In the Spotlight

Sokkia (Japan) has released the Automated 3D Station NET05 offering high accuracy for industrial, construction and deformation monitoring applications. The NET05 provides 0.5" (0.15mgon) angle measurement accuracy using a combination of IACS (Independent Angle Calibration System) technology and absolute encoders enhanced with market proven RAB code (RAndom Bidirectional code) technology.

Leica Geosystems announces next-generation software for creating topographic maps from laser scan data. The new software, Leica Cyclone II TOPO, is intended for standard CAD techs and does not require specialized skills in 3D or laser scanning.

During the second 3D Workshop at Delft University, a new book on 3DGeoInfo has been presented. This book focuses on comparing several types of 3D models. Due to the rapid developments in sensor techniques a vast amount of 3D data is available.

Safe Software announced today that its recent donation of FME will assist the United Nations Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre with critical conservation decision-making around the globe. The grant, which consists of both FME software licenses and training credits, will replace costly, labor-intensive processes by enabling the World Conservation Monitoring Centre to streamline data loading into a World Database of Protected Areas (WDPA). Information provided by the WDPA is an essential guide to global conservation policy development, and conservation priority assessment, planning and monitoring.

Living in camps is often the only solution to displaced persons and UNHCR manages close to 300 camps worldwide for refugees alone. The challenges in managing such populations in very marginal conditions and with limited resources are huge. The UNHCR identified the need for a location-based information solution to develop and apply tools for spatial analysis for the efficient management of the camps.

Jean Poulit’s long, distinguished government career in France, mainly as a transportation and urban planner, gave him unique insights into where and how far people will travel for work, recreation, and shopping. In Connecting People While Preserving the Planet: Essays on Sustainable Development, a new ESRI Press book, Poulit presents his vision of building intelligent and healthy living spaces and transportation systems to protect the environment and spur economic growth.

GeoInformatics has released ‘The GPS Handbook for professional GPS users”. This book is about everything a GPS-user needs to know about GPS and satellite navigation systems.

My name is Eric van Rees. From now on, I will be editorial manager for GeoInformatics. I am 27 years old and I studied Human Geography in Nijmegen, where I first came to know about GIS. Combined with an interest in journalism, I started as a freelance-journalist writing articles for GIS Magazine.

According to official statistics Indonesia consists of 17.480 islands, which is 24 less than before. This has been made public by the Ministery of Maritime Affairs and Fishing. According to minister Freddy Numberi this is because of nature violence, and partly because of degradation of the environment by mankind. Because of the tsunami, four islands have disappeared in 2004. The disappearing of the other islands is to impute to overcropping and damaging of the environment by mankind.