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ISSN 2277 - 3134

MARCH 2012 VOL 02 ISSUE 08

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07 Editorial 08 News 49 Events 54 Picture this

ARTICLES

Smart energy

'Power' to people

Deepali Roy

Renewable energy

Time to think alternative!

Anand Kashyap

Environment info exchange

Sustainability on the agenda

Vaibhav Arora

18

30

42

36

50

5

Advisory Board

Abbas Rajabifard President,GSDI Association

Jack DangermondPresident, Esri

Shailesh Nayak SecretaryMinistry of Earth SciencesGovernment of India

Mark ReichardtPresident and CEOOpen Geospatial Consortium, Inc.

Aida Opoku Mensah Director - ICT DivisionUN Economic Commission for Africa

Josef StroblDirector, Centre for Geoinformatics,University of Salzburg, Austria

Vanessa Lawrence CBDirector General and CEO,Ordnance Survey, UK

Matthew M O'ConnellPresident and CEO GeoEye

Bryn FosburghVice PresidentTrimble

Juergen DoldPresident, Hexagon Geosystems

Preetha PulusaniChairman and CEO DeepTarget Inc.

Derek Clarke Chief Director-Survey and Mapping & National Geospatial InformationDepartment of Rural Development & Land Reform, South Africa

Kamal K SinghChairman and CEORolta Group

CHAIRMAN M P Narayanan

PUBLISHER Sanjay Kumar

PUBLICATIONS TEAMManaging Editor Prof. Arup DasguptaEditor - Europe Prof. Ian DowmanEditor - Latin America (Honorary) Tania Maria SausenSr. Associate Editor (Honorary) Dr. Hrishikesh SamantExecutive Editor Bhanu RekhaProduct Manager Shivani LalAssistant Editors Deepali Roy, Aditi Bhan, Vaibhav AroraSub-Editor Anand Kashyap

DESIGN TEAMSr. Creative Designer Deepak Kumar Graphic Designer Manoj Kumar Singh

CIRCULATION TEAMCirculation Manager Vijay Kumar Singh

CONFERENCE REPORT

India Geospatial Forum

he energy sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world. Development needsenergy but conventional energy sources are not renewable and extremely destructive of theenvironment. Non-conventional sources which are environment friendly are unfortunatelynot as efficient as conventional non-renewable resources. This paradox poses a huge

problem for developing countries who would like to use the cheapest forms of energy for theirneeds. This paradox also presents a great opportunity for geospatial technology and applications.

Quite apart from the applications in resource exploration, mine design and management, environ-mental planning and disaster management, there are tremendous opportunities in managingpower generation and distribution, in integrating conventional and non-conventional power generation and in optimising distribution networks. The term'smart grid' encompasses all these areas. The element ofgeospatial planning is a very important part of the smart grid. Ascities grow, industries expand and traditional activities like agriculture get modernised, the demand of power increases.Smart grid provides a way of planning optimum distribution, integrating different sources, reducing losses and balancingloads. These activities have a big geospatial component thatneeds to be integrated into the existing CRM, ERP and DMS ofpower management systems.

This is also a golden opportunity for small and medium scaleenterprises (SMEs). SMEs are the foot soldiers of the geospatialworld. The big corporations look for big clients and mega projects. It is the SMEs that meet the needs of the local bodiesand other small enterprises who would find the big corporationstoo expensive and also perhaps not too small user friendly. TheSMEs can provide innovative solutions and bridge the gap. Largecorporations may find it easier to offload such work to the SMEs.

However, SMEs need to plan ahead. They may start at the root ofthe value chain but today's data conversion work may peter out. Conversion technologies maychange. End users may demand more complex solutions and decision support systems in place ofsimple query tools. While corporations get locked up with their own proprietary technologies,SMEs have a more open field and can experiment with emerging technologies. The open sourcesolutions are an indicator of these trends.

A disturbing trend is the insistence that SMEs show sizeable past business and certification at ISOand CMMi levels which are expensive to say the least. None of these are necessarily guarantees offuture performance. In fact these limits may shut out innovators. Let us not forget the origins ofhugely successful innovators like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates or industrialists like Dhirubhai Ambani.

EditorSpeak

7Geospatial World I March 2012

Prof. Arup Dasgupta

Managing [email protected]

T

SMEs have more open field to experiment

8 Geospatial World I March 2012

SOUTH AFRICA

‘Weather Service’

faces criticism

Fourteen constituents of MaritimeSafety Organisation and the Weatherand Disaster Observation Service tothe FW De Klerk Foundation opposedthe SA Weather Service AmendmentBill. If approved, the bill will imposesevere penalties (fine up to 5 millionSA rand or imprisonment for fiveyears) on people found guilty of issu-ing a warning or an alert regarding

'severe' weather and air pollution,unless that information was specifi-cally sanctioned by the country'sweather service. Jean Pierre Arabo-nis, an oceanographer and meteorol-ogist stated, "The shipping industryneeds four to five days warning. Onthe contrary, the SA Weather Serviceputs out warning quite late so the lawis unfair."

Rural development

dept develops GIS

The Department of Rural Develop-ment and Land Reform, South Africa,

developed a state-of-the-art GIScalled SPISYS. Fanie Minnie, one ofthe developers of SPISYS, considers itan alternative to Google Earth. Thesystem has been developed to inte-grate diverse data into an instanta-neous solutions platform and tostreamline a process that ordinarilytakes months. Starting in April 2011,with a budget of 6 million SA rand,the two-year project is currentlyfocused on photographing the FreeState on half-metre resolution. This cloud-based system will integrate data from as many as 15 sector departments of the countryand will also be accessible on cellphones.

TUNISIA

NASA to help manage

water resources

NASA will help better manage thecountry's water resources, using

remote sensing technology, a Tunisianpress agency reported. For the same,a project funded by the regional centrefor remote sensing of water resourcesin North African states (CRTEAN) hasbeen commissioned in Tunis. Theproject, which will run from 2012through 2015, will focus on the Gafsa

region in southern Tunisia. Accordingto recent studies, Tunisia faces agrave threat of water shortage in thenext two decades. It is estimated thatby 2025, consumption of renewablewater resources will reach less than500 cubic metres per inhabitant, peryear.

SANSA releases mosaic imagery dataset

South African National Space Agency(SANSA) released a dataset of mosaicimagery for the whole of South Africa.The agency used data from the Spot 5earth observation satellite. Known asthe Spot 5 Mosaic 2011, the datasetcontains imagery acquired betweenJanuary 24 and December 20, 2011."The mosaic can be used for housingand urban planning, agriculture,water and dam monitoring, environ-mental monitoring, forestry monitor-ing and so on," stated SANSA earth observation production managerNatalie Diemer. The images are composed of 476 multispectral (colour)images with a resolution of 10 m and 476 panchromatic (black and white)images with a resolution of 2.5 m.

NEWS

Mosaic Imagery of Africa

INDIA

ASI seeks SoI's

assistance

The Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) approached Survey of India(SoI), for his expertise for mappingand surveying the 3,600 archaeologi-cal sites. The discussion is reportedlyin an advanced stage. According toASI Director Dr Gautam Sengupta,the main reason for seeking SoI'shelp is to identify the extent of

encroachments on the sites as perthe Ancient Monuments and Archae-ological Sites and Remains (Amend-ment and Validation) Act, 2010. Oncethe MoU with SoI is signed, it is likelyto take three years for the survey tobe completed.

NDMA sets guidelines

for disaster mgmt

The National Disaster ManagementAuthority (NDMA) prepared theNational Disaster ManagementGuidelines for Information and Com-munication System. Speaking at theoccasion, M Shashidhar Reddy, ViceChairman, NDMA, stressed that the

holistic approach for disaster management calls for a foolproofcommunication system to ensureseamless flow of value-added infor-mation products on a GIS platform.He informed that to achieve this, it isbeing contemplated to establish theNational Disaster Management Information System at the centrallevel. The total cost of the project isestimated to be INR 943 crore.

Solar atlas to be

developed

Recently, the Centre for Wind EnergyTechnology measured radiation at 51locations in India with the aim to cre-ate a solar atlas of the country. Theatlas will identify hotspots where thesun's radiation has optimum intensityfor power generation. For now, radia-tion data for most locations in Indiaare largely provided by satellites fromNASA and others. The recent meas-urement threw up some surprises,including the fact that pollution-freeLadakh is more suitable for a photo-

voltaic project than even Rajasthan.The agency is currently in theprocess of developing an algorithm tovalidate the data.

ISRAEL

Farmers to get

microclimate info

Israeli Scientists developed a way ofusing satellite images to help farm-ers detect small-scale changes inclimate and improve their harvests.Uri Dayan, a climatologist fromHebrew University; and ItamarLensky, Head of the remote sensinglaboratory at Bar Ilan University;explained that this new method usesreal-time thermal images madeavailable from NASA and then analy-ses the surface temperature of eachplot at a fine scale. "Once we under-stand how nature works, we pack itinto an algorithm, and the results ofthis algorithm we can give to thefarmers," Lensky, said.

Govt to track mobile users' whereabouts

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) made changes to the licenceterms of telecom operators andasked them to provide real-timedetails of cellphone users' loca-tion in latitude and longitude. Ini-tially, the operators will have toprovide such information forsome specific numbers, but with-in three years they will have totrack the location of all users. By2014, at least 75 percent of thecalls in urban areas and 50 percent in suburban and rural areas wouldhave to be accurately tracked when made 100 metres from the nearest celltower. The new terms also include imposing a fine of INR 50 crore alongwith criminal proceedings on operators for breach of security.

9Geospatial World I March 2012

CHINA

Satnav market to

touch USD 35 bn

The annual output value of China'ssatellite navigation industry willreach more than 225 billion yuan(USD 35.64 billion) in 2015, accordingto a research report by the country'sNational Administration of Surveying,Mapping and Geoinformation. The

report highlighted that more than5,000 Chinese firms were nowinvolved in the application and servic-es of satellite navigation and theindustry generated more than 50 bil-lion yuan of output value in 2010. Thecountry aims to increase the totalnumber of satellite navigation termi-nals used by the public across thecountry to 340 million by 2015.

'79 pc wetlands

poorly protected'

About 79 percent wetlands in Chinaare poorly protected and their totalcoverage is shrinking, according to asurvey by the Institute of RemoteSensing Applications under the Chi-nese Academy of Sciences. Accordingto the survey, the country's naturalwetland reserves have decreased bymore than 8,000 square km over thepast three decades. Poorly-protectedwetland areas are mainly located in

west and southwest China. Only 15percent of the wetlands found alongthe Songhuajiang River in NortheastChina are well protected. The countryhad 614 natural wetland reserves asof 2011, including 91 at the state level.

PAKISTAN

PM approves space

policy

Prime Minister of Pakistan SyedYousuf Raza Gilani approved the Pak-istan Space Policy. The policy is likelyto be presented in the NationalAssembly for approval soon, chair-man of Pakistan Space and UpperAtmosphere Research Commission,Major General Ahmed Bilalannounced. Bilal agreed that so farSUPARCO did very little work inspace research. He explained thatemphasis in the policy has beenplaced on educating students aboutits benefit for the nation. According to

the policy, space education should bemade compulsory in schools and colleges.

JAPAN

Power lines taken off

topo maps

Geographical Survey Instituterequested 10 major power companiesto provide the locations of their powerlines and towers for the electronicmap project. However, all the firmsrefused citing terror and safety risks.The Association of Japanese Geogra-phers, meanwhile, demanded thatthe lines and towers be included,pointing out that mountain climbersuse them to help confirm their loca-tions. Hiroshi Tashiro, a Japan Car-tographers Association trustee said,"There are already far more detailedaerial photographs available on theInternet, so the power company'sposition is very anachronistic."

10 Geospatial World I March 2012

Chang'e-2 maps moon in high-resolution

China published a full cov-erage map of the moon, aswell as several high-reso-lution images of the celes-tial body, captured by thecountry's second moonorbiter, the Chang'e-2.Several countries haveobtained lunar images withhigher resolution, but have not published images with a resolution of seven meters or greater, as China has done, claimed Tong Qingxi, an academic from the Institute of Remote Sensing Applications. The imageswere photographed by a charge-coupled device (CCD) stereo camera onthe Chang'e-2 from heights of 100 km and 15 km over the lunar surfacebetween October 2010 and May 2011. The scientists also spotted traces ofthe previous Apollo mission in the images.

11

THAILAND

3D map of Bangkok

available online

The Bangkok Metropolitan Adminis-tration's (BMA) City Planning Depart-ment drew up a 3D city planningmap. The 3D city map of traffic routesand infrastructure systems is avail-able for the public at http://3d-cpd.bangkok.go.th. Thin Hongthong,chief of the department's GeographicInformation Division, informed thatthe digital map is set at a ratio of1:500 and is based on the latest 2006Greater Bangkok city plan. It showsthe details of each city zone and whattypes of properties can be built there.There are 990 3D visualised struc-tures out of 1.4 million actual build-ings in the city to overlay on the map.

Nokia accused of IPR

breach

Globetech Ltd, a subsidiary of IT conglomerate CDG Group, filed alawsuit against Nokia at the Intellec-tual Property and International TradeCourt. The company claimed thatNokia's Ovi Maps violated intellectualproperty right (IPR) by using its digi-tal map data without permission.Globetech General Manager WichaiSaenghirunwattana said the companyfound that its digital map dataappeared in Nokia's Ovi Maps. Glo-

beTech owns the licence for the digi-tal map data, which it has collected inThailand continuously for 20 years.

BANGLADESH

Digital topo map to

be prepared

Survey of Bangladesh (SOB) willcomplete a detailed digital topo-graphic map of the country by 2016,according to the Director of SOB,Colonel Mahmudun Nabi. The mapwill be produced at a scale of1:25,000. The conventional one is at ascale of 1:50,000 composed by theBritish government. Besides, sepa-rate 1:5,000 scale digital topographicmaps will be drawn for five divisionalcities of Barisal, Chittagong, Khulna,Rajshahi and Sylhet. The SOB startedthe BDT 1.81 billion (BDT:Bangladeshi Taka) project at the endof 2007 with technical and financial

support from Japanese InternationalCooperation Agency (JICA).

SINGAPORE

3D map to help

predict floods

PUB, Singapore's national wateragency could be using a better flood-prediction computer model in thenear future. The terrain for the mapwill be captured in 3D through LiDARtechnology and GPS-fitted vehicles.According to experts, although thistechnique produces the map fasterand cheaper than manual land sur-veys, but it suffers in urban areas,where tall buildings may interferewith the GPS signals. The pulses mayalso bounce off cars and pedestrians,distorting the land-height informa-tion. The map commissioned by thePUB will depict land height in thatarea to within 10cm accuracy.


IRAN

ISA launches EO satellite

Iranian Space Agency (ISA)launched earth-observationsatellite, 'Navid-e Elm-oSana'at' (Promise of Scienceand Industry), marking thecountry's first successful mis-sion. It weighs about 110pounds (50 kilograms) and wasbuilt by students at the SharifUniversity of Technology. The satellite is shaped like a cube that is nearly20 inches (50 centimetres) wide. It is circling the earth in an elliptical orbitand passes over Iran six times a day. The satellite is controlled via fiveground stations, one each in the cities of Karaj, Tabriz, Qeshm, Bushehrand Mashhad and will be used by researchers to study earth's weathersystems and manage responses to natural disasters.


