GIS News

Top Stories

MapQuest releases new mobile MapQuest version 3.0

MapQuest.com, a provider of wireless and online destination information and location-based services, has announced the release of Mobile MapQuest v. 3.0 for wireless handheld devices. Now, the Internet's most popular interactive maps are available to consumers anytime, anywhere on their PDAs. Additionally, MapQuest launched a new enhanced Web site designed to show consumers how to obtain the Mobile MapQuest application, as well as how to use it. Mobile MapQuest 3.0 adds mapping to the Mobile MapQuest suite of services that are already available for wireless devices, including MapQuest's convenient and comprehensive driving directions and real-time traffic reports. Mobile MapQuest even offers the same ease of use in navigation with panning and zooming for PDAs.

Visit : www.mapquest.com

Paragon Imaging announces strategic partnership with Intergraph Corporation

Paragon Imaging, the leading developers of Image Processing/GIS Software, announced today a strategic partnership with Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions, a division of Intergraph Corporation. Paragon's ELT Series software will be integrated with Intergraph's GeoMedia(r) software and offered to both Paragon and Intergraph's worldwide customer base as a seamless GIS/image exploitation solution. The ELT functionality offers high-powered exploitation features such as: Gigabyte-sized image handling, precise image quality, geo-registration, mensuration, and image/map comparison tools. This functionality, combined with the GIS support that GeoMedia already offers, will provide a complete package for imagery analysis in a geospatial context. The Paragon ELT functionality also provides support of over 25 image file formats, including the DoD based NITF and NSIF formats. GeoMedia's open architecture provides an environment in which Paragon's image exploitation solution becomes a seamless add-on capability and its intuitive interface makes it is easy to use.

Visit : www.paragon.com and www.intergraph.com/imgs

Space Imaging names Jody Tedesco as chief operating officer

Space Imaging announced today the appointment of Jody Tedesco to the position of chief operating officer. Tedesco's promotion is effective immediately. Tedesco now is responsible for the overall operations management of the company including sales, production, services, and development organizations. Tedesco has an extensive background in operational management primarily in the high tech sector. Before joining Space Imaging, Tedesco worked for Seagate Technology (Longmont, Colo.), where he held various executive management positions including senior director of desktop-released products and senior director of strategic planning.

Visit : www.spaceimaging.com

Paradigm licenses ServiTrack as the exclusive location service provider in Venezuela

Paradigm Advanced Technologies, Inc., has announced that ServiTrack Tecnologias C.A. has selected the PowerLOC division of Paradigm to be their exclusive technology provider of location-based security products throughout Venezuela. PowerLOC will provide its proprietary Tracker(TM) server system and software as well as Vehicle Location Devices (VLD's) to ServiTrack to assist ServiTrack's thousands of customers with enhanced vehicle security and precise location and tracking of their vehicles and other assets via the Internet. PowerLOC's unique Tracker system offers mapping, wireless network access and Internet connectivity to their users. ServiTrack has agreed to acquire up to 12,000 Vehicle Location Devices over the next 15 months with an option to increase quantities under certain conditions. In addition, ServiTrack has exclusive right to market all PowerLOC products in Venezuela. The conclusion of this agreement follows extensive evaluation, business cooperation and testing of the PowerLOC Tracker system by ServiTrack.

Visit : www.teletype.com/gps/catalog and www.teletrol.com.ve

Asia News

Chinese Academy of Sciences selects eCognition for urban mapping applications

The Team of Remote Sensing for Agriculture and Environment (RSAE), Institute of Remote Sensing Applications, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has selected eCognition for urban mapping applications. In a first project eCognition will be used to map urban vegetation from 1:5000 color orthophotos in the city of Daqing, Heilongjiang Province, northern China. RSAE focuses on above ground biomass monitoring with remote sensing technology. Present research topics are technology development for crop monitoring with remote sensing, including crop growth monitoring, crop health diagnosis and agricultural production estimation; implementing global and national crop growth monitoring and production forecasting; establishing an area sampling framework for China.

Visit: www.agri-environ.net & www.definiens-imaging.com

China, EU to Enhance Sci-Tech Cooperation

China and the European Union will cement a partnership in science and technology research, said an official of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Wang Shaoqi, head of the ministry's international cooperation department, said at the on-going China-Norway international seminar on polar regions that consultations are being held between China and the European Union for potential cooperation in diverse sectors including biotech, space, material technology, energy, the environment and basic research.

Trond Giske, Norwegian minister of education, research and church affairs, said Norway is willing to enhance cooperation with China in polar research. He spoke highly of the cooperation between the two sides in their conjugate observation of the space environment.

Scientists attending the seminar discussed a proposal for the Sino-Norwegian joint research through China's Zhongshan Station in the South Pole and Norway's Svalbard Island, as well as other issues on aero-physics, sea ice physics, polar light and the ionized layers over polar regions.

