Emerging technologies such as AI, ML and IoT have been driving the technology market as well as the geospatial industry strongly. These technologies have provided data processing and analysis on fingertips of the people.
For instance, mapping out an area earlier used to be a challenge and required a great deal of effort – from surveying and fetching the data to various compliances and government permissions. Whereas now, one can just fly a drone and through AI and ML applications, an analytical dataset becomes instantly available.
With the new geospatial policy in India, emerging technologies will get a boost and play a major role in creating applications that will transform the geospatial sector in entirety.
Hence, these evolving technologies are revolutionizing the industry and there is a scope for many new opportunities in this industry.
Geospatial trends for 2023
With the new geospatial policy in India, IoT and ML are going to get a boost and play a major role in creating applications and datasets to transform the geospatial sector in entirety.
Moreover, a transition from service to solutions will also be witnessed. The policy again will play a major role in improving the quality of data from different sources which will make the shift inevitable.
From the government’s perspective, we are seeing an increase in participation when it comes to using and applying geospatial. Many government departments are using geospatial technologies to enhance their workflows.
(Raghu Boyapally is the Founder & CEO of Marvel Geospatial Solutions. The views expressed in the article are the personal opinions of the author.)
The role and scope of national mapping agencies is undergoing a seminal transformation, from a basic mapping mandate to providing digital services and solutions to all stakeholders.
For years, national mapping and geospatial information agencies (NMGAs) have struggled to understand their future direction in a fast-changing geospatial ecosystem. A host of global conferences and symposiums, including the Geospatial World Forum, Cambridge Conference and United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress, have all explored this theme in recent years.
Is authoritative, up-to-date, foundation geospatial data the future or should mapping agencies be looking to provide knowledge services and solutions? How do government-owned NMGAs fit in a World in which industry can profitably supply the data and services for many use cases, and where the wider digital ecosystem is increasingly incorporating location into its workflows? This article, along with NMGA leader guest columns, explores these questions.
Topographical maps are primarily used for recreational purposes or to assist with urban planning, mining, emergency management and more. Courtesy: N.Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
The NMGA ecosystem
Defining the future role of national geospatial information agencies should start with an understanding of the changing digital ecosystem. The United Nations Future Geospatial Information Ecosystem document explores this from a government perspective. The Geospatial Knowledge Infrastructure (GKI) concept, a partnership between like-minded bodies including Geospatial World and the United Nations Statistics Division, looks more broadly at an ecosystem where data and applications combine to deliver user-led knowledge and solutions for across government and industry.
Geospatial and wider digital ecosystems are converging. This has been evidenced by Geospatial World’s research during the GKI project, where examination of eight industry sectors amply demonstrated the widespread adoption of geospatial technology and data in digital workflows. As Ed Parsons, Google’s Geospatial Technologist, said in 2020, there’s a bit of geo in everything.
Ordnance Survey & Mobileye Create New Roadside Data Collection; Courtesy: Ordnance
The soaring user base is naturally complemented by a growing data and technology provider base, of which NMGAs constitute a small part. Some NMGAs, such as UK’s Ordnance Survey, have recognized this trend and established, with partners, a geospatial start-up accelerator led by Carly Morris called Geovation, which has set a global example.
Increasingly, users leverage Earth Observation data, AI and the Cloud to create knowledge. India’s Blue-Sky Analytics is a geospatial data intelligence company building an API-based catalogue of environmental datasets to support climate change decision making. EO companies today are aiming to solve specific problems rather than providing data.
Technology change is leading to greater adoption of combined digital and geospatial technologies, along with the consumption of location data, providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for NMGAs to transform collection, management and data access.
This gives a particular opportunity for developing nations left behind by the growing digital divide, a point often reiterated by the United Nations’ Dr. Greg Scott.
Technology used to map Lusaka, Zambia is replicable in other African cities to upgrade informal settlements and achieve sustainable urban expansion; Courtesy: Ordnance
The real technology change is not geospatial, but AI, Cloud, everpresent connectivity and Web 3.0 which combined allows the processing and curation of decentralized digital information in real-time. Web 3.0 goes further; it offers the opportunity to make geospatial agency data and services findable machine to machine. As autonomy sets in that bodes well for geospatial data consumers, who are no longer just human searching for data through a browser but increasingly machines.
Nadine Alameh, CEO of the Open Geospatial Consortium, argues that the Metaverse is geospatial. Dr. Lesley Arnold, Director Geospatial Frameworks Ltd, goes further and coined the phrase ‘Geoverse’. Whatever the name, geospatial information is a 4D foundation to the metaverse, potentially providing a scaffolding and truth in that world and giving NMGAs a potential role.
Newbusinessmodels?
The days of geospatial agencies serving data and throwing it out there are over. To transform, geospatial agencies must understand their funders and customers and build a sustainable business model based on both.
