#trending geomatics - Durban unit/Surveying_Land... · Augmented and Virtual reality . Two of the most popular words that have been mentioned at Geomatics conferences and magazines

#trending geomatics

AR/VR

DRONES

LAND ADMIN

APPIFICATION

It has become very challenging to keep track of innovation within the Geomatics Industry. This article will present some of the most interesting things that have happened in 2016/2017.

The selection is purely based on the opinion of the author.

AR/VR Augmented and Virtual reality

Two of the most popular words that have been mentioned at Geomatics conferences and magazines across the world in the past year are virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). VR and AR technologies have been said to be two powerful tools that will have a radical influence on the industry. However, today’s Geomatics professionals have low expectations of working in a virtual or augmented world. Are Geomatics professionals conformist compared to other industries? Are VR and AR not really appropriate for Geomatics applications? The Geomatics world is made up of various fields of application, and for those who perceive AR/VR as being a potential disruptive technology will vary depending on the Geomatician’s particular field of work. (Kodde M 2017)

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2016/2017 Performance Article: Sharlene Naidoo

Pokémon Go shows that theGeomatics industry is movingin an exciting new direction andis beginning to unite with arange of other technologies,data and users.

Pokémon Go is a location basedgaming app combined withaugmented reality. Playersnavigate using a 3D map tolocate and capture thePokémon creatures. Players usetheir mobile devices to battleeach other at ‘PokéStops’.These PokéStops are geo-tagged locations and oftenthese stops are public places.When players locate thePokémons at the PokéStops,the Pokémon creatures aresuperimposed onto a real-world backdrop usingaugmented reality with

smartphone cameratechnology. Pokémon is a real-time mapping platform, with alayer for gaming.

This gaming app uses mobiledevices, global navigationsatellite system (GNSS)positioning, gaming softwareall combined with AR. Themaps used for Pokémon Go issaid to be “richer than Googlemaps”. The map used hasvarious layers of the real worldand Pokémon world data. Thiscreates a whole new dimensionfor Pokémon players.

Geomaticians work relativelyclose to town planners. One ofthe functions of Town plannersis to plan space, they makedecisions based on what,where and when somethingshould be built. Geomaticianscan provide a service to aidplanners in this respect.#TRENDING

GEOMATICS

In relation to Pokémon Go,Planners are the players andthey battle their own Pokémon- engineers, architects,developers, communitymembers and policy-makers.

The various layers of spatialdata helps planners to pictureand design spaces without thehassle of going through policy,zoning and urban designguidelines. This new dimensionwill help planners learn and usethis technology in theirindustry.

Eventually Geomaticians shouldcreate a similar app toPokémon Go for town plannersand other professions linked tothe Geomatics industry. Indoing so Geomaticians arereinventing the builtenvironment world. (Conway N2016)


DRONES

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One of the most trending topicsof this year were drones. Anexponential growth is seen indrones being used in varioussectors, such as agriculture,defense and intelligence,search and rescue and so on.

One of the greatest challengesthe drone industry faces aresafety regulations. Regulationsare fundamental and the rulesthat are already in place are notadequate enough and is notevolving as the technologyevolves. Drones are evolvingevery month in terms ofwireless connectivity, sensors,software systems and design.

An intelligent air space networkneeds to be created to link theall the drones onto a commonsystem which will create safetyin the skies. LATAS (LowAltitude Traffic and AirspaceSafety) is one of the first digitalair traffic control systems fordrones. This system requiresthe precise location of eachconnected drone, information

on what's happening aroundthe drone (in the air and onground). This data has to besynced to a central database(which is a cloud basedplatform) and the UAV. LATAShas multiple other featuressuch as weather and cellularcoverage.

used to simply display the datain the app and alert operatorabout potential dangers. Thisshould also be built into thedrone’s system so that thedrone itself can automaticallymake smarter decisions.(Buczkowski A 2016)

The LATAS platform requires‘Drone to Dronecommunication’, where realtime data is shared amongstdrones that are registered inthe system. The system will

then provide data of thepositions of the drone andshare it within the network. Indoing so prevent collisions inthe air.

Manufacture’s of drones canintegrate LATAS within theirplatforms and apps. It can be

A screenshot from the LATAS software

Screenshot from the LATAS software

LAND ADMINISTRATION“Fit for purpose approach”

Land administration is theessential infrastructure for thesustainable economic andsocial development of allsocieties. Therefore it willalways be trending in theGeomatics world. In lessdeveloped countries the simpleindication of properties andboundaries is satisfactory forbasic land administration. TheWorld Bank and theInternational Federation ofSurveyors (FIG) developed the‘Fit for purpose’ approach. Thisapproach helps to ensure thatland administration is designedto meet the needs of peopleand the environment. The wayin which land is occupiedshould be identified at lowcosts in a short time frame.Developing a correct landadministration system is anintricate procedure and is bothcost and time consuming. Itusually takes years to noticethe change it brings in society.

This is a situation which doesnot allow for economicdevelopment. Therefore the ‘Fitfor purpose’ approach becomesan adaptable and practicalapproach. This means that land

administration systems aresimple at the start and canimprove over time whenevernecessary or relevant.

It is a dynamic process:purposes evolve, thusadministrations as well.(Kadaster 2017)

Economic development,sustainable growth and a betterfuture for generations is thedriving force for good landgovernance. The fit-for-purposemethodology requires buildingand sustaining landadministration systems that aregood enough to reach theultimate objective, instead ofinvolving top-end technologicalsolutions and complying withstrict regulations for accuracy.

