GEOMATICS / GIS service World

Study on WetLands

2010-08-19T02:02:00.000-07:00

SBL Undertakes A Temporal Study On Wetlands
SBL has ventured into a new temporal study, this time, in the coastal region of Kerala. Satellite imageries are being analyzed over the last four decades to find the decadal variations in the land use of Kole lands of Malappuram and Trissur Districts in the state of Kerala, India.

For details click here

Article - Mapping Services

2010-07-21T02:23:00.000-07:00

The integration, storage, editing, analysis, sharing, and displaying of geographical information by merging cartography and database technology is known as GIS Mapping.

To know more about GIS Mapping services check this article GIS Mapping Services

Orthophoto generation

2010-07-07T02:45:00.000-07:00

Check this article about Orthophoto Generation

DEM/DTM Generation

2010-07-01T03:41:00.000-07:00

Digital Elevation Model is the representation of earth’s topography using digital methods. Digital elevation model is also called as digital terrain model (DTM). DEMs or DTMs can be represented as original maps, square grids or irregular network of triangles.
The main application of DEM are,

GIS Services
Surface Analysis
Orthophoto generation
Global Positioning System
Aerial Photography
Bare Earth Surface Model
Base Mapping
3D Visualization

To get more information check this link DEM/DTM generation

Check this video

2010-07-01T03:12:00.000-07:00

Georeferenced data processing services

2010-03-29T23:36:00.000-07:00

To georeference something means to define its existence in physical space,which means establishing its location in terms of map projections or coordinate systems. The term is used both when establishing the relation between raster or vector images and coordinates but also when determining the spatial location of other geographical features. Examples would include establishing the correct position of an aerial photograph within a map or finding the geographical coordinates of a place name or street address. This procedure is thus imperative to data modeling in the field of geographic information systems (GIS) and other cartographic methods.These can be done by georeferenced data processing service providers. When data from different sources need to be combined and then used in a GIS application, it becomes essential to have a common referencing system. This is brought about by using various georeferencing techniques. Most georeferencing tasks are undertaken either because the user wants to produce a new map or because they want to link two or more different datasets together by virtue of the fact that they relate to the same geographic locations.

reference: wikipedia

Photogrammetry services

2010-03-29T02:43:00.000-07:00

Digital photogrammetry includes

* Tile generation in user defined dimension
* Contour generation
* stereo compilation
* Lidar data processing
* orthophotography services
* Mosaicking and tile generation
* Pan sharpening
* Change detection
* 3D terrain visualization
* Slope aspect analysis
* Land cover classification
* Aerial Triangulation services
* Satellite Imagery Interpretation and Classification
* Topographic / planimetric / 3D feature extraction
* Digital elevation modeling and editing (DEM,DTM)
* Orthophoto generation | Orthorectification
* Color Balancing, Creating mosaics
* Edge matching
* Triangulated irregular network (TIN)

Importance of CAD drafting

2010-03-18T04:04:00.001-07:00

CAD drafting services plays an important role in our daily life.CAD is an important industrial art extensively used in all areas and in many applications, including automotive, shipbuilding,aerospace industries, industrial and architectural design, prosthetics, and many more. CAD has been a major driving force for research in computational geometry, computer graphics (both hardware and software), and discrete differential geometry.

Because of its enormous economic importance, CAD drawings are the most effective way to document technical drawings and related information in an organized manner. CAD combined with GIS enables data to be analysed geographically.

CAD conversion services ranges from GIS to CAD format conversion,
CAD to GIS format conversion, CAD Drafting, paper to CAD conversions etc.

GIS mapping services

2010-03-10T20:33:00.000-08:00

Mapping services are categorized based on user specified specifications.
some of the important services are:
* Custom mapping: Mapping Services and GIS Data for Businesses purposes
* Shoreline mapping: The wet/dry line is the feature mapped as the shoreline on historical photography. Therefore to detemine a representative elevation of the wet/dry line so that our lidar-derived elevation-based shoreline is comparable to earlier mapped shorelines.
* Utility mapping : This mapping experience ranges from in all sort of field ie small corner gas stations, through industrial plants, military installations, to entire towns, and involves every type and construction of pipe and cable - including utilities beneath buildings or other structures.
* Muncipal mapping : Includes mapping of town planning.
* Parcel mapping
* Mapping of reclamation activities
* Wildlife and habitat monitoring

Digital elevation model data processing

2010-03-02T01:28:00.000-08:00

For knowing more on DEM/DTM check the link digital elevation modeling
georectification services

Various services in GIS / Geospatial

2010-02-23T21:54:00.000-08:00

Some of the services offered in GIS are as follows:
GIS services:
1. Georeferencing services
2. Geo-rectification / Georectification services
3. Geo-coding services
4. Image georectification services
5. spatial analysis services
6. GIS mapping services

Photogrammetry services:
1. Aerial remote sensing
2. Aerial Triangulation requirements
3. photogrammetry application in gis
4. Orthophotography services
5. Aerial Triangulation in photogrammetry, Aerial Triangulation service
6. Orthophoto rectification service
7.LiDAR services

CAD services:
1. CAD drafting services
2. gis cad services
3. CAD to GIS services
4. CAD parcel mapping
5. CAD cadastral mapping services
6. Mechanical, Civil, Engineering services

GIS Application development:

1. GIS web Applications development
2.GIS Application customization
3. GIS software development
4. mobile mapping applications

Creation ofDigital Elevation Model (DEM)

2010-02-16T02:10:00.000-08:00

For the accurate removal of the image distortions, a digital elevation model (DEM) is used to make image orthorectification. The requisite DEM can be produced by semi-automatic DEM extraction software from stereo satellite scenes obtained by the QuickBird, IKONOS, SPOT-5, or ASTER satellite sensors, and stereo aerial photography.

In situations where higher mapping accuracy standards are required, the DEM is extracted from the already existing topographic maps with reference to a standard scale or collected using stereo satellite image data.

To obtain this accuracy standard, adequate GPS-derived ground control points (GCPs) are necessary. Other remote sensing techniques can also be used such as radar interferometry or LIDAR.

