October 2009 eNews
Highlights include: WALIS International Forum 2009 - Final Announcement; Spotlight on the Pilbara; Ignite Spatial; Australian Data for the Public; Tracking System to Tag Patients; Maps for the Colour-Blind are a Real Eye Opener and Map of the Future Revealed.
What’s Happening in the WALIS Community?
WALIS International Forum 2009 – Final Announcement
WALIS Stakeholders in the News
$80M Perth Super Computing Centre to Boost SKA Bid
Australian Proterozoic Large Igneous Provinces
Resources Symposium: Exploring the Location Intelligence Advantage
Mobile Directory is the way to go
My Landgate and Map Viewer Upgrade
Invitation - Join the Map Viewer Upgrade Customer Reference Group
Australian Angle
Ad Plan Puts Web Maps in Uncharted Territory
AAMHatch IT Specialist Wins Microsoft Master Codemason Competition
Australian Data for the Public
Sydney Water Flies Through Roll Out of Field Mapping Solution
NZ Scientists to Study Tsunami Impacts in Samoa
Tracking System to Tag Patients
The Naked Truth About Our Landscape
Telstra to Build National Warning System
AAMHatch Offers New GeoEye-1 Multi-Site Option
News from Around the Globe
GeoVector Launches Innovative Directional Search Application for Smartphones in the US
Snapshots from Space Cultivate Fans Among Midwest Farmers
Virtual Eye in the Sky Sparks Stalker Fears
Cadcorp and Lovell Johns Selected to Provide Online Map Ordering System
Snowflake Software Unveils INSPIRE Ready Technology at AGI Conference
Pitney Bowes Business Insight Reaches Parcel Data Milestone
New Innovation Licences Offer Free Access to Mapping Data
Waze Turning Road Warriors into Map Builders
Strange Maps: An Atlas of Cartographic Curiosities
Maps for the Colour-Blind are a Real Eye Opener
Upcoming Events
Details of events in Australia and around the world
Interesting Website of the Month
What’s Happening in the WALIS Community?
WALIS International Forum 2009 – Final Announcement
Last chance to register! Don't miss out!
We are very pleased to advise that the final announcement is now available.
For the most up-to-date version of the Forum program, please click here.
The 2009 Forum theme, "Business Intelligence, Business Solutions and Education" aims to engage people with location-based information and demonstrate initiatives in the use of geographic information involving collaboration and sharing of information across government and the private sectors. The WALIS Forum promotes the importance of working together to build a strong geographic information infrastructure and network in a cooperative environment.
If you have not registered for this important, must-attend event - registration is available online by clicking here or alternatively complete the registration form contained in the Final Announcement and return to the Forum Registration Secretariat EECW Pty Ltd.
We look forward to seeing you next month at the Forum!
The WALIS Marine Group is hosting a Marine and Coastal Vulnerability Workshop on 11 November from 3pm as part of the WALIS Forum.
The Workshop Program includes topics on data availability as well as research and projects done in relation to preparing for coastal vulnerably. Following the brief presentations is an opportunity to further discuss particular issues with the panel of speakers.
Events for October are the Data Management Seminar hosted by WAMSI, iVEC, and WASTAC on 27 October and the IMOS Data User Workshop being held on 28 October. Chris Sharples will be giving an update on the Smartline Project on 28 October at UWA.
Visit http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/projects/WALIS_Marine_Group/index.html for more details.
Data GroupThe next Data Group meeting will be held on 1 February 2010.
For the minutes of previous meetings and further information please go to http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/projects/data-and-metadata-group. If you would like to attend the next meeting contact Jade George at jade.george@walis.wa.gov.au.
WALIS Stakeholders in the News
$80M Perth Super Computing Centre to Boost SKA Bid
A new $80 million high-performance computing project launched in Perth today is a significant step forward for the joint Australia-New Zealand bid to host the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio-telescope.
“This collaborative centre will have a radio-astronomy focus and be closely linked with the leading-edge Australian SKA Pathfinder radio-telescope being built in WA as a precursor to the SKA project,” Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, said.
The centre will be built next to the Australian Resources Research Centre in Perth on land owned by CSIRO using funds from the $160.5 million space and astronomy component of the Government's Super Science Initiative, which was announced in the 2009-10 Budget.
