geoinformatics 2009 vol06
DESCRIPTION
geoinformatics 2009 vol0TRANSCRIPT
-
FIG Interview Topcon GRS-1 Review
FME User Conference Developing Standards for 3D Imaging Systems
M a g a z i n e f o r S u r v e y i n g , M a p p i n g & G I S P r o f e s s i o n a l sSeptember 2009
Volume 12
6
-
On the Move
Even in summertime, the field of geoinformatics is on the move . On paper, blogs and atindustry conferences I sense a shared optimism to make things work better and faster forthe end user. I hope the same optimism pervades through the articles in this magazine, thatshould give an overview of whats happening in the industry at the moment.
And there IS a lot going on at this moment. With hindsight, I am proud of the inclusion ofseveral open source articles in the last six months, an idea that originated from Intergeo lastyear. With so much media exposure on this topic at the moment, this seems as a wise deci-sion now. The debate on open source versus closed source continues and we will keep oninforming you on new initiatives in this field.
Another discussion that was mentioned somewhere else focused on the lack of innovationin the industry. It seems some people cannot overcome the idea that the revolution in geoindustry was merely an outcome of the Google revolution combined with hardware innova-tions (server technology, more data storage capacities). Right now theres an interestingdebate going on about how data should be shared between governments and users. Thediscussion focuses on what data should be shared, what it looks like and how to offer it tousers. Although I dont have the answers to these questions, I think that the conviction thattheres a need to share data is a breakthrough in the way of thinking about sharing data.Data needs to be unlocked and shared, thats why its there in the first place. This convictionis something new and major GIS vendors are now picking up on it because their costumersask for it.
Specially for the coming Intergeo event in Karlsruhe, Germany, we put together a number ofsurveying related articles, ranging from product reviews, case studies and interviews withcaptains of national and international surveying organizations. I am happy to announce thatGeoInformatics will be present with a large booth at Intergeo where you have a chance tomeet up in person and share your thoughts on this magazine, that also will be distributedeverywhere at the event.
Enjoy your reading and meet you at Intergeo!
Eric van [email protected]
September 20093
GeoInformatics provides coverage, analysis and commentary with respect to the international surveying,mapping and GIS industry.
PublisherRuud Groothuis [email protected]
Editor-in-chiefEric van Rees [email protected]
EditorsFrank Arts [email protected] Fischer [email protected] van Haaften [email protected] [email protected] Takken [email protected] Triglav [email protected]
Contributing WritersJoc TriglavAlan M. AindowBrett BlackBenjamin SullivanHuibert-Jan LekkerkerkLon van der PoelRaj SinghMichael W. DobsonCori Keeton Pope
Account ManagerWilfred Westerhof [email protected]
SubscriptionsGeoInformatics is available against a yearly subscription rate (8 issues) of 89,00.To subscribe, fill in and return the electronic replycard on our website or contact Janneke Bijleveld [email protected]
Advertising/ReprintsAll enquiries should be submitted to Ruud Groothuis [email protected]
World Wide WebGeoInformatics can be found at: www.geoinformatics.com
Graphic DesignSander van der [email protected]
ISSN 13870858
Copyright 2009. GeoInformatics: no material maybe reproduced without written permission.
GeoInformatics is published by CMedia Productions BVPostal address:P.O. Box 2318300 AEEmmeloordThe NetherlandsTel.: +31 (0) 527 619 000 Fax: +31 (0) 527 620 989 E-mail: [email protected]
Corporate
Member
Sustaining
Member
Alejandro EgidoMiquel GarciaMarco CaparriniMary Jo WagnerGordon PetrieRobert MarschallingerFritz ZoblAdrijana CarPetra Jenewein
-
ESRI International User Conference 2009The yearly international user conference of ESRI in San Diego is for many
people the most important GIS event in the world. From July 13 to 17,
ESRI users were welcomed in the San Diego Convention Center for every-
thing that has to do with GIS: workshops, an exhibition, user group
meetings and an update on the most recent developments on the ESRI
platform.
C o n t e n t
September 2009
ArticlesDeveloping Standards for 3D Imaging SystemsASTM E57 International Technical Committee 10
Everybody calls Larry for his RTK SystemGPS in the City of Waterloo, Iowa 14
Interface ControlGNSS Update 22
Seeking a Global PathBIM Standards Efforts 24
Creating Robust FunctionalitiesADAS and 3D-Road Map Databases 28
A Space Asset for Non-Space ApplicationsGNSS-R 40
Government Group Uses Mapping and GISManaging German Agricultural Subsidy Applications 34
Fully Integrated Imaging SolutionsLeicas RCD Digital Frame Cameras 54
Modular Cameras; Multiple ConfigurationsThe IGI DigiCAM Range 60
ADL SeriesPacific Crest New Product Line 68
InterviewsThe Big Swing in Surveying explained by FIG President Stig EnemarkFrom Measurement to Management 6
Providing National and International Geodetic ServicesMeeting The French Order of Licensed Surveyors 50
ReviewsTest GNSS ReceiverTopcon GRS-1 18
From Search Engine to OmnivorePlanet Google 70
Page 64
From Measurement to ManagementGeoInformatics editor Joc Triglav interviews FIG President Stig Enemark
on the FIGs motto, upcoming activities, the modern art of measurement
and more. The combination of technical, natural and social science areas
place the surveyors in a unique position in society for contributing to
development and innovation towards social justice, economic growth,
and environmental sustainability.
4
Page 6
-
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com5
September 2009
On the Cover:
Lon van der Poel is performing a user test with the Topcon GRS-1.
See article on page 18.
FME 2009 User ConferenceThe eleventh edition of the annual Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI)
conference was held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, from June 15 to 19. At
this conference the GSDI Association, an inclusive body of organizations,
agencies, firms, and individuals from around the world, promotes interna-
tional co-operation and collaboration in support of local, national and
international spatial data infrastructure developments.
BIM Standards EffortsGlobal market factors are forcing a revolution in the way professionals
share and use information throughout the lifecycles of buildings and capi-
tal projects such as airports, roads and subways. Building Information
Models (BIM) are a critical element in this information sharing revolution.
This article provides an overview of the current state of BIM standards and
what they will, hopefully, through international collaboration, become in a
Web-connected world.
Page 24
EventsIcon Awards, Smartplant 3D, SmartGrids and MoreIntergraph Annual Users Conference 2009 38
Transforming the Inconceivable into RealityFME 2009 User Conference 50
Further Integration of Components of the ESRI PlatformESRI International User Conference 2009 64
Combined GIS Event and Symposium in SalzburgComputer Oriented Geology & GI Forum @ AGIT 2009 66
Calendar 74
Advertisers Index 74
Page 50
Page 18
-
The Big Swing in Surveying explained by FIG President Stig Enemark
From Measurement to ManagementGeoInformatics editor Joc Triglav interviews FIG President Stig Enemark on the FIGs motto, upcoming activities,
the modern art of measurement and more. The combination of technical, natural and social science areas place
the surveyors in a unique position in society for contributing to development and innovation towards social justice,
economic growth, and environmental sustainability.
By Joc Triglav
Question: We started our first interview
at the beginning of your term as the FIG
President with a discussion about your
motto. How successfully have the sur-
veyors embraced it? How high does the
surveying profession manage to fly
today and how successfully does it keep
its feet on the ground?
Answer: The motto of flying high and keeping
the feet on the ground emphasises the need
of having a big vision in relation to the global
agenda and, at the same time, supporting the
member associations and the individual survey-
ors in their everyday tasks. The big vision is
about contributing to solving the global chal-
lenges such as poverty eradication, climate
change, and disaster risk management. FIG has
made good progress with the flying high tar-
gets. I would like to mention only two exam-
ples on these activities: the joint FIG/UN-HABI-
TAT seminar on "Improving Slum Conditions
through Innovative Financing in Stockholm in
June 2008 and the joint FIG/World Bank confer-
ence on Land Governance in Support of the
Millennium Development Goals: Responding to
New Challenges in Washington in March this
year.
Keeping the feet on the ground means that
FIG must be able to interact with politicians at
national level to promote and improve the basic
conditions for surveyors and their role in soci-
ety. And FIG should of course interact in a dia-
logue with the member associations and the
individual surveyors. This interaction has
worked well even in the current situation of
financial crisis. Indicators such as membership
figures and attendance to our conferences look
6
Interv iew
September 2009
FIG President Stig Enemark
-
good and the response from the member associations has also been very
positive. But there is always room for improvement and we will still work
hard to ensure that that FIG remains a proud icon for our profession.
