Precision GPS Product

From entrepreneurs to incorporation to becoming publicly traded and now ISO certified, Hemisphere GPS has evolved into a major player in the design and manufacture of precision GPS products. With corporate headquarters in Calgary, Canada, this relatively young company also has product development, sales and marketing facilities in Arizona, Kansas, Texas, and Australia.

Ryan Warehime

The company was born in 1990, when Canadian Systems Inc co-founders joined together to pursue their dream of manufacturing precision GPS instruments. Shortly afterwards the organisation changed its name to Communications System International Inc (CSI) and released its first product the MBX-1TM, a Differential GPS Circuit Board. The company quickly grew and expanded its line of GPS-based products, inevitably leading to CSI becoming a publicly traded company in 1997. Expanding Growth Once a public company, CSI began diversifying its portfolio out from marine navigation and GIS mapping markets towards a lucrative agricultural sector. This proved a landmark decision, as agriculture-based markets now combine to render more than 85% of the company's annual revenue. Rapid entrepreneurial growth continued into the new millennium, with the acquisition of Satloc® Inc, RHS Inc (Outback Guidance®), Del Norte® and, most recently, Beeline Technologies®. In 2007 CSI changed its name to Hemisphere GPS to better reflect focus and strength in precision commercial GPS technology. Maturing Process In a mere decade Hemisphere GPS flourished from a USD5.6-million dollar company in 1998 to become a more than $72-million dollar organisation in 2008, virtually overnight taking its place as the world's largest after-market supplier of GPS guidance products for the agricultural industry. After nineteen years of business, four major acquisitions, five additional worldwide locations, 260 newly appointed staff and more than forty new patents awarded, Hemisphere GPS matured into the company we see today. According to Steven Koles, president and CEO of Hemisphere GPS, "We really evolved from an entre-preneurial-style business into a mature and focused organisation." Worldwide Network Today Hemisphere GPS has narrowed its efforts to the manufacture of GPS products for positioning, guidance and machine-control applications. The company's head office is in Calgary, Canada, with additional facilities in Arizona and Kansas, USA and Brisbane, Australia. These four locations work in partnership with a global network of more than five hundred distributors to supply Hemisphere GPS products virtually everywhere in the world. Record Sales Part of the maturation process was for the company to establish more efficient processes, procedures and documentation. This is evident in the company's recent certification to ISO 9001:2008. Koles: "We grew to the point that we needed a more formal stability platform to springboard the company to the next level." In 2008 Hemisphere GPS did just that, elevating its business to record sales margins. Unique Technologies Structurally Hemisphere GPS is divided into three main business units: air, agriculture, and precision. Powering the success of these units is the Hemisphere GPS Crescent® and EclipseTM technology. "These are really the engines that drive the majority of our products," says Dr Mohamed Abousalem, vice-president of marketing and business development. "Crescent® technology provides single-frequency GPS solutions for a wide variety of precision positioning and mapping applications. Whereas EclipseTM technology harnesses a dual-frequency signal that can provide centimetre accuracy and support numerous differential GPS solutions, including RTK, OmniSTAR and SBAS." Practicality As for the types of products being developed, Hemisphere GPS takes pride in bringing to the market practical products. The marketing strategy allows for distributors to gauge their clients needs on a personal level. The distributors, in essence, act as a communication channel between Hemisphere GPS and end customers, so that customer feedback is then put into research and development, which in turn constantly adapts and creates new products that reflect the specific requirements of each application. Everything the company invents and builds has the customer in mind. It carefully considers usability, reliability and applicability to influence profitability for customers and company. Reinforce Position In order to further its goals of integrating application-based products and developing machine-control solutions, the company continues to invest in infrastructure. Hemisphere GPS recently upgraded its Calgary-based engineering and manufacturing labs and moved into new, larger facilities in Arizona and Kansas. In a global economic situation where many companies are cutting back, Koles believes it's time for Hemisphere GPS to lean forward in the market. "Now is not the time for us to take our foot off the gas-pedal. We have a lot of good things happening in front of us in terms of the sectors we compete in, as well as opportunities with current and new products. Now is a time for us to get a stronger foothold in a new market share." Koles is optimistic about what the future market will bring: "Whether it's through expanding in current markets or trailblazing new sectors, there is a lot of opportunity for us." E-mail: rwar...@hemispheregps.com

