly made up of
natural objects, formed and influenced by
geological and climate processes over millions
of years. These objects are named Subsur -
faceNatureGeoObjects (S_NGO). From a prag-
matic GeoBIM perspective, S_NGO can be split
into two categories: geological objects and
hydrogeological objects. Due to natural varia-
40
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
Figure 1: Geo Building Information Model schematic, comprising geological objects (light yellow callouts), hydroge-
ological objects (blue callout) and technical objects (orange callouts). Typically, a GeoBIM data set covers complexly-
shaped, natural objects as well as the relatively simple shapes of man-made objects. Such a framework can current-
ly be best maintained by a combination of B-REP solid modelling and database systems. See text for more details.
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is the
process of generating and managing building
data during a buildings life cycle. Typically it
uses three-dimensional, real-time, dynamic
building modelling software to increase pro-
ductivity in building design and construction.
The process produces the Building Infor -
mation Model (also abbreviated BIM), which
encompasses building geometry, spatial rela-
tionships, geographic information, and quan-
tities and properties of building components.
Therefore BIM can be used to demonstrate
the entire building life cycle, including con-
struction, facility management and mainte-
nance, demolition and terrain remediation.
Typically, BIM and virtual 3D city models por-
tray above ground surface technical objects
and related properties.
Hence, we propose a Geo Building Infor -
tion, S_NGO diversify and have a range from
micro- to macro scale. Therefore, the elements
of these categories can be further separated
into several components (this clearly is appli-
cation dependent a tunnelling project in
sediments will be based on different design
criteria than one in hard rock), with a range
from minerals to lithological units for exam-
ple. Examples for S_NGO are lithological units
like gravel, marble or a shear zone, or a
groundwater body (see Fig.1).
In any engineering project, besides S_NGO,
technical subsurface objects exist. We call
these technical objects Sub sur face Technical -
GeoObjects (S_TGO). Such objects are for
example all elements of subsurface infrastruc-
ture facilities like pipes, wiring, caverns, gal-
leries or tunnels and the subsurface compo-
nents of any building (e.g. a foundation, a
subsurface parking area etc.). During con-
struction of these technical objects, informa-
tion about S_NGO is acquired by exploration.
CAD systems, the total S_GO can be consis-
tently combined via Boolean operations. With
database information attached, S_GO can
then be subject to concurrent spatial and
attribute queries in 3D.
Changes in S_GO
Portraying a geotechnical project means keep-
ing track of a dynamic system with S_GO
changes being mostly project-related: the
advancement of a tunnel, the excavation of a
building pit, drilling and grouting activities,
etc., will change both the S_NGO and the
S_TGO ensembles. To a lesser extent, nature-
induced changes also have to be considered
- e.g. ground water level variation.
The consistent incorporation of change in
geometry and shapes of associated S_GO
objects is a particular challenge for the
GeoBIM concept (compare figure 3).
GeoBIM - Application Range and
Advantages
Whenever a new building is going to be con-
structed, all relevant subsurface objects have
to be considered. In construction projects a
sound knowledge of position, geometrical
shape and properties of subsurface objects is
necessary. This pertains to all phases of a sub-
surface buildings life cycle: pre-design, design,
construction and operation stages. As men-
tioned above, subsurface objects can either
be natural objects (geology, hydrogeology), or
existing or planned technical objects such as
cables, drain pipes or tunnels. In order to
adapt the building to local conditions and to
achieve secure and cost-effective construction,
designers and engineers have to consider
these subsurface objects at the same time.
Access to all data concerning location, shape
and properties of relevant subsurface objects,
as well as data quality (statistical information)
is of prime importance for the experts involved
during the entire project. In tunnelling, this
need is expressed by several concurrent devel-
opment activities of 3D tunnelling documen-
tation software.
A Geo Building Information Modelling
approach enables the full, digital representa-
tion of the building process and facilitates the
exchange and interoperability of data.
Typically, a GeoBIM data set comprises com-
plexly-shaped, natural objects as well as the
relatively simple shapes of man-made objects.
Providing a development platform for design
and administration tools of geospatial and
geotechnical projects, the location, geometry
S_NGO and S_TGO together make up the
GeoBIM modelling framework (see figure 2).
Subsurface Modelling: B-REP Objects
with Database Links
While geometrical solid models portraying
S_TGO are the by-product of any up-to-date,
CAD-based planning process, data on S_NGO
typically have to be acquired in the pre-pro-
ject phase by exploration. Usual data sources
are mapping, remote sensing, geophysics and
drilling. To be able to automatically interact
with technical subsurface geo objects, natural
subsurface object data have to be trans-
formed into solid models of S_NGO. The
industrys standard approach to geometrical
solid modelling is B-REP (7), which is offered
by CAD systems. Providing NURBS functional-
ity, current CAD systems (e.g., AutoCAD,
Microstation, CATIA) are able to portray the
complex shapes of S_NGO in addition to the
geometrically straightforward S_TGO. In these
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
41
December 2008
Figure 2: Subsurface Geo Building modelling framework - GeoBIM. See text for detailed explanation.
Figure 3: Location, shape, properties and number of
S_GO changes. Any technical activity will change the
S_NGO and S_TGO ensemble of a GeoBIM.
and properties of S_GOs need to conform to
open standards. This approach should enable
engineers to build better and safer buildings,
in a more efficient way.
Two Practical GeoBIM Examples
Geo Building Information Models have been
developed using software from Autodesk
(AutoCAD Civil 3D) and Bentley (Microstation).
REP) and attribute data (links to a relational
database), describing the tunnel shell and
associated tunnel infrastructure like rails, pip-
ing, electric lines and emergency equipment.
In the GeoBIM environment, S_TGO and
S_NGO can be related by Boolean operations
among the solid objects and by database
queries involving the geological, hydrological,
geotechnical and technical attributes. As an
example, the possible impact of the shear
zone (Fig. 2) on the tunnel can be highlight-
ed by a combination of Boolean intersection
of relevant S_GO objects and a database
query involving tunnel shell, tunnel infrastruc-
ture and security equipment parameters. Once
a consistent GeoBIM has been established for
a tunnel, maintenance work or future tunnel
extensions like a parallel tube or emergency
exits can be scheduled in an economic way.
Moreover, the S_GO framework is a quantita-
tive foundation for technical simulations like
air pollution or fire propagation.
Design of Building Pits in Settled Areas
Building projects in urban areas can be chal-
lenging because of pre-existing infrastructure.
When excavating a building pit, besides geol-
ogy and hydrology, all existing subsurface
wiring, piping and foundations have to be
considered (see figure 5). GeoBIM, in provid-
ing the solid-based, full 3D management of
relevant data, significantly reduces planning
time by integrating in an optimised manner,
newly-planned and existing infrastructure.
Moreover, the risk of damaging existing sub-
surface infrastructure is minimised.
Fritz Zobl, fritz.zobl@oeaw.ac.at, Robert
Marschallinger, robert.marschallinger@oeaw.ac.at
GIScience Salzburg, Austrian Academy of Sciences.
www.oeaw.ac.at/giscience
GeoBIM video link: www.oeaw-giscience.org/
downloadmaterial/GeoBIM
Links/ References:
www.citygml.org
www.citygmlwiki.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_representation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonuniform_rational_B-
spline
Eastman et al., (2008): BIM Handbook: a guide to
building information modelling for owners,
managers, designers, engineers and constructors,
Wiley
Tunnelling
Tunnelling projects involve highly complex
S_NGO and S_TGO arrangements (compare
figure 2 and figure 4). During tunnel planning,
the building ground is thoroughly explored,
yielding excellent data for the setup of the
S_NGO solid model. The S_TGO, which is a
state-of-the-art civil engineering by-product of
the pre-project phase, holds all geometry (B-
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
43
December 2008
Figure 4: S_TGO associated with a tunnelling project (detail of Fig. 0). S_NGO in front of the shear zone (here:
phyllite rocks) have been switched off to view the tunnelling infrastructure. The emergency shafts shell has been
rendered transparently to visualise the interior, e.g., the stairs and the elevator shaft. See text for details.