When a particular vector data needs to be extracted from satellite or aerial image data by raster-to-vector translation, the process of ortho rectification of the remotely sensed image data can rectify all digital images of geological, environmental, topographic or any other source map which will be used in the GIS mapping environment.

Creating anOrthophoto / Orthorectification

2010-02-16T01:59:00.000-08:00

Web mapping services

2010-02-03T23:51:00.000-08:00

The GIS /Mapping services specializes in Graphical Information Systems (GIS), and has produced several interactive online maps (and printed maps) for public use.Today, a variety of Web mapping services exist, each of them providing a similar interface to extensive mapping and other GIS data.Compare various web map services and service providers http://www.sblgis.com/web-mapping-services.aspx
,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_map_services .

What is orthophoto generation and orthophotography?

2010-02-02T01:35:00.000-08:00

An Orthophoto or orthophotograph is an aerial photograph geometrically corrected ("also known as ortho rectified , can be done by service providers ie Orthophoto rectification service"). Unlike an uncorrected aerial photograph, an orthophotograph can be used to measure true distances, because it is an accurate representation of the earth's surface, having been adjusted for topographic relief lens distortion, and camera tilt.The concept of geo-rectification services/georectification services comes under Orthophoto rectification service.
Orthophotographs are commonly used in the creation of a(GIS) Geographic Information System and is useful in GIS mapping services. Software can display the orthophoto and allow an operator to digitize or place linework, text annotations or geographic symbols (such as hospitals, schools, and fire stations). Some software can process the orthophoto and produce the linework automatically.

An orthophoto is an aerial photograph planimetrically corrected, thus an orthophoto is generated Orthophotographs have the positive attributes of a photograph such as detail and timely coverage, and the positive attributes of a map including uniform scale and true geometry. This enables orthophotographs to be used in their primary role as a backdrop on which map features can be overlaid. Orthophotos represent the primary use of remote sensing
imagery.

Orthophotos are now created by scanning aerial photographs and converting them into a raster image file format. A digital terrain model is added as a means of collecting ground points to indicate the changes in elevation. When control points are identified on the aerial photos, stereo models are developed and geometric distortions are estimated. The image is rectified and georeferened using mathematical models of photogrammetry to remove tilt, terrain, atmospheric and other digital image distortions.
Multiple photographs can be analyzed, corrected, and mosaicked / mosaicing all at once by a process called “bundle adjustment”, in which interrelated sets of equations are used to find a globally optimal set of corrections across all photographs. If a photo is black and white, each pixel is assigned a single numerical value corresponding to its light intensity. Color orthophotos are handled in an analogous way by transforming a vector of light intensities for different color bands into a single number. After the model has been scanned, the film is then developed as a negative orthophotograph, and it would usually be brought to the required scale by appropriate scaling or setting of the stereomodel and can be enlarged or reduced by the user if the scaling has not been adjusted after being scanned.

Reference : Wikipedia

Common uses of DEMs

2010-01-29T03:46:00.000-08:00

Extracting terrain parameters,Modeling water flow or mass movement (for example avalanches and landslides),Creation of relief maps,Rendering of 3D visualizations,3d flight planning,Creation of physical models (including raised-relief maps),Rectification of aerial photography or satellite imagery, Reduction (terrain correction) of gravity measurements (gravimetry, physical geodesy), Terrain analyses in geomorphology and physical geography, geographic information system(GIS), Engineering and infrastructure design, Global positioning systems (GPS), Line-of-sight analysis, Base mapping, Flight simulation, Precision farming and forestry, surface analysis, Intelligent transportation systems (ITS).

Reference: Wikipedia

Remote sensing and photogrammetry Applications

2010-01-28T01:28:00.000-08:00

Does anyone knows the inventor of LiDAR ?
LiDAR discovered by hendy in 1976.Light detection and ranging (LIDAR) is well known in the examples of weapon ranging, laser illuminated homing of projectiles.Lidar services is used to detect and measure the concentration of various chemicals in the atmosphere, while airborne LIDAR can be used to measure heights of objects and features on the ground more accurately than with radar technology. Vegetation remote sensing is a principle application of LIDAR.

What is aerial triangulation and aerial photogrammetry?

2010-01-20T03:39:00.000-08:00

Aerial photogrammetry is a technique for creating two dimensional 2D or 3D models from aerial photographs, which are pictures of the Earth from a high point, usually an airplane. Aerial photogrammetry usually requires photographs of two or more angles of the same area in order to map the image, and it may or may not involve computer software. These photographs are then turned into the models by cartographers.
The Aerial photogrammetry services is used to create topographical maps. These maps may be either 2D or, more recently, 3D computer models of terrain. The resulting maps and models may be useful in analyzing both small and large geographical areas. These maps may be used as a basis for, or in conjunction with, GIS data.Also Aerial Triangulation is the calculation of true ground co-ordinates, used as the base reference in photogrammetry.

Digital Elevation/ Digital Terrain Model Tips (DEM/DTM)

2010-01-14T22:36:00.000-08:00

Digital elevation are frequently obtained by remote sensing rather than direct survey. These can be prepared in a number of ways,but one of the powerful technique for generating digital elevation model is interferometric synthetic aperture radar: two passes of a radar satellite (such as RADARSAT-1), or a single pass if the satellite is equipped with two antennas (like the SRTM instrumentation), suffice to generate a digital elevation map tens of kilometers on a side with a resolution of around ten meters.
A digital elevation model (DEM) or digital elevation modeling is a digital representation of ground surface topography or terrain, thus also widely known as a digital terrain model (DTM) or digital terrain modeling. A DEM can be represented as a raster , a grid of squares or as a triangular irregular network. digital elevation models are commonly built using remote sensing techniques, but they may also be built from land surveying. DEMs are used often in GIS, and are the most common basis for digitally-produced relief maps. DTM DEM generation is commonly used in remote sensing gis.

GIS Application development and software development

2010-01-14T22:24:00.000-08:00

In GIS Application development and software development first of all we create spatial information systems to accelerate client businesses forward and offers Map Customization, GIS Application customization, Custom Tool Development, Application Migration, Web GIS, mobile mapping applications
etc . Now GIS mapping companies are there for GIS software development, GIS web Applications development.

