GeomaticsWorld 2016...GeomaticsWorld JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016 Open tenure empowers people to counter this It was all about change at HxGN Live! Wisdom or predic-tions for the coming

GeomaticsWorld JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

Open tenureempowers people

to counter this

It was all aboutchange at HxGN

Live!

Wisdom or predic-tions for the coming

years; you choose

BIM day helps joindots. But is the

future in service?

We talk to the newhead at Ordnance

Survey GB

Issue No 2 : Volume 24

Surveying for geographical and spatial information in the 21st century

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IIII NNNN TTTT HHHH EEEE NNNN EEEE XXXX TTTT IIII SSSS SSSS UUUU EEEE oooo ffff GW.... .... ....Survey4BIM: what is it?Autodesk’s University: what can you learn?Surveying on the move

p.05 Editorialp.06 Newsp.08 Calendarp.09 Chair’s Columnp.10 Undercurrents

p.27 Downunder currentsp.32 Overcurrentsp.31 Products & Servicesp.34 Classifiedp.34 Advertisers’ index

Geomatics World is published bi-monthly by PV Publications Ltd on behalf of the Royal Institutionof Chartered Surveyors Geomatics Professional Groupand is distributed to group members and othersubscribing professionals.

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Editorial BoardIan Coddington, Pat Collins, Professor Ian Dowman,Richard Groom, James Kavanagh, Professor Jon Mills,Dr Stuart Robson, Dr Martin Smith

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January / February 2016 Geomatics World 03

Contentsp.14 TSA’s BIM Day helped connect the dots

“BIM – Here, there and everywhere” was the theme of this one-day conference at theRoyal Airforce Museum Hendon. Stephen Booth was there to report for GW.

p.18 Why tenure matters more than everThe 2015 Michael Barrett Award lecture heard from land expert Paul Monro-Faure,who developed the UN’s Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure.

p.20 Hexagon debuts in Hong KongLeica’s parent held its first HxGN Live! conference in November. GW’s GordonAndreassend was there to report for readers.

p.22 AGI’s 2020 Foresight of a geospatial worldThis comprehensive report by over 60 contributors takes a look ahead at how theworld may change for us over the next five years. Richard Groom reports.

p.24 Talking to Ordnance Survey’s Nigel CliffordGW interviews the new man at the helm of OS about whether geospatial is special, OS’sstrengths and weaknesses, big data mining and about the ‘fabric of the brand’.

p.28 Capturing Reality in SalzburgIan Anderson and Simon Canning found high quality papers and technical workshops,grounded firmly in the future of 3D technology at Capturing Reality in Salzburg.

p.30 The importance of geospatial at the United NationsThe fifth meeting of the Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial InformationManagement was held at UN hq in New York during August 2015. James Norris reports.

COVER STORYThese images of ashopping centre werecaptured using aSphereVision system.Over a hundred 360°panoramic shots,supplemented withstatic SLR shots, werestitched together forchartered surveyors MJRees to link to drawings- full story page 06.

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Issue No 2 of Showcase for 2015 is now available, including:• UAVs: models compared, a guide to operation and regulations.• Full report of the Stuttgart InterGEO• Monitoring and preserving the Mary Rose• The AiC story: 30 years of survey software development

Did you get your FREE copy? RICS members in the UK are entitled toreceive a FREE copy upon registration or request. Just drop us an emailwith your full postal address and we’ll pop a copy in the post to you.Overseas readers can still view the latest issue by going to:http://www.pvpubs.com/DigitalEdition/Showcase

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Editorial


Michael Barrett award (page 18). Land ownershipis tackled in many diverse ways around theworld. Some cultures do not recognise individualownership, let alone have land registries. Thiscan bring conflict and is certainly a bar toeconomic development. Nevertheless, manyindigenous people are not that bothered aboutdevelopment but do want protection fromloggers and governments that sell their ancestrallands from under them. Paul, who works for theUN’s Food & Agricultural Organization (FAO),highlighted one answer to this problem.

Also from the international perspective,Ordnance Survey’s James Norris explains howgeospatial is moving up the UN agenda (page30), due very much to the efforts of former OSCEO Vanessa Lawrence, which leads us to ourfeature interview. . .

Should mappers be dealing in exhaust?Nigel Clifford is the new head at OSGB and hegenerously gave considerable time recently totalk to me. His background is very different frommost previous chiefs at OS. He certainlyunderstands GI and was positively bullish when Iquestioned whether OS should really be gettinginvolved in big data (neatly described recently bya researcher as ‘exhaust’ from the millions oftransactions we make with our credit cards,emails or social media postings. It is the start ofa new era at Britain’s mapper.

BIM everywhereLast year we featured four articles specifically onBIM. This issue has a major report of the UK’s TSABIM conference. An interesting line up of speakers,the essence of their presentations I hope we’vemanaged to catch in our report (starts page 14).Several speakers strayed way beyond BIM andconstruction and into the heritage sector and thevast information system which helps manageHeathrow. But all reliant on geospatial.

Finally an apology. In the last issue I promised tobring you a report of the AGI’s GeoCom 2015conference. Instead we’ve reviewed the AGI’sForesight 2020 study, launched at the event It hasmuch distilled wisdom from over 60 contributors.It could not be a better way to kick your personalCPD plan for 2016. For more tune to page 22.

Happy New Year. welcome to the first issueof GW for 2016. I hope readers willconsider thoughtfully what comes next and

let me know whether there are important topicswe’re not covering. My experience is that peopledon’t bother to tell you when you’re getting itright; only when you’re getting it seriously wrongdo they speak up.

Looking back over last year’s issues ofGeomatics World I was rather surprised at thesheer number of different topics covered. WhileBIM, laser scanning, 3D and photogrammetry ledon the purely technical side (15 in total) we foundspace for articles on UAVs (3), specifications andstandards (3), Education, CPD and skills (4) andmany reports of conferences, workshops etc (10).In between there were articles on addressing,monitoring and big data. Missing was anything onland administration. We’re going some way toredress that in this issue.

Another topic not covered during the year butdealt with in considerable detail almost three yearsago was international boundaries. If you’ve beenwatching the news lately, things are beginning towarm up in the South China and East China Seaswith Uncle Sam flying his B52’s on the edge ofChinese waters. This was a lecture topic (also abrilliant book by author Bill Hayton “The SouthChina Sea – the struggle for power in Asia”),which we mention in this issue’s Undercurrents.

These vast ocean expanses contain hundredsof tiny islands, reefs, shoals and banks, oftenbearing collective names like the Spratly Islands,the Paracel Islands or the Pratas Islands. Very feware habitable and some barely break the surfaceat high tide. Many carry the names of the ships,usually British, that foundered there. A few arebeing artificially made more habitable throughland reclamation in order to build airstrips andother structures. The problem is that ownershipof most of these features is bitterly contested bythe countries bordering on the seas, especiallyChina that seems to regard them all as her owndespite what a study of UNCLOS would suggest.If you want a quick primer on what’s going onand an understanding of UNCLOS then look nofurther than the March/April 2013 issue of GWand Robert Beckman’s article on maritimeboundary disputes in SE Asia, accompanied by anoutstanding front cover map.

Land and tenure are part of geomaticsTurning to land administration, this issue reportson Paul Monro-Faure’s lecture to coincide with his

Internationalboundaries aremoving up thegeopolitical agendaand GW was aheadof the pack threeyears ago. In themeantime, there’slots for readers toget to grips withon their personalCPD plans.

Look to GW first for a primer!

The editor welcomes yourcomments and editorialcontributions by e-mail: [email protected] by post:Geomatics WorldPV Publications Ltd2B North RoadStevenageHerts SG1 4ATUnited Kingdom Stephen Booth, Editor

The front cover of GWMarch/April 2013.

NEWS

06 Geomatics World January / February 2016

Survey4BIM.Call to Action 2016The Survey4BIM committee is oneof the BIM Task Group’s BIM4groups aimed at enabling thewider BIM community. ThisGeospatial Data specific group isorganising itself for a busy 2016and is looking for your help.

The group is chaired by IanBush, past president of CICESand a representative of ICE. Vicechair is Barry Gleeson ofNetwork Rail. The overarchingSteering Group is composed ofmany notable names from across-section of the geospatialcommunity including Anne KempAGI/bSI representative, JamesKavanagh RICS, David Philp BIMTask Group Representative, ChrisPreston Network Rail Client

representative, Martin PenneyTechnics Group & TSArepresentative, Simon Navin OSrepresentative, Andy EvansTopcon and Mark King Leica,manufacturer representatives,Mark Lawton Skanska contractorrepresentative.

To date the TechnicalCommittee has been largelycomposed of the samecharacters who have struggledalong with few resources andare now looking for widerindustry support and help. InNovember the TechComidentified the BIG5 GeospatialChallenges to successfullyenabling BIM level 2 in 2016and launched a successful Callto Arms. Firstly, at the TSA BIMConference on 11th Novemberat the RAF Museum Hendon (seepage 14) by Martin Penney TSARepresentative and secondly atUniversity of East London CICESevening presentation by Barryand Martin.

The entire committee mobilisedfor an open event hosted by theOS at the Geovation Hub inLondon on 10th December. Themeeting ratified the committeestructures, mandate, created anIndustry Engagement committeeand co-opted further members toswell the ranks.

The team is looking for morevolunteers to spread theworkload and roll their sleevesup and help solve some of themajor challenges that currentlyface the geospatial community. Ifyou would like to get involvedthen please register your interestby following the link below tothe BIM Task Group website. Welook forward to moving theindustry forward in 2016.http://www.bimtaskgroup.org/survey4bim/

New face at helm ofGeomaticsDecember’s annual RICSGeomatics Christmas Lecture(see page 18) was the momentfor a new chair to take over theGeomatics Professional Group.Chris Preston handed the batonto Gordon Johnston, ahydrographic surveyor and seniorconsultant to VentureGeomatics, who introduceshimself on page 09.