Essentially a more sophisticatedcadastral system needs to bedeveloped.

Good land administration andregistration provides a meansof escape from poverty fordeveloping countries. The fit-for-purpose approach enablescountries to start takingdecisive action by building acadastre sooner rather thanlater. (Wegan W 2017)

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Land parcels created on GIS from Satellite imagery.

‘Fit-for-purpose’ experiment - Kenya

LAND ADMINISTRATION

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There are approximately 20percent of the land parcels inKenya that have been surveyedand are registered. The cost toadjudicate, demarcate, survey,map and register a two-hectareparcel in Kenya starts athundred dollars per parcel. Anestimation of 15 million parcelsare still to be surveyed andincluded in the registry. Thisamount of money for adeveloping country is difficultto obtain.

A test for the fit-for-purposeapproach was initiated inKenya, Makueni County, by thesurveying community. Thetest’s purpose was toinvestigate how to organisesupport and a nationwideintroduction of the fit-for-purpose approach.

This type of cadastral surveyrequired the participation ofneighbours, family members,etc.

Therefore communityinvolvement is fundamental. Toensure that all parties areinvolved and aware of theprocess villagers were informedin advance. The on-site processcan be monitored by everyonein the village. The collecteddata was captured by a mobiledevice and synced to a cloud-based GIS environment. Thereason for this is to ensure thateveryone can follow theprocess, in turn creating“remote participation”. Thefield test demonstrated thatfield data collection and datahandling can be carried out in aunited, participative, fast,affordable and reliable manner.

With a very mountainousterrain in six hours, fortyparcels were surveyed by twosurveyors. The results werereceived well. Nonetheless, thelegal and institutional set-uprequires a considerate amountof attention and looking into so

that the approach can beuseful.

All that took part in thisinvestigation decided that theapproach needs furtherinvestigation so that there canbe improved land titles andgood land governance. (AmbaniS 2017)

A number of companies this yearwere continuing the trend ofoffering their services throughapps - Location-Based Services orLocation Intelligence . There aremany different apps that havebeen introduced in the past fewyears to help companies toincrease accessibility, smartphoneapps are becoming more commonfor geospatial products.

GPS is operated and owned by theUnited States of America andEurope has decided that beingcompletely reliant on anothercountry's GPS system would leavethem vulnerable. The EuropeanCommission announced that“Europe’s satellite navigationsystem Galileo will start offeringits initial services free of charge:

• Support to emergencyoperations: For a person lost atsea or in a remote mountainousarea it will probably take hoursuntil they are detected. With aGalileo enabled device a personwho sends out a distressed callcan now be detected andrescued more quickly.

APPIFICATIONThe time will be reduced toonly 10 minutes. Galileo'sclocks are accurate to lessthan one nanosecond per 24hours, it can pinpoint yourlocation to within a metre. Ithas been discussed that thisservice can be improved inthe future by informing thesender of the distressed callthat help is on the way.

• More accurate navigationfor citizens: Galileo enableddevices, smartphones andcar navigation systems, willnow have free positioning,navigation and timingservices. By 2018, Galileowill be found in all newmodels of vehicles sold inEurope, offering improvednavigation services to arange of devices. Peopleusing navigation devices incities with tall buildings, willparticularly benefit from theincrease in positioningaccuracy.

• Better time synchronisationfor criticalinfrastructures: Galileo’s


high precision clocks, willhelp to assist in more bettertime synchronisation ofbanking and financialtransactions,telecommunications andenergy distributionnetworks. This will helpimprove their capabilities.

• Secure services for publicauthorities: During nationalemergencies or crisissituations, such as terroristattacks, Galileo will providean encrypted service forgovernment users to ensurecontinuity of services.

Galileo is now producing highlyaccurate signals, but are notavailable all the time. This iswhy Galileo signals will be usedin combination with othernavigation systems like GPSduring the Initial Phase. Newsatellites will be launched toenlarge the Galileoconstellation, which willgradually improve Galileo signalavailability worldwide. Theconstellation is expected to becompleted by 2020.(European Commission 2016)

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By its very nature, Geomatics is well positioned to take up the challenge to constantly and consistentlydevelop with emerging technology with other related industries; it can put existing technologies towork and develop new ones, helping to boost economies in emerging markets, to further decreasepoverty for many in other parts of the world.

Its important for Geomaticians to keep up to date with all fields within the Geomatics industry.Technology will continue to advance and Geomaticians will find new and exciting ways to use it. IfGeomaticians to resist progress and decide not to keep up with technology and the trends of theindustry they are likely to fade away into obscurity.


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CONCLUSION

Kodde M, W. W. 2017. The advancing industry of geoinformation. GIM International.Conway N. 2017. Pokémon Go reinvents spatial planning. Planning and TechnologyToday no. 114.Buczkowski A. 2016. LATAS – the advanced airspace safety app that will tell youwhere and when to fly the drone. Available: http://geoawesomeness.com/latas-the-advanced-airspace-safety-app-that-will-tell-you-where-and-when-to-fly-the-drone/Kadaster. 2017. 'Fit for purpose' land administration. Available:https://www.kadaster.com/-fit-for-purpose-land-administrationWegan W. 2017. The necessity of a modern cadastral system. GIM International.Ambani S, K. J., Lemmen C,. 2017. Handheld land administration mapping methods.European Commission. 2016. Galileo goes live Brussles. Available:http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-4366_en.htm

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#trending geomatics - Durban unit/Surveying_Land... · Augmented and Virtual reality . Two of the most popular words that have been mentioned at Geomatics conferences and magazines