GIS Development News Update 01st May 2004

Applications

The role of GPS as a 'monitoring tool' got exemplified in varied instances in Asia this fortnight.

Local governments and schools in Japan are stepping up efforts to protect children from crime. Measures to keep a watch on children, ranging from tracking by GPS to other high-tech devices have become more common and more effective in Japan.

India seems to have further GPS-geared this fortnight with three news catching our eyes. Indian Southern Railway (SR) is planning to introduce GPS in the passenger trains. The implementation of the system would help in better monitoring of the trains by the railways and would also provide passengers with vital information on their journey thereby having the potential of averting accidents. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is set to induct swanky new garbage trucks that will not only be closed, but will also sport GPS and GIS equipment. In another development in Delhi, it was announced that there will be more radio taxis on the city’s roads, with GPS installed in most. The Delhi Government hopes that these taxis will provide a reliable and safer alternative to the present ones. The government has decided to promote these taxis.

A few other interesting applications of GIS were as follows.

The London Ambulance Service (LAS) has become the first emergency service of the UK to be able to pinpoint the location of 999 calls from mobiles and deploy emergency response vehicles more quickly. LAS is using the MapObjects GIS from ESRI (UK) to this service. In India, a state-of-the-art communications network, the first in the country, is being effectively used to police the present Parliament elections through a mass response system that is in place at all district headquarters in one of its southern states. In U.S. the State and local homeland security officials got a sneak peek at a new system that may one day play a critical role in preventing a massive outbreak of food-borne diseases. Speaking at the North Central Regional Homeland Security Conference in US, state law enforcement and private-sector officials outlined what they consider an urgent need to get standardized IT tools into the hands of both cowboys and security officials to help identify and respond to acts of agroterrorism, the deliberate introduction of biological or chemical agents into the nation's food supply.

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Business News

Some interesting projects concretized in the last two weeks.

Navman NZ (of New Zealand) gained a foothold in Latin America, with the licensing of its fleet tracking and asset management service to GPS Chile. The deal with GPS Chile is a triple first for the company; a first in South America, Navman's first licensed software deal, and its first Spanish language application.

Irish IT firm DSS secured a contract to supply the Irish government with technology for an ambitious e-government project. DSS will provide the Local Government Computer Services Board (LGCSB) with HP ProLiant Blade Server technology for its "Mobhaile" pilot project.

Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions announced that the UK Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency (DGIA) has accepted into service the geospatial data management solution delivered by Intergraph (UK) Ltd. for its Geospatial Product Neutral Database (GPNDB). Intergraph also signed a partnership agreement with Haestad Methods, a water resources modeling software providing firm. Under the terms of the agreement, Intergraph and Haestad Methods will jointly market and support an integrated hydraulic analysis solution consisting of Intergraph’s GeoMedia technology and Haestad’s WaterObjects

Merrick & Company, operating in the field of LIDAR, digital ortho-imaging, photogrammetry and GIS mapping, announced its new contract with the City of Aspen, Colorado. ESRI announced that GIMS (Pty) Limited, its distributor in South Africa, had recently signed a Multi National Enterprise (MNE) agreement with the De Beers Group, a diamond company.

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Products

A thought provoking product was announced this fortnight. Blister Entertainment Inc. announced recently that it is working with Bell Mobility to launch Swordfish, a game that allows anglers to troll for fish in a virtual sea. The technology uses GPS chips embedded in newer handset models to simulate the experience of hunting -- and catching -- fish in a boat!! Even though the exact use of GPS is still a doubt here, at least the news generates interest to have a look at the product.

Matrox Graphics Inc. last week launched the new Quad Information Display (QID) Pro display controller, that, the company claims, brings unprecedented multi-display capabilities, with support for four analog or digital displays from a single chip. Microsoft has commenced work on an Australian version of Mappoint, the company’s Web-based mapping service. Iunctus Geomatics signed a contract with SPOT IMAGE to purchase a SPOT receiving station and receive telemetry from the SPOT satellite constellation.

However, the product I liked the best was the publication of a map of South Mississippi. The push toward ecotourism in South Mississippi, America, is perhaps about to get boost with the publication of this map showing the sites on the new Mississippi Coastal Birding Trail.

Other key product related news were,

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Miscellaneous

China has successfully launched two scientific satellites, including a "nano-satellite" for the first time, heralding a breakthrough in space technology. A 'Long March II C' rocket carrying Nano-Satellite I, which weighs just 25 kg and an "Experiment Satellite I", weighing 204 kg blasted off at 23:59 hrs on Sunday from the Xichang satellite launch centre in Sichuan province. The successful launch has made China the fourth country in the world that is capable of launching nano-satellites after Russia, the United States and Britain, Chinese space experts said.

More than a hundred leading European and Chinese scientists met recently on the island city of Xiamen to commence the Dragon Programme - a wide-ranging research initiative employing ESA Earth Observation data to focus on China.

Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman, Dr K Kasturirangan has suggested that India should have theme-oriented satellites, designed to meet specific requirements especially in the areas of education and health. “India has already introduced this concept through the missions of Edusat - specifically designed to cater to educational needs, Cartosat - designed to serve the Cartographic needs and so on,” Dr K Kasturirangan said.

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