The user, human or machine, has a choice – geospatial agencies are not the only suppliers of data, services and solutions. Transformation is not easy; all technology companies are constantly adapting in a rapidly changing user environment. But it is necessary.
Technology change is leading to greater adoption of combined digital and geospatial technologies, along with the consumption of location data, providing a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity for NMGAs to transform collection, management and data access.
In December 2022, the United Nations made public its approach for countries to prepare action plans to improve geospatial information management for national, social and economic good. The approach supports countries consider a wide-ranging array of stakeholders to understand national priorities, as only then can a country gain insights into the geospatial information actions it needs to take, many of which will fall on NMGAs. Supported by the SDG data Alliance, this approach is being currently followed by 13 nations across the Pacific, Africa, and Latin America, with others seeking to do the same.
Across the world, mapping agencies are getting closer to users. The Georgian National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR) is an example. At the recent United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress, NAPR’s Mari Khardziana made clear how this is opening new opportunities for the agency and its customers, resulting in government funding for data maintenance.
But what are users actually seeking?
You would be forgiven for thinking geospatial data, but Ingrid Vanden Berghe, Director General Belgium’s National Geospatial Institute and Eric Loubier, Director General Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation, argue differently
in their columns in this edition of Geospatial World. They opt for solutions to user challenges. How those solutions are achieved and with what services, data and algorithms, is not relevant to the user provided the solution or answer can be trusted in the context of the challenge.
This is the direction for the wider geospatial ecosystem. Consider the pressing need for climate change solutions, which is a focus of great minds. GHGSat established earth observation satellites to provide emission monitoring solutions that help carbon-intensive industries and governments achieve their emissions targets.
Geospatial data derived for one solution is reusable for many sectors. User challenges should absolutely dominate NMGA thinking, the more problems solved then the greater the data demand and the more sustainable is the data creation and management.
Geospatial data is only a part of the solution to often complex challenges, so NMGAs should understand how they fit into a value chain in any sector. The 2022 GKI Phase 2 report describes the geospatial contribution to sector workflows, including that by NMGAs, and links the eight sectors to the sustainable development goals.
Geospatial data derived for one solution is reusable for many sectors. User challenges should absolutely dominate NMGA thinking, the more problems solved then the greater the data demand and the more sustainable is the data creation and management.
As the author did, when in the British Army, loaning experts to key users enables users to realize value and consequently invest. Geosciences Australia has loaned staff to government departments for years; in both cases, resource availability restricts this to the highest priority users where the greatest benefit can be accrued. In return, the geospatial community is better placed to collaborate.
Eric Loubier expresses his view on solutions in his column, but he is not alone and some NMGAs in developing nations are doing the same. Guatemala’s National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology delivers knowledge in the form of risk mapping, which directly supports decision-making.
For NMGAs seeking to transform, the first imperative is to be closer to national priorities, key stakeholders, major government programs and users. This derived understanding has led Norway’s NMGA, Statens Kartvert, to give increased operational priority to maritime data and solutions.
Once mapping agencies understand what solutions or data are required to solve user problems, then they can adapt to a ‘fit for use’ approach. Just as NMGA’s competitors have done. ‘Fit for use’ both applies to quality, in its widest sense, and its usability, which impacts data design.
Before reaching decisions on foundation geospatial information governance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, GASGI sought to understand users’ data requirements based upon the challenges they face. Dr. Vanessa Lawrence CB, former Director General, Ordnance Survey, supported this work.
In understanding the needs of the ecosystem, NMGA leaders can work with government to determine where they have a role and what can be left to industry in an open market.
Paradoxically, NMGAs do have a role in developing industry, whether through partnerships that enable a greater variety of solutions to be delivered to the market or, in developing nations, to help generate new geospatial information industries. Alina Sushchyk, from Ukraine StateGeoCadastre, made this point at the 2022 Geospatial World Forum.
StateGeoCadastre has pursued this over recent years, actively contracting data production to the private sector whilst providing support to help build the private geospatial sector to move from maps to data using GIS technologies.
Embracingtechnological opportunity
The second imperative is to embrace technological opportunities to create and manage fit-for-use data in ways that helps achieve the solutions that customers seek.
Technology enables access. An increasing number of NMGAs make topographic mapping available to businesses and citizens as open, free, data. Swisstopo’s internationally renowned free map app is both an open map viewing platform and a tool to help people pursue outdoor activities, from snow sports to aviation.
Georgia did the same – the 2022 launch of NAPR’s Georgia Maps app increased awareness of NAPR’s national offer multi-fold and increased interest in funding the agency’s output and wider NSDI.
Connectivity and automated data integration are driving value so NMGAs needs to develop data access further to make it ‘machine findable’ and automatically accessible through APIs. Dr. Lesley Arnold offers that NMGAs should create linked data to help this.
what3words has announced that six national mapping agencies have adopted 3-word addresses.
Technology enables continuously updated foundation data, digital twins and HD mapping. The combination of EO and AI, espoused by Eric Loubier in his column, gives an opening for developing nations.