Geographic information systems (GIS) (also known as Geospatial information systems) are computer software and hardware systems that enable users to capture, store, analyse and manage spatialially referenced data etc.

How GIS and CAD Interrelated ?

2010-01-11T03:14:00.000-08:00

Computer aided design (CAD) is the use of computer technology for the design of objects, real or virtual. CAD often involves more than just shapes. GIS and CAD are interrelated, an eg is Carrying GIS Data in AutoCAD .As in the manual drafting of technical and engineering drawings, the output of CAD often must convey also symbolic information such as materials, processes, dimensions, and tolerances, according to application-specific conventions.CAD is extensively used in many applications such as automotive, shipbuilding, and aerospace industries, industrial and architectural design, prosthetics, and many more. Now CAD is also widely used to produce computer animation for special effects in movies, advertising and technical manuals.CAD also very helpful for research in computational geometry, computer graphics (both hardware and software), and discrete differential geometry.
Some of the GIS services and CAD conversions offered in CAD are as follows:

CAD DRAFTING and CAD CONVERSION SERVICES
• Autocad drafting
• Engineering /Mechanical services
• Scan to cad conversion
• AutoCAD coversion to drawings
• Confidential cad conversion
• DGN conversion
• Multilayer Cad conversion
• AutoCAD digitization
• CAD to GIS
• GIS to CAD
• Paper to CAD

Latest GIS technology Concepts

2010-01-07T23:41:00.000-08:00

We all knows about GIS , ie Geographic information system. Simply we can describe as Geographical Information System is any system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that is linked to location. When we consider GIS technically we can explain as, it is a system that includes mapping software and its application to photogrammetry, remote sensing, land surveying, aerial photography and photogrammetry, mathematics,mapping, geography, and tools that can be implemented with GIS software. Still, many refer to "Geographic Information System" as "GIS" even though it doesn't cover all tools connected to topology.We can also consider GIS as the merging of cartography and database technology.

Let us check various trends and applications in GIS Technology

• GIS and Science—3D analysis, graphing and data exploration, and more
•Customization and Application Development- It includes Design and Development
• Creation / Maintenance of Geo spatial Database - Design, Development and maintenance of custom geospatial databases
• Data Integration and Data Format Conversion - Also includes Spatial Analysis and Modeling
• Map Digitization / Vectorization - Digitizing maps
• Feature Extraction - 2D, 3D feature extraction using AT( aerial triangulation) results
• Ortho photography - Orthophoto Rectification and Mosaicing
• Network Analysis - Design spatial database and model features on a 3D surface for network analysis used by organizations/agencies.
• Web Mapping / Web GIS - Geodatabase Designing & Modeling, Web Mapping Automation
• Geo-Coding - Important point with mapping is registering a map with the correct real world coordinates,ie Image Georectification / Georeferencing
• GIS and CAD — Building information modeling (BIM), 3D GIS, and more
• Enterprise GIS—Extending geospatial capabilities to the enterprise
• Server GIS—Delivering geospatial services through a wide variety of clients
• Mobile GIS—Making the mobile workforce more efficient
• Cartography—Additional cartographic mapping, analysis, and editing tools
• Lidar data processing - Mapping and laser scanning

There are various many other applications in GIS technology, which can be discussed in more detail later in next article.For more details and for any queries contact http://www.sblgis.com/contact.aspx

WISH YOU HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010 !!!!!

2010-01-05T22:35:00.000-08:00

Outsourcing GIS Services

2009-11-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

Some of the problems facing by GIS service provider company for GIS service are competitive price, increased staff salaries, unavailability of skilled personnel, incapability to keep existing personnel, Increasing client’s demands, and dull earnings etc. All the above reasons make the companies to think about outsourcing.
Various points come into our mind while choosing a GIS outsourcing services partner .
The Key points may include
• Go through the services provided by those companies whom you are going to outsource your work.
• Analyze your needs and choose the company which can provide all your requirements.
• Go through their website deeply and understand their services thoroughly.
• Check the feedback and testimonials provided by the satisfied customers.
• Whenever you choose a company you have to check all your requirements. Otherwise you have to split up your needs to various companies which may not help to achieve cost benefits.
• The main idea behind the outsourcing is to reduce overheads and achieve cost benefits.
Some of the Outsourcing benefits are as follows
• Access to World Class Capabilities
• Cash Infusion
• Function Difficult to Manage or Out of Control
• Improve Company Focus
• Reduce Operating Costs
• Reduce Risk
• Resources not Available Internally
The GIS services may include
• Image Georectification/ georeferencing

• Geocoding
• Customization and Application Development
• Data Integration and data Format Conversion
• GIS spatial analysis services
and Modeling
• Map Digitization / Vectorization
• Enterprise GIS
• Feature Extraction
• Web mapping etc

Then finally we can choose those companies providing quality output, 24/7 customer service, capability to understand the client requirements, deadlines, technologies & needs may be considered for outsourcing.

What is Photogrammetry services?

2009-11-02T02:06:00.000-08:00

We all knows that Photogrammetry is a remote sensing technology developed in which geometric properties about objects are determined from photographic images.
Photogrammetry is used in different fields, such as topographic mapping, architecture, engineering, manufacturing, quality control, weather forecasting, police investigation, and geology. Also it is very helpful to archaeologists to produce plans of large or complex sites and by meteorologists as a way to determine the actual wind speed of a tornado where objective weather data cannot be obtained. It is also used to combine live action with computer generated imagery in movie post-production.
Digital photogrammetry in GIS services includes Aerial triangulation,Aerial photogrammetry service, DTM DEM generation, orthophoto production and rectification, color balancing, Ortho mosaicing and tile generation, pan sharpening, contour generation, digital elevation model (DEM) extraction, 3D terain visualization, orthophotography services,geo-rectification services, photogrammetry service,Orthophoto rectification service,orthophoto generation,remote sensing services and LiDAR data processing services.