360° imagery captures shopping centre upgrade

Images captured using a SphereVision specialist recording system are helping support a multi-millionpound redevelopment of Exeter’s Guildhall Shopping Centre. Working alongside chartered land surveyorsM J Rees, Arithmetica captured a mixture of both 360° panoramic and handheld images, which were thenlinked with original survey drawings. The combination of traditional and high-tech surveys will allow theend client to review and compare the condition of specific areas of the project, pre- and post-construction.

‘Having agreed a project brief with our client, we then approached Arithmetica to discuss theintegration of high definition imagery with more traditional survey plans,’ explained M J Rees’s SarahHurley. ‘The inclusion of both 360° imagery and handheld stills, registered to the original plans, was seenas crucial to the brief in order to ensure quick and easy navigation of complex drawings, and allow forcomparison of the site pre- and post-construction.’

Working alongside M J Rees, Arithmetica captured more than a hundred 360° panoramic images,supplemented with more than 700 high-resolution SLR static images. Using SphereVision Project Builder,they delivered an interactive dilapidation record of the site to M J Rees who, using the surveyed positionof the camera systems, referenced the high-definition imagery to the project drawings and produced aschedule of images for use alongside the plans.

RICS Geomatics evening lectures are free and open to all(especially students) and we would ask that all those wishingto attend contact our PG support team [email protected] toguarantee a place. Evening lectures have proved increasinglypopular over the last few years and are often oversubscribed.All details on future evening lectures and for the latest fromRICS Geomatics can be found at www.rics.org/geomatics.Online resources from the 2014-15 session can be accessed @https://communities.rics.org/connect.ti/Wikigeo/groupHome Doplease feel free to pass these details onto colleagues.

Tues 26th Jan 2016 – UK Geo-forum annual lecture,Topic and speaker TBC.

Thurs 25th Feb 2016 – Measured buildings and propertymeasurement standards Speaker: Tom Pugh MRICS

Thurs TBC April 2016 – Scottish lectureTitle: Measured surveys 3rd ed guidance and spec – at theheart of every good survey is a strong specification.Speaker: James Kavanagh MRICS, Director Land andResources RICS Location: TBC

Geomatics Evening Lectures 2016

NEWS


Code of practice forresilience of buried servicesA new publicly availablespecification, PAS 128 has beenlaunched in response to theestimated 4 million street-works inthe UK per annum. Digging a holein the road (a simplistic view ofstreet-works), if a utility such as a11kV cable is not where it says itis on the plan, disaster can result.

Chris Preston, former chair ofRICS Geomatics comments, ‘I amvery pleased to say we now havethe full funding and support inplace and the timeline is set forthe creation of a new publiclyavailable specification (PAS), thatbrings together the collaborativesupport we have between theGeospatial panel, the Health andSafety panel, the IS panel, the BIMand the Municipal panel.Following the presidential launchin March 2015 and the meetingwe all had way back in Dec 2014.ICE will be the driving force forthis new code working with theBSI to deliver it within 12 months.’

To justify the project,Heathrow Airport has suggestedthat the use of PAS 128 hasreduced utility strikes by 25%.The specification will provide acode of practice to record buriedassets in a consistent manner asthey are unearthed. Over time,this will reduce the strike rate asthe data will become moreaccurate. This will require utilitycompanies and contractors toopenly share data, withoutcharge. This has been the maintime-consuming component ingaining PAS 128 since itsinception in February this year.This project now has 11 sponsorsall funnelled through ICE, to bothcoordinate the stakeholders andcollect the fee. This project issupported by the New Roads andStreet Works Act (NRSWA) via TFLLane Rental, utility companies,subsurface scanner companies,BAA, UK regulators (UKRN),Infrastructure UK (HM Treasury)and major contractors (BG,National Grid, TW etc). See theBlog: https://www.ice.org.uk/news/knowledge/october/improving-visibility-and-resilience-of-buried-serv and http://www.healthandsafetyatwork.com/hsw/electrical-safety/ medpharma-cdm-cable-strike

Future for drones networkA new service that bringstogether qualified droneoperators and clients has beenlaunched by Future Aerial. TheDON model is the world’s firstdrone operations network andcoupled with Future Drone Cloud,a cloud-based technology, DONenables any commercial businessin any sector to commissionmultiple fleets of drones at anyone time. The move meansbusinesses no longer have todeal with individual droneoperators or suffer the varyinglevels of quality of data capture,analysis or delivery to complete anationwide or international job.The DON model ensures clients’data is delivered consistently andto the highest standard.

Andrew Blogg, co-founder atFuture Aerial, adds: ‘We’ve beenobsessed by drone tech from thebeginning. We are operatorsourselves and can see first-handhow large corporates will benefitfrom a network of drones tocheck assets such as bridges,pylons or roof-tops of buildings.’

Future Aerial currently has over20 fleets of drones signed up inthe UK with one operator, ChrisFenton, technical director atOctovision Media Ltd,commenting: “Drone operators areusually one-man bands. FutureAerial has helped me turn my lovefor drones into a viablecommercial micro-business. It wasdifficult to get interesting workfrom large companies beforebecause it is hard for them towork with individuals. FA removesthat barrier and allows me tomake a living from flying drones.”

Wearable kit for surveyorsTopcon Positioning Group hasannounced a collaboration withaugmented reality developersDAQRI on wearable technologydesigned to change the wayconstruction and surveyprofessionals interface with thejob site. The move will see DAQRIand Topcon create a solutiondesigned to make workers on thejob safer and more productivethrough the use of technologieslike DAQRI’s Smart Helmet, anindustrial-grade wearable thatseamlessly connects humans totheir work environments.

Sterling Geo and LivingPlanIT collaborateLiving PlanIT and Sterling Geoare collaborating to integrateHexagon Geospatial’s new SmartM.App capability with the PlanITUrban Operating Systemplatform. The solution combinesvarious and complex sources ofdata, including satellite imageryand real-time sensor data fromintelligent urban environmentsand provides that data in asimple form via applications tocity decision-makers.

Maxing the benefit ofsatellitesThe University of Edinburgh hasteamed up with sustainabilitysoftware and data firmEcometrica to establish a newEarth Observation Lab aimed atderiving maximum benefit fromthe vast amounts of spatial dataproduced by satellites. It willallow researchers around theworld to share data and createcustomised applications tomonitor environmental changesin forests, agriculture and coastalecosystems.

The Earth Observation Lab builton Ecometrica’s advanced cloud-

based satellite data and mappingplatform will be hosted at theuniversity’s School of GeoSciences,one of Europe’s leading centresfor earth systems andenvironmental sciences. It will belinked to a number of other “EOLabs” being established byEcometrica around the world,facilitated by the UK SpaceAgency’s International PartnershipSpace Programme (IPSP).

Prof Mathew Williams, headof the university’s Global ChangeResearch Institute said: ‘Space is abig frontier for economic growthand job creation, and Ecometrica’splatform allows scientists queryinglarge spatial datasets to sharetheir research findings withorganisations around the worldand make it available to a widevariety of users in developingcountries.’ One of the firstapplications will be to generatereports from an ecosystem modelthat estimates the changes inbiomass for all forests across theworld, every month.

Topcon and AgisoftpartnershipTopcon Positioning Group hasannounced a partnership with

Fugro is providing an additional vessel, the Havila Harmony, to jointhe search for the missing flight MH370 in the southern IndianOcean. The 93-metre multi-role vessel will deploy the Echo SurveyorVII autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), used previously last yearin search operations, but withdrawn when sea conditionsdeteriorated beyond limitations for its safe launch and recovery.

The AUV will again be used to scan the most difficult portions ofthe search area that cannot be searched as effectively by the deeptow systems on other search vessels. The deepwater system is aHugin 1000, specifically designed for high resolution and efficientsurvey operations in water depths to 4,500 metres. With a 75 kHzside-scan sonar and a dual-head Kongsberg 2040 multibeamechosounder, its configuration is the same as the systems deployedfrom other vessels in the search, the Fugro Discovery and FugroEquator. The AUV is also equipped with an underwater camera.

Further vessel joins search for MH-370

N

extend surveying and aerialremote sensing to deliverenhanced aerial services andground-based / subsurfacesurveying in challengingenvironments and locations. MDGeoterra Mark Hudson adds:“We offer our clients a range ofaerial survey and inspectionsolutions by partnering withSkycap. They are highly regardedfor their experience, expertiseand industry knowledge in theaerial mapping, inspection andphotogrammetry sector, andrenowned for being at theforefront of UAV technology.”

NEWS


EEVVEENNTTSS CCAALLEENNDDAARR 22001155• SEMINARS • CONFERENCES • EXHIBITIONS • COURSES • WORKSHOPS

For details of the current RICSlecture programme turn to page 06.

Maps, Charts, and Intelligence16 January 2016, the GeospatialBuilding at the University ofNottingham.

SkyTech 201627-28 January, Building Design CentreLondon http://www.skytechevent.com

GIM International Summit10-12 February Amsterdam, TheNetherlands www.gimsummit.com

International LiDAR Mapping Forum22-24 February Denver, Coloradohttp://lidarmap.org

Internet of Things15 March Central Londonwww.westminsterforumprojects.co.uk

GEO Business24-25 May 2016 Business DesignCentre, Islington, London.www.geobusinessshow.com

FIG Working Week2-6 May Christchurch, New Zealandwww.fig.net/fig2016/

Esri UK annual conference17 May QEII Conference Centreemail: [email protected]

Geospatial World Forum23-26 May 2016 Rotterdam, [email protected]

12d International Conference24-26 July 2016 Brisbane, Australiahttp://www.12d.com

InterGEO 201611-13 October Hamburghttp://www.intergeo.de

GW welcomes advance details of events of interest to the Geomatics community.Details to: [email protected]

TSA’s BIM Conference at Hendon (see page 14) was also the occasionto award student bursaries. Lucky recipients were Shaun Curran andRory Hurley (above, left to right with TSA President Mark Combes.Both were second-year students at Newcastle University. The topicthey were asked to write about was “What is the role of the landsurveyor (or Geospatial Engineer) in supporting a BIM Project?” Thestandard of entries was very high.

digital photogrammetric softwareprovider Agisoft LLC. Topcon willsupply the Agisoft Photogram -metric Kit as part of Topcon’sProfessional Edition software forpost-processing of data collectedusing the Falcon 8 and Sirius Prounmanned aerial systems (UAS).Features include photogrammetrictriangulation, dense point-cloudediting and classification, digitalterrain or surface model export toa variety of formats includinggeoreferenced orthomosiacproduction (including GeoTIFF andKML export), multi-spectralimagery processing, 3D modelgeneration and texturing, as wellas full measurement analysis tools.