An Ordnance Survey-partnered project combined automated AI processes and imagery provided by the Zambia Survey Department to generate a new base map of Lusaka, reducing the cost of geospatial information considerably. Indeed, Ordnance Survey has pushed the boundaries further and in 2018, with partners, tested the automated data processing and updating of national geospatial databases based on data collected by Mobileye sensors mounted on standard utility company vehicles that regularly drive the streets of UK. HD maps need this level of update, and better. But the same principle applies everywhere.
RocsandaPaholaMendézMata, Director National Geographic Institute of Guatemala stresses her drive to give users “access to information faster and digital to the point that we can afford it”.
NMGAs do not have to own bespoke technology in a bespoke architecture to benefit. This can stifle innovation and add expense when industry is far more adaptive, has scale and does listen to users.
Ordnance Survey, which turned to Esri to implement a fully automated mapping architecture, exemplifies this change. The cloud makes this even more appealing, although it can never be the only solution whilst connectivity and power supply remain challenges in many developing nations.
The balance of NMGA skills is shifting from traditional survey to data and solutions, with data scientists being an obvious addition to embrace AI, data integration and customer-focused solutions. Embracing technology is only possible if NMGAs develop their people and recruit additional skills to take advantage of the opportunities. Global institutions such as FIG have role to play in helping NMGAs shift emphasis.
New role of data?
What does all this mean for the concept of ‘authoritative data’, previously the raison d’etre of many NMGAs?
From a user perspective the word ‘trusted’ carries more weight than ‘authoritative’. Simply put, fit-for-use trusted useable data (which may or may not be authoritative) and trusted algorithms tend to provide trusted solutions.
Ensuring the flow of trusted geospatial data to and from governments, from whatever source, is one role NMGA leaders are adopting: Belgium’s NGI is doing this. But ‘authority’ remains relevant. For mostly, managing and making available national reference systems is fundamental to spatial data integration, far more so for autonomy. Position, Navigation and Time (PNT) is increasingly considered an element of critical national infrastructure; GKI recommends that governments have a PNT strategy. The new UN Global Geodetic Center of Excellence hosted by Germany, will help all nations benefit.
In September 2022, Australia and New Zealand initiated the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network (SouthPAN), awarding an AUD$1.18 billion contract to Lockheed Martin to help realize more than $7.6 billion in demonstrable economic benefits. SouthPAN provides accurate, reliable and instant positioning services across all of Australia and New Zealand’s land and maritime zones, providing ten centimetres accuracy without the need for internet connectivity.
The balance of NMGA skills is shifting from traditional survey to data and solutions, with data scientists being an obvious addition to embrace AI, data integration and customer focussed solutions.
Overall, the term ‘fit-for-use’ is gaining ground. This still implies authority in data, products and solutions where these are necessary, particularly where life or significant financial impacts are at stake, and thus remains part of the NMGA offer. Safety of life at seas is a particular example, where hydrographic agencies can carry liability if they knowingly endanger life and the environment. Roads and land navigation data may fall in the same bracket with Level 5, full automation. Cadastral data also needs to be authoritative given the impact of getting it wrong.
An increasing number of countries are adopting geospatial registers which are, by definition, authoritative. In UK, the Unique Property Reference Number is now mandated for use across Government, enabling integrated solutions. In the Netherlands, a leader in registers, the Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency maintains the cadastre and topography registers and provides a facility to access wider government spatial registers.
Supporting the move towards solutions, the Agency recently combined national building and address registers with high-resolution imagery and GeoAI techniques to provide policymakers a national understanding of the potential of solar energy and interventions necessary to achieve some of that potential.
The UK’s Geospatial Commission, directed by Thalia Baldwin, has adopted the FAIR principles and argues that geospatial data is better if Q-FAIR: Quality (fit for purpose), Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and (Re)useable. In this regard, NMGAs should declare the quality of their data to assist users to make better decisions and continue their move towards APIs.
In time, NMGA geospatial data should be as easy to find on the internet as textual data, leading to true knowledge on demand. Industry can continue to support OGC and W3C collaboration to promote this.
Partnerships and collaboration
If change is a pre-requisite for national mapping agencies, then partners stand ready to assist. This conjures up thoughts of public-private partnerships (PPP), but these are a small subset, fully explored by the World Geospatial Industry Council in its 2021 policy report on the subject.
Emphasis on partnerships is the norm across the private sector, often to combine technologies or technologies and data that provide user-specific solutions. It needs to be for NMGAs. Partnerships are stressed both by GKI and the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework.
Partnerships offer NMGAs benefits in managing fit-for-use and accessible geospatial data. Three examples point to opportunities: Firstly, through its Map Editing Partnership program, TomTom partners with companies in logistics and on-demand industries to share the map editing process to ensure up-to-date maps.
Secondly, in 2021, Canadian company Ecopia partnered with Airbus, gaining access to Airbus’ global 50cm resolution imagery database, and applying AI systems to extract local geospatial vector data at global scale.
