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A geographic information system (GIS) is any system capable of capturing, storing, analyzing, managing and displaying data and associated attributes which are spatially referenced to Earth. In recent years the world has witnessed tremendous growth in the number of GIS-based software tools to support and geo-reference a large variety of data. The reason why GIS has become so popular, and is often referred to as the GIS revolution, is because a wide variety of data can now be precisely positioned in three-dimensional space. This allows engineers and researchers to easily compare and analyze multiple forms of data in a common spatial framework having the same units of measurements and geospatial context.

Due to the vast amount of information required to plan a cable route, working in a GIS environment is a necessity for modern day submarine cable planners. Data that need to be considered include bathymetry, fishing regions, dumping grounds, military restrictions, political boundaries, cable crossings and sediment characteristics, to name a few. In the not-to-distant past, these data were compiled from a variety of paper charts and independent electronic databases. The process of compiling and comparing the data from independent sources was time consuming and error prone. In today’s digital age the data are now in electronic format and, in theory, can be imported into a common GIS platform for accurate comparative analysis and record keeping. In practice, a lack of standardization

among data formats had lead to disparity among proprietary database management platforms and data types.

The two primary competing management platforms (tools used to store, display and analyze GIS data) are Intergraph® products (e.g., Geomedia®) and the ESRI® products (e.g., ArcInfo®). Geomedia has no associated proprietary data format – it was designed to be compatible with a wide variety of data types. ArcInfo, however, favors its own proprietary data format making it difficult for other GIS platforms to integrate with ESRI data. Beyond ESRI’s proprietary data types, there are over 200 different types of GIS data formats that exist making it difficult for the submarine cable planner to easily integrate multiple forms of data.

The introduction of a new tool to submarine cable planning software has simplified the integration of multiple data types. This flexible and powerful spatial toolset makes it easy for planners to translate, transform and integrate spatial data in a variety of formats. The core software, the Feature Manipulation Engine (FME®), is a product of Safe Software®. This software has now been integrated with GIS platform Geomedia and submarine cable route planning software to expand their data integration capabilities.

Prior to the introduction of FME, submarine cable planners were forced to use third party tools (e.g., Import71) and become trained in the use of Geomedia in order to adapt various forms of spatial data into the

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planning software. A simple AutoCAD file containing bathymetry contours required the creation of a schema definition file, a coordinate system file and a warehouse database prior to importing the data into the planning software. Now, the entire process is embedded within the cable planning software making the creation of these files transparent to the user.

Integration of the FME module in cable planning software is an important advancement to the submarine cable engineer because it bridges the gap between Geomedia, the most commonly used GIS platform for cable planners, and the many different data types typically found when collecting data relevant to a cable path. These include proprietary data types, such as ESRI ArcInfo and Autodesk AutoCAD, and other non-proprietary data formats, such as the International H y d r o g r a p h i c Organization S-57 standard for navigation charts. In total, there are over 150+ different GIS formats that are now accessible to submarine cable planners through the use of the FME module.

The process of adding GIS data to the cable planning software is easy regardless of the format. A basic ESRI shapefile is just as easy to import as a complex S-57 navigation

chart. The process involves choosing the format, the coordinate system, and the specific layers containing the data of interest. Bathymetry data, in the form of AutoCAD bathymetric contours, requires the same information and follows the same easy steps.

The benefits of the FME Module for the submarine cable planner are two-fold. First, spatial data that may not have been available to the Geomedia platform can now be easily incorporated into the planning software and used in route analyses. Second, the time saved in transforming multiple data types can be put to more productive endeavors such as refining the cable route or installation plan.

The GIS revolution has transformed the way submarine cable planners compile, manage and analyze data from different sources in order to arrive at the best possible cable route. Competing GIS platforms and data types have resulted in problems integrating multiple forms of data. A new tool available to cable planners alleviates much of the difficulty in integrating multiple formats of spatial data into a common GIS platform for cable route analyses. The tool benefits the cable planner by making available a wider spectrum of spatial data

and increasing the efficiency of the planning process resulting in lower planning costs and allowing for more time spent on analyses critical to the installation of the submarine cable.

Michael Nedbal has been involved in the telecommunication industry for the past 10 years and currently works as the Operations Coordinator for Makai Ocean Engineering. In addition to supporting new product development, product testing, and product delivery, he is actively involved in research for

submarine cable desktop studies and projects related to ocean-based sources of renewable energy. He received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University and B.S. from University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign.

working in a GIS environment is a necessity for modern day submarine cable planners

Figure 1 – FME is a powerful spatial toolset that integrates with the cable route planning software making it easy for planners to translate, transform and integrate spatial data in a wide variety of formats.

Figure 2 – the process of importing GIS data is simple regardless of the type or complexity of the data.

Figure 3 – the FME toolset was used to overlay an S-57 navigation chart on top of a landsat image of Pearl Harbor.