It will be operated by iVEC, an organisation dedicated to building supercomputing capacity in WA. iVEC is a joint venture between CSIRO and WA’s four public universities, with support from the State Government.
Web link to full press release: http://minister.innovation.gov.au/Carr/Pages/$80MPERTHSUPERCOMPUTINGCENTRETOBOOSTSKABID.aspx
Australian Proterozoic Large Igneous ProvincesGeoscience Australia has released a large format, web-based map of Australian Proterozoic Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs).
Spatial and temporal distributions of LIPs, mapped at 1:5 million scale and with a time series, point to continent-scale controls on the locations of these major events. The new map will interest explorers searching for nickel, platinum-group elements, chromium, titanium, vanadium and cobalt. It provides a national framework for investigating potentially mineralised environments and for understanding the dynamic evolution of the Australian continent.
Web link to downloads: https://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&catno=69213
Resources Symposium: Exploring the Location Intelligence AdvantageESRI Australia’s Resources Symposium is on again next month, with the one day event being held on 10 November at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre.
The Symposium presents a great opportunity for those in the resources industry to find out more about organisations in Australia and world-wide are using GIS to meet complex challenges in managing all aspects of mining, pipeline and petroleum operations.
The event will feature international and local industry experts who will discuss and demonstrate the advantage that location intelligence delivers to the resources industry, from asset management and field force enablement to planning and analysis and situational awareness.
Registration for the event is available via the web or by downloading the registration form also available online.
For more information about the event, to register online, or view the program, visit www.esriaustralia.com.au/resources_symposium.
Spotlight on the PilbaraRecently, the ABS in conjunction with the Pilbara Development Commission and Department of Regional Development; Lands launched the Spotlight on the Pilbara, a web based publication which brings together statistical information from a range of sources to inform regional strategic planning and policy development in Western Australia.
It is the first in a series of community indicator frameworks being developed for all Development Commission regions across Western Australia and work has now commenced on Spotlights for both the Peel and Mid West regions, as well as a core suite of indicators that will be collected for each Local Government Area across the state.
http://www.regionalspotlights.com.au/
Mobile Directory is the way to goCurtin University of Technology has become the first Australian university to introduce a mobile website to help students access information about support services and campus facilities.
CurtinMobile — purpose-built by Curtin staff, and modelled on similar sites at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford in the United States — was developed as part of the University’s C2010 curriculum project and student retention strategy.
Web link to full article: http://wa.psnews.com.au/Page_WApsn0142.html
Source: PSnews
Ignite SpatialWhat would you say if you had just 5 minutes to give a presentation? What if you only had 20 slides, and each slide lasted exactly 15 seconds?
That's the challenge of Ignite, which started in Seattle in 2006 and quickly became a world-wide phenomenon. Now Ignite is coming to Perth, with a special Ignite Spatial - Perth session devoted to mapping, GIS and other spatial sciences.
Ignite Spatial – Perth, sponsored by NGIS Australia
Thursday 5th Nov, 2009
5.30pm for 6.30pm start
Belgian Beer Café
347 Murray Street, Perth
Hosted by the team which has successfully run Ignite events in Sydney and Melbourne, Ignite Spatial - Perth promises to be a fun and entertaining evening where you'll be guaranteed to learn something new, without suffering 'death by PowerPoint'.
See www.IgniteSpatial.com for more information and to register free.
My Landgate and Map Viewer Upgrade
Landgate will invest $1.1M over nine months to improve the stability of My Landgate and upgrade the Map Viewer.
My Landgate’s performance is a significant and high priority issue for the agency.
Proposed features of the new Map Viewer take into account comments made by almost 500 respondents to Landgate’s Map Viewer Customer Survey. The upgrade will introduce a standard and advanced version to meet varied business requirements.
It will: improve stability and performance; improve compatibility with the latest browsers; improve functionality; and provide additional land information and access to products.
Invitation - Join the Map Viewer Upgrade Customer Reference Group
Landgate invites you to join the Map Viewer Upgrade Customer Reference Group to help ensure that the new Map Viewer meets your expectations.
This is your opportunity to become involved in the development of a valued tool. Some 4000 customers use the Map Viewer and the new version promises to be a benchmark tool for Landgate.
As a participant, your comments about proposed new features will help to develop this new tool and you will be among the first to test its features.
Email your details to mapviewerupgrade@landgate.wa.gov.au Landgate looks forward to hearing from you.