Figure 5: Building pit excavation in an area which was previously covered with buildings. Here, GeoBIM plays a
significant role in portraying the existing infrastructure.
44
Conf er ence
December 2008
ESRIs EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) User Conference
Biggest GIS Event outside of the US
In London, during ESRIs EMEA User Conference, the sympathetic regionalisation, gave this annual
event a nice and colourful British touch.
By: Remco Takken
Traditionally, ESRIs User Conference for Europe, Middle East and Africa
is the biggest GIS vendor event outside of the US. In many respects,
the gathering of 1,500 people from 6o countries functions as a region-
alized summary of its considerably bigger San Diego counterpart.
This means that ESRI founder and President Jack Dangermond also gets
his own little space in London, where he can further emphasize his
vision for a GIS for everyday life. We are all coming from many dif-
ferent disciplines, working together on common ground. About the
power of geo-information, he says: we are already convinced, thats
why we are here. But you are guilty of keeping the secret, because GIS
is still one of the best kept secrets in the world.
Financial Crisis in Perspective
While Dangermond refuses to talk too much about what he calls returns
on investment and the financial crisis, thanks to GIS analysis, he does
come up with some revealing insights on suburban house foreclosures in
Southern California. On the map you can easily see that the financial cri-
sis didnt affect the downtown areas so much. Those cheaper suburban
homes got more expensive when fuel prices doubled. Maybe this started
the whole thing. Theres a different crisis going on, its the crisis of our
planet. And there is no safety bank, no bail out. The planet changes by
our footprint, and its affecting the sustainability of what we do. He also
addresses the British floods in the recent past. There are more important
things at stake than money. We know that GIS can do a lot of things, but
it cant stop the floodings.
Real Life Demo
Strikingly, the real life demo held at the plenary sessions during the first
day, showed a flood scenario, with a clear focus on (mobile) GIS and flood
disaster management. This indeed has been one of the big issues in the
UK lately, where GIS can help. The demo showed GIS has a role to play
in flood prediction, prevention, planning and improving response.
For non-UK visitors, it was informative to see how British analysts conse-
quently pointed out climate change as the primal reason for the recent
floods. The ongoing growth of the British population, recent landscape
design in risky environments and the oddities of chance calculation werent
taken into account as you would expect from a country where rain has
been a constant factor for centuries.
RSA Group underwriter Timothy Mitchell made clear that the floodings
indeed were a fairly recent problem. He also commented on risk manage-
ment in the western world in general: As a country develops, insurance
develops with it. The good news is that the insurance companies take
their knowledge with them into developing countries. Mitchell elaborat-
ed on the use of GIS and spatial information in risk management. Although
he concluded that mapping allows insurance companies to do a better
job, he wistfully added: we now have to really use the GIS that we have.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Conf er ence
December 2008
Time Saving Top 10, Imagery Server
As ESRI Incs speaker David McGuire, formerly with ESRI UK, rightly stated
in his Technology Vision: Terrorism has incited the city, but today only
about six percent of all Londoners see this as their number one issue.
McGuire practically played a home game, and it showed in the foyer, where
book sales of his recent title The Business Benefits of GIS; A ROI
Approach skyrocketed.In the Top Ten of Time Savers the automatic error
report ironically ranked at the number one position, as if to make the
point again that ArcGIS 9.3 indeed had many bugs and errors. It topped
other useful tricks as pause labels and table sorting.
As in San Diego, quite a lot of time was scheduled for a sneak preview of
9.4, due for release next year. With only 50 percent of the conference
attendees using 9.3 over 9.2, these forward looking statements seemed
a bit over the head of the general user. More useful was the explanation
around the technical breakthrough of ArcGIS Imagery Server, which is now
both vector and imagery software. It not only serves out images to the
desktop or to the web, with Imagery Server it is also possible to roam
into the metadata of the individual source information of each pixel and
see where it came from. The normal process in the case of non-matching
aerial photo mosaics was to recreate the entire mosaic. With Imagery
Server, newly collected imagery or historical data can be updated one by
one.
Instant Atlas
Without any doubt, one of the outstanding new GIS applications of
2008 is Instant Atlas. Shortly after ESRI UK acquired GeoWise, they
released Instant Atlas, essentially a six-step wizard to create a map
(re-) using template styles with a nice looking front-end as a result.
Gareth Walters of GeoWise showed how you would typically get your
data from different sources, pick a style and publish a map with this
one tool.
With others, rather than geo-focused users in mind, Instant Atlas makes
it possible to resize the map in favor of statistical charts. For naming
and labeling map points a simple sticky tool is provided in order to
see which chart belongs to a place on the map. Its a tool to take seri-
ously. For instance, metadata are running down the side of the Table
of Contents.
EMEA and MEA
The EMEA formula of this User Conference was a success. By skipping
almost all American user stories and cases, a rainbow of GIS related
topics emerged out of disparate regions like Australia, Bahrain and, of
course, the UK.
Although, or maybe because, the 2008 edition of the ESRI User
Conference EMEA was the biggest in its 12 years of existence, things
are going to be different next year. European users will be invited to
come to Vilnius, Lithuania, while the rest of the world (the MEA in
EMEA) will be directed to the city of Bahrain. Nice! This might be seen
as a gesture both to the new European countries in the EU and to the
upcoming GIS communities in the Middle East. With great, good
humoured speakers, such as Sheikh Nawaf Bin Ibrahim Alkalifa of
Bahrain, exotic stands in the Expo and women in full Burqa taking notes
on GIS applications during workshops, London 2008 might very well
go into history as one of the most colorful editions of this event.
Remco Takken rtakken@geoinformatics.com is a
contributing editor of GeoInformatics. Additional information
about the subjects mentioned in this
article can be found on www.gisforeverydaylife.com and www.esri.com.
in London
In the Top Ten of Time Savers the automatic error report ironically ranked at the
number one position, as if to make the point again that ArcGIS 9.3 indeed had
many bugs and errors.
Two young ESRI employees re-enact their volunteering work with MapAction, togeth-
er with MapAction Chief Executive David Spackman OBE (in a very British hat).
MapAction is a charity that helps to get aid to the right places in disasters, by pro-
viding relief agencies with frequently updated situation maps.
45
Sharing Worldwide User Experiences
Leica Geosystems HDS and
Airborne Sensor User Conference
on workshops were provided which focused on
high definition surveying and airborne sensor
applications. The High Definition Surveying
event covered the latest available information
on applications, workflows and business fac-
tors, and updated product insights. Also, a plan
contest was held whereby companies could
share their electronic and hard copy plans
(drawings) of civil/survey, building/heritage, and
plant projects with others (see text box).The
Airborne Sensor part was primarily about in-
depth product training, supplemented by user
presentations. Overall, the presentations of the
two parallel tracks consisted of user stories with
a fine balance between US users and users from
outside the US, ranging from China to Belgium.
During three days, parallel sessions for both
tracks were held.
Offering Hardware and Software
Solutions
The conference was opened by Juergen Dold,
president of Leicas Geospatial Solutions
Division. In his keynote address, he men-
46
Conf er ence
December 2008
In San Ramon, California, Leica held the High Definition Surveying and Airborne Sensors Worldwide User Conference 2008.
The company actively invited users to openly share their experiences about the use of their products, both
hardware and software. Cultural Heritage projects, the maintenance and use of oil and gas installations, and many more
topics were discussed during three days of presentations by Leica users worldwide. Also, panel discussions, a plan contest
and a dinner cruise in the Bay Area for entertaining and networking
purposes made this a well organised and informative event.
By Eric van Rees
From October 26 to October 30, the 2008
Leica Geosystems High Definition Surveying and
Airborne Sensor Worldwide User Conference
was held in San Ramon, California. This event
combined two separate events, namely the
Leica High Definition Surveying (HDS)
Conference and Airborne Sensors Conference.