Q: How and in which ways is the theme Building the Capacity
of the current FIG Council for 2007-2010 taking shape in the
daily reality of the global surveyors community?
A: FIG is providing an international forum for professional development
and innovation in all aspects of surveying. FIG is building the capacity
through conferences, commission work and seminars, publications, stan-
dards and guidelines. Capacity building is also about providing institu-
tional support for both member associations and academic institutions.
This kind of institutional support from the global surveying community
can often convince national authorities on requests from our members.
FIG has also established a Task Force on Institutional and organisational
Development that will present its final outcome at the FIG Congress in
Sydney, April 2010.
Q: We all sense through our daily practice that the role of sur-
veyors in the global agenda is obviously changing, backed up
or even forced by the rapid technological developments. Which
steps should surveyors make to embrace these changes in
order to prosper and be of better service to sustainable soci-
eties?
A: Professor Rudolf Staiger, Chair of FIG Commission 5 presented a very
interesting keynote paper at the FIG Working Week in Eilat that is relevant
to this question. He states in the conclusion that The art of measure-
ment was limited in the past to the precise acquisition of data (observa-
tions!). Today the data acquisition itself has become much easier, but this
does not mean that the whole measurement process is easy to handle
and free of errors! The measurement process today is much more com-
plex than it was decades ago. Therefore we need surveying experts who
are able to master the entire process of data acquisition and data pro-
cessing. Each measurement task is different and has its own characteris-
tics. We have to take special care with an independent check and proof
of the entire measurement system and the final results. This exactly is the
modern art of measurement. I think this paints the picture very well.
Q: FIG is covering the professional history with its permanent
International Institution for the History of Surveying and
Measurement. In modern times of seemingly instant solutions,
we witness a wrong but a growing belief even among profes-
sionals that only the future is important. Why do we need to
know the history of our profession, skills and knowledge; why
is it so important not to forget our roots?
A: I think it is important for any profession to know where it comes from.
This will also allow for better to understand where we should be heading.
The surveying profession has a proud history, and I am very pleased to
see that interest in surveying history has increased. One example of this
is that we have managed to get recognition to surveyors as part of our
cultural heritage, when the Struve Arc was included in the UNESCO list of
World Heritage.
But times are changing and the role of surveyors is changing as well. The
big swing could be named from measurement to management. As men-
tioned above this does not imply that measurement is no longer impor-
tant, but due to technology development, the role of the surveying is
changed towards managing the measurements. The change also means
that surveyors increasingly contribute to building sustainable societies as
experts in managing land and properties where surveyors play a key role
in supporting an efficient land market and also effective land-use man-
agement.
Q: Some years ago FIG has established the FIG Standards
Network as the hub of FIG standardisation activities. Why are
the standards becoming so increasingly important in the work
of surveyors and how successful are surveyors in implementing
them?
A: Surveying has become a global profession, which means that survey-
ing and GNSS instruments and networks need common standards.
Therefore it is natural that FIG is a partner of ISO with regard to develop-
ing and innovation and also distribution of information about the stan-
dards and their importance to our members. We have extended this work
by proposing a standard for the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM)
(Geographic Information ISO 19152) that is now passing the ISO formal
process.
Q: One of the goals of FIG is to connect its activities closer with
the academics, to help them attend the FIG events, to raise the
quality of the FIG conference papers and to create a bigger
audience to the findings of their research. How far are the activ-
ities on realizing the idea of establishing a FIG virtual journal
and which obstacles are there still on its way?
A: We introduced a peer review option for the FIG conferences in 2008.
This model was well received by our members, not only by the academics
but also surveyors from practice. This has increased the level of presenta-
tions in general - not only the peer review papers. At the same time the
model offers academics the opportunity to get the credits that they need
for their academic career. I think that the current balance between profes-
sional and scientific papers is just about right and should guarantee that
FIG is the platform for gathering all surveyors. The issue of the FIG journal
has been postponed for time being as we want to get the concept right
before launching any initiative in this regard.
Q: The current deep economic and financial crisis is changing our
perception of the global society and the paradigms of the future
global development. In your opinion, how deeply and in which
ways will these changes affect the global surveying community?
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Interv iew
7September 2009
FIG organised the first joint conference with the World Bank in Washington in
March 2009: FIG President Stig Enemark, Inga Bjrk-Klevby, Deputy Executive
Director, UN-HABITAT, Mark Crackler, Director, WB ARD, Klaus Deininger, WB
and Paul van der Molen, FIG.
-
A: FIG is well aware of the problems this eco-
nomic crisis imposes on our members. But we
should also look at the opportunities. Barack
Obama said during his election campaign in the
US: You never want a serious crisis to go to
waste. That means no crisis should be over-
looked with regard to the opportunities it pro-
vides as well. There is no doubt that the cur-
rent financial crisis also affects the surveying
discipline in our member countries throughout
the world. But it also present opportunities for
the surveying profession e.g. in terms of argu-
ing for the need and benefit of having sustain-
able cadastral infrastructures as a backbone for
mortgage and systems for complex property
commodities. Another opportunity is in the
building of public infrastructures that are likely
to be initiated as an incentive to boost the
economy.
Q: Please, describe in the main outlines
the current new activities of the FIG
Commissions and their goals.
A: FIG has ten technical commissions that all
run a highly ambitious agenda. I will mention
only a few new projects started during the last
years. These include the Commission 3 initia-
tive on e-governance and spatial Information
toward managing mega cities; e- learning is a
big effort tin Commission 2; land governance
issues are dominating in Commission7 and 8
with a special emphasis on pro poor land man-
agement tools and new tenure models; and in
the more technical areas of Commission 5 and
6 there are big efforts on global positioning
infrastructures and engineering surveys for con-
struction works. In addition we have increased
our activities in Africa by establishing a special
task force to address the problems in this con-
tinent.
Q: FIG is organising or participating in
many regional and global events. Which
are the highlights of the FIG events this
year and in 2010?
A: This year FIG has three highlight events. The
first was the joint conference with the World
Bank in March on land governance in support
of the MDGs. This was the first event of its kind
and the feedback was overwhelming. The
results will be collected in a report that will be
launched at the FIG regional conference in
Hanoi in October 2009. The second big event
this year was the Working Week in Israel in May
that attracted about 600 participants in Eilat in
May. Despite the economic crisis the event was
highly successful from professional, social and
participation perspectives. The upcoming
Regional Conference in Hanoi will be the third
big event this year. The theme Spatial Data
Serving People: Land Governance and the
Environment is designed to support the survey-
ing profession in South East Asia. As a result
from a long term co-operation, UN-FAO has
decided to organise its regional consultative
meeting on Voluntary Guidelines for responsi-
ble governance of tenure of land and other nat-
ural resources as part of the conference.
The highlight of the current four year period
2007-2010 will of course be the FIG Congress
to be held in Sydney 11-16 April 2010. The
congress is expected to attract more than 2,000
conference participants, and will include a big
commercial exhibition as well as great social
events. The technical programme will offer close
to 100 sessions and workshops with 600 papers
covering all hot issues of the surveying disci-
plines. This is certainly an opportunity not to
be missed.
Q: I definitely havent asked you every-
thing you wanted to say to our readers.
So, please, heres an opportunity for
your closing word.
A: I always felt that the most fascinating fea-
ture about the surveying profession is its mul-
tidisciplinary profile. The combination of techni-
cal, natural and social science areas place the
surveyors in a unique position in society for
contributing to development and innovation
towards social justice, economic growth, and
environmental sustainability.
I would also like to emphasise the importance
of getting involved in international co-operation
- also with professionals that have a different
background to your own. This is imperative in
a globalised world. For the young generation
international networking often offers work
opportunities abroad, but even if you consider
a more local professional career international
collaboration has a lot to offer. Engagement in
voluntary work in an international organisation
like FIG will benefit your professional life and
be socially inspiring as well. So the FIG congress
in Sydney in April 2010 is really an opportunity
of a lifetime.
Joc Triglav [email protected] is editor of
GeoInformatics. For more information, have a look
at www.fig.net and www.fig2010.com.