Mobile Mapping services

2009-08-27T03:33:00.000-07:00

Mobile social mapping service that allows people to share their location with friends.
For instance, let's say you are in France. Instead of having your approximate location detected and shared automatically, you can manually set your location for elsewhere - perhaps a visit to Niagara Falls.
Mobile mapping refers to a means of collecting geospatial data using mapping sensors mounted on a mobile platform. Its development was primarily driven by the advances in digital imaging and direct-georeferencing technologies.
The ability to map a location has become an integral part of the online and mobile experience.
In the online and mobile world, mapping services from Microsoft and Google have in fact trained Yellow Pages users and advertisers on how to immediately benefit from mapping services on websites and mobile portals. Mapping services give our company the opportunity to connect buyers and sellers even more easily than before.
As the Google Maps code is almost entirely Javascript and XML, some end-users reverse-engineered the tool and produced client-side scripts and server-side hooks which allowed a user or website to introduce expanded or customized features into the Google Maps interface.
Using the core engine and the map/satellite images hosted by Google, such tools can introduce custom location icons, location coordinates and metadata , and even custom map image sources into the Google Maps interface. The script-insertion tool Greasemonkey provides a large number of client-side scripts to customize Google Maps data.
The growing market penetration of Internet mapping, satellite imaging and personal navigation has opened up great research and business opportunities to geospatial communities. Multi-platform and multi-sensor integrated mapping technology has clearly established a trend towards fast geospatial data acquisition.
Sensors can be mounted on various platforms, such as satellites, aircrafts or helicopters, terrestrial vehicles, water-based vessels, and may even be hand-carried by individuals.
With the escalating use of telecommunication networks and the increasing availability of low-cost and portable sensors, mobile mapping has become more dynamic, and even pervasive. The book addresses a wide variety of research issues in the mobile mapping community, ranging from system development to sensor integration, imaging algorithms and mobile GIS applications. This book will provide researchers and practitioners a good overall view of what is being developed in this topical area.

Georeferenced images

2009-06-30T03:26:00.000-07:00

What is advantages of modern GIS?

2009-03-03T02:51:00.000-08:00

GIS has become somewhat mandatory. Our day-to-day myriad activities of life cannot go on without the helping hands of GIS.

Developed recently for the purpose of using and studying geographic information, geography underpins GIS and is the key to understanding it. It expresses and describes the locations of objects and features relating to the distribution and patterns of physical and human features that exist on the Earth’s surface.

Modern GIS
Before the advancement of modern GIS, analysis procedures would have been manually undertaken using transparent overlays or run through very slow and incompetent machines with far less power than today’s machines. GIS in the past mainly meant the information obtained from maps.
The indispensable advantage of modern GIS is that all the functionality for working with manifold sets of geographic data are assembled and automated within one piece of software with improved efficiency and speed.
The input, storage and display of geographical information are now realized in a computer and hence the features and themes can be manipulated, combined and analyzed to generate new information.

Different GIS software packages are available with different functionality and interfaces. ESRI is the world’s most popular GIS software package.

Common examples of GIS

Geographic information is as wide and varied from socio-economic or demographic data to physical and environmental data, treated as separate l ‘themes’ of similar types of information. Eg: Physical features or phenomena such as rivers, roads, forests, earthquakes, volcanoes, erosion, floods, vegetation etc. and Human features or phenomena such as population, migration, electoral territories, poverty, religion, health etc.
One such theme could relate to all the ‘rivers’ in a country. The physical features can include flooding and pollution. The location element is the postcode.
One of the main sources of ‘human’ geographic information is the Census. It records a large number of variables about every person in the a country including employment, housing and health. The geography element of it is the location of where people live.
Essentially, geographic information states WHAT is WHERE which needs to record these two elements somehow. Data can be captured from aerial photography, satellite images, field samples, land surveying, population censuses, global positioning systems (GPS) and government administrative records among others.

For combining geographic information themes, geography or location is used as the common denominator or the link. It has the potential to generate new information on patterns and relationships between multiple sets of geographic information that would otherwise be missed, and to aid in answering more complex questions or decision-making.

A typical example is Jon Snow’s investigation of Cholera in Victorian London in 1854. He identified the locations of incidences of Cholera against the location of water pumps, and noticed its gathering pattern around the Broad Street water pump. He identified the contaminated source and created the beginning of modern epidemiology. A map of just the water pumps or incidences of Cholera alone would have been of little value.

Again take the example of flood risk maps where the combined geographic information on the locations of properties and the locations of flood zones can help to identify properties at risk of flooding. This combined information is of huge value to environmental groups and insurance companies providing new information that would not be detectable otherwise.

Modern GIS has several advantages over the old techniques of map-making and information gathering. Some of modern GIS are:

1.Can cover large study areas (the whole world if necessary)
2.Deal with larger amounts of data
3.Can easily select any sub-study area
4.Can cope with frequent and infinite edits and changes
5.More powerful and resistant to damage
6.Quicker and more efficient
7.Less person, time and money

The Census is the most familiar examples of how GIS can store and display a number of large datasets for the entire country quickly and easily. Without the help of GIS, you would have had to search manually through records on your computer on telephone staff at the Census office to get information about your area of interest.

With GIS, data for any area can be accessed quickly and easily according to a location. We can now store and show maps and aerial photographs covering the whole of a country. For example, Multimap through which you can know exactly where every town and village in the UK was, you would be unable to provide the level of information that Multimap is able to do in just a few seconds. Essentially, you are able to customise your data to suit your needs.
GIS software has a large variety of tools of varying levels of complexity. Shown below are some core standard functions common to GIS software packages.
Query: Ask questions of feature attributes like: where is _? What’s the nearest_? What intersects with _?
Mapping and cartography: Visualize features and edit symbology and colours to create an output map with title, scale bar, north arrow etc.
Select: Classify features and their attributes that meet some criteria.
Distance: Estimate the distance between features.
Buffers: Rings drawn around features at a particular distance from the features.
Overlay: The display of diverse layers of information at one location.
Clip: Makes an input layer to the size and extent of a selected layer.
Merge: Merges multiple layers into a single layer.
Raster analysis: A complete separate suite of tools for raster analysis which includes classifying cells, deriving aspect and slope, mosaicing and calculating new cell values among many others.
3D: Data can be analyzed with ‘height’ in 3-dimensions for powerful visualization
Who uses GIS and Why?