These Ecopia Vector Maps are available within the Airbus OneAtlas Platform. Thirdly, Geosciences Australia is expanding its national network of GNSS reference stations, a network of stations that are owned and operated by both the Commonwealth and third parties.
Partnerships can be innovative. In the USA, USGS has created a partnership programme to build affordable Lidar coverage of the country, soliciting proposals from potential government and private sector partners.
One successful proposal, in Arizona, saw private industry collect data at a higher resolution for its own uses and provided USGS a lower-resolution subset for a heavily discounted price. NMGAs can enable such partnerships by expressing a clear route. Through its NGA Partnership Intermediary Agreement, the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has published a clear innovation, confidence building and assurance process for potential partners to follow.
For industry, assisting a national mapping agency provide better data, services and solutions has reciprocal benefits. Equally, in developing nations, industry and donors can make single-use project geospatial data available to NMGAs who can then repurpose it for wider national benefit.
Conclusion
The rapidly changing geospatial ecosystem applies to NMGAs just as any other organization, and gives them great opportunity. Four imperatives are highlighted in this article that should feature in all NGMA transformations:
Just as all technology businesses are transforming to remain relevant, transformation is equally essential for NMGAs.
Become closer to national challenges and users, thereby understanding the solutions and data required to meet the need for knowledge and solutions.
Take advantage of technological opportunities to meet these changing user demands.
In recent years, autonomous delivery robots have become a common sight in the grocery industry. They are being used to automate the process of order fulfillment and delivery, saving time and labor costs for retailers while providing convenience for customers.
One such program is being carried out in the UK, where small robots are delivering goods to multiple households. The robot service was launched as a trial period for three months to serve around 20,000 residents in the suburb of Leeds. The Leeds City Council partnered with the Co-op and Starship Technologies to launch the project. These robots use a combination of sensors such as AI and ML to travel on sidewalks and navigate around obstacles.
Digital twin has been an indispensable tool for a long time. A virtual model simulates various processes considering an object’s relevant aspects, functions, and properties. Though enlarging the scope of digital models from small areas to a whole country can be a mammoth task, the possibilities of creating digital twins have increased significantly in recent years. Improved surveying techniques that allow large-scale and accurate LiDAR data capturing, very high-resolution satellite imagery, and modern technologies, such as AI, cloud computing, etc., have offered tremendous potential in recent years to develop digital twins.
It is imperative to use the potential of digital twins because governments and decision-makers at present and in the future will face many challenges, including natural disasters, scarcity of natural resources, increased land consumption, and social demands. Most of these causes correlate. To address them effectively, data-driven methods are needed to analyze the interconnections between the different reasons. Thus, a spatially explicit and comprehensive common data basis is essential for many administrative decisions. There is not just a single solution in many situations but multiple alternatives and remedies. A common database and framework are of utmost importance to compare the effects of different policy decisions, and this is exactly what Digital Twin Germany aims to provide.
Data is Key
Geospatial data is already used for scientific projects, feasibility studies, and planning assessments. For example, accurate information about the affected environment is required to simulate disaster events with hydrological characteristics, such as flooding or heavy rainfall. This could include data on sealed surfaces, urban settlements, or weather-related data. The more data is available, the higher the value of the data. Therefore, the basic dataset will be enriched with other information, such as information on climate, infrastructure, agriculture, or traffic.
Cloud computing, AI, or modern visualization techniques provide opportunities to overlay additional information on the virtual 3D world. Data from the federal administration shall be accounted for as much as possible to develop the complex and dynamic model of Germany. The data has to be consistent and assimilable. Therefore, data will be received from all federal administrations and constantly updated. The Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) is the key geodata provider for the government’s spatial data infrastructure and has already disposed off much national geodata. All this data is the starting point for building Germany’s digital twin.
Pilot studies
Before developing a digital twin of the whole country, a pilot project was performed to test the feasibility in general. Therefore, the city of Hamburg and its metropolitan area have been surveyed by Hexagon. In this joint project with the State Office for Geoinformation and Surveying of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, implementations were tested, data validated, and technologies and methods explored. This pilot project gained experience handling, capturing, and analyzing the data and valuable insights into all aspects of the digital twinning process.
A digital twin is not just a technical innovation originating from the remote sensing sector but rather a tool beyond specific thematic areas and applicable to all kinds of the decision maker. But to exploit the full potential of the data, interoperability is key.
Furthermore, a pilot use case was studied within the project Starkregengefahrenhinweiskarte NRW (Heavy rain hazard indicator map North Rhine-Westphalia), completed in the summer of 2021. This project clearly shows the potential of digital twins in processing complex issues by combining geospatial data and specialist expertise. In the project, extreme weather situations (such as heavy rain) were linked to an existing terrain or building structure using hydrological models. Water levels and flow velocities were determined for various scenarios for North Rhine-Westphalia. The spatial resolution was in the range of meters. This pilot digital twin is to be extended to the whole of Germany and further developed at less than 30 cm resolution.