BRIEFSRegistration for the FIG WorkingWeek from 2-6 May 2016 inChristchurch, New Zealand hasopened. A 90 euro discount earlybird registration fee applies until8 February 2016. For all detailsand a link to register, visit: www.fig.net/fig2016/registration.htm

Proteus, a provider of satellite-derived mapping, bathymetry andgeospatial products, has signedup as a reseller with AirbusDefence and Space for satelliteimagery data and value addedproducts.

European Space Imaging hassigned an additional multi-yearframework supply contract withthe European Commission forthe provision of very high-resolution (VHR) satellite dataand associated services insupport of the EU’s CommonAgricultural Policy (CAP). Thecontract has an estimated totalvalue of 10.5 million EUR over aperiod of up to four years andwill be carried out by EuropeanSpace Imaging and itstechnology partner GAF AGwith the support of the GermanAerospace Center (DLR) and inclose cooperation withDigitalGlobe.

Geoterra and Skycap haveannounced a partnership to

BIMBursarywinners

Topcon and DAQRI willcollaborate to integrate DAQRI’shardware and software solutionswith Topcon positioningsolutions. Powered by 4D Studio,DAQRI’s software platform forpositioning, the partnership willallow construction workers toview information from theirprojects in the real-world workenvironment to make theirworkflows safer and moreefficient. The collaboration isdesigned to bring wearabletechnology to a wider user-base,offering the wearer a hands-freetool that can be used on the job.

HyDrone RCV

Come see us at Geo Business 2016!Booth J5


Geomatics PGB Chair

How to ensure that you always get your copy of Geomatics WorldIf you receive GW as part of your RICS membership, you must inform the Institution of any change of address. Aspublishers of GW we cannot change the RICS membership database for you. Call +44 (0)870 333 1600 or log onto the RICS website or write to: RICS Contact Centre, Surveyor Court, Westwood Way, Coventry, CV4 8JE, UK oremail [email protected] Subscribers to GW can call +44 (0)1438 352617 or email: [email protected]

Gordon Johnston has spent a workinglifetime surveying and managing surveysand spatial data. After graduating from

the University of Glasgow he embarkedoverseas to North Africa for a spell supportingland development projects and after a fewyears found himself joining what was then theDecca Survey Company, based in the UK,working on land-based survey control for UKand European offshore projects. It was aboutthis time that his exploits with a Land Roverand MoD assets suggested to themanagement that he should spend more timeat sea, which he duly did!

By the mid 1980’s Decca had becomeRacal Survey and Gordon was again overseas,this time in West Africa, undertaking offshoresurveys and construction support work beforetransferring to the Aberdeen office as AreaSurveyor and it was at this time he became achartered surveyor just as he also became afather.

Exciting timesThis was an exciting time with theintroduction of user graphics and morecomplex processing of sensor data throughcomputer systems; and of course thedevelopment and implementation ofDifferential GPS and then Wide Area DGNSSto replace the long established radiopositioning systems. Some of this work wasrecognised by the Royal Institution ofNavigation when they elected him a Fellow inthe millennium year 2000.

As chief surveyor of Racal Survey and thenvice-president of Thales Geosolutions, Gordoncontinued to encourage and promote newmethods and technologies as well as helpingto develop a robust approach for therecruitment of new staff. This interest in thedevelopment of the staff and the widerprofession led him to become a member ofthe International Board for the Standards ofCompetence of Hydrographic Surveyors and

At the RICSGeomaticsChristmas Lectureon 8th Decemberlast year a new chairof the GeomaticsProfessional GroupBoard succeededChris Preston, whohad held theposition for the lastthree years. GordonJohnstone bringsan interesting raft ofskills andexperience,particularly inhydrographic survey.GW is delighted tointroduce Gordon tomembers.

New chair for Geomatics PGB

Gordon Johnstone welcomes your commentsand thoughts so please email to the followingaddress [email protected]

Nautical Cartographers (IBSC). As a Boardmember, then chair (2008-2010) of the IBSC,Gordon helped to introduce the IndividualCompetency System into the InternationalStandards so that surveyors could demonstratethe currency of their competency to arecognized standard.

Consultancy in a time of great changeFor the last ten years Gordon has been atechnical consultant to a variety of companiesand organizations in the Geomatics andSpatial Data community. This has beenanother period of change for surveyors withthe issues of climate change, security, theInternet of Things and big data contributing toa dynamic workplace. New technologies andmethods offer new opportunities and this isespecially true of the coastal zone, the seasand the oceans which are particular passions.

Since 2008 Gordon has been involved withCommission 4 of the International Federationof Surveyors (FIG), where this interest in theoceans and seas is applied, particularly in theone day Blue Economy seminars andworkshops held to promote and develop anawareness of the benefits and opportunities ofdeveloping our seas using hydrographic andseabed surveys to facilitate their responsiblemanagement in a sustained way.

As a member of the RICS Geomatics GlobalProfessional Practice Board for the past fouryears Gordon continues to represent thecoastal and hydrographic community and iskeen to further develop the opportunities foryoung surveyors and those interested indeveloping their knowledge andunderstanding of the seas and oceans for thewidest possible community and stakeholders.

Above: new GeomaticsPGB chair GordonJohnstone is normally tobe found on the high seasrather than high slopes. . .

UNDERCURRENTS


that the boat was sailing round Cape Hornand back up the eastern side of SouthAmerica, he decided to set off across country.Alas he didn’t make it but in addition to a finestone memorial the locals decided to namethe nearest station after him; it translatesliterally as “The station of the dead German”!

The editor reports a splendid lecture thefollowing week by Bill Hayton on “Who ownsthe South China Sea”, a much contested part ofworld with dozens of tiny islands, reefs andshoals claimed by various countries. . . and nearlyalways including China. The latter has been busystaking claims to many of these somewhatobscure territories, which hitherto have onlyserved as a danger to shipping (hence many arenamed after foundering British ships). TheChinese, along with the Vietnamese have beenbusy pumping sand and bringing in concrete toturn them into proper islands. One, once just acoral reef, now has a 3 km long airstrip on it!

The Hunt: behind the scenes Have you been watching the BBC natureprogramme, The Hunt? I love it but on noaccount am I allowed to watch it over supper(don’t know about you but it seems toimprove my appetite!). What a fantastic seriesit is showing how different animals pursuetheir prey. I was fortunate to win a ticket inthe ballot to attend a lecture at the RGS bythe producer, Alastair Fothergill.

This showed the painstaking way they shotmany of the scenes. The hours waiting whenabsolutely nothing happens, the frustration ofchasing after a pack of African wild dogs onlyto lose them as they shoot off in all directionsand the amazing cineflex camera that shootshundreds of high-resolution frames a second, aserious challenge for data storage anddownload in the field. The camera can be setup on a complex stabilised mount on platformsas diverse as a helicopter, a 4 × 4 rough terrainvehicle or an elephant. Yes, a large pachyderm– the ideal platform if you want to shoot a tigerstepping oh-so-gently through the foreststalking a deer. It did not end well for the latter.

Fothergill is a great raconteur andentertaining speaker, but then he has some ofthe best material to back him and what mustbe a multi-million pound budget. The serieshas been sold to some 130 countries aroundthe world, justifying the budget. On EllesmereIsland, a bleak northern Canadian territorycovered in snow and ice most of the year

Several lectures at the RGS this autumn havemarked the one hundredth anniversary of SirErnest Shackleton’s epic escape from his ice

crushed ship the Endurance in the Antarctic. Asplendid lecture for children just before Christmaswas the story of the 28 men shipwrecked withShackleton and their escape to Elephant Island inthe South Atlantic. I took a mate of mine and histwo grandchildren, one of whom had been in aschool play about the expedition. Arriving onElephant Island Shackleton and five men left in asmall open boat to travel the stormy 720 nauticalmiles to South Georgia where help was on handfrom a whaling station. Alas, they landed on thewrong side of the island so two crew membersand Sir Ernest had to set off across a forbiddingmountain range to reach the whaling station.

It’s often difficult for younger generationsto comprehend the true grit and heroism ofpolar exploration a century ago. Shackletonhad those qualities in spades; he was anoutstanding leader who saved all his men andwas truly a great man. In 1921, he returned tothe Antarctic with the Shackleton-RowettExpedition, but sadly died of a heart attackwhile his ship was moored in South Georgia.At his wife’s request he was buried there.

There is a display in the RGS’s exhibitionarea, which is open to the public. Fortunatelyfor posterity Shackleton’s expedition was luckyenough to have the services of Frank Hurley asphotographer. Called The Enduring Eye, thephotographic exhibition is open to the publicfree of charge until 28 February 2016 everyday, Monday-Friday 10am – 5pm and Saturday& Sunday 10am – 4pm. Don’t miss it. The RGSis located in Exhibition Road near the southentrance to Hyde Park, a ten-minute strollfrom South Kensington tube station and thejoys of the museums nearby.

A station called what?A spectacular audio visual presentation byGerman traveller, photographer and explorerMichael Martin, was an amazing trip throughthe deserts of the world beginning in thefrozen North and ending at Antarctica. Martintravels mainly on his BMW motorbike whichhe sends on ahead but then sometimes has towait up to three weeks to get it cleared bycustoms. Travelling across Chile’s Atacamadesert he came across a grave and memorialto one of his countrymen, a seaman. In the1930s the guy had missed his boat from aChilean coastal town so with the knowledge

A busy pre-Christmas round oflectures andfunctions finds asport tougher thanrugby.