GIS has evolved into a technology that is used by a huge number of industries and agencies to help plan, design, engineer, build and maintain information infrastructures that effects our everyday lives.

Use of GIS in different industry

Forestry: Inventory and management of resources

Police: Crime mapping to target resources

Epidemiology: To link clusters of disease to sources

Transport: Monitoring routes

Utilities: Managing pipe networks

Oil: Monitoring ships and managing pipelines

Central and local government: Evidence for funding and policy (eg.) deprivation

Health: Planning services and health impact assessments

Environment agencies: Identifying areas of risk from e.g. flood

Emergency departments e.g. ambulance: Planning quickest routes

Retail: Store location

Marketing: Locating target customers

Military: Troop movement

Mobile phone companies: Locating masts

Land ReGIStry: Recording and managing land and property

Estate agents: Locating properties that match certain criteria

Insurance: Identifying risk e.g. properties at risk of flooding

Agriculture: Analyzing crop yields

Regards
SBL GEOMATICS

GIS Mapping services

2009-03-03T02:19:00.000-08:00

With the companies emerging in oil and gas, everyone is looking for an edge over the competition. Having access to professional and highly accurate pipeline maps will match the difference between failure and success. A complete pipeline map will provide all information your company needs to rise in competition. Furthermore, SBL has developed GIS pipeline energy datasets that are completely dependable. To be a leader you have to be accurate and precise in measurements and it would not be possible i absence of a accurate pipeline map provider.
Mapping services can be further classified as mobile mapping which is a cutting edge technology applied by another feature-packed GPS. GPS receivers locate your exact position on land or sea and provide visual appearance through navigation and mapping software . We can also produce digital maps, a tracklog summarizes starting time, Ending time, time travelled, Number of waypoints crossed, Distance covered and the average speed. GPS mapping software products provide powerful and easy to use tools to extend the features of almost any hand-held GPS.
GPS technology provides tracking of live objects like lost pets by monitoring & tracking softwares and devices. This works with a device attached to the pet's collar, which emits a signal that can be picked up with a special mobile-phone-type of handheld monitor. Similarly mobile phones being lost can also be tracked.
Have you ever wished for an easier and more enjoyable way to find a hidden treasure site lost hundreds of years ago ?
An easier way to locate a structure that disappeared in the last century? Have you ever stumbled on a remote spot and wished you had a sure way to remember its location?
If yes, then GPS can help you here.
Other mapping services includes web mapping automation & Geodatabase Designing Modelling. By understanding geography and people's relationship to location, we can make informed decisions about the way we live on our planet. Successful businesses use Business Geointelligence.

Regards
SBL GEOMATICS
By : N D

CAD services and Georeferencing

2009-02-02T03:12:00.000-08:00

The word ‘georeferencing’ was originally used to describe the process of referencing a map image to a geographic location.

To describe it now, georeferencing is a process of taking an image and assigning geographic coordinates to it or to georeference something means to define its existence in the physical space by establishing a relation between raster or vector images to map projections or coordinate systems. When data from different sources need to be compiled and used in any GIS application, it is important to have a common referencing system. This is brought about by using various georeferencing techniques.

The process of georeferencing

Georeferencing usually refers to the method by which locations in raster and vector GIS files are related to real earth-surface positions.

Raster data is often taken by scanning maps or collecting aerial photographs and satellite images. Scanned map datasets usually do not have any spatial reference information. The location information delivered with aerial photography and satellite imagery might be inadequate and the data need not align correctly with some other data you possess.

In order to use some raster datasets in conjunction with other spatial data, you sometimes need to align or georeference them to a map coordinate system which can be defines using a map projection to display the curved surface of the earth on a flat surface.

Georeference a raster dataset means defining its location using map coordinates and assigning a coordinate system. This process allows it to be viewed, queried, and analyzed in comparison with other geographic data.

How can you georeference a raster dataset?

Add the raster dataset to be aligned to your projected data in ArcMap.

Add control points that connect known raster dataset positions to the map coordinate positions.

When the alignment becomes correct, save the georeferencing information (registration) for further use.

Though Geomatics users are familiar with the term ‘georeferening’, many of the CAD users are not much aware of the term and the use of georeferencing in CAD.

Why is it needed?

A raster image has no particular size as it is made up of pixels. The size of the vectorised CAD/GIS drawing is determined by the raster's pixel dimensions, without georeferencing. The image resolution (DPI) can determine this. This image size usually has no relationship with the size of the drawing that the raster represents.

A CAD file is usually drawn in a local coordinate system and depicts spatial information which can be drawn accurately without being fixed to a higher global coordinate system. However, when the drawing needs to be related to a higher level in a mapping context with data from many different sources, tools in ArcMap can easily reposition a CAD file and integrate it into that higher level without altering the CAD file.

First thing is to find out two points on the CAD file that matches with two points in the map for which we can use the Georeferencing toolbar in ArcMap.

Different tools on the toolbar can support different workflows and below listed is an easy way to describe georeferencing a CAD file.

First step is to load the CAD drawing and ensure that one of the CAD feature layers are listed in the drop down menu of the georeferencing toolbar.

Zooming to the place roughly on the map where the CAD drawing is to be related is the next step. You can use the ‘fit to display’ tool on the menu to fix the CAD file in the map frame.

ArcMap snapping helps accurate placement of the CAD file which makes precise selection of control points based on existing geometry. Use the ‘rotate’ tool if the CAD file needs to be rotated to get the drawing nearer to its final position. This enables easy picking of control points.

You can use the interactive scaling tool also for the above mentioned reason.

Now when you select the ‘update georeferencing’ option, this creates a .WLD file that will be read from now on to put your CAD file in the right place.

Finally, the coordinates are always adjusted into this position. Now you can select a coordinate system for your CAD drawing so that you can assign or project its coordinates with reference to the map or during any other geospatial operation.

