June 2009 eNews
Highlights include: WA Surveing and Spatial Information Conference 2009, NGIS Partners with Rottnest Island Authority to Provide Complete GIS Solution, URL Shortener for Google Maps and Why We Need to See the Sea.
What’s Happening in the WALIS Community?
The Data Group (Formerly the Metadata Group)
WA Surveying & Spatial Information Conference 2009
WALIS Stakeholders in the News
NGIS Partners with Rottnest Island Authority to Provide Complete GIS Solution
ESRI Australia to Open New Office in Darwin
Why You Need Landgate’s Valuation Roll Extracts - Online Now
Landgate’s New Name Suppression Initiative
Australian Angle
Man Down Solutions – LifeAssist
Fighting Fire with Satellite Datasets
Geomatic Technologies Announce Strategic Channel Partnership in the Australasian Market
Most Comprehensive Land Database in New Zealand Strengthened with ERDAS APOLLO
Whale Tagging Tells Previously Unknown Story
Smart Sprayer to Cut Farm Costs
News from Around the Globe
Google Crosses Line with Controversial Old Tokyo Maps
New App Simplifies Google Maps Markers
Blue Sky Network and Iridium Equip Open Passage Voyage
Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System (SAROPS)
Russian Island Floats Over to Estonia
Upcoming Events
Details of events in Australia and around the world
Interesting Website of the Month
What’s Happening in the WALIS Community?
Year 5, 6, 7 students at Yokine Primary School have entered the Spatial Technologies in Schools (STiS) national competition which is being coordinated by Liz Marjot (WALIS) at state level.
The goal of the project is to design the Yokine Primary School of the future. To this end the students have mastered Google Earth and Google SketchUp software and have used Solar GPS Loggers and PDAs to plot aspects of the school.
The children have been extremely enthusiastic and hope to submit a very competitive entry into the competition.
On Wednesday, June 3 the students celebrated World GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Day with activities which included:
- Ms Marjot addressing the students and outlining the role of WALIS.
- Students using Solar GPS Loggers, PDAs and ArcPAD software to map objects around the school.
- A raffle prize draw with prizes donated by ESRI Australia which included: $30 ColesMyer gift voucher, laptop bags, polo shirts, t-shirts, stationery and badges.
For more information regarding the Spatial Technology in Schools Competition, contact Liz Marjot.
To follow up on the outcomes of the referential topology workshop held end April 2009, each agency representative has been asked to submit a position paper to outline agency issues and requirements pertaining to cadastral data supplied by Landgate.
This information will be used to determine commonalities between agency business needs and how internal business processes can accommodate improvement of referential topology difficulties. A meeting to discuss the preliminarily review is planned for July 2009.
Please contact Jenny Smith at the WALIS office (08) 9273 7093 if you would like to provide comments or would like to be involved with the referential topology working group.
The Data Group (Formerly the Metadata Group)
The minutes from the 8 June meeting are now available on the website link below.
At this meeting we heard about the role of Landgate’s Account Management team and looked at ANZMet Lite, an easy-to-use metadata entry tool developed by ANZLIC.
The Group will next meet on 7 September 2009. If you would like to attend or for further information go to http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/projects/data-and-metadata-group or contact Jade George at jade.george@walis.wa.gov.au or on 9273 7039.
WA Surveying & Spatial Information Conference 2009
A conference held by the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute, WA Region, in conjunction with SIBA, scheduled for Thursday 16 and Friday 17 July 2009.
Details of the conference, including registratuion, are available here.
As part of the SSSI WA conference being held on 16 and 17 July, ANZLIC will be holding a work shop to demonstrate the ANZLIC Spatial Resource Discovery & Access Program Toolkit.
The workshop is a three hour train-the-trainer session which will cover Spatial Metadata, International Standards, the ANZLIC Spatial Resource Discovery & Access Program, the ANZLIC Metadata Profile and its elements, ANZMET Lite, the ASDD and publishing metadata, and Metadata in the context of the Australian New Zealand spatial infrastructure (ANZsi).
SSSI are offering a special rate for attendees who are only interested in attending the ANZLIC Workshop, including after conference drinks and refreshments.
