If you'll be at the ESRI User Conference, July 11 to 17 in San Diego, California, be sure to visit us. We are a proud Platinum Sponsor of this year's event. If you can't make it to the show, please visit our website. We're eager to become your partner in all things GNSS. From our GISmore solution to our specialty software, we're hard at work designing tomorrow's GIS data capture technology.

Contact Information:

Javad
http://www.javad.com/jgnss/

DiamondBack Truck Covers, known for their tough and functional fleet tonneau covers and accessories for pickup trucks, announced the release of a new line of fleet products for UTVs and Side by Sides.  The new brand, DiamondBack UTV Accessories, looks to meet the demand for utility accessories for utility vehicles used by many municipalities, construction companies, landscapers and universities.  

The new products will be displayed at the new website www.diamondbackutv.com  and will be available through DiamondBack and many Fleet Upfitters as well.  Many current DiamondBack Truck Cover dealers will also provide the new Diamondback UTV Accessories.  

Products include Bed Covers for UTVs which will allow for lockable storage of tools and equipment and the ability to tie down up to 250 lbs on top of the covers.  Additional products include Roofs, Floor Mats, Bumpers, Cab Protectors and Roof Racks.  All Diamondback UTV Accessories will be available in both uncoated polished aluminum Diamond Plate as well as coated black with LINE-X XTRA protective coatings.  

DiamondBack UTV Accessories will be manufactured within the DiamondBack Truck Covers facility in Philipsburg PA.  DiamondBack will offer products for most makes of UTVs, including: Polaris, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Arctic Cat, Kubota, Honda, and John Deere.  

Contact Information:

DiamonBack UTV Accessories
http://www.diamondbackutv.com
Nathan Yocum
800-935-4002 ext 29
nyocum@diamondbackcovers.com

Author: Peter L. Croswell, PMP, GISP, ASPRS-CMS
Publisher Information: Kessey Dewitt Publications in association with URISA, hardcover, 320pp, 8 ½ X 11, ISBN13: 978-0-9824093-0-5
Book Description: The book is comprehensive guide and reference to the field of GIS management. It provides information on the development, implementation, and operation of GIS programs and projects. This book takes a practical approach covering concepts and practices on a full range of GIS management topics of interest to GIS professionals.

Contact Information:

URISA
http://www.urisa.org/gisbookorder

Offering adventure seekers and fitness enthusiasts another reason to love the great outdoors, Trimble announced that its Trimble Outdoors family of lifestyle applications are now available for customers of T-Mobile USA, Inc. on their selection of GPS-enabled phones. With the AllSport GPS, Geocache Navigator and Trimble Outdoors applications, T-Mobile USA customers have an easy-to-use and affordable way to harness the power of GPS, directly on their cell phone as they participate in outdoor activities like hiking, backpacking, fishing, biking, running, walking or even geocaching.

Contact Information:

Trimble
http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/

RapidEye, the only geospatial solutions provider to own and operate their own constellation of Earth observation satellites, announced a new strategic partnership agreement with Washington, DC-area-based MDA Federal (formerly Earth Satellite Corporation – EarthSat) to be one of their distributors in the United States. This partnership grants MDA Federal distribution rights for products and services to some U.S. government markets and was signed earlier this month.

For more information about MDA Federal and sales of RapidEye imagery to the U.S. Defense and Intelligence Community please e-mail RapidEyeSales@MDAFederal.com.

Contact Information:

RapidEye
http://www.rapideye.de
press@rapideye.de

St. Charles, IL – The Williamson CAD staff is responsible for the maintenance of parcel, abstract, school, municipal, subdivision, County, and MUD boundaries relating to over 155,000 parcels. They were faced with multiple challenges in this process, the first of which was maintaining cadastral data which was originally drawn without the aid of aerial photography, and did not spatially align with their orthophotography. WCAD was also faced with the problem of cadastral lines within their GIS that were not coincident.  In these cases, school district, abstract and additional cadastral lines did not align with the parcel boundaries they were intended to follow. Given the overall size of their jurisdiction, WCAD found the task of addressing these challenges to be daunting, and after considering available solutions, has again chosen The Sidwell Company as their professional GIS service provider.

 

Under the most recent agreement, Sidwell will conflate the cadastral line feature class of the existing GIS.  Feature tags will be assigned so that, when queried, the selection set can be used to create topologically accurate polygons.  Sidwell will also register all cadastral boundary features in the GIS to the current digital orthophotography. According to Pamela Orr, WCAD’s Director of Operations, “Williamson Central Appraisal District chose The Sidwell Company for this GIS parcel rectification project due to their highly qualified and professional staff.” Orr adds, “Based on our prior experience with Sidwell, we appreciated getting a project that not only came in on time and under budget, but provided excellent customer service.”

 

Sidwell was previously selected by WCAD to convert their cadastral parcels from a MicroStation DGN format into the ESRI Geodatabase format, in addition to implementing their industry-acclaimed, ArcGIS^®-compliant Parcel Builder™ software as a map maintenance solution.  This project, along with the Sidwell-developed public-access website which features the WCAD map data, and tabular data, was completed in late 2008. You can visit WCAD on the web at www.wcad.org.

Contact Information:

The Sidwell Company
http://www.sidwellco.com
Karen Fouts, Marketing Manager
630-549-1065
kfouts@sidwellco.com

Using SuperGIS Mobile Engine, a Software Development Kit (SDK), SuperGeo has created a successful mobile GIS application, Agriculture Guide System, to leisure farming.
 
In recent years, people value in-depth travelling more and more and leisure farming is one of the best choices to explore the beauty of nature. Therefore, the development of technical applications to this field has been emphasized and E-tour agriculture has then promoted. The mobile guide system is then created from this concept in order to provide tourists with a convenient and rich-in-information solution. 
 
In order to help tourists promptly obtain the information of agriculture, natural ecosystem, history, and culture of Taiwan, Taiwanese Council of Agriculture has developed the mobile guide system integrating mobile communication and geography information services. With the mobile guide system, people can enjoy the on-line tour guide with any mobile devices, such as PDA, 3G mobile phone, and smart phone, which provide position function of GPS (AGPS), QRCode decoding, and camera function for tourists. Abundant tourist information in accommodation, cuisine, local specialty, etc. is thus offered quickly just by clicking on the easy and light devices. 
 
Agriculture Guide System employs SuperGIS Mobile Engine as the system development core. Integrating with e-map and e-book, the user-friendly mobile guide system is built for fulfilling the most of users’ needs. This system mainly contains two functions- map guide and scenic spot introduction:
 
Map guide function provides basic GIS functions, such as zoom in, zoom out, and data query. With the GPS positioning function, users can accurately know the present direction and the correct location of each scenic spot. 
 
Scenic spot introduction function contains rich tourist information, covering agriculture, natural ecosystem, geographic environment, history, etc. Also, on-site photos and audio guide are provided for tourists to learn more natural and human background knowledge conveniently.

Contact Information:

SuperGeo
http://www.supergeotek.com
Sarah Liu
886-2-25467700
sarahliu@supergeotek.com

Tom Brzezinski, PE, Executive Vice President of Wade Trim - a leading civil engineering and planning firm – has taken on the role of Chief Business Development Officer. Brzezinski works out of Wade Trim’s Tampa office located at 8745 Henderson Road.
 
In his new role, Brzezinski will rely on more than two decades of experience to oversee business development operations. He will be responsible for developing strategic plans and initiatives for geographic growth throughout 8 states - including Florida, Texas, Michigan, Indiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania - and 22 offices.
 
While continuing to serve as executive vice president, Brzezinski will also oversee some of the company’s most high-profile wastewater clients such as Village if Islamorada, FGUA, City of Palm Bay, and North Key Largo Utility Corp.
 
"Tom is an amazing individual and an extraordinary asset to our company. We could not be happier he has accepted this opportunity. Wade Trim stands only to benefit from his expertise in business development," says Wade Trim CEO, Doug Watson.

Contact Information:

Wade Trim
http://www.wadetrim.com

NASA and Japan released a new digital topographic map of Earth that covers more of our planet than ever before. The map was produced with detailed measurements from NASA's Terra spacecraft.The new global digital elevation model of Earth was created from nearly 1.3 million individual stereo-pair images collected by the Japanese Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or ASTER, instrument aboard Terra. NASA and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, known as METI, developed the data set. It is available online to users everywhere at no cost.

For visualizations of the new ASTER topographic data, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/20090629.html

Data users can download the ASTER global digital elevation model at:
https://wist.echo.nasa.gov/~wist/api/imswelcome
and
http://www.gdem.aster.ersdac.or.jp

Contact Information:

http://www.nasa.gov

Full operation of Galileo, Europe’s satellite navigation system came a little closer when the European Space Agency (ESA) and Arianespace signed a contract for the launch of the first four operational Galileo satellites. The announcement came at the Paris Air Show.

The deal calls for the four operational Galileo satellites to be sent into orbit in pairs using two Soyuz launch vehicles. The launches will be made from the Soyuz launch facility currently under construction at the Guiana Space Center, in French Guiana. All four of the satellites are supposed to be in orbit by the end of 2010.

Arianespace launched the two previous Galileo satellites using Soyuz vehicles from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The first, GIOVE-A was put into orbit in December 2005, followed by GIOVE-B in April 2008.

Designed as Europe’s competition to the United States’ GPS, the Galileo system will comprise 30 dedicated navigation satellites and a ground infrastructure with the main control centers in Europe and a network of dedicated stations deployed around the world.

The Sidwell Company was recently recognized by the Iowa Counties Information Technologies (ICIT) organization with the ‘Outstanding Support Award’ at their annual conference, which took place June 10-12, 2009, in West Des Moines, Iowa. ICIT, an affiliate of the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC), is an organization comprised of representatives from Iowa counties who are responsible for the implementation, use, and maintenance of technology within their respective organizations or departments. ICIT provides and fosters communication, encouragement, education, assistance, technical knowledge and cooperation among counties and county employees for the advancement of the technology within those organizations. Sidwell was selected as the recipient of this award based on the company’s support of the ICIT group since it became an ISAC affiliate in 2002. “We are very appreciative of this recognition from ICIT,” said Neal Carpenter, Sidwell President/CEO. Adds Carpenter “Sidwell recognizes what an integral and vital role technology plays in the business of local government, and we fully support the mission of ICIT and the important contributions of its members.”

Contact Information:

The Sidwell Company
http://www.sidwellco.com
Karen Fouts, Marketing Manager
630-549-1065
kfouts@sidwellco.com

Dewberry, a nationally recognized consulting firm based in Fairfax, Virginia, has announced several promotions in its Infrastructure Engineering Service area.  The firm, which has more than 40 locations throughout the United States, has continued to grow over the past year and now has approximately 2,000 employees. More than 100 promotions were recently announced, the largest number of promotions in one year for the firm in its 53-year history.
 
Stephen V. Arthur, a branch manager and business unit manager in Dewberry's Fredericksburg, Virginia office, has been promoted to associate vice president. Arthur, a 30-year industry veteran, specializes in land development, mixed-use development, site analysis, and master planning. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
 
Terry L. Yates, PE, director of engineering in Dewberry's Fredericksburgoffice, has been promoted to associate. A 25-year industry veteran, Yates holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Bluefield State College.
 
David Taylor, Jr., RLA, project manager in the survey and land development division at the firm’s Baltimore, Maryland office, has been promoted tosenior associate.  Taylor is responsible for business and operational development for land development services.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in landscape architecture from West Virginia University and is currently working toward earning a Master of Science degree in real estate from Johns Hopkins University. 
 