Beyond the Technical Solution
A digital twin is more than just a 3D image of an area or a country. Besides the technical innovation and techniques, it enables policymakers and decision-makers to monitor specific conditions and test scenarios. The most significant advantage is the possibility of predicting how a system could react to changes and revisions.
The Digital Twin Germany aims to establish a new way to communicate with stakeholders at the federal and state level. Developing smart and innovative ideas will take communication to a new level. Complex issues can be analyzed, and test solutions and plans derived. Monitoring systems can be improved for agriculture, water management, air pollution, and climate change. Various scenarios can be simulated, for example, what impact sea level rise would have on settlements and nature. A digital twin is not just a technical innovation originating from the remote sensing sector but rather a tool beyond specific thematic areas and applicable to all kinds of the decision maker. But to exploit the full potential of the data, interoperability is key. Several digital twin initiatives already exist on a municipal level. As the main geospatial data provider, the BKG is filling the gap between international and communal projects. Hence, sharing services, knowledge, and tools is essential to succeed.
A smart way into the future
The Digital Twin Germany is primarily a technical platform that enables analyses, simulations, and visualizations. For this purpose, an editorially maintained data pool, i.e., a broad range of relevant geoinformation, is provided. This platform is intended to support the federal administration in preparing well-founded data for decision-making for many use cases in politics and administration.
Selected use cases will be realized in cooperation and coordination with the competent federal authorities. BKG is thus supporting Germany with its expertise to become a smart country with smart solutions and faster decisions in the future.
Scott Crozier, Vice President of Survey & Mapping, Trimble Inc.
We are no longer waiting for a wave of technology to sweep across our surveying and construction industries with groundbreaking productivity and efficiency solutions. We are already on the crest, holding on tight as we ride a massive digital swell transforming the way we work.
The thirst for more data, gathered more frequently to deliver more insights, is a reality leading us to more efficient uses of resources, more productive projects, the next generation of digital twin workflows — even the reality-based metaverse. While “metaverse” is a term with many contexts, for geospatial professionals, it relates to the complete virtual replication of the real world. It relies on reality capture, modeling, simulation, citizen engagement and much more.
Our ability to make the most of this sea change is dependent on connectivity – connecting workflows, connecting lifecycle conditions, and connecting people… at scale. We need efficient ways to deploy connected digital technologies that expand and optimize workflows for a variety of reasons that range from productivity, cost, and schedule improvements, to the reduction of emissions and waste.
While “metaverse” is a term with many contexts, for geospatial professionals, it relates to the complete virtual replication of the real world. It relies on reality capture, modeling, simulation, citizen engagement and much more.
For the geospatial professional, this demand has triggered a paradigm shift from points, lines and polygons toward capturing rich data and directly using digital models to place assets and objects in the field. It’s an adjustment that necessitates a digital transformation that starts with reality capture – the capture of existing conditions through scanning or photogrammetry – and includes the visualization and analysis of models in the field with cloud workflows that integrate data seamlessly into shared systems. From that shift, we can then deliver groundbreaking efficiency and capitalize our returns on our growing investments in the geospatial metaverse.
Are you adapting? If not, what should you do to get on board?
Many points of connection
Digital construction is defined as using digital technologies and workflows to increase efficiency and quality, specifically to save costs, reduce project timelines and eliminate waste and emissions throughout the lifecycle. This transformation is enhanced by a growing technology ecosystem (e.g., cloud, adoption of BIM, open APIs, reality capture) that is reducing the barriers to adoption and by government legislation and contractors who need economic, social, and environmental benefits.
By combining AI approaches such as computer vision, machine learning and deep learning, it is possible to build systems to automate the delivery of “INTELLIGENT” information.
The technological capabilities are foundational to the adoption of digital construction. Why? Because they are enablers to effectively communicate and deliver information between all project stakeholders and to clients. With streamlined access to quality data, project teams are more informed and have actionable insights to better manage scheduling and costs. In turn, this transparency and predictability enable owners to see potential cost overruns or scheduling issues.
Maintaining quality data throughout a project also provides an accurate representation of the delivered asset to enable productivity increases to extend into future maintenance and operations.
Case in point: The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is spearheading a movement to digitally connect how it designs, constructs, and maintains many of the state’s transportation projects. Using everything from digital as-built models to what it calls a “digital geospatial ecosystem (DGE),” the agency is dynamically representing the state’s physical world in digital form, enabling streamlining of projects and collaboration by all stakeholders in real-time.
The success of this type of effort depends on the geospatial professional to efficiently deliver actionable models.
Surveyors and geospatial professionals are the data specialists of the reality-based metaverse, embracing trends in connectivity and interoperability. History reminds us that surveyors are often first on a project guiding the geospatial discovery and definition, and they have the knowledge and skillset to embrace and deliver on this enormous opportunity. Connecting physical and digital environments through these new methods means not just getting caught in a wave of technology but riding the peak.