Australian Angle
Ad Plan Puts Web Maps in Uncharted Territory
They know where you are and where you have been but now, with the help of internet mapping technology, advertisers are trying to predict what you want.
In the coming weeks Google will put logos for fast food chains, coffee shops, hotels and travel agents on its popular maps site.
Its rival, Telstra, is going a step further and is planning to serve up ads based on destinations people are searching for in its mapping product.
From early next year people searching for a hospital on its map, Whereis.com, can expect directions to shops selling chocolates or flowers on the way.
Web link to full article: http://www.smh.com.au/business/ad-plan-puts-web-maps-in-uncharted-territory-20090924-g4qm.html
AAMHatch IT Specialist Wins Microsoft Master Codemason Competition
Congratulations to AAMHatch’s Darko Radiceski for winning the Microsoft Master Codemason competition!
Darko was named the winner of the Mobility Smackdown session at the Microsoft Tech.Ed Conference held at the Gold Coast in Queensland.
Darko presented his application, called AAMHatchEye, to the conference participants. AAMHatchEye integrates Virtual EarthTM (now BingTM Maps) and AAMHatch’s Pictometry imagery complete with measurement functionality to enable users to measure height, distance, area and elevation immediately on the Windows Phone. ‘Points of interest’ searches and GPS integration are also available. The application features include 3D models and 360˚ spherical video.
Web link to full press release: http://www.aamhatch.com/news.cfm?itemId=226CC2BB-19B9-EFA7-D6F7FD00EAB10DC2
Australian Data for the Public
http://data.australia.gov.au/ is the home of Australian government public information datasets.
The site encourages you to make government information even more useful by mashing-up the data to create something new and exciting!
Make sure you pay attention to the licence attached to the datasets you are interested in using. Each licence should make clear what you can and can’t do with the data. If you’re unsure, please contact the contributing agency.
Sydney Water Flies Through Roll Out of Field Mapping Solution
Tensing has announced that Sydney Water Corporation is more than 50% complete, ahead of expectation, with the roll out of Tensing Mobile GIS.
Tensing, a leader in geo and mobile solutions in the utilities industry won the project through a Request for Tender (the Australian version of a Request for Proposal) process. Sydney Water is Australia's largest water utility with over 3,200 staff and an area of operations covering 4,903 square miles (12,700 km2).
Web link to full article: http://www.tensing.com/en/news/sydney-water-flies-through-roll-out-of-field-mapping-solution.html
NZ Scientists to Study Tsunami Impacts in Samoa
A team of New Zealand scientists and engineers have travelled to Samoa to gather information on the impact of the September 30 tsunami on coastal communities and infrastructure.
The team comprises four specialists from GNS Science and four from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). The 15-day mission is jointly funded by both organisations.
The information the team collects will be used to refine and improve ‘RiskScape’, a multi-hazard impact assessment tool jointly developed by GNS Science and NIWA to help New Zealand better manage risks from natural hazards.
The New Zealand group has a range of expertise including tsunami modelling, earthquake geology, flood modelling, civil engineering, land surveying and social science.
Web link to full article: http://www.gns.cri.nz/news/release/20091009samoa.html
Root systems are notoriously difficult to study because they are hidden from view in the soil.
At UWA, a three dimensional root architecture model called ROOTMAP is helping unveil the truth beneath the surface.
ROOTMAP was developed as a collaborative partnership between the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), the Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA), the Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA), the UWA School of Plant Biology and the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research (TIAR).
This model was designed to simulate the way that water and nutrient uptake and the growth of crop root systems respond to the changing soil environment.
Web link to full article: http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20090610-19934.html
Source: Science Alert
Tracking System to Tag Patients
Waitemata District Health Board is on the hunt for a system that will let it track patients and equipment in a new $48 million hospital wing.
The system could have patients tagged with radio frequency chips to help track their movements.
Web link to full article: http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/2952711/Tracking-system-to-tag-patients
Source: stuff.co.nz
The Naked Truth About Our Landscape
Australia has been stripped bare of vegetation to expose the surface that lies beneath.
Scientists from CSIRO’s Water for a Healthy Country Flagship have removed approximately 90 per cent of Australia’s vegetation cover from satellite images of the continent to produce the most detailed available Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of its topography.