References

http://www.hemispheregps.com/

Shaping Our World

According to top GIS educator and spatial thinker Dr Joseph Kerski, the development and use of geotechnologies is crucial not just as an educational tool, but also in determining the future of the planet. Kerski is education manager at ESRI, the US-based software development and services company that provides GIS software and geodatabase management applications. An enthusiastic geographer - he has three degrees in the subject - he is passionate about studying maps, population, and landform and neighbourhood change, and seeks out educational partnerships, and conducts training in geotechnologies for government, industry, non-profit organisations, higher education, news media, and the public. He creates curricula focused on spatial thinking and geotechnologies into education, and conducts research into the effectiveness and implementation of these technolo-gies in formal and informal educational settings. We spoke to him about GIS education now and in the future.

Monique Verduyn, contributing editor GIM International

What are your views on GIM's August interviewee Professor Gottfried Konecny's comments about the professional development of geomatics being impacted by too many educational programmes in Germany? Do you agree or disagree, and why? When I worked at the US Geological Survey (USGS), at least one student each year from Karlsruhe Polytechnic would choose USGS for their practicum. These students impressed me greatly with their knowledge and skills. More recently, I was invited by ESRI Germany to participate in a GIS summit in Dillingen for educators at secondary and university level, and was impressed by the GIS programmes represented. Germany's GIS education is respected the world over. But I understand Professor Konecny's point; the laws of supply and demand apply to any academic programme, which always has to compete with others in the same country. Compounding the problem today, however, is that programmes compete internationally as well. This affects the number of potential participants across the board. According to research by Mike Phoenix (former director of ESRI's education Team) over 100,000 students were taking geomatics courses worldwide by 2004. To increase this number, we could consider increasing the number of traditional programmes. However, I challenge the geomatics community to make the expansion of GIS into other disciplines a top priority. We know how valuable spatial analysis is to making decisions and conducting research. We also know that industries, academia, and governments need more employees who can apply geotechnologies and spatial thinking to the issues they face. The problem is that students and professors in most university departments do not realise this. Geomatics professors and research assistants must become a service organisation that actively spreads the technology and methods throughout the campus by providing training and resources to everyone. University departments are like municipalities, and can benefit from GIS technologies in the same administrative ways that municipalities can. These changes cannot happen overnight, but the professors I met in Dillingen were doing precisely this, with the result that GIS was spreading beyond traditional departmental walls to the rest of the campus. These methods may not bring more students into geomatics programmes, but the end result is that the entire campus, from research to education to administration, will value geomatics so much that the university will simply not be able to function without it. What impact has the global recession had on the GIS sector? As GIS expands into more areas of society it is not as susceptible to downturns in one particular industry. The sector has been able to remain strong despite the recession because it is valued and supported by more and more people. The bad news is that organisations are hurting due to the recession having affected so many sectors; not just private industry, but non-profits, higher education and government agencies. Because GIS works behind the scenes, it is easily overlooked. Therefore, investment in GIS software, related hardware, and training become easy line items to delete in times of financial crisis. The global recession forces many GIS professionals to develop marketing skills so that they can point to the value of an organisation's investment in GIS. If they can say, for example, "One million euros invested in GIS in our organisation resulted in an annual savings of 10 million euros through vehicle travel saved, faster retrieval of information, and reduced duplication of services," they have a much better chance of weathering the economic storm. Obtaining reliable specific figures such as these requires the time-consuming development of metrics, but is critical in a world of increased competition for an organisation's money. How has GIS education in particular been affected? GIS education has always been affected by economics. The current economic downturn has only served to worsen a pre-existing condition. Educators seeking to use GIS in instruction have always had to face chronically underfunded computer labs, networks, software, and training. On the government and industry side, training is always one of the first things to be cut, despite the plethora of business management books advising against