8
Interv iew
September 2009
The FIG Congress in April 2010 will take place in Sydney.
-
For more information on ERDAS, please visit www.erdas.com or call +1 877 GO ERDAS.
On-Demand Geoprocessing: From Your Desktop to the Internet
Author your spatial
model in ERDAS
IMAGINE 2010
Catalog and Serve your models
as OGC Web Processing Services
(WPS) in ERDAS APOLLO 2010
Consume and Use your
OGC WPS in the ERDAS
TITAN Client and in other
Web applications.
LIVE DEMO
Come to our booth at INTERGEO
for a live demo.
-
Developing Standards for 3D Imaging Systems
ASTM E57 International TechnicalCommittee
The 3D imaging industry has grown rapidly despite inconsistencies in terminology among vendors, lack of uniform methods for
testing terrestrial laser scanners, and data exchange challenges. The presence of industry standards can help product vendors
and end users to overcome these challenges and thus further accelerate the successful adoption of this exciting technology. In
this article, Alan M. Aindow, vice chairman of the ASTM International E57 Technical Committee on 3D Imaging Systems,
describes the scope and benefits of this Committee that works on developing industry standards for terrestrial laser scanners.
By Alan M. Aindow
The growth of the 3D imaging industry based upon technologies suchas 3D laser scanning (also known as terrestrial laser scanning and various
other descriptors) has been driven over the past ten years by a variety of
factors. Hardware, software, workflows and support services have steadily
improved. New applications continue to emerge. End-users have become
increasingly aware of the benefits of 3D imaging, word of which has now
spread from person-to-person, project-to-project and across entire organi-
zations. Growth of this technology has been so strong that numerous
observers and opinion leaders have identified it as the next big thing in
surveying technology, much like GPS was in the 1990s.
As the market place has moved forward with this exciting technology,
some prospective adopters have also faced challenges in understand-
ing the technology, as terminology has not been consistent among ven-
dors and users. Likewise, product features included in spec sheets have
varied from vendor to vendor, as have the ways that features are char-
acterized. As a result, prospective adopters can be confused about how
to objectively evaluate and compare commercial product offerings. Users
and clients have also run into challenges in working with and exchang-
ing laser scan data from different vendors. Product vendors also recog-
nize that in the long run the broad adoption of new technology often
benefits from the presence of helpful industry standards.
In response to this wave of new technology and requests from a wide
range of stakeholders, the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST, USA) held a series of meetings beginning in 2003 to initiate the
development of industry standards. Stakeholders included practitioners,
clients of 3D imaging services, manufacturers, government agencies, pro-
fessional societies, trade associations, and academia. Out of these meet-
ings, ASTM was chosen as the standards development organization to
provide the infrastructure to foster the development of ANSI-accredited,
consensus-based industry standards. From these beginnings, the ASTM
International E57 Technical Committee on 3D Imaging Systems was formed
under the chairmanship of Alan Lytle, NIST. I, the author, am currently vice-
chairman of this committee.
E57 Current Scope The initial focus of E57 is on medium range terrestrial 3D imaging sys-
tems with ranges in the order of tens to hundreds of meters or so. Typical
applications include construction and maintenance, surveying, mapping
and terrain characterization, manufacturing, transport, mining, historic
preservation and forensics. Typical technologies include laser scanners
(also known as LADAR or laser radars) and optical range cameras (also
known as flash LADAR or 3D range cameras). Last year, the scope of E57
was extended to include short range systems with ranges in the order of
meters to tens of meters.
Under the general heading of 3D Imaging Systems, E57 remains open to
other applications, characteristic ranges, and technologies.
Committee Structure & OrganizationThere are currently five subcommittees of E57 comprising small groups of
volunteers of dedicated professionals as follows:
10
Art ic le
September 2009
The development of standards for 3D Imaging will help users assess which
laser scanners can meet demanding accuracy requirements, such as the
as-built locations of tie-in clips for glass curtain installation. Image Courtesy:
Mabat 3D Technologies
-
Currently Chaired by Gerry Choek, NIST Tasked to develop terms common-
ly used in describing 3D imaging systems. Terminology is essential to
reduce confusion and to enable the testing, specification, and fair com-
parison of instruments. The terms are a mix of definitions that are specific
to 3D Imaging and those that have already been defined by other stan-
dards and are relevant to 3D Imaging.
To date, E57.01 had a standard, E2544, approved in 2007. Since then
two ballots a year have been submitted to add additional terms to the
standard. The latest edition E2544-09 has 23 terms in it.
Currently Chaired by Darin Ingimarson, Quantapoint Tasked to develop
standard protocols, i.e. methods and apparatus for testing that will be
used to characterize 3D Imaging System performance.
The current focus is on completion of protocols for separable device char-
acteristics such as range measurement error over distance. Ultimately, sys-
tem performance protocols that represent 3D measurement capabilities
using data from multiple points of view will also be incorporated into the
set of available protocols.
Within this sub-committee a Short Range Task Group has also been initi-
ated headed by Dr. Steven Phillips, NIST.
Current Chair: Ted Knaak, Riegl USA.
Tasked to develop methodology that leads to enhanced project perfor-
mance. The focus is on the application of 3D imaging technology and best
practice guidelines that end users can use to help specify application
requirements and that practitioners can use to specify instrumentation,
quality control processes and procedures, and provide deliverables trace-
able to accepted standards. The intent is to provide a common frame-
work facilitating communication between service providers and their cus-
tomers.
Current Chair: Gene Roe, Lidarnews.com
Tasked to develop and promote standard open data exchange mecha-
nisms for 3D imaging systems. The subcommittees goal is to provide a
data exchange software specification and an open-source implementation
which will enable 3D imaging hardware and software vendors to develop
readers and writers of standard data exchange formats.
Currently, E57.04 is working diligently to finalize their design document.
They are working on the data field definitions, abstract model design, low
level encoding and extensions. The application programming interface
(API) is also being discussed and an outline for the actual specification
has been developed. The goal is to present a draft of the standard, along
with a reference implementation by the end of the year.
It is worth noting that many digital technologies that have standardized
on a data exchange format have accelerated growth and acceptance.
Current Chair: Alan Aindow, Leica Geosystems HDS (Laser Scanning
Products)
Tasked to provide industry feedback and identify ongoing membership
needs. Currently, E57.91 is working on identifying and targeting member-
ship needs, anticipating and resolving any areas of controversy, unblock-
ing negative votes, and help ensuring E57 remains relevant to the indus-
try and open to future trends.
In actuality, the sub-committees depend upon each other with feedback
between Termino logy, Test Methods and Best Practices. Sub-committee
chairs are also co-members of the E57.90 Executive Committee chaired by
Alan Lytle, NIST, for membership, central coordination and direction.
BenefitsThe potential benefits of the standards being developed in these sub-
committees are many including:
o Equipment buyers, service providers and consumers of 3D imaging
data can make more meaningful comparisons and better informed
choices based upon standard tests and common terminology
o 3D imaging data transfer facilitated between software applications and
hardware
o Deliverable quality improved by providing practice guidance
o Clear conditions provided for post purchase warranty
o Competition and technological improvements driven based upon mean-
ingful metrological characteristics
o Barriers to adoption lowered by providing expert information and spec-
ifications
The entire industry can benefit as user understanding, confidence and
acceptance in this important technology continues to grow.
Membership and ParticipationCurrent E57 membership is around 125. Sub-committees generally meet
via weekly or bi-weekly conference calls or web-enabled meetings. Full
committee meetings have been held in each January and June with approx-
imately 40 members attending three days of technical meetings. The next
conference meeting is at the Grand Hyatt, San Antonio, Texas, January 25
27, 2010. I would like to urge those in the industry to be a pro-active
supporter of E57, its mission, and its members who are working hard to
create these standards. If your time permits, new members are very wel-
come. For further details, please see our web site: www.astm.org/COMMIT/
COMMITTEE/E57.htm If you have new 3D imaging scope in mind and have
time to take on organization, do make contact to see how your needs
may be met under the E57 umbrella.