This years event attracted 400 visitors, com-
pared to 300 in 2007. The conference was
designed to allow users to share their experi-
ences while visitors were encouraged to net-
work in between sessions. In addition, hands-
Booth networking
tioned the growing importance of the soft-
ware components in Leicas portfolio, recog-
nizing the customers need for not only get-
ting the rich data, but also sharing the rich
data. Leica offers their clients an integrated
product portfolio that combines metrology,
geosystems and geospatial solutions.
Hexagon and Leica Geosystems therefore
decided to do both hardware and software
components, a decision that seems to have
paid off, as one conference visitor stated, the
software has finally caught up with the hard-
ware.
Talking about Leica Geospatial Solutions, Dold
stated that we drive the innovation to
improve field and office productivity. Not
only is there more and more information avail-
able in organisations, people want to share
and manage these data as well through time
and their organisation. This increases the
value of information, and to manage the data,
the ERDAS company launched ERDAS Apollo
2009, a geospatial business system that was
also presented during the conference.
The conference was not just about successes
though: during the conference some of the
presentations focused on achieving success
particularly in the face of the challenges
caused by the current economic turmoil. Two
panel discussions were about how to effec-
tively market high definition surveying both
internally and externally today, and the chal-
lenge of attracting and recruiting new staff for
laser scanning companies and departments.
Several of Leicas scanning products were dis-
cussed in detail, such as the Leica Scanstation
2 and the Leica HDS6000, together with the
accompanying software, Cyclone and
Cloudworx. These products were also on dis-
play in various booths outside the conference
best overall performance of tested pulse
scanners; it was the only scanner of this type
having noise below 2mm over the whole
range of white and gray reflectivity. It also had
the best accuracy based on spatial distances
between spheres.
halls. The purpose for which Leicas HDS prod-
ucts are used varies greatly, as do the type
of organisations that use these products.
Multinational organisations as well as single-
person companies were present to share their
experiences, problems and solutions.
Modelled Point Clouds
Andreas Marbs from the Fachhochschule
Mainz (The University of Applied Sciences),
Germany, discussed the latest performance
tests of the Leica ScanStation2 (pulse scan-
ner) and Leica HDS6000 (phase scanner). The
University of Applied Sciences compared the
performance of both scanners with a list of
other brands tested. To do this, they chose a
users approach to measure the accuracy of
the laser scanners. For this they compared the
results of modelled point clouds against
known geometry in the object space, verified
by precise surveying methods. The result is a
comprehensive report about scanner perfor-
mance. The HDS6000 turned out to have the
best overall performanceof all phase scan-
ners tested, with an average accuracy at close
range (<10 meters), excellent accuracy at mid
range (10 to 25 meters), and by far the low-
est noise (up to 25m) of all tested phase
scanners. The Leica ScanStation2 showed the
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Conf er ence
47
December 2008
HDS Plan Contest
For the first time, Leica introduced a plan
contest so that conference attendees could
share their work with others. Electronic and
hard copies of drawings and plans were
reviewed in three categories, namely
Plant, Civil Survey and Buildings/ -
Heritage. The winners are:
Building/Heritage
First Prize: Allen & Company
Second Prize: BHC Rhodes
Civil/Survey
First Prize: Manhard Consulting Ltd.
Second Prize: Dynasty Group
Plant
First Prize: Allen & Company
Second Prize: RLS Group
Juergen Dold, president of Leicas Geospatial Solutions Division
Paul Walsh of StatoilHydro
Paul Walsh from StatoilHydro, Norway, spoke
about the companys growing use of HDS,
including extensive project, operations, and
maintenance uses of TruView. StatoilHydro is
one of the worlds largest crude oil and gas
suppliers and the biggest seller of oil prod-
ucts in Scandinavia. The company uses
TruView for photorealistic laser scan data rep-
resentation of its oil and gas installations, and
brings them to the engineers desktop. It is
intuitive, free and web based, and functions
as central overall laser scan administration
and maintenance. Besides that, it offers free
measuring and mark-up possibilities. 3D visu-
als play an important role in the concept of
solving the challenges of having personnel,
suppliers and systems offshore, onshore and
in different countries. Walsh stated that it is
important in bringing the data to the experts
rather than bringing the experts to the data.
Since StatoilHydro currently has the worlds
largest implementation of PDMS (Plant Design
Management System) Global, including 41
PDMS facility models in 3D, this is more than
necessary.
How does a small civil/survey firm take advan-
tage of HDS in a stressed economy? Gus Rios
of Diamond West (California) explained how
his company managed to take advantage of
HDS in the last year. In 2005-2007, business
for Diamond West was very good with 75%
of its projects done for architects, government
and developers, and the remaining 25% gen-
erated through engineering and service
providers. In January 2008, a challenging
economy began: the company had to do
some serious marketing by visiting and speak-
ing at conferences, and undertaking serious
networking initiatives. The company succeed-
ed in successfully filling the void by provid-
ing consulting services to past scan clients
and 3D visualisation to new clients (architects
and developers). With this new strategy, the
company saw its 2008 revenue share change,
with 50% now coming from architects, devel-
opers and government, and 50% from engi-
neering and service providers. Conclusion: by
acting smart, it is indeed possible to take
advantage of HDS in a stressed economy.
Eye Candy
One field that sprung out in terms of eye
candy, was the preserving of cultural heritage
and archaeology projects in various regions
of the world.
One of the most entertaining speakers was
Conor Graham of Gridpoint Solutions
(Northern Ireland). His informative and often
funny presentation showed the use of laser
scanning for architectural stone surveys,
archaeological surveys for land development
approvals, and much more. This two-man
company was the first to offer HDS services
in Northern Ireland and because of this, they
tried to cover as many HDS sectors as possi-
ble, although their focus lies in the commer-
cial and public funded heritage/archaeology
sectors. Graham discussed such a project:
scanning the 14th century Nenagh Castle
Tower, for a public plan to conserve and
restore the tower and its surroundings. An
HDS survey met all the clients requirements,
namely a 3D HDS archive, 2D unwrapped
stone by stone external elevations and 2D
external sections. Graham was also very posi-
tive on the benefits of HDS for site measure-
ment, since it allows sites to be handed over
for the construction phase much sooner
because heritage and archaeological features
are recorded fully, accurately, and very quick-
ly. Publication of heritage site archives on the
web, via TruView, also adds value for clients.
3D Modelling
A similar application for cultural heritage was
shown in the Airborne track at October 28.
Professor Li Deren from Wuhan University
(China) spoke about digitalizing the Mogao
Caves, which form a system of 492 temples
containing Buddhist art. His presentation
focused on generating 3D data of all the
caves and the 200 km2 area around them, in
order to create high-precision 3D models and
48
Conf er ence
December 2008
Juergen Dold giving the opening keynote.
Virtual Architectural Environments, using sev-
eral 3D visualizing technologies. To achieve
this, point clouds were created with laser
scanners of the caves and objects, to which
textures were added from raw images. The
end result was a textured, highly accurate vir-
tual model in 3D.
By far the most impressive visuals came from
the first presentation on Wednesday October
29, where David Mitchell (Historic Scotland)
and Doug Pritchard (Glasgow School of Arts)
explained how Scanstation2 was used for her-
itage projects. They showed highly-textured
3D models of castles, bridges and the like, in
breathtaking visuals that are used for tourism
purposes. Although some attendees were crit-
ical of the high costs involved in huge pro-
jects of this sort, and were sceptical of their
continuation when the economic tide is low,
the speakers stated that this project turned
out to be a financial success and that it can
attract tourists to Scotland who are curious
to see the real thing.
Chris Ogier from ERDAS presented ERDAS
Apollo, a photogrammetric workflow from the
desktop to the web. ERDAS creates software
designed to turn imagery into information. For
extending geospatial data to business appli-
cations throughout an organization, they
introduced ERDAS Apollo, a suite of enter-
prise products that includes ERDAS Apollo
geospatial applications and e-commerce abili-
ties. This suite is just one step towards a big
geospatial business system from ERDAS, from
which other components will be released later.