GERMANY

Multicore tech to aid

precision landing

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Insti-tute for Computer Architecture andSoftware Technology (FIRST) engi-

neered a system based on multicoretechnologies, as part of MUSE project(Multicore Architecture for Sensor-based Position Tracking in Space).

The system incorporates P4080 Mul-ticore Processor, manufactured byFreescale. It allows a spacecraft to bepiloted and positioned with pinpointaccuracy. The MUSE project is fundedby the Space Flight Agency of theGerman Aerospace Center DLR, with funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economics andTechnology.

UK

Lockheed Martin bags

defence contract

The Ministry of Defence (MoD)awarded Lockheed Martin UK Infor-mation Systems & Global Solutions(IS&GS) and its industry team, TeamSOCRATES, a contract to deliver theFuture Deployable Geospatial Intelli-gence (FDG) Project. FDG aims todeliver a data centric, geospatialintelligence (GEOINT) management,

discovery, dissemination andexploitation capability that couldaddress the deployable requirementsof the Intelligence Collection Group(ICG), including the provision ofmobile and manoeuvrable workingenvironments at the tactical level. Aspokesperson for the MoD's DefenceEquipment and Support (DE&S)IMaGE Delivery Team said, "FutureDeployable GEOINT (FDG) is a vitalproject that will provide the MOD withimproved and enhanced tacticalGEOINT capabilities."

Galileo to get eight

more satellites

European Commission (EC) VicePresident Antonio Tajani announcedthat the consortium led by OHB Sys-tem AG and Surrey Satellite Technol-ogy Ltd (SSTL) will build a furthereight satellites for the EuropeanUnion's (EU) Galileo satellite naviga-tion programme under the supervi-sion of the European Space Agency(ESA). The new contract will seeSSTL continuing its role as payloadprime, assembling, integrating andtesting the navigation payloads in theUK, whilst OHB System, as the primecontractor, builds the eight satelliteplatforms and executes the final inte-gration of all the satellites in Ger-many. The SSTL-OHB partnership isalready building fourteen Galileosatellites.

Space industry gets

a boost

With the aim to promote satellitedata-based commercial products, theUK Space Agency, the TechnologyStrategy Board and the South EastEngland Development Agency jointly

FRANCE

EU Parliament supports GMES

The European Union (EU) Parliamentvoted on the future of the GMES (GlobalMonitoring for Environment and Securi-ty) in a resolution that strongly supportsthe programme being funded within themulti-year financial framework (MFF).The Parliament observed that the solu-tion proposed by the European Commis-sion (EC) in its 'A budget for Europe2020' to finance GMES outside of the MFF will be hugely detrimental to itsfuture development and may cause the programme to lose its Europeandimension and contradict the principles of transparency. The Parliamentcalled on the EC to table a legislative proposal for the long-term gover-nance, funding and operation of the GMES, financed under the MFF.

Geospatial World I March 2012 13

granted GBP 2.5 million fund.Approximately 22 companies will bedirect beneficiaries of this fund. Thisfinancial aid will support aroundtwenty-eight fast-track research anddevelopment projects. These projectswill cover a broad range of growthopportunities, ranging from novelpropulsion for cubesats; throughtechnology to exploit the Galileo (anavigation satellite system); to tech-niques for crop monitoring fromspace.

CZECH REPUBLIC

Prague to host

Galileo headquarters

The Czech government signed a deal for Prague to host the head-quarters of European Union's (EU)global navigation satellite system(GNSS), Galileo. With Galileo, the EUwants to achieve independence insatellite navigation from the GPS.They claimed that Galileo is more

precise and more reliable than theGPS, while fully controlled by civilauthorities.

They foresee applications ranging from precision seeding onfarmland to pinpoint positioning forsearch-and-rescue missions. Thesystem, a network of 30 satellites, is expected to become operational by 2014.

RUSSIA

GLONASS to get USD

12 bn boost

Russian space agency and econom-ics ministry agreed on a draft devel-opment programme for theGLONASS project. Earlier, the min-istry had refused to fund the projectbecause the GLONASS team failed tosubmit a detailed report of theexpenses they were planning. Now,after the ministry's nod, the draft hasbeen forwarded to the governmentfor approval. If it gets approved, the

Russian space agency may getalmost USD 12 billion for the project.The expenditure includes approxi-mately USD 5 billion to support thesystem and another USD 4.6 billion todevelop it. In 2020, the country plansto have 30 navigation satellites inorbit, including six in reserve.

GERMANY

Real-time air quality

info soon

GAF AG, a company specialising inapplied remote sensing and spatialinformation systems, developed anonline platform, obsAIRve. Funded bythe European Commission, the plat-

form will provide near real-timeinformation on pollution levels inEuropean cities.

Air-quality data from the GMES(Global Monitoring for Environmentand Security) programme and from6000 air monitoring stations ofnational environment agencies arebeing incorporated in the obsAIRve.The company is also working closelywith the environmental authorities ofseveral countries including Austriaand the Netherlands to make this acustomisable air-quality informationplatform.

FINLAND

NLS to open access to topo data

On May 1, 2012, the National Land Survey ofFinland (NLS) will open its topographicdatasets for the public and companies to beused free of charge, announced JarmoRatia, Director General, Central administra-tion of the NLS. He added that the NLS aimsto implement the objectives set in the pro-gramme of Prime Minister Katainen's gov-ernment for making public databanks avail-able to all interested parties. One can checkthe complete list of the datasets to beopened at http://www.maanmittauslaitos.fi/en/node/9239.


Scientist maps Coral

Sea region

Using satellite imagery to trace theshallow-water features and thensonar to map and trace the deeper-water features, James Cook Univer-sity's Robin Beaman produced a newmap of Australia's Coral Sea region.A major finding that the map detailsis the large number of underwatercanyons in the area as well as 14seamounts rising at least 1000metres from the sea floor. "Oneseamount, the Fraser Seamount, is4060 metres high, nearly twice theheight of Mt Kosciuszko, Australia'shighest mountain," Dr Beaman said.

Retail sector urged to

use location tech

Esri Australia urged the retail sectorto exploit location-based technolo-gies to seduce shoppers back to theirstores after recent Australian Bureauof Statistics (ABS) figures showedthat retailers suffered their worstyear since 1984.

"Geo-locator technology deliveredthrough GIS can re-establish thestore-front as a key advantage andcritical point of difference," observedDama Kumarasingham, a consultantat Esri Australia. She stated, "Aus-tralia has a large number of smart-phone users and brick and mortarretailers can take advantage of this.Retailers need to deliver person-alised marketing straight to theshoppers' hands as they move withinthe vicinity of their stores, using loca-tion technologies."

DARMsys enhances

recovery process

With the aim to enhance recoveryprocess after natural disasters,Queensland Reconstruction Authoritydeveloped a real time tracking sys-tem for damage evaluation, DamageAssessment and ReconstructionMonitoring system (DARMsys). Theauthority claimed it to be Australia'sfirst such system that enables gath-ering of early and accurate informa-tion. The system involves a GPS-linked data collection device. It allowsassessors to gauge levels of damageto individual homes and buildings,and then transfer that data in 'real-time' to a central mapping point.

Satellites to help Fiji

map forest cover

The Secretariat of the Pacific Com-munity (SPC) embarked on a pro-gramme to build capacity in mappingland/forest cover in Fiji using veryhigh resolution satellite images,according to SPC Regional Commu-nity Forester Jalesi Mateboto. Theprogramme consists of three phases,

which includes "ground truthing"(on-site verification of data fromsatellite imagery) exercises. It ishoped that these activities will con-tribute to the establishment of theNational Measurement, Reportingand Verification system, strengthen-ing the country's REDD+ programme.

SeqSLAM to make navigation simpler

The world-first approach tovisual navigation algorithms,SeqSLAM (Sequence Simultane-ous Localisation and Mapping),can make 'navigating' a farcheaper and simpler task thanGPS, claimed Dr Michael Milfordfrom Queensland University ofTechnology's Science and Engi-neering Faculty. He said, "At themoment you need three satellites in order to get a decent GPS signal. Still,there are some places geographically, where you can't get signals. SeqS-LAM uses the assumption that you are already in a specific location andtests that assumption over and over again."


POLICY

'Warrant compulsory

for GPS tracking'

The US Supreme Court ruled thatpolice need a search warrant beforetracking a suspect with a GPS device,in a case involving privacy and 21stcentury technology.

The Fourth Amendment of the USConstitution provides guaranteesagainst unreasonable search andseizure. The court ruled that policehad violated the rights of a suspecteddrug dealer when they placed atracking device, on his vehicle withouta warrant.

Washington-based Center forDemocracy and Technology (CDT)described the ruling as a landmarkdecision. "The court made it clearthat it will not allow advancing tech-nology to erode the constitutional

right of privacy," said CDT's GregoryNojeim.

BUSINESS

Govt seeks to lower

Landsat costs

US government agencies are workingtogether to look for ways to reducethe cost of future Landsat missionsas a result of congressional directionincluded in the 2012 budget."Although Congress has providedUSD 2 million to the US GeologicalService (USGS), they have alsorequested that the administration re-examine how to proceed withfuture missions," said Jon Campbell,spokesman for the Interior Department's USGS.

While President Barack Obama had requested USD 48 million to pave the way for development of Landsat 9 and Landsat 10, Con-gressional appropriators allocated USD 2 million for Landsat "develop-ment only" and suggested that

administration officials seek "less costly options" for obtainingLandsat data.

Defence dept to trim

imagery spending

The US defence department intendsto reduce planned purchases of commercial satellite imagery in 2013as part of a broader initiative aimed

at reducing US military expendituresby USD 259 billion over the next fiveyears, according to a Pentagon planning document. The US DefenseSecretary Leon Panetta observed,"The forthcoming request reflectsnumerous force structure and otherchanges that the administrationdeemed necessary in light of achanging strategic and budgetaryenvironment." Panetta also statedthat under the Budget Control Act of2011, the Pentagon must cut plannedspending by USD 487 billion over thenext decade.

Rapid response

service soon

Esri and GeoEye announced that arapid-response satellite imageryservice for crisis situations will bemade available soon. In 2011, bothcompanies had offered a joint prod-uct, GeoEye Image Pack, whichenabled Esri customers to procure

Congress passes FAA Bill

The US Congress passed a billthat gives the Federal AviationAdministration (FAA) USD 11billion to upgrade air trafficcontrols of the nation's 35busiest airports from radar toGPS. It also opens the US skiesfor military, commercial andprivately-owned unmanneddrone flights within four years.Drones will be allowed to fly inthe same airspace as airliners, cargo planes, business jets and private air-craft. The new GPS system is the start of an overall plan for a 50-percentgrowth in air traffic over the next decade.


high-resolution data from GeoEye'sextensive imagery archive.

The latest service will allow ArcGISusers to better and more quicklyutilise GeoEye's map imagery andEsri software tools. Russ Johnsonfrom Esri said, "Satellite imageryallows us to rapidly visualiseimpacts, analyse change andempower field teams conductingmobile operations."

GeoEye's Chris Tully observed,"Geospatial technology plays a criti-cal role in determining whereresources should be deployed mosteffectively after a crisis."

'Alteryx truly relies on

location data'

Gartner, a market research firm, inits latest report, revealed that mostcompanies use location as an adjunctto their reporting capabilities whileonly one, Alteryx (an analytic solu-tions provider), truly relies on itsgeospatial roots to leverage location-based data in a more significant way.Others, however, use maps for pri-marily visualisation rather than ana-lytics. On the basis of its report, Gart-ner prepared its 'Magic Quadrant',which is divided into areas of niche

players in the bottom left, visionariesin the bottom right, challengers inthe upper left and leaders in theupper right.

LBS company on

acquisition spree

Groupon, a location-based service(LBS) provider, announced two majoracquisitions. It acquired Hyperpublic,a geolocation technology provider;and Kima Labs, a mobile paymentspecialist firm. Hyperpublic wasfounded in 2010 and had raised USD1.15 million in the same year. On theother hand, acquisition of Kima Labsis a sign of how the e-commercecompany is getting more focused onmobile as a route to future growth.

The company makes mobile bar-code reading app Barcode Hero andmobile payment app TapBuy. Theseacquisitions represent a significantpick-up in mobile activity for Grouponunder VP of mobile, Michael Shim,

who hopped over to Groupon fromYahoo a year ago.

Teradata, Oracle

integrate their

capabilities

Teradata, an analytic data solutionscompany, and Oracle announcedintegration of their products. Theintegration aims to provide height-ened technology capabilities to theircustomers that cut through datacomplexity, extend the scope of theirbusiness intelligence (BI) and speeddelivery of new types of useful infor-mation to growing communities ofbusiness users. The new capabilitiesinclude integration of TeradataGeospatial with Oracle BusinessIntelligence Enterprise Edition(OBIEE) mapping capabilities. Inaddition, OBIEE has been integratedwith Teradata Aggregate DesignerOptimization and Teradata QueryBanding.

DigitalGlobe reports loss for 2011

DigitalGlobe reported financialresults for the fourth quarter andyear ending December 31, 2011.On a GAAP basis, the companyreported a fourth quarter net lossof USD 27.0 million, comparedwith net income of USD 0.6 mil-lion for the same period last year.For the full year, the companyreported a GAAP net loss of USD28.1 million, compared with net income of USD 2.5 million for 2010. Full-year 2011 revenue was USD 339.5 million, up 5 percent compared with2010. Included in full-year revenue is USD 25.5 million of amortised rev-enue related to NextView, the predecessor to the EnhancedView contractwith the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Not included infull-year revenue is USD 93.1 million of deferrals related to the Enhanced-View service level agreement.

Challengers leaders

Tableau

Tibco Software (Apotfire)

Information Buildings

OracleMicroStrategyMicrosoft

IBMQikTech

SAPSAS

LogiXMLActuratePrognoz

Paronama Software

Salient Management Company

Board InternationalarcplanTargit

AlteryxPentaho

Jaspersoft

visionariesniche players

completeness of vision

As of February 2012

abili

ty to

exe

cute

APPLICATIONS

Robots to map

environment

Researchers at Massachusetts Insti-tute of Technology's Computer Sci-ence and Artificial Intelligence Labo-ratory developed a system that allowsrobots to build and update a 3D mapof their environment. The system isbased on Simultaneous Localizationand Mapping (SLAM) technology.

As the robot travels through anunexplored area, a visible-light videocamera and infrared depth sensorscans the surroundings, building up a3D model of the room and the objectswithin it.

Subsequently, when the robotpasses through the same area again,the system compares the features ofthe new image it has created with allthe previous images until it finds amatch.

New tool to map

water use, drought

Agricultural Research Service (ARS)scientists Martha Anderson and BillKustas developed an evapotranspira-tion (ET) and drought modelling sys-tem named ALEXI (Atmosphere-LandExchange Inverse).

The system aims to help forecast-ers monitor ET and drought condi-tions across the US and overseas. Ituses thermal infrared imagery fromsatellites to calculate soil and planttemperatures that can be used tocreate maps of plant ET rates. ETconsists of the water evaporatedfrom soil and plant surfaces, and thewater vapour that escapes throughplant leaf pores as it absorbs carbondioxide.