this. The GIS user community believes geomatics to be so valuable that they are often willing to spend vast amounts of their own time and funds to continue learning, even when not supported by their own organisations. On the positive side, training has never been available in so many forms as it is today, and is increasingly even low-cost or free. What are the best ways to expand the concepts of spatial thinking? University professors and research assistants could serve as trainers in departments that are not using GIS. Such departments include transport, business marketing, environmental studies, history, mathematics, biology, zoology, and many others. The other way to partner university administrators is to help them obtain and use GIS in campus safety, IT support, building maintenance, traffic, general public events, landscaping, and much more. We also need to ensure that GIS is a part of the teacher education programme on campuses. Bringing young people into the GIS sector is an ongoing challenge. What needs to be done to address this? We must not stop at our own campus. We are all aware of the explosion of geospatial thinking in general recreation: hiking, boating, fishing, camping, and much more. We need to work with informal after-school groups and recreational associations to show them the link between their activities and spatial thinking. They need to know why it is important, how it can set them on a lifelong career path, and how they can connect with the wider geospatial community. We must also work with primary and secondary schools to build career connections, offer internships, and serve as mentors. The GeoMentor programme (1) is one way to connect GIS professionals and educators. How do you believe educators should go about generating enthusiasm for the study of spatial sciences? A key way to do this is to raise awareness that spatial science has always been a ‘green' field. Despite the attention paid to salary, most students say that their top career priority is to have a job in which they can have a positive impact on the planet and its people. Subjects like global sea-level change, earthquakes, or population by neighbourhood in local areas. We also need to get out into the field as often as is practicable. What are the most pressing issues in GIS education today? This really cuts to the heart of what the entire GIS education community has been grappling with for the past fifteen years. Public awareness of environmental and spatial issues is at an all-time high; we have geo-enabled many common technologies, with more to come. We are monitoring the Earth as never before, and GIS is rapidly becoming the nervous system of the planet. We therefore have more information at our fingertips, more awareness, and more tools. At the same time, however, urban sprawl, fossil fuel use, deforestation and other practices continue at rates higher than ever. Can we, through GIS education, have a widespread affect on these societal forces? Secondly, the GIS education community needs to do a better job at working directly with educational policy makers. While in some countries, such as Denmark, this has led to national curriculum changes, elsewhere we have succeeded in working with teachers and professors at local or provincial level, but not at national level. A third issue is the need for research to show how use of GIS affects skills and content knowledge for students in different disciplines. While the GIS education bibliography on 2 contains over 1,100 entries, much more needs to be done, particularly in the area of developing rubrics and metrics that measure the difference made by GIS and that can be replicated and used in other studies. A fourth point refers to Everett Rogers' research into the stages in the diffusion of any innovation. If we are to move beyond the ‘Innovator' and ‘Early Adopter' stages of the diffusion of GIS through education to reach the ‘Early Majority' and ‘Late Majority' stages (widespread adoption to the point where GIS makes an impact on all education), we need Web GIS tools that are easy to use yet capable of some core GIS analytical functions. What lies ahead in the education field? We will continue to see the develop-ment of an international GIS education community. Web 2.0 tools will enable us to collaborate as never before. We will see more cross-level and cross-disciplinary projects that create and share GIS-based curricula, such as iGUESS in Europe and iGETT in the US. We will see the increased power of Web GIS to accomplish some of what we seek to teach in the field of geomatics, but also in the use of GIS as a tool and method within other disciplines. GIS education has not been without its struggles, but it's not too late to effect educational and societal changes.

References

http://www.geomentor.org/

http://edcommunity.esri.com/research/index.cfm?fa=home.bib

Integrating GIS and MIS

Management Information Systems (MIS) are used in a multitude of applications. Maps improve decision-making but GIS has not yet become an integrated part of MIS. Integration can take place at various levels, but most important are those of user interface and database. The former helps the layman understand information. Database-level integration enables up-to-date data transfer between MIS and GIS. The authors present an example of the latter in an application for watershed development in India.