Conclusion
The conference covered many different topics
from many different countries, and judging
from the reactions of visitors, it was a big suc-
cess. The presentations were without excep-
tion of a very high quality and the organisa-
tion of the event was flawless. Everyone
enjoyed the networking opportunities during
the conference, and also a cruise dinner in
the Bay Area, which was a nice occasion
allowing everyone to enjoy the spectacular
views of San Francisco by night. Leica and all
the attendees can look back on this user con-
ference with satisfaction. As hardware and
software technologies are constantly evolving
and being used for innovative and exciting
new applications, such as forensics, this real-
ly is just the beginning.
Eric van Rees is editor in chief of GeoInformatics.
For more information, have a look at
www.leica-geosystems.com.
Thanks to Geoff Jacobs for providing imagery.
Server, ERDAS Apollo Image Manager and
ERDAS Apollo Solution Toolkit. The suite was
launched in August 2008 and is meant for
organisations which have multiple CAD, GIS,
remote sensing and photogrammetry systems
and want to deliver their data through the
internet, among other things. With ERDAS
Apollo Server, raster and vector data can be
published, catalogued and consumed. With
ERDAS Apollo Image Manager, large volumes
of gridded data can be served and managed
centrally throughout the enterprise. ERDAS
Apollo Solution Toolkit is an advanced web
toolkit for building sophisticated web portals,
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Conf er ence
49
December 2008
Conor Graham of Gridpoint Solutions discussed a project on scanning the 14th century Nenagh Castle Tower in Northern Ireland.
Conor Graham
Looking forward to a Harmonious Future together
3D Laser Scanning and its
2D partners
In a perfect world, harmony would be applied to 2D survey and a rapidly
encroaching 3D perspective. Since 2001 projects and organisations like CyArk
and Heritage3D have embraced 3D technologies and tried to better understand
and use them within a cultural heritage context. This article discusses three
themes: the breakdown of 2D-3D barriers, the merging of digitisation
technologies like those of photogrammetry and laser scanning (at least in
terms of processing) and finally the increasing attempts to future-proof ancient
monuments and historic landscapes by producing ever-more detailed and
precise digital records which could survive erosion, vandalism and conflict.
A number of practical examples are used to illustrate the points made.
By Adam P. Spring, Caradoc Peters and Andrew Wetherelt
Arguments about the role of 2D and 3D are
not new. With the development of perspective
by Renaissance artists like Leonardo DaVinci
and Filippo Brunelleschi, the flat medieval art
of the church was thrown into disarray. The flat
medieval art survived however because per-
spective can only give an impression of 3D.
Perspective cannot provide accurate z coordi-
nates for the depth, and so 2D was needed for
more serious technical drawings. 3D can also
be seen as potentially deceitful or affected by
artifice as it was an artistic technique associat-
ed with special effects to draw the viewer's eye
in a particular direction or to create illusions.
Even today people connect 3D representations
with cinematic effects, clever illusions or com-
puter games, whilst 2D has remained the
domain of the rational and academic. This has
clouded people's perception of what digital 3D
is about. A perspective in a 3D world can be
measured as accurately, easily and readily as
from a conventional or digital 2D plan.
Perceptions, or rather misconceptions, more
than anything else hold the archaeological
community back from the more widespread use
of digital 3D recording. The boundaries
between 2D and 3D, in terms of academic ver-
sus popular, rational versus impressions have
become fuzzy. Indeed, for those who feel more
comfortable with 2D drawings, a 3D point
cloud can generate these as well.
Similarities between Laser Scanning
and Photogrammetry
Surprisingly such 3D point clouds suffer vary-
ing criticism depending on the means by
which they are generated. Since 1998 the rise
of the mid range laser scanner has had many
a photogrammetry specialist shaking their fist
with a knowing and rebellious, "I've been
doing this sort of thing with cameras for
years". Whilst it is justified to put new tech-
niques through their paces, criticisms of laser
scanning have not wholly gone beyond the
superficial and have predominately centred
on cost. Fundamentally laser scanning and
photogrammetry are very similar. Both cap-
ture photometric and geometric information
which means they deal with shape, colour,
texture and size to produce a cloud of
points made up of x,y,z co-ordinates. Granted
it is possible to produce similar, greatly
watered down, results using a well-estab-
lished survey tool like a reflectorless total sta-
tion on an automated setting. However it is
the speed and amount of information gener-
ated which separate potential 3D survey tools
out from those traditionally associated with
2D survey plans. A further distinction may be
50
Ar t i cl e
Figure 1: Gwithian archaeological landscape, showing
the bronze age site of GMX also with elevation colour
coding. Excavated by Charles Thomas et
al 1949 - 1969 .
December 2008
made between photogrammetry and mid
range laser scanning, with the latter allowing
for instant results in the field.
The Merging of Digitisation
Technologies
Initially laser scanning and digital photogram-
metry developed within a geomatics communi-
ty, and this was equally true of their early appli-
is however that a 2D image has less informa-
tion than its 3D counterpart. 2D images are
more selective and interpretive, which can be a
good thing when specific information is
required, but at least with digital 3D recording
the choice to display in 3D or indeed in 2D is
instantly and readily available. Once the archae-
ologist overcomes her or his fears or miscon-
ceptions about laser scanning, the task is (as
is common for most new approaches or tech-
nologies) one of asking the right questions.
Instead of asking for a plan or section for exam-
ple, why not ask for what features of an object
or structure need to be recorded, and at what
resolution or degree of accuracy this will be
needed. As for particular views or angles, this
is something that can be generated at the mod-
elling phase. The archaeologist can manipulate
the object using a modelling programme until
the required view is achieved, and an image
can then be generated from that for publica-
tion.
Criticisms and Misconceptions
There are other criticisms of laser scanning
that are misjudgements that arise from a lack
of engagement with the technology for
example, the idea that extreme cost and the
need for specialist expertise prevent any real-
istic access by ordinary archaeological practi-
tioners. Whilst laser scanners are presently
costly, prices are continuously reducing like
many other electronic goods in contrast to
most other goods. Despite present prices, the
speed of capture of millions of points in a few
hours compared to hundreds of points possi-
cation and growth in archaeology. As they were
new technologies, there was much concern with
workflows and technical issues like accuracy
and error. Indeed an experimental and special-
ist dialogue has dominated the literature. This
is an unavoidable stage in the progress of any
new technique, but not one that need ultimate-
ly stick or hinder its wider application. As a
result, a number of misconceptions abound
about what 3D digitisation represents. For
example, that digitisation is for geeks, that it
cannot produce useful archaeological plans and
sections, that it is for single objects or struc-
tures and has no place in the real world of land-
scape archaeology, and perhaps worst of all
that it is a lightweight irrelevance producing
pretty models for public entertainment and tit-
illation.
Geeky, digitisation is certainly not, and its tech-
nologies are much more accessible and easy to
use than is popularly believed. Although it will
still take a long time to generate surveys of
landscapes as opposed to sites, in the short
term this can be resolved by meshing smaller
terrestrial scans and photogrammetry surveys
with those generated from the air like LIDAR
and from outer space such as satellite image
based Google Earth. LIDAR and Google Earth
images are compatible with terrestrial laser
scanners, so there is no problem with meshing
them together.
Indeed, the idea that the 3D imagery is just for
entertainment is probably strongly influenced
by the fact that such images are most com-
monly associated with computer games and
more recently with the cinema. The simple fact
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Ar t i cl e
51
Figure 2: Hellenistic Theatre, Butrint, Albania 3rd cen-
tury BC. Scanned at 20 mm resolution. Firm surface
geometry and range of visibility made it ideally suited
to
scanning.
December 2008
bly captured by a conventional total station
operated by an experienced surveyor means
that the value in terms of costed hours of
work is soon recuperated. Here one must
remember that the accuracy of a laser scan-
ner can be as great as 5mm, so this is high
definition documentation (HDD). As for the
software to process and model the resulting
point cloud (the mass of millions of points
generated), it is already available as open-
access programmes downloadable from the
Internet for example the modelling pro-
gramme Blender.
The idea that laser scanning is a highly spe-
cialist and technical activity beyond the reach
of ordinary mortals is likewise questionable.