The rate will be $90 for SSSI members and $110 for SSSI non members. To take advantage of this offer, write ANZLIC WORKSHOP ONLY on the registration form and pay the registration fee.
This SLICP Policy draft is now being reviewed by the SLICP Policy Group. For queries please contact Jade George on 9273 7039 or slicp@walis.wa.gov.au.
WALIS Stakeholders in the News
NGIS Partners with Rottnest Island Authority to Provide Complete GIS Solution
NGIS Australia is partnering with the Rottnest Island Authority (RIA) to introduce a complete GIS solution, including the deployment of the latest desktop, mobile and web spatial systems as well as comprehensive training and support.
Web link to press release: http://www.ngis.com.au/Media+and+Publications/News/1564.aspx
ESRI Australia to Open New Office in Darwin
Due to a growing strong demand for location intelligence solutions in the Northern Territory, ESRI Australia is pleased to announce it will open an office in Darwin in July. The office will provide a local base to deliver two major projects awarded via tender recently, as well as extend the company's solution offerings to existing clients in the Territory.
The Darwin office will be open by the end of July, with ESRI Australia's client conference roadshow, OZRI 2009, being held in Darwin on 31 August for ESRI Australia clients based in the Northern Territory.
Web link to media release: http://www.esriaustralia.com.au/esri/NewsEvents/Darwin_office_PR_June_09_Final.pdf
Why You Need Landgate's Valuation Roll Extracts - Online Now
You can now order single property valuation roll extracts online from Landgate’s website.
These are useful for checking:
Unimproved Values for your Land Tax and Metropolitan Region Improvement Tax liability for any non-principal place of residence that you own, or for local government rates in some instances where the Gross Rental Value is not used; and
Gross Rental Values used for water and local government rates and FESA fire levy.
For just $7 you’ll receive:
- Land details including Certificate of Title, property type and land area;
- The last three valuation dates and the next due date;
- The last three Gross Rental Values or Unimproved Land Values.
If your property is managed or leased, this information is useful when calculating budgets for property outgoings that you may pay as an owner, or that need to be calculated and apportioned to your tenants for your non-residential properties. Your land agent, settlement agent or property manager may access this information on your behalf for such purposes or for the promotion or sale of property.
You can check out sample valuation roll extracts on Landgate’s website at www.landgate.wa.gov.au by clicking onto Products and Services, or for further information call 9273 7341.
Landgate's New Name Suppression Initiative
Name Suppression is a new service initiated by Landgate which allows eligible people to apply to the Registrar of Titles to have their details suppressed from the land titles search index.
The Land Titles Register is an open, publicly searchable register containing information about property owned by individuals. This information is often an indication of where people live and discovery may place some property owners at risk.
The Name Suppression service aims to balance the need to protect vulnerable people with the need for a fully open public register.
Name Suppression means that from time-to-time you may come across a suppressed record on Land Enquiry when conducting a search using a person’s name as the searching criteria, and on Landgate’s data and sales extracts.
The number of people eligible for Name Suppression is estimated to be less than one per cent of the current Land Titles Register.
Landgate’s Customer Information Bulletin and Frequently Asked Questions may assist should you require further information and Name Suppression application packs are downloadable from Landgate’s website.
For enquiries about lodging an application, please contact Landgate’s Name Suppression Officer on (08) 9273 5900.
Australian Angle
Man Down Solutions - LifeAssist
LifeAssist, an innovative ‘Man Down Solution’ and Mobile Phone Tracking application, supporting Symbian S60 mobile devices (like the Nokia N95) is part of the suite of Track and Locate’s SOS Tracking Solutions.
Data from the user’s cell phone is processed on the cell phone before it is sent to the Track and Locate M2M platform. The Track and Locate M2M platform provides a web based interface for a monitoring company or any individual to control and manage all cell phones remotely and provides for data storage, reporting, exception monitoring, alert and notification and Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping platform for displaying GPS data.
Visit Track and Locate for more.