Gary D. Simpson, PLS, director of survey technologies in Dewberry’sLanham, Maryland, office, has been promoted to associate. He holds an Associate of Applied Sciences degree in land surveying and forest management from Glenville State College.
 
Eric R. Becker, PE, a project manager in Dewberry’s Lanham office, has been promoted to associate. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Maryland.
 
Brian K. Bradner, PE, a civil engineer involved in the design, planning and construction administration of land development projects in the Danville,Virginia, office, has been promoted to senior associate. Bradner holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from North Carolina StateUniversity and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, International Council of Shopping Centers, and the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. 
 
Robert H. Bengston, LS, manager of the survey department in the Danvilleoffice, has been promoted to associate.  Under his direction, surveying services are provided to public and private sector clients for high order control, boundary, topographic, easement, and route surveys.  Bengston is a registered land surveyor and a member of the North Carolina Society of Surveyors and the Virginia Association of Surveyors.
 
Thomas English, PLS, PP, director of surveys in Dewberry's Bloomfield,New Jersey, office, has been promoted to associate. He is an adjunct instructor at Brookdale Community College and a member of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, the Garden State Land Surveyors Alliance, and the New Jersey Society of Professional Land Surveyors.

Contact Information:

Dewberry
http://www.dewberry.com
Molly Wagner
703.849.0307
mwagner@dewberry.com

Toby Walne, of The Financial Mail’s "This is Money," says, "Antique maps have proved a richly rewarding investment over the past decade, thanks to a growing appreciation of their unique historical appeal. Prices of the most collectible maps and atlases have more than doubled."

Contact Information:

GeoCarta
http://geocartablog.com/?p=1284

Optech Incorporated, the leading manufacturer of advanced lidar survey instruments, is proud to announce the highly successful conclusion of its first Innovative Lidar Solutions Conference (ILSC) held June 24-26, 2009 at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel Suites & Conference Centre. With 186 registered attendees from 30 countries around the world, including technology providers and lidar users who participated in the conference, ILSC 2009 concluded on a very positive note.

Attendees at ILSC 2009 participated in discussions on specific issues surrounding lidar data collection, measurement and analysis, and shared their real solutions to real survey problems. ILSC 2009 succeeded in providing a greater understanding of how lidar tools and systems can be optimized to take advantage of their full potential. Through extensive presentations and direct interaction with a wide range of industry experts and professionals, ILSC 2009 provided an opportunity for lidar users to expand their vision of applying these tools. A broad range of advanced concepts in airborne, bathymetric, stationary and mobile 3D laser scanners were showcased.

Contact Information:

Optech
http://www.optech.ca
(905) 660-0808

June 27, 2009 - The Geodetic Survey Survey Squdron will donate its flag to the F.E.Warren Airforce Base Heritage Museum today, along with other memorabilia.

The Squadron was activated in Orlando, Florida in 1959. It was moved to F.E.Warren AFB in 1965, where it would be closer to the weapons systems it supported. In 1993, it was relocated to St. Louis, Mo. were it was deactivated the same year. 

This marks the 50th anniversary of its activation and is being celebrated with a reunion of past members who served at various times over its 34 year tenure. Geodesy is the science of measuring the shape and size of the earth to include gravity and magneticism.

June 26, 2009 - ITT Corporation announced that Edward N. Kelly has joined ITT Space Systems Division as director of image information solutions for tactical development. He will be responsible for assessing business trends and customer requirements along with identifying and helping capture new business for the Image Information Solutions business unit.

Prior to joining ITT, Kelly served as a U.S. Naval Officer, eventually carrying out his last tour of duty with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) by directing and developing cutting edge technologies and their insertion into the overhead collection architecture.

Kelly has 22 years of experience including leading and managing a wide range of Intelligence and Department of Defense groups that focused on improving support to their respective communities. Kelly served as director of the ISR Center, and recently worked as collection manager and deputy force cryptologist for the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command before starting with ITT Defense as a program manager at their Advanced Engineering and Sciences Division.

Kelly received a master's degree in technology management from the University of Maryland and a bachelor's degree in physics from Jacksonville University, as well as a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech.

"As we continue to expand our space business, Ed's expertise will prove to be an incredibly valued asset," said Chris Young, president of ITT Space Systems Division. "We are excited to have him on our team."

ITT's Space Systems Division, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., provides innovative remote sensing and navigation solutions to customers in the Department of Defense, intelligence, space science and commercial aerospace to help them visualize and understand critical events happening on Earth, in the air, or in space in time to take effective action. Leveraging comprehensive capabilities, ITT's solutions span from image and data collection through processing and dissemination. Key applications include high-resolution commercial imaging; space science; climate and environmental monitoring; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; GPS navigation; image and data processing and dissemination; and space control and missile defense. www.ssd.itt.com  

Contact Information:

ITT Corporation
http://www.ssd.itt.com
Irene Lockwood
585-269-5517
irene.lockwood@itt.com

EngineerSupply.com is celebrating ten years of online service. EngineerSupply was founded in 1999, and has grown into a leading retailer for survey and engineering equipment. Offering a comprehensive product line, including engineering, surveying, architecture and measuring equipment including blueprint and large document storage, EngineerSupply has grown into a trusted supplier for thousands of customers nationwide.

EngineerSupply started as a small business. The founders of EngineerSupply each brought their own unique talent; among those talents were Civil Design, AutoCad Experience, Land Surveying, Building Construction, as well as marketing and customer service. Through their unique business model and outstanding customer service EngineerSupply has developed into one of the leading suppliers in the industry. EngineerSupply has steadily grown and keeps surpassing expectations.

We are very proud of the company EngineerSupply has become. Says owner Rob Powell, But most importantly we are grateful to our customers who helped get us here. Since the beginning, the main focus for EngineerSupply has always been its' customer service. Fully committed to providing the best customer service has always been first knowing that their customers depend on their products to make a living so speed and reliability is of utmost importance.

EngineerSupply is always looking for new ways to improve their customers online shopping experience. One of their recent developments is the addition of online product videos. These videos address many frequently asked questions and offer customers a way to see products in use. EngineerSupply is also getting involved in social networking, including a blog, online videos, a YouTube page, a Facebook page and a twitter profile. This allows them to better connect with their customers and allows for an easy exchange of information and ideas. EngineerSupply regularly publishes online articles to assist customers with product selection and common questions. These are just some of the small steps EngineerSupply is taking now to ensure their customers are being taken care of and served for years to come.

Currently EngineerSupply is one of the largest retailers specializing in Construction, Engineering and Architectural supplies. EngineerSupply was founded to fill the need for a combined source for engineering, surveying and construction equipment. Since its humble beginnings EngineerSupply has continued to grow into a leading engineering equipment supplier. EngineerSupply has an extensive team of employees dedicated to serving EngineerSupplys wide-ranging customer base. We are proud of the progress EngineerSupply has made in the last 10 years and are looking forward to offer outstanding service to our customers for years to come.
 
For additional information, contact:
EngineerSupply on the web at www.engineersupply.com

Contact Information:

EngineerSupply
http://www.engineersupply.com
Rob Powell
800-591-8907
rob@engineersupply.com

Telogis announces the launch of GeoZone, a resource for GeoBase developers. Registered members of GeoZone gain access to the latest releases of the GeoBase  SDK, sample map data, sample code, tutorials and whitepapers. Additionally, Telogis has assembled a premier list of partners from the Location Based Services (LBS) ecosystem to provide additional technical resources and samples of their products. 

LBS developers can register and begin developing at geozone.geobase.info. The automated approval process provides instant access to the tools and information available on the GeoZone. If you would like additional information, Newth Morris, president of the GeoBase group is available for comment.

Contact Information:

Telogis
Tina Shilling
949-389-5527

June 15, 2009 - When releasing Topocad 11.3 June 26, 2009, Chaos systems AB presents a new and open source database connection, which connect to a large number of databases. It uses the open source FDO from Open Source GEO, which has been adapted to Topocad. Many customers have expressed a demanded of a freestanding database. On account of this, Topocad has three different solutions of database connections, where this FDO connection can collect and store data from a large number of different databases.
 
FDO database connection becomes a separate module to Topocad, and makes it possible to access data from several different geospatial data sources in the state of geospatial databases and file formats. FDO uses a model based on database connections, where each connection supports a certain format or data source.

Following database connections are used:

• MySQL
• PostGIS
• Oracle (Oracle 10g, express, and 9i)
• MS SQL Server Spatial
• ESRI ArcSDE
• SDF (Autodesk’s geospatial file format)
• ESRI SHP
• ODBC
• WFS
• WMS
• GDAL (Geospatial Data Abstraction Library) (Raster)
• OGR (Vector format: shp, gml, dgn, kml, mapinfo etc.)
• SQLite

“FDO means an increased accessibility to different databases, many of them free and Open Source, and it offers our customers a very cost-efficient and simple solution for collecting, update and store data in different formats” says Tomas Sandström, partner and sales manager of Chaos systems AB.

“Topocad aims to be a program easy to handle, and we have focused on creating simple functions for mapping in different databases, and where we simply states how the different types of object should be displayed in the maps. All this with a user-friendly administration tool for the maps” continues Tomas Sandström.
 
Read more about Topocad at http://www.chaos.se/eng/topocad.htm

Contact Information:

Chaos systems
http://www.chaos.se
Tomas Sandström
+46 8 410 415 03
tomas.sandstrom@chaos.se

June 17, 2009 – Pictometry International Corp. announces the promotion of Alex Hepp to Vice President of International Business Development. 

In this new position, Hepp is responsible for growing Pictometry’s international product sales and working directly with the Company’s international licensees. Pictometry’s international business currently has eight international technology licensees, each of which utilizes Pictometry’s proprietary technology to provide imagery to government and commercial customers, together covering more than 140 countries and territories around the world. Pictometry’s extensive international image library currently includes coverage of more than 1,500 cities and locations in Europe, the Americas, Australia, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. 

Hepp joined the company in 2006 as Manager of Assessment Operations and has been instrumental in helping Pictometry develop and grow its product offering and brand awareness among users in tax assessment and valuation. Prior to joining the Company, he was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Mobile Video Services, Inc. Kansas City, Missouri, a leading imaging and field data collection company. 

Contact Information:

Pictometry
http://www.pictometry.com
Tami Bacon
585-487-1488

June 24, 2009 – Safe Software, the leaders in spatial ETL (extract, transform and load) and the makers of FME, today introduced support for Bathymetric Attributed Grid (BAG), enhancing their raster ETL offerings in the marketplace.
FME now enables organizations to translate and convert data between BAG, a widely recognized raster-based bathymetric data exchange format, and over 225 other formats supported by FME. A non-proprietary raster-based bathymetric data exchange format, BAG was created to facilitate the processing and storage of large volume multi-beam sonar data and is commonly used by the hydrographic community.

"We are very pleased that Safe Software has responded to our request to support this format," says Matt Austin, Physical Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). "This is a very important format for NOAA and now by using FME, we will be able to save large amounts of time in updating our data and making it accessible to others."

New support in FME for the BAG format includes translation to and from the format, as well as data conversion capabilities. Users can now consume data from other formats for storage in the BAG format, and push data stored in BAG out to other formats as required. Translation support for this format includes the handling of the data model's two bands – elevation and uncertainty – as well as collection of metadata from the source. Users are also able to convert BAG data, individually manipulating the format's two bands, elevation and uncertainty, as required.