Epic tales, the hunt for foodand a tale of true Brit gritby Malcolm Draper, Rentalength

Got a tale to tell?Please send letters forpublication by e-mailto the Editor: [email protected] contactUndercurrents, instrictest confidence ifyou wish (we promiseto change names,places, etc toprotect the guilty!),via e-mail:[email protected]

issue’s Undercurrents piece on my old school,Emanuel, to say that he was there a little laterthan me and writes, “Also, you may not beaware that Bob Barr, of Manchester Geomaticsfame, was also there in the same year as me;and we both rowed in the 3rd Eight and wonthe Windsor & Eton regatta Junior Eights trophy.

Not much to say on the image opposite otherthan that the smartphone makers really needto upgrade their keyboard for ham-fisted,banana-handed old geezers who seriouslystruggle with tiny keys.

Talking of old geezers I’ve been amazed at theaccounts in the press of the gang that brokeinto a Hatton Garden diamond vault. At leastone travelled to the crime scene using his buspass while another was described as “a bit of aWalter Mitty” by one of his fellow gangmembers, and was “eccentric to extremes”dressing in a Fez and his wife’s dressing gownand would speak to his white-haired terrier dog,Rocket, as if it were human. As a young friendsaid, ‘all goes to show you old geezers can stillget up to a lot of mischief’.

The editor and I usually put togetherUndercurrents over lunch somewhere inLondon. Recently we dined at Ognisko, a Polishrestaurant in Exhibition Road, indeed apart fromthe various museum eateries it’s the only placeto dine in that bit of London. The place had theatmosphere of a faded pre-war club, which ithad once been. It was where the Polish forcesrallied after the Germans invaded Poland in1939. The food wasn’t bad and we enjoyed agood bottle of white Burgundy. We must havedined well because they gave us a drinkon the house: a horseradish vodka. Quitethe most bizarre mixture I’ve had forawhile and not one I would try again orrecommend.

I believe that the photo opposite is notthe first time George Orwell’s name hasbeen juxtaposed with a security camera.There is a piazza in Italy somewherenamed after the author of 1984 andAnimal Farm, which is riddled withsecurity cameras.

UNDERCURRENTS


inhabited by a few Inuit hunters, a helicopterwas hired to film arctic wolves chasing hares,which usually win thanks to their speed andan ability to turn on a sixpence at 40 mph.The chopper duly arrived and Fothergillassumed the rather scruffy old bloke was theride-on mechanic. But no, he was the 78-yearold pilot and veteran of 35,000 hours flying.

What an amazing series. I especially likedhow they spent days trying to film sea otters offthe Chilean coast. They gave up on these shyanimals but heard there was a pair in the localharbour. They built a special hide and againwaited for days without catching them. Theygave up only to discover the otters had beenenjoying a feast of shellfish right under theircarefully constructed hide! Clever little devils.

Tough sportsI had the very great honour of meeting MikeTindall, former England rugby player andhusband to the Queen’s grandchild, ZaraPhillips. The occasion was a dinner at theRoyal Automobile Club and Tindall was theafter-dinner speaker. He’s a class act andbravely took questions. Inevitably the issue ofdwarf throwing in New Zealand came up. Heexplained that the team had been out on thetown and had had a few beers. . . they passeda bar with the sign “For one night only –Dwarf Throwing”. ‘Well we went in, youwould wouldn’t you’ said Mike, who went onto assure us that no England rugby playerswere involved in any dwarf throwing.

We’ll pass over the finer detail of thatevening in favour of what he said about toughsports. He regards what his wife and hermother (Princess Anne) do as far moredangerous than rugby. Equestrian sports needgreat skill and judgement and carry a high riskof serious injury if you fall off, andcompetitors do. In October 2008, Zara fellfrom her horse at a cross-country event atPau, France, and broke her right collarbone.The horse broke its neck after it had tippedover the hedge and was put down.

MiscellanyA big thank you to Paul MacArthur of SCCSfor inviting the editor and me to the LondonSurvey Dinner. Like last year, it took place atthe Jewel Bar just off Piccadilly. An amazingvenue which I must visit again sometime for adrink or two, quite the most interestingsurroundings I’ve been in for awhile. It wasgreat to meet up with so many old friendsincluding Tony Beagley, Chris Preston, TimBrennan, James Kavanagh, Tom Wren andmany others including Diversified’s CarolineHobden who had asked us to keep a place atdinner for her. Apparently she’s turned up lastyear to be confronted by a heaving bar full ofmen, ‘I could smell the testosterone!’ she said.That’s surveyors for you Caroline!

Reader Martin Rickman emails, following last

With England rugbystar Mike Tindall,

who told us all abouta tougher sport.

The plaque reads “GeorgeOrwell, 1903-1950Novellist and politicalessayist lived here.”

U

Policy Watch


ALL RICS MEMBERS WILL BEaware that the InternationalProperty Measurement Standards(IPMS) Office becomes mandatoryfor all ‘RICS regulated valuers’ on01st Jan 2016 and that anyvaluer including an areameasurement component mustfully comply with the content andprinciples of IPMS within theRICS Property Measurement 1sted 2015 (offices) mandatoryprofessional statementhttp://www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/professional-guidance/practice-statements/rics-property-measurement-1st-edition/, IPMSarea calculation will nowsupersede the Code of MeasuringPractice (COMP) calculationmethodology.

IPMS is a coalition of globalorganisations and is one ofseveral international standardsinitiatives (with others focused onLand, Construction and Ethics inthe pipeline). The entire ethos ofIPMS is centred on creating acommon global understanding ofarea measurement for thepurposes of valuation, agencyand development cost. Thissimple yet compelling reasoninghas enormous potentialramifications for propertyinvestment, asset valuation, stockmarkets and accountancy and atits beating heart is the need forgood spatial measurement.

Geospatial/geomatics surveyingfirms are uniquely positioned, asthe measurement specialists withinRICS, to help the wider propertyprofession gets to grips with the

ramifications of IPMS re-measurement. Although it will taketime for IPMS to embed and fullytake the place of COMP areacalculation, the process will bemarkedly accelerated by themandatory need to use IPMS areameasurements for all new leaseagreements. IPMS areameasurement is, as was COMP, a‘derived’ area measurement basedon nuances of understandingabout rentable area, usable spaceand the new concept of ‘DominantFace’. However, the starting pointfor all derived measures such asIPMS is a fully specified 3-dimensional (it should be notedthat IPMS is 2-dimensional floorplan based) measured survey asspecified within the industrystandard Measured Surveys 3rd ed2014. Although the rewards willbe great for geo firms the onus ison us to help our fellow membersof RICS understand the rigorousand fit-for-purpose measurementprocesses that will have to be putin place.

Indeed, recent RICSmembership surveys havehighlighted the technicaldeficiencies within the valuationsectors with only 25% of RICSproperty valuers having access toeven the most basic 2D CADsystem. Future propertymanagement systems will notwork in this way and as propertytechnology moves forward weneed to make sure that theprofession has access to the bestand most accurate geospatialbuilding information.

A strong, specified, accurate

measured survey is at the core ofIPMS and valuation; thegeospatial industry mantra of‘capture once, use many times’has never been more relevant.IPMS compliant areameasurement is one more outputfrom an accurate measuredsurvey, new properties should beaccurately surveyed usingappropriate technology and theexisting portfolio may need to beproperly surveyed to bring it upto modern standards. The days of2D hardcopy ‘plans’ are longgone and basic, often slipshod,‘surveys by office juniors withtapes are long gone – theresulting liability is just too risky.

Property measurement1st ed 2015 (offices)Many members will beconversant with the industrystandard RICS Code of MeasuringPractice 6th ed (COMP) and howit laid down the fundamentalsbehind ‘registration and areacalculation’ for property valuationand agency. Of course, propertybeing property there was alwaysplenty of scope for negotiationbut the ‘code’ neverthelessbecame the common translatorfor those thinking in the keymeasured building surveys terms:

• Gross External Area (GEA)• Gross Internal Area (GIA)• Net Internal Area (NIA)• Gross Internal Floor Area

(GIFA) – all within the contextof valuation and agency.

The COMP has now been updatedto reflect the contents of theInternational PropertyMeasurement Standard (IPMS) –Offices. This has now resulted in anew RICS Property Measurement1st ed 2015, which contains aprofessional statement, IPMS –offices and to complete the circle acopy of the original COMP 6th ed.Members will note that thedocument has been ‘upgraded’ toa ‘professional statement’.

Just as important ashighlighting what IPMS areameasurement is good for:• Valuation• Agency (residential and

commercial)• Exchange• Development cost

is underlining its limitations andwhat it cannot be used for:• 3 dimensional modelling or

viewing• Construction and

engineering work• Refurbishment• BIM modelling• Facilities management• Environmental rating• Security (fire etc)• Final as-built

So just what is in this initiativefor geomatics/geospatialsurveyors? After all, we’re themeasurement specialists and wedo seem to be on the cusp of anew geo-wave with advancingtechnology, increased clientinstructions and a betterunderstanding of how a goodspecified survey acts as an‘insurance’ policy for a project.

Property transactions for theperiod September 2014 to June2015 reached £24.6bn in Londonalone, and substantial existinginvestment portfolios could bebased on simplistic areameasurement severely increasingthe risk of ‘under or over’measurement of area. High valuecommercial property is a case inpoint: a £10 million property willneed to be as accuratelymeasured as possible to gain asmuch rental value as possiblefrom its ‘usable’ area. In thiscase, a deviation of ±1% (1:50)could conceivably result in a lossof £100k (or at least the risk ofloss); what price a more accuratemeasured survey?

Of course, area is just anelement of the market valueequation but a key one in highvalue commercial development.The IMPS document seeks to‘decouple’ valuation andmeasurement; the mandatoryIPMS process will also seek to dothis during the practice processby ‘decoupling’ the measurementfee from within the valuation fee.Good measurement is critical toso many processes within thewhole lifecycle costing of abuilding (as above) that theimportance of a strong fit-for-purpose measured survey (toRICS specifications) is worthevery penny to a client, waybeyond its use for valuation areacalculation.