Regards
SBL GEOMATICS
Article By : RARIMA N S

Ortho/Orthorectification process

2009-01-29T03:09:00.000-08:00

In the areas of GIS data acquisition, visualization and general mapping,
digital satellite imagery and aerial photographs have a significant place.
Photographs obviously provide a solid visual effect. Imperceptible spatial concepts are more clearly understood by viewing the photographs. These are not photographs taken by ordinary cameras. These are very professional high-end cameras with higher zoom and clarity.

Another important role of these photos is to provide a foundation for collecting the spatial information needed. Data in the form of the satellite images or aerial photographs must be taken without any distortions, if you need to gather information useful for a mapping or GIS system in the case of roads, marine forms or vegetation.

This process of correcting the distortions of a satellite image of aerial photograph is called Orthophoto rectification .This process allows you to make direct and precise measurements of areas, distances, angles, positions etc.

Why an aerial photograph needs correction?

The main challenge of an aerial photograph compared to a non-aerial photograph is that an aerial photograph needs perspective correction. An aerial photo is usually captured at an angle to the object being photographed. Here, the perspective of the photograph will be incorrect with near objects compared to distant objects. By perspective correction, the objects in the image and the real world will have equal size.

Process of Orthophoto rectification service

As topographical variations in earth’s surface and the tilt of the satellite or the aerial sensors can affect the display of the features on the satellite or aerial image with regard to their distance. The image distortion will be more as the topographical diversity of the landscape is more.

Image data acquired by airborne and satellite image sensors are affected by systematic sensor and platform-induced geometry errors, which introduce terrain distortions when the image sensor is not pointing directly at the Nadir location of the sensor.

There can be hundreds of meters of terrain displacement. Image data over an area with at least a kilometer of vertical relief, with the sensor having an elevation angle of 60° (30° from Nadir), the image output will have nearly 600 meters of terrain displacement.

Errors in setting the reference elevation can cause further terrain displacement. Other than this, low elevation angles of images, imperfect terrain models, and inconsistency of sensor azimuth and elevation angles within an image alters the accuracy potential if image orthorectification is attempted. To overcome this defect, high elevation angles of the sensor is used with new high resolution satellite image of irregular terrain.

Creation of digital elevation model (DEM)

For the accurate removal of the image distortions, a digital elevation model (DEM) is used to make image orthorectification or Ortho mosaicing. The requisite DEM can be produced by semi-automatic DEM extraction software from stereo satellite scenes obtained by the QuickBird, IKONOS, SPOT-5, or ASTER satellite sensors, and stereo aerial photography.

In situations where higher mapping accuracy standards are required, the DEM is extracted from the already existing topographic maps with reference to a standard scale or collected using stereo satellite image data.

To obtain this accuracy standard, adequate GPS-derived ground control points (GCPs) are necessary. Other remote sensing techniques can also be used such as radar interferometry or LIDAR.

When a particular vector data needs to be extracted from satellite or aerial image data by raster-to-vector translation, the process of orthorectification of the remotely sensed image data can rectify all digital images of geological, environmental, topographic or any other source map which will be used in the GIS Mapping service environment.
For more informations visit SBL Geomatics

Ornithology and GIS

2009-01-29T02:46:00.000-08:00

During spring, flocks of migratory wading birds arrive from their natural habitat, which would be usually intolerably cool during winter, to a critical non-breeding habitat on the tropical places.

Protection of these migratory birds is a concern that needs real attention. Some of these birds from northern hemisphere fly more than 20,000 km a year in search of a suitable dwelling place for survival during the winter season.

The use of GIS and remote sensing technology can be used as an integral part to trace the migrating location of these birds from field mapping to reporting of the location.

One tip to find the birds of migration is to identify their food habit. This would give an idea of their prospective migrating location with regard to the availability of the specific food.

For instance, if we take the birds that usually migrate from Siberia to the tropical North coast of Australia. These migratory birds feed on small animals that live in mud such as crabs, snails and worms. These birds naturally migrate to the area of low muddy lands of Australia to feed and refill their energy for their journey back to their natural habitat.

Using compatible and innovative GPS units and enough field staff, samples can be collected from various points of the expected area of migration by producing progress maps and occasional species maps. By these procedures, even the presence of any new species in the area also can be identified.

To cite another example, some migratory birds have time and again halted in Malaysia during their roosting season that usually lasts from November to March because of its Matang Mangrove Forest.

The arrival of these migratory birds was observed by The Department of Wildlife and National Parks and they have decided to create a GIS database in order to study the biodiversity and sustainability of migratory birds.

Finally, they made a GIS database for the migratory birds and conducted an overall analysis on the captured data. The methodology run from need assessment to data collection, database development and system integration. This finally resulted in an analysis on the trends of bird migration, the properties of ecosystem, environment sensitivity analysis and spatial statistic analysis on the distribution of the migratory birds.

As already mentioned, the resultant migratory bird’s database contain statistical results on the trend of bird migration which in turn helped to identify the endangered species of migratory birds. When the endangered species are classified, measures and procedures for the maintenance of the mangrove areas are taken.

The database of the migratory birds with reference to the diversity and sustainability of the birds can been developed using ArcView 3.2, MapObject 2.0, Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, AutoCadMap 2.0 and S-Plus 2000.
Regards
Geospatial services
Article By: RARIMA N S

Scarcity of photogrammetry companies vs more photogrammetry projects

2009-01-01T20:59:00.001-08:00

Though the significance of GIS services are moving uphill, the scarcity of companies offering the services becomes a big issue now. When the growing demand cannot be met by us, the opportunities will be grabbed by the competitors.

Due to the spread of mapping sites like google maps, live maps etc., people have become more aware of the satellite images and the possibilities of digital mapping. Hence the popularity graph of GIS has taken a steady ascend now compared to the year 2005.

GIS makes use of specialized software that is in vogue for its variety of services and customized software for some of the projects according to the specifications of the client.
The GIS application areas are wide ranging from Forestry, Utilities, Oil and Gas industry, Central and local government, Public Health, Hospitality and Tourism, Environmental Management, Emergency Management, Retail Marketing and Management, Mobile mapping, Real Estate, Insurance, LIDAR and Laser Scanning , Agriculture and Research, Transportation ,to Public works.