Alan M. Aindow, Vice Chair, E57 Executive Committee, Chair E57 Strategic
Planning and Marketing Committee. He has a Ph.D in laser physics, and joined
the 3D imaging industry in 2001 after a career in astronomy and industrial laser
design and applications. Presently, he is Lidar Scientist for
Leica Geosystems HDS.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
11September 2009
(left) Laser scan of building structure. Image Courtesy:
Mabat 3D Technologies
3D Imaging standards development activities that are underway include guide-
lines for creating high-quality deliverables, such as this one for a road survey
done with a laser scanner. Image courtesy: Ground Solutions Inc.
-
Everybody calls Larry for his RTK System
GPS in the City of Waterloo, Iowa
For many in the know, applying GPS technology, specifically RTK GPS, can be
very beneficial for time savings and improved efficiencies, as well as completing
projects too cumbersome to undertake using older methods. The City
Engineering Department in Waterloo, Iowa, never dreamed that their RTK
system would become a major technological item of dependency for nearly all
facets of the Citys operations and departments.
By Brett Black and Benjamin Sullivan
In 2001, the City of Waterloo decided it wasthe right time to invest in RTK GPS for the
daunting task of locating the Citys over-
whelming number of storm water assets as
part of the NPDES MS-4 permit program.
Larry Crain, the Citys Surveying field techni-
cian, quickly found that his workload became
easier as he began mapping, very systemati-
cally and accurately, the Citys 70,000 storm
and sanitary sewer assets using the then new
Magellan Z-Xtreme RTK system. To make this
long-term job as efficient as possible, the City
chose to install the base receiver on the top
of the city hall building in the same area as
the law enforcement radio system and the
police evidence floor. Atop the city hall build-
ing is a 100-foot radio tower used for the local
emergency management communication sys-
tems, a perfect place to mount the permanent
UHF transmitter antenna connected to the
Pacific Crest PDL base radio. The building is
also very central within the City, which covers
approximately 64 square miles and is com-
prised of approximately 68,000 citizens.
Defying Water and FireLarry began his asset surveying quest by wad-
ing through mountains of paper files and
numerous existing data sources, including
long-time city staff, in order to avoid missing
any of the thousands of storm manholes,
storm drains, culverts, sanitary manholes,
hydrants etc., that the City manages. It did
not take very long before other departments
within the City, as well as Waterloos adjoin-
ing city, the City of Cedar Falls, quickly under-
stood the power and benefits of RTK GPS
technology. Soon Larry and his manager,
Associate Engineer Jamie Knutson, PE, began
receiving inquiries to potentially begin using
their Z-Xtreme system. The Waterloo Water
Works quickly understood the efficient survey-
grade accuracies in X, Y and Z that the
Engineering Department was getting and
requested that their hydrants also be located
by precision GPS. Brian Johnson, from the
Waterloo Water Works, visited saying, In past
years, many water valves and service line curb
stops had been measured off of hydrants.
Having GPS locations for our hydrants saves
a considerable amount of time in building dig-
ital maps, along with improving accuracy.
Mr. Johnson went on to note, We quickly
learned that knowing the elevation of each
hydrant provides a useful reference of static
water pressure in any given neighborhood. It
also proved valuable when the Waterloo
Water Works contracted a consulting firm to
develop a hydraulic model of our distribution
system. The citys Fire Department crews
have been able to use the Water Works
updated and accurate hydrant pressure infor-
mation to make better and more rapid deci-
sions on bringing in the needed resources
according to the size and type of fire they are
facing. The RTK system also has proved valu-
able in new projects for city expansion for the
Water Works. Mr. Johnson commented,
when water mains are laid in open areas
away from public right-of-ways it is sometimes
hard to find permanent points of reference to
measure from. Being able to GPS these fea-
tures and place them in digital maps is a valu-
able asset that saves a considerable amount
[of money] and is also useful for future locat-
ing.
Not long after implementation, in 2003, the
City of Cedar Falls Engineering Department
added its own Z-Xtreme RTK rover for their
City Surveyor, Al Dietz RLS, to begin a similar
asset-mapping project using the City of
Waterloos base station. Several years before,
the local County had established a permanent
network of high-accuracy GPS monuments set
by a local contractor. This network of exist-
ing control monuments enabled both Cities
to accurately reference their projects to a pub-
lished and finely-adjusted static network.
Improving Leisure ServicesFor Larry, more requests began pouring in
fast. In rapid succession various departments
such as the City Police Department, Leisure
14
Art ic le
September 2009
Larry Crain, Waterloo, Iowa, Surveying
Technician collects data with centimeter
accuracy with ProMark 500. On the door
of the house in the background, note
the high water mark from the 2008 dev-
astating spring flood
-
Services Department, Public Works,
Consolidated Dispatch (E911) along with other
local consulting engineering companies start-
ed using the 24/7 permanent base station. All
were asking for Larrys expertise and equip-
ment for their own projects and needs. For
accident investigation, the City of Waterloo
Police Department has called Larry more than
50 times over the past several years to come
on-site to quickly measure the accident
scenes per the officers needs. Although the
police had their own total station, they knew
that using the RTK rover would free up two
officers time to ask witness questions as well
as focus more on other tasks, knowing Larry
would collect all the required data in a frac-
tion of the time it would take them.
Aside from the typical uses of RTK, the Citys
Leisure Services Department has found that
using RTK helps them as well. Annually, Larry
has used the rover to quickly mark out the
various playing field boundaries. Mark
Gallagher, Sport Manager for Waterloo Leisure
Services, commented, This has made mark-
ing fields easier and far less time-consuming.
We also know that our dimensions will be per-
fect! One of the more interesting recreation-
al site applications for Larry was the Hellman
Field at Cunningham School in the Citys
rougher northeast side. A parcel of land next
to the recently-built school was donated, as
well as time, equipment and materials, by the
City and private individuals. Mr. Gallagher
commented on the new field: This allowed
us to fit a one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art facil-
ity in very tight quarters, utilizing the exper-
tise of the Department and the technology.
The new baseball field allows nighttime
games to be played as well as providing a
community area for kids and parents to enjoy
together.
2008 Midwest Flood DevastationAside from recreational project uses, most res-
idents will have seen or have etched into their
memory the record-setting floods that devas-
tated most of the Midwest in 2008. Waterloo,
Iowa was among those cities and towns
affected. The normal flow on the Cedar River
that runs essentially northwest to southeast
through the middle of the City is around 6.0
feet, and flood stage is 12.0 feet. Prior to
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
15September 2009
Larry Crain collects centimeter accurate data at a
manhole point for Waterloo storm water asset
management.
See the world with different eyes.
We turn game plans into goals. Winning solutions from INPHO.
To play in the premier league of photogrammetry, you need just the right system provider. That partner is INPHO, well-known for its first-class systems of exceptional performance level. Our high-quality software and our devoted customer support ensure that your team is outstandingly positioned to hit the mark so that your projects culminate with the winning scores.
GEO-REFERENCING GEO-CAPTURING GEO-MODELLING GEO-IMAGING
www.inpho.de
-
2008, the top flood levels in
Waterloo for the Cedar River were
21.67 feet in 1965 and 21.86 feet
four years earlier in 1961. But in
2008 the river crested at 25.39
feet, which is approximately 0.5
feet from breeching the top of the
engineered flood walls that pro-
tect much of the Citys downtown
areas. Although catastrophic
damage did not occur as the flood
walls kept most of the waters con-
tained, city-wide flooding occurred
through storm sewer water back-
ups etc. When the Citys Waste
Management Services Department
needed to determine when it was
safe to open storm sewer outfall
gates to allow flood waters to
drain back into the river, Larry
and his RTK rover were called out
to help. According to City staff, We had one
creek in particular that had the outfall gate
shut off to the river. With all of the heavy
rains, the creek flowed over its banks and
flooded approximately 40 city blocks. We
used our GPS equipment to determine the
exact elevation difference between the river
on one side of the levee and the creek on the
other. By looking at the elevation difference,
we were able to determine the appropriate
time to open the outfall and start draining the
creek into the river.
Saving TimeThe City Engineering Department quickly
became the citys GIS data repository and has
turned to AutoCAD Map 3D and Microsoft
Access for the needed solutions in data man-
agement, usage and sharing with other
groups, as well as for helping to better deter-
mine future engineering needs. Although this
has made strenuous demands on the
Engineering Departments resources, it is also
beneficial. Having primarily one group collect
the data at a very high level of accuracy and
by a trained survey technician with many
years of experience, the data meets a high
level of quality control and accuracy. This is
sometimes not found in other cities where
multiple people collect the data using differ-
ent procedures and collectively warehouse it
for the masses to use, not knowing the equip-
ment or methodology of its origins. Jamie
Knutson, one of the Citys Civil Engineers,
recalled a locate job that Larry performed.