IPMS, ILMS are topof the pile thiswinter AND withthe evening lecturesessions movinginto 2016, explainsRICS director of theland group JamesKavanagh, MRICS.

Capture once use many times –geospatial ready to help implement IPMSmandatory standards

R

Policy Watch


Measure once, use manytimes The key to all of the above isgood strongly specified andagreed measured building survey.The purpose drives themethodology and is at the heartnot only of the propertymeasurement 1st ed 2015 butalso the directly related RICSMeasured Surveys 3rd 2014 GNand specification. The surveydetails accuracy banding table ofthe Measured Surveys 3rd ed isreplicated within the appendix ofthe new professional statementand helps connect valuationaccuracy (usually expressed as±% of market value) and spatialsurvey accuracy/scale (usuallyexpressed as ±mm). Valuationand agency area measurementalso tends to be 2 dimensionalwith the primary output beingfloor plans of various scales. It isalso very worthwhile learning thelanguage of ‘valuation’ which hasat its core the key definition ofmarket value – ‘The estimatedamount for which an asset orliability should exchange on thevaluation date between a willingbuyer and a willing seller in anarm’s length transaction, afterproper marketing and where theparties had each actedknowledgeably, prudently andwithout compulsion.’

I would also encourage allgeo members to try out somebasic valuation courses @https://buy.training.rics.org/property/valuation

All valuation and agencyclients who incorporate an ‘area’value when providing a ‘red book’valuation will have to make surethat derived ‘area’ is IPMScompliant by 1st Jan 2016. Thismeans that all IPMS compliantarea values should be derivedfrom a properly specified andagreed measured building surveywhich follows the survey detailbanding criteria and best practicesprocesses as laid down in theMeasured Surveys 3rd ed 2014. Insome low value cases it might beacceptable for basic tape/Distomeasurement but the twodocuments reinforce the viewpointof RICS that spatial measurementneeds to be undertaken by thosemembers with specialist andappropriate skill-sets. The risk and

liabilities are high for those who‘chance their hand’ and RICSregulation and bye-laws prohibitmembers from working in areasthat they should not. A specified,accurately measured survey canfulfil all of its requirements andmuch more.

United for land: ILMScoalition forms and callsfor new coalitionpartnersAt the heart of all internationalstandards is the desire to createsustainable, professional marketsin an increasingly connectedglobal economy. RICS and otherkindred professional andtechnical bodies have beencoming together to forminternational standards coalitions.Already, international propertymeasurement (IPMShttp://ipmsc.org/), Ethics (IES)and construction (ICMS) haveformed coalitions and areworking together to produce highlevel principle based standards intheir respective areas.

The next piece of theinternational standards jigsawwas put into place lastNovember, as RICS formallyjoined the International LandMeasurement Standard (ILMS)coalition. We’re now 1 of 14professional bodies united andleading on this important effort.

Why ILMS?Land issues are high on theagenda of the developmentcommunity, with organisationssuch as the World Bank, theUnited Nations, and nationalagencies such as DfID (UKinternational development agency)and USAID (US internationaldevelopment) voicing their supportfor the concept. The statistics onglobal land issues are stark:

• 70% of land and property inthe developing world is un-registered,

• outside of formal markets,90% of residential andcommercial property inAfrica is untitled,

• land and propertytransactions are high on theglobal corruption index,

• in Kenya, where a 2010 raiduncovered thousands of land

files locked in filing cabinetsof public officials hoping tocollect bribes, six in ten landtransfers were viewed ascorrupt,

• a study in India estimatesthat US$700 million worth ofbribes are paid annually byusers of the country’s landadministration services.

This creates an extremely volatileland market in which internal andexternal investors can neverreally be sure what exactly theyare investing in or if it evenexists. For the ILMS coalition, it’simportant that land professionalsincrease market confidence andinstil client trust in this area.

To quote: ‘the world needs astandardised land reportingframework.’ One based on highlevel principles which can be usedas a platform for land marketinternal and external investmentand to help nations build morecomplex land administrativesystems as necessary.

So what is ILMS?ILMS is not really about spatial orphysical measurement of land.ILMS is more about the reportingframework that sits withineffective and responsible landadministration systems and theagreement on a standardisedglobal framework. ILMS is directlylinked to International EthicalStandards (IES) and InternationalValuation Standards (IVS)reporting mechanisms.

Just as other internationalstandards, like IES and IVS, de-risk and create a consistent andsecure environment for propertytransactions, so too will aninternational standard for land

de-risk and create a consistentenvironment for land ownership,development and cross-borderinvestment in developed anddeveloping economies.

Next stepsThe coalition is now reaching outto national and internationalbodies to help grow the coalition.Several key events in the globalland professional calendar willhave ILMS roundtable meetings,such as:

• World Bank WashingtonMarch 2016

• FIG Christchurch May 2016 • UN Habitat Nairobi Nov 2016

The ILMS coalition will have itsfirst physical meeting in spring2016 and is now seeking newglobal members to join thisimportant coalition. If yournational or regional organisationhas an interest in land, cadastre,land administration or mappingthan it is important that yourvoice is heard. Download thecoalition declaration form andjoin the ILMS coalition. [email protected]

Online resources:Property Measurement 1st ed2015http://www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/professional-guidance/practice-statements/rics-property-measurement-1st-edition/ Measured Surveys 3rd ed 2014 -http://www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/professional-guidance/guidance-notes/measured-surveys-of-land-buildings-and-utilities-3rd-edition/

Fig 10 fromRICS Research

report,Building

InformationModelling and

ValueDimension,June 2015.

BIM for surveyors


Magpies connecting the dotsGeospatial surveyors are an important part ofthe BIM process. Some 70% of total globalwealth is in real estate and relies on us tohelp ‘de-risk’ projects by connecting the dots,says Kavangh. Already it is possible todemonstrate that Level 2 BIM has secured20% savings in capital costs against a2009/10 benchmark. If BIM really issuccessful then the opportunities arestaggering. Global construction is expectedto grow by 70% over the next ten years andthere is high regard internationally, arguesKavanagh, for UK’s ‘gold-plated’ approachtowards BIM through legally mandating itsapplication (all public sector contracts over£10m must use BIM from April 2016).

Surveyors, according to Kavanagh, are likemagpies: ‘we take and use these shiny newtechnologies’. Laser scanners, for instance,have been through the Gartner curves whereexcitement rises before hitting the ‘Trough ofDespair’. They are now cruising into Gartner’s‘Plateau of Productivity’. For surveying they arenow ubiquitous. Much vaunted Big Data,meanwhile, is moving into the ‘Trough ofDisillusion’.

Kavanagh briefly took us through themultitude of BIM types – 2D right through to5D – not to be confused with the four Levelsof BIM (0 – 3). Throughout these D’s andlevels surveyors will argue that their role isessential, ‘survey is the lodestar of BIM’ saysKavanagh. BIM 5D, incidentally, is for thecost estimators and QS’s, which one delegateI spoke to was convinced would eliminatethat branch of the profession. I wouldn’t beso sure about that. Like topo surveys andland surveying it’s easy to think quantitysurveying is all about taking-off quants andcreating bills. There’s a lot more to it thanthat.

Kavanagh concluded his keynote with areview of the growing moves towards thedream of a “Digital Built Britain” driven by‘GIS on steroids’ and wide-scale assetmanagement, which somehow manages toovercome the difficulties of private interestsversus the public good. There are greatopportunities ahead around geospatial modelslike BIM, but we should not forget that we areonly ‘a small but critical cog’. To succeed,surveyors need to develop a service industrymentality – it’s where the money is’,concluded Kavanagh.

First there was alarming news. Thesecretary general Rory Stanbridge hadbeen whisked off to hospital earlier that

morning suffering from chest pains. Welearnt later that he had indeed suffered aheart attack and would be in hospital for afew days. Our good wishes to Rory for aspeedy recovery.

In his absence the day – 11 November -was ably conducted by TSA staff and vicepresident Adam Bradley, who moved us fromthe conference room a few minutes before 11am, it being Armistice Day, to the mainmuseum where visitors and youngsters fromnearby schools had assembled for two minutessilence and to hear the last post and thewords from Kohima. It was a touchingreminder of sacrifice in front of a Lancasterbomber (over 55,000 aircrew from the UK losttheir lives in World War Two).

Surveyors have become used to BIM overthe last half decade or so and clientsincreasingly ask for surveys in “BIM format”,even if it’s only a 2D topo survey. But forsurveyors it is surprising how many otherorganisations are still essentially hard-copybased, like general practice surveyors or theLand Registry. It’s a reminder that noteveryone knows what we’re talking about.There is much evangelising to do.

Referring to the day’s theme, keynotespeaker James Kavanagh told us, ‘it wasn’teverywhere yet’. Kavanagh is of course RICSLand Group director and is in a good positionto give us the broad view from RICS’sresearch. He reviewed the BIM basics telling uswhat it isn’t: ‘It’s not CAD on steroids’.

Held in themagnificent andinspirationalsurroundings of theRoyal Air ForceMuseum atHendon, TSA’s BIMDay heard from avariety of speakerson the theme “BIM– Here, there andeverywhere”,reports editorStephen Booth.

BBIIMM ddaayy hheellppss ccoonnnneecctt tthhee ddoottss

Below: James Kavanagh toldthe audience there weregreat opportunities ahead ifsurveyors develop a serviceindustry mentality.

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BIM for surveyors


whose basic information stretches back acentury and a half or more (they have terabytesof scanned data at York)? Preston talked aboutcollocating partners within alliances, clarity oflanguage and the need for trust in anenvironment where NR’s engineering assuranceprocesses are based on 2D drawings and CADstandards. He introduced two major projects,one where it had been used (the re-modellingof Gravesend station) and one where its use isplanned (the Ordsall Curve to connectManchester’s Piccadilly and Victoria stations).Other examples include Liverpool Street wherelaser scanned imagery is helping find moreretail space amongst the 19th century cast-ironframework.