Generally, evaporation cools surfaces, so a cooler land surface isan indicator of higher ET rates andwetter soils.


IfSAR data detects 'horizontal' quake

Most earthquakes occur at near-vertical faults, but the Kohat Plateauearthquake in 1992 occurred on ahorizontal fault, something that sci-entists have rarely seen before.Recently, scientists at the Universityof Colorado, Boulder, used interfer-ometric synthetic aperture radar(IfSAR), a type of satellite data, toverify the fact. This type of radaruses microwaves to map a sectionof the earth's surface at differenttimes and then compares the twomaps to accurately measure seismicdeformation and movement in the area. In 1992, the city of Kohat, Pakistan,faced a magnitude-6.0 earthquake, which moved a 30-square-mile swathof land one foot and killed more than 200 people.

Chasqui II set for

2014 launch

Peru will launch earth observationsatellite Chasqui II, worth USD 2million, in early 2014, according tothe National Engineering Universi-ty (UNI), which is in charge ofmanufacturing the satellite. Thismicrosatellite, weighing between25 - 30 kilograms, is being manu-factured with technical supportfrom Russia. Rector of the UNI,Aurelio Padilla explained that thesatellite, known in Russia as "Scaf3", will orbit 360 miles above theplanet and send images not onlyfor research but also to measuredeforestation, river beds andassess natural disasters.

Geospatial centre to

monitor biodiversity

In a bid to ensure sustainabledevelopment, Dr Humberto Perot-to-Baldivieso and Dr Andrew Gillof Cranfield University will developa new Geospatial Centre for Biodi-versity (GCB) in Bolivia. It will be avirtual centre and will provide ani-mal information using web-GIS,aligned with countrywide conser-vation strategies. It aims to col-lect, assimilate, synthesise, dis-tribute and disseminate spatiallyexplicit information and scientifi-cally robust biodiversity knowledgeto students, policy-makers and thepublic to promote the sustainablemanagement of Bolivia's biodiver-sity as natural capital.

Rupture area of May 20, 1992

GeospatialWorld I March 201218

COVER STORY

SMEs

Key to

Geospatial

Value

Chain

ROLE OF SME’S IN GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a vital roledriving innovation, job creation and competition in theindustry they serve. They also promote entrepreneurship,economic dynamism and creation of value chains throughlinkages with large firms, contributing directly to thegrowth of the industry. SMEs play a key role and form thecrucial 'middle of the pyramid' of geospatial ecosystem,forming an interface between technology MNCs and endusers (Figure 1).

Several technology companies which are in the top-rung today, started as small enterprises/research insti-tutes in the 1960s and 1970s. From the beginning, theseenterprises focussed on providing software and hardwaretools to build applications in a variety of vertical domains.Over a period of time, these companies started workingin various geographies around the world through a net-work of partners, distributors and re-sellers, acting asextensions of the principal companies in their respectivegeographies. Several or most of these are small andmedium enterprises (SMEs)

Today, SMEs constitute those 'seeds' scatteredthroughout the industry providing vital and critical growththrough the development and deployment of cutting edge

technologies. They understand local sensitivities,administrative nuances and prevalent tax and policy

regime. They often are the outsourcing partners inexecuting significant amount of maintenance

and modernisation work on the nation'sinfrastructure (roads, airports, high-

ways, railways) as well as utilitiesand land records on behalf of

the technology compa-nies, opines Bryn

Fosburgh, Vice President, Trimble. Government agencies often outsource their work to SMEs rather than opting for big companies, primarily because SMEsunderstand their needs better. The flexibility that is onoffer and the ease of handling small companies is anadded advantage.

For many multinational companies, SMEs providelocal support, training and services. Technology compa-nies often see SMEs as the heartbeat of relationshipswith mutual customers because they live and breathecustomers' daily challenges. In addition, they also providefeedback to manufacturers on the local requirements of aregion and market. This information enables companiesto develop innovative solutions to meet customers'

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) form the crucial ‘middle of the pyramid’

in geospatial ecosystem. They are vital and critical to the development

and deployment of cutting edge technologies. In the backdrop of difficult

economic situation and changing landscape of geospatial industry,

SMEs are getting ingenious in reorienting to the new business order

to survive and move up the value chain. Here is a low down on the

continued relevance of SMEs in the geospatial industry..

19GeospatialWorld I March 2012

Figure 1: Small and medium enterprises form the interface between technology MNCs and the user segment in the geospatial industry pyramid

requirements and transform the way they work byimproving productivity and reducing rework. Another feature specific to geospatial industry worldwide is theloyalty and commitment SMEs bring, both to the endusers and to the principal companies. Though many principal companies expanded geographically in emerg-ing economies and now have hundreds of employees insome markets, their personnel continue to support SMEsin the region. These companies believe in a collaborativesales model and SMEs are part of that sales, service andsupport process.

SME categorisation - SMEs play a variety of roles in the geospatial ecosystem.However, for the purpose of this article, SMEs are cate-gorised into four broad segments (Table 1). The articlelimits itself to analysing the dynamics of SMEs in emerg-ing regions/economies including China, India, Middle

East, Latin America, Africa and South East Asia. Table 2gives the region wise distribution of various SMEs basedon the following categorisation.

Technology SME: These SMEs develop technology tobuild products for principal companies and operate on avariety of geospatial and business platforms. They alsoplough their own furrow in technology and build productsto suit customer needs.

They actively work on radically different set of technologies including open source technology in a market dominated by MNCs. Regions like Europe andcountries like China and India, which are rich in geospa-tial talent pool, have hundreds of such small and mediumenterprises (Table 2) creating innovative products andsolutions catering to the MNCs and in some instancescompeting with them. China leads India on the manufac-turing side though.

Solution SME: These SMEs create value-added prod-ucts and solutions that can be sold and deployed within avariety of vertical markets. They also customise prod-ucts/solutions of principal companies to suit the users'needs. With growing use of geospatial technology, thesesolution SMEs are active in non-traditional domains aswell. Countries like China and India have a good share ofsolution SMEs compared to regions like South East Asia,Middle East or Latin America.

Service SME: These SMEs address specific customerneeds on behalf of the MNCs. These companies engagein digitisation of paper records, create data using variedtechnologies and process the same.

Trading SME: This set of small and medium compa-nies act as the distributors and resellers of the productsand technologies of principal companies. They also clev-erly package, configure and customise these offerings fora specific market (both regional and vertical). TheseSMEs dominate the total SME segment in regions likeLatin America, Africa, Middle East and South East Asia(Table2).


NomenclatureNomenclature Role of SMERole of SME

Technology SME Developing technology to build products for principal companies thatoperate on a variety of geospatial andbusiness platforms; also create products to suit customer needs.

Solution SME Re-engineering, adding value and customising products/solutions of principal companies to suit users'needs

Service SME Involved in digitisation, data collectionand processing, surveying

Trading SME Distributors and resellers of products/solutions of partner/parentcompanies.

20

Table 1: Categorisation of SMEs based on their activities

Table 2: SME matrix in various regions (in %)

SouthSouthEastEastAsiaAsia

IndiaIndia China &China &JapanJapan

MiddleMiddleEastEast

AfricaAfrica LatinLatinAmericaAmerica

TechnologySME

5 15 20 5 5 10

Solution SME 5 15 20 5 5 10

Service SME 20 30 30 10 20 20

Trading SME 70 40 30 80 70 60

Region/Region/CountryCountry

SMESME

SMEs are the heartbeat of relationships withour mutual customers because they live andbreathe custoomers' daily challenges

- Bryn FosburghVice President, Trimble


OOver the past 10 years,geospatial industry evolvedinto a full-fledged industry. A

substantial credit for this goes to theentry of new business entities, whichcut through legacies and opened upnewer market opportunities. This evo-lution may be termed fast and dramat-ic yet positive for the overall growth ofthe industry. In the course of this evo-lution, the industry witnessed severalacquisitions and mergers. These canbe categorised under the followingheads -

To create end-to-end solutions: One of

the important trends that dominated the

industry in the past few years is the solu-

tion centric approach adopted by technol-

ogy companies. This opened up ways for

the integration and convergence of sev-

eral core and peripheral tech-

nologies and their appli-

cations across the

entire workflow of an

enterprise

and/or a gov-

ernment depart-

ment.

Building integrat-

ed solutions

requires huge

investments

into open technolo-

gies and more inter-

operable environ-

ment. They also

require better

understanding of

the strengths

and features of

each com-

ponent of an enterprise solution and the

willingness to give up on non-essential

components. It is difficult to achieve an

increased level of integration when the

tools are developed and managed by

independent companies with heavy focus

on their own business objectives. Existing

partnership network and approach was

inadequate to deal with such a situation

as partners were more protective and

sceptical about their own business inter-

ests. As a result, large geospatial compa-

nies started acquiring complementing

technologies which enabled them to offer

more comprehensive products and solu-

tions. Hexagon AB is one fine example

following this trend. Within seven years of

its existence in geospatial industry, Hexa-

gon acquired a complete range of

geospatial technologies including GIS,

surveying, photogrammetry, scanning,

machine control and imaging with an aim

to create end-to-end solutions.

To gain competitive advantage: Acquisi-

tions in this space are also happening to

gain domain specific competitive advan-

tage in a particular business domain. Tom

Tom, which was once a user of Tele Atlas,

chose to acquire the company to provide

dynamic content for navigation and loca-

tion based services. Nokia bought over

Navteq to provide maps, navigation serv-

ices and LBS on its smartphones. This

was touted as a strategic move to gain an

edge in smartphone market at a

time when Google was antici-

pated to enter this fiercely

competitive market.

For consoolidation purposes: The acquisi-

tion of Sokkia by Topcon, in a way, is a

move to consolidate the individual

strengths of these two Japanese compa-

nies to build one strong company offering

complete solutions including optics, GPS

and scanning. The move also leveraged

on individual companies' regional

strengths (Sokkia strong in Asia while

Topcon is strong in US and other

advanced markets).

To add value to existing technology and

solutions: Recently, Bentley acquired UK-

based Pointools Ltd in order to integrate

point cloud processing in innovative ways

throughout its product portfolio. Similarly,

Esri bought Procedural to allow ArcGIS

users to create and design 3D urban

environments leveraging their existing 2D

data. These acquisitions successfully

added value to the existing products and

solutions of these technology companies.

To have direct presence and provide local

support: Several emerging economies in

Asia, Africa and Latin America present

immense business opportunities to the

geospatial industry. Keen on having direct

presence in countries offering promise,

technology MNCs are buying their distrib-

utors and SME partners who have been

supporting them in those geographies for

long. Hitachi bought out Sierra Atlantic

who were agents for Inpho photogram-

metric software as well as MATLAB.

Inpho is now part of Trimble. The buying

of Elcome Technologies by Hexagon in

India is one such example. Trim-

ble bought its distributors in

India and Brazil.

To increase market share:

Strategic moves to gain a

Acquisitions driving industry evolution

GeospatialWorld I March 2012 23

larger pie of the market are also driving

acquisitions. The acquisition of Intergraph

by Hexagon can be termed as a move to

have a bigger market share. Also, as the

market is becoming price sensitive,

MNCs are acquiring companies that

would add low end variants to their prod-

uct basket. For example, Trimble has

Nikon as a low-cost brand.

For diversification of products/solutions:

Companies are seen buying out diverse

products to increase their footprint and

improve their performance in non-tradi-

tional domains of geospatial technology.

For example, Hexagon, with businesses in

meteorology instrumentation, chose to

diversify by buying 180-year old Leica

Geosystems which is into the business of

surveying and mapping solutions.

In short, acquisitions and mergers in

geospatial domain are happening for a

variety of strategic reasons. Table 3 lists

out a few important acquisitions in

geospatial domain in the recent years

based on the above categorisation.

These acquisitions and mergers brought

with them an altogether new business

dimension for geospatial industry and its

stakeholders. One of the most affected

and less-talked about stakeholders in this

changing ecosystem is the SME. Earlier,

SMEs' businesses were aligned to that of

their principal partners and were heavily

reliant on the partnership network of the

principal companies. But in this acquisi-

tion age, SMEs have been affected in

multiple ways owing to the realignment of

the partnerships networks of their princi-

pal companies. Let us examine the

changing matrix in the geospatial industry

across the emerging markets of the world

vis-à-vis SMEs.

AcquisitionAcquisition To createTo createend-to-endend-to-endsolutionsolution

To increaseTo increasemarket sizemarket size

To gainTo gaincompetitivecompetitiveadvantageadvantage

To add valueTo add valueto existingto existingtech/solutionstech/solutions

ConsolidaConsolida --tiontionpurposespurposes

DiversificationDiversificationof products/of products/solutionssolutions

To have directTo have directpresence andpresence andprovide localprovide localsupportsupportt

Hexagon-Intergraph

Hexagon-SISGraph

Hexagon-Leica

Rolta-Orion

Rolta-TUSC

Trimble-Omnistar

Trimble-Ashtech

Trimble-ElcomeTech

Topcon-Sokkia

Pitney Bowes- MapInfo

Tom Tom-TeleAtlas

Nokia-Navteq

CSR-Sirf

Bentley-Pointools

Esri-Procedural

Table 3: Primary and secondary objectives guiding acquisitions in geospatial industry

- pr

imar

y ob

ject

ive;

-

seco

ndar

y ob

ject

ive

RELEVANCE OF SME’S IN NEW

GEOSPATIAL BUSINESS ORDER

The evolution of geospatial industry brought in the neces-sary technical, managerial and financial capabilities.However, this evolution brought in by the buyouts hadhuge impact on the prevailing conditions in the market,taking the 'middle men' (SMEs) by surprise. They alsobrought in a set of opportunities and challenges forSMEs, unique to different regions and verticals. Ironically,there is no single pattern here. Let us analyse the chang-ing role of SMEs in the new business order of geospatialindustry.

Affect on the partner networkThe recent mergers and acquisitions disturbed the SMEapplecart significantly. The partner network of theacquired company got impacted as per the acquirer'sstrategic plan and on whether the acquired company isallowed to operate as an independent business unit afteracquisition or not. A few trading SMEs were confused andfinding it challenging to quickly reorient themselves tothe new business reality while others were buoyant withthe prospective gain in terms of economies of scale asthe cost on extensive R&D for vertical integration is beingborne by the principal technology companies.

For instance, the Topcon-Sokkia deal and the Hexa-gon-Intergraph deal had tremendous impact on the exist-ing alignment and partner-ship network of theindustry.

These deals left the distributors and resellers confusedas competitors turned into allies overnight. Distributorswere at a loss understanding the nature of future associ-ation with the partner until a clear picture emerged. Thiswas the case in regions like Middle East, Africa, SouthEast Asia and Latin America, where a majority of SMEsare trading SMEs as depicted in Table 2. To avoid suchsituations, SMEs favour a participative, consultativeapproach by the principal companies to alleviate theaffects of the situation.

Increased value propositionPrior to the consolidation of geospatial industry, the partner network was primarily reselling the products andwas instrumental in implementing the solutions. Whilethese objectives continue, there is an increasing expecta-tion on SME partners to innovate and develop solutions byapplying their expertise in their respective domains toadd value and better exploit the technology, tools andfunctionality advances that geospatial products now offer,says Raghu Ganeshan, President, Avineon India Pvt Ltd.