The Citys Waste Management Services
Department was looking for buried sanitary
sewer manholes. The buried manholes are
on a sewer line that carries waste from a tan-
nery and a meat packing plant. The manholes
are located in a farm field, paralleling a rail-
road track. During the middle of winter, with
snow on the ground, it is not the easiest thing
to locate. But Larry was able to type in the
coordinates of the manholes and walk to their
locations. The Waste Management Services
supervisor, Gary Luck Jr., ran his probe into
the ground and hit the middle of the lid on
the manhole. All in all, Larry located six dif-
ferent manholes for Waste Management
Services, saving a large amount of time in the
process.
The New Iowa D.O.T. Real-timeNetworkLooking forward, the City of Waterloo planned
on upgrading its well-used but aging Z-Xtreme
Rover to make use of new advancements in
GNSS technology as well as prepare itself to
be part of the new Iowa D.O.T. Real-time
Network (RTN). This new RTN is one of the
largest state-owned RTNs in the country, com-
prised of approximately 84 Leica base sta-
tions and managed by Leica Geosystems. In
July 2008, in advanced preparation for using
the new Iowa RTN which was launched in
February 2009, the City purchased a new
Magellan ProMark 500 GNSS Rover with
MobileMapper CX FAST field controller. The
City worked with The Sidwell Company, St
Charles, IL, for their new equipment and
updated training on using the rovers integrat-
ed GSM modem as well as programming the
system for backwards compatibility with the
Citys current Z-Xtreme UHF base station sys-
tem. The UHF base station at City Hall is still
in use with the new rover, but when the Iowa
RTN is fully deployed, this will open the way
for using a network solution and expanding
the Citys usage of RTK equipment outside the
normal constraints and limitations of a UHF
radio system. As well, the RTN will be broad-
casting both GPS and
GLONASS corrections which
the new rover will make use of,
enabling the Citys crews to
obtain even more RTK mea-
surements in places too diffi-
cult for GPS-only systems.
The new RTN rover system has
been quickly employed by
other departments as the City
Traffic Operations Department
approached the Engineering
Department with the need for
mapping the Citys 70,000 traf-
fic signs and signals to meet
GASB-34. Meanwhile, Leisure
Services found that the new
rover controller system,
MobileMapper CX, is a stand-
alone submeter GPS unit
which they can use for mapping the Citys
urban forests of trees needed for inventory
that are inside the Citys ROW and parks.
Originally considered insurmountable tasks,
the City has been mapping its countless num-
bers of existing and new assets while operat-
ing within a very rigid budget. The Citys ROI
on their original RTK GPS investment in 2001
was realized early in 2003, and the time and
cost savings for a City of 68,000 has been
great.
Brett Black, GPS Solutions Manager
at The Sidwell Company.
Benjamin Sullivan, Regional Sales Manager at
Magellan Professional. For more information,
have a look at www.promagellangps.com/en.
Many thanks to Robert Wick for providing
imagery and text.
16
Art ic le
September 2009
Using only the MobileMapper CX with internal antenna, Larry Crain navigates with
sub-meter accuracy to a point for additional data collection.
-
2009 Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Vexcel Imaging GmbH, UltraCamXp, and UltraCamL are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Serious tools for serious mapping.
Introducing the latest UltraCam large format digital aerial mapping camera the
UltraCamXp Wide Angle. Leveraging the UltraCamXp camera concept and image quality,
the UltraCamXp Wide Angle features a new proprietary, wide angle lens system and is
available as an alternative to the UltraCamXp to provide small-scale mapping capabilities
WRRUJDQL]DWLRQVZLWKORZHU\LQJDLUSODQHV
To learn about the pricing and trade-in/refurbishment program for UltraCamD, UltraCamX,
and UltraCamXp models, contact us at [email protected].
Discover more about the UltraCamXp Wide Angle at microsoft.com/ultracam/wideangle/gif
6DPH8OWUD&DP;SJURXQGVDPSOHGLVWDQFH*6'DWORZHULJKWDOWLWXGHV >PP3$1PP5*%DQG1,5IRFDOOHQJWKLVPPPPIRU8&;S >3L[HOVL]HRQWKHJURXQG*6'DW\LQJKHLJKWRIPDWPLVFPFP >)XOO\VXSSRUWHGE\8OWUD0DSZRUNRZVRIWZDUHV\VWHPLQFOXGLQJ8OWUD0DS$7RSWLRQ >
Now you can have UltraCam performance
at any altitude!
7KH8OWUD&DP;S:LGH$QJOHPRGHO 6PDOOVFDOHPDSSLQJZLWKDODUJHIRUPDWFDPHUD
-
18
Review
September 2009
Choosing a GNSS receiver is not an easy job. Depending on the type of survey and the circumstances in
which the survey has to take place, a potential user will select a certain brand and type of GNSS receiver.
Lots of specifications can be compared, but how easy is it for practical use? To gain more insight into the
day-to-day use of a GNSS receiver, GeoInformatics has asked Lon van der Poel, a surveyor and educator
in the Netherlands, to test this unit. The instrument was provided by the Dutch distributor.
By Lon van der Poel
instrument has been tested on:1. delivery and instructions for use
2. overall impression of the instrument
3. user friendliness
4. stake out routine
5. data collection
6. additional functions
-
Testing MethodWe chose to do a user test, which means that
standard deviations and so on were not con-
sidered.
The configuration as supplied was as follows:
Instrument: GRS-1
Ext Antenna: PGA-1
Software: TopSURV 7.2.3
Topcon Link 7.2.3
Delivery and InstructionsThe instrument was delivered as a complete
working set. All fit into a small rugged case. The
user manual was not in the case, but in a spe-
cial binder, together with the GRS-1 leaflet and
quick reference guides.
Instruction was given indoors and outside by
the Dutch support person and the European
support manager Topcon survey products.
InstrumentHow do you fit a full working GNSS system into
a small case? The antenna and receiver unit is
not difficult, but the pole normally is. But this
pole also fit into the case. Taking out the pole
reminded me of setting up the tent the week
before. The pole consists of six parts held
together by an elastic. Screwing the six parts
together gives you a two meter pole Because
the diameter of the pole is a bit smaller than
that of a normal pole, a small ring, which has
the same outside diameter as a normal pole,
is on the pole. Here you have to pay attention
because this ring can slide down the pole and,
before you know it, it is gone.
Charger and communication cables are all in
GLONASS on L1. This looks like a data col-
lector, but has everything already built in.
The same as the previous solution, but with
EGNOS correction to improve the accuracy.
A GIS unit with correction DGPS signal from
a local correction supplier via NTRIP. This is
the first solution which clearly comes within
the accuracy of a meter. Here you can also
consider attaching to an external antenna.
These first three solutions all work with the
GIS module of TopSURV.
A handheld RTK receiver with the GPS+ mod-
ule of TopSURV using GPS and GLONASS on
L1. It initializes using the internal antenna
on L1 only. Accuracy with NTRIP correction
can be to centimeter level, but in practice
this is difficult to reach because you cannot
easily hold the antenna of the data collec-
tor exactly above a point.
An RTK solution with the GPS+ module of
TopSURV which also brings you centimeter
accuracy, via NTRIP correction from a local
supplier. In this case of course you want to
use the external PG-A1 (GPS& GLONASS
L1+L2) antenna. This fourth option is basi-
cally the same as the rover I normally use,
but now all the technology is in the data
collector, while in my own set almost all the
technology is in the GPS receiver which is
at the top of the pole. So this solution is a
lot better from the weight and location of
weight point of view, because now there is
not so much weight at the top end of the
pole. In fact, the GRS-1 solution is the same
as an RTK backpack solution without the
backpack, since everything which used to
be in the backpack is now in the GRS-1.
the case.
The charger can charge two batteries at the
same time. Only one Li-Ion battery is needed
for this system, which is supplied with two bat-
teries. During the test one battery lasted almost
five hours with GPS and modem (NTRIP) in use
most of the time.
The unit has a color display which is very clear
indoors, but outside you need to make sure
that the light hits the display at the right angle.