Preston argues that BIM needs data-richassets, a common set of processes,collaborative management, a common dataenvironment, open and honest leadership andagreed rules supported by standards. For NR,BIM ultimately becomes their assetinformation system, reducing risk and cost. Forsurveyors, says Preston, ‘it’s survey once, usemany times.’

Historic splitBIM and Heritage, are they a good match? wasthe question posed by Historic England’s PaulBryan. HE, if your were not aware emergedearlier this year from splitting English Heritageinto an independent advisory service (HE) and acharity. Bryan is geospatial imaging managerwithin the remote sensing team, which alsoincludes aerial survey and geophysics. Bryan’steam, he wryly observed, was just two-and-a-half people including himself, so there’s quite alot of external procurement.

Notwithstanding the size of his team, Bryanhas been responsible for drafting someweighty specifications on metric and 3Dsurveys within the heritage sphere. HE usemany techniques including low-costphotogrammetry through structure frommotion, a method of creating 3D imageryfrom a succession of 2D images.

BIM has some way to go within heritagebut Bryan is pushing BIM for conservation toraise awareness and understanding of its

Where’s Bob on St Crispin’s Day?Survey4BIM is part of the BIM task Group*backed by the Cabinet Office. This is all aboutgeo-enabling BIM. Martin Penney began withan anecdote. A colleague had visited a clientabout using BIM on an extension to anexisting building. The client had expected flowcharts but instead was asked, whatinformation have you got? Bob came backwith an armful of paper plans. He’d knownjust where to look for them. But the plansraised more questions than answers including,what happens if Bob’s not around?

Penney believes therefore that BIM is aboutasking the right questions: where is the data,what can it be used for and are we sharing it?In other words, making sure you’ve got theright data. Surveyors, however, remain slowon the uptake of BIM. RICS has found that49% of its members are still not using it.However, ‘it’s not going away’ said Penney,‘there’s a mandate for it.’

For him, the five big issues for BIM aregeneralisation, accuracy, metadata,interoperability and the level of detail. Thebenefits are reduction of risk and theavoidance of clashes, re-work and delays. Heended with the quote from Henry V Act IVand the King’s clarion call to join him atAgincourt on St Crispin’s Day. ‘We need yourhelp!’ concluded Penney. *For more about Survey4BIM turn to page 06.

I have long thought that one of theprincipal benefits of BIM is not just as a toolfor managing a project but as a record ofwhat was built so that future owners andoperators have a single source of informationfor maintenance, changes and redevelopment.This seems to be exactly how Heathrow andNetwork Rail use their BIMs.

Best practice on the rail networkChris Preston is a senior engineer HQ safety,technical engineering directorate at NetworkRail (nothing simple like chief surveyor!). NRdon’t recognise surveyors despite Preston’sbest efforts over the years. They have changedtheir corporate entity however in moving froma not-for-profit company to now being entirelyin the public sector and therefore, alas, underthe close eyes of the Treasury.

BIM can deliver savings and itsdevelopment in NR has been informed by“best practice” on a number of high profileinfrastructure projects like T5, M25 wideningand the Dome. Amongst the hurdles, Prestonargues, are the many software versions andthe cloud. ‘We want to use BIM forvisualisation – good quality survey de-risks aproject’. To do that consistent and accuratedata and the right metadata is fundamental.For NR’s processes of information flow, theinformation requirements must be right. ‘Weneed to get BIM up to Gartner’s Plateau’.

So how do you do this in an organisation

Chris Preston (left),Stephen Booth

(centre) and JamesKavanagh (right)

share an amusing(but now forgotten!)

aside.

‘We need to getBIM up toGartner’sPlateau’.

‘‘’’

[email protected]

tel UK: 0845 603 1214 IRE: 01 456 4702

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BIM for surveyors


design and 3D printing and subtractivemanufacturing (short-run prototyping) drivenby sensor networks. It all sounded rather scarybut back in the 1970s a certain well-knownfilm and camera company was amongst thefirst to develop a digital camera. Alas theycouldn’t see a market for it and in the endKodak collapsed in an age when just aboutevery mobile phone has a camera.

MDC helps feed the modelTopcon’s Mat Kellett talked about the growingdemand for Mass Data Collection (MDC)technologies for BIM. ‘Keep feeding the datamodel’ was his message, and Topcon has justthe technologies: laser scanners, both staticand mobile, plus two airborne platforms in theSirius Pro fixed-wing UAV and the Falcon 8octocoptor. Topcon’s vehicle-based mobilescanning system has a six-axis INS, wheelodometry, GNSS, panoramic cameras and candeliver an accuracy of <5cm.

PAS 128, a BSI specification forunderground utility detection, verificationand location essentially defines quality forutility mapping. But is there a need forpractitioner accreditation? The TSA believesso and Mike Page of SubScan Technologypresented details of a scheme that hopefullyTSA will back. He argued that it’s all about‘measuring yourself against standards andyour competitors’ in what is a riskmanagement process. The scheme if it comesto fruition will be run by Lloyds’ Register,which manages similar schemes and couldeven come up with one for BIM accreditationif the interest is there (65% of TSA membersbelieve there is). Interesting.

In questioning, Graham Mills wondered ifcost of technology was a barrier to adoptingBIM. He also believes that PAS 128 could bethe way forward in raising the bar for surveyprofessionals in the UK, which unlike manyother countries does not have licensedsurveyors.

James Kavanagh argued that buildingtenants are not interested in details like BIMbut on a business-to-business basis it is strongenough to affect share prices. We are in theinfancy of BIM and where it will lead.

potential. BIM software however like Revit andAutoCAD, is designed for geometric buildings,not 15th century barns like Harmonsworth,which currently stands in the way of a thirdrunway to Heathrow. Bryan believes irregularstructures and BIM are worthy of furtherresearch, a problem raised by others in theaudience including Chris Preston who arguedthat you must specify a minimum distance offof a straight line.

Heathrow’s journeyAndy Rhoades is head of service protection forHeathrow. He presides over a massiveinformation modelling and asset managementsystem. His talk was all about Heathrow’s BIMjourney – the importance of confidence ininformation. Although his department is onlyten people they are the ones who decide,among other things, in which order incomingaircraft will land and discharge theirpassengers. It’s about balancing the load forbaggage handlers as they are able to calculatethe likely number of bags from a flight –business incomers from the US have fewerthan holidaymakers back from the far east,explained Rhoades.

He works from a complex circular chart thatshows all the inputs to the system. He gave ussome statistics. Heathrow’s footprint is roughlythe size of central London and is currentlyoperating at 99.1% capacity, 75 millionpassengers pass through every year and thereare 45,000 manholes on 62,000 services. Thejourney on creating a reliable digitalinformation system began in 1994 when atunnel under construction beneath the centralarea collapsed bringing the airport to a neartotal halt. ‘Out of chaos comes investment’dryly observed Rhoades. ‘Heathrow’s BIM isvery much location centric rather than projectcentric and joining up the data delivers realbusiness value.’ Today services, cannot go liveuntil they have been mapped and recorded inthe system’s two databases, one fordocuments, the other for asset management.

A sweet spot?Relief from Rhoades’ rapid delivery of statsand slides came in the form of Autodesk’sSimon Gillis who talked about the future ofmaking things and the evolution of BIM. Hethought the ‘innovation continuum is at thesweet spot’, whatever that means. He tracedthe history of AutoCAD, launched in 1982,the year the Space Shuttle first flew. Backthen the ubiquitous CAD package came on 20disks, today it’s in the cloud and you pay asyou go.

Gillis talked much about the Internet ofThings, the cloud and the crowd and how weare on the verge of a new industrial revolutionthat will bring micro factories making designand fabrication much easier. It will also heraldthe “third age of BIM” allowing architects todesign in context through computational

Right: Paul Bryantakes the mike to

make an interestingpoint.

‘Heathrow’s BIMis very muchlocation centricrather than projectcentric. . .’

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Michael Barrett Award Lecture


fascinating example of this and how thePaston family in 15th century Norfolk hadpurchased Gresham, a fine manor house.Their purchase had been conducted entirelylegally only to find that an earlier owner fromthe previous century still purported to have aclaim on the property and asserted it byoccupying it! After exhausting all attempts atjudicial restitution to remove the usurpers,the Pastons instructed their servants tophysically retake possession. Even today inmany parts of the world it is advisable tooccupy a property 24/7 to avoid unauthorisedpossession.

When the UN was set up in 1945 it facedmassive problems. Europe was in chaos,millions had lost homes. One of the firstofficial appointments of the embryo FAO wasthat of a land tenure officer. While todayEurope has stable systems of tenure thereremain many places in the world where thatis not the case.

Open Tenure system helps forest peoplesWith millions of hectares of jungle and forestcleared every year around the worldindigenous peoples can lose their livelihoodsand food sources. Paul showed us a video[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe2vJpGwBjA] abouthow in Cambodia monks are managing asystem known as Open Tenure to empowercommun ities. Using open source softwaredeveloped by FAO local communities canrecord their land resources. Running ontablet computers, the software guides userson how to record critical data to back-upclaims including important documents suchas agreements between households and localauthorities. Boundaries are marked andmapped with geospatial data helping toreduce conflict. The technology helps peopleto understand land use. A monk, who ishead of the community forest of 18,261 hacomprising 8 communes and 5 villages,explains how they have been managing theland for 14 years. But they need regularpatrols to detect violations and illegalactivities like traps.

Voluntary Guidelines on the ResponsibleGovernance of Tenure of Land, Fisheriesand Forests in the Context of NationalFood SecurityThe guidelines have now become the

The annual MichaelBarrett Award for2015 deservedlywent to PaulMunro-Faure forhis work indeveloping theUN’s VoluntaryGuidelines on theResponsibleGovernance ofTenure of Land,Fisheries andForests.