Companies like Leica and Riegel provide short
training courses for customers requiring only
three days, putting it on a par with various
health and safety courses like First Aid. Tuition
for open access software is readily available
on the Internet including on YouTube. User
communities have forums where people pre-
sent their problems and receive advice.
Photogrammetry too is beset with similar atti-
tudes. However, a number of programmes
such as MESHLAB and Photosynth are avail-
able to download free of charge with full easy
to follow instructions.
Finally, there is a widespread belief that digi-
tal technologies are in competition with each
other: the false debate between laser scan-
ning and photogrammetry; and that between
laser scanning and digital remote sensing.
The false Debate between Laser
Scanning and Photogrammetry
Recent literature has attempted to pit survey-
ing and recording technologies against each
other in a pointless struggle for existence. The
fact is that these technologies are compatible
and complementary. Photogrammetry and laser
scanning both rely on diodes that measure
electromagnetic radiation. The only difference
is which parts of the electromagnetic spectrum
are being measured visible light or infrared,
and the use of mosaic filters that bias green
light in cameras (in order to reflect the natural
bias in human eyes). Also, once the data has
been captured from a camera or a laser scan-
ner, the data is equally recognisable by pro-
cessing and modelling software. Indeed LIDAR,
GPR or any other recording instruments will
produce digital coordinates that are compati-
ble with and indistinguishable from all other
digital coordinates.As for photogrammetry and
laser scanning being in competition, they actu-
ally complement each other in the nature of
what they record. Photogrammetry is excellent
at recording surface textures and colour differ-
ences. Laser scanners record depth directly
without having to resort to software that can
calculate the z or depth values. The values pro-
duced by laser scanners are not influenced by
problems of contrast, and colour values can-
not create visual illusions. Critically moving
between these technologies can help the sur-
veyor obtain a keener more accurate picture of
the objects recorded.
52
Ar t i cl e
Figure 3: 3rd Century Baptistery, Butrint, Albania,
showing 20th century Italian alterations made between
1924 and 1926 by Mussolini. Pillars were added to
make it look more Roman.
December 2008
On the other hand, laser scanning can capture,
work with and recreate a primitive form of 4D
(3D plus 1 D), which is essentially what archae-
ology is all about. The full 3D data can reveal
the abovementioned folds and irregularities in
the landscape. Additionally, the fourth dimen-
sion can be recreated. People and their actions
are expressed through the passage of time or
at least through chronologically arranged data.
3D images from different times are compared
or animated through modelling programmes to
create the fourth dimension.
Future-proofing Ancient Monuments
and Historic Landscapes
The role of mid range laser scanning and other
digital techniques within archaeology is clear.
Entire landscapes can now be recorded to scale,
in real time, and preserved as digital archives
for time immemorial. Much in the same way
field reports are revisited and revised in the pre-
sent, these digital records or time slices can
also be revisited in the future. The theoretical
and methodical implications such 'meta' arte-
facts (digital artefacts produced from the coor-
dinates of originals) encourage are endless, and
as time goes on we shall see new branches of
archaeology develop along with the technology
as the quality and range of data increases.
With the rapid evolution of technology comes
a continued alteration of storing data. Much in
the same way the floppy disk was replaced by
The False Debate between Laser
Scanning and Digital Remote Sensing
Aerial and satellite imagery as remote sensing
techniques have already been transformed by
digital scanning technologies, and they can
cover larger areas faster than terrestrial scan-
ners. There are however some new ways in
which terrestrial laser scanners can provide new
additional information as yet inaccessible from
aerial or satellite imagery. LIDAR scans and
Google Earth provide what is known as 2D +
1D. In other words 2D images, which are then
processed to calculate depth and transform to
a sort of perspective 3D. Just like perspective
drawing it is not possible to be absolutely sure
of the third coordinate, the z coordinate, as it
is not directly measured. Laser scanning, how-
ever, does measure the z coordinates directly.
Aside from providing directly measured z coor-
dinates in more detailed surveys, laser scan-
ning complements the dimensionality of digital
data produced by Remote Sensing. Remote
Sensing is essentially looking from a distance
or spying from afar. As such it only has one
direction of gaze. Take a landscape of cliffs over-
looking a plain. An aerial view or a satellite
image reveals the relief accurately with the
slope of the cliffs and the surface of the plain.
However, if there are any caves in the cliffs or
uneven folds in the plain these could be missed
or smoothed over as a unidirectional recording
would have no way of revealing them.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
53
Figure 4: 3rd Century Baptistery, Butrint, Albania,
showing Mussolinis pillars reconstructed to the height
of the highest standing example. Modelled in Cyclone.
December 2008
the CD and DVD these too will inevitably be
replaced by something else. This has direct
implications when it comes to the storage of
any archaeological information saved in a digi-
tal format. Projects like those run by Ruth
Tringham and Michael Ashley (UC Berkeley) at
atalhyk and organizations like the
Archaeological Data Service (ADS) have started
to address this issue by utilising the constantly
developing nature of the Internet. The most
interesting forum for Scandata (sets of coordi-
nated points created from scans) is the CyArk
Foundation (CyArk.org).
Examples
The following examples demonstrate the power
of recording cultural heritage as 3D point clouds
of spatial information. The data comes from
fieldwork carried out using a mid-range laser
scanner.
Gwithian, Cornwall
The Gwithian project was conducted in July and
August 2008. It included mid-range laser scan-
ning of the archaeological landscape in west
Cornwall where parts of the 1949-1969 excava-
tions by Charles Thomas took place, as well as
Ground Penetrating Radar sampling of specific
areas. The laser scanned point cloud produced
from the project was done at 10 cm resolution
over a 150 metre range and consisted of 5
ScanWorlds (modelled areas created through
scanning) which covered a 64 hectare site in
one day. Whereas Airborne LIDAR data is con-
cerned with capturing height from above, the
ground-based laser system used allowed for a
higher resolution Digital Terrain Model to be
generated that also allowed for the colour cod-
ing and enhancement of archaeological features
within that landscape as seen from the eleva-
tion colour coding in Figure 1. Prior to the
advent of mid-range laser scanning, any record-
ing of the geomorphology of a landscape would
have been impractical to
do, let alone to be
repeated easily many
times in order to monitor
its continuous alteration.
Butrint, Albania
Hellenistic Theatre
Firm geometry and wide
open space presented
through the Hellenistic
Theatre at Butrint,
Albania (Figure 2), reflect-
ed the easy at which
data can be captured
from very few positions
in this case just two. In
terms of the way in
which the laser scanner
was constructed to interpret the world, this is
largely due to the 360 to 270 window of rota-
tion that is allowed by the particular type of
laser scanner used for this job.
Carn Brea, Cornwall
The juxtaposition between the weathered and
irregular surfaces of the Neolithic tor and the
geometrically sound 1836 Bassett Monument
(Figure 5) visualises a fundamental difference
between High Definition Documentation (HDD)
and the recording of archaeological monuments
with conventional or established survey tools
like the Total Station. Unlike the Total Station
or 2D survey, HDD is not concerned with the
capture of individual points. The main differen-
tiation lies in the capture of entire surfaces in
one traverse and the rapid acquisition of data
in the field.
The Baptistery, Butrint, Albania
Between 1924 and 1926, a group of Italian
archaeologists funded by Mussolini were sent
to Butrint to reaffirm a strong Roman presence
on the site. A direct consequence was the re-
interpretation and supposition of this agenda
on to the material record. The Italian archaeol-
ogists placed a ring of columns in the centre of
the monument in order to 'restore' it to a more
Roman look. This is demonstrated through the
re-jigged Baptistery as seen in Figure 3. The
Italian columns were digitally exaggerated in
digital space through modelling as seen in
Figure 4.