Web link to full article: http://www.csiro.com.au/news/Naked-truth-about-our-landscape.html
Source: CSIRO
Telstra to Build National Warning System
TELSTRA has been selected to build a $15 million national bushfire warning system that will allow authorities to warn residents in declared disaster zones by their mobile phone.
Telstra will deliver the National Emergency Warning System (NEWS) after beating rival Optus in a competitive tender process led by the Victorian government.
Once in place the system will deliver real-time, location-based warnings to landlines and mobiles based on people's billing addresses. In addition to warning people, the technology could help locate survivors in the aftermath of a fire.
Web link to full article: http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,,26119152-15321,00.html?from=public_rss
AAMHatch Offers New GeoEye-1 Multi-Site Option
AAMHatch is pleased to announce the popular Multi-Site product is now available for 50cm GeoEye-1 satellite imagery. Multi-Site, already available for 80cm IKONOS imagery, allows clients interested in multiple captures over small areas to acquire the higher resolution and more accurate GeoEye-1 satellite imagery.
Web link to full article: http://www.aamhatch.com/news.cfm?itemId=6F1E87E9-19B9-EFA7-D6B78A425DF55839
15-21 November, 2009
“Get Lost in Mapping: Find Your Place in the World”
Maps are all around us. New technologies like sophisticated satellite imagery and geographic information systems (GIS) have taken maps out of atlases and into the palm of your hand. Discover maps where you never expected to find them—GPS devices, online sites, news broadcasts, social networking, and maybe even your own phone.
Geography Awareness Week 2009 explores the world through mapping. Find your continent in giant tile maps, find your country in political outline maps, find your local area through community mapping tools like FieldScope…and find your place in the world!
Visit the website here: http://www.mywonderfulworld.org/index.html
News from Around the Globe
GeoVector Launches Innovative Directional Search Application for Smartphones in the US
GeoVector Corporation, inventor and developer of mobile technology linking digital information with real-world places, has launched its directional search and pointing application for mobile phones.
Developed for compass-enabled GPS smartphones, World Surfer allows users to point their phones in a particular direction to search for retailers, restaurants and other points of interest.
Through GeoVector’s pointing technology, World Surfer users can "Click on the Real World” with their phones to access information, similar to the way computer users navigate their desktop with a mouse.
Web link to full article: http://www.geovector.com/geovector-launches-innovative-direction-al/
Snapshots from Space Cultivate Fans Among Midwest Farmers
Noreen Thomas' farm looks like a patchwork quilt. Fields change hue with the season and with the alternating plots of organic wheat, soybeans, corn, alfalfa, flax, or hay.
Thomas enjoys this view from hundreds of miles above Earth's surface - not just for the beauty, but the utility. She is among a growing group of Midwest farmers who rely on satellite imagery from Landsat to maximise their harvest and minimise damage to their fields. It's become another crucial tool like their tractors and sprinklers.
Web link to full article: http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Snapshots_From_Space_Cultivate_Fans_Among_Midwest_Farmers_999.html
Source: Space Mart
A combination of small satellites can, with innovative methods, use the signals of the navigation satellite systems GPS and Galileo to significantly improve remote sensing of the System Earth.
In September the results of a scientific feasibility study on the first MicroGEM satellites, jointly carried out by the Technical University Berlin and the GFZ - German Research Centre for Geosciences, were presented in Berlin. The study was supported by the TSB Technology Foundation Berlin and the Helmholtz Centre GFZ.
MicroGEM (Microsatellites for GNSS Earth Monitoring) represents satellites with a mass of approx.100 kilograms for monitoring of the Earth. Such small satellites represent a relatively cost effective platform for scientific instruments. GNSS stands for Global Navigation Satellite System, a compendium of the satellite navigation system GPS and, in future, Galileo.
Web link to full article: http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/Small_Gems_In_Space_999.html
Source: GPS Daily
Virtual Eye in the Sky Sparks Stalker Fears
Privacy groups are aghast at early plans to make virtual maps so realistic that individual humans could be spotted and tracked.
United States researchers are working on ways to layer more real-time, real-world information into Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth.
The Georgia Tech trial video of an augmented virtual Earth shows people just walking around, a soccer game being played in a park, how fast clouds move across the sky and the speed traffic is moving along the highway.
But the things you are seeing are not actually real, rather animations based on recordings of real people and events.