Fighting Fire with Satellite Datasets
On the weekend of 7 February 2009 a series of large bushfires across Victoria resulted in Australia's most serious bushfire event which claimed 173 lives.
During the emergency, Geoscience Australia provided satellite-derived information to support the emergency response and recovery efforts. This support was through the Sentinel system (an online 'hotspot' detection system) and provision of satellite imagery and maps showing areas affected by bushfires.
Web link to full article: http://www.ga.gov.au/ausgeonews/ausgeonews200906/fire.jsp
Web link to PDF: http://www.ga.gov.au/image_cache/GA14032.pdf
Source: Geoscience Australia
Geomatic Technologies Announce Strategic Channel Partnership in the Australasian Market
Geomatic Technologies, a leading provider of integrated solutions, announced that it has entered into a strategic channel partnership with software maker IDV Solutions to provide visual, interactive solutions for government and commercial customers.
Geomatic Technologies will deliver powerful geospatial solutions built on IDV’s Visual Fusion platform to industries where timely, informed decision-making is critical. This alliance will aid Australasian customers in gaining new insights into critical business data, enable faster access to information, and improve collaboration and decision-making.
Web link to press release: http://www.geomatic.com.au/news/IDV.aspx
A Brisbane-based company called Social Horizon has come up with a tool that they claim is the world's first to makes Google Maps URLs manageable.
One problem with internet mapping services, such as Google Maps, is the length of the URL displaying your desired location. It’s usually far to long to paste easily into other applications and, because it usually has co-ordinate numbers in it, is impossible to memorise.
Now, Social Horizon has come up with aMAP.to, a service that creates short map links for your email, blog, Facebook, Twitter and other needs.
Web link to full article: http://www.asmmag.com/news/url-shortener-for-google-maps
Source: ASM Mag
Most Comprehensive Land Database in New Zealand Strengthened with ERDAS APOLLO
Terralink International Limited has selected ERDAS APOLLO to manage and deliver its massive amounts of vector and raster data.
Based in Wellington, Terralink has the most comprehensive and accurate physical land database of New Zealand. Within this database resides a compliment of topographic, legal and physical property, address data, and New Zealand’s largest store of high-resolution aerial imagery, which is used to offer and produce value added products and GIS services for its customers.
Web link to news release: http://www.erdas.com/Company/NewsReleases/tabid/96/currentid/3033/objectid/3033/default.aspx
Whale Tagging Tells Previously Unknown Story
For the first time Australian scientists have recorded the path of humpback whales from the Australian coast to their feeding grounds near the Antarctic continent.
Last October 16 whales were tagged near Eden in New South Wales and their route tracked for almost six months over an area covering around 4000 kilometres.
Scientists have discovered that these whales from Australia's east coast disperse more widely than previously thought and outside the area traditionally identified for this population by the International Whaling Commission.
This study, led by the Australian Marine Mammal Centre Director Dr Nick Gales, suggests the whales spend more time feeding in temperate waters than believed earlier - areas east of Flinders Island off northeast Tasmania, and west of Fiordland, New Zealand.
Web link to full article: http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=36415
Smart Spayer to Cut Farm Costs
Innovative new technology that has the potential to revolutionise weed management in sugarcane farming is under development at USQ: a weed spot sprayer prototype.
precision spray technology targeting specific weeds could improve weed management by maximising production and reducing herbicide use, while reinforcing minimum tillage concepts.
A prototype has been developed that can successfully discriminate between mature green grassy weeds and sugarcane will reduce the cost of weed control and can be combined with GPS technology to map weed infestation across a field.
Web link to full article: http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20092306-19327.html
News from Around the Globe
Google Crosses Line with Controversial Old Tokyo Maps
When Google Earth added historical maps of Japan to its online collection last year, the search giant didn't expect a backlash. The finely detailed woodblock prints have been around for centuries, they were already posted on another Web site, and a historical map of Tokyo put up in 2006 hadn't caused any problems.
But Google failed to judge how its offering would be received. The company is now facing inquiries from the Justice Ministry and angry accusations of prejudice because its maps detailed the locations of former low-caste communities.
