Online Articles

HEPOS, the HEllenic POsitioning System, is a nation-wide RTK network that will modernize the geodetic infrastructure of Greece. The establishment of HEPOS is part of the project "Information and Technology Infrastructure for a Modern Cadastre" which is run by Ktimatologio S.A., a state-owned private sector firm that is in charge of establishing the Hellenic Cadastre. HEPOS will contribute to the establishment of the Hellenic Cadastre by offering an inexpensive way of systematic collection of precise and homogeneous spatial data.

The National Botanic Garden of Belgium, measuring 92 hectares, can be found near Meise, between Antwerp and Brussels. Not only in the Botanic Garden is it important to map the plants and objects. Also for botanical research in Belgium and for similar institutions from all over the world MobileMapper from Magellan is used to enter data.

Hexagon is a global technology group with strong market positions within measurement technologies and polymers. Hexagon’s prime business is Hexagon Measurement Technologies, the world leader in multidimensional measurements within the macro and micro segments of the measurement and positioning market.

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. Given the limitations of central and on-site resources and the institutional and environmental diversities, a simple GIS solution based on uniform models could not adequately provide the solution.

Ian Masser’s book, ‘Building European Data Infrastructures,’ can be read as a plea for more cooperation between European governments to collect and share geo-information through one digital geo-portal. To achieve this goal the EU created the INSPIRE project, in place since the end of 2006. Without being too technical, Masser shows why this project is so important and how it can succeed: by a proactive attitude from stakeholders, much networking and trying to achieve a common sense so that everyone will be happy with the end results.

The publication of the authoritative ‘Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World’ is always a feast for the land of cartographers, geographers and the like. An atlas is considered the ultimate cartographic product, and the Times Atlas stands on its own in the reference atlas category. However, one might wonder if a traditional paper product like the Times Atlas has a right to exist in our world of Googles and Microsofts. Before answering this question let’s look at the Atlas itself. It will also be compared with another authority in mapping and one of its competitors, the “National Geographic Atlas of the World”.

Tiltan Systems Engineering Ltd is an Israel-based company that has developed a next generation LiDAR data processing tool known as TLiD. It can process more than 500 square kilometres of data per day on a standard PC and generate a reliable 3D model.

With the world of GIS widening every day, it never hurts to have a good book nearby. The "Encyclopedia of GIS" claims to be such a reference book, although primarily aimed at GIS researchers and students. According to the publisher the book should be published both in a print version and an online XML reference version. We could, however, find no indication that the latter is available yet and only reviewed the print version.

Our Common Borders Safety, Security, and the Environment through Remote Sensing, was the title of this year’s specialty conference co-presented by the CCRS (Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing) and the ASPRS (American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing). The CCRS is a branch of Natural Resources Canada Earth Sciences Sector and is the government’s centre of expertise for space-based remote sensing science and technology. It has been supporting the use of Earth observation data and information for more than 30 years.