"Responding to our customers' needs is of great importance to us at Safe Software," says Dale Lutz, Vice President of Software Development. "We're pleased our support for the BAG format will enable NOAA and other organizations working with this format to more easily access the data they need to use."
Safe Software introduced support for the first raster format in 2002 and FME now supports over 45 raster formats. FME's unparalleled raster manipulation capabilities provide flexible data transformation options when working with interesting multiband formats such as BAG.

FME enables users to translate data between raster and other GIS, CAD, database, 3D/BIM and web formats and manipulate it as required. Users can also integrate their raster data with disparate datasets, and distribute the combined information over the web for end user access.

Organizations interested in learning more about Safe Software and FME can visit www.safe.com.

Contact Information:

Safe Software Inc.
http://www.safe.com
Lakhvir Brar
604-501-9985 ext. 274
lakhvir.brar@safe.com

First American Spatial Solutions (FASS), a member of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) family of companies and a leader in spatial and natural hazard risk solutions, announced today that it has digitally mapped more than 120 million of America's property parcels - something no other public or private entity has been able to accomplish previously.

This achievement will have a significant impact on both public- and private-sector endeavors that seek to use geographic information to improve the accuracy of a variety of products and services. It will also help businesses to increase their return on investment by reducing costs and improving capabilities for location awareness.

Parcels, which are most commonly defined in real estate as a "lot" or a "tract" and have defined and surveyed boundaries (or property lines), are typically documented within a county or township along with the ownership and tax information. FASS has converted digital and paper maps, as well as legal descriptions, from most of the nation's counties into a single standardized spatial database called ParcelPoint(R). The parcels in this database also provide the exact area and associated latitudes and longitudes that are vital in identifying the property's exact position on Earth.

A single standard for all digital parcel data allows mapping and database applications to search, group, display and append data to the parcels. Other data sets, including FASS' own hazard, tax, property and a variety of other analytics, can be layered over the parcel information to visually display or query the relationship of the parcel to other key factors. This provides a foundation for a multitude of key benefits for businesses across industries, such as energy, utilities, telecommunications and insurance. These benefits include:

• Understanding the location of field assets
• Improving the efficiency of transportation and distribution
• Navigating emergency personnel to the correct address for a house or business
• Providing insurance companies the information to understand the natural hazard risks for a single property
• Understanding tax jurisdictions to pay the correct taxes
• Assisting investors in spotting trends
• Assisting federal agencies in disaster response and recovery
• Improving the ability for social scientists to understand at a very granular level how people interact, drive, shop and vote

"FASS is pleased to have reached our goal of creating the largest digital parcel database in the United States. We believe there are many applications and uses for this data and related analytics to help businesses and federal and local agencies improve efficiency and evaluate and manage risk," said Frank V. McMahon, chief executive officer of First American's Information Solutions Company.

Contact Information:

The First American Corporation
http://www.firstam.com/
Carrie Gaska
714-250-3298
cgaska@firstam.com

Contact Information:

Spalding DeDecker Associates, Inc.
http://www.sda-eng.com
Catherine M. DeDecker, PS
313-967-4700
cdedecker@sda-eng.com

Secretary of State Charlie Daniels today announced the opening of the summer State Capitol exhibit, Lines on the Land, which celebrates both the art and science of land surveying as practiced in Arkansas for almost 200 years.

The exhibit features images from the archives of the National Geodetic Survey’s archives, plus a generous selection of surveyors’ equipment, both vintage and modern. Lines on the Land demonstrates that while the profession’s tools and, to some degree, techniques have changed, its emphasis on accuracy and precision has remained constant.

Woven throughout the exhibit are photographs of surveyors doing their exacting work in fields, atop mountains, being blown about in exposed towers or standing waist-deep in snake-ridden Mississippi flood water. One notable artifact on display is a brass and silver early 19th-century theodolite, a telescopic sighting device capable of measuring angles with geodetic accuracy. Other standout items include an ornately-engraved American surveyor’s compass, a hundred-link engineer’s chain once used to accurately lay out distances, and a phosphor bronze meter bar.

The exhibit coincides with the rededication of the state’s Zero Milestone, a marker installed on the Capitol’s east Promenade in 1932 to promote state highway construction. The milestone was removed several years ago after an act of vandalism. The state’s surveyors relocated it, with the consent of the Secretary of State’s office, to the grounds of the Arkansas Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors across from the Capitol grounds.
Lines on the Land has been prepared with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Geodetic Survey, the U.S. Department of Transportation/ Federal Highway Administration, the Pulaski County Public Works Department, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture/State Land Surveyor’s Office and private collectors.

The exhibit may be viewed in the State Capitol’s first-floor galleries through August. The Capitol is open to the public from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

Trimble VRS-iScope Provides a Visual Component to Surveying, Mapping, Construction and Agriculture Projects for Scheduling and Asset Management

June 26, 2009 - Trimble announced today that it has launched Trimble VRS-iScope service in the U.S. The add-on service offers Trimble VRS Now subscribers in Florida, Iowa, Illinois and Colorado the ability to track and manage their assets in real time, as well as view their session history and rover information.
 
The Trimble VRS Now service supplies fast, easy to use and accurate Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) correction data for a variety of applications including surveying, urban planning, construction, agriculture, asset management, transportation, environmental monitoring, resource and territory management, disaster prevention and relief, weather services and scientific research.
 
The Trimble VRS-iScope service provides subscribers real-time access to a rover receiver’s exact location anywhere in the network. Utilizing Google Maps, Trimble VRS-iScope simplifies project scheduling and asset management by giving a visual component to surveying, mapping, construction and agriculture projects. A session management tool allows network users to visually review their session trail on a map as well as manage their subscription usage. The secure sign-on provides project managers and their staff the ability to monitor assets and their network usage on demand, remotely and from any project site. 
 
“Trimble VRS-iScope service is the latest value-added feature to complement our Trimble VRS Now correction data service in the U.S. Through online access to project data as well as a real-time visual feedback on rover locations, Trimble VRS Now is the only service of its kind to offer the highest quality VRS correction data and real-time tracking information on the market today,” said Pierre Desjardins, business manager for Trimble’s Infrastructure business area. “By enhancing our Trimble VRS Now service we are providing customers with additional management tools to increase asset and worker productivity while saving them money.”
 
Trimble VRS-iScope represents an advance in the VRS correction data service offerings. All that is needed is a subscription to Trimble VRS Now and VRS-iScope, a rover, and a mobile phone with access to the Internet to begin measuring or collecting data with Trimble-precision and to monitor rovers in the field. Monitoring rovers can result in significant time and cost savings by allowing organizations to know the locations of their crews. Now, managers can dispatch crews more effectively to help increase productivity and efficiency. It also offers ways to review past surveys and improve methodologies going forward.
 
Precision GNSS surveys and data collection projects can be up and running in minutes with Trimble VRS Now service. Without the need for a base station and associated hardware, the user’s GNSS receivers can now work independently as rovers—saving time and money. Surveyors and other users can switch on their receivers and real-time correction data will be available in seconds. In most cases, no further GNSS investment is necessary. Trimble VRS Now works with many GNSS survey instruments from a variety of manufacturers.
 
For more information visit: http://www.trimble.com/infrastructure/iscope.aspx

Contact Information:

Trimble
http://www.trimble.com
Lea Ann McNabb
408-481-7808
leaann_mcnabb@trimble.com

HP announced that some of its most popular calculators will be available as software applications on PCs, iPhones and iPod touch devices.

HP 12c and 12c Platinum software are exact replicas of the original calculators that millions of business professionals and students use. The software is built with the same algorithms and calculation sequences and has the identical layout and functions as the originals. The Platinum version of the industry-standard HP12c adds the choice of time-saving Reverse Polish notation or traditional algebraic data entry as well as convenient editing features such as “backspace” and “undo” keys.

Ideal for engineering professionals, teachers and science students and professionals who already use the HP 35s Scientific Calculator, the software version offers quick, accurate answers from the PC. The software offers the identical HP 35s calculator layout and functionality and provides quick results to scientific and engineering calculations. The software was developed by HP, recipient of the IEEE Milestone in Engineering for the original HP-35. The HP 35s software also offers more than one hundred built-in functions, HP Solve where the user can store an equation, then use it to solve for any variable and the ability to copy and paste calculations directly into financial documents.

Designed for business professionals and students, the software version of the HP 20b Business Consultant is identical to the calculator. It is designed to be a convenient tool for finance, business, and real estate functions. The large two-line display enables the user to view up to 12 digits and scroll through variables, detailed real-text labels, menus and worksheets, and prompts as well as copy and paste answers into other documents.

The HP 15C application, designed for iPhone and iPod touch, replicates the original calculator’s layout, functions, algorithms and calculation sequences. Used by college students and career people alike, the programmable HP 15C was revolutionary when it was introduced in the 1980s. Like the hardware version, the software application provides an array of matrix calculations plus complex functions and a Solve key that finds the root of an equation. 

Pricing and availability
 
The HP 35s application for iPhone and iPod touch is available on the iTunes App Store. Software for the HP 20b and 15C is available atwww.hp.com/buy/calculators.  Software versions of the HP 12c and 12c Platinum are available on both sites. Most of the software is available now on the iTunes App Store and through HP at prices starting at $9.99.(1) The 12c Platinum solution is expected to be available in late summer.

Contact Information:

HP
http://www.hp.com
Jessica Kerr
415-975-2213
Jessica.Kerr@porternovelli.com

Juniper Systems and Hemisphere GPS are proud to announce that the XF101 DGPS receiver for the Archer Field PC is now available through Juniper Systems. The Hemisphere GPS XF101 receiver is fully integrated with the ultra-rugged Archer Field PC delivering sub-meter DGPS to location-based applications in the most demanding environments.

“Juniper Systems is committed to providing innovative field computing solutions to our customers. The need to add accurate position data to field data collection applications is becoming more and more critical for our customers,” said Robert Campbell, CEO Juniper Systems, Inc. “We are pleased to work with Hemisphere GPS, a leader in precision GPS, to offer high performance sub-meter DGPS capability to the Archer in a fully integrated, handheld package via the XF101 DGPS receiver.”

The Hemisphere GPS XF101 DGPS receiver key advantages include:

• Crescent® GPS technology for superior sub-meter accuracy.
• COAST™ Technology maintains accuracy during temporary loss of differential signal
• Optional external antenna for additional accuracy
• Low power consumption conserves Archer battery power
• Easy to use, modular – just connect to the Archer and go to the field
• Fully integrated with Archer and fully sealed (IP67) 
• Collect DGPS real time or post-process data back in the office

The XF101 DGPS receiver provides superior accuracy and performance. Add the XF101 to your Archer Field PC, or purchase the XF101 and Archer as a total solution. The modular design of the XF101 fits onto the Archer Field PC via the CF card interface module. The powerful XF101 GPS module optimizes GPS reception during handheld use while minimizing multipath interference.

The XF101 with the Archer, priced at less than US$2,500, delivers accurate geospatial information at unparalleled value. You can collect sub-meter DGPS real time data using SBAS corrections, or post-process positions back at the office. Mobile GIS applications such as ESRI ArcPadâ and OnPozÒ GNSS Driver are fully supported. The XF101 is capable of centimeter accuracy when using it with an external antenna while employing standard survey techniques and software.

Contact Information:

Juniper Systems, Inc.
http://www.junipersys.com
Jan Saalfeld
509-738-4221
jan@junipersys.com

IXSEA chose the historic naval port of Plymouth to demonstrate the SHADOWS Seabed Mapping Sonar with GEOSA, an Oceanographic and Marine Innovation Support Company. 