Web link to full article: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/29/2699274.htm
Cadcorp and Lovell Johns Selected to Provide Online Map Ordering System
Following a thorough competitive tendering and software evaluation process, Wilbourn Associates has chosen Lovell Johns and Cadcorp to provide an online map ordering system and associated back office GIS software.
Wilbourn Associates set up and registered a new subsidiary company, Green ASAP Ltd, which trades primarily as a web based company.
The Green ASAP website offers, amongst other things, a GreenLight Report in which a user can specify a geographic location using address based searching to order an environmental risk assessment. Underpinning this report offering is the deployment of a transactional website process and back office GIS system capable of handling such enquiries and of processing orders.
Web link to full article: http://www.cadcorp.com/press_releases/2009_pr11.htm
Snowflake Software Unveils INSPIRE Ready Technology at AGI Conference
Snowflake Software demonstrates how customers can get more for less with the launch of their future proof INSPIRE ready technology, saving customers unnecessary costs.
The releases of the company’s two core products provide an out of the box platform for organisations to realise the value of INSPIRE compliance, as well as future proof their existing technology infrastructure and eliminate the threat of unnecessary software development or upgrade costs.
At the conference, where ‘realising the value of place’ was the theme, Snowflake demonstrated the power of its data exchange software by loading Annex 1 INSPIRE data with the latest release of its GO Loader software, which can then be used with a customer’s own existing infrastructure.
Web link to press release: http://blogs.snowflakesoftware.com/news/2009/10/snowflake-software-unveils-inspire-ready-technology-at-agi-conference.htm
Pitney Bowes Business Insight Reaches Parcel Data Milestone
Pitney Bowes Business Insight, the leading global provider of location and communication intelligence solutions, has announced that its parcel coverage has surpassed the 100 million mark, covering more than 1,400 counties and 243 million people across the United States.
Parcel boundaries and centroids provide the most detailed and accurate property location and identification available to organizations in a wide range of industries. Organisations that require precision geocoding and accurate property identification now have access to detailed information in more areas of the country. A variety of industries including financial services, insurance, telecommunications, and government, rely on parcel data to research and analyse property characteristics such as environmental factors, demographics, and tax jurisdictions.
Web link to full article: http://www.pbinsight.com/about/newsroom/press-releases/detail/7632_pitney-bowes-business-insight-reaches-parcel-data-milestone
New Innovation Licences Offer Free Access to Mapping Data
A range of new licences from Ordnance Survey provide users with free access to a wide range of mapping data for experimentation and development.
The move forms part of Ordnance Survey’s new business strategy, which aims to further promote the innovative use of geographic information. Users can now download sample areas of premium products direct from the Ordnance Survey website, while even more data – up to 10% of anywhere in the country – is available for free to those that request it.
The three new licences – entitled ‘Discover’, ‘Evaluate’ and ‘Developer’ – make it easier for businesses, government agencies, social groups and entrepreneurs to experiment with Ordnance Survey data and realise the value of location-based information. Samples of 22 datasets are available, including the entire OS MasterMap product suite of topography, imagery, address and transport network layers.
Web link to full article: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/media/news/2009/september/innovationlicences.html
Click here to access the new licences and free data downloads.
Waze Turning Road Warriors into Map Builders
Technology startup Waze is tapping into the collective knowledge of road warriors in order to make life more pleasant for drivers while creating reliable street maps.
A free Waze: Way to Go service that proved its worth in Israel is making its US debut, inviting motorists to use smart phones to keep one another in the know about speed traps, short cuts, hazards, accidents and more.
Web link to full article: http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/Waze_turning_road_warriors_into_map_builders_999.html
Source: GPS Daily
Strange Maps: An Atlas of Cartographic Curiosities
A year ago, WALIS eNews reported on the blog, Strange Maps.
Frank Jacobs, who hosts Strange Maps, loves maps (but finds most atlases too predictable) and also collects and comments on all kinds of cartographic curiosa. He has authored a book called, “Strange Maps: An Atlas of Cartographic Curiosities”.
It is an intriguing collection of more than one hundred out-of-the-ordinary maps, blending art, history, and pop culture for a unique atlas of humanity.
Spanning many centuries, all continents, and the realms of outer space and the imagination, this collection of 138 unique graphics combines beautiful full-color illustrations with quirky statistics and smart social commentary. The result is a distinctive illustrated guide to the world.
