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GATE (Galileo Test Environment) is the only Galileo test and development environment worldwide where already today navigation is possible with realistic Galileo Signals on all frequencies in an outdoor area. Six transmission stations, deployed on top of six mountains in the German Alps, and two monitoring stations in the valley are the components making GATE a unique test environment. Receivers and applications being operated on the test ground receive the transmitted signals in such a way as if they were radiated from real Galileo satellites in the earth orbit. Thus, GATE enables an early development of technologies, receivers, applications and services, which will decisively influence the navigation market and so fosters the development in nearly all fields of Galileo products.

English Heritage has a wide-ranging role to understand, protect and promote the country’s historic environment for the benefit and enjoyment of all. Helping them achieve this is the Archaeological Survey and Investigation Team based at offices in Exeter, Swindon, Cambridge and York. The teams work across all periods, surveying everything of interest from prehistoric monuments thousands of years old to military installations from the Cold War now under threat of destruction.

In the past decades, real time control systems have been developed in a variety of engineering applications. In so doing, they have dramatically increased the efficiency of systems through energy savings, regulation of the dynamics, increased robustness and disturbance tolerance. Now: can you have a city that performs as a real time control system? This is the aim of the WikiCity project at MIT, which deals with the development of real-time location-sensitive tools for the city.

The effects of Google Earth, Yahoo maps and the imminent MS Virtual Earth have changed the expectations of consumers in regard to the use and accessibility of mapping data. As such, IT implementations with a spatial element have become the norm and have firmly crossed over from being regarded as ‘exclusive’ and/or ‘niche’ projects. This way the perception of spatial data as ‘special' is gradually changing.

QUO is the new highly rated smart digital mapping software tool for those who enjoy outdoor sports, pursuits and exploration. It lets you buy maps, share your favourite places with your friends and is ideal for clubs and societies wanting to share experiences and pass on location based services and geo-located information via the Internet. Let’s take a quick look at its main capabilities.

Geography Markup Language (GML), as described in the previous article, can be used to exchange information. The exchange of files is simple enough: attach them to an e-mail if they are small enough, or put them on the familiar CD-ROM or USB memory stick. The true ICT specialist will note that such methods of data transfer are rather old-fashioned. Nowadays we need immediate access to the most recent version of our data, preferably without having to use specific software.

This article highlights, from an applied geologist’s point of view, some benefits of using Design Review in multidisciplinary (geo*) projects, where this software can be used as an efficient tool for communicating, reviewing and fine tuning geological and geotechnical 3D models.

Barely two months into operation, the Southern Mapping Company has been granted a contract by mining giant De Beers to conduct lidar aerial surveys of its own Namaqualand diamond mine and its newly formed joint venture with government, Alexkor diamond mine.

The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India was completed in the 19th century under the leadership of the great surveyors, William Lambton and Sir George Everest. Most of the triangulation network points established over high hills are either inaccessible or have been destroyed. The error is more than the Ground Control Point (GCP) accuracy required for the Cartosat-I GCP library (GCPL), which rules out the usage of these Greater Triangulation Network points as reference points for the GCP library. This essentially requires the establishment of a reference frame in a suitable datum system.