The two week mobilisation which included IXSEA GAPS, pre-calibrated USBL, saw more than fifteen companies from European based Offshore and Hydrographic survey industries witness the real time data acquisition and processing capabilities across its full 600m swath coverage. IXSEA demonstrated route survey, environmental and archaeological recognisance and detailed wreck surveys which were well received by industry representatives. 

Richard Parkinson, Director IXSEA Offshore said: “Like many marine equipment manufacturers before us, IXSEA has utilised the diverse geological, bathymetric and anthropogenic artefacts available in Plymouth to demonstrated the step change in seabed mapping that SHADOWS delivers.

“Working with GEOSA’s highly professional and experienced team onboard the RV Terschelling was a real pleasure. The plans for GEOSA’s Marine Innovation Park are exciting and underline their commitment to innovation in our business sector. We look forward to making use of the facilities again in the future.”

Contact Information:

IXSEA
http://www.ixsea.com
Anne Berg
+33 (0)6 13 49 05 66
anne.berg@ixsea.com

ArcGIS 9.3.1 Unlocks the Potential of GIS

ArcGIS 9.3.1 helps users deploy modern Web maps that are relevant to their entire organization. ArcGIS 9.3.1, which began shipping in April 2009, focuses on improving the performance of dynamic map publishing and increasing the sharing of geographic information.

Highlights

• New optimized map service makes Web mapping significantly faster.
• ArcGIS 9.3.1 includes new tools for tuning map documents.
• ArcGIS Online makes it easier to find and share geographic content.

Contact Information:

ESRI
http://www.esri.com/whatsnew

June 18, 2009 - ESRI users will now be able to view their ArcGIS Desktop projects on the DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 GPS receiver.

With the Earthmate PN-40 Extension for ESRI software from DeLorme, mobile professionals can convert collected waypoints and tracks with associated comments for import into ArcGIS Desktop as shapefiles. Users can also transfer views of their projects for use in the field, display MrSID and GeoTIFF imagery files, and navigate rural terrain across DeLorme trail and road data.

This latest DeLorme solution for mobile professionals includes DeLorme USA topographic map data and supports MrSID and GeoTIFF aerial imagery files for ESRI ArcGIS users. Raster catalog and scanned paper maps are also supported. In addition, users can subscribe to the online DeLorme Map Library to access aerial imagery, United States Geological Survey (USGS) 1:24,000 topographic quads, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) navigation charts.

The ruggedized, waterproof Earthmate PN-40 GPS is also capable of displaying color aerial imagery, integrated topographic and street maps, places of interest, and nautical charts. It is currently being used by a variety of outdoor professionals nationwide for collecting and verifying positional data in the fossil fuel, wind, and electrical energy markets and for search and rescue and public safety applications.

Contact Information:

DeLorme/ESRI
http://www.delorme.com/esri
Matthew DeMeritt
909-793-2853, ext 1-2930
info@esri.com

The Sidwell Company is pleased to announce that Brent Mainzinger, Chief Technical Officer, and Bill Wetzel, National GIS Account Manager, will be among the presenters featured at the upcoming 29th annual ESRI International User Conference in San Diego, California.

 

Brent will co-present with Conn McAnally, Database Administrator for the Knoxville GIS (KGIS). Their presentation, “KGIS: A Fully Integrated Approach to Land Records Management”, will demonstrate the benefit that can be  derived from the effective integration of GIS data and computer-assisted mass appraisal (CAMA) information, and how it can be used to support the process of developing accurate and consistent land appraisals.

 

Bill will join Bruce Harper, GIS Coordinator for Colleton County, South Carolina. Their presentation, “Enhancing Parcel Data in Colleton County, South Carolina”, will detail the process used by Colleton County as they strove to achieve more accurate and complete parcel data for their jurisdiction, and the efficiencies they have realized in their land records management and maintenance operations.

 

Both sessions are part of the Cadastral and Land Records track at this year’s conference, and will take place on Thursday, July 16 in Room 28C of the San Diego Convention Center.

 

The 29th ESRI International User Conference takes place at the San Diego Convention Center, July 13-17, 2009. For more information about this conference as well as ESRI’s products and services, please visit: www.esri.com

 

Contact Information:

The Sidwell Company
http://www.sidwellco.com
Karen Fouts, Marketing Manager
630-549-1065
kfouts@sidwellco.com

Enterprise class GIS software to be released June 2009. 

SuperGIS Server is a suite of comprehensive and server-based GIS software that features out-of-the-box, centrally managed, and rich standards-based functions. Besides facilitating enterprises to centrally manage GIS data, SuperGIS Server also supports enterprises to integrate numerous GIS services, analysis applications, etc. to the server and distribute the services via the Internet. Therefore, end users can access and manipulate the data or services provided by the server by diversified channels, including desktop software, mobile GIS applications, and browsers. This largely increases the value of GIS data. Furthermore, SuperGIS Server enables enterprises to host and distribute GIS applications and services to multiple servers, so the efficiency of interior GIS functions for enterprises is also improved.
 
SuperGIS Server provides enterprises and end users with the following functions.
 

• High Efficiency of Cache Map Services
  SuperGIS Server provides high efficiency of cache map services. This not only enables administrators to build up map services more easily, but also assists administrators to meet the needs by smarter operation, like to build-up and update cache, to cache the specific area on the map, scale, and group layers, or to build cache on demand. Thus, the basic establishment of map services on the client side can be effectively accomplished.
• Improvement of Advanced Processing Performance
  In order to improve data processing performance, plug-in extensions are offered by SuperGIS Server. Address Locator is an extension offering complete doorplate address data in Taiwan. Users on the client side can employ SuperGIS Server Desktop Client in SuperGIS Desktop to enter the address or import CSV files with address field to query all the doorplate address data in Taiwan. In addition to multiple extensions, SuperGIS Server also supports plug-in applications developed by developers themselves to improve the extension capability of SuperGIS Server. 
• Query Function on Client Side
  SuperGIS Server provides two ways to query data on the client side, which are query attribute data by spatial data and query spatial data by attribute data. To query attribute data by spatial data, users on the client side can utilize ‘Identify tool’ to query the attribute data of features in SuperGIS Desktop. For querying spatial data by attribute data, users can use query POI tool in SuperGIS Desktop Client and enter POI cluster or SQL language to define the text field and text.
• Build up Strict Security Mechanism 
  SuperGIS Server utilizes the security mechanism of account to manage the data. Through SuperGIS Server Maintainer, administrators on the server side can manage and set end users’ service validity, permissions, service categories, and GIS services distribution. As a result, the security mechanism of the entire system architecture is enhanced. 
• Support OGC Standards
  SuperGIS Server supports OGC standards, such as WFS and WMS, to improve the efficiency of layer display.  

SuperGIS Server provides high efficiency of cache map services. This not only enables administrators to build up map services more easily, but also assists administrators to meet the needs by smarter operation, like to build-up and update cache, to cache the specific area on the map, scale, and group layers, or to build cache on demand. Thus, the basic establishment of map services on the client side can be effectively accomplished.

Contact Information:

SuperGeo
http://www.supergeotek.com/
Sarah Liu
886-2-25467700
sarahliu@supergeotek.com

In November 2008, Jefferson County, Colorado issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the purposes of acquiring parcel data conversion services and parcel maintenance software for their Assessor’s office. With the responsibility of parcel maintenance for more than 200,000 parcels in more than 170 taxing entities, the Jefferson County, Colorado Assessor was faced with the need to upgrade and improve the way in which this his office handled this critical need. The County and Assessor Jim Everson clearly defined their desire for a state-of-the-art solution that would support his land parcel information needs and workflow strategy.  After review of the solutions offered by the vendors who responded to their RFP, Jefferson County selected The Sidwell Company to provide the parcel data conversion and parcel maintenance solution the County sought.  By selecting Sidwell’s team of GIS and mapping experts, Jefferson County will be able to take advantage of the many GIS technology innovations that Sidwell has been a part of, and they will also reinvent their geodatabase design to serve their needs for many years into the future.

 

The Sidwell team will prepare a prototype geodatabase schema using information gathered at the County.  Upon acceptance of this geodatabase, all existing cadastral data will be converted to an ESRI geodatabase feature dataset based on the tagged data model.  The County also elected to purchase Sidwell’s Parcel Builder^® software.  Parcel Builder is a suite of software developed by Sidwell for the specific purpose of creating and maintaining cadastral maps.  It is compliant with ArcGIS 9.3.1, and extends the functionality of ESRI’s ArcGIS software platform by introducing over 40 tools to improve GIS-based land records workflows.

 

Jefferson County has also selected Manatron as their CAMA vendor, and will benefit from the ongoing partnership between Sidwell and Manatron which will provide the County with a long-term integrated workflow solution between their GIS and CAMA data. According to John Hansen, GIS Programmer/Analyst with the Jefferson County Assessors’s Office, "Jefferson County concluded that Sidwell’s approach to GIS/CAMA integration provides the most synergy with our long-term strategic goals.” Adds Hansen, “We also concluded that the tagged-line data model is ideal because it is cartographically based, and can leverage our current data model as we transition from coverages to the geodatabase." Ultimately, Jefferson County will have a streamlined cadastral system that will support their land records management needs and help the Assessor’s staff provide the necessary services to their constituents in the most efficient manner possible.

Contact Information:

The Sidwell Company
http://www.sidwellco.com
Karen Fouts, Marketing Manager
630-549-1065
kfouts@sidwellco.com

Business Practices, Technical Sessions, Stimulus Funding and Economic Survey Results

June 19, 2009 - MAPPS, the association of private geospatial firms, will hold its annual summer conference at the Ocean Edge Resort and Club in Brewster, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, June 25-29, 2009, featuring sessions on best business practices, surviving natural disasters, ownership transition, staying a successful small business, emerging technologies, new vertical markets and an analysis of the current economic environment.

The conference will begin with a keynote address by Ken Spratlin, General Manager of Trimble's Geospatial Division, on best practices that worked before and after the economic downturn. Spratlin continues a series of keynote speakers that include Jack Dangermond (ESRI), Alexander Wiechert (Microsoft Vexcel Imaging) and Michael Jones (Google Earth) focusing on the current and future state of the geospatial profession.

"The program committee has once again provided session topics that are not only relevant, but focus on the wide array of sizes and technical specialties that our member firms represent," said Marvin Miller, CP, PLS, PPS, MAPPS President (Aero-Metric, Inc., Maple Grove, MN).

MAPPS will hold its annual business meeting and elections during the conference.

Included on the program is a presentation on the second economic survey of 2009, conducted by Dr. Steven Cox, professor at the McColl School of Business, Queens University of Charlotte, NC. Dr. Cox will present the results of an economic survey of MAPPS member firms conducted by MAPPS earlier this month and compare the data to the results of a similar study done for its Winter Conference in early January 2009.

Recently added to the agenda is a status report on funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), commonly known as the Stimulus Bill, by Karen Siderelis, acting chair of the Federal Geographic Data Committee, U.S. Department of the Interior. Siderelis will give an update on the Federal government's progress, including implementation, agency allocations, and grants and contracts from the economic recovery legislation.

"The economy and stimulus funding are two important topics to our members and we are pleased to provide a program that addresses these issues along with new markets and technologies that can expand business opportunities," said John Palatiello, MAPPS Executive Director. "MAPPS strives to provide informative and timely sessions in a unique conference environment to promote business to business networking. This program will accomplish that goal."