For some, the mergers were an advantage.Geoscope, a distributor in UAE, who was

earlier selling Ashtech products, isnow dealing with a wider rangeof products in his portfolio afterthe acquisition of Ashtech byTrimble. However, the distribu-tor is now facing increasedcompetition resulting in lowermargins. To avoid internal com-petition, technology companiesare segmenting their dealers by

verticals (GIS, surveying, construc-tion etc). This is enabling the companies

to minimise the monopoly of the dealers


There is an increasing expectation on SMEpartners to innovate and develop solutions byapplying theeir expertise in their respectivedomains to add value and better exploit thetechnology, tools and ffunctionality advancesthat geospatial products now offer

- Raghu GaneshanPresident

Avineon India Pvt Ltd.


while improving the value propositionof individual distributor.

Solution-centric approachSolution centric approach is a majordriver for improving the businesspotential of most of the industries. It ismore relevant now in the geospatialindustry than ever before because ofthe advances in technology that isallowing greater interoperability withother technologies. Improved accessover the Web is also creating signifi-cant room for innovation towards solu-tions. This trend is turning to be ablessing in disguise for SMEs withstrong domain knowledge. Such SMEsare being acquired by technologymajors.

Alternately, such SMEs started providing solutionsbeing outsourced by the principal companies, saysRamesh Sojitra, Chairman and Managing Director, Scan-point Geomatics Ltd., India. However in some cases inIndia, solution and service SMEs are finding themselvesmarginalised as most of the government contracts speci-fy CMMi-L5 and turnover in excess of INR 100 crore (20million USD) that virtually puts SMEs out of the running.In a bid to get business, SMEs are tying up with largecompanies that are offering lower rates to mitigate theirexecution risk and increase their profitability. The cost ofservicing the account in such cases is more than thebusiness margins. Also, due to lack of contractual bind-ing between SMEs and big companies, there areinstances where the latter replaced the SME after win-ning the contract, informs SD Baveja, Managing Director,Ridings Consulting Engineers Pvt Ltd.

Principal companies setting up own infrastructureIn a move to increase their footprint, principal companiesare strengthening their local presence by setting up theirown technical and sales infrastructure in emergingeconomies. This is to ensure better implementation oftheir products and solutions drawing on their rich globalexperience and complementing the SMEs' abilities. With a belief in a collaborative sales model, principalcompanies are vouching by their local business partnersas they directly maintain and nurture customer relation-ships while providing the local knowledge needed to buildvalue-added solutions for joint customers.

However, a few see these moves as direct competitionto the SMEs, threatening their sustenance. If an SMEsonly value proposition is its strong sales channel, widespread local presence and selling expertise, this is prov-ing be a matter of concern, says Raghu. This is non-ben-eficial if the local personnel are unable to support SMEsdue to lack of expertise or some strategic reasons,opines Mohd Ronizam Ramly, Head of Geospatial Dept,GeoInfo Services, Malaysia. Randolf Vicentre, President,RSV Geoconsulting & Management Services, a serviceprovider from Philippines, opines that this condition iscontradicting the ideal industry pyramid and is disregard-ing the rights and privileges of SMEs. He adds that thesemoves are affecting SMEs in terms of market share, prof-itability and sustainability among others. He howeveradds that SMEs are getting ingenious in crafting solu-

Technology majors are setting up their owninfrastructure in emerging economies. Thiscondition is ccontradicting the ideal industrypyramid and disregarding the rights andprivileges of SMEs

- Randolf VicentrePresident, RSV Geoconsulting &

Management Services, Philippines

tions to address these concerns. Concurring with thisidea, Dr Hussein Harahsheh, General Manager, GlobalScan Technologies, UAE, feels that this move will elimi-nate the role of the distributor, especially in a market likethe Middle East.

Taking a diametrically opposite stance, a few tradingSMEs distributing survey products see business value inthe local infrastructure being set up by their principalpartners. With local support, these SMEs are able toboast or even up sell products and promise the clientsthat with local support, there will be shorter down times,improved turnaround times and generally are able towork on a more efficient pace than other competitorswho do not have local support and infrastructure. Accord-ing to Neo John Ji, Sales Manager, Kodi Engineering Ser-vices, Singapore-based agent of Sokkia, this easily trans-lates in the minds of the customer into a 'higher' valueproduct which is invariantly 'fuss-free'. This also helpsthem reap the benefits of faster, better and more efficientafter-sales rapport with the customers.

Developing components and utilities to support platform tech

In addition to distributing products, SMEs are playing akey role in developing and customising components andutilities on top of principal companies' solutions throughAPIs. This added functionality is proving to be a competi-tive advantage over other solution providers, argues Bryn.This is also positioning the distributor as a local expertand trusted advisor as they gain deeper insight into theircustomers' workflows and needs. In addition, SMEs arealso providing industry specific solutions complementingto those offered by their principal partners.

With the changing dynamics of geospatial industry,apprehensions are ripe over the continuity of this trendand the continued relevance of SMEs. However, severalindustry experts opine that this trend will continue toprosper and improve the SMEs bottomline. Technology isconstantly changing and emerging technologies will con-stantly feed the need to develop solutions on top of plat-form technologies. In fact, SMEs have the uphill task ofstaying abreast of emerging technologies and as long asthey recognise it, prepare for it and invest in it, they willhave the advantage of being the right choice to solve theirclients' business-specific problems. This capability isessentially is turning out to be the unique selling proposi-tion of SMEs in catering to specific vertical markets.

Also, the principal companies developing platformtechnologies will always seek out components fromSMEs if they see value both in terms of features as wellas cost, says Sanjay K Agarwalla, CEO, Integrated DigitalSystems, India. They will clearly leverage on the capabili-ties of SMEs, integrate SMEs' technologies into their coreplatforms and positively establish win-win business mod-els with the SMEs, infers Mladen Stojic, Vice President,

Intergraph.

SMEs as 'off-the-shelf' companiesSMEs have traditionally been providing valueadded components to geospatial industry and sup-porting the users with specific solutions. As tech-nology companies started acquiring and/or part-

nering with companies offeringcomplementingsolutions/technologies, it isincreasingly observed thatSMEs are becoming 'off-the-shelf' companies. They aredeveloping their businesses


Principal companies developing platformtechnologies will always seek out componentsfrom SMEs if theey see value both in terms offeatures as well as cost

- Sanjay K AgarwallaChief Executive Officer

Integrated Digital Systems, India


Table 4: Affect of acquisitions on SMEs

Technology SMETechnology SME Solution SMESolution SME Service SMEService SME Trading SMETrading SME

To create end-to-end solutions

Potential target for acquisition and/or addedbusiness opportunity (++)

Reduced business opportunity(-)

NIL Partner network affected (+/-)

To capture market size NIL NIL NIL Partner network affected(+/-)

To gain competitive advantage in respective business domains

Potential business opportunity (+)

Potential business opportunity(+)

Potential businessopportunity(+)

Partner network affected(+/-)

To add value to existing techand solutions



NIL Partner network affected(+/-)

For consolidation purposes Reduced market (-)

Reduced market (-)

Reduced market (-)

Less partner alliance(-)

For have direct presence andprovide local support

Reduced market (-)

Value addition or reduced market(+/-)

Better business (+)

Competition and/or value addition (+/-)

Type ofType ofacquisitionacquisition

Type of SMEType of SME

with a targeted buyer in mind (often their technologypartner) and are getting readily sold to that specific buyer or its competitor for lucrative offer. A few technolo-gy companies maintain that their strong relationship with SME partners is ensuring a regular and vibrant conversation for business planning. Bryn believes thatTrimble's SMEs are creating businesses that are 'ready togrow and prosper' and are not 'ready-to-be-sold' busi-nesses.

Acknowledging the trend, a few other technologymajors however beg to depart from this opinion. Identify-ing this to be an unhealthy trend, Mladen believes thatthe spirit and philosophies that made SMEs successful tobegin with (having customer focus as their mainstay) isdeteriorating. The unique understanding of a specific

customer is exactly what larger companies look for whenconsidering an SME to acquire. It is critical for SME's tocontinue to focus on solving customer problems withleading-edge technologies. If they keep themselvesfocussed on the customer, they will clearly become visi-ble in the eyes of larger organisations that also seek tosolve the same set of problems. By modifying their busi-ness models to that of being sold, financial ripples willoccur. Spending in R&D and application development willsuffer, thereby hampering the unique value propositionthat the SME once had.

Developing a business process on top of a primaryproduct and selling it out to the primary product players -SMEs are terming this as a strategic business call toensure their survival. In doing so, SMEs are taking intoconsideration many factors such as their investmentcapacity to push the product to market on their own, ability to scale and reach out to clients across the globe,ability to maintain the product and keep up with newerversions and releases of the primary product. However,designing business process to suit large partners willhamper the multi-dimensional growth of the SME, thusleading to loss of identity in the long run, surmises NikhilDakshindas, Associate Vice President, ADCC Infocad PvtLtd, India.

Principal technology companies will clearlyleverage on the capabilities of SMEs,integrate technollogies into their coreplatforms and positively establish win-winbusiness models with the SMEs

- Mladen StojicVice President, Intergraph


WAY FORWARD

Geospatial functionality is a horizontal capability that pro-vides value to a variety of industries. While technologymajors are providing the software and hardware solutionswith significant geospatial capabilities, knowledge andexpertise of solution SMEs are helping to mix and matchvarious products, integrating different technologies andadding value to suit the workflows and needs of cus-tomers in different vertical industries.

As this trend continues, SMEs are also looking for-ward to provide customised solutions in local languageand develop customised workflows based on specificcountry requirements. While uncertainty prevails both inthe economy and in the industry, SMEs are working onacquiring as much knowledge and skill as they can, sothat even if they lose certain products or if they have toalign themselves with a new technology partner, they canadapt quickly and survive, argues CS Lim, GPS Lands, aSingapore based Trimble distributor.

In a bid to commoditise geospatial technology, a fewtechnology majors are coming up with innovative plans tosplit their products into hundreds of small utilities andmake them available on devices like ipad and smart-phones. The increasing permeability of the cloud will actas a catalyst in this process. For this scenario to take off,solution SMEs will be increasingly roped in and this willpush them up the value chain of geospatial industry.However, trading SMEs, which constitute a chunk ofSMEs in the geospatial ecosystem, may not find greatprospects coming forth in this proposition.

Technology majors aregrowing and moving into newindustries creating signifi-cant opportunities for

SMEs. The onus isnow on the

SMEsto

work in the domain and industry they enjoy and take theadvantage of working closely and growing with theseglobal companies, exhorts Bryn. This will create a newparadigm for success for the SMEs and the technologymajors alike in the future.

CONCLUSION

SMEs are innovating at a very fast pace and breaking therules of what was once considered impossible. They typi-cally are beginning as young, dynamic start-ups with pas-sion for technology and success, combined with a recipefor accomplishing tasks quickly, cost-effectively and withhigh quality. They are turning to be the trailblazers on amission and are instrumental in increasing the aware-ness of what is now possible with geospatial technology.Under difficult economic circumstances and changingdynamics of geospatial industry, some of these SMEs arestrained and under tremendous pressure. But with inde-structible spirit, these SMEs are turning the challengesinto opportunities that were previously unimagined andbreaking down the walls of traditional thinking. The wayforward for these SMEs is to make investments to moveup the value chain; from being traders to creators ofknowledge and business value.

Sanjay Kumar, CEO, [email protected]

Bhanu Rekha, Executive Editor, [email protected]

The authors would like to acknowledge colleagues Deepali Roy, Aditi Bhanand Vaibhav Arora for their valuable support to the article.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the following companies for sharing theirvaluable inputs: Americas: Trimble, Intergraph, Alezi Teodolini; Middle East:Global Scan Technologies, Global Technologies, Sigma Enterprises LLC, Dutco Leica Geosystems and Geoscope; South East Asia: GeoInfo Services,Astronautics Technology SB, Geo Millennium System, Barata Technologies,Pt. Duta Astakona Girinda, Global-Trak Systems, RSV Geoconsulting & Management Services, GPS Lands, Kodi Engineering Services and Innovative

Mapping Solutions; India: Avineon India Pvt Ltd, Integrated Digital Systems,ADCC Infocad Pvt Ltd, Scanpoint Geomatics Ltd, Ridings Consulting

Engineers Pvt Ltd and Sumadhura Geomatica Pvt Ltd.

SMEs are working on acquiring as muchknowledge and skill as they can, so that even ifthey lose ceertain products or if they have to alignthemselves with a new technology partner, theycan adapt quickly and survive

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SMART ENERGY

Energy is the pulse of modern society, encom-passing people's lives more than ever before.Beyond individual use at home or at work, a

range of essential activities - including agriculture,computing, manufacturing, construction, health andsocial services - depend on access to energy. Avail-ability of reliable, high quality energy is the key fuel forany nation's economy. However, population growthand expanding global economy, with thrust on devel-opment activities, are leading to increasing growth inglobal energy consumption. Energy major ExxonMobil

sees global energy demand rise by about 30 percentfrom 2010 to 2040.

One of the most essential sectors in meeting modernenergy needs is the electricity generation and transmis-sion sector. Energy company ExxonMobil projects that by2040, worldwide electricity demand will be 80 percenthigher than it was in 2010. In addition to the growingdemand, this sector is also faced with calls for improvedefficiency in power generation and transmission, to keepcosts under control and increase awareness about envi-ronmental issues including global warming.

ENERGY - THE DRIVER OF THE MODERN ECONOMY AND MODERN SOCIETY - IS HARD PRESSED TO MEET THE

BURGEONING DEMANDS COMING ITS WAY. MAKING THE ENTIRE CYCLE OF PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION

AND CONSUMPTION OF ENERGY SMARTER, IS THE WAY FORWARD TO MEET THESE DEMANDS

So how well are the current electric grids equipped tomeet the challenges?

Developed regions like Europe and North America arewitnessing increasing incidences of electricity blackouts,as evident from the recent spate of the outages, reflect-ing, according to experts, the shortcomings of aging andoutdated electricity grids. In the US alone, major poweroutages have more than doubled in the last decade. Elec-trical grids in developing nations are inadequatelyequipped to supply reliable and high quality power supplyand are challenged with issues like power theft.

Clearly, the current energy systems have a lot ofcatching up to do. The entire cycle of production, distribu-tion, and consumption of energy, therefore needs to besmarter.

SMART GRID

The electric utility industry is taking due cognizance ofthe predicament of the existing systems. Ushering in anew era of managing energy demand and growth, theindustry is transforming its electric infrastructure tomaximise efficiency and reliability by leveraging moderntechnology. Making the grid "intelligent" through the useof information and communication technology (ICT) isreferred to as smart grid. The US Department of Energy'spublication The Smart Grid: An Introduction explains thata smart grid uses "digital technology to improve reliabili-ty, security and efficiency of the electric system fromlarge generation, through the delivery systems to elec-tricity consumers and a growing number of distribution-generation and storage resources." Smart grid can beconsidered as "computerising" the electric utility grid. Akey feature of the smart grid is automation technologythat lets the utility adjust and controleach individual device or millions ofdevices from a central location.