What makes the scarcity in the photogrammetry companies? One reason is the difficulty to find people with specialization in photogrammerty. Many of the Western universities offer courses in this field. Things are not that easy in many of the Asian countries.

For a GIS company to be successful, it needs to have the appropriate infrastructure which updated technological advances. Moreover it requires highly experienced professionals to carry out the projects in photogrammetry. Other than this, very innovative and specialized workstations are quintessential for the undisturbed workflow of photogrammetry jobs.

Even if a company garners all the above mentioned essentials in this field, they have to pay through the nose to maintain them. This becomes another obstacle in the forming and functioning of a photogrammetry company.

There are very few GIS companies in India as compared to its wide ranging applications.

Regards
SBL GEOMATICS

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2009-01-01T03:19:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 2009

GIS in India

2008-12-12T01:51:00.000-08:00

Though not as popular in India as in the western countries, the term GIS and its applications started gaining importance in India. GIS can be categorized into three groups from the business point of view:

1. GIS Survey Professionals
2. GIS Service Providers/ Data Processing Providers
3. GIS System Automation Providers

Some companies engaged in the above three services mostly specialize in one particular industry segment or on one particular area. But, as an exception, there are a few GIS companies that provide complete GIS services.

This article might sound a bit unfamiliar if it is being read without some knowledge of GIS.

A Geographic Information System is “a distinctive form of database of the world — it is a geographic system with database (geodatabase)” which describes the world in geographic terms.

GIS enables us to observe, understand, interrogate, interpret, and visualize geospatial data in many ways that exposes relations, patterns and trends in the form of maps, globes, charts and reports. GIS answers questions and solve problems by analyzing the data we have and the information is quickly interpreted and shared.

GIS plays a significant role in almost every decision we make. From selecting sites to targeting market segments, from planning distribution networks to responding to emergencies or redrawing country boundaries—all these issues engage questions of geography.

If you are an active geographer or researcher and would like to get in touch with a GIS companies in India, do check the link given below for your reference.

http://www.sblgis.com/gis-resources/gis-in-india.html

The extent of GIS Services is unimaginably wide, and can be applied to each and every phase of human existence or to put it better " it perfects the existence of living beings".

If you are a GIS research fellow or a Geologist, you will find this list of GIS companies in India quite useful. They provide the best cost advantages possible and reliable quality. If you find it tedious to get your work done in-house, the modern era suggests finding help from external agency or business partnership/outsourcing.

Digitization and Mapping

2008-12-12T01:24:00.000-08:00

You might be interested to know what this article is about and the reason behind writing it.

Yesterday, one of my friends told me that because of the never-ending inflow of information posted on the web, it is more complicated and chaotic to browse and find specific contents. She searched the net for information about digitization & mapping and ended up with almost nothing!

We usually don’t get the exact information from search engines and catalog. It depends on how you search Google or Yahoo or MSN.

If you want to know about digitization and mapping – you can try ‘digitization’ or ‘mapping’. Wikipedia is always there to give you effective details.

To know about the service providers, start searching for ‘digitizing maps or digitization service providers or services’.

At this juncture, I thought of writing on digitization & mapping thinking that it would be really helpful if we understood the mechanics of things that already play a major role in our life.

My goal is to help you say yes to the eternal hypothetical question of, "Do you want to know what’s Digitization and Mapping?".

Well, I will try to explain it as simple as possible.

In the realm of geographical operations, an image or map has to be converted to digital or vector form for better comprehension. This process can be termed as digitization.

As you all know, digitized maps are visual forms of data which are easily comprehensible. More over, maps are extremely efficient for the storage, representation and communication of geographic information. As the saying goes, “A map is worth a million words.”

There are many things hidden underground, behind walls, or beneath the sea. From childhood we have come to believe that our favourite super heroes find them using extraordinary powers. But it’s not just a fantasy now. As radiologists use various imaging devices to detect internal diseases or problems, in earth science, geologists use devices to see deep into the earth, behind walls, and below the sea.

With Utility Mapping, we can immediately locate and spot subsurface service utilities like gas, electric and sewer lines. This system can also easily detect depth and location of objects like water mains, underground storage tanks, terra cotta pipes, tree roots and voids. The GIS specialists, using state of the art technology, can infiltrate manmade or natural surfaces, returning data with unsurpassed quality.

Sometimes utility pipes or cables are relocated during repairs or renovations, but maps might not be updated. The result of digging or drilling in the presence of unknown, unmarked, unmapped, or incorrectly located utilities can cause wastage of excavation time, irreversible damage, more money, and worst of all - personal injury or even death. Accurate utility mapping comes to our help here. The use of utility mapping ranges from small gas stations, through industrial plants and military installations, including utilities beneath buildings or other structures.

Another form of mapping is the toposheet mapping. A toposheet is a shortened name for 'Topographic sheet', which essentially contains information about areas like roads, railways, settlements, canals, rivers, electric poles, post offices etc.

Toposheet mapping can be used to map the contours and elevations of a specific place. According to their usage, they may be available at different scales, for example 1:25000, 1: 50000 etc. They are made on a suitable projection for that area which contains latitude-longitude information at the corners. Thus any point on it can be identified easily with its corresponding latitude-longitude, depending upon the scale (i.e. if the scale is large, more accurate lat-long). You get accurate information about a specific area with this mapping.

With Cartographic mapping, we map the land parcels and define the boundaries of the land under verification/study. This surely will settle land disputes as we can accurately define the external land boundaries between neighbours, though there is no such device discovered to define the internal boundaries of friendship between people!

SBL Geomatics is an emerging company that has developed unwavering acclaim for effectively carrying out difficult or unusual subsurface detection and mapping with its expertise, experience, and flair for creative problem-solving.

Geomatics Services for Retail Industry -Business Geo intelligence

2008-11-18T01:20:00.000-08:00

By understanding geography and people's relationship to location, we can make informed decisions about the way we live on our planet. Successful businesses use Business Geointelligence. Organizations can go beyond standard data analysis by using GIS tools to integrate, view, and analyze data using geography.

