Intergeo Digital 2020: A Geospatial Community First

A Pioneering Online-only Gathering of the International Geo-IT Industry

Despite having to improvise, this year’s pioneering digital edition of Intergeo has received a lot of positive feedback. It became the international geospatial industry’s first-ever online-only event after the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the live edition from being held in Berlin from 13-15 October as planned. With its high thematic relevance, an interactive and stable online platform succeeded in bringing together members of the geomatics community, even during the current pandemic. A huge number of exhibitors, visitors, speakers and conference attendees seized the opportunity to participate in the fully digital event. Nearly 12,000 participants created a digital profile on the platform.... (read more)

2020-11-25 02:05:08

Digital Twins for Spatial Planning

Developing an Online 3D Model of the City of Groningen

The Dutch city of Groningen wants to follow in the footsteps of other cities such as Rotterdam, Hamburg, Singapore and Helsinki by developing a 3D digital model. For the team working on the 3D Digital City of Groningen project, the aim is for the image on the computer screen to be an identical replica of the reality outside. The City of Groningen in the Netherlands is committed to working in 3D whenever possible; in fact, its motto is ‘We work in 3D unless...’. The municipality’s City Engineers, City Design and Geo & Data departments are currently working together to develop... (read more)

2020-11-24 04:14:28

Interoperability Requires Sustainable Choices

Where the LADM and LandInfra Standards Meet

The Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) is a conceptual standard developed by ISO. LandInfra is a conceptional standard with an encoding in GML (InfraGML) developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). The two standards have partly complementary but also partly overlapping functionalities. Apart from InfraGML, there are several other implementation standards. This article is an attempt to re-open the debate on the development of standardization with future-proof choices in the domains of land surveying, land administration and infrastructure. [body]Land administration is by its very definition distributed among a host of different units. Efficient administration calls for the interoperability of information... (read more)

2020-11-19 12:03:39

NavVis Launches Processing in the Cloud for Fast Laser Scanning Workflows

NavVis, an innovator in indoor mobile mapping, has introduced the Cloud Processing Add-on for NavVis IndoorViewer, a cloud-based tool designed to enable users to quickly and easily convert laser scans into survey-grade, photo-realistic point clouds from data captured by NavVis M6 and the new wearable device, NavVis VLX. The fully integrated NavVis indoor mapping solution is relied upon by laser scanning service providers, professional surveying firms, and Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) companies. “We wanted to offer our users a processing tool that significantly speeds up and simplifies their workflows, so they can benefit both in the short and long term,” said Lisa... (read more)

2020-11-19 11:05:36

Bright Perspectives of Mapping from Above

Recent technological developments have made aerial surveying more exciting than ever. For imagery, ground resolutions of 2cm can now be reached, whereas for Lidar, pulse frequencies of 4GHz and point clouds of 30-40 points/m2 are no longer unusual. Simultaneous acquisition of imagery and Lidar is becoming increasingly popular. To optimize the production chain and improve the workflow, many survey companies are looking to artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL) as the holy grail. Given the impressive amount of training data available, the continuously better performing CPUs and GPUs and the many hours of research invested in this subject, there... (read more)

2020-11-12 09:28:30

How to Use Mobile Mapping for CAD & BIM As-built Documentation

There is a general acknowledgement in the scanning and mapping industry that, compared to terrestrial laser scanners (TLS), mobile mapping systems significantly increase scanning speed and point cloud coverage. This is especially true for building interiors and equipment. This results in reduced time on site, which in turn lowers the cost of scanning for the service provider. There is a general acknowledgement in the scanning and mapping industry that, compared to terrestrial laser scanners (TLS), mobile mapping systems significantly increase scanning speed and point cloud coverage. This is especially true for building interiors and equipment. This results in reduced time on site, which in turn lowers the cost of scanning for the service provider. So why isn’t every scanning service provider switching from a TLS to a mobile system? The answer is that there is still a lot of hesitation concerning the data quality that mobile mapping systems can achieve, as well as uncertainty about which of... (read more)

2020-11-04 01:34:41

Digitizing Hydrocarbon Storage Tanks

An Efficient and Safe Pre-maintenance Analysis

Carrying out essential maintenance on storage tanks can be complex. This case study outlines how a 3D topographic tank survey enabled identification of which areas of the tanks required maintenance. After capturing an image of the tanks with a laser scanner, the geospatial data was visualized, resulting in the full project as a digital twin. This project is an example of how technologies are changing the traditional approach to surveying techniques. The API Refinery of Ancona SpA is a petrochemical plant located along the Flaminia Route in the seaside resort of Falconara Marittima, Italy. Built on an area of 700,000... (read more)

2020-10-30 02:37:19

Intergeo 2020: Digital, Interactive, International

Direct exchange, lively discussions, lots of information and great entertainment. High acceptance of the digital offer in pandemic times by the geo-community. Prof Dr Hansjörg Kutterer from the organizer DVW is very pleased with the response: “The challenge of a fully digital event received very positive feedback from all our guests, exhibitors and speakers. With Intergeo.digital we have realized a comprehensive and innovative event concept within a very short period of time”. Christoph Hinte, organizer of Intergeo.digital, adds: “We have succeeded in establishing a stable digital platform that has generated a vast volume of interaction. Together with all partners, we... (read more)

2020-10-16 04:21:41

Digital Intergeo 2020 Starts This Tuesday

From 13 to 15 October, the virtual doors to Intergeo 2020 will be open on www.intergeo.digital. This year, all the familiar ingredients of the annual Intergeo event will be available online: exhibitors, products, highlights, keynotes, networking and global matchmaking! Through the virtual ‘entry hall’, visitors can access all the areas: Discover, Learn, Connect and Conference. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, all the essential elements of the live trade fair – the conference, exhibitor stands with various interaction options, stages, personal exchange, and areas for networking and getting to know each other – are this year being translated into... (read more)

2020-10-12 01:49:20

Planning Information for the Public Falls Short of Reality

3D Data Visualization for Urban Design and Planning

Working with Pittsburgh’s City Planning Department, a Carnegie Mellon University research team completed an in-depth study of the current use of 3D software for planning tasks and public communication.[1] We started with several assumptions: the public has difficulty understanding most site and building plans and other types of visual material but does understand artist renderings; most architectural and planning firms use 3D visual programmes such as Geospatial and Building Information Modelling (BIM) software; and city planning departments that communicate with the public know how to communicate their visual documents in ways that citizens understand them. We were wrong. Citizens expect... (read more)

2020-10-12 10:01:33