Elaborating on the need for smartgrids, Jayant Sinha, Associate VicePresident (Power/ IT), SPANCO Ltd.says that one of the biggest chal-lenges in power distribution is main-taining consistent, reliable and qualitypower supply. This needs a robustelectrical distribution network, within-built redundancies and an intelli-gent control system to capture the electrical networkparameters, in real-time, to monitor the health of the

system and take timely remedial action to predict andprevent electrical breakdown. Smart grid makes effectiveuse of technology and automation to achieve reliabilityand quality of power supply.

Minimising losses Losses in transmission and distribution networks repre-sent one of the biggest concerns in any electricity sys-tem. Technical losses occur naturally and consist mainlyof power dissipation in electricity system componentssuch as transmission and distribution lines, transformersand measurement systems. Non-technical losses arecaused by actions external to the power system and con-sist primarily of electricity theft, non-payment by cus-tomers, and errors in accounting and record-keeping.Globally, these losses amount to about 15 percent of totalpower generated; in countries like India the losses can beas high as 30 percent. Deepak V Konnur, Vice President -Solutions, Energy & Utility Industry, IBM India/South Asiashares that the traditional power system, with its basicstructure not being changed for decades, was designedfor a smaller set of customers. With the smart grid, ener-gy distribution can be managed like a global system withhigher efficiency and productivity. Solutions such ascapability of remote disconnection on non-payment byconsumers, automatic alarms when network is being

encroached or when people engage intheft, will enable utilities stop pilfer-age and avoid unsafe situations oraccidents. Smart grid can help pre-vent power theft to a greater extent,thereby improving the efficiency ofdistribution systems. Thus grids canprovide higher quality and reliablepower supply, with fewer blackouts.Different countries are finding theirown solutions to address this issuethrough grid intelligence. Geoff cites

the instance of Brazil where the intention is to install alarge number of sensors on the power distribution


A key feature ofthe smart grid is

automation technologythat lets the utilityadjust and control

eeach individual deviceor millions of devices

from a central location

network (and on water distribution networks) to allowutilities to determine where losses occur and their magnitude. The sensors are real-time monitoring deviceswhich provide a way of monitoring power usage andrecording historical usage patterns.

Balancing loadsManaging loads more effectively is one of the things thatsmart grid is all about. Smart grid can intelligentlyrespond to sudden peaks or drops in demand and energysupply. Smart grid can help isolate the outage and pre-vent it from spreading. By monitoring activity on trans-mission lines in real time, a smart grid also can help pin-point a problem and redirect power accordingly. Withthousands of sensors and operators equipped with a bet-ter understanding of the way the system is running, asmart grid is predictive rather than reactive to preventemergencies. Sensors such as synchrophasors that aretypically installed on transmission lines and comprised ofGPS-synchronised clocks, phasor measurement unitsand data concentrator, allow granular, real-time moni-toring of system disturbances and imbalances in order tomaximise load by automating demand/load balancing. Asmart grid implementation has a two-way communica-tion between the electricity supply grid and the controlsystems. All the supply points, like the substation feedersand distribution transformers, have intelligent metres

installed which relay the energy and load profile data, inreal time, using advances communication technologieslike GPRS, GSM, CDMA, etc. to the central control centre,informs Jayant. Also, SCADA provides the data on thestatus and health of the electric network. The energy andnetwork data is then processed and analysed throughsoftware application to generate real-time MIS reportsand therefore enable informed decisions on peak loadmanagement and load balancing.

Cost effectiveness With rising costs of capital, raw material and labour,maximising cost effectiveness is a priority for electricitycompanies. This cost effectiveness comes from theenabling technologies in the smart grid which allow forbetter load management, accurate analysis of energyconsumption data, load forecasting and taking promptcontrol action to prevent supply breakdowns and min-imising energy losses, says Jayant. Smart grid projectsare already helping consumers save 10% on their billsand are reducing peak demand by 15%, informs Deepak.He adds that optimal asset utilisation can be plannedwith online data of overloading of transformers and net-work, which can help reduce or prevent failures. Withmobile workforce, groups can work collectively to organ-ise assets and then maintain, renovate and replace them.This results in increased productivity and fuel saving.

Environmental responsibilityTraditional electrical grids have not been known to beenvironment friendly, not laying much emphasis on mon-itoring carbon emissions. Greater demand for energy tooimplies the subsequent increase in carbon emissions.Also, the major electricity-generation source has beencoal, which is carbon-based and non-renewable. Gradu-ally however, environmental regulations, requiring power


Environmental regulations, requiringpower plants and other industrial facilities

to reduce their caarbon emissions, arebecoming tighter globally. Energy systems

can become smart by addressingthese issues intelligently


plants and other industrial facilities to reduce their car-bon emissions, are becoming tighter globally and policiesare emerging that will seek to curb emissions by impos-ing a cost on higher-carbon fuels. Energy systems canbecome smart by addressing these issuesintelligently.

According to the US Department ofEnergy, implementing smart gridtechnologies can reduce carbonemissions by leveraging demandresponse/load management tominimise the use of costly peak-ing generation that is compara-tively fuel inefficient, and by facili-tating increased energy efficiencythrough consumer education, pro-grammes leveraging the usage ofinformation and time-variable pricing.Deepak says that the infusion of digitalintelligence enables the power grids to auto-mate, monitor and control the two-way flow ofenergy across all aspects of the energy valuechain-from power plant to plug. A smart gridwill seamlessly integrate all sustainable energytechnologies-from electric vehicles to solarsystems and wind farms-and also reducegreenhouse gas emissions. Jayant adds thatone of the objectives of smart grid is to developsystems to create a clean and green energy envi-ronment. Smart grid aims to achieve this objective byusing energy efficient devices and adopting clean tech-nologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Emphasising on the role of renewable energy sources,Geoff says that one of the most important drivers forintelligent networks in many countries is the integrationof intermittent renewable energy sources, such as PVsolar and wind. Sensing imbalances and reconfiguringthe network in real time is a necessity with such a highproportion of intermittent sources. Many renewable ener-gy options provide power on an intermittent and variablebasis or do not deliver power at times of peak demand –when the demand for power is greatest and the emis-sions can be higher than average. By using smart gridtechnologies, and smart grid practices like demandresponse, the electricity system can accept and managethe amount of renewable energy that policymakers and

the renewable energy industry desire and expect to bedeveloped. While smart grids can be used to optimise the non-conventional sources of energy, Deepak presents a

caveat. He says that it would pose some challenges related to the efficiency and stability of inter-

connected systems. Due to the variablenature of energy, it is essential to

develop an interconnected standardto enable the grid sustain variabilityof different sources of power with-out affecting the reliability andquality of power adversely.

GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY

IN SMART ENERGY

As seen earlier, smart grid involvesoverlaying information and communi-

cation technologies on electric transmis-sion and distribution networks. Implement-

ing or building a business case for advancedmetering system (AMS) or advanced meteringinfrastructure (AMI) programmes is often autility's first involvement in smart grid efforts.Over the past few years, the trends in theapplications of geospatial data and technolo-gies have been in sync with the overall trend inICT applications. Increasingly, IT and communi-cations are converging with geospatial technol-

ogy, offering exciting possibilities. This conver-gence is being witnessed in smart grid too. IT sys-

tems like SAP, SCADA (supervisory control and dataacquisition) and DMS (document management system)have played a significant role in the modernisation ofelectric grid management. As geospatial technologymakes its siginficance felt in the system, it is importantto effectively integrate it with existing technologies.Jayant says that geospatial technology helps in the map-ping of the electrical network with all the required attrib-utes on a GIS base map. SCADA and DMS require thesame set of electrical attributes for monitoring the statusof the network and taking effective control action to sta-bilise the network. The integration of the GIS with SCADAand DMS can be done by adopting the common informa-tion model (CIM) which uses standard interfaces for inte-gration of heterogeneous systems. On the aplication side,the use of service oriented architecture (SOA) is used for


integration. Geoff says that standards are critical toenable the integration of SCADA and DMS systems withother network systems. This used to be a major chal-lenge because SCADA systems relied on highly propri-etary technology that made it very difficult to integrateSCADA with other systems including GIS. SCADA man-agers have often expressed they would be very interestedin integrating geographical information with their SCADAsystem, but that it was technically too difficult. This ischanging and SCADA systems rely increasingly on stan-dards-based protocols such as packet-switched net-works. Modern DMS systems also rely on standards-based protocols so that integrating geospatial data is nolonger the technical challenge it used to be.Increasingly,geospatial technology is emerging as a significant plat-form to support intelligent electric networks. Utilities have a tremendous amount of data and a largeworkforce in the field. To manage them and to implementsmart grid, GIS can aid the electric utilities companies indata management, planning and analysis and situationalawareness, according to Esri. With GIS, utilities can cap-

ture the mashup of information related to the smart grid,from customer behaviour and the placement of smartmetres to the location of electric vehicle chargers andrenewable resources. To see whether a smart griddeployment is effective, utilities can use GIS to analysemarketing campaigns and study customer behaviour pat-terns along with demand response. GIS can also helpidentify vulnerabilities, weigh asset investments andgauge customer response to a smart grid implementa-tion. Through GIS-based graphic outputs and Web-basedreporting, utilities can quickly monitor and demonstratehow the organisation is progressing on smart grid activities.

A smart grid relies on accurate data. Mobile GIS is one ofthe most efficient ways to move data quickly to and fromthe field and the office. Global Navigation Satellite Sys-tem (GNSS) can contribute in collecting field and locationdata. Workforce management system (WFMS) and outagemanagement system (OMS) are two applications speciallydeveloped to enhance efficiency of the field staff. Inte-

Cou

rtes

y:U

S D

ept.

of E

nerg

y


grated with GIS, the two applica-tions can further benefit byeasily locating the fault,maintaining histories andaction-taken reportsand perform variousanalyses on GIS plat-form.

Geospatial tech-nology also has asignificant role toplay in renewableenergy developmentmentioned earlier.One of the mostimportant reasons islocation. Geospatialtechnology can overcomethe difficulty that can occurin locating any kind of energysources, particularly renewable,without following some type of geo-graphic information system (GIS) pro-cedures. GIS can also help in identify-ing optimal location for setting up the power generationsystems - things like where to put up a solar panel or awind farm. Acquiring land base information about the ter-ritory that is being analysed is an important aspect inestablishing renewable energy plants.

FUTURE PROSPECTS

Nations across the world are fast acknowledging that21st century economies can't be run on 20th centurygrids. And as developing countries continue along theirpath of aggressive economic growth, they need modern,intelligent grids.

The smart grid is no longer just a concept, it's anecessity. Deepak says that governments, regulators andutility companies across the globe need to ensure thedemand for access to the power grid. By providing timelyand detailed information on energy consumption, a smartgrid will allow utilities and consumers alike to be moreefficient in their energy use.

Such an upcoming system is not without its share ofimplementation challenges. Jayant observes that smartgrid implementation entails high level integration

between metering system, energymanagement system, mainte-

nance management system,SCADA and GIS, which is

an extremely challengingtask. Another challenge

is the adherence ofuniform standardsfor system inter-faces, data exchangeand communicationprotocols, acrossmultiple platforms,

for seamless integra-tion. The key to smart

energy according to himis technology standardis-

ation, use of intelligentelectronic devices and appli-

cation design based on serviceoriented architecture.

Another area that everyone canparticipate in, to make energysmarter, is smarter usage of energy

in the home and in businesses. Geoff illustrates thatmany countries such as Germany, the Czech Republicand Malaysia and jurisdictions such as Ontario, haveimplemented feed-in-tariff programmes that encouragesmall-scale renewable energy installation at the home orplace of business. Smart metres allow monitoring ofelectric power usage by the hour or every quarter of anhour. A simple way that everyone can contribute to reduc-ing the need to build new power plants is to use energymore intelligently by evening out demand over 24 hours,instead of concentrating usage at peak times.

CONCLUSION

Increasing demand, aging infrastructure, tightening environmental norms, keeping costs under control andexhausting energy sources are causing companies torelook at their processes. These companies are fast realising that the processes need to be more "intelligent"and "smart" and are engaging in the same by leveragingappropriate technologies.

Deepali Roy, Assistant Editor, [email protected]

The SmartGrid as enabling engineCourtesy: World Economic Forum

People’s lives are dependent on energy morethan ever before. However, with the world pop-ulation touching 7 billion, the energy sector is

feeling the heat of enormous demand. Thebiggest challenge is that the traditional energy

sources like coal and oil are exhaustible. Itis here that the alternative or renewable

energy resources like hydropower,wind energy, solar energy, geot-

hermal energy and biomassare stepping in, with the

potential to fill in thedemand-supply gap.

According to a report by theUnited Nations, global renewable

investment, in hydro power, wind,geothermal, solar power and ocean

energy, are forecast at USD 1.36 - USD 5.1trillion for the decade to 2020 and USD 1.49 -

USD 7.18 trillion from 2012-30. It also observedthat about 140 gigawatts (GW) of added electricity

generating capacity came from renewable energyresources during 2008-09, of a world total of 300 GW.

According to a market report by Datamonitor, RenewableEnergy: Global Industry Guide, the global renewable energymarket grew by 6.8 percent in 2010 to reach a value of USD322.5 billion. In 2015, the global renewable energy market isforecast to have a value of USD 479.9 billion, an increase of48.8 percent since 2010. In one of its report in 2009, World-watch Institute calculated the worldwide potential for varioussources of renewable energy which is presented in Table1.

Geospatial technology has an important role to play indeveloping and managing these renewable energy resources.Here's a look at some of the key alternative energy resources


RENEWABLE ENERGY

World focus is now shifting towards renewable and non-polluting

sources of energy. Here is a look at how geospatial tech can

play an effective role in exploiting these sources.

Time to think

alternative!


and the role of geospatial technolo-gy in this process.

HYDROPOWER

Hydropower is a form of energy thatcomes from the force of movingwater. According to RenewablesGlobal Status Report 2011,hydropower production representedabout 16 percent of global electricityproduction in 2010. An estimated 30GW of capacity was added duringthe year, with existing global capaci-ty reaching an estimated 1,010 GW.Asia (led by China) and Latin Ameri-ca (led by Brazil) are the most activeregions for new hydropower capacityto be deployed. Some of the majorhydropower projects under con-struction are presented in Table 2.

Worldwatch Institute states thathydropower is produced in at least150 countries. The Asia-Pacificregion generated roughly 32 percentof global hydropower in 2010. Africaproduces the least hydropower,accounting for 3 percent of theworld total, but is considered theregion with the greatest potential forincreased production. In 2008, fourcountries-Albania, Bhutan, Lesotho,and Paraguay-generated all theirelectricity from hydropower, and 15countries generated at least 90 per-cent of their electricity from hydro.Iceland, New Zealand and Norwayproduce the most hydropower percapita.

Role of geospatial techFor hydropower development, envi-ronmental assessment and detailedinformation about river morphologyand catchment areas are very ess-ential. Using geospatial technology,one can map a river's morphologyand changing behaviours. The tech-nology helps in accurate calculationof water discharge, drainage densityand drainage length. A GIS-baseddrainage database system providesa holistic scenario of a river system,which is not possible even whenconducting detailed field survey.