The MAPPS conference will attract principals, owners, partners and senior executive professionals from the geospatial community's leading firms. Representatives of more than 80 firms, including an international contingent from five different nations, will be in attendance.

To view the full conference program, go to www.mapps.org.

Contact Information:

MAPPS
http://www.mapps.org
Nick Palatiello
703-787-6996
nick@mapps.org

Geospatial Web Conferencing Technology

June 22, 2009 - PCI Geomatics, a world leading developer of geo-imaging software and systems, today announced the release of its geospatial web conferencing technology.  GeoConference Version 3.0 is a software solution which enables groups to share and view maps and images interactively over the web, in real-time. Today’s announcement was made at the World Conference on Disaster Management in Toronto, Canada. 
 
“GeoConference brings geospatial information into a web enabled collaboration environment, giving all conference participants instant, real time access to multiple, shared data sources. This enhances situational awareness and provides GeoConference participants with a common operational picture,” said Yves Carbonneau, Chief Product Specialist at PCI Geomatics.  “The bottom line is that GeoConference 3.0 allows for effective decision making in critical situations.”
 
GeoConference contains tools for hosting interactive geospatial teleconferences, linking clients in remote locations and facilitating connections to geospatial databases.
 
The benefits of GeoConference include:  a cost-effective way to share maps, exchange information and simultaneously receive feedback from colleagues in real-time, reduce travel expenditures, easy set up and implementation, secure distribution of geospatial data without replication, use of open data standards and integration with other geomatics technology.
 
GeoConference 3.0 gives users control over their sessions through an invitation process they can initiate. This allows anyone who receives an invitation by email to instantly join a GeoConference using a thin client application that installs in seconds.  GeoConference includes session recording and review capabilities; an audit trail of activities is stored on the server which can be used for reviewing decisions made in their situational context for a thorough post mortem analysis.
 
For more information, visit www.pcigeomatics.com/geoconference.

Contact Information:

PCI Geomatics
http://www.pcigeomatics.com
Alysia Vetter
819-770-0022 Ext. 233
vetter@pcigeomatics.com

McKim & Creed, a Raleigh, N.C.-based full-service engineering and surveying consultancy, has acquired JMR Surveying Group, LLC, a 3-D laser scanning and surveying company near Orlando, Fla. The acquisition was finalized on Tuesday, June 16.

In making the announcement, McKim & Creed President and CEO Michael W. Creed, PE, said, “JMR is a leader in cutting-edge surveying using 3-D laser scanning technology. The founder of JMR, Jerry Rinnert, and his staff have built an impressive reputation and established solid relationships with a host of clients that understand the value and effectiveness of these technologies.”

Rinnert, president and founder of JMR, added, “We’re looking forward to coming on board with McKim & Creed. As a small firm, we didn’t have the resources to bring our services to the next level, and McKim & Creed gives us the opportunity to broaden our scanning capabilities and become industry leaders.”

With the addition of the Greater Orlando area office, McKim & Creed will continue to provide engineering, surveying and planning services to public and private sector clients throughout the Southeast.

Contact Information:

McKim & Creed
http://www.mckimcreed.com
Marianna B. Boucher
910-343-1048
mboucher@mckimcreed.com

June 18 - Members of the Pennsylvania chapter of MAPPS (PA-MAPPS) elected a new slate of officers and directors and adopted a strategic plan at its annual membership meeting on Thursday, June, 11.

The board of directors of PA-MAPPS consists of the following members and positions:

• President: Michael Shillenn, CP, Photo Science (West Chester, PA)
• President-Elect: Con Sweeney, Michael Baker Jr., Inc. (Harrisburg, PA)
• Secretary: Mark Safran, CP, GISP, BAE Systems (Mount Laurel, NJ & Pittsburgh, PA)
• Treasurer: Stephen Ellis, GISP, GeoDecisions division of Gannett Fleming, Inc. (Camp Hill, PA)
• Director: Ashis Pal, GISP, geographIT (Lancaster, PA)

"I am grateful for the support and confidence of the members and am humbled by the honor of serving this organization," said Mike Shillenn, PA-MAPPS President. "In just two short years, PA-MAPPS has become a well-known and respected organization within the Commonwealth and I look forward to continuing to promote the benefits of geospatial data to the citizens of Pennsylvania and improving the opportunities for the private geospatial community with the other stakeholder groups in Pennsylvania."

At its annual membership business meeting, PA-MAPPS formally adopted a five-year strategic plan, which outlines the goals for the chapter. Included in the plan is to continue to advocate for a favorable business climate for the private geospatial community, work for effective education programs for workforce development and create a geospatial coordination council to serve the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Contact Information:

MAPPS
http://www.mapps.org
Nick Palatiello
703-787-6996
nick@mapps.org

Provide your personnel with the very best multifunctional skin care product.

Timberwolf waterless hand cleaner will provide your personnel with a product that is versatile, effective, and efficient.  It cleans and moisturizes the skin, repels mosquitos, and prevents and relieves the symptons of poison ivy/oak.

Our product offers three functional capabilities in one bottle, something that procurement and personnel working in the outdoors will appreciate.  That translates into dollar savings, reduced inventory, and ease of purchasing.  No other vendor can provide a product with the aforementioned characteristics. 

We use the finest personal care cosmetic ingredients to formulate a skin friendly, pH balanced, biodegradeable, multifunctional product.

Timberwolf is used by utility and telecommunication companies, government, agriculture, private industry, and the military. 

Contact Information:

Timberwolf
http://www.timberwolfhandcleaner.com
704-442-7440
timberwolfprod@earthlink.net

Members of the Pennsylvania chapter of MAPPS (PA-MAPPS) elected a new slate of officers and directors and adopted a strategic plan at its annual membership meeting on Thursday, June, 11.

The board of directors of PA-MAPPS consists of the following members and positions:

• President: Michael Shillenn, CP, Photo Science (West Chester, PA)
• President-Elect: Con Sweeney, Michael Baker Jr., Inc. (Harrisburg, PA)
• Secretary: Mark Safran, CP, GISP, BAE Systems (Mount Laurel, NJ & Pittsburgh, PA)
• Treasurer: Stephen Ellis, GISP, GeoDecisions division of Gannett Fleming, Inc. (Camp Hill, PA)
• Director: Ashis Pal, GISP, geographIT (Lancaster, PA)

At its annual membership business meeting, PA-MAPPS formally adopted a five-year strategic plan, which outlines the goals for the chapter. Included in the plan is to continue to advocate for a favorable business climate for the private geospatial community, work for effective education programs for workforce development and create a geospatial coordination council to serve the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Contact Information:

PA-MAPPS
http://www.mapps.org
Nick Palatiello
703-787-6996
nick@mapps.org

June 5, 2009 — ClearEdge3D, a leader in computer vision technology, announced today its release of the first truly automated software solution for extracting 3D, editable Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models from terrestrial laser-scan data.  The new software has generated great interest from clients both in the U.S. and worldwide, according to Kevin Williams, co-founder and CEO of the company.

ClearEdge3D’s software package “EdgeWise” uses computer vision technology to automatically create 3D, editable Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models from laser-scan data.  The software has many exciting applications in such diverse markets as architecture, construction, engineering, defense, modeling and simulation, real estate, Hollywood special effects, Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth, video games, homeland security, and virtual mapping.

Kevin Williams and his wife Lesa Bynum Williams spent the last three years developing the technology, building ClearEdge3D from the ground up.  Prior to starting the company, Kevin and Lesa both worked at SAIC.  Kevin was a senior scientist who authored both the RTV LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) Toolkit and the SAIC LIDAR Toolkit, which have been used successfully to automatically model millions of 3D buildings from aerial laser-scanning data.  Lesa, co-founder and Vice President of Engineering at ClearEdge3D, was formerly a scientist and software developer at SAIC.  There she gained extensive experience with hyperspectral image analysis as well as Geographic Information System (GIS) applications.

EdgeWise automatically creates 3D computer models from ground-based scan data.  Laser scanners allow people to quickly collect 3D information from a scene—such as a neighborhood, a construction site, or the inside of a building—but it has traditionally required a lot of time and manual work to create a solid 3D computer model out of the raw data output.  In contrast, EdgeWise uses novel “computer vision” algorithms which mimic the same processes that the human brain uses to “see” features within the dataset.  Using these algorithms, EdgeWise™ is able to automatically extract those features as solid 3D models.  These models are highly detailed—accurate down to the level of centimeters, or even millimeters—portraying features such as doors, windows, ledges, gutters, etc.  Moreover, the software allows the creation of these models in a matter of minutes to a few hours, instead of days or weeks using older manual methods.
A number of companies tested ClearEdge3D’s software during the beta phase.  One of these was Direct Dimensions, Inc. (www.directdimensions.com), which does laser scanning of both objects and facilities, then makes 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) models for their clients.  Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Direct Dimensions serves a wide variety of clients, including the military and government, major contractors and architectural firms, historic preservation organizations, universities, and fine art institutions.

Michael Raphael, President and Founder of Direct Dimensions, said, “It’s a constant battle to process the data you collect into more meaningful formats.”  Searching on the Internet, Raphael discovered ClearEdge3D—and its advantages were immediately apparent to him.  It could reduce the work flow time for many projects, such as large structures and facilities, which have millions and sometimes billions of laser-scanned raw 3D data points.  The software can process the points and create a solid model in three dimensional space, so you can see the object.

Raphael noted that ClearEdge3D works extremely well with buildings, but he also intends to use it on other projects, such as the industrial applications of airplanes, cars and parts, and hopefully even for medical applications—including eyes, ears and noses—scanned into the computer for plastic surgery purposes.

Contact Information:

ClearEdge3d
http://www.ClearEdge3d.com
Kevin Williams, President
866-944-8210
kevin.williams@ClearEdge3D.com

Registration Now Open for Series That Runs June Through November

June 11, 2009 – Bentley Systems, Incorporated today announced that registration is now open at www.Bentley.com/BeConnected for its innovative Be Connected online seminar series. Be Connected gives architects, engineers, builders, geospatial professionals, and owner-operators a chance to learn about applying information modeling from some of the world’s leading infrastructure practitioners – free of charge, in both live and OnDemand formats. The series, which takes the place of this year’s Be Conference, begins June 23.
 
“With over 150 best practices and product seminars, the Be Connected online seminar series is the best way for both practitioners and business leaders in infrastructure to keep up with the latest trends in practice and technology, without the time and expense required when traveling to a conference,” said Bentley’s chief marketing officer, Ed Mueller. “This is ‘professional conference-quality’ content, brought to your desktop at no charge.
 
“If you are an AECO or geospatial professional serious about staying on top of your game, Be Connected is an ideal solution. It is Bentley’s response to the global challenge of finding new ways to create value without adding costs.”
 
Be Connected offers two types of online seminars:

• Best Practices Seminars – Presented by leading infrastructure professionals around the globe, these sessions bring a project perspective on best practices for the design, construction, and operation of specific types of infrastructure projects, including a series of seminars on each of the following: bridges, cadastre and land development, communications, electric and gas utilities, high performance buildings, mining and metals, oil and gas, rail and transit, roads, and water and wastewater.
• Product Seminars – Presented by Bentley’s top product executives and designed for both current and prospective users, these technology-focused sessions demonstrate the latest features and capabilities of Bentley’s comprehensive V8i software portfolio for sustaining infrastructure.