Safe as houses?Why tenure matters more than ever

Open Tenure is being used in Cambodia to protect and support forest peoples.Go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe2vJpGwBjA

‘Tenure is important and challenging’argued Paul Munro-Faure in deliveringthe RICS 2015 Michael Barrett Award

Lecture. As deputy director of the Climate,Energy and Tenure Division of FAO, the UN’sFood & Agriculture Organisation, his lecturewas inspired by the publication of the UN’sVoluntary Guidelines on the ResponsibleGovernance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries andForests in the Context of National FoodSecurity. Negotiated and formally endorsedby the Committee on World Food Security,this is an historic but deceptively thindocument for what is a weighty leap forwardin advancing beyond those importantMillennium Development Goals; and are nowreinforced by the 17 SustainableDevelopment Goals, which include landtenure, and which were formally adopted bythe UN General Assembly in September.

Land surveyors know perhaps more thananyone that security of tenure is a majorfactor in economic stability and development.If you have legal and protected title to landyou may be able to feed yourself and yourfamily. If you own a building you may raisemore easily a loan to develop a business. Yetin much of the world tenure remainstenuous.

Occupy it or lose it!We are all familiar with the old adage thatpossession is 9/10ths of the law. Paul gave a

Michael Barrett Award Lecture


globally-accepted standard for improving thegovernance of tenure for all, with anemphasis on vulnerable and marginalizedpeople. While the guidelines were preparedin the context of food security, they alsocontribute to other development goals,including poverty eradication, sustainableliveli hoods, women’s tenure rights, socialstability, housing security, rural development,environ mental protection and sustainablesocial and economic development. Theguidelines are the key reference for work ontenure in support of the achievement of theSustainable Development Goals – formallyadopted by the General Assembly of the UNon 25 September 2015.

The global community agreed theMillennium Development Goals (MDGs) in2000 but they made scant reference to issuesof tenure; how real property is held, accessedand administer ed. The Secretary General’sDevelopment Goals for the period 2015-30(SDGs) include clear targets which put tenurefirmly on the global agenda: ensuring that allmen and women, in particular the poor andthe vulnerable, have equal rights to economicresources, as well as access to basic services,ownership and control over land and otherforms of property; that agriculturalproductivity and incomes of small-scale foodproducers – in particular women, indigenouspeoples, family farmers, pastoralists andfishers – are doubled, through secure andequal access to land; that reforms givewomen equal rights to economic resources,as well as access to ownership and controlover land and other forms of property; andthat access for all is ensured to adequate,safe and affordable housing.

The SDGs and 2015 are a major stepforward and opportunity for the profession;RICS and FIG as partners are committed tothe global support for the development ofthe Voluntary Guidelines.

. . . incomes ofsmall-scale foodproducers – inparticular women,indigenouspeoples, familyfarmers,pastoralists andfishers – aredoubled. . .

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Michael BarrettAward winner Paul Munro-Faure isdeputy director ofthe Climate, Energyand Tenure Divisionof FAO based inRome and has ledthe tenure team

since 2000. He comes from a long line ofsurveyors. His great- great-grandfather,Daniel Ward, founded Ward & Chowen inTavistock, Devon, in 1830, a firm ofchartered surveyors which is still thriving.There have been chartered surveyors inalmost all generations of the family eversince, including two of his three brothers.

Paul studied land economy, rural planningand public sector land management atCambridge and Reading Universities and atthe School of Oriental and African Studies,University of London. He has extensivepractical experience in the agricultural andurban sectors in developed marketeconomies; in transitional economies. He hasa special interest in coastal and marineresource management. He was elected thefirst honorary life member of the 27-year oldInstitute of Valuation and EstateManagement of Fiji at the age of 27 andqualified as a valuer with the RICS in 1983.He is an honorary doctor of Oxford BrookesUniversity, where he is a visiting professor; asalso he is at the Royal Agricultural University.

He has been substantially involved inRICS activities where he has ledrelationships with FIG and has chaired theInstitution’s FIG Forum. He has been amember of several Institution committees,including Idris Pearce’s RICS PresidentialCommittee on The Future of the Professionin 1990 and the RICS International PolicyGroup from 1996 to 1999.

Conference


languages. Ola is certainly a good speaker,and it is easy to see why he has been listedamongst the world’s best CEOs. The keynotesfocused on the success stories of manycompanies and practitioners working withinthe Hexagon technological group.

Some inspirational and motivationalquotations shown in English and Chinese priorto the presentations, made interesting reading.

Also on day one, at 5 pm, all track keynotespeakers gave their presentations. There werefive tracks covering five different disciplines.

The ‘Tracks’ were:PP & M - Process Power & Marine, keynote:Expanding innovation on a global scale.Synergy, keynote: Smart cities. smarternations.Metrology/Manufacturing, keynote : Change!Geosystems, keynote: Digital realities.Geospatial, keynote: The M.App of the futureis now.

Delegates registered by their ‘Track’, and inmy case I went for Geosystems. From my entryinto the amazing world of land surveying,some 60 years ago, I guess I was always in the‘Geosystem’ world. My start with Abney level,compass and pacing and high-tech stuff suchas plane tabling in the army - then sun shotsand six-figure tables with calculations on aCurta, were a far cry from the high-techdevelopment we see today, with most moderntechnology leaving me way behind.

I went to the Geosystem Keynote presented byJuergen Dold, the president of HexagonGeosystems. He spoke of the role geospatialtechnology plays in managing rapid change. Hedetailed the amazing advances in the digital worldthat have been assisted by many geosystemsciences working towards the same goal.

My observation is that we can contemplatethe time-consuming use of the slide rule,followed by lengthy calculations which wererequired fifty years ago, compared with thealmost instantaneous and more accurateresults obtainable today, through the use ofdigital technology.

Two other Geosystem speakers also spokeof advances in the digital world. The first wasDu Bin, president of Hexagon GeosystemsChina, and the second, Matthew Smith,president of Hexagon Geosystems Asia-Pacific.

Technical presentationsDays two and three saw presentations byprofessionals, researchers and academics in

Under the banner of Great Stories StartHere the first HxGN LIVE conference tobe held in the Asia Pacific region ran for

three days last November. As a venue,Hexagon chose AsiaWorld Expo, the largestconference facility in Hong Kong, which oftenhosts musical performances and lavish stageshows. The conference occupied all the spaceof this 70,000 sq m venue, but also requiredoverflow meeting halls in two nearby hotels.

Keynote addresses The major keynote presentation was given onday one by Ola Rollén, president and CEO of

Hexagon, followed by a shorterpresentation in Mandarin(Putonghua), by Li Hongquan, vicepresident of Hexagon, and presidentof Hexagon, China. Ola gave a mostenthusiastic address in which heproduced facts and figures tohighlight Hexagon’s involvement inmany major development projectsaround the world. Li’s presentationfollowed the same pattern, butconcentrated on Hexagon’s activitiesin China. As with all presentationsheld in meeting rooms,

simultaneous translation from English toChinese (and vice versa) was provided.

Everything shown on the large videoscreens in the largest hall - an area that couldseat up to 4,000 people - was shown in both

Hexagon’s firstconference in HongKong was a livelyshowcase for thecompany’s manytechnologiesreports GordonAndreassend.

HHeexxaaggoonn ddeebbuuttss iinn HHoonngg KKoonngg

Above: Hexagon CEO OlaRollén gives the openingkeynote.

Quotations ranging from Plutarchand Confucius to Indira Gandhi

made interesting reading.

Conference


dependent on the surveying industry forfinancial support, and it is a fact that withoutthat support, those conferences could not bestaged. HxGN LIVE had the largest exhibitionof surveying and related equipment ever seenin Hong Kong. It must have placed a heftydemand on the finances of the companiesconcerned. It made me wonder how thesmaller regional institutes will be able toexpect the support they have had in the pastfrom these surveying firms in staging theirevents. Perhaps the day of the small localconference is over. Time will tell.

geosystem development and technology. Therewere a total of 45 papers presented in thistrack – the other four tracks had 30 to 40presentations each, giving a total of about180 papers. As with the keynotes, everyindividual presentation had English/Chinesesimultaneous translation. An extremely busytime for the presenters, and the translators. Inaddition, there were about 100 or more shortpresentations in the exhibition hall, organisedby the participating engineering andmanufacturing companies, where translationservices were not provided.

Delegates: where did they come from?Around 3,500 delegates attended with thelargest contingent of participants coming fromthe Peoples Republic of China. My estimatewould be that about 80% would have comefrom the PRC and Hong Kong. The remaining20% would have been mainly from the US,Europe plus the Pacific rim countries includingAustralia, and New Zealand. Some othersmaller countries were also represented.

This may have been a first for Hexagon inHong Kong, but I would venture to say, not thelast. It was a well organised conference, and Ibelieve all those participating were more thansatisfied with the event and the services providedby the venue. The catering was of a very highstandard and I doubt if any of the 3,500delegates went away hungry. I consider thatHexagon will certainly plan to stage anotherevent in Hong Kong in four to five years’ time.However, I hope that at their next Hong Kongconference they will have improved on their day-one registration process at the venue. One hourin a line waiting to pick up the conference tag,etc. is far too long. Possibly a fault with thatspecific area of the Expo venue, or just notenough check-in staff. Rather ironical to findthis at a gathering extolling the use of smartmodern internet technology.

Exhibition Scene.I started attending survey conferences morethan 50 years ago, but they were small affairsof about 200 to 300 participants, andinvariably organised by a professional institute.Later I attended larger international FIG andISPRS events, and in Hong Kong was involvedin the staging of two regional congresses. Inevery case these conferences were highly

A tunnel surface scanning andmonitoring system was typical of theadvanced technologies on show.

HxGN LIVE hadthe largestexhibition ofsurveying andrelatedequipment everseen in HongKong.

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’’

A question that some of the uninitiated may well ask – as was the casewith Gordon Andreassend – when registering on line for the HxGN LIVEconference to be held in Hong Kong. He participated to find out more.

Basic information on Hexagon - HxGNIn school we learnt that a hexagon was a geometric figure with sixsides. So what’s the connection?

Hexagon began in Sweden in 1992 and has evolved into a globalinformation technology and measurement company, which includescompanies like Leica Geosystems, Intergraph and ERDAS. Today it is astock market listed company, still based in Sweden that operates world-wide as an umbrella organisation. It covers and in turn is supported bylarge international companies that function very much in the sphere ofevolving geospatial technologies and in all fields of geographical andstructural development.