Data can be stored on the instruments internal
memory or on an additional SD card. When I
wanted to transfer the data from the unit to
the computer I had a USB stick in my hand,
but this unit does not offer this option. So
it is either the SD card or a USB cable.
Only two buttons are on the unit, apart
from the power button, the ESC and the
ENT key. I did not manage to switch
between applications, which is strange for a
Windows Mobile operated system. By pressing
the ESC key a bit longer you can activate the
Start button to launch another program. So, you
can run more than one application at a time,
but switching with Alt Esc is no longer possi-
ble.
Understanding the setup of a GRS-1 was diffi-
cult for me in the beginning due to the num-
ber of options available.
Below is an overview of the different setups I
could make with the instrument supplied to me:
Data collector for controlling other hardware.
A handheld GIS receiver with GPS and
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Review
19September 2009
Figure 1: The complete RTK set fits in a small box
Fig. 2 [a].
[b]
[c]
[d]
Figure 2 The build-in camera, with on the left side the macro switch. example of a macro picture of a fly.
example of picture. example of picture
-
If used together with its own base, an addi-
tional radio can be attached to the pole (see
picture). But since an additional base was not
supplied this solution was not tested.
The unit has a modem, Bluetooth and WLAN
built in, so everything can be wireless. In the
supplied set the external antenna had to be
connected via cable.
Stake OutIt is easy to load 500 points for a stakeout job
and the actual stake out, or navigate as it is
called in the GIS module, is very intuitive.
The only strange thing is when you have select-
ed the option to show the arrow where you
need to go relative to the moving direction,
sometimes the directional arrow does not seem
to be updated. The arrow points to the left so
you start moving to the left. The arrow still
shows to the left so you keep moving to the
left, which means that you are walking around
in circles and never get to the point you want
to stake out. Therefore I wanted to test the
arrow relative to the north direction. The unit
has a built-in compass, so this is very useful
when you are using only the unit and no addi-
tional pole, which already has a compass. The
problem is that the compass cannot be accessed
from within TopSURV. So a new application has
to be started, the compass application, and
when you know the direction you can close the
application and automatically continue in the
TopSURV software. There should be an easier
way to do this. (Manufacturers remark: A built-
in compass will be available in TopSURV later
on. It is already on the new feature list.)
September 2009
Review
Figure 3 RTK set with
connection via radio to
your own base.
Figure 4: External antenna connection Figure 5: Connecting pins for the external radio.
In case you are not using the external radio, this
part is covered.
20
-
User Friendliness of Data CollectionThe software is easy to use. Connections to the
internet are made automatically and also the
connection to the mount point is made auto-
matically. This is a big improvement over my
own set where I first need to make a connec-
tion to the internet on my phone, than make a
connection to my phone, and then connect to
the correction data supplier.
During the automatic connection the software
twice shows the message cannot connect to
network, but if you just wait it always makes
the connection.
Once you understand the coding system it can
easily be used to create the map in the field,
including different colors, symbols and line
types. If a new code is entered, the software
automatically asks if it is a point or line or area,
which color, which symbol and line type are to
be used, and in which layer it should be stored.
For GIS data collection the software has the
option to add features to each point: if a pull-
down menu with predefined names has to be
shown, or if the value which has to be entered
is a real or an integer, if it has a maximum and
a minimum value etc. When the code is tree,
the pull-down menu can show predefined
species, another input field can be the height
of the tree, which has to be between 2 and 99
meters, while a tree below 2 meters is not a
tree. Another input field can be the health of
the tree etc. This is all user definable. You can
also attach one or more pictures to a collected
point.
Camera, Google Maps and Compass(Additional Function):The unit has a built-in two megapixel camera.
After playing with the brightness and contrast,
the quality is sufficient to show clearly the
object and the state of the object (sample pic-
ture). The chosen resolution can be between
160 x 120 and 1600 x 1200 pixels. The size of
the biggest picture is around 300 kb so I always
used the biggest size. This saved a few clicks
to change the resolution, but you still need a
lot of clicks. In order to add a picture to a point
you want to survey, you need eight clicks. It
takes more than 10 seconds to start up the
Topcon also supplied the free software, Topcon
Link. After installing the software it was just a
matter of selecting the job you want to down-
load. All the pictures were also automatically
downloaded. Clicking on a point in the map
shows not only the coordinates, codes and
DOPs but also the picture(s) of the point if avail-
able. Pictures can be a strong feature in coding
in cases where the situation is complex.
SummarySeveral configurations, like configurations for
NTRIP and EGNOS, were already preloaded,
which made it easy to get started.
Nowadays it is becoming more common to
measure directly in the map. The software gives
you the capacity to do so. Lines can be sur-
veyed in different colors and symbols can be
assigned to points, so a proper map can be
made in the field. In the case of two points very
close together you can zoom in up to the mil-
limeter level.
Reaction of the ManufacturerThis article makes clear that the GRS-1 is a
new concept. It brings GIS and RTK GNSS
together. You can upgrade your GIS GRS-1 to
become a full GPS+GLONASS RTK system.
Both of these positioning areas can be
reached by this product, therefore it is unique.
Lon van der Poel [email protected] is a professional
surveyor and educator. This article represents his
own opinion. For more information, have a look at
www.topcon.eu. Many thanks to Topcon for
providing the reviewed instrument.
camera. So, you are not tempted to take loads
of pictures. Storing the picture takes hardly any
time. With the help of the macro option you
can take pictures from very close range (see the
picture of the fly).
Google Maps is also available on the GRS-1.
When I heard this the first time, I hoped that it
would be possible to measure points and/or
lines inside Google Maps, but the Google Maps
application is basically the same as on your
computer. It can be useful in some cases
because the combination with GNSS makes it
possible to immediately get the map of the area
where you are at that moment.
The unit has an integrated compass, already dis-
cussed above in connection with the stakeout.
SoftwareSeveral configurations, like configurations for
NTRIP and EGNOS, were already preloaded,
which made it easy to get started.
Nowadays it is becoming more common to
measure directly in the map. The software gives
you the capacity to do so. Lines can be sur-
veyed in different colors and symbols can be
assigned to points, so a proper map can be
made in the field. In the case of two points very
close together you can zoom in up to the mil-
limeter level.
I rarely use the Help in any software but since
this instrument is new to me and I could not
immediately find what I was looking for, I just
gave it a try. File not loaded was the reply
of the instrument.
During the test the software crashed. It was not
clear if this was caused by the application soft-
ware or the OS, but immediately after a soft
reset everything worked again and no data or
settings were lost.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Review
21September 2009
Figure 6: All interface options (SD card, USB B
mini, serial and charger connector)
Figure 7: Screen Dump
Figure 8: Easy to switch the battery. No screwdriver
or anything needed.
-
Interface Control
GNSS UpdateAccording to Andrew Sage, director of UK-based consulting firm Helios,
the winner among Galileo, Glonass and Compass will not be the one getting
the satellites into orbit but the one that publishes a firm and
manufacturerfriendly interface control document.
By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk
Such a document would enable manufactur-ers to build receivers that would be able to use
the new systems as soon as they become oper-
ational, without any software or hardware
upgrades.
In the meantime, there is a good chance that
GPS will not perform as well in the near future
as weve become used to. All the more reason
to stock up on GNSS receivers that will work
with multiple systems.
GPS L5The 19 (out of 30) GPS Block IIR and IIR-M fleet
of satellites that were launched from 1997
onwards have reached 100 years of successful
on-orbit operations with a reliability record of
better than 99.9%.
The seventh IIR-M satellite with an L5 demon-
stration payload was launched on March 24 and
set active on April 10. The main reason for
launching the demonstration payload was
securing the L5 frequency through broadcast-
ing (1176.45 MHz) with the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) before the
deadline of August 26, 2009.
In contrast with the GPS Interface Control
Document, the satellite is not broadcasting the
full signal but is only used as a placeholder
until the oncoming Block IIF and III supposedly
start transmitting the full signals.
Within three weeks of the signal becoming
available, Javad, Topcon and Septentrio report-
ed that their receivers tracked the signal. Initial
results indicate that the signal has favorable
multipath and noise characteristics although it
was also reported that there are still some
issues to be resolved. One problem reported
so far was that the measurements on L1 and
L2 for the new satellite were off at low eleva-
tions.