Conclusion
In this article, we have tried to highlight the var-
ious factors that must be considered using a
mid range laser scanner to record and preserve
archaeological sites and artefacts as digital arte-
facts within their own right. The relationship
between the physical world and the digital envi-
ronments are not that straight forward and
there are several elements that need to be
taken into consideration. This is especially the
case when we refer back to such meta artefacts
in the future. In 2005 the Minister of Culture in
Great Britain addressed the value of laser scan-
ning the heritage sector by seeing it as a means
of recording and preserving sites that are under
threat, as she put it no substitute for the real
thing but an alternative. This paper builds upon
this by suggesting whilst ScanWorlds are no
substitute for the actual thing they can act as
a very valuable information tool proving the
information present or the technology is taken
for granted. A standard of practice must be put
in place that accommodates for the develop-
ment of laser scanning in archaeology in the
long term. With the rapid evolution of such
young technology the impressive data sets
already available can only get better.
In many ways a methodology needs to be
developed that has purpose in mind. What gets
done with the information after acquisition is
as important as how it is acquired. In the long
term the recurring importance of addressing
each scan job with purpose in mind should also
incorporate how the scan data can be used in
the immediate and long term, as well as by
whom it could and will be used (think about
how the modeller could use this data and data
such as note and photos gathered in the field).
Adam P. Spring, Heritage3D Project Officer,
adamspring@gmail.com, Heritage3D.org
Caradoc Peters, University of Plymouth, Truro College
Campus, rutcpeters@plymouth.ac.uk,
www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/dynamic.asp?page=staffde
tails&id=rutcpeters
Andrew Wetherelt, Camborne School of Mines,
University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus,
A.Wetherelt@ex.ac.uk,
www.exeter.ac.uk/cornwall/academic_departments/cs
m/staff/andrew-wetherelt/index.shtml
Websites:
www.heritage3D.org
www.epoch.eu
www.cyark.org
www.worldarchaeologicalcongress.org/site/home.php
http://extranet.getty.edu/gci/recordim
The authors would also like to thank Jon Mills,
University of Newcastle and Paul Bryan, Head of
Metric Survey, English Heritage, Meg Conkey, Ruth
Tringham, Michael Ashley, Alex Baer, John Chenoweth
and Sara Gonzalez at UC Berkeley, Rand Epich at The
Getty Conservation Institute, , Sharron P. Schwartz,
Robert Van Der Noort, Jean Taylor, Ainsley Cocks,
Arjun Sharma, Daniel Hunt, as well as the Cornwall
and West Devon Mining Landscapes World Heritage
Site, Cornwall Heritage Trust and the Camborne
School of Mines Trust.
54
Ar t i cl e
Figure 5: The Bassett Monument at Carn
Brea (1836) and a Tor which formed part of
an earlier Neolithic Tor enclosure. This
shows the potential for scanning prehis-
toric ritual landscapes also.
December 2008
While the Shapefile and KML have both helped with data sharing, there
is limitless volumes of content that is remains inaccessible to users. For
a variant of reasons, the content is either locked up in proprietary for-
mats (DWG, ESRI File Geodatabase, MapInfo TAB) or is not indexed by
search engines. Paul Bissett of WeoGeo calls this hidden content and
claims that while there are approximately 800 TB of discoverable data
out there, 91,000 TB of digital content is not indexed and in turn not dis-
coverable. This means that only 0.009% of digital content is searchable
and if we equate this number to my local library with over 500,000
books, it means that I could only find 4,400 of them a massive failure
of the Dewey Decimal system!
Data discovery and accessible content is important to the successful inte-
gration of the GeoWeb into our workflows. Unfortunately, we are proba-
bly missing critical datasets that could help us design tools to visualize
problems or solve questions. A client asked me the other day what web
services were available for their project and wanted to get a list for a
meeting she was having with her staff. The question highlights the chal-
lenge confronting us where do we go to find spatial data services on
the web?
Google is attempting to index this hidden content but they cannot do
it alone. ESRI and Google have teamed up to make ESRIs web services
discoverable by Google and other projects such as GeoServer have also
worked to make their services discoverable by Googles Geo Search API.
This is a great start, but it still requires owners of the content to enable
their discovery by Google, Microsoft or Yahoo! Some data owners would
not benefit from making their data discoverable because of a variety of
reasons including security, proprietary concerns and development costs.
But for the data that is available, we need a Google search for spatial
data, and we need the equivalent of
Amazon.com for selling data.
Column
Data Discovery
James Fee james.fee@rsparch.com is Geospatial Manager at RSP Architects Ltd.
Have a look at his blog www.spatiallyadjusted.com
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
55
December 2008
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
Nestled 440 km northeast of Vancouver, B.C. Canada, the City of
Vernon is home to 36,000 people. With its snowy mountains, lush winer-
ies and sunny beaches, Vernon seems to have it all. One of the key
tools in managing the largest city in the North Okanagan Regional
District is the Citys internal GIS application, originally based on
Autodesk MapGuide open-source technology. When issues of perfor-
mance and compatibility with the Regional District arose, the City of
Vernon began searching for an internet mapping solution to replace
their existing system. With a staff of about three hundred, they recog-
nized the need to find an efficient and functional mapping platform
that would perform at least as well, if not better, than MapGuide.
The City also knew that with 50-80 internal GIS users in various depart-
ments, they needed an out-of-the-box application that would require
minimal staff involvement in developing the tools and functions they
needed. After considering new web-GIS technology being released at
the time by both Autodesk and ESRI, the City of Vernon decided to
migrate to ArcGIS Server for the deployment of its server-based enter-
prise GIS. From there, they sought ought options for an efficient, out-
of-the-box solution.
After initially starting the development of a Geocortex IMF/ArcGIS Server
Connector-based site, some compatibility problems with ArcSDE 9.2
relating to SDE annotation led to Geocortex Essentials, which was still
Migrating Vernons existing Mapping Platform
Implementing Geocortex Esstials
Located in British Columbia Canada, the City of Vernon is home to 36,000 people.
When issues with performance and compatibility arose in their internal GIS system, the city decided
to migrate to ESRIs ArcGIS Server for the deployment of server-based enterprise GIS. From there,
they began their search for an efficient, out-of-the-box application framework that provided
cutting edge tools and required minimal staff maintenance involvement the solution:
Geocortex Essentials.
By Trisha Twiss
Essentials screenshots
Essentials screenshots
56
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
57
December 2008
UNI__GIS
Educating GIS Professionals Worldwide www.unigis.org/uk
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Find out why the UNIGIS postgraduate courses are so successful:
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Networking with an international community
of GIS professionals
a relatively early product. However, the City decided to license Latitude
Geographics Geocortex Essentials upon release of version 1.2 given the
variety of new features and the GUI-based Geocortex Essentials
Manager.
Enterprise GIS for the City
December 2007 marked the start of Geocortex Essentials 1.2 implemen-
tation in earnest, with super user training beginning in February 2008
to initially deploy the new application. General staff were introduced to
the application in March 2008 with open-house demonstrations.
One challenge posed by the transition to a new GIS application was
the issue of data transfer, given that the Citys existing MapGuide reports
couldnt be integrated with other applications. The technical team
devised a solution; replicated data from MapGuide reports was deliv-
ered in the form of working report templates that were compatible with
Essentials. This effectively solved the issue of current and future data
transfer by giving the City the means to complete their own data entries
and conversions.
To capitalize on their new application, City of Vernon also had Geocortex
Essentials customized to integrate their TempestTM property manage-
ment software. One of the main reasons we chose the technologies
we did was that we wanted the ability to integrate our existing sys-
tems and software to create a true enterprise GIS for the city, observes
Barend Donker, GIS Coordinator at City of Vernon.
Though there have been a few reports related to the speed of the 9.2-
based application during times of heavy traffic, the system has been
well-received by City of Vernon staff and the City is planning to lever-
age new versions of ArcGIS Server and Geocortex Essentials as they
come available.
Trisha Twiss is writer and can
be reached at info@latitudegeo.com
For more information,
have a look at www.geocortex.com
Essentials screenshots
Where Virtual Reality Technology meets GIS
GeoVisionary
GeoVisionary started out as a 3D visualisation suite for the British Geological Survey, but became more than a tool
for geologists: it makes data available also for external clients and visitors. The surveyor and geologist dont
need to move from 2D to 3D anymore after using GeoVisioary. Andrew Connell explains what GeoVisionary is
all about, how it works and what the future has in store.