According to hydropower spcial-ists, the development of this sourcein a terrain requires thorough studyof geology, topography, land usepatterns, distribution patterns ofbiodiversity resources, infrastruc-ture, socio-economic activities andso on. Due to altitudinal variation,2D mapping may not be enough tounderstand the topographic charac-teristics of terrains. Hence, oneshould always prefer 3D visualisa-tion and use a digital elevation mod-el (DEM). The DEM helps to calcu-late slope gradient. Using DEM, onecan develop different models andsimulations to understand variousscenarios after constructing a damin the river channel.

TIDAL ENERGY

Tidal energy is derived from thekinetic energy of the ocean waterflow. It is similar to the way a windturbine operates in air. Tidal energyis considered as another form ofhydropower. As water is more than800 times denser than air, watermoving 12 miles per hour (mph) mayexert about the same amount offorce as a constant 110 mph wind.This fact shows the enormous pot-ential of production of tidal energy.

Identifying the potential of tidalpower, French utility giant Elec-tricite de France collaborated withIrish marine technology companyOpenHyrdro to build the world'slargest tidal power station - off thenorthern coast of France. The proj-ect, which commenced work in2008, will cost around USD 56.5 mil-lion and is expected to be completedin 2012. Once completed, the 8 MWfacility will consist of four tidal tur-bines and will be capable of gener-ating enough energy to poweraround 4,000 homes.

Realising the potential of tidalpower, the energy industry is bettinghigh on it. Siemens, the Germanengineering giant that manufacturedand laid underwater Atlantic cablesbetween the US and Europe, has

Energy sources Potential capacity

Solar 1600 EJ (444,000 TWh)

Wind 600 EJ (167,000 TWh)

Geothermal 500 EJ (139,000 TWh)

Biomass 250 EJ (70,000 TWh)

Hydropower 50 EJ (14,000 TWh)

Ocean 1 EJ (280 TWh)

NameMaximumCapacity

CountryConstructionStarted

ScheduledCompletion

Siang Upper HE Project 11,000 MW India April, 2009 2024

Belo Monte Dam 11,181 MW Brazil March, 2011 2015

Xiluodu Dam 12,600 MW China December 26, 2005 2015

Shuangjiangkou Dam 2,000 MW China December, 2007 -

Ahai Dam 2,000 MW China July 27, 2006 -

Lower Subansiri Dam 2,000 MW India 2005 2012

Ludila Dam 2,100 MW China 2007 2015

Tocoma Dam Bolívar State 2,600 MW Venezuela 2004 2014

Table 1: Potential of renewable energy

Table 2: Major projects under construction

taken majority ownership of MarineCurrent Turbines (MCT) that devel-ops and builds tidal power systems.Siemens estimates that global car-bon reduction commitments areincreasing demand for reliablemarine current power. It observedthat the ocean energy sector canexpect double-digit annual growthrates up to 2020.

Role of geospatial techAccording to Georgia Tech ResearchCorporation, geospatial tools allow users to view the full spatialdistribution of the pre-calculatedavailable power density and then toenter bathymetric constraints and energy converter specificparameters to tailor the output forparticular regions. It includes GISmodel which consists of a databasecontaining results from the tidalmodel and several computationaltools which extract useful information for the user.

The database consists of the tidalcostituents for the water level,depth-averaged currents and themean lower low water (MLLW)depths at a high resolution (10-500m spacing). These tidal constituentsare used to derive velocity, powerdensity and other parameters ofinterest as requested by users innear real time.

WIND ENERGY

Human being acknowledged powerof wind energy 5500 years ago whenthey used it to propel sailboats andsailing ships. In addition, windmillswere used for irrigation pumping andfor milling grain. Now, they fittedmulti-bladed wind turbine atop atower with generators and batterybanks to produce electricity as it isenvironment friendly and non-exhaustible. According to a report byPike Research; by 2017, the world-wide wind energy industry will beworth USD 153 billion - up from USD77 billion in 2011 - with an installedwind power capacity of 562.9 GWcompared to 235.8 GW in 2011. Thereport also observed that this sourceis providing up to one-fifth of energysupplies in some countries. Whilethe global economic slowdownaffected the sector in 2010, turbinedeployment activity remained strong.

According to World Wind EnergyReport 2010, the Chinese wind ener-gy market represented more thanhalf of the world market for newwind turbines, adding 18,9 GW. Asharp decline in new capacity waswitnessed in the US whose share innew wind turbines felldown to 14.9 percent (5.6GW), after 25.9 percent(9.9 GW) in 2009. Nine oth-er countries that can beseen as major markets,with turbine sales in arange between 0.5 and 1.5GW, are: Germany, Spain,India, United Kingdom,France, Italy, Canada,Sweden and Romania.

Role of geospatial techUpdated maps were a

critical component of the winddeployment model used to meet 20percent of all energy demand,according to Esri, which played alead role in implementing GIS at theNational Renewable Energy Labora-tory in the US. Using GIS, one candetermine the most favourable loca-tions for wind farms based on thecost of transmission, locations ofload centres and wind resources andthe layout of the electrical grid. GIS-based modelling enables analysis ofterrain, which significantly impactsthe quality of wind at a particularsite. By loading utility data into theGIS, researchers can quickly see theexisting transmission routes andestimate the benefits of accessingexisting electric lines. In the US,another important consideration fordevelopers is land ownership. Land-use data in GIS identifies areasunder development restrictions fromthe US Bureau of Land Managementand those requiring right-of-waygrants.

According to NRG Systems, windenergy assessment technologyprovider, wind energy is not providedwith the US government subsidies.


By 2017, the worldwidewind energy industry

will be worth USD 153billion - up from USD

77 billion iin 2011:Pike Research


The wind energy industry thereforeneeds to be as cost efficient as pos-sible, especially in evaluating poten-tial wind farm locations. More andmore developers are using SODAR(sonic detection and ranging) andLiDAR technologies to support windresource assessments. Tools, based-on these remote sensing technolo-gies, are easy to use and move fromsite to site. It helps energy analystsin characterising the potential of thewind farms accurately.

SOLAR ENERGY

According to Renewables Global Sta-tus Report 2011, solar photovoltaic(PV) industry had an extraordinaryyear, with global production andmarkets more than doubling in 2010than previous year. An estimated 17GW of capacity was added worldwide(compared with just under 7.3 GW in2009), bringing the global total toabout 40 GW - more than seventimes the capacity in place five yearsearlier. The European Union domi-nated the global PV market, led byItaly and particularly Germany whichinstalled more PV in 2010 than theentire world did the previous year.The trend of utility-scale PV plantscontinued, with the number of suchsystems exceeding 5,000 andaccounting for almost 25 percent oftotal global PV capacity. In addition,after years of inactivity, the concen-trating solar thermal power marketcame back to life with nearly 740 MWadded during 2007-10. More thanhalf of this capacity was installedduring 2010. The report alsoobserved that project development ismoving beyond the US Southwestregion and Spain to other regionsand countries, particularly the Mid-

dle East and North Africa region.India is also considering setting

up a company with an initial capitalof around USD 405.6 million to buildfederal solar projects and help thecountry achieve a target of 20 GW ofsolar energy capacity by 2022. Thecompany - Solar Energy Corp. ofIndia - will gradually take over theresponsibility for federal solar proj-ects from NTPC Vidyut Vyapar NigamLtd., an arm of India's largest powerproducer NTPC Ltd.

Role of geospatial techGeospatial technology experts saythat the technology provides ameans for identifying and quantifyingthe factors affecting the potential ofavailable solar energy. In addition, italso helps enrich the database. Thespatial database of resource avail-ability and the demand helps in theregional energy planning.

An instance can be seen in Ger-many. Recent results of the SUN-AREA Research Project concludedthat about 20 percent of the coun-try's rooftops are suitable for solarpower production. For this project,SUN-AREA researchers collectedrooftop data using aerial laserscanners. Using GIS software,they identified various aspectsof rooftop data, such asouter form, inclination,orientation and cloud-ing. The team usedan algorithmsequence createdusing the software,to determine thesolar potential of allroof areas. The SUN-AREA project also cal-culated solar suitability,

potential power output, CO2 reduc-tion and investment volume for eachsub-area of a roof.

In another part of the globe,Masdar city in the United Arab Emi-rates (UAE) is working on an ambi-tious plan to reduce carbon footprint.The city is located 30 kilometresfrom Abu Dhabi city. It aims to meetthe goals of zero waste, sustainableliving and ultimately carbon neutrali-ty. CH2M HILL company, which isproviding GIS tech support to Mas-dar, is extensively using geospatialtechnology to design this future city.

Most of the elec-tricity for the

city will begenerat-

ed

India to invest INR 20billion (USD 405.6

million) to achieve atarget of 20 gigawatts

of solar eneergy capacityby 2022


through a photovoltaic power plant,while the city's cooling will be provid-ed via concentrated solar power. Thecompany considered the geographyof the area: sun angles, wind pat-terns, street widths and buildingdensity and height. The orientation ofthe buildings on a diagonal grid toprovide maximum natural shadingwas modelled on GIS software.

BIOMASS ENERGY

According to a report published inTrends in Ecology and Evolution,abandoned croplands and pasture-lands globally amount to approxi-mately 1.5 million square miles.Realistically, energy crops raisedon this land could be expectedto yield about 27 exajoules

of energy each year. This is a hugeamount of energy-an exajoule is abillion billion joules, equivalent to172 million barrels of oil. Yet, till2005, the biomass yield can still sat-isfy only about 5 percent of globalprimary energy consumption byhuman beings, which was 483 exa-joules. In 2009, the biomass powerindustry in the US, which generatedapproximately 11,000 MW, producedabout 1.4 percent of the US electrici-ty supply. The largest biomass gasifi-cation project in the world is beingplanned in Finland. Global engineer-ing and technology corporation, Met-so, is behind the venture. By usingMetso's technology to replace coalwith wood-based renewables to gen-erate energy, the plant will be able togenerate around 140 MW, makingthe operation the largest of its kindworldwide.

Role of geospatial techThe geographic distribution andquantity of biomass depend on therelationship between ecological

zones and the climatic conditions.Geospatial technology helps in

collecting, exploring, analysing,and visualising the biomass

data. Researchers claimthat they use a combi-

nation of historicaldata, satellite

imagery and pro-ductivity models to

determine best-caseestimates of potential

yields and of how muchbiomass could sustain-

ably contribute to theworld's energy needs,

while also mitigating globalwarming.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

According to a report on the geothermal energy market by ABSEnergy Research, this market willgrow by 78 percent, from 10,711 MWat the end of 2009 to 19,016 MW in2015. In terms of new capacity,growth markets will be the threebiggest geothermal countries: theUS, the Philippines and Indonesia.The number of countries generatinggeothermal electricity is expected torise from 24 at the end of 2009 to36 in 2015.

Role of geospatial techIn all phases of geothermalresources development, exploration,resource appraisal, drilling, exploita-tion and management of steam/hotwater fields, most of the resourcedata/information is location based(or geographic data). GIS thereforeemerges as the best option for han-dling the information.

CONCLUSION

Renewable energy options are plenty.The performance of these resourcesdepends on location-based variables,implying the need for geospatialanalysis to find the best fit for eachsegment. Geospatial technology istherefore proving to be an essentialcomponent of decision makingprocess in renewable energy. Theongoing and increasingly enhancedobservations about these energysources will continue to improve thequality of the analysis and hence theperformance of the power plants.The move to renewable power is def-initely on.

Anand Kayshap

Sub-Editor, [email protected]

Energy crops, raised onabandoned croplands

and pasturelandsglobally, can yield about27 exajouless of energy

each year: Report


ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE

Ash, the protagonist in the 1992 Hollywood flickArmy of Darkness, wakes up after his longslumber and finds himself in a post-apocalyptic

future, where the world has been reduced to rubbleand the human race wiped off the face of the earth.While apocalypse may not strike us in a flash as mostfuture seers predict, the doomsday prophecy mayindeed become a reality if we do not act quickly.

The world today is plagued by plenty of problems andmost of these issues are a result of thoughtless humanactions. "I think the planet is in a mess and there is noquestion in my mind that human activities are behind thisrapid climate change," says British primatologist, anthropologist and UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall.According to a report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), 2011 was one of the warmest years

SUSTAINABILITYSUSTAINABILITY

ON THE AGENDA

With the planet reeling under pressure from thoughtless human activities, the need of the houris too create awareness by devising effective information sharing mechanisms and policies. Here’s an

insiight into some of the ongoing initiatives in this direction and the way forward

on record and witnessed natural calamities like droughts,floods, earthquakes and tsunamis of increased intensityresulting in huge loss of life and property around theglobe.

While political leaders and environment expertsaround the world have been busy deliberating on the kindof efforts required to safeguard the planet, the fact,unfortunately, remains that things have been static inmost cases. The good thing, however, is that we live intimes of modern technology, a world of endless possibili-ties where the situation is much better than it has everbeen till a few decades ago. We are much more informedand better equipped to deal with the global environmen-tal challenges. Information is out there and the need is tosimply identify, analyse, communicate and use it at aplace where most required and in a way that is easilyunderstood by the users.

ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

AND INFORMATION

There are several environmental challenges facingmankind today like global warming, food/potable waterscarcity, species extinction, increase in natural disasters,pollution and population explosion. Credible informationis critical to understand the extent of the problem. Mostof the environmental challenges warrant solutions atglobal and regional level and so exchange of informationamong nations is the best way to create awareness anddevise ways to tackle the issue effectively. A sneak peekat the history of information sharing will help us getstarted.

Although the history of environmental informationdates back several decades, the 60s is considered to be alandmark era with the United States of America introduc-ing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). For-mulated in 1969, NEPA was one of the first legislationsthat aimed to address environmental information issueslike the state of environment reporting and environmental

impact evaluations. Subsequently, initiatives like the Roy-al Commission on Environmental Pollution (1970), whichwas formed to advice the queen, government, parliamentand the public on environmental issues, gave fillip to thecause of sustainability. The next major step in this direc-tion was the formation of United Nations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP) in 1972 with the basic aim to collectdata and information about the environment. Since then,a number of high-level environmental events and conven-tions have brought forth the need for access to informa-tion, such as the Earth Summit in Rio (1992), AarhusConvention (1998) and the World Summit on SustainableDevelopment in Johannesburg (2002).

A major outcome of studies conducted during the lastcouple of decades suggests that the users are moreinterested in getting authentic information rather thanraw data. Although there is plenty of environmental dataavailable, most of it is old, patchy and inapt for use by


> Rainforests are being demolished at a shocking pace.National Academy of Science puts the loss at 50 millionacres a year, which is an area equal to the size of Eng-land, Wales and Scotland combined.

> Tropical deforestation around the world results in theextinction of 100 species every day.

> Seven out of eight years since 2000 are ranked as thehottest on record.

> According to estimates, 15-37 percent of the plant andanimal species on the planet could be wiped out fromglobal warming related causes by 2050.

> As much as 400,000 square miles of Arctic ice has melt-ed in the past 30 years. At the current rate, the Arcticice sheet could disappear by 2015.

> Over the past 100 years, the sea level has risen by 10-20centimetres. If the polar ice sheets and glaciers melt,the world's oceans could swallow most of the low lyingareas on the planet.