By Sajeevan G, Sameer Ailawar and Sunil Chhillar, CDAC, India

It is common practice to develop different software applications separately for the same user-group. This complicates satisfaction of user requirements and increases development costs. A MIS is important for project planning, implementation and monitoring, provides strength and improves systems and processes. It also provides the right information at the right time to facilitate decision-making processes, both in respect of executive and technical functions, and enables efficient use of all types of available resources (see text box). Users will benefit from MIS-GIS integration because it reduces the cost of development and difficulty in using a software application. The right information can be efficiently extracted and easily understood with the help of maps. MIS-GIS Integration MIS and GIS can be integrated at various levels, most importantly that of user interface and database. At user-interface level, the most essential for the layman, MIS and GIS are incorporated into a single application so that the user has a single interface with which to interact, whilst separate databases for MIS and GIS might be in use. Integration of the interface means MIS and GIS teams cannot work independently. Database-level integration will lead to MIS and GIS sharing a common database; data changes will be reflected in both applications. After designing tables for the common database, MIS and GIS teams have the option of developing their applications independently. If the database is designed for one, already running, application restructuring of existing data and tables becomes impossible; thus views may be created for adaptation of data and table structure for the other application. Spatial data may be saved separately and attribute data shared between GIS and MIS. Both can separately use non-shared data. The best database-level integration involves integrating all data with a single database. For example, Oracle Spatial can save both spatial and attribute data, enabling access and modification to spatial and attribute data from MIS and GIS applications. The best overall solution is full integration of both databases and user interfaces. Management Information System MIS refers broadly to a computer-based system that provides managers with the tools to organise, evaluate and efficiently run their department. To provide past, present and prediction information an MIS may include software that helps in decision-making, data resources such as databases, the hardware resources of a system, decision-support systems, people and project-management applications and any computerised processes that enhance departmental efficiency. A MIS enables faster and better control and decision-making, improves monitoring of various operations and optimises resource-use by tracking and extrapolation of data. From the human-resource point of view, the user benefits from MIS thanks to its productivity increasing potential. It reduces the clerical and routine work of technical personnel. Watershed Development MIS and GIS systems were developed for managing and monitoring watershed-development activities for an Integrated Watershed Development Programme (IWDP) in Himachal Pradesh, under the aegis of IWDP Solan. The main objective of the IWDP HILLS-II, a World Bank-aided project, is to improve the productive potential of the project area in the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Uttaranchal using evolving watershed-development technology through community participatory approaches. The project, which has contributed significantly to reducing soil erosion, increasing water availability and alleviating poverty in Shivalik region, puts special emphasis on building the capacity of the community to take responsibility for maintaining assets after project completion. Case-study The MIS application is web-enabled and the GIS consists of a standalone software package. The two applications were developed separately and had separate login screens. Required menus, as per the requirements of IWDP Solan, were included in the MIS and GIS software. After successful login to the GIS, a map is displayed of districts in Himachal Pradesh State (Figure 1). By clicking on the desired district a map of the area is loaded into the map viewer (Figure 2), in this application, Geomatica 9.0. The application was developed using VB.NET and PCI SDK 9.0 and Geomatica was used to carry out various GIS functions, such as query. The MIS system was developed using ASP.NET and SQL Server 2000 and has options for data entry and report generation based on user-specified criteria (Figure 3). Concluding Remarks Excellent applications can be developed by fully integrating MIS and GIS at user-interface and database level. Database-level integration enables up-to-date data transfer between MIS and GIS while user-interface level integration will facilitate laymen in understanding information easily.

Biography of the Author(s) The authors are engaged in development of geomatics and e-governance solutions for the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), a scientif–ic society under the Ministry of Communication & Information Technology, Government of India.