The first presentation of these hour-long seminars will include a live Q&A teleconference, giving seminar attendees the unique opportunity to interact with leaders in the infrastructure professions. Each seminar will then be offered OnDemand, allowing participants to attend multiple sessions at times of their choosing. In addition, participants can join discussion groups about the topics presented in the seminars on the Be Communities professional networking website, further extending the value and the insights gained in the seminar.
 
Be Connected attendees will learn how to successfully employ new workflows, information technology, and delivery methods – enabling them to work smarter, improve their productivity, lower costs, and advance their careers. Every Be Connected participant will be provided transcripts indicating seminars attended and Bentley Institute Learning Units earned.
 
“The unique delivery system and breadth of topics covered make our Be Connected seminar series a first in the infrastructure community,” said Carey Mann, vice president, solutions, Bentley Software. “The topics are aligned with the breadth of infrastructure addressed by Bentley’s comprehensive portfolio of software.”
 
Added Mann, “Put simply, Be Connected enables infrastructure professionals, including owners and the consultants who serve them, to be engaged, be informed, and be empowered – all without leaving their offices.”

Contact Information:

Bentley
http://www.bentley.com
Ron Kuhfeld
610 321 6493
ron.kuhfeld@bentley.com

Displaced Workers Now Have Access to 17 Products and Enhanced eLearning; Employers Get Discount for Hiring Program Participants; New Term License for AutoCAD software 

June 15, 2009 — With more than 4,700 participants in the  Autodesk Assistance Program and more than 5,400 product downloads to date, Autodesk is announcing significant additions to the program announced six weeks ago. The program was designed to help displaced workers in the architecture, engineering, design and manufacturing industries maintain and develop their 3D design technology skills and help improve their employability in a down economy. 

Additions include the increase of available products from four to seventeen of the latest versions of Autodesk's 2D and 3D design and engineering software, a product discount for companies that hire program participants, a new term license for AutoCAD software and enhancements to eLearning materials. 

"We continue to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback from both customers and partners participating in the Autodesk Assistance Program, which further validates that this program is helping customers improve their productivity and competitiveness during this challenging and volatile time," said Steve Blum, senior vice president of Americas Sales at Autodesk. "The enhancements we've made to the program are a natural extension that will now also benefit employers, and further benefit our customers and partners." 

"Thank you for the Autodesk Assistance Program," said Victoria Leichsenring, a CAD designer from Las Vegas, Nevada. "I have been out of work for 16 months and worried sick because if I went back to school I would lose my unemployment benefits. How would I keep up on my job skills until my industry starts hiring again? This program has turned out to be far more beneficial to me than going to a local collage, because I have learned so much more and at a faster pace. It also has saved me money and time. Thank you, Autodesk, for coming to the rescue and offering this program." 

Autodesk Assistance Program tools and resources are available through an online portal, where users can learn more about the program enhancements, including: 

• Employer Discount: Companies that hire program participants not only benefit from the extensive training resources that have been provided to these candidates, but also receive a discount of up to 40 percent for new commercial licenses of AutoCAD, AutoCAD Inventor Suite,  Autodesk Revit Architecture, and AutoCAD Civil 3D software. This offer is designed to make hiring more attractive and therefore create more jobs in the industry. Program participants needing a commercial license of software to perform consulting may also be interested in taking advantage of this offer. 
• New Term License: Autodesk is now offering a new 12-month stand-alone license of AutoCAD 2010 or AutoCAD 2009 software for $1,995 to commercial customers in the United States. This new offering is designed to help customers meet project demands, while faced with limited budgets, project-based budgets, or simply to meet peak demand requirements in unpredictable markets. 
• Firm Resources: To help firms improve productivity and examine work processes, Autodesk has made a number of resources related to  Digital Prototyping (DP) and  building information modeling (BIM) available on the Autodesk Assistance Program online portal. These resources cover a wide range of projects, including the types of projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 
• Products Available: In addition to the 2010 versions of AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk Inventor Suite, and AutoCAD Civil 3D software, program participants can now also access a free* 13-month term (except where noted) student license of the latest version products in the following industries:
• For AEC Professionals: The program now offers a broader representation of the BIM portfolio, including AutoCAD P&ID, Autodesk Revit Structure, AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite, AutoCAD Architecture, Autodesk Ecotect Analysis and Autodesk Navisworks Manage software. 
• For Manufacturing Professionals: The program now offers a broader representation of the DP portfolio, including AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD Mechanical, Autodesk Alias Surface and Autodesk Alias Design software. 
• For Geospatial Professionals: The program now includes AutoCAD Map 3D software. 
• For Media and Entertainment Professionals: The program now includes 90-day licenses of Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya software.
• New eLearning Materials: In addition to the more than 70  Value-Added Resellers and Autodesk Authorized Training Center (ATC) partners that are offering classroom training at their facilities for free or for a significantly reduced fee, Autodesk has bolstered the online training resources to include two new elements:
  •    Autodesk University (AU) Online: Autodesk Assistance Program members may receive full access with a separate AU Online membership. This valuable resource provides 1,000-plus session videos and handouts, including more than 400 sessions from AU 2008. 
  • Subscription e-Learning: The same great learning resources available to Autodesk Subscription customers are now available to Autodesk Assistance Program members, including 15-20 minute interactive modules that offer hands-on exercises and knowledge-assessment tools.

: Companies that hire program participants not only benefit from the extensive training resources that have been provided to these candidates, but also receive a discount of up to 40 percent for new commercial licenses of AutoCAD, AutoCAD Inventor Suite,  Autodesk Revit Architecture, and AutoCAD Civil 3D software. This offer is designed to make hiring more attractive and therefore create more jobs in the industry. Program participants needing a commercial license of software to perform consulting may also be interested in taking advantage of this offer. 

For more information about the Autodesk Assistance Program, contact your local reseller or visit www.autodesk.com/assistanceprogram. 

Contact Information:

Autodesk
http://usa.autodesk.com/
Angela Costa Simoes
415-547-2388

June 17, 2009 - Telogis, the leading global platform for enterprise Location Based Services, today announced the newest global release of GeoBase (version 3.0), the company’s market leading mapping engine. The GeoBase SDK now supports real-time navigation for commercial vehicles on both laptops and mobile operating systems.
 
The GeoBase SDK enables organizations to develop customized dispatching and navigation solutions using traffic, commercial vehicle and turn restrictions data, as well as custom route strategies. These advanced routing features provide a competitive advantage for routing large vehicles, such as long haul trucks, utility vehicles and emergency response vehicles.
 
“These enterprise features were developed to meet the needs of GeoBase customers within the Fleet Tracking, Mobile Resource Management (MRM) and Public Safety markets, who want to differentiate their location-enhanced services. GeoBase 3.0 builds upon its fast and scalable enterprise-class mapping features, including rich and detailed maps, navigation, geocoding, reverse geocoding, geofencing and route optimization,” said Newth Morris, President of Telogis’ GeoBase group.

Addressing the needs of customers who want to deploy on resource-constrained mobile devices, GeoBase 3.0 enables customers to easily add geospatial functionality, including turn-by-turn navigation, to new or existing applications via a .NET API. New features of the GeoBase Mobile SDK include consumer grade point-of-interest search and address entry, 2.5d map views, the ability to import and overlay custom data sets, integrate traffic flow information and route commercial vehicles (considering height, weight, load and other restrictions).  The GeoBase Mobile SDK is a full featured tool kit that offers unparalleled flexibility - from the ability to customize route strategies to the look and feel of the resulting application, every aspect of the navigation experience is completely customizable.

GeoBase 3.0 introduces read/write spatial data stores that can be updated in real-time and queried for a series of customer defined conditions. Querying such data sets for spatial, temporal, or other business rules greatly improves upon the standard geofencing capabilities of GeoBase. For MRM, utilities and public safety applications, GeoBase’s new read/write capabilities enable workers to make map data edits in the field, which can be integrated into the back-end enterprise database.

Additional enhancements include native support for satellite view map styles, new JavaScript client (for server deployments), poscode geocoding, and improved performance and memory usage. GeoBase 3.0 also contains many usability enhancements from easier to use APIs to improved documentation and sample code. 

More information can be found at http://www.geobase.info/geobase-3-0-mobile-and-more

Contact Information:

Telogis
http://www.telogis.com
Tina Shilling
949-389-5527
tina.shilling@telogis.com

Kuker-Ranken Inc. has announced the hire of Kevin Brown as customer support and sales representative at their Seattle location. Brown has extensive industry experience, coming most recently from at PPI in Kent, Washington, and worked as regional sales rep for Topcon prior to that. For more information visit www.krinc.net.
 

Contact Information:

Kuker-Ranken Inc.
http://www.krinc.net

Is your LizardTech Lizard star material? SHOW US and you could win a new GPS system. Simply snap a creative photo of your favorite, authentic LizardTech Collectable Lizard and see how he, no she, well... IT measures up. Creativity, style and panache, yes we said, "panache," counts. So make a good SHOW of it. Photos will be featured on our LizardTech Flickr pageand voted on by viewers everywhere.

For entry details and contest rules click here: http://www.lizardtech.com/esri2009/  

Contact Information:

http://www.lizardtech.com

SuperGeo again extends to Indian market by means of SuperGeo Mobile GIS Expert, a product integrating mobile GIS software, SuperPad, with rugged PDA, PS 535F. The product is purchased by Mangalore University through Spaceinfo, SuperGeo’s exclusive reseller in Karnataka State, India, and is expected to be utilized to support naval research and teaching.
 
Ranked as a four-star institute by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Mangalore University provides higher education and conducts research in various fields. As Mangalore University is a very famous institute in India, this procurement will highly benefit the promotion of other SuperGIS software in SuperGeo’s global sales network.
 
SuperGeo Mobile GIS Expert offers complete GIS solutions by SuperPad (the full-function mobile GIS software) with a rugged PDA device and has already impressed many users, especially in Asian markets. The product equips field workers and surveyors with a water proof, anti-dust, and anti-impact mobile device; therefore, users can effectively complete field work or survey even under bad environment or foul weather.
 
Find more about SuperGeo Mobile GIS Expert at: http://www.supergeotek.com/products_others_GISExpert.aspx    
 

Contact Information:

SuperGeo
http://www.supergeotek.com/
Sarah Liu
886-2-25467700
sarahliu@supergeotek.com

SuperGIS Server, the first enterprise GIS software of SuperGeo Technologies, is going to be officially launched by the end of June. SuperGIS Server provides ‘Map Cache’ service to accelerate the rendering speed and shorten the mapping time, so high-performance dynamic layers can be produced easily.
 
Each map service offered by SuperGIS Server contains several group layers. In order to enhance efficiency, SuperGIS Server employs these group layers to operate map cache function. When reading the map services provided by the server side, client-side users can operate different settings, such as displaying layers solely or hiding layers, to display each group layer in each map service. This allows users to make use of the layers under numerous situations.    
 
Due to dissimilar areas, goals, and characteristics of layers (such as the resolution of map layers), the suitable scale for each map is different. SuperGIS Server enables administrators to set the most appropriate scale for each map service according to the characteristics of map services and administrators’ publishing requirements. Users on the client side therefore have the best display effects on the map service and can display the most of the information.  
 
Moreover, SuperGIS Server provides administrators with different cache selections, dynamic generating cache or pre-generating cache, in order to fulfill more users’ needs. Dynamically generating cache is to build up cache for the area that is browsed already, so the occupied space in the hard disk can be largely decreased. On the other hand, pre-generating cache is to build up cache for the entire area of the map service; therefore, even in multiuser status, the mapping speed of the map service remains in good performance.
     
