Strategy for Victoria’s positioning system

2016–2020

Foreword

Sustainable management of land and marine resources plays a critical role in Australia’s prosperity. Fundamental to the task of managing land and marine resources is the availability of an accurate and reliable system of positioning upon which information about those resources can be based.

Positioning has been identified by ANZLIC–the Spatial Information Council of Australia and New Zealand, as the fundamental layer of common, foundation spatial information used by government, industry, science and academic sectors. Positioning is underpinned by geodetic infrastructure, which includes Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) networks; survey control mark networks; geodetic processing, analysis and modelling; and definitions of the geoid and bathymetric reference surfaces.

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) is responsible for maintaining Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure, which provides the realisation of the Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 (GDA94) and the Australian Height Datum (AHD) in Victoria. This strategy documents the pathway for DELWP to maintain and enhance Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure over the next four years so that Victoria’s public, commercial, academic and scientific sectors have access to accurate and reliable positioning.

John Tulloch Claire FooSurveyor-General Victoria Executive Director, Information Services

ICSM Representative, Victoria ANZLIC Representative, Victoria

© The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2015

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. You are free to re-use the work under that licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria as author. The licence does not apply to any images, photographs or branding, including the Victorian Coat of Arms, the Victorian Government logo and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning logo. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Background

Positioning is an important aspect of Australia’s economic development and sustainable management of its land and marine resources. It provides a capacity to precisely locate natural and man-made features and determine their movement over time. It also facilitates the seamless integration of independently sourced spatial information. For these reasons, positioning is critical to land development, town planning, construction, sea level monitoring, meteorology, climate change research, marine resource management, air traffic control, shipping, defence, resource exploration and mining.

This document describes DELWP’s strategic approach to geodetic infrastructure maintenance, which will ensure Victoria’s positioning system continues to meet the needs of its users and the broader geospatial community.

Positioning depends upon the existence of geodetic infrastructure, which includes an integrated network of GNSS CORS and survey control marks (the Victorian Geodetic Network), information about those marks; measurement information; processing software; and systems for the analysis, management and delivery of positioning information. Geodetic infrastructure enables the precise measurement of the real world, establishing a frame of reference for all spatial information, quantifying the spatial behaviour of the changing Earth, and identifying and assessing geophysical events.

Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure has underpinned state and national datums and positioning applications since the establishment of a geodetic network in the 1860s. With the relatively recent establishment of AuScope and Vicmap Position – GPSnet, Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure is based upon and contributes to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) and provides virtual, real-time and post-event positioning capability across Victoria.

For Victoria’s system of positioning to remain accurate and reliable, the underlying geodetic infrastructure needs to be maintained. Historically, Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure’s maintenance has been directed to supporting land development activities such as planning, subdivision, building and the development of urban and rural infrastructure. Over the last two decades, maintenance has also

focussed on establishing positioning infrastructure to overcome instabilities in the landscape and leveraging developments in satellite navigation, positioning technology and geodetic measuring equipment.

While these efforts will continue for the foreseeable future, it is recognised that the way people access and use positioning information is changing. Positioning technology continues to improve at a rapid rate and high-precision positioning is becoming more affordable. Location-based services and mobile positioning applications are now critical to many areas of business and personal life. Within the next decade, users will be exposed to a range of positioning devices that will have unprecedented levels of accuracy.

With the onset of the open data era and user-driven applications and services, users will simply expect the integration of spatial information and positioning obtained from mass-market devices to be accurate, seamless and instantaneous. This will drive the need for an accurate and reliable frame of reference upon which spatial information can be based.

All of these factors lead to the reality that Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure must be maintained and enhanced to satisfy the present and future needs of all users.

DELWP, through the Office of Surveyor-General Victoria (OSGV) and the Information Services Division (ISD), has the governmental responsibility for providing a reliable system of positioning that supports spatial applications across Victoria.

Positioning Strategy for Victoria 2015 – 20204

Geodetic Strategy for Victoria 2015 – 20205

Strategic context

The vision and strategic goals for Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure have been developed in the context of Australia’s national spatial policy, the estimated value of Victoria’s infrastructure to the broader geospatial community, and Victoria’s strategic priorities and anticipated positioning needs over the next decade.

Spatial policy and statutory contextAustralia is an independent country comprised of federated states and territories. Each state and territory government is responsible for autonomously managing its own infrastructure. To do so in a nationally consistent way, Victoria works jointly with the Australian Government and other state and territory governments to develop national geodetic policy and standards, and maintain and enhance national positioning and height datums. This collaborative effort is conducted according to national spatial policy and governance.

In addition, the Survey Coordination Act 1958 and Surveying Act 2004 provide the statutory framework for development and maintenance of Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure. They also describe the functions and powers of the Surveyor-General with respect to this infrastructure.

Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure – a valuable assetVictoria’s geodetic infrastructure is integral to the national infrastructure and includes world-class GNSS CORS infrastructure and services, over 100,000 survey control marks and associated information, a GNSS and terrestrial measurements archive, related historical records, high-fidelity processing and analysis software, and automated systems for managing and delivering geodetic information. Since Victoria’s first geodetic network was established in the 1860s, Victoria has made a significant investment in the development and maintenance of geodetic infrastructure. This strategy seeks to capitalise on that investment.

This document also sets out a strategy for regular maintenance of Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure so that it is accurate, reliable and relevant to its users. In addition, this strategy endeavours to maximise the potential of Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure, information, products and services through a number of enterprise developments and collaborative maintenance opportunities.

Victoria’s positioning system for tomorrow’s needsOver the last decade, the positioning and spatial information user community has experienced substantial technological change. A few examples of these changes include the onset of multi-GNSS constellations, mass-market positioning devices, spatial data acquisition equipment and devices (in terrestrial, airborne and space environments), intelligent location-based services and applications, in-car navigation, machine guidance and intelligent transport systems. Increasingly, the acquisition of spatial information in these applications is aligned to the globally standardised reference frame, ITRF.

Precise positioning technology will continue to develop over the next decade, providing increased capability and spatial accuracy. Trends across Australia to make government data open and free and changes to the ways in which people use spatial information mean that users will demand more robust data management and delivery mechanisms. While it is impossible to predict and respond to every need, this strategy endeavours to support positioning from the perspective of tomorrow’s users’ needs.

Positioning Strategy for Victoria 2015 – 20206

Vision

DELWP’s vision is accurate and reliable positioning for Victoria, now and in the future.

Strategic goals

To realise this vision for Victoria, DELWP has identified five strategic goals and related activities to achieve them.

1. Enable accurate and reliable three-dimensional positioning through the Victorian Geodetic Network

This strategic goal focusses on maintaining and enhancing Victoria’s physical and technological infrastructure. It will be achieved by:

ensuring the continuous operation of Victoria’s GNSS CORS network and streaming of raw data

maintaining Victoria’s GNSS equipment and processing capability to exploit multi-GNSS and other developments in information and communications technology (ICT)

improving the survey control mark network in Victoria’s growth areas.

2. Deliver a seamless realisation of Australia’s positioning and height datums in Victoria

This strategic goal focusses on providing a robust contribution to Australia’s datum modernisation activities and seamless realisation of Australia’s positioning and height datums through the Victorian Geodetic Network. This strategic goal will be achieved by:

strengthening the connections between the Victorian Geodetic Network and the ITRF through the Asia-Pacific Reference Frame (APREF)

improving Victoria’s AUSGeoid contribution to support reliable AHD heighting using GNSS.

3. Optimise the quality and integrity of Victoria’s positioning systemThe quality and integrity of Victoria’s positioning system depend upon vast amounts of information collected over several decades. In view of achieving the highest possible positioning quality and integrity in Victoria, this strategic goal will focus maintenance efforts on:

maintaining a high-quality raw GNSS data and metadata archive

removing or replacing low-quality measurements, and capturing new measurements to resolve anomalies and poor positioning quality

maintaining a stable, contiguous state-wide adjustment to establish Australia’s modernised datums

reviewing the accuracy of the Victorian Geodetic Network information held in Victoria’s geodetic databases on a regular basis.

Positioning Strategy for Victoria 2015 – 20207

4. Maximise the potential of Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure, information, products and services

This strategy is concerned with achieving the widest possible use of Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure, spatial data and information and communications technology resources. This strategy will be achieved by:

developing and implementing systems for undertaking rigorous, automated reference frame maintenance

developing procedures for the rigorous propagation of uncertainty

contributing to ongoing development of eGeodesy – an emerging international standard for the exchange of geodetic information – and its implementation in Victoria

modernising the Survey Marks Enquiry Service (SMES) and capability to exchange geodetic information to support machine-to-machine automation and location-based services

developing new opportunities for collaborative maintenance of Victoria’s survey control mark network.

5. Strengthen our leadership and governance capacityThis strategy is focussed on strengthening DELWP’s capacity to provide leadership to Victoria’s geospatial community on geodesy and positioning, and to manage Victoria’s system of positioning. This strategy will be achieved by:

continually monitoring national and international geodetic and GNSS research agendas, standards and practices

maintaining strong and responsive relationships with all stakeholders

actively participating in industry-led research projects, which improve DELWP’s capacity to deliver precise positioning

supporting and influencing local and national educational research agendas.

Geodetic Strategy for Victoria 2015 – 20208