Leica Photogrammetry Suite 9.1

Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging (CA, USA) has released Leica Photogrammetry Suite (LPS) 9.1. The introduction of Leica Terrain Format (LTF) provides improved accuracy and processing over LPS 9.0. LTF supports fast update and querying of large quantities of point and line data. Additional features include the DTM Split and Merge tool and additional support for Leica MosaicPro. New versions of ORIMA and PRO600 are also available providing photogrammetry users with an improved workflow processing solution. LPS 9.1 is expected to begin shipping this fall. New features and enhancements in LPS 9.1 include: LPS Terrain Editor quick loading, display and update of large Leica Terrain Format files new user option (new default) adding support for pyramid layer for Leica Terrain Format files, allowing faster display of terrain data. LPS Core DTM Split and Merge Tool enabling effective merging and division of terrain datasets improvement in point auto-correlation quality in the Stereo Point Measurement tool. Leica MosaicPro support for reference seam polygons support for Leica Terrain Format as a terrain source. ORIMA support for multiple APM processes, allowing improved use of multiple processors or multi-core processors improvements to the manual point measurement process. PRO600 new PROCRS module provides on-the-fly reprojection between design file data and other LPS datasets support for Leica Terrain Format datasets.

geomatics facilities

geomatics laboratory - G.19 Cassie building

The Geomatics Lab presents an open working space to postgraduate and undergraduate students. Most PhD students working on the remote sensing, GIS, and photogrammetry and laser scanning themes are based in the lab, conducting their research amongst their other group members.

The Geomatics Lab hosts the School’s photogrammetric and laser scanning equipment, as well as a high powered virtual GIS workstation, running 3dMAX. The Geomatics Lab is supported and looked after by Mr Martin Robertson, Geomatics Technician and Dr Henny Mills, Geomatics Teaching Associate.
photogrammetry and laser scanning

Digital and analytical photogrammetric facilities are available within the Geomatics Lab. The digital photogrammetric workstation is based on the BAE software Socet Set v5.4, set-up on a dual processing computer with an NVIDIA Quadro 3500 graphics card. Stereo viewing is supported by the dual monitoring system and a stereographics emitter and shutter glasses. The digital photogrammetric workstation is used extensively for Stage 2 and 3 undergraduate teaching and research.

A Zeiss P3 analytical plotter is mainly used for the teaching of photogrammetry to Stage 2 undergraduates, and is used to orientate and overlap a pair of diapositives to enable 3D measurements and viewing.

For photogrammetric data capture, we have two Zeiss UMK metric cameras and a Wild P32 camera.

The School owns a Leica Laserscanner HDS 2500 (the rebranded Cyrax 2500 scanner), which is based on the time-of-flight measuring principle and has a range limit of 100 m. It scans with a resolution of 0.25 mm at a precision of 6 mm at 50 m. Its measurement rate is 1000 Hz.

We have recently also acquired a Leica ScanStation 2, which offers the accuracy and use of a total station, scanning up to 50,000 points per second with a stated positional accuracy of 6 mm. The ScanStation 2 is used within the School for a variety of research projects and for undergraduate teaching in Stages 2 and 3.

The scanner and digital photogrammetric workstation have been used extensively in a wide range of research projects:

* Coastal geohazard monitoring funded by EPSRC, English Heritage and BGS
* Automatic capture of 3-dimensional building data from imagery and airborne laser scanning
* Remote asset inspection for transport corridors funded by EPSRC

geodetic GPS processing and distributed computing

For geodetic GPS processing research, members of the geodesy group frequently use each of the three major geodetic GPS analysis packages, namely GIPSY v4.0, Bernese v5.0 and GAMIT v10.03 (we have full commercial licences for both GIPSY v4.0 and Bernese 5.0). These packages are installed on our own dedicated High Throughput Computing (HPC) cluster of Linux machines, based on the Condor software. Condor allows "cycle-stealing" meaning that all available computational resources are used by a particular job.