How do you choose a successful retails site?

Location is the often repeated mantra that empowers retail site selection success. Gis accelerates this success by identifying a site of high demand potential and visual exposure through our business geo-intelligence methods.

Geomatics has tailored solutions for specific business needs which include advanced geospatial modeling, statistical analysis, and cross-referencing of customer,
public and private data.

All these are designed to help companies identify, analyze, and prioritize the fresh and upcoming business prospects and optimize existing sales and marketing programs to enhance their profit potentials.

GIS help you make decisions on

1.Real Estate Management.
2.Planning New Locations.
3.Optimization/ Selection.
4.Planning Business Planning.
5.Territory Planning.

Input for the process

1.Demographics.
2.Expenditure potential.
3.Consumer segmentation.
4.Shopping center locations.
5.Your corporate or proprietary database.

Applications of Geomatics Services in Retail Sector

1.Evaluate current market position and identify under and over invaded submarkets.
2.Estimate the number of locations a market can support.
3.Understand the effects of competitive market moves.
4.Identify or finding the optimal expansion opportunities in a market.
5.Evaluate existing stores to spot over & under performers.
6.Measure the impact of new store openings, relocations,remodels, closures, and competitive acquisitions.
7.Identification of a series of existing locations that resemble the proposed location.
8.A compilation of maps and reports that highlight the crucial information about a potential site in a consistent and comparable manner.
9.Score potential locations based on the quality and composition of the expected trade area.
10.Assess the size and shape of a proposed store’s trade area based on urbanicity and competitive intensity.Store networks and prioritize capital investments based on predictive, multi-factor trade areas.
11.Optimize store networks; and localize marketing and merchandising.
12.Prioritize markets to enter, expand or exit.

GIS Benefits

1.Increase revenue potential by realizing market share.
2.Understand spheres of influence and gain knowledge of your trading areas.
3.Estimate sales and quantify market cannibalization.
4.Enhance performance of existing stores.
5.Prioritize retail expansion and optimize retail network strategies.
6.Improve returns on direct marketing and promotional campaigns with better.
7.Stimulate development strategies for improved results.
8.Reduce risk on long-term real estate decisions.

We hope you found it useful. For more information about the applications of GIS Services in various sectors Please visit the following link. http://www.sblgis.com

Thanks and Regards,
SBL- Geomatics
GIS Service provider

Advantages of Using GIS Services in Oil & Gas | Petroleum industry

2008-11-18T00:58:00.000-08:00

The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is gathering momentum in Oil and petroleum industry as a powerful tool for analyzing and displaying data.

Geomatics services can be applied in various stages during the development of projects, including: Petroleum Exploration, Production, Managing Facilities & Pipeline Management

Petroleum Exploration:
Gis facilitates the analysis and integration of a lot of different types of data such as satellite imagery, seismic surveys, digital aerial photo mosaics, surface geology studies, subsurface and cross section interpretations and images, well locations, and existing infrastructure information.Combined Image Processing can reveal underground Geological Information.The remote sensing detection of petroleum is based on the characteristic analogy and analysis of remote sensing information from known oil fields. The thinking way is as follows: micro-seeping of hydrocarbon- ground effect- remote sensing detection is certainly gainful. Exploration software and GIS are essential for geologists searching for petroleum and mineral deposits.

One specific exploration application involves the creation of reconnaissance maps. Uses of GIS in exploitation projects are perhaps more varied because exploitation evaluation typically deals with more extensive data sets than those typically used in exploration settings. Exploitation approaches are generally applied to mature producing areas where well control is dense, whereas exploration projects may not involve any wells at all. GIS is a particularly effective technology that enables exploration and exploitation teams to share information, analyze data in new ways, and integrate the evaluation process.

Production:
Innovative GIS technology is ideally suited for the overlay analysis of geographic, infrastructure, business conditions, and environmental factors and which can be integrated with other business risk or economic business planning engines to provide a focused business solution tool set.

Managing Facilities:
A large integrated oil company must keep track of every minute detail from drilling platforms to pipeline networks and to refineries for their advancement in this highly competitive business area. Geospatial information can be aptly used to map the gathering and transmission of products to a facility.

Pipeline Management :
Geomatics programs can be utilized to monitor the condition and flow of pipelines and determine the best pipeline locations to transport oil off the fields and to the refineries. Pipeline Management is a process by which you continually evaluate your active opportunities (from prospects to booked customer) for their balance of QUANTITY and QUALITY.

Some of the GIS solutions currently offered by SBL In Oil and Petroleum Industry:

1. 3D Modeling
2. Photogrammetry
3. Lidar Data Processing
4. GPS Navigation
5. Corporate GIS data management
6. Map production and presentation
7. Digital Elevation Modeling and Hydrological Modeling
8. Environmental sensitivity analysis and modeling
9. Network analysis
10.Pipeline route optimization and pipeline leakage risk
11.Internet mapping and image web server solutions
12.Work flow analysis
13.Conversion of data to GIS format
14.Linkage of oil spill model to GIS.
15.Retail market analysis.
16.Distribution analysis.
17.Market pattern analysis by demographics.
19.CAD Drafting and Designing
20.CAD to GIS conversion
Retail outlet supply routing and many more…

We hope you found it useful. For more information about the applications of GIS Services in various sectors Please visit the following link.

Gis Service Provider

GIS at SBL

2008-10-06T04:19:00.000-07:00

GIS@SBL is the GIS division of SBL.

The power of GIS can not be underestimated and easily understood such that every sector has come to embrace it. The GIS is our future,hence it is necessary to study by students and analyze information and data.

GIS is an information system used in the making of maps; it is information on the geography of the earth;and it is using established resources and expounding with additional information, also used in several fields of research.

GIS is serving our world, i hope every man kind, countries, governments and companies realize that…

Please visit the below links..

http://www.sblgis.com/gis-services.aspx

http://www.sblgis.com/photogrammetry_services.aspx

http://www.sblgis.com/cad-services.aspx