Maps for the Colour-Blind are a Real Eye Opener
For many people map reading can be a struggle, but for the hundreds of thousands that are colour-blind it can be an even more arduous experience.
The traditional rainbow of cartographic colours – green for grass-land and trees, red for main roads and public footpaths, and blue for motorways and rivers – can become indistinguishable, therefore making map reading extremely difficult.
Help may be on the way though, thanks to a new product from mapping agency Ordnance Survey that can be specifically styled to make mapping easier on the colour-blind eye.
The new Ordnance Survey digital mapping has been developed to be customisable, allowing for the creation of colour-blind-friendly styles, which to most people will look very strange but could help avoid future confusion for those with the condition.
Web link to full article: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/media/news/2009/october/colourblind.html
Source: Ordnance Survey
An incredible three-dimensional map made from 700 million individual points of light is the latest step in a geography revolution unfolding on the south coast.
Ordnance Survey has been trialling the use of incredibly accurate lasers to create a spectacularly detailed map that could change the way the national mapping agency works and transform the way we think of maps forever.
Web link to full article: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/media/news/2009/october/futuremap.html
Source: Ordnance Survey
Upcoming Events
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.
GIS in Transit Conference
16-18 November, St Petersburg, Florida
“The Route to Success in Transit GIS”.
Rocket City Geospatial Conference
17 November, Davidson Center for Space Exploration Auditorium, Huntsville, AL
Register here.
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.
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
OZRI and APUC 2010
3-5 March, Gold Coast, Australia
GIS: Extending the reach is the theme for the conference which recognises that GIS has evolved from being seen as a tool to simply link location to information to being acknowledged as a serious business system that delivers real benefits.
The program will consist of four conference streams which will demonstrate how the latest location intelligence solutions are making it easier to extend the reach of GIS, whether it be externally, geographically or technically.
OZRI 2010 will be held on the Gold Coast and will also incorporate the 2010 ESRI Asia Pacific User Conference. ESRI president and founder Jack Dangermond is confirmed as keynote speaker at the event.
FIG Congress 2010
11-16 April, Sydney, Australia
Facing the Challenges – Building the Capacity
MRSS 6th International Remote Sensing and GIS Conference and Exhbition
28-29 April, Putra World Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The main objective of this MRSS 2010 conference is to bring together local and international experts in geospatial technologies, both from the government and private sectors to disseminate knowledge and to share their expertise and experiences in present and future applications and development of RS/GIS/GPS.
The Call for Papers closes 10 January 2010.
OCEANS ’10 IEEE
24-27 May, Sydney, Australia
Showcasing Advances in Marine Science and Engineering
GI-Forum 2010
6-9 July, Salzburg, Austria
The Salzburg University Centre for Geoinformatics together with GIScience at the Austrian Academy of Sciences is offering an annual forum to the worldwide geoinformatics community, bringing together English-speaking researchers and practitioners across disciplines and industries.
Simultaneously, the GI_Forum connects participants into a well established co-located regional symposium - Applied Geoinformatics (AGIT) - sharing the state-of-the art AGIT-EXPO exhibit.
spatial@gov Conference
5-7 October, Canberra Convention Centre, ACT, Australia
Interesting Website of the Month
WALIS International Forum 2009
WALIS International Forum 2009 is just a couple of weeks away!
This year, the Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards gala dinner is also being held in conjunction with WALIS Forum. This is a golden opportunity for WA spatial professionals and their partners to attend this gala event, as it is unlikely to return to Perth for many years.
Forum is being held over three full days this year from Wednesday 11 November until Friday 13 November. Highlights include keynote addresses from Dr Kristine Asch from INSPIRE in Germany, Simon Thompson from ESRI, Hon Gary Nairn (former Special Minister of State), Professor Linlin Ge (NSW Scientist of the Year) and Landgate’s Chief Executive, Mike Bradford.
Winners in the SSSI’s Spatial Technology in Schools competition will also be announced during Forum and presented by the WA Chief Scientist, Dr Lyn Beazley. The students will attend and present their projects, which is one session that should not be missed! They are the future of our industry.
WALIS Forum has been recognised as the largest spatial information event in Australia. Its focus is largely government, although in recent years that focus has changed to include a greater range of sessions of interest to the private sector.
For further information and to register for the Forum, please visit the WALIS website: www.walis.wa.gov.au/forum
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.