Road Ready, the advanced telematics and connected technology provider from Clarience Technologies, unveiled SmartSite™, a new contractor-grade GPS-based equipment tracking solution.
The SmartSite GPS tracking solution engineered to withstand punishing jobsite environments—introduces the Road Ready brand to the construction market.
SmartSite customers can track and manage assets through a simple portal. The portal lets a contractor view all enrolled assets in one place, improving scheduling tasks and helping to reduce overbooking equipment—a situation that might delay, or even cancel, scheduled jobs.
Assigning available assets to the next job becomes easier both when using “list view”, which provides details on each asset being tracked, or “map view”, which lets the contractor easily see available assets in proximity to the next job.
Additionally, SmartSite helps contractors quickly react when its equipment goes “missing”, which often means it was either delivered to the wrong job, delivered to the right job and overlooked, or, in rare cases, stolen.
In these situations, contractors can log in and pinpoint the exact location of the equipment on a map, so they can get the correct assets to where they are needed. This helps avoid the costly scenario of paying a work crew to sit idle on site while waiting for the correct equipment to arrive.
Every day, emergency services security professionals face complicated problems ranging from hurricanes to terrorist acts. Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) have become a vital tool in several sectors in recent years. Emergency responders and security staff can make more informed judgements, allocate resources more efficiently, and respond to crises more effectively by using GIS technology to analyse and visualise spatial data. But how have geographic information systems (GIS) affected emergency services and security, and what does the future hold for this quickly growing technology?
In this article, we’ll look at how GIS has altered emergency services and security. We’ll look at case studies ranging from Hurricane Katrina to the Boston Marathon Bombing to see how GIS has helped emergency responders and security personnel prepare, respond, and recover from catastrophes. We’ll also look at the ethical and privacy issues that arise when using GIS technology in emergency services and security.
Yet, GIS is a dynamic technology that is always evolving. In the second half of this article, we’ll look at the future of GIS in emergency services and security. We’ll look at cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence, 5G, and drones to see how they can transform how emergency services and security professionals utilise GIS. We’ll also look at the ethical and policy implications of these new technologies and how they might affect privacy, bias, and discrimination.
This article intends to provide readers with the knowledge they need to comprehend this quickly evolving topic by studying the past, present, and future of GIS in emergency services and security.
As we have seen recently in the news, natural disasters such as earthquakes, and wildfires can have severe effects on the populations they affect. In emergency services, time is of the essence, and responding promptly can be the difference between life and death. Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) have become essential for emergency response specialists to respond swiftly and effectively to severe disasters.
GIS is a computer-based technology for acquiring, analysing, and visualising geographic data. Emergency responders can use GIS to build maps that detect crisis hotspots, track supplies, and plan for future threats. Here are some of the ways GIS has transformed emergency services:
One of the most important applications of GIS in emergency services is spatial analysis. GIS can assist emergency responders in identifying the areas most affected by natural disasters, tracking their movements, and predicting the impact of future hazards. This technology also enables emergency responders to monitor real-time data and respond promptly to emergencies. For example, when a hurricane strikes, emergency responders can utilise GIS to determine which areas are most affected by flooding, distribute resources, and rescue those in need.
GIS has become an invaluable tool in catastrophe planning and preparation. By constructing hazard maps, emergency responders may assess hazards and provide resources where they are most needed. This data also assists authorities in identifying locations most vulnerable to natural disasters, allowing them to take precautionary measures to protect infrastructure and property. GIS also allows emergency services to identify probable evacuation routes, distribute resources for emergency shelters and hospitals, and assure the safety of the impacted people.
In recent years, GIS has been critical in reacting to various natural disasters. Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, is one such case. In response, FEMA used GIS to determine the areas most hit by the hurricane and to track the movement of resources. GIS assisted FEMA in identifying shelters and hospitals and allocating resources to ensure that they had the essential supplies.
In 2017, security is a key concern for governments and organisations all over the world. Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) have become a vital tool for security professionals, ranging from regulating traffic flow to monitoring public safety. Security professionals may make more informed decisions, manage resources more efficiently, and respond to crises more effectively by utilising GIS technology to analyse and interpret spatial data.
Ways GIS has changed the security industry:
GIS is widely used in crime mapping, which involves charting crime data on a map to discover patterns and hotspots. Crime mapping can assist security professionals in identifying locations where crimes are most widespread, allowing them to deploy resources where they are most needed. With GIS technology, crime mapping can also identify patterns that would be impossible to detect using traditional analysis.
Threat Assessment
In the security industry, GIS has become an indispensable tool for threat assessment. Security experts can identify possible security concerns and distribute resources where they are most needed by evaluating geographic data. GIS technology can also be used to assess the possible impact of various security scenarios and develop measures to handle them. For example, security officers can utilise GIS to assess the possible impact of a terrorist attack on public transit and devise a plan to ensure public safety.