The maps date back to the feudal era, when shoguns ruled and a strict caste system was in place. At the bottom of the hierarchy were a class called the "burakumin," ethnically identical to other Japanese but forced to live in isolation.
Castes have long since been abolished, and the old buraku villages have largely faded away or been swallowed by Japan's sprawling metropolises. But they still face prejudice, based almost entirely on where they live or their ancestors lived.
Web link to full article: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090505a1.html
Source: The Japan Times Online
New App Simplifies Google Maps Markers
My-own-map.com is a new Web-based service that lets anyone create a Google Map with one or more custom markers and copy the code to one's own Website.
German software company telepark has unveiled my-own-map.com, a free online app that circumvents the difficult coding previously required to mark locations on a Google map.
Web link to full article: http://www.newsguide.us/technology/internet/New-App-Simplifies-Google-Maps-Markers/
ERDAS Inc. announces the launch of ERDAS Labs, an informative new site highlighting technology currently being developed.
The site is regularly updated with short postings, screenshots, movie clips and other media showcasing projects as they progress through the developer cycle.
Web link to press release: http://www.ermapper.com/Company/NewsReleases/tabid/96/currentid/3013/objectid/3013/default.aspx
The ocean is a vast, deep, dark place. It has long been a source of mystery and fascination, inspiring epic tales.
Early attempts to measure and better understand its depths involved dropping a rope overboard until the end hit bottom, then hauling up the line hand over hand, counting the lengths. The length of rope between a person's hands when outstretched - roughly six feet - was known as a fathom, and the verb 'to fathom’, as a result, came to mean to measure the depth of something and ultimately, to comprehend it. After all, once we measure something, we immediately know something about it and can start to understand it.
But can you imagine measuring the entire ocean with lengths of rope, when some parts are nearly seven miles deep? Not only would it be practically impossible, but it's a project that's difficult to even imagine pursuing. You might even say it's unfathomable. The truth is, even with the help of today's satellites, the most sophisticated global maps of the ocean floor are really just guesswork. Satellites can hardly see past the surface of the water, let alone the ocean floor, and so the ocean remains relatively opaque to our eyes, our technology, and for the most part, our understanding.
Web link to full article: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/06/why-we-need-to-see-sea.html
Source: Google LatLong Blog
Blue Sky Network and Iridium Equip Open Passage Voyage
Blue Sky Network (BSN) and Iridium Satellite (Iridium) have agreed to supply the Open Passage Expedition with voice communications and GPS mapping technology for its upcoming four month-long Arctic journey.
Equipped with the BSN D2000 device, and the Iridium 9555 satellite phone, the crew of Open Passage's vessel will not only have a constant link to its home base and the general public. It also will benefit from the added safety services provided by real-time location monitoring and emergency notification capabilities.
Web link to full article: http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/Blue_Sky_Network_And_Iridium_Equip_Open_Passage_Voyage_999.html
Source: GPS Daily
A Georgia man said he received a phone call saying the three-bedroom house his father built had been successfully demolished -- by mistake.
He said the demolition company told him the work crew's paperwork and GPS coordinates had led them to the home. He theorized the vacant house across the street was the house sought by the company.
Web link to full article: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/06/11/Man-Wrong-house-demolished/UPI-56861244756422/
Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System (SAROPS)
The US Coast Guard search and rescue (SAR) experts have been assisting officials at the Rescue Coordination Centre in Gris Nez, France with the search for Air France Flight 447.
The search effort has been greatly assisted by the use of SAROPS, a Monte Carlo based system of software that uses thousands of simulated particles generated by user inputs in a wizard based Graphical User Interface.
SAROPS has the ability to handle multiple scenarios and search object types; model pre-distress motion and hazards; and account for the affects of previous searches. It also allows manual inputs of winds and currents input via a ‘sketch’ tool using objective analysis techniques.
SAROPS includes a "reverse drift" capability, which predicts a search area based on the location where floating wreckage is found. This enables search planners to develop optimal search patterns, maximising the probability of successfully locating search objects. By tracking information on when and where debris is found, the SAROPS system works backward using the weather, wind and sea conditions over a specified period of time to estimate a probable location of the plane. Based on this position, search efforts can be focused to find the plane's flight data recorders.