> There has been a steady increase in the intensity andduration of tropical storms during the past few decades.Although, the number of storms has not increasedmuch, but they are getting more powerful with thewarming of ocean surface.

> Increasing amounts of carbon dioxide absorbed by theoceans are changing their chemistry and making themmore acidic.

Environment Factbox

Enhanced availability of informationwill not only mitigate the dangers of

rapid environmental channge but will alsoincrease participation and empowerstakeholders to take suitable action

experts because of lack of credibility. While improvedinformation and communication technology gives usersaccess to a broad range of environmental information,there is a need to develop creative information exchangemethodologies and policy frameworks to reach a wideraudience.

INFORMATION SHARING MECHANISMS

In the present age of information, geographic informationis amongst the most crucial elements that support deci-sion making for various disciplines, including environ-ment. Thus, many of the objectives that environmentalagencies around the world have can be achieved throughthe availability of good, standardised spatial data. Howev-er, a major constraint with spatial data is that it is expen-sive and time consuming to gather and maintain. Whileorganisations around the world spend millions of dollarseach year on data, there still remain plenty of limitations,both monetary and at the policy level, which cannot beovercome by relying on individual data management sys-tems.

In such a situation, it becomes imperative that differ-ent organisations on a local level, different states on anational level and different nations on a global levelshould reach agreements on the type of fundamentaldatasets required to fulfil their common interests, stan-dards to which that data should be collected and main-tained and framework for sharing data. Such a collectionof data that is standardised to suit the requirements ofvarious participating bodies is known as a spatial datainfrastructure (SDI).

There are several networks around the world at thenational, regional and global levels that are formed tofacilitate the sharing of environmental information andthus help in the better management of biodiversity. Hereare a few important initiatives:

INSPIRE An excellent example of a regional level SDIaimed at sustainable development is the Infrastructurefor Spatial Information in the European Community,which aims to establish a spatial data infrastructurebased on SDIs of 27 Member States of the EuropeanUnion. The INSPIRE Directive addresses 34 spatial datathemes needed for environmental applications.

Eionet (Environment Information and ObservationNetwork) is a partnership network established by theEuropean Environment Agency (EEA) and its membercountries. The network aims to provide timely and accu-rate information for assessing the state of the environ-ment in Europe and the pressures acting upon it. This, inturn, enables policy-makers to decide on appropriatemeasures for protecting the environment at national andregional level and to monitor the effectiveness of policiesimplemented.

GEO (Group on Earth Observations) was establishedin 2005 in response to calls for action by the 2002 WorldSummit on Sustainable Development and the G8 coun-tries, which recognised that international collaboration isvital to exploit the increasing potential of earth observa-tions (EO) to support decision making in an environmen-tally stressed world. GEO is coordinating internationalefforts to build a Global Earth Observation System of Sys-tems (GEOSS) by linking together existing and plannedEO systems and supporting the development of newones. EO is crucial for policymakers in many fieldsincluding environment.

GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Securi-


Information sharing mechanism

Geospatial technology canpresent a situation visually onmaps and helps to obtain crucialinformattion that translates intothe power of better decisionmaking. This ability helps thepolicy makerss to make informeddecisions and thus ensure asustainable planet.

Jason HartkeVice President

National Policy,

US Green Building Council

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ty) is the result of collaboration between the EuropeanCommission and European Space Agency, which aims tocreate an autonomous EO capacity. The objective of thisproposed programme is to rationalise the use of differentsources of data and get timely and accurate informationin relation to environment and security. In simple terms,it will pull together all the information obtained by envi-ronmental satellites to provide a comprehensive pictureof the planet’s health.

NNRMS (National Natural Resource ManagementSystem) is a national level inter-agency system that aimsto fulfil the objective of natural resource management inIndia. NNRMS ensures full utilisation of the country'snatural resources by providing a complete record of theavailable natural resources, using remote sensing data.

UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) actsas the voice for environment within the United Nations.Established in 1972, UNEP acts as a medium, educatorand facilitator to encourage the sensible use of the globalenvironment. To achieve this, the agency works with otherUnited Nations entities, internationalorganisations, the private sector, non-governmental organisations and civilsociety. One of the major functions ofUNEP includes facilitating the transferof knowledge and technology for sus-tainable development.

AEIN (Africa EnvironmentalInformation Network) is an initia-tive that aims to improve access toenvironmental information to sup-port the supervision of Africa's natu-ral wealth. The multi-stakeholder pro-gramme is designed to offer a broadoutline for the effective collection of

information and knowledge of how environmentalchanges affect people.

GIK (Geographic Information Knowledge Network) isanother excellent example of an information networkwhich aims at facilitating information exchange betweenprofessionals from the geographic information community.

GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY AND

SUSTAINABILITY

Geospatial technology enables us to better understandthe relationship between human beings and the naturalsystems around us and further evaluate how externalintervention affects such interaction. It is by harnessingthe information found at different locations that sustain-able development policies can be evolved. Human activi-ties have resulted in considerable damaging impact onthe environment. The first step in minimising the damagecaused is to quantify these changes and geospatial tech-nology with its ability to measure even the slightest ofvariations has been used extensively in this field.

Geospatial technology also enables the assessment ofimpact of natural disasters on the environment. GIS canhelp compare pre and post event pictures, measurechanges and thus help the decision makers in taking cor-rective actions. More than giving post event assessments,GIS can also help to predict the impact that a planned orunplanned event will have on an area.

The evolution of geospatial tools offers us uniqueopportunities to engage society in tackling various envi-ronmental issues, managing scarce resources and betteradapting to environmental changes. Enhanced availability

of information will not only mitigate thedangers of rapid environmental changebut will also increase participation andempower stakeholders to take suitable

action.Dennis Garrity, Director General,World Agroforestry Centre explains

how geospatial technology canhelp increase tree cover,"Geospatial technology can help

us to map and interpret the treecover that exists on African farm-

land, grazing lands and forest landsand subsequently monitor thechanges over time as we work with

Technology allows nations tocome together and share informationthat can be laid on maps. It reveaalsthe current situation and allowscomparison with the past years.Gradually, this information beccomesavailable for recipients to look attheir area and understand what isgoing on. This is the wayy forward.

Jane GoodallBritish primatologist


people to increase tree cover in the world."Jane Goodall is also upbeat about the prospects of

technology use in this field. "Technology allows differentnations to come together and share information that canbe laid on maps. It reveals the current situation andallows comparison with the past. This information isshared and becomes available for recipients to click on itand look at their area and thus understand what is goingon. This is the way forward," she says.

"Thanks to geospatial technology, we now have infor-mation that makes us powerful, it gives us the ability tomake more informed decisions and decision making abil-

ity is what all of this data provides to us," says RickFedrizzi, President and CEO, US Green Building Council.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND

CROWDSOURCING

The augmented emphasis on environmental issues by themedia has led to a substantial increase in citizens' inter-est in trying to safeguard the environment. Internet andsocial networking offer an ideal opportunity to createawareness and public participation by highlighting localissues on a global platform. The ability of the internet tochannelize information to a global audience and visually

Tell us something about Mis-sion Blue and its importance.

Mission Blue is an organisationthat aims to bring organisa-tions and people together toinspire protection, exploration,research and care for theocean. The world's oceans arein trouble, which means thatwe are in trouble. In less thanfifty years, we have seen asubstantial decline of fish andcoral reefs. Only about fivepercent of the ocean beneaththe surface has been seen atall, leave alone explored ormapped. We need to under-stand the terrain under the sea.Nature has reached a pointwhere we seriously need toconsider what it takes to pro-tect the atmosphere. Up untilnow, the ocean was protectedby its vastness and inaccessi-bility. Most creatures in the seawere safe because we couldnot get to them; but now wecan and we are depleting thelife out of the ocean.

How can geospatial technolo-gy help prrotect the marineenvironment from destruction?

Geospatial technology enablesus to act more responsibly thanwe otherwise could. This tech-nology gives us the ability toimagine the way things weredecades ago and to projectwhat the future might be. It is

critically important in inspiringpeople to take seriously howwe are impacting our life sup-port system. With these newtechnologies you can showpatterns, you can show beforeand after and you can showour relationship to nature. It isa technology which has comemaybe just in time to save us.

Geospatial technology relatesto understanding and manag-ing land and sea. Without suchknowledge we are handi-capped. The ability to view thenature of the world in layersand be able to pinpoint both inspace and in time the changesthat are taking place is critical-ly important so that you canmeasure changes over timeand thus get some idea aboutwhat the future will be. Nogeneration before the presenthad the advantage of knowing.You can use that knowledge toengineer certain goals such asplacing a dam in a river tomaximum short term advan-tage or you can use thatknowledge to not build a dambecause of the interference itcauses to natural water flow.Without the reference pointsthat geospatial technologygives us, we could not under-stand how things are changing.

How significant is informationexchange in helpping to protectthe environment?

Latest technology and informa-tion about our planet enablesus to hold the world in ourhands and see how thingsrelate back to us. Theexchange of information hascreated enough awarenessthat the world is in trouble, theocean is in trouble and so weare in trouble. Our primary goalshould be to chalk out ways toleave the world at least asgood as we found it and tobehave in a way that we do notdestroy the capacity of theplanet to support the next gen-erations.

Do you think all the damagethat has been inflicted uponthe envirronment can bereversed?

We cannot reverse the damagebut we can make things betterthan they otherwise would be.For example, if we took apartthe Three Gorges Dam todayand let the river flow as it ismeant to flow, it would be bet-ter than keeping that dam inplace because it is causingtremendous damage to thenatural world. We can changecourse but we cannot reverseand go back. By planting andprotecting trees, we can makesure that the wild things willreturn as best as they can.Nature heals and we can doour bit to accelerate thatprocess.

What more can the geospatialcommunity do to promote thecause of environment protection?

More attention needs to bepaid to the ocean. The need isto look at the ocean not justfrom the surface but also atthe layers and make all theinformation available to theworld. Technology can helpdecision makers understandhow their lives connect to theocean and how the ocean con-nects back to us.

There are hundreds of ques-tions that need answers likewhere are all the mangroves ofthe world. Challenges for thegeospatial community includefiguring out ways to map theexistence of the coastal vege-tation that is lower than whereaerial observations work orhow to incorporate data gath-ered from various scientificexpeditions and connect thedots about the masses offrozen methane that are on thesea floor and with globalwarming could release hugeamounts of methane into theatmosphere thus greatly accel-erating global warming.

‘Information enables responsible actions’

Sylvia EarleAmerican oceanographer, former chief scientist of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

present a situation leaves a lasting impact on the viewer.Crowd sourced data has seen a considerable increase

in the past few years because of the substantially lowercosts involved and more importantly because of the power of the crowd to gather data from the most isolatedplaces. Projects like the OpenStreetMap and GoogleEarth use crowd sourced data extensively.

Governments too have realised the power of crowdsourced environmental data and are making sincereefforts to tap the same. Portals like eMISK, which allowusers the option to highlight environmental issues intheir region by tagging it on a satellite image, have doneappreciable work in this area.

Principal 10 of the Rio Earth Summit declarationstates that environmental issues are best handled withparticipation of all concerned citizens and that statesshall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available.

HURDLES AND WAY

FORWARD

The challenge of collec-tion, processing and dis-semination of informa-tion arises at the local,national and internationallevels as well as acrossvarious disciplines and geographic areas.Improving public awareness by provid-ing accurate and timely informationcan play an important role byenhancing participation andaction. A glaring gap in the

information structure is the developing countries' insuffi-cient capacity to collect and manage data and this gap isoften the result of inadequate representation of thesecountries at global level initiatives.

Most experts believe that the technology to createdata and access existing data is already there and thatthe biggest hurdle is a lack of vision and political will.Access to environmental information is the cornerstonefor good environmental governance. Information enablesproper planning and decision making just as it enablesthe citizens to participate freely in day-to-day affairs andthus pave way for quality environmental management. Onthe other hand, restrictions on access to information canlead to mismanagement of resources. Governmentsaround the world are realising the importance of givingaccess to information to their citizens and laws are beingenacted to enable the same. However, most countries inAfrica, Middle East and Asia are still not open to the ideaof free access to information.

Traditionally, environmental information systems havebeen accused of being limited in their use and can benefitgreatly from incorporating functions like surveillance andearly warning. With biodiversity coming under increasingpressure from human activities, unexpected changes arebeginning to surprise the decision makers more often.Problems like deforestation, soil erosion, illegal huntingetc can be dealt with effectively through constant surveil-lance. The need of the hour is to educate the policy mak-ers about the utility of such systems.

Studies conducted over the past few years haveestablished the fact that a good informa-

tion system does not only run on thebasis of software and hardware

but also requires exhaustivehuman inputs and it is thusextremely important tobuild capacity in the field.Human intervention can

make a system effective bymaintaining direct relationship

with the users, staying updated withlatest advancements, summarising and

analysing information, publishing dataon the web etc.