When the layers are being transferred back to client-side users, map cache service in SuperGIS Server can automatically choose the best file format and compression type in compliance with different characteristics of vector layers and image layers. Consequently, the data transferring volume can be reduced effectively and the map display effect can be improved greatly.
 
SuperGIS Server will be issued soon by SuperGeo. For more information about this software, please visit http://www.supergeotek.com/Library_1_200906.aspx  

Contact Information:

SuperGeo
http://www.supergeotek.com/
Sarah Liu
886-2-25467700
sarahliu@supergeotek.com

June 16, 2009 - For contractors competing for infrastructure projects funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the challenge is clear: bid competitively enough to win the contract while maintaining healthy profit margins on the project.

To help firms meet this challenge, Leica Geosystems has assigned a special task force to support contractors, surveyors, and engineers bidding or working on large infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, tunnels, dams, airports, and power plants. 

“Our technologies and experience enable us to address every cost, design, construction, and risk issue for owners, design/builders, contractors, engineers, public/private partnerships, and government agencies,” says Gerard Manley, Vice President of Engineered Solutions.

Leica Geosystems offers a broad portfolio of positioning solutions for every stage of an infrastructure project. For example, the company’s monitoring systems, total stations, and GNSS/GPS systems capture, analyze, model, visualize, and present spatial information.

According to Manley, rapid and accurate scanning, mapping, monitoring, and surveying of job sites and structures with the precision Leica Geosystems instruments can help firms win more ARRA contract awards — and make more money from them.

“By providing the right geotechnical positioning systems and engineering support, Leica Geosystems can help contractors reduce project costs all around — from lower materials and labor, to eliminating costly reworks by measuring the job right the first time,” he notes.

On a dam rehabilitation project in northern California, Leica Geosystems robotic total stations cut survey and monitoring costs approximately 40% vs. sight-lining GPS/RTK, says Manley. “Obviously, the savings in time and labor on a fixed-price contract goes directly to the contractor’s bottom-line profits.”

Leica Geosystems also provides a full line of construction levels, lasers and machine control systems for the construction phase. According to Manley, one construction firm achieved savings of approximately $100,000 in surveying, backfilling, grading, and compacting costs on a large pond project by using a bulldozer equipped with a Leica Geosystems GPS 3D system.

“President Obama himself has personally mandated that federally funded infrastructure projects be built economically, stating: ‘We can’t just fall into the old Washington habit of throwing money at a problem,’” says Manley. “By preventing errors and reducing costs, Leica Geosystems can save you money, giving you a big competitive advantage over other bidders.”

Construction and engineering professionals are invited to attend a free Leica Geosystems webcast, “Winning and Profiting from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Construction Projects.” Simply go to http://www.leica-geosystems.us/howtowin to register today. Or, to arrange a free consultation with a Leica Geosystems Engineered Solutions Specialist, call 1-877-390-2437 today.

Contact Information:

Leica Geosystems
http://www.leica-geosystems.us/howtowin
Andre Ribeiro
770) 326-9557
Andre.ribeiro@leicaus.com

A new version of Visual Fusion, Visual Fusion 4.0, was released in May by IDV Solutions. The visual mashup software offers integration between Microsoft Office, SharePoint, and geospatial mashup technology. How this integration works is that Visual Fusion extends features of SharePoint-lists, libraries, templates and Web parts-to automate geo-tagging and provide an interactive, visual user interface, according to Scott Caulk, product manager at IDV Solutions. Users can work with familiar tools such as Microsoft Office and create geo-enabled Word and PowerPoint documents, Excel spreadsheets and SharePoint Lists and Libraries and integrate these seamlessly into map applications and other mashups. 

“It’s software that allows you to build apps,” noted Caulk. “Historically those have been geospatially focused, putting enterprise data on the map and then integrating all kinds of business systems with web data, SharePoint data and Excel files. Essentially any data source you can get your hands on we can integrate all on top of a map.” 

As a “Microsoft shop,” IDV Solutions defaults to Bing (Virtual Earth), but Caulk said they can “put stuff on top of Google.” “With the newest version of our product, we’ve redone the front end in Silverlight which gives developers the ability to extend the front end and get into the code, and make things happen the way they want, plus there are some visual effects that we couldn’t do with Flash.” 

Another enhancement in the new 4.0 release is extending the ability to create mashups for anybody. Within SharePoint, Visual Fusion has GUI tools called AppHub for “application hub” and Composer which was already part of the product and has been upgraded in this release. 

"Using these GUIs you can go from nothing to an app in just a few minutes,” said Caulk. “How much time it takes you depends on how many data sources you want to integrate. You can go from nothing to something in about five minutes, based on how intricate you want to get, how much custom work you want to do, how many different sources you want to integrate.” 

Caulk said all their customers are moving to the newest version of the product. 

Read the rest of the article

Contact Information:

GISweekly

It seems like where ever you go there is always some area of a state or country that feels like they don’t get the R-E-S-P-E-C-T they deserve. In the state of Michigan it’s the residents of the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) that always feels slighted. Now, the Detroit News reports that a state legislator has introduced a bill to insure that when it comes to maps, the folks of the Upper Peninsula get the attention they deserve.

Ever since there have been two peninsulas, there’s been a feeling among those in the U.P. that the rest of the state ignores them.  And what really cooks their pasties is when a map of Michigan shows only the mitten.

That image led Rep. Michael Lahti , D-Hancock, to try to legislate some respect.
Sure, "there are more important issues like trying to get a budget set up," Lahti tells Political Insider, but "the U.P. has a lot to offer. We want to make sure we get recognized and appreciated."

After a Michiganian living in California saw an ad by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. that showed only the Lower Peninsula, Lahti got a call and sprang into action. First, he got the agency to change the ad and include the U.P.

Then, he introduced legislation that mandates any depiction of the state on government publications include both peninsulas.

The News reports that the billl mandating geographic accuracy in government publications is before the House Government Operations Committee.

June 15, 2009 – Bowyer-Singleton, one of Florida’s leading civil engineering and surveying firms, was recently awarded final design services for Wetherbee Road by Orange County.  This 1.5 mile segment of Wetherbee Road, from Balcombe Road to Orange Avenue, in south Orange County, will be widened from two to four lanes, including a multi-span bridge over Florida’s Turnpike.  Bowyer-Singleton’s services will include Roadway Design, Drainage Design, Structures Design, Permitting, Surveying and Maintenance of Traffic. This project has a 12-month schedule and services are expected to begin in August 2009.

Contact Information:

Cindy Thomas
407-843-5120 ex.3114
CThomas@BSA-Civil.com

June 15, 2009  PCI Geomatics, a world leading developer of geo-imaging software and systems, is pleased to announce it has received funding from the Going Global Innovation (Going Global) for its project on finalizing and generating new partnerships in China. 
 
Going Global Innovation is the science and technology pillar of the Global Commerce Support Program (GCSP) which provides a client focused consolidated approach for accessing funding sources from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) to attract foreign direct investment, increase Canada’s business share in foreign markets as well as provide additional innovation and commercialization opportunities.
 
Active in China since 1991, PCI Geomatics has recently opened a Beijing corporate office and supports research partnerships and market development in the environmental sciences and technologies, natural resources and ICT areas. 
 
The funding received from Going Global Innovation will be used to support the creation of research and development partnerships through an aggressive series of workshops and events as well as to showcase Canadian and Chinese expertise to the international community.
 
“PCI Geomatics is very appreciative of the assistance provided by the Global Commerce Support Program for its China initiatives,” said Dr. Robert Moses, President and CEO of PCI Geomatics.  “This opportunity allows PCI to emphasize to foreign partners the benefits of working with progressive and forward-looking Canadian companies.”
 
For additional information on the Global Commerce Support Program – Going Global Innovation, please visit http://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/eng/science/going_global.jsp

Contact Information:

PCI Geomatics
http://www.pcigeomatics.com
Alysia Vetter, Marketing Director
819-770-0022, Ext. 233
vetter@pcigeomatics.com

Contact Information:

Hemisphere GPS
http://www.hemispheregps.com
Ryan Warehime
403-214-6129
rwarehime@hemispheregps.com

June 12, 2009 – Data collectors of all different makes, styles and vintage have been piling up at the Carlson Software distribution center here ever since the introduction of Carlson’s popular new Surveyor and Surveyor+ data collectors last September.

The opportunity to trade in an out-of-date data collector and move up to the Surveyor+, while saving from $500 up to $1500, was offered by Carlson Software when they first introduced the fast, incredibly durable, and powerful data collector. The program has proved so popular, that Carlson has extended it
until September 30 of 2009. 

“Some of the trade-ins are definitely from the Stone Age of data collectors,” says Bob Bailey, director of Sales for Carlson Software. “Many actually came to us in pieces – we can only imagine the abuse these units must have taken.”

But, what to do with all those trade-ins? In order to be environmentally correct, Carlson is working with the SIMS Recycling Solutions branch in Nashville, Tenn., to make sure that the units’ parts are either recycled or disposed of properly. SIMS Recycling Solutions is a world-renowned electrical and electronics recovery and recycling company.

“The Surveyor+ is designed to hold up to even uncommon abuse,” notes Bailey. “Both versions of the handheld computer are encased in magnesium housing. In essence, they come in a ‘full metal jacket,’ so that they can withstand every day accidental abuse as well as the unexpected happenings so they won’t end up like some of the data collectors we’re getting as trade-ins.”

Weighing just two pounds, and with an IP67 water and dust-resistant Ingress rating, the Carlson Surveyor line offers up to 1 gigabyte of memory with the option to expand. Designed with surveyors in mind, the Surveyor+ keyboard is sized to work with even the largest or gloved hands, while the backlit control keys provide ease and convenience. They are light and easy to grip, being thinner front to back than other data collectors when resting on a table top. The computer runs on Windows Mobile 6 and Carlson SurvCE can be included.

Visit www.carlsonsw.com, call 800-989-5028, or stop by your local dealer to learn more about the Carlson Surveyor+ Trade-In promotion.

Contact Information:

Carlson Software
http://www.carlsonsw.com
Karen Cummings
617-510-9576
kcummings@carlsonsw.com

The NOAA-managed National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), the official U.S. government source for precise latitude, longitude and elevation measurements, provides more than $2.4 billion in potential annual benefits to the U.S. economy, according to a new independent study. Refining and modernizing the system for measuring elevation has the potential to net an additional $522 million in annual economic benefits.
 
Conducted by Leveson Consulting, Jackson, N.J., the study analyzed the total economic value of all revenue generated from private surveying and mapping as well as from related services in the government and nonprofit sectors. It also assessed the potential cost savings due to improved accuracy of position and elevation data.
 
“For more than 200 years,surveyors, mapping professionals, engineers and many others have used the NSRS as the foundation for establishing property boundaries, constructing buildings, roads, bridges and levees, creating accurate maps and charts, and much more,” said John H. Dunnigan, NOAA’s assistant administrator for the National Ocean Service. “The nation is literally built on this framework.”
 
The study finds that NOAA’s Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) network – part of NSRS – provides an estimated $758 million per year in benefits. This advanced system marries the concept of reference stations on the ground with GPS technology to provide more precise positioning delivered via the Internet. Scientific, military, and engineering activities usually require accuracy of a few inches versus typical commercial GPS users requiring accuracy of a few yards.
 
GPS will also soon supplant passive markers on the ground, which currently determine precise elevations under the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD88). The initiative, “Gravity for the Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum” (GRAV-D), will reduce elevation measurement errors from a range of 16 inches to six feet, to under an inch.
 