SAROPS in the news: http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/?duty=Show&id=33936
Russian Island Floats Over to Estonia
Estonia has gained an unexpected slice of territory from its former master Russia after a four-hectare tract of land broke free and floated over the border.
Recent high waters dislodged part of one island on the Russian side and sent it drifting into Estonia, where it jammed.
Web link to full article: http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuId=2&ContentID=149921
Upcoming Events
ESRI Survey and Engineering GIS Summit
11-14 July, San Diego, California
At this conference you'll see how to enhance your core business practices and expand your capabilities with the technology that's shaping the future of geospatial data management and analysis.
Registrations are now open.
WA Surveying & Spatial Information Conference 2009
16-17 July, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia
A conference held by the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute, WA Region in conjunction with SIBA.
Program and registration details are available here.
6th International Symposium on Mobile Mapping Technology
21-24 July, São Paulo, Brazil
The main objective of the conference is to discuss the most recent technology and its application, to exchange experiences and to promote future research aiming at the development and the production in the fields related to mobile mapping.
Symposium on Mobile Mapping Technology
HealthGIS2009
24-26 July, Hyderabad, India
The HealthGIS2009 conference will focus on the use of GIS and related Information and Communication Technologies in health sector for exploring the various causative factors for diseases and delibarate on better planning of health care systems.
http://www.e-geoinfo.net/healthgis2009/
10th South East Asian Survey Congress 2009 (SEASC 2009)
4-7 August, Bali International Convention Centre, Nusa Dua, Indonesia
The benefit in attending SEASC 2009 is to synchronize regional and international activities and experience with the developments of the subject.
It is also to promote and advance the science, practice and application of land surveying and geomatics for the advancement of mankind and community and to foster regional cooperation and transfer of technology.
Send your requests or questions to info@seasc2009.org, or visit www.seasc2009.org for further information.
10th Asian Urbanization Conference
16-19 August, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
http://www.hku.hk/asia2009/ or asia2009@hku.hk
Map Asia 2009
18-20 August, Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Singapore
The 8th annual international conference and exhibition on geospatial information, technology and applications is being organised by GIS Development and the Singapore Land Authority.
The Asia and Pacific region demands and offers scope for application of the various Geographic Information technologies like GIS, GPS, Remote Sensing and Imaging.
To meet the requirements of the Geo-informatics community in the Asian region, every year Map Asia raises a platform for the Asian Geo-informatics community to realise, recognise, and reveal the stages of dissemination of Geospatial Information.
GITA Annual Conference
31 August – 2 September, Melbourne, Australia
The GITA Annual Conference includes presentations from leading professionals, detailed workshop sessions and site visits, as well as a comprehensive technology exhibition. The conference includes plenty of networking opportunities and attracts a wide variety of local and international speakers, delegates and exhibitors. Visit the website for more.
IAG2009, Geodesy for Planet Earth
31 August – 4 September, Buenos Aires
IAG2009 will be an event that covers the whole of geodesy in an exciting social environment that extends knowledge, improves practice and widens networks. Following the long outstanding tradition of these scientific assemblies, IAG2009 will be a major scientific event, bringing together geodesists from all over the world, and demonstrating the vital role that geodesy plays in our society.
Visit the website for more.
GISCA 09
27-28 August, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Geographic Information Science and Technologies have evolved into a key instrument for managing our societies, environments and infrastructures, as well as individuals’ daily lives.
The GISCA series of conferences aims at building a Central Asian network of GIS professionals supporting the sustained development of this region into an environmentally friendly, secure and prosperous society.
iGEOMAP Conference
28-29 August, Bangalore, India
The iGEOMAP 2009 conference will address India’s urban infrastructure issues using GIS along with presenting state-of-the-art practices.