By Andrew Connell
The Inception of GeoVisionary
GeoVisionary is a happy accident. Out of the
blue, Virtalis was asked to provide a 3D visual-
isation suite for the British Geological Survey
(BGS). A pioneer of modern geology, BGS has
an international reputation for excellence. What
began initially as a simple suppler-customer
relationship has burgeoned into a rich partner-
ship where both organisations have fed the
other with ideas and expertise. Virtalis supplied
a Virtual Reality (VR) suite for BGSs head office
and then another to its regional office in
Edinburgh. Once BGS realised the power of VR
technology, it asked Virtalis to help them devel-
op a stereoscopic surveying fieldwork software
application. BGS aimed, with Virtalis help, to
create a 3D model containing detailed data
about the subsurface of the UK. BGS geolo-
gists at the time were using various software
packages to help them develop their 3D mod-
els, including GoCad, ArcScene and Fledermaus.
Virtalis has also helped develop a software
application to aid interpretation of geology
within the UKs Assynt area and the North
Pennines Geopark. Using the tracking system,
the Virtalis team quickly created a demonstra-
tor system capable of immersing the user in the
virtual 3D geology and landscape, enabling
them to explore their data.
More than a Tool for Geologists
As this prototype model gained more and
more features and groups of people came to
58
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
GeoVisionary developed jointly by
Virtalis and the British Geological
Survey allows the user to really
immerse themselves in multi-source
data in real time.
see it, there was a general realisation that the
model, but more importantly the technology
that lay behind it, could have an impact on
many more spheres than just geology. As
soon as the first demo version of what has
become GeoVisionary was developed, it
became apparent that BGS and Virtalis had
created something of much greater signifi-
cance than either of them ever intended. In
late 2006, Dr. Stuart Clarke, a survey geolo-
gist at BGS and responsible for the develop-
ment of many of the 3D models, commented:
The 3D element doesnt just interest geolo-
gists. It makes our data available to visitors
and external clients by bringing them to life.
Being able to represent in 3D what already
exists could help tear down the barriers
between specialists and non specialists.
What is GeoVisionary?
Geologists and surveyors naturally think in
3D, but until now they have had to translate
their ideas onto a 2D record. This 2D record,
in the form of a map, then has to be re-inter-
preted into 3D. With GeoVisionary, the need
to move from 3D to 2D and back again is
negated. A project team can work together to
construct a 3D model, interact with the data
and interpret them as a group. These provide
the capability to look at models from any
angle, allowing users to interact with the
stereoscopic 3D environment dynamically and
share the experience with others. Viewing
models in this way can reveal features and
BGS has found that when planning or
analysing a field survey, it can use
GeoVisionary to assimilate material from vari-
ous sources. For example, aerial photographs
correlations not previously appreciated by the
surveyor, and, just as importantly, they allow
those without training to envisage 3D from
2D maps and cross-sections with ease.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
59
December 2008
GeoVisionary enables the visualisation of terabytes of geoscience data, and allows other data, such as geotechnical, environmental and geochemical information to be overlaid
onto it, giving a complete picture.
can be draped onto a digital terrain model
and radar, satellite imagery, digital bore holes,
mine plans and any previous geological data
can be overlaid, giving the most complete pic-
ture possible. Although it is possible to use
GeoVisionary on a laptop or tablet PC out in
the field, it looks stunning when one is able
to view the data in 3D. BGS uses it on its
Virtalis StereoWorks system consisting of a
single large screen onto which stereo images
are rear projected by a Christie Mirage S+4K
using a Sun Ultra40 workstation as the image
generator. The projector is capable of extreme-
ly high resolution and brightness, boasting
one and a half mega pixels. The entire rooms
control system has an integrated wireless
touch panel, so that light and sound are all
controlled from a single point. BGS VR rooms
seat 18 people, and also have a wireless IS-
900 tracking system from Intersense, allow-
ing people to interact immersively with their
models.
Communication is Key
Although GeoVisionary has not yet been used
in a surveying context by any users except
BGS geologists, it is clear that this technolo-
gy has changed the way in which they work.
Virtalis has found that first and foremost VR
technology fosters communication. The sys-
tem allows teams of geologists to survey an
area before commencing fieldwork, thus build-
ing an understanding of the terrain, combined
with any existing interpretations. This initial
assessment allows surveyors to effectively tar-
get fieldwork in areas where surveying is most
required. On completion of fieldwork, the sur-
veyors can check their field interpretation in
the virtual landscape. This team approach
allows colleagues to work together on pre and
post studies things that had traditionally
been solitary studies in the past.
BGS surveyors report that, far from being sub-
ject to interference from colleagues on their
projects, a team approach has managed to
avoid rework on several occasions, especially
over the exact boundaries of the survey area,
giving truly seamless mapping. Junior col-
leagues can work alongside senior ones in
the VR suite and, during the shared pre-sur-
vey stage, areas of especial interest can be
targeted.
GeoVisionary can also give surveys the kind
of advantage that only those with a budget
stretching to a helicopter can dream of, as it
allows the surveyor to suddenly fly up to
20,000 feet to obtain an altered viewpoint, or
a wider perspective. As no features are
obscured by topography or landscape fea-
tures, BGS survey teams have reported that,
once they have digitized their fieldwork data,
they are left with an efficiently gathered, sin-
gle coherent picture.
BGS scientists have branched out to use
GeoVisionary on non-UK datasets. They have
even deployed it in seabed environments and
on inter-planetary remote sensing data, such
as that available for Mars. Current work also
includes mapping projects in Ethiopia and
Tajikistan.
GeoVisionary How it Works
GeoVisionary enables the visualisation of
underlying geological modelling in 3D and
allows photographs, maps and other related
geoscience data, such as geotechnical, envi-
ronmental and geochemical information, to
be overlaid onto it.
Initially, the team developing the GeoVisionary
prototype took parts of the UKs ground sur-
face model provided by Intermap
Technologies and draped certain key geo-
science data sets, such as its digital bedrock
and superficial geology from DiGMapGB50, on
to it. The initial prototype results were encour-
aging, but limited then by the amount of data
that could be loaded into the system.
Nevertheless, teams of geoscientists were
able to view and interact with the surface and
subsurface models over regions of the UK for
the first time using immersive visualisation
technology, or VR.
These early successes led to more testing and
development, with the creation of a UK wide
virtual field reconnaissance system, integrat-
ing national scale data holdings, existing 3D
surface and subsurface models and a variety
of geoscientific or geo-environmental layers.
Another key aspect of the design was to
60
Ar t i cl e
December 2008
enable the integration of already powerful GIS
systems and associated geographic data,
thereby avoiding a re-invention of systems
that were already very familiar to BGS geosci-
entists. This was achieved by combining the
functionality of the i3DVF and Mobile
Integrated Data Acquisition System (MIDAS)
into a single Virtual Field Reconnaissance
(VFR) tool that allows geological surveyors to
review mapping at both local, regional and
UK scales. Delegates from the recent ESRI
show in the UK were astounded to see their
own familiar data rendered in 3D
Everyone that has seen GeoVisionary remarks
that what impresses them is the quality and
detail of the images the team has achieved
and its speed. It is possible to fly to any
part of a model in seconds. Nor is a powerful
workstation needed to operate GeoVisionary.
GeoVisionary was designed for geologists in
the field using laptops and in the office using
single or clustered Sun workstations. Even so,
there are 70 billion triangles and 15 trillion
pixels in the initial UK dataset alone, which
is understandable when you consider there
are height measurements every five metres
and photographs of the terrain give a pixel
for every 25 cm. The System has built in
seamless streaming of multi-resolution levels
of data, merging additional detailed pictures,
geological notes, historical maps and subsur-
face data from boreholes in real time.
GeoVisionary is infinitely scalable, because
the system only remembers where it is look-
ing at any given moment. Each field of view
comprises two million triangles which are
updated 100 times a second. The novel data
formats give the ability to visualise as you fly,
continuously streaming both geometry and
photography to imperceptibly update the
world around you, giving a landscape that
rapidly morphs before your eyes.
years research between BGS and Virtalis.