Surveillance and Monitoring
GIS has become an indispensable tool for monitoring public safety and spotting potential security risks. Security experts can detect possible threats and respond fast by evaluating data from cameras, sensors, and other sources. GIS technology can also be used to monitor crowd behaviour and transportation flow, allowing security staff to respond to emergencies more rapidly.
GIS has been employed in several high-profile security events in recent years. The Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 is one such case. In response to the attack, law enforcement employed GIS to follow the movement Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) is projected to play an increasing role in emergency services and security as technology advances. GIS technology is projected to enable new and inventive ways to respond to emergencies, avoid security risks, and ensure public safety.
Ways GIS is predicted to transform emergency services and security in the future:
Real-time Analysis
Real-time analysis is predicted to become a significant aspect of GIS in emergency services and security. GIS can assist emergency responders and security professionals in making informed decisions fast by using sensors, cameras, and other sources of real-time data. Real-time analysis can also assist in identifying new patterns and trends in data that would otherwise be impossible to detect through traditional analysis.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is projected to have a big role in the future of GIS. GIS can spot patterns and trends in data more quickly and accurately by utilising machine learning algorithms. AI technology can also be used to detect potential security risks and natural disasters before they occur.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Virtual and augmented reality are likely to become key components of GIS in emergency services and security. Emergency responders and security experts can model probable scenarios and build tactics for dealing with them using virtual and augmented reality technologies. Virtual and augmented reality can also be used to train emergency responders and security professionals, allowing them to respond to situations more effectively.
Drones
Drones are predicted to become an increasingly essential instrument in emergency services and security. Drones can be used to monitor areas affected by natural catastrophes and identify potential security issues using GIS. Drones can also be used to distribute goods and rescue people in difficult-to-reach regions.
GIS technology has been used in several high-profile occurrences in recent years, and the future of GIS is projected to offer even more imaginative applications. For example, in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, emergency responders employed GIS technology to track floodwaters and rescue those in need. Its technology aided responders in making informed decisions and responding rapidly to the crisis.
In recent years, GIS has been used in several high-profile security issues. One such case is the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. In reaction to the attack, authorities used GIS to follow the suspects’ movements and identify possible hotspots. GIS technology aided law enforcement in coordinating their operations and making educated decisions that resulted in the arrest of the suspects.
Another example is the use of GIS to manage traffic flow during large-scale events. The FIFA World Cup in Brazil in 2014 offered a big issue for traffic management. The city of So Paulo used GIS to evaluate traffic data and create a traffic management strategy. This technology assisted authorities in allocating resources where they were most needed and ensuring the smooth flow of traffic during the event, a series of wildfires destroyed the state of California, resulting in substantial loss of life and property. In response, emergency responders used GIS to map wildfire hotspots, distribute resources, and track the movement of fire personnel. Responders were able to make real-time judgements, allocate resources more efficiently, and keep citizens up to date on the latest developments thanks to GIS technology.
Finally, GIS has altered emergency services and security in innumerable ways. GIS technology, from real-time analysis to artificial intelligence and virtual and augmented reality, has enabled emergency responders and security professionals to make informed judgements swiftly and effectively.
Furthermore, GIS technology has played an important role in responding to natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires. GIS technology allows emergency responders to identify key regions, track the evolution of the disaster, and respond effectively to safeguard public safety.
GIS technology has also benefited the security business by enabling the study of crime data, the detection of possible security concerns, and the allocation of resources where they are most required. GIS technology has enabled police forces to design plans to combat crime and promote public safety.
As technology advances, the potential for GIS in emergency services and security become limitless. Upcoming improvements in GIS technology may give even more imaginative ways to respond to emergencies, avoid security concerns, and protect public safety.
Ultimately, the future of GIS in emergency services and security is bright, and as we continue to innovate, we will be able to better protect and serve our communities. We can continue to make our world a safer place for everyone by utilising the power of GIS.
EagleView Technologies, an aerial imagery, software, and analytics provider, is opening its platform for strategic customer and partner access.
The EagleView Platform will provide customers and partners the capabilities to access interactive experiences, improve current workflows and create services and solutions with the same core capabilities and tools that power EagleView’s renowned products and services.
“With this platform, we are opening access to the capabilities that have made EagleView an industry-leading geospatial solution provider,” said EagleView CEO Chris Jurasek. “Now, companies across all industries from architecture, engineering, and infrastructure to wireless service providers will be able to build solutions utilizing our proprietary software, imagery and property data sets into their own products and workflows, speeding innovation and delivery.”
The platform includes the capability to leverage EagleView’s library spanning multiple decades and 20 million+ square miles of geospatial images and data captured using EagleView’s technology.
This native access to the multi-decade imagery database includes high-precision aerial captures of properties and rural and city landscapes (including bridges, roads, powerlines and other features) from which strategic partners can utilize machine learning tools to extract unique data.