ISPRS Workshop Laserscanning 2009
1-2 September, Paris, France
Laserscanning 2009 is the 6th ISPRS workshop dedicated to the processing and the analysis of point clouds acquired and generated from active airborne and terrestrial sensors. LiDAR data has been studied for many years. They are widely used, from accurate city modelling to many thematic approaches (eg. forestry, hydrology) where the topography and the land cover are involved. Based on LiDAR data as well as data from other sensors, surveyors and scientists have built an operational framework to extract spatial information, but also are facing challenging tasks to enhance current point cloud processes.
Laserscanning 2009 will focus on new data, methodologies, algorithms and applications related to the processing of point clouds as well as sensor improvements and new sensor-driven calibration techniques.
Visit the website for more details.
6th International Symposium on Digital Earth (ISDE6)
9-12 September, Beijing, China
The theme of the conference is ‘Digital Earth in Action’ and will continue the tradition of gathering world-class scientists, engineers and educators engaged in the fields of digital earth, earth observation, geo-informatics and relevant applications to review the progress of Digital Earth during the last decade and discuss the achievements of Digital Earth and the recent developments.
Click here for details.
GIS for Oil and Gas Conference
13-17 September, Houston, Texas, USA
The conference will provide opportunities to share knowledge with an audience of hundreds of industry professionals. The GIS for Oil & Gas Conference is the only event of its kind—nowhere else can oil and gas professionals get targeted, high-quality information that will help them maximise their geospatial information. Join the prestigious group of presenters who provide valuable information about real-world applications of GIS technology in the energy industry.
The call for papers is now open.
International Conference on Geo-Spatial Solutions for Emergency Management (GSEM)
14-16 September, Beijing, China
Geo-spatial technology is one of the three emerging technologies in the 21st century. Driven by societal and economical needs, geo-spatial solutions for emergency management techniques are now in the frontiers of the geospatial technology, and have received an increasing interest in the academic, government, industries, and beyond. CASM as the largest multi-disciplined comprehensive research institute in China in the field of surveying and mapping, will strive to make this event a symposium of the highest quality.
Visit the website for all the details.
Spatial Sciences Institute Biennial International Conference
28 September – 2 October, Adelaide, South Australia
This biennial conference is the premier event for spatial sciences in the Australasian region.
The Organising Committee has finalised this year’s program, which will provide you with an exciting opportunity to discover and learn about the spatial sector over three days. With over 200 presentations there is something for everyone, even if you are not specifically involved in the spatial sciences.
To further expand your knowledge and share ideas there will be several unique workshops in the two days leading up to the conference. You may be interested in finding out how to work ‘GPS in GIS’, ‘Object Based Image Analysis Theory’ or ‘3D Visualisation’. Download the registration brochure to find out more, or keep an eye out for more workshops coming soon on the SSC2009 website.
The Map Competition is now open. There are three categories this year. General Purpose, Thematic, and Special Purpose Mapping. Plus there will be an overall winner across all three categories and a ‘People’s Choice’ award. This is a great way to showcase your work and it’s free to enter. Final submissions are due on the 14th of August, and winners will be awarded at the SSC2009 Gala Dinner.
Speakers can be found at the SSC2009 website – Invited Speakers.
If you are interested in any area of spatial technology or locational intelligence, this conference is for you.
For registration and details visit www.ssc2009.com
CoastGIS 2009
30 September – 2 October, Santa Catarina, Brazil
CoastGIS, the International Symposium on http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/news/enews/newsletter.2009-06-30.8362568072/Newsletter_editFormGIS and Computer Mapping for Coastal Management, is a series of conferences that began in Cork, Ireland, in 1995 as a collaboration between the Commission on Coastal Systems of the International Geographical Union and the Commission on Marine Mapping of the International Cartographic Association.
In the early 1990s, both were aiming to find a vehicle through which coastal issues and technological processes could be examined and means by which recent advances in the mapping of the world's coastal zones could jointly find an outlet.
As a major event, the CoastGIS series attracts an international audience of coastal researchers, managers and practitioners who use one or more of the geospatial technologies.
Visit the website for more.
22nd CIPA Symposium (2009)
11-15 October, Kyoto, Japan
The 22nd International Committee for Documentation of Cultural Heritage (CIPA) Symposium will be an international and inter-disciplinary event on recording, documentation, preservation and restoration of cultural heritage applying information and communication technology.