In addition, the Virtalis development team has
already identified a series of more sophisti-
cated features to add and is also creating spe-
cialist modules for specific market sectors.
BGS contacts in a range of organisations, be
they commercial or governmental, are help-
ing immeasurably to obtain market feedback
for the future direction of these GeoVisionary
variants.
By Andrew Connell a.connell@virtalis.com is
technical director of Virtalis Limited
Andrew Connell is a world authority in Virtual
Reality (VR) technologies.
For more information, have a look at
www.virtalis.com
The Future
Over the last year, the Virtalis Development
Team has been honing and refining the sys-
tem and adding useful features to allow users
to easily get the best out of GeoVisionary. The
idea is that the technology, or high speed ren-
dering capability, is hidden from the user.
Although from a programming and VR per-
spective what we have done is highly com-
plex, the aim, if GeoVisionary is to become a
GIS communication tool, is to make it as sim-
ple to use and intuitive as possible. Refining
the user interface and the data exchanges are
the first priorities, as GeoVisionary would then
become a specialist, niche software, able to
be used by a broad range of people and
organisations. GeoVisionary will be ready to
ship in New Year 2009 and is the fruit of two
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Ar t i cl e
61
December 2008
Snowdon viewed in GeoVisionary. The 3D landscape visualising software was developed jointly by Virtalis and the
British Geological Survey.
Calendar 2009
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Advertisers Index
23-25 February Trimble Dimensions
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23-25 February ESRI Petroleum User Group
Conference
Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Tel: +1 909 793 2853 ext. 2894
E-mail: kshearer@esri.com
Internet: www.esri.com/pug
26-28 February Navigating the Future of
Surveying Education. Workshop on
Educational Management and Marketing
Vienna, Austria
E-mail: mansberger@boku.ac.at
Internet: www.fig09.ov.at
March
08-13 March ASPRS Annual Conference
Baltimore, MA, Baltimore Marriott
Waterfront Hotel, U.S.A.
Internet: www.asprs.org
13-17 March SPIE Defense, Security and
Sensing 2009
Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.
Tel: +1 360 685 5407
Fax: +1 360 647 1445
E-mail: PeterB@SPIE.org
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21-24 March ESRI Worldwide Business
Partner Conference
Palm Springs, CA, U.S.A.
Tel: 1 909 793 2853 ext. 3743
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Internet: www.esri.com/bpc
23-26 March ESRI Developer Summit
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Tel: + 1 909 793 2853 ext. 3743
E-mail: devsummit@esri.com
Internet: www.esri.com/devsummit
30 March - 01 April SPAR 2009: 3D
Imaging for Design, Construction and
Manufacturing Operations
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Tel: +1 978 774 1102
Internet: www.sparlic.com
April
01-02 April GEO-09
Coventry, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1438 352617
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01-03 April GISRUK 2009
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Tel: +44 (0)191 222 6353
Fax: +44 (0) 191 222 6502
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19-22 April GITAs 2009 Geospatial Infra -
structure Solutions Conference & Exhibition
Tampa, FL, U.S.A.
Internet: www.gita.org
21-23 April GEO-SIBERIA 2009, 5th
International Exhibtion and Scientific
Congress
Novosibirsk, Russia
Internet: www.geosiberia.sibfair.ru
22-23 April XCES, The Exhibition for
Construction and Engineering Surveying
York Race Course, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 0161 972 3112
E-mail: xces@ices.org.uk
Internet: www.ices.org.uk/xces.php
22-25 April REAL CORP 2009, 14th
International Conference on Urban
Planning, Regional Development and
Information Society
Sitges, Spain
Tel: +43 1 90360 1240
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27-29 April ESRI Southeast Regional User
Group Conference
Jacksonville, FL, U.S.A.
Tel: +1 909 793 2853 ext. 4347
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May
03-08 May FIG Working Week and XXXII
General Assembly - New Horizons across
the Red Sea - Surveyors Key Role in
Accelerated Development
Eilat, Israel
Tel: +45 3886 1081
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04-06 May 2009 ESRI Business GIS
Summit
Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Tel: +1 909-793-2853, ext. 2894
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04-08 May, International Symposium on
Remote Sensing of Environment -
Sustaining the Millennium Development
Goals
Stresa, Lago Maggiore, Italy
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Internet: isrse-33.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
index.php?page=home
11-14 May BE Conference 2009
Charlotte, NC, U.S.A.
Internet: www.bentley.com
25-29 May The Second International
Conference on Earth Obsevation for Global
Changes (EOGC2009)
Chengdu, China
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25-29 May, International Conference on
Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre in the
21st Century
Moscow, Russia
Tel: +7 9499) 261 62 43
Fax: +7 (499) 267 25 18
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June
02-05 June ISPRS Hannover Workshop
2009 - High-Resolution Earth Imaging for
Geospatial Information
Hannover, Germany
Tel: +49 511 762 2482
Fax: +49 511 762 2483
E-mail: boettcher@ipi.uni-hannover.de
Internet: www.ipi.uni-hannover.de/
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02-05 June 12th AGILE International
Conference on Geographic Information
Sience - Advances in GIScience
Hannover, Germany
Tel: 511 762 3465
Fax: 0511 762 2780
E-mail: Birgit.Elias@ikg.uni-hannover.de
Internet: www.agile2009.de
05-09 June URISAs 2nd GIS in Public
Health Conference
Providence, RI, U.S.A.
Tel: 847 824 63 00
E-mail: wnelson@urisa.org
Internet: www.urisa.org
09-11 June The International Emergency
Management Society TIEMS 16th Annual
Conference
Istanbul, Turkey
Tel: +90 (212) 285 3782
Fax: +90 (212) 285 3782
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15-18 June Intergraph 2009
Washington, DC, Gaylord National Resort &
Convention Center, U.S.A.
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Januari
09 January - 07 February Exhibtion of
Evolution from Local Measures to the
Meter
Braine-l Alleud, Belgium
Internet: www.fig.net/events/2009/
history_2009.htm
19-22 January DGI Europe, The Fifth Annual
Geospatial Conference
London, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 207 368 9465
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24-29 January SPIE Photonics West 2009
San Jose, California, U.S.A.
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24-29 January OPTO 2009 - Part of SPIE
Photonics West
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25-28 January GIS Ostrava 2009
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Tel: + 420 595 227 121
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E-mail: info@gis2009.com
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26-28 January International LiDAR Mapping
Forum
New Orleans, LA, U.S.A.
E-mail: versha.carter@lidarmap.org
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27-29 January INTERGEO East 2009
Istanbul, Turkey
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Februari
02-04 February FIG Commission 3
Workshop on Spatial Information for
Sustainable Management of Urban Areas
Mainz, Germany
Internet: www.i3mainz.fh-mainz.de/
FIG-Workshop
03-05 February ESRI California/Hawai/
Nevada User Group Conference
Sacramento, CA, U.S.A
Tel: +1 909 793 2853 ext. 4347
E-mail: cahinvrug@esri.com
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08-14 Februari 2009
15. Internationale Geodtische Woche
Obergurgl
Obergurgl, Austria
Info: Dr. Thomas Weinold
Tel: +43 (0) 512 507 6755
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E-mail: geodaetischewoche@uibk.ac.at
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10-12 February Aquaterra 2009, Second
World Forum on Elta and Coastal
Development
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)20 549 12 12
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E-mail: aquaterra@rai.nl
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10-13 February Second Map World Forum:
A Promise for Sustainable Planet Earth
Hyderabad, India
E-mail: info@mapworldforum.org
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18-20 February ESRI Federal User
Conference
Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
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Please feel free to e-mail your calendar notices to:calendar@geoinformatics.com
62
December 2008
Correction
The author of the article on page 64/65 In issue 7 (October/November 2008) of
GeoInformatics was mistakenly mentioned that as a spokesperson of Say Communications.
However, this should be mentioned as a spokesperson from MapInfo and not Say
Communications.
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