The EagleView Platform offers strategic enterprise customers and partners the capabilities to both identify and extract features of the natural and built environment of residential and commercial property, as well as assets and infrastructure.
These next-generation capabilities combine imagery, machine learning, and change analytics. The vertically integrated platform includes the capability for image storage, image processing, feature identification, and extraction of new geospatial data insights.
With the EagleView Platform, strategic customers and partners can utilize:
A 20+ year historical database of proprietary aerial and drone imagery, covering 94 percent of the North American population, 20 million+ square miles of visual records, and the majority of U.S. counties.
Geospatial information captured to ensure geolocation accuracy, geometric quality, and photometric quality.
High-resolution ortho and oblique imagery that allows for feature identification, extraction, and change comparison.
Multi-source cloud imagery storage including drone, aerial and other technologies.
“EagleView Platform offers game-changing innovation and speed. Our customers, which consists of landscape architects and designers, will now be able to optimize their design processes as well as provide innovative proposals” said Noah Nehlich, Founder of Structure Studios. “We are excited to partner with EagleView to give our customers a competitive edge.”
Beep, a provider of autonomous shared mobility solutions, announced a partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT).
This partnership expands NCDOT’s Connected Autonomous Shuttle Supporting Innovation (CASSI) program to further the state’s understanding of autonomous technologies and demonstrate the viability of shared autonomy. NCDOT and Beep will test applicable use cases for shared, electric, and autonomous shuttles.
The first pilot project will operate in Cary, North Carolina’sFred G. Bond Metro Park, a municipal park in Wake County. The four-stop, two-mile route provides an environmentally friendly mobility solution for residents and visitors to easily access the 310-acre park at their leisure.
Beep CEO Joe Moye said, “Autonomous shuttles promise to relieve roadway congestion and help address carbon emissions, noise pollution and road safety while extending mobility access.”
NCDOT and Beep are working to establish additional test locations in the state. These projects will enhance NCDOT’s understanding of shared autonomous mobility in practice and evolve the CASSI program as technology continues to advance.
The ground station of the jointly developed India-Bhutan satellite has been inaugurated in Thimpu, the capital city of Bhutan.
It is a ground-based facility that helps communicate with and receive information sent by the satellite. Ground stations, the major component of which is the parabolic antenna, communicate with satellites by transmitting and receiving radio waves.
Shri Somanath S, Chairman ISRO/ Secretary DOS along with Lyonpo Tandi Dorji, Foreign Minister, Lyonpo Karma DonnenWangdi, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Employment, Royal Government of Bhutan and Shri Sudhakar Delela, Indian Ambassador to Bhutan inaugurated it.
Director of ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre, and senior ISRO scientists involved in India-Bhutan SAT realization, ground station establishment and training were also present.
Kongsberg NanoAvionics (NanoAvionics), a smallsat mission integrator and bus manufacturer, has received an order for three further satellites from 5G telecoms operator OQ Technology.
As part of the agreement, OQ Technology will provide the 5G payload, which is based on standard 3GPP Rel. 17 technology – the cell tower stack developed in-house by OQ – and will take care of launch, satellite operations, spectrum licensing, service, and market access. With the recent traction of direct-to-device cellular communication through satellite, OQ Technology is a pioneer in direct cellular IoT to satellite connectivity.
The three 6U nanosatellites, Tiger-4, Tiger-7 and Tiger-8, will be built at NanoAvionics’s new MAIT (manufacturing, assembly, integration, and testing) facility in Vilnius, Lithuania. The facility was set up to meet the demands for serial satellite production for constellations and larger satellites by commercial, civil, and governmental organizations.
The nanosatellites will be equipped with a propulsion system for constellation deployment, formation flying, and deorbiting after the end of their lifecycle.
Omar Qaise, founder and CEO of OQ Technology said, “These three nanosatellites will allow us to grow our constellation, expand our global coverage, and enter new markets.”
AST SpaceMobile, a publicly traded satellite designer and manufacturer, has a new agreement with government contractor Fairwinds Technologies LLC to explore opportunities to jointly market AST SpaceMobile’s satellite-to-cell service to the military market. The announcement said the companies will explore how AST SpaceMobile’s services and satellite technology could be jointly marketed to military and law enforcement agencies.
AST SpaceMobile is working to develop a space-based cellular broadband network. The company’s test satellite is currently in orbit. AST SpaceMobile CCO Chris Ivory said that the company’s space-based cellular broadband network has the potential for applications for tactical military communications missions.
Fairwinds is a U.S. government prime contractor and an approved vendor for various government contract vehicles. The company develops communications solutions for the defense community and public sector agencies.
“Focusing on next-generation and space-based communications technologies that address network resiliency, 4G/5G competitiveness and Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) is vital. AST SpaceMobile’s network is being designed to offer potential solutions for these needs,” commented Tim Hillner, Chief Technology Officer of Fairwinds Technologies.