To be held in Asia for the first time, the topics to be covered will include GIS, intellectual property and open source, terrestrial/ aerial photogrammetry and terrestrial/ aerial laser scanning, remote sensing and strategies for long-term archiving of digital information.
7th FIG Regional Conference
19-22 October, Hanoi, Vietnam
The theme of the 7th FIG Regional Conference is ‘Spatial Data Serving People: Land Governance and the Environment - Building the Capacity’ and is divided into three sub-themes: Land Administration; Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) and the Environment; and Capacity Building.
Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial Conference (FOSS4G)
20-23 October, Sydney, Australia
Carrying on the FOSS4G conference tradition, 2009 will present a comprehensive agenda, combining content from across the geospatial spectrum.
In line with the 2009 theme, "User Driven", the conference will have renewed focus on the business imperatives for adopting open source solutions. The program will contain a broad range of presentations and case studies that address the topics of interest to managers and decision makers as well as those that may be more technically orientated.
FOSS4G is a unique event which collects together a global community into a single location for an intensive week of activity. Year on year, FOSS4G provides a great opportunity to take part in a very special event, where ideas mix together with language to create a network of collaboration and creativity.
WALIS Forum
11-13 November, Perth Convention Exhibition Centre
WALIS Forum is one of the premier GIS events in Australia, attracting over 650 participants from a diverse range of professions. Held every 18 months, the Forum provides an opportunity to address issues related to the collection, management and application of geographic or spatial information. WALIS Forum
4th International Conference: Earth from Space – the Most Effective Solutions (2009)
1-3 December, Moscow, Russia
Rapid development of the space information technology has deprived the limited groups of specialists of the privilege to control telecommunications, navigation and remote sensing of the Earth from space. We can witness how Earth observation from space helps to resolve a wide range of practical tasks, becoming a modern public information instrument.
The International Conference "Earth from Space - the Most Effective Solutions" is the largest biennial event in sphere of Earth remote sensing in Russia and CIS countries, attended by around 350 participants from different countries. The goal of the conference is to show the experience of practical use of satellite monitoring in different branches of economy together with the recent developments in remote sensing as the backbone of cost-efficient functioning economic systems and is an opportunity to demonstrate the latest innovations, achievements and practical results in sphere of space information technologies.
Visit the website for more.
IGNSS 2009
1-3 December, Gold Coast, Queensland
The IGNSS symposium will include open forums where users can discuss the implementation and application of GNSS and other location technologies, and voice their concerns in an interactive format with representatives from all the satellite system providers, major manufacturers and applications developers.
The call for papers is now open.
Pacific Island GIS and Remote Sensing User Conference 2009
1-4 December, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
Since the first Pacific GIS&RS Conference in 1999, this annual event has attracted a lot of participants.
Each year the range of GIS&RS technologies presented cover an array of applications including the management of resources of the small island Pacific nations. Shallow water bathymetry derived from satellite imagery, forest function maps to identify areas for to be protected, areas identified for developments in flood zones are some of the applications where the development of GIS&RS in the region have been applied in various sectors. As with previous conferences, there are no fees levied for those wishing to attend.
http://www.picisoc.org/PacInet+2009
FIG Congress 2010
11-16 April, Sydney, Australia
Facing the Challenges – Building the Capacity
Interesting Website of the Month
Quick Maps
Quick maps is a site that contains various small GIF maps of the countries of the world, including size world maps, contour, population and country maps. Also featured are various maps ready to colour in!
Link to website: http://www.theodora.com/maps/
Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is provided for general information purposes. It does not constitute professional or expert advice and you must not use or rely upon it for that purpose. WALIS and the State of Western Australia, do not guarantee and do not accept responsibility for the accuracy, currency, completeness and reliability of the information contained in this newsletter. The opinions contained in the information do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WALIS or the State of Western Australia. Links to other Internet sites are provided for your convenience only and they do not constitute an endorsement, approval or recommendation of the material contained in those other Internet sites. It is your responsibility to evaluate the relevance, accuracy, completeness and reliability of material contained in those other Internet sites.