Improving vertical data will reduce elevation errors in floodplain mapping. This could affect the placement of building structures, highways, and public safety requirements, including levee construction and evacuation routes and subsequently impact insurance rates. GRAV-D will also help users anticipate the potential damage associated with coastal storms, river flooding, sea level rise, and climate change that a home, road, or other structure might incur. Approximately $240 million in costs could be saved annually through improved floodplain management.
 
“GRAV-D is the future foundation of all height-related activities in the United States ranging from determining where water will flow for irrigation purposes to identifying potential floodplains," notes Juliana Blackwell, director of NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey. “The findings of this study, combined with the potential impacts of a modern GRAV-D system, show the significant impact on public safety and economy that NOAA’s national spatial reference services provide.”
 
President Barack Obama has requested $4 million in the FY2010 budget to begin collecting data to improve elevation information as a foundation for better commerce, economic efficiencies, and to better protect the public from coastal hazards and flooding. This funding, if approved by Congress, will support the development of GRAV-D.

Contact Information:

NOAA
http://www.noaa.gov
Ben Sherman
301-713-3066 ext. 178
ben.Sherman@noaa.gov

June 15, 2009 – Ray O’Connor, executive officer of Topcon Corporation and president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS), today announced the formation of a new business unit created to focus exclusively on the survey market.

O’Connor also announced that Denny Welch will be the new senior vice president and general manager of the survey business unit. Welch is a 10-year Sokkia veteran and former vice president for Sokkia Corporation. 

Brice Walker has been named vice president of survey and sales in the new business unit. Walker is a former regional sales manager with TDS, Nikon and Spectra Precision.

O’Connor said, “I am excited that this new unit will be headed by Denny, who will report directly to me. The broad experience of Denny and Brice in the survey market, and their strategic planning expertise will ensure the new business unit will focus on growing our business exponentially.”

He said, “We are taking the two premier brands in the survey global marketplace – Topcon and Sokkia – and building an organization to maximize our opportunities in every segment of the survey business.”

He said, “Topcon and Sokkia combined is the largest survey instrument company in the world. This new organization is charged with making the gap even wider.”

The distributor network of both companies “will be a top priority of the new organization,” O’Connor said. “We pledge to enhance and expand these relationship in many areas.”

O’Connor said creating a survey business unit “was a direct result of taking customer and dealer input and making a conscientious decision to align the organization with the market needs.”

He said the business unit “encompasses every aspect of our operations from product development straight through the operations to serving the needs of the customers. It provides unlimited opportunities for our companies, employees, distribution network, as well as for our customers and potential customers.”

Surveying has been “the foundation of the Topcon and Sokkia brands for more than 165 years, combined. It is this central focus of this new survey business unit to continue to grow the brands, and make sure we make the right products at the right prices with the best quality in the marketplace.”
 
Welch said, “Topcon and Sokkia represent the best the industry has to offer. The combined organizations have an incredible understanding of the survey markets and together create the world’s largest precise positioning instrument company.

“The resources of these two companies create opportunities that would not be available if the sales and support operations remained separate.”

Welch said, “This new structure will enable us to focus all of our resources on building strong partnerships in the marketplace. I see us not solely as a manufacturer and as a dealer network, but partners in every sense of the word, from conception of new products, to engineering, and every other aspect of the business straight to the end-user.”

Welch said, “Working together, we can provide exceptional value in every single segment of the precise positioning industries . . . from our distributors to our customers.

“This is an exciting time and it is my pleasure to be a part of this historic undertaking.”

Walker said, “We are excited about joining together these two exceptional sales teams into one team with a single goal -- to dominate the survey market on a global scale.

“With the technologies that Topcon and Sokkia have and with the strong reputation, brand identity and relationships already in place, the changes and synergies this new organization provides create unbelievable opportunities in the marketplace.”

He said, “Looking to the future, Topcon and Sokkia are making all the right moves to dominate the market. That’s our goal; that’s our focus.”

O’Connor also made the following announcements:

The optical survey operations for Topcon will move to Sokkia’s headquarters location in Olathe, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City.

Topcon’s construction products division also becomes a separate business unit.  Jamie Williamson, TPS senior vice president, will lead the construction business unit.

Mark Contino has been named vice president of product marketing, reporting to O’Connor.

O’Connor said, “I am proud to have Mark in this new position, where he will provide invaluable service to all five of our business units. His extensive knowledge of our technology and markets is invaluable.  Mark has the unique ability to analyze and market our most complex products in a way that quickly educates all concerned.”

Having worked for Sokkia before joining Topcon, Contino’s “knowledge of the cultures of both companies will be vital as we introduce the ‘One company. Two brands.’ strategy to the marketplace,” O’Connor said.  Additionally, Contino will continue to develop and expand the Topcon University training program.

Two Topcon regional managers – Joel Frost and Mark Larranaga – and a Sokkia regional manager – Pat Moran – have been named senior regional sales managers covering the United States. 

Regional managers that will report to them are: Jeff Whittaker, (West/Southwest Region), Paul Disbrow and Mike Woodley (Central/Southeast), Dave Norris and Hank Boudreau  (Northeast/Northcentral). Pat Hills is the national sales manager for Canada, Miguel Rodriquez and Caesar Perez, have responsibilities for Latin America, and Duke Dutch will continue to head up sales efforts for law enforcement products. 

Contact Information:

Topcon, Sokkia
http://www.topconpositioning.com
George Smith
925-245-8603
news@topcon.com

June 12 Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) announced today it has acquired Accutest Engineering Solutions Ltd based in Derbyshire, UK. Accutest is a leading provider of vehicle diagnostics and telematics technologies for the automotive industry. The acquisition expands Trimble's ability to offer comprehensive solutions for a variety of Mobile Resource Management (MRM) applications including fleet management for light-duty and long-haul trucking. Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

Accutest manufactures products for system and software validation, hardware-in-the-loop, diagnostics, end-of-line test, remote on-board diagnostics, diagnostic access and monitoring, telematics and fleet management systems (FMS) access. Accutest also provides expertise in the design and development of network communications, at both the system and component level, over Controller Area Network (CAN), Local Interconnect Network (LIN), Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) and FlexRay-bus networks.

 

"We are excited to add Accutest solutions, products and skills to our portfolio," said Andrew Yeoman, managing director of Trimble's MRM, EMEA. "By leveraging our GPS-based fleet management technologies with Accutest vehicle diagnostics, we can provide comprehensive solutions to customers who are looking to drive efficiencies in their operations by reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions."

 

"The financial strength, complementary product set and global resources that Trimble brings to our business provide an exciting opportunity for growth," said Ken Scott, managing director of Accutest. "We are excited to join Trimble and believe that our combined competencies will provide unique solutions to address fleet maintenance, fuel consumption, emissions and management."

 

Accutest will be part of Trimble's Mobile Solutions segment.

Contact Information:

http://www.trimble.com, www.accutest.co.uk

University of Technical Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) procures ‘SuperGeo Mobile GIS Expert’ through Axis Commerce, SuperGeo’s exclusive reseller in Malaysia. Located in Malacca, UTeM is not only one of the most famous institutes in Malaysia, but also ranks as the top 10 public Universities in the latest 2009 Malaysia University Ranking. The procurement is expected to enhance research and teaching in the field of computer systems and communication technologies. 
 
'SuperGeo Mobile GIS Expert’ is a bundle integrating rugged PDA, PS 535F, with mobile GIS software, SuperPad. This product provides a complete GIS solution for field surveyors by the water proof, anti-dust, and anti-impact PDA along with full-function SuperPad. This product has performed well in Asian markets. The newly-confirmed exclusive reseller, Axis Commerce, is also confident in promoting more SuperGIS series software in the wide Malaysian market.
 
Find more about SuperGeo Mobile GIS Expert at: http://www.supergeotek.com/products_others_GISExpert.aspx    

Contact Information:

SuperGeo
http://www.supergeotek.com/
Sarah Liu
886-2-25467700
sarahliu@supergeo.com.tw

Carlson Software recently expanded their expert level training program, Carlson College, and started the Carlson College Training Program, an international program dedicated to providing superior training on Carlson’s products.

The Carlson College Training Program is being built to be the highest quality training resource in the world. Individuals can get training direct from Carlson Software or through the members of the Carlson College Training Program. Carlson Software offers professional training at our facilities in Maysville, Ky., and Boston, Mass. In addition, Carlson Software offers regional training throughout the United States as well as on-site custom consulting.

Detailed training programs, involving basics to advanced concepts, are offered for all Carlson products, from SurvCE to Carlson Survey, Carlson Civil, Hydrology, Mining, Grade and Takeoff.  Individuals or companies can maximize software performance by availing themselves of these training offerings. Multiple forums and venues are being offered at fixed classrooms as well as locations around the country and at various Carlson dealers around the world.

“We are very excited about this opportunity,” says Paul Carlson, President of CDS.“ CDS, a member of the Carlson College Training Program, was founded on service, most of which is training and consulting.We are a huge advocate of continuing education both internally and for our clients and see this as a way for us to keep our trainers sharp.We also see this as a beacon for clients, letting them know they are getting a quality service from a quality company.”

Contact Information:

Carlson Software
http://www.carlsonsw.com
Karen Cummings
kcummings@carlsonsw.com

Dewberry, a nationally recognized professional services firm, has been selected to provide design and construction phase services for the replacement of the Sackett Point Road Bridge over the Quinnipiac River in North Haven, Connecticut. Dewberry is the prime designer on this estimated $12-million project that will provide the Town the opportunity to better handle the average daily traffic volume, upgrade and expand the utilities crossing the river, improve the pedestrian experience, and prevent flooding of businesses in the immediate area due to inland rainfall events. 
 
Sackett Point Road is a major passageway for residents, employees of local businesses, and individuals visiting the area for shopping and entertainment purposes, as it connects to Route 5 on the West and Universal Drive and Route 103 on the East.

Contact Information:

Dewberry
http://www.dewberry.com
Brooke Weinstein
973-338-9100
bweinstein@dewberry.com

These maps are built from The National Map data, which are integrated from local, State, Federal, and other sources. The initial version of the "Digital Map – Beta" includes orthoimagery plus roadsand geographic names in the traditional 7.5 minute quadrangle format. "Digital Maps - Beta" are available free on the Web in the GeoPDF format. File size is about 15 to 20 Megabytes.

Tools are available free for download. Users can turn data layers on and off, zoom in and out, and print the maps. As the "Digital Map - Beta" evolves, the USGS will add historical versions of the topographic maps and will incorporate other data layers including hydrography andcontours. Use of the term "Beta" signifies that these maps are initial versions that do not yet contain the full content of the traditional USGS topographic quadrangle maps.

The USGS values your comments and suggestions about the new "Digital Map - Beta".

What Makes The USGS "Digital Map - Beta" Different From Other Electronic Maps?

• Richer content….more than a street map
• Can be used on the computer or plotted and printed to scale
• Looks and feels like the legacy paper USGS topographic maps with user selected layers
• Nationally consistent data; quality assured to standards
• Can be downloaded free from the USGS Store
• User interaction tools can be downloaded free
• Users can select from various reference systems: Latitude/Longitude, UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator), and MGRS (Military Grid Reference System)
• Direct "mash-up" capabilities with Google Maps®
• Will continue to evolve and incorporate additional data layers including contours

Contact Information:

USGS
http://nationalmap.gov/digital_map/index.html