GPS Brownouts in the Future?A report from the US Government Accountability
Office (GAO) indicated that the GPS constella-
tion was susceptible to falling below opera-
tional capability (i.e. fewer than 24 satellites)
between 2010 and 2018. For the last few years
the number of available satellites has been
between 30 and 32, the optimum number for
any GNSS system as is shown by the design of
both Galileo and Compass.
Two principal causes are cited for the risk of
the GPS constellation falling.
The first is that the replacement generation of
Block IIF satellites has been greatly delayed as
a result of contractual problems as well as some
changes in the design to modernize them. The
satellite has been on contract since 1996 and
is not expected to be launched until 2010.
The second cause is delays (now solved) in
decision-making and budgeting for the next
generation Block IIIA GPS satellites.
22
Art ic le
September 2009
30-meter antenna at the
German Space Operations
Center (GSOC) in Weilheim
where the L5 signal was ana-
lyzed. (Source: www.dlr.de)
Probability of Maintaining a Constellation of at Least 24 GPS Satellites Based on Reliability Data and Launch
Schedule as of March 2009 (Source: www.gao.gov)
-
Four potential recommendations have been
made to prevent brownouts:
1 Reactivate retired GPS satellites that are still
operating
2 Speed up GPS IIIA development
3 Develop a simplified GPS IIIA design in
parallel that can be built and launched
quickly
4 Extend the GPS IIF production line.
Specialists warn against this option as the
IIF design is rather old and not well suited
to modern needs. An example is the lack of
both the Military (M) signal as well as the
L1C signal on the Block IIF satellites
GlonassThe future for Glonass seems bright, at least in
Russia. At the moment of writing, the Glonass
constellation consists of 18 active satellites (and
2 in maintenance). The deputy head of the
Glonass Mission Control Center, Sergey
Revnivykh, said that Russia plans to launch
three more Glonass-M satellites in September
and another three in December this year.
The complete constellation of 24 is expected
to be achieved by the end of 2010 allowing for
the breakdown of a number of satellites over
the coming period.
For 2010 a test flight with the new Glonass-K
satellite is planned. This satellite will have the
new L3 signal that is compatible with the GPS
and Galileo signals, employing CDMA rather
than FDMA modulation technique. The new sig-
nal would supposedly give Glonass a perfor-
mance that is comparable with GPS and Galileo
by 2011.
Russia plans to speed up the use of Glonass
over GPS in its own country by an alleged rais-
ing of GPS end product import duties to Russia
to at least 25% while also submitting a pro-
posal for reducing the import duties on Glonass
electronic components to zero.
GalileoNot much new on the technical side for Galileo,
but more so on the organizational side. Norway,
which is not an EU member, has decided to par-
ticipate in the Galileo project at a cost of
approximately 63 million euros over the next
five years.
Norway was involved in the early design phase
of Galileo as well, resulting in the current orbits
among other things. Originally the design called
for a combination with geostationary orbits, but
after testing in Norway this was found undesir-
able for higher latitudes.
ELoranThe report from the US Independent Assesment
Team (IAT) on eLoran has unanimously recom-
mended that the eLoran upgrade be complet-
ed and that eLoran should be the national back-
up to GPS for 20 years. In the meanwhile it is
proposed to keep on maintaining the current
Loran-C network.
Huibert-Jan
Lekkerkerk [email protected] is
project manager at IDsW and a freelance writer
and trainer. This article reflects his personal
opinion.
CompassOn April 15 China launched a second Beidou /
Compass G2 satellite to a geostationary orbit.
The satellite became operational on April 20.
The first second-generation satellite was
launched into medium orbit in April 2007. China
claims that it may add up to 10 more satellites
by the end of 2010 and plans to put up the full
30-satellite constellation by the end of 2015.
The open Compass service is supposed to be
able to provide positioning accuracy of up to
10 meters.
The interoperability of Compass with other
GNSS such as GPS, Galileo and Glonass remains
an open question although officials still offer
assurance that interoperability is a key element
of Compass. In particular, the conflict with
Galileo is still at an impasse. Furthermore, no
Compass Interface Control Document has been
published so far by the Chinese authorities,
making it difficult for hardware manufacturers
to start chip design.
QZSSThe Japanese QZSS Wide Area Augmentation
System is now in the building phase with the
first of the three satellites being assembled. The
launch of the first satellite is projected for the
summer of 2010 followed by a three-month test
period. After the test period the Japanese gov-
ernment will decide on the launch of the other
two satellites. The QZSS satellites are unique in
that they do not orbit the earth as GPS, Galileo
and Glonass do. Neither are they in a geosta-
tionary orbit. Rather, they make figure of eight
patterns around the equator over Japan.
In contrast to Compass, there is an interface doc-
ument for QZSS making it possible for manu-
facturers to start building hardware and soft-
ware upgrades so that users can begin using
the augmentation signals when they become
available.
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
23September 2009
QZSS pattern (Source: www.jaxa.jp)
s
-
Seeking a Global Path
Global market factors are forcing a revolution in the way professionalsshare and use information throughout the lifecycles of buildings and capi-
tal projects such as airports, roads and subways. Building Information
Models (BIM) are a critical element in this information sharing revolution.
A BIM is a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics
of a building or other facility. A BIM can represent viewpoints, graphically
and in text and table form, of a building from the perspective of any prac-
titioner involved with the building. A BIM serves as an evolving and wide-
ly shared resource or ideally, a network-connected collection of resources
for information about a facility, from the facilitys earliest planning stages
to demolition and historical records.
Market FactorsPlayers in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry
as well as building owners, brokers, component vendors, operators, insur-
ers, inspectors, tenants, finance companies, fire departments and other
stakeholders want to be able to provide information to other stakehold-
ers or use information created by other stakeholders. They want to see,
test and modify buildings in collaborative planning sessions while the
buildings are being designed, and they want to know as much as possi-
ble about risks, liabilities, costs, options and opportunities before they
commit to designs and contracts. Some want the encoded descriptions of
their offerings or requirements to be as discoverable and usable as possi-
ble. Others want to take full advantage of smart building sensor/actuator
systems and smart grid energy generation and storage components and
utility energy management programs.
Competition is a key driver in many of the professions that work with
buildings. AEC businesses, which often work in teams, need the best IT
resources to outperform the competition in completing projects and still
remain within budget and on schedule. Advanced telecommunications
enables professional services companies in countries like India to com-
pete for contracts for projects in the US and Europe. And especially dur-
ing a recession, competing investors, buyers, brokers and others are
demanding more information to inform their decision-making processes.
Energy is increasingly important. Approximately 40% of energy in devel-
oped nations is consumed in buildings. In addition, construction of man-
made structures consumes 75% of the raw materials extracted from the
Earth. Thus, stakeholders are wisely factoring in energy costs that will
rise due to governments climate risk management efforts, resource con-
straints, world economic growth and other factors. And they are factoring
in the fact that rising energy prices raise the costs of building materials.
Also, many stakeholders are increasingly concerned, for marketing or altru-
istic reasons, about materials carbon footprints, local origin, toxicity and
other sustainability factors. As energy costs rise, products such as solar
panels, meters, sensors and controllers are becoming more practical. All
these factors underscore that energy analysis is becoming an imperative.
The smarter and more fine-tuned our buildings become and the more we
integrate them into community energy schemes, the more opportunity
there is to take advantage of BIM for such post-construction activities
such as operations analysis and coordination with the inputs and outputs
of other facilities.
Stakeholders are becoming more sophisticated about the wide range of
complex issues that enter into decisions. BIM supports simulation and
modeling tools that help professionals manage complexity and communi-
cate the reasons for their decisions.
BIM Software = BIM 1.0For a decade or more, IT vendors serving the AEC market have been aware
of BIM as a user need and market opportunity. The vendors have pro-
gressively converged capabilities like geographic information systems
(GIS), computer-aided design (CAD), project management, cost estimating,
specification, energy analysis, structural engineering and 3D visualization
to deliver within the confines of their product families many useful
BIM capabilities. Sometimes they have provided a degree of interoperabil-
ity by offering ways for their BIM software to share some data, for exam-
ple, with the database, spreadsheet, and text document software offered
by major platform vendors, or with third party product vendors who are
licensed to use the BIM software vendors proprietary APIs or file formats.
But, because of proprietary APIs and file formats, full design models from
the different AEC software vendors seldom interoperate, and thus their
BIM solutions frustrate users who need to share information with other
stakeholders who are using software from other vendors.