The five-day seminar, which opened Monday in Shanghai, is an important part of Sino-EU cooperation in science and technology sectors and has attracted nearly 100 scientists from China, Norway, the United States and Sweden.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

India eyes lucrative satellite launch market

New Delhi (PTI)- India has started commercial space satellite launching services and is currently offering polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) for primary as well as auxiliary payloads, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said in the Lok Sabha, Wednesday.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been responding to enquiries from several countries in Europe, Korea and Japan in this regard, Vajpayee said in a written reply.

While contracts for two satellites are being executed for launching two small satellites (Proba of Belgium and Bird of Germany), ISRO has already launched two small satellites -Kitsat of Korea and Tubsat of Germany - on commercial basis on PSLV-C2 mission in 1999. He said Antrix, the commercial arm of the Department of Space, has been providing services such as testing, satellite tracking and telemetry, consultancy and access to remote sensing satellite data outside India, the Prime Minister said.

In another reply, the Prime Minister said that ISRO proposed to launch technology experiment satellite (TES) on board PSLV to develop high resolution imaging technologies during 2001-02.

The ISRO also proposed to launch and operationalise INSAT-3C satellite to augment the capacity of the INSAT system and integrate and test METSAT (meteorological satellite) and INSAT-3A for launch during the first half of 2002 for meteorological and communication services.

Source: The Times of India, August 02, 2001

NTT Data, Two Others Set Up E-Commerce Solutions JV

TOKYO (Dow Jones)--NTT Data Corp. (J.NDC or 9613) and the Japanese units of Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) and Microsoft Corp (Singapore: MSFT.SI - news). (MSFT) of the U.S. said Wednesday they set up a joint venture the same day to provide next-generation electronic commerce solutions.

The move is aimed at addressing the growing needs of small-sized companies for affordable business-to-business (BtoB) e-commerce systems.

The new JV is capitalized at Y400 million. NTT Data has a 70% stake worth Y280 million, while Compaq and Microsoft each have a 15% stake worth Y60 million each.

The three companies said the JV will provide business components such as Microsoft's "Commerce Server 2000" and Compaq's "ProLiant" for use in e-commerce systems like BtoB procurement sites.

The JV, called "Business Infinity Co.," began operations Wednesday with 10 employees. It is targeting Y3 billion in revenue in two years.

The BtoB e-commerce support services market in Japan is expected to reach Y2.2 trillion in 2005, the companies said.

Source: sg.biz.yahoo.com

Land depletion blamed for high typhoon death toll in Taiwan

Global warming and overdevelopment of mountainous areas are to blame for the huge loss of life and trail of damage left by one of the worst typhoons to hit Taiwan in 50 years, officials and experts say.

They warned of further casualties and property damage if the government took no remedial measures.

"The mudslides unleashed by Typhoon Toraji went far beyond what would have naturally occurred," said Liou Ming-lone, secretary general of the private Environmental Quality Protection Fund.

Liou said torrential rains would continue to flood the island, given the irreversible trend of "global warming" due to persisting massive deforestation and consumption of fossil fuels.

Taiwan's vulnerability was being compounded by overdevelopment, spawning flows of mud and rock, he said.

In an editorial Tuesday, the China Times said: "Why did a medium-sized typhoon cause the disaster? There is only one reason: debris flows."

The paper accused the authorities of building too many roads on mountainsides in a bid to promote tourism and agriculture.

Encouraged by the road networks, farmers swamped the mountainous areas, cutting down trees to grow fruits, vegetables, bettle nuts and other crops, leading to soil erosion and a depletion of underground water.

Source: www.spacedaily.com

Japan to study ways to deal with rising sea level

A special Japanese government panel met Wednesday to start studying ways to cope with rising sea levels triggered by global warming, an official said. The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry launched the study group to discuss the potential impact of rising sea levels and to consider specific measures to cope with the trend, said Katsuhiro Onuma, an official with the ministry's coastal division.

"This is the first time we have formed a study group to actually discuss the timeframe in which we would have to take specific measures to cope with rising sea levels," he said. Such a study was important for mountainous Japan, whose overcrowded major cities lie in coastal areas, Onuma said. Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka and Nagoya, the four biggest cities in Japan, all lie on bays and are at sea level. The study group would initially monitor Ise Bay in central Japan and formulate potential measures to limit damage to the port of Nagoya and other infrastructures, Onuma said.

The group is due to issue a report by March 2002, which would be used by the ministry to formulate damage limitation plans for other costal areas, Onuma added.

Currently an estimated 364 square kilometers of Japanese land lie below the sea level, home to 1.02 million residents. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in February the average sea level worldwide was expected to rise 88 centimeters betweem 1990 and 2100 due to global warming.

Source: www.spacedaily.com