We currently have ~60 nodes in our Linux cluster although during 2008 this will be increased by a further ~50 dedicated nodes as part of our global GPS reprocessing/sea level/GIA project. We also have access, via Condor, to the university condor pool which has ~300 Linux nodes and 1300 Windows nodes. We also have the potential to apply for access to the NERC High Performance Computing (HPC) service which has ~1500 nodes running the IBM AIX operating system.
CGPS stations

We operate and maintain two CGPS stations in North-east England for geodetic research, namely the Morpeth (MORP) IGS and EUREF station whose data are freely available to anyone, and the North Shields tide gauge station whose data may be requested via the NERC BIGF facility. In 2007, a second antenna and receiver (GPS/GLONASS) were installed at Morpeth as part of the Leica Geosystems SmartNet network.
surveying and precise positioning

We own a range of survey and geodetic GPS receivers (8 Leica receivers and antennas with RTK capability). total stations, theodolites, EDMs and levels. For non-contact measurement procedures, survey grade film, digital cameras and a laser scanner are available. In addition a fast-scanning field-portable spectroradiometer is available for image classification, capable of measuring surface reflectance in the 350-2500nm wavelength range. This is accompanied by optics to suit a range of applications, including: narrow and wide angle optics for general use; contact probe for soil and geological measurements; plant probe for close-up leaf reflectance measurements.

For local scale GPS surveying processing, we have the Leica Geo Office software, whilst for remote sensing and photogrammetric processing, there are both analytical and fully digital photogrammetric plotters, in addition to scanned cloud processing packages such as TerraScan, Cyclone, ENVI and ERDAS. For large scale surveys the range of software includes standard least squares adjustment packages for survey networks including LSS, a 3D land survey modelling package, and StarNet, specifically used for network adjustment.
field spectroradiometer

For remote sensing work, we have an ASD Fieldspec Pro FR (Model A110070) field portable spectroradiometer. This is a fast-scanning field-portable spectroradiometer for surface reflectance measurements in the 350-2500 nm wavelength range, complete with optics to suit a range of applications, including:

* Narrow and wide angle optics for general use
* Contact probe for soil and geological measurements
* Plant probe for close-up leaf reflectance measurements
* Auxiliary lamp and fibre optic illuminator for indoor laboratory use
* Kodak DCS digital camera for photogrammetry

GIS and geomedia

We have a complete suite of ESRI products, comprising ArcGIS v9.1 includes ArcMap, ArcCatalog, and ArcToolbox) and ArcSDE, used to access multiuser geographic databases stored in relational database management systems (RDBMSs).. We also have the Feature Manipulation Engine (FME) Data Translater 2005 software suite.

For CAD work, we have AutoCAD, Bentley Microstation, LSS and OASYS.
Geomatics Application Centre
Geomatics Application Centre: Commercial activity and consultancy in geomatics

First-of-its-Kind Map Depicts Global Forest Heights

Using NASA satellite data, scientists have produced a first-of-its kind map that details the height of the world’s forests. Although there are other local- and regional-scale forest canopy maps, the new map is the first that spans the entire globe based on one uniform method.

The work -- based on data collected by NASA's ICESat, Terra, and Aqua satellites -- should help scientists build an inventory of how much carbon the world’s forests store and how fast that carbon cycles through ecosystems and back into the atmosphere. Michael Lefsky of the Colorado State University described his results in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

A first-of-its-kind global map shows forest canopy height in shades of green from 0 to 70 meters (230 feet). For any patch of forest, the height shown means that 90 percent or more of the trees in the patch are that tall or taller. Areas without forest are shown in tan. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon/Based on data from Michael Lefsky.
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The new map shows the world’s tallest forests clustered in the Pacific Northwest of North America and portions of Southeast Asia, while shorter forests are found in broad swaths across northern Canada and Eurasia. The map depicts average height over 5 square kilometers (1.9 square miles) regions), not the maximum heights that any one tree or small patch of trees might attain.

Temperate conifer forests -- which are extremely moist and contain massive trees such as Douglas fir, western hemlock, redwoods, and sequoias--have the tallest canopies, soaring easily above 40 meters (131 feet). In contrast, boreal forests dominated by spruce, fir, pine, and larch had canopies typically less than 20 meters (66 feet). Relatively undisturbed areas in tropical rain forests were about 25 meters (82 feet), roughly the same height as the oak, beeches, and birches of temperate broadleaf forests common in Europe and much of the United States.

A forest canopy height map of the contiguous United States. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon/Based on data from Michael Lefsky.
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NASA's Earth Science News Team