To solve this problem, experts from around the world collaborated to
define and develop a framework for data exchange based on an open
24
Art ic le
September 2009
Global market factors are forcing a revolution in the way
professionals share and use information throughout the
lifecycles of buildings and capital projects such as
airports, roads and subways. Building Information Models
(BIM) are a critical element in this information sharing
revolution. This article provides an overview of the current
state of BIM standards and what they will, hopefully,
through international collaboration, become in a
Web-connected world.
By Raj Singh
Figure 1: A building information model (BIM) provides a way for a wide range of
professionals to publish, discover, access, fuse, update and revise data about a
building or capital project. (Figure adapted from buildingSMART alliance)
BIM Standards Efforts
-
exchange format, the Industry Foundation Classes (or IFCs). buildingSMART
International (formerly International Alliance for Interoperability, or IAI) is
the organization chartered to develop and promote the use of IFCs and
related standards. IFCs have gained ISO recognition, and now most BIM
software vendors provide programs that convert their proprietary file for-
mats to IFC-compliant data files that can be imported, with varying degrees
of difficulty, into other vendors BIM software products.
BIM Software + IFCs + Open Web-based Standards = BIM 2.0The limitation of the current file-based IFC approach is that it is oriented
towards multi-function, monolithic, and typically expensive BIM software
products. This runs counter to the computing mainstream, which is head-
ed inexorably in the direction of small, cheap, special-purpose software
components that process limited subsets of larger databases, working via
loosely coupled Web services, or as David Weinberger calls it, small
pieces loosely joined.. Computing is undergoing a paradigm shift. The
old paradigm is file-based computing and the new paradigm is Web ser-
vice-based computing. Long-time readers of Geoinformatics are familiar
with this paradigm shift, because it has already occurred in geospatial
technology, as shown in Figure 2.
In the old paradigm, we obtain (usually large) data files and load them in
their entirety into our standalone software systems, perhaps after batch
conversion from one format to another. In the new paradigm, our client
software components send instructions to (usually) remote Web servers
(data servers or processing servers) that return to us the results of the
invoked services. In the old paradigm, we use the Internet (or LAN or
physically transported storage media) to obtain a large and complete data
file from which we then painstakingly extract the data we need. In the
new paradigm, we reach across the Web to get just the information we
request. For example, Earth browsers enable anyone with a Web browser
to reach into huge spatial databases to get one particular result typical-
ly a local map view without downloading the whole multi-nation
database. The user gets an answer, not a file; information, not data. It
happens quickly and it does not require special expertise.
Service chaining, one of the key reasons the new paradigm can deliver
such benefits, involves Web services that invoke other Web services.
In the old paradigm, software programs invoke subroutines to provide
particular kinds of processing on the local host. Interfaces are important:
The subroutines must be called in a specific way, provide certain kinds of
data in a list of parameters, and return certain kinds of data in a list of
parameters. For half a century, subroutines have been invoking other sub-
routines.
In the new paradigm (only in the last decade), a software program that is
a Web client (such as a Javascript app running in a Web browser) calls a
Web service thats available at a particular URL, somewhere on the Web.
Interfaces are important here, too: The Web-based query must be done in
a specific way, and the Web service must be provided with certain data in
an ordered list of parameters. The invoked Web service might call another
Web service, just as one subroutine can call another, except that, if the
interfaces are open, the Web services do not all have to be provided by
the same software vendor as was the case in the old paradigm.
Open interfaces make full use of the Webs potential, which derives from
loosely coupled inter-process communication. That is, any client that
implements an open interface can interact with any server that imple-
ments the same interface, just like the millions of HTTP clients and servers
that communicate over IP networks. This openness unleashes the power
of network effects.
Consider, for example, the implications for BIM of Metcalfs Law
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalfe's_law), the basis for many network effects,
which states, The value of a node on a communications network is pro-
portional (by some exponent) to the number of potential users of that
node in the network or the total number of nodes. By this law, one tele-
phone in the world has no value. Two telephones have value. And one
telephone added to a network of 100 telephones has far more value for
the user than one telephone added to a network of 2 telephones. Similarly,
a floor plan has far more value if it can be immediately discovered and
used by all the designers, engineers, estimators, modelers, subcontrac-
tors, owners and building operators who touch the building information
model throughout the lifetime of the building.
BIMs Progress Toward Web ServicesThe buildingSMART alliance (www.buildingsmartalliance.org), in which
Canada is a participant, is one of the regional councils of buildingSMART
International. It is also a council of the US National Institute of Building
Sciences, and it is responsible for the US National CAD Standard and the
National Building Information Modeling Standard (NBIMS). Early in 2009,
the OGC and the buildingSMART alliance announced the completion of
their AECOO-1 (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Owner
and Operator) Phase 1 Testbed.
The AECOO-1 Testbed was 9-month international effort in which
participants cooperated in solving a discrete set of AECOO com-
munity problems defined by the sponsors. The Testbed also
facilitated cooperation among AECOO standards bodies to
achieve results no group could achieve alone. AECOO-1 focused
on two important aspects of building design and construction:
1) building performance and energy analysis and 2) quantity
take-offs.
In all world regions, both national and international standards
need to be taken into account by industry. The AECOO-1 Testbed
activity documented -- in Information Delivery Manuals (IDMs) -
- requirements for quantity takeoffs and energy analysis needs,
and used these to define Model View Definitions (MVDs) - spe-
cific subsets of IFCs -- which are needed to integrate require-
ments into software used during business workflows. IDMs,
MVDs and IFCs are information constructs in the US National
BIM Standard or NBIMS process, and they are also
buildingSMART International standards. These topics were
explored within the framework of the American Institute of
Architects (AIA) Integrated Delivery Process and addressed inter-
operability involving intelligent building models with 3D geo-
Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com
Art ic le
25September 2009
Figure 2: BIM standards are at approximately the level of maturation of geospatial standards
in 1998 when the OGCs first Web Mapping Testbed began. For both geospatial technology
and BIM, standards development is difficult because of the domains market realities and
technical complexity. (Figure OGC)
-
metric capabilities. The Testbed showed data exchange between various
building information model software applications and EnergyPlus energy
analysis software, and creation of alternative quantity take off and cost
estimates for a moderately complex building where the scenario involves
evaluating a number of different energy conservation approaches that may
improve energy performance and life cycle cost. Though this data exchange
involved file-based operations, the testbed took a step in the direction of
future development of open international standards for Web service based
BIM interfaces.
Other efforts are under way. A current European Commission funded
research project, the Open Information Environment for Knowledge-Based
Collaborative Processes throughout the Lifecycle of a Building (InPro) pro-
gram, involves five large European construction contractors, other stake-
holders of the construction and IT industries, plus research organisations
and consultants. The InPro website states, "Advanced design, communi-
cation and simulation tools give us an opportunity to change the way we
work in the industry, including open collaboration between stakeholders,
design for increased energy efficiency, flexibility, constructability, comfort,
etc." InPro is working from a model of open Web services. [www.inpro-
project.eu/docs/InPro_D6_SpecificationsForAnOpenICTPlatform.pdf]
Also, though it was not a part of the AECOO-1 Testbed activity, the OGCs
CityGML standard (http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/citygml), origi-
nally developed by the German North Rhine Westphalia Sig3D organiza-
tion and in official use in several cities and regions in Europe, provides
Web-based sharing of urban models, design drawings and other data and
services. CityGML provides the means for applications to manage multiple
levels of detail, and it will almost certainly play a role in the evolution of
BIM, because it performs well and it is entirely based on open Web ser-
vice standards. Advancing CityGML is one goal of the OGC 3D Information
Management (3DIM) Working Group. The 3DIM Working Group focuses on
the convergence of CAD (computer-aided design), AEC, geospatial, 3D visu-
alization, and urban simulation to serve
stakeholders engaged in all types of activi-
ties related to the built environment. Each
of the buildingSMART International chapters
and regional alliances, listed on the
buildingSMART web page in Figure 3 above,
brings together architects, engineers, con-
structors, product manufacturers and facili-
ties managers, along with software vendors
and progressive construction customers.
They all work toward the common objective
of developing interoperability within the
building sector through the dissemination
of the IFC standards. In order to enable the
international organisation and its regional
alliances and chapters to a