MobiNav

[Source: Directions Magazine]

The German radar satellite, TanDEM-X, is in the process of generating a global Digital Elevation Model – WorldDEM – of unprecedented quality, accuracy and coverage. Its accuracy will surpass that of any satellite-based elevation model available today and will have the following unique features:

• Vertical accuracy of 2m (relative) and 10m (absolute)
• 12m x 12m raster
• Global homogeneity
• Highly consistent dataset as a result of an initial global data collection window of 2.5 years and the opportunity to continue to collect locally beyond the initial collection period
• No need for ground control information due to the high geometric precision of German sensors

[Source: Aol defense]

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: Google will soon make public information about virtually every ship at sea, giving the current location and identity even of American warships. Meanwhile, the company is consulting with the Navy and others about security issues.

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[Source: Le Figaro]

L’éditeur français de logiciels vient de lancer l’acquisition de l’entreprise canadienne Gemcom Software International, société spécialisée dans la modélisation en 3D pour le secteur minier.
«la complémentarité avec notre métier est totale. Les grands clients de Gemcom, dont les produits vont être rebaptisés Geovia, pourraient être intéressés par nos autres outils de modélisation», se félicite Bernard Charlès, le directeur général de Dassault Systèmes. Enfin, les logiciels de la société de Vancouver vont aider l’éditeur français à modéliser la planète, «avec une précision de 30 cm, ce qui sera beaucoup plus précis qu’avec Google Earth», prévient le directeur général.

[source: Directions magazine]

According to a 2010 Berg Insight Report, Mobile Navigation Services – 4th edition – more than 200 million navigation systems are in use worldwide, including about 40 million factory installed and aftermarket in-dash navigation systems, more than 120 million PNDs and about 44 million navigation-enabled mobile phones.

POI USERS: The audience for these navigational products is diverse: according to the Infogroup/ORC survey, 69% of US respondents said they currently use a mobile GPS system or navigation aid at least once a month. Households with children tend to use more navigation products, both free and paid.

POI TRENDS: According to the Infogroup/ORC survey, respondents listed restaurants as their top POI category, with 69% saying they searched for eateries and coffee shops the most.

When asked: What points of interest categories do you search for the most, respondents answered: * 69 % selected Restaurants/Coffee Shops * 49% said Shopping/Department Stores/Grocery Stores * 31% chose Hotels/resorts * The survey showed very strong demand for traffic reports and fuel prices (55% and 44% respectively) and these items were named as the most important enhancements to respondents’ navigation systems * 39% said that ‘weather’ was a key enhancement versus 21% for coupons and 9% for movie reviews and show times * Of current features in their Navigation system, 89% stated ‘Directions’ as most important; followed by traffic alerts (26%) and fuel prices (11%)

Steve Jones, independent GIS logistics consultant, introduces the core map data used for routing in his recent articile « Introduction to Road Data » appeared in Directions Magaszine.

Part 1 of the his article covers road network accuracy, network connectivity and road speeds, hierarchical routing, and road classification.

Part 2 of the article gets into the details of using a road network for routing vehicles. He discusses how road speeds and impedances are applied, and addresses the use of traffic data (historical and current).

The Web Map Gallery managed by Directions Magazine is a rich resource to show what others geospatial professionnals have created.  For example:

KOLKATA
10 December, 2008

Category: Retail

Industry: Cartography

Brief Description: MAP OF THE CITY OF KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA

Server-side technologies: ARCIms

Server-side applications: arciMS

Commercial GIS Software used: arciMS, arcgIS

Time invested in development: 3 YEARS

The Geolocation API defines a high-level interface to location information associated only with the device hosting the implementation, such as latitude and longitude. Read the rest of this entry »

[by Mark Lucas & Scott Bortman, originally published at The Open Source Business Resource]

« There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come. » Victor Hugo

The availability of geospatial data sets is exploding. New satellites, aerial platforms, video feeds, global positioning system (GPS) tagged digital photos, and traditional geographic information system (GIS) information are dramatically increasing across the globe. These raw materials need to be dynamically processed, combined and correlated to generate value added information products to answer a wide range of questions.

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Coupling the development of a social ecosystem with the general goals of providing stability, marketing, and shared resources has helped make OSGeo an open source development success story. It brings together code, users and funding in a way that encourages further growth of solid products in an increasingly competitive business environment.

Removing barriers and finding common goals has helped to move forward not just geospatial technologies, but open source products in general. This provides more options to global organizations, helping them to avoid the risks of proprietary lock-in and black-box business services. (more>>)

[By Adena Schutzberg Directions Magazine ]

What Rich Internet Applications are and how they are made? This primer explains the basics that end users need to know as they begin exploring and using the latest online mapping and GIS applications that take advantage of frameworks including AJAX, Adobe Flex, Microsoft Silverlight and Google Gears