Vaibhav Arora, Assistant Editor,

[email protected]


Web-portals like Beatona encourage public participation in matters thatrelate to the environment

MARCH

05 - 07 March 6th International Technology,Education and DevelopmentConference

Valencia, Spainhttp://www.iated.org/inted2012

12 - 15 March GIS/CAMA Technologies Conference

San Antonio, UShttp://www.urisa.org/confer-ences/2012gis_cama

14 - 17 March 6th Latin American Geographic Colloqium

Paraná, Argentinahttp://www.fhaycs-uader.edu.ar

16 March GI Zeitgeist 2012

Münster, Germanyhttp://gi-zeitgeist.uni-muen-ster.de/?p=1

19 - 23 March ASPRS 2012 Annual Conference

Sacramento, US

http://www.asprs.org

20-22 MarchFOSS GIS

Dessau, GermanyDessau, Germanyhttp://www.fossgis.de/kon-ferenz/2012

20-22 MarchFOSS GIS

Dessau, Germanyhttp://www.fossgis.de/kon-ferenz/2012

26-28 MarchAWRA Spring Specialty Conference on GIS and WaterResources VII

New Orleans, Louisiana, UShttp://www.awra.org/meetings/Spring2012/

26 - 30 March Geotunis 2012

Tunis, Tunisiahttp://www.geotunis.org

29 MarchGeospatial Convergence forGIS Professionals

London, UKhttp://locationmatters-gc-mar12.eventbrite.com

29 MarchSpirgarten-Treffen'12 - OpenGovernement Data undGeoinformation

Zurich, Switzerlandhttp://www.interlis.ch/general/spirgarten.php?language=d

APRIL02 - 04 AprilGISWORX 2012

Dubai, UAEhttp://www.gisworx.ae

02 - 04 AprilWhere Conference 2012

San Francisco, CAhttp://whereconf.com/where2012

03 - 04 AprilMiddle East GeospatialForum 2012

Doha, State of Qatarhttp://megf.org

15-18 AprilSPAR International Confer-ence on End-to End 3D: Cap-ture, Process, Deliver

Texas, UShttp://www.sparpointgroup.com/International

17 AprilGIS Tech 2012

Rotterdam, The Netherlandshttp://www.gistech.nl

18-21 April1st International Conference on Smart Grids and Green ITSystems

Porto, Portugalhttp://www.smartgreens.org

22 - 27 April European Geosciences UnionGeneral Assembly

Vienna, Austria http://www.egu2012.eu

23 - 27 AprilGeospatial World Forum2012

Amsterdamhe Netherlandshttp://www.geospatialworldfo-rum.org

29 April - 01 May7th National GIS Symposium

Dammam, Saudi Arabiahttp://www.saudigis.org/

30 April Esri Petroleum GIS Conference

Houston, Texas, UShttp://www.esri.com/events/petroleum-energy/index.html

MAY01 - 03 May Esri Forestry GIS Conference

Redlands, UShttp://goo.gl/t1B8k

14 - 17 MayGlobal Geospatial Conference 2012 (GSDI 13)

Quebec, Canadahttp://www.gsdi.org/gsdiconf/gsdi13

15-16 May NYS GIS Conference

New York, UShttp://www.esf.edu/nysgisconf/

15 - 17 MayBe Together: The BentleyUser Conference

Philadelphia, USAhttp://www.bentley.com/en-US/Community/BE+Conference

22 - 23 May Location Intelligence Conference/Oracle Spatial 2012

Washington DC, UShttp://goo.gl/tnY9o

29 - 31 MayMundoGEO Connect 2012

Sao Paulo, Brazilhttp://goo.gl/pn7li

JUNE04 - 07 JuneHexagon 2012

Las Vegas, Nevada, USAhttp://goo.gl/iI6gv

June 05 - 06South Africa GeospatialForum

Johannesburg, South Africahttp://www.sageospatialforum.org

17-23 June12th International Multidisci-plinary Scientific GeoConfer-ence

Varna city, Bulgariahttp://www.sgem.org/

21 - 23 JuneGeospatial EXPO 2012

Japanhttp://www.g-expo.jp/en/index.html

JULY03 - 06 JulyGI_Forum 2012

Salzburg, Austriahttp://www.gi-forum.org

21-24 JulyEsri Homeland Security Summit

San Diego, UShttp://goo.gl/1MiH9

23 - 27 JulyESRI User Conference

Sandiego, C.A, USAhttp://www.esri.com/events/user-conference/index.html


CONFERENCE REPORT | INDIA GEOSPATIAL FORUM

India Geospatial Forum 2012 (formerlycalled Map India) was held during Feb-ruary 7-9, 2012 at Gurgaon, Haryana.

The Forum turned out to be extremelysuccessful with 1200 people participat-ing in the event. Delegates from nearly allparts of India, both from industry andgovernment, participated in the 3-dayevent. Discussions were held over anumber of issues ranging from data poli-cies to the future of the geospatial indus-try in the country.

This was the first time that besides themain session, two parallel conferences -on infrastructure (Geo-Infra) and gover-nance (Geo-Gov) were held at theForum. Some of the major topics debatedduring the event are:

G-tech in India

Geospatial technology is fast becomingan engine of growth for businesses andis poised to become a formidable drivingforce in the global as well as Indianeconomy. Today, the Indian government istrying to bring e-governance and geo-Governance together.

Talking of the rapid pace at which devel-opment is happening in the country, DrShailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry ofEarth Sciences, Government of India,said that the country's rapid progressdemanded robust information and deci-sion support systems to aid the planningand implementation of various develop-mental programmes. "GIS will be themainstay around which such informationand decision support systems can bebuilt," he said.

Saumitra Chaudhuri, Member, PlanningCommission, Government of India, calledfor increased use of geospatial technolo-gy. "GIS can help us in achieving betterand productive living for our people.There is a lot of opportunity to use thesetechnologies in different fields and makesure that better results are achieved."

Disaster management

Anil Kumar Sinha, Vice Chair, Bihar StateDisaster Management Authority, Govern-ment of Bihar said that any major disas-ter that strikes a country lends a signifi-cant blow to the GDP and thus it affects

the process of sustainable development."The most important aspect is how cangeospatial technology help mitigate theeffect of disasters," he said.

Observing that India is one of the mostdisaster prone countries in the worldowing to various hydrometeorologicaland geopolitical factors, B B Bhat-tacharya, Member, National DisasterManagement Authority, said that whilenatural hazards cannot be averted, theireffects can be mitigated and this iswhere disaster risk management pro-grammes have a very significant role toplay. The most important tool in disasterresilience according to him is digital car-tographic base of the country at rightscale and contour.

GIS in mining sector

Alok Perthi, Secretary, Ministry of Coal,Government of India, gave a comprehen-sive overview of the mining sector in thecountry and explained how geospatialtechnology can be effectively used toevolve new ways of exploration and thusincrease production. He said thatalthough the country has increased itsdrilling capacity significantly over the pastfew years, it was not enough and there isneed to use modern techniques toensure mining in a sustainable manner."Geospatial technology has a very impor-tant role to play in this area as it can beused to locate minerals below the sur-face of the earth." He also said that


From e-gov to g-gov

51

geospatial technology can play a majorrole in all the three aspects of the industry- exploration, mining and closure.

Land administration

Land titling in India is a challenge of enormous proportions owing to the mammoth area that needs to be coveredand the size of population, indicated John Whitehead, APAC Manager, Emerging Markets and Funded Projects,Trimble, Singapore as he brought to light the most serious challenge facingeffective land administration in India.Experts debated about the current stateof land administration in India, the urgentneed to modernise and computerise landrecords and how geospatial technologycan be used to ensure more effective landtenure systems. The National LandRecords Modernisation Programme(NLRMP) remained a major point ofdeliberation during the event with severalspeakers citing it as an example ofnotable work done in the field of landmanagement in India. Talking about theprogramme, Prabhu Dayal Meena, Addi-tional Secretary, Department of LandResources, said that there was a rapidprogress in the direction with some stateshaving stopped the use of manual record-ing altogether.

Geo-Gov

"GIS is not for the sake of technology,hardware, software or even applications.GIS is meant for common man on street.The benefits of the technology shouldreach the last mile otherwise it is not ofmuch use," said Anoop Singh, SpecialSecretary to Government, InformationTechnology and Communications Depart-ment, Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Talking about smart governance, Kaushik

Chakraborty, Country Head - India &SAARC, Intergraph SG&I India remarkedthat smart governance is about people,processes and technology. One big chal-lenge according to him in the pervasive-ness of GeoICT is the collaborationbetween various agencies. To enhancethe pervasiveness of GeoICT, he suggest-ed having integrated and consistent datasets rather than discrete datasets,empowering NSDI and state SDI, and useof more open standards.

Geo-ICT in agriculture

Agriculture today has remote sensingdata, statistics, maps, different surveyreports, web, internet, various agenciesproducing data related to agriculture,state reports, district reports, mobilephones - all of which were not there orhardly there at the time of Green Revolu-tion, observed Dr Prithvish Nag, ViceChancellor, MG Kashi Vidyapeeth, India.Such an evolution requires higher skills inagricultural management, and this iswhere GeoICT has a role to play. He fur-ther added that this role is at two levels -production level (providing information onwhat and how much to produce) and atpolicy level.

Dr Vinod Bothale, Director, MaharashtraRemote Sensing Application Centre,remarked that there is very less land avail-able for agriculture in India, while thedemand for yield is increasing with grow-ing population. He said that farmers whounderstand market trends and marketopportunities have a better chance ofsucceeding than those who don't. All ofthis requires lot of information. This iswhere geospatial information and technol-ogy has a role to play.

Geo-ICT in municipality

PS Uttarwar, Director (Planning), DwarkaProject, Delhi Development Authority,elaborated on the benefits of municipalGIS in managing municipal tasks such asproperty tax, birth and death registration,socio economic data management andholding registration, adding that it linksthe corresponding database with thegeospatial view of the current municipalarea.



G-tech for health services

Geo ICT can efficiently be used for disease surveillance, identification of highrisk areas for prompt treatment;analysing spatio temporal disease trendsand predicting future scenario for promptcontrol; marketing pharmaceuticals; con-ducting market studies and documenthealth care needs of a community; andso on, observed Aruna Srivastava andB.N. Nagpal of National Institute ofMalaria research. Sharing her vision onthe future of GIS in health services, DrMadhulekha Bhattacharya, Professor andHead, Dept of Community Health, ActingDirector, National Institute of Health andFamily Welfare, said the need of the houris to have a GIS hub at the district levelwith multi-sectoral data sets foranalysing and presenting the data to thedistrict and health administrators for useand support functions.

Geo-ICT in forestry

AK Wahal, Director General, Forest Sur-vey of India, Ministry of Environment andForests, Government of India, informedaudience about the establishment ofNational Forestry Information System inthe country that aims to be a decisionsupport system for the planning process-es in environment and forestry. The sys-tem envisages creation of a node at For-est Survey of India (FSI) that would haveall layers of information related to forestsin the country. Some nodes would alsobe at state forestry headquarters, and allthe nodes will be linked. The system isset to become operational from the nextfinancial year.

Geo-Infra

Intelligent infrastructure

Rajan Aiyer, Managing Director, Trimble,

India, introduced audience to the impor-tance and challenges of infrastructure intoday's environment. "The growingdemands of infrastructure have to be metin a sustainable way without destroyingenvironment, economy and society," hesaid. He also advocated customisation oftechnologies in India, "What's good in thewest, may not be good here. We need todevelop technologies and solutionsaccordingly," he said.

Geotech in Indian transport system

Transportation plays a major role in anyeconomy's development. An effectiveand efficient transport system is there-fore essential for the growth of a country.However, developing countries pose sev-eral challenges for the transport sector.Speaking about these challenges, Dr R SMoorthy, Head (Projects), Urban MassTransit Company, India, said, "In develop-ing countries, availability of data is amajor bottleneck," adding, "We require aproperly developed user-friendly informa-tion system."

Atul Kumar, Chief General Manager(P&IS), NHAI, India, talked about nationalhighways in India and the importance ofimagery in carrying out road-related proj-ects. "High resolution satellite imagerycan be used for determining the exactstatus of projects, evaluating the

progress of work, etc. GIS and satellitetechnology can be used for buildingdesign of highways, road asset manage-ment, planning of projects etc.," he said.

Dr P K Sikdar, President, ICT Online,India, spoke about the benefits of geot-ech in highways. "GIS can be usedthroughout the lifecycle of a project. Itcan be used for transportation planning,construction management, transportationsafety analysis, environment manage-ment and so on," he said.

Dimensions and directions of

geospatial technology

In the financial year 2010-11, NationalRemote Sensing Centre (NRSC), India,surpassed its sales target. In the nearfuture, the Centre is set to launch twopolar satellites RISAT-1 and SARAL andtwo geostationary satellites INSAT-3D,GISAT. Amongst these four satellites,GISAT will be launched in 2013. Howev-er, the remaining three satellites will belaunched in 2012, according to Dr. V KDadhwal, Director, NRSC, India.

Offering industry perspective, RajeshMathur, Vice Chairman, Esri India, high-lighted a market report by Gartner whichrated cloud as the technology highlyappreciated by the industry. Elaborating


on the untapped potential of cloud, hestressed that the market for cloud willtouch USD 118 billion by 2014 and willreach USD 241 billion by 2020, accord-ing to Forrester.

Prof Josef Strobl, Director, University ofSalzburg, Austria, touched upon variousfuturistic technology trends and observedthat if sensor is data source, cloud isfacilitator for real-time geography.

3D modelling, WebGIS and

Open Source

Experts discussed and explored current status and potential of 3D modelling, WebGIS and Open Source.While Francois Valois, Sr. Product Manager - Geospatial, Bentley Systems,talked about how Bentley Systems isbuilding futuristic infrastructure using 3D modelling, Dr Hanuman Prasad, Asst General Manager, Infotech Enterprise, India, explained the role of 3D modelling in mining industry. Heexplained how a 3D model of mines canaid decision making, reduce cost, lowermaintenance cost and overcome com-plexities involved in categorisation oftechnical data.

Wide accessibility, no need of GIS soft-ware, enabling users to directly manipu-late maps and GIS data over the Web aresome of the key features which makeWebGIS popular amongst users,observed scientist Kapil Oberai from Indi-an Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS).

Public cloud based GIS providers offercapabilities to add local data, changesymbology and build a query and analysissystem. Visual programming based wiringor piping techniques help building aclient-side mashup quickly."

Talking about distributed GIS, Murli

Krishna Gurram, Asst Vice President,COWI India, said, "Distributed GIS servic-es enable the end user to manipulateGIS data and maps interactively. The mapservices can directly interact with hetero-geneous systems and platforms withoutthe constraints of traditional client/serverrelationships."

Conclusion

The India Geospatial Forum concludedon a positive note with Arun Goel, JointSecretary, Ministry of Urban Develop-ment, urging the Planning Commission to

make GIS compulsory for every citydevelopment plan (CDP). He informedthat the ministry is looking at geo-dataon a very big level in the 12th Five YearPlan.

Welcoming Goel's comments, Dr ManojSingh, Advisor (transport), Planning Com-mission, India, said that the idea will beput forth in Planning Commission's meet-ing. He also said that there is lack ofgood decision support systems in thePlanning Commission and that technolo-gy can help the decision makers takemore informed decisions.

India Geospatial Leadership awards

The Premier Geospatial State State of Madhya Pradesh

Geospatial Project of the Year Integrated coastal zone management

Most popular geospatial data portal Maps.mapmyindia

Young geospatial entrepreneur Mr Sudhakar Reddy Arumalla

Capacity building and professional development

Dr PS Roy for capacity and professional development in geospatial sciences

Corporate leadership Dr BVR Mohan Reddy

Lifetime achievement Sri Rajesh C Mathur

Category (Geospatial Excellence) Winner

AgricultureDirectorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh

Disaster ManagementCentre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and Department of Information & Technology; Government of India

Land Administration Excise and Prohibition Department, Govt of Bihar

Telecommunication BSNL

Urban Planning MRSAC, Nagpur, Maharashtra

e-Governance NIC, Tamil Nadu State

Natural Resource management Watershed Organisation Trust, India

Construction RITES Ltd.

Infrastructure & engineering Reliance Infrastructure Ltd

Rachapudi Kamakshi Memorial Gold Medalfor Young Geospatial Scientist

Dr. MB Rajani, Assistant Professor, NIIT University,India; Mr Uttam Kumar, PhD student, Faculty of Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science

India Geospatial Awards - Winners 2012


Shocking

crack!

Depleting glacier was acommon phenomenon forNASA scientists working inAntarctica, but in mid-October 2011, they wereshocked to discover a mas-sive crack across the PineIsland Glacier. It was like ascene straight out of a sci-ence-fiction disaster movie.The crack (featured in theimage as base layer) wascaptured by Terra satelliteon November 13, 2011.Recently, using data gath-ered by NASA's OperationIceBridge science flightteam, the agency generat-ed a 3D fly through of thecrack (featured as a toplayer on the image). Thecrack extends for 19 miles(30 kilometres), is 260 feet(80 metres) wide and 195feet (60 metres) deep.They claim that eventually,it will extend all the wayacross the glacier andcalve a giant iceberg thatwill cover about 350square miles (900 squarekilometres). Pine Island isone of the largest andfastest moving glaciers inAntarctica and the crackhas made climate scientistsconcerned.

Courtesy: NASA

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Data courtesy City of Quebec

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