Hexagon held its first annual conference in 2011.

‘What the heck is Hexagon?’

Catering was of a very high standard

H

Foresight report


Towards autonomyIn this context we should stress the differencebetween piloted and pilotless vehicles. An‘unmanned’ vehicle remains under the real-time control of a pilot, whilst autonomousvehicles are given a route to follow and thenhave to find their way to and from theirdestination.

Much effort is going into developingautonomous land vehicles. One can see thepoint of autonomous freight delivery or publictransport, because there is a direct saving byeliminating the pilot. Doing this would ofcourse defeat the object of private transport,so the natural conclusion could be a world ofdriver-less taxis, which could transform ourstreets, car manufacturing and land use.

Will we see autonomous vehicles on theroad within five years? Probably not, but ifwe do, they will be using positioning andsense-and-avoid systems to find their wayand to avoid collisions. They will need verydetailed mapping too. They will be producinggeospatial data and that data couldpotentially be collected and analysed for amyriad of purposes. The data so collectedwill be concentrated on transport corridorsand the quality will be sufficient for theprimary purpose of the sensor. So we canexpect more data about the places where wealready have data and its quality will probablynot be brilliant. The terminology for this typeof data is ‘exhaust’ and geomatics is prettygood at making use of it – GNSS being aclassic example. Like so much technology, itmakes surveying the easy stuff quicker andeasier but will still not be able to ‘see’ underparked (or moving) vehicles, behind bushes,underground and behind cladding. That said,there has been progress in surveying thosedifficult areas – led by the ZEB1 handheldlaser scanner.

Open EverythingOpen data is the making available for generaluse, data that was collected for a specificprimary purpose. The current expectation isthat this should be free of charge. Thereshould be a business benefit, but governmentopen data providers are not permitted torequire those who download their open datato identify themselves or state what they aregoing to do with it, because the mere act ofasking such questions is deemed a barrier toaccess, which would make the data notopen! From the perspective of innovation,the major benefit of open data is that there

The AGI Foresight Report 2020 looks atthe future of GI over the coming fiveyears. A two-page summary has been

published along with the full document.Former AGI chair Anne Kemp’s openingremarks in both documents make forsobering reading: “There has never been amore urgent need for a paradigm shift inhow we inhabit our planet. . . it should beclear that our current trajectory isunsustainable and unpalatable.”

Five themesThe AGI has been considering the challengesand opportunities for the GI industry and hascollated its findings around five themes: Open;Big data; BIM, Asset management and Futurecities; Innovative technologies; and policy andculture. This review tries to focus ongeomatics aspects of the report and enlargeon some of the considerations for the future.

The body of the report is 35 pages longand focused around the five themes. Itextracts the essence from sixty ‘white papers’which are included as appendices, whichaddress different areas. They are inevitablypersonal views and so some are more radicalthan others. The report would make soundCPD, with dips into the papers according toyour interest. The papers are hyperlinkedfrom references within the text of the report.

Hindsight 2010The report starts with an overview of theprevious Foresight report of 2010. ‘Did weget it right’? Andy Coote asks. As predicted,laser-scanning technology has dominated thepast five years and we were well aware thatthe challenge would be how to process themass of data into information that could beused by clients. A ‘big data’ problem, eventhough we did not use the term back then.

The only technology that was missed wasthe rise of the unmanned aerial vehicle forsurveying. Unmanned underwater vehicleshad been introduced in the late 1990sbecause the risks of underwater collision arerelatively low, whilst the airborne equivalentcontinues on its inevitably slow path toacceptance. However, UAVs are only of valuefor surveying because of advances in sensorminiaturisation and automatedphotogrammetry, which depends upon bigdata in order to process the unknowns in thesystem – e.g. camera calibration. Thisresurgence of photogrammetry wascompletely unpredicted.

In November attheir annualconferenceGeoCom 2015 theAGI published areport from over 60contributingauthors of wherethey thought the GIindustry would begoing over thecoming halfdecade. RichardGroom reports.

Foresight of a Geospatial World

The terminologyfor this type ofdata is ‘exhaust’and geomatics ispretty good atmaking use of it . . .

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Foresight report


greater co-operation between professional andtrade bodies through a process of diplomacydesigned to avoid ruffling the feathers ofthose with vested interests in maintaining thestatus quo. But one could argue that to act asone, we have to be one. A single body ofgeospatial people under a single secretariatwith the resources to influence government,present a unified face to the public andbusiness and regulate the activities of memberindividuals and companies. In five years, willwe see a single geospatial body? I fear thatmay be a dream.

IoTThe Internet of Things is another of the Big 5themes. More and more sensors will be usedfor monitoring and their results communicatedvia the web. Monitoring of machines,structures, the environment and, why notpeople? One can easily imagine carryingphysical monitoring sensors that could senddata to a computer for analysis. The systemcould conceivably trigger emergency response,detect longer term issues and contribute togeneral health data about the population. Itcould dramatically reduce costs and pressureon the National Health Service. ‘Place’ isalways a component of the sensor, whether itis stationary or moving.

Monitoring of structures has traditionallybeen viewed as a geomatics task, which itclearly is when surveying equipment isinvolved. But the last few years have seenmany new, small and cheap sensors and thenew and mysterious Utterberry system, whichcannot be considered within the exclusivearea of interest of geomatics. This trend isbound to continue and this is another areawhere surveyors will have to collaborate tosurvive.

BIMBIM takes up a large chunk of the report anda read of this section is well worthwhile.However, have we really got a handle on theneed for interoperability and open datastandards for 3D geospatial data? The pointseems to be missed that real world objects canbe defined using the same set of geometricalprimitives plus attributes. It often seems thatothers perceive the work we do as way morecomplex than it really is. Is there a reason whygeospatial objects in a field, a town, an oil rigor inside a building should be describeddifferently?

There are many good things in this reportand, as ever, it is useful to see the big picturefrom a different aspect – that of the GIcommunity. It is also striking that sometimesthose problems which we think are ours aloneare in fact being faced by others too.

• The Foresight Report can be downloaded forfree from:http://www.agi.org.uk/news/foresight-report

is no longer the need for a decision to buy,no need for a business case or for concernthat the product won’t actually provide itsintended benefit.

Could one not argue, using very similarlogic, that all public transport should be freebecause there is a social need to provide itand a cost involved in collecting fares? Whilstone can understand why ‘exhaust’ producedas a by-product with government moneyshould be free of charge, it is difficult to seethe sense in applying the same principle fordata that is collected for a purpose and at acost.

Open is a concept that extends beyonddata, and open software is now more widelyused than was predicted five years ago.‘Open’ is also a concept that is central to BIMin the sense that there should be opencollaboration between all the parties involvedin a project. The truth is that whilstcommunication between partners in a projectmay be possible, it is also likely to be tightlycontrolled for fear of the consequences of badnews getting circulated. However, greatergenuine openness would actually drive upstandards, force employers from client to thirdtier supplier to employ competent people andresult in recognition for their competence.

Moving up the value chainThere can be no doubt that the process ofcollecting data is becoming less demanding.There is however skill involved in collectingquality-assured data. But it is one thing tocollect quality-assured data to a givenspecification and quite another to interpretthe client’s requirements and explain to him orher the options in terms of costs and benefits.The Foresight report urges geo professionalsto move their focus away from just being datacollectors. The report notes within the widerbusiness of GI, the over emphasis ontechnology at the expense of knowledge; atrend we have seen in geomatics.

Changing this will be a challenge becausegeomatics is dominated by a very strongcontracting sector and a chronically weakconsulting sector. How many consultingengineering firms employ a surveyor in aconsultancy role? More often than not, surveyspecifications are written by people from otherprofessions who do not always understandwhat they are writing, or use specificationswritten ten or more years ago, that are nolonger relevant.

To gain control of geomatics consultancy,serious action has to be taken to deal with aproblem which has been ignored for manyyears. Perhaps the next five years ofSurvey4BIM will tackle it.

All for one and one for all!The Foresight report urges the geospatialindustry to act as one to tackle the challengesahead effectively. Recent years have seen

. . . the majorbenefit of opendata is that thereis no longer theneed for adecision to buy,no need for abusiness case orfor concern thatthe product won’tactually provideits intendedbenefit.

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GW Interview


it’s more of a team effort.’

BrandSo what had a he discovered about the OS’smuch vaunted brand and reputation, basedperhaps too readily on the public’s enthusiasmfor printed Landranger maps (now with freedigital access) and which account for barely10% of OS’s total sales. Was it time for achange? Does OS, like IBM or Google, haveenough brand definition to continue in itspresent form?

‘I think if you were an alien dropped intothis you would find huge brand recognitionwhich is almost universally benign. People maynot be able to explain what Ordnance meansbut they’ll probably know what survey means.That is a very, very valuable asset for us.’

Okay, so how do you think you can buildon the existing strengths of OS, and what doyou think those strengths are? ‘One of the keystrengths of OS is its employees – they’rereally committed to the cause. I think that is areally valuable thing. Many companies andorganisations would die for the kind ofcommitment and engagement we’ve got fromthe team inside OS.’

‘When we did our brand research last yearit found a lot of positive feedback aroundauthoritative information, part of the nationalfabric and trustworthy. When we spoke tointernational communities what comes back ismore emphasis on the technology expertise,having been on the journey from analogue todigital, from small scale to very large-scaledata and managing data.’

So what can be improved? ‘We need to bemore thoughtful about how our data isconsumed, how do we make it really accessible,which is why some changes to the licensingmodel are coming to the fore. From a

Imet Clifford in OS’s Geovation Hub in theCity, a buzzy building which also housesCatapult, a body promoting future and smart

cities. Tucked away at the end of a large openplan office full of enthusiastic younginnovators, we had a wide-ranging discussionfor over an hour that included his views onwhether geospatial is special, OS’s strengthsand weaknesses, where it needs to go next, itsinternational activities, big data mining andhow far OS should be going in embracing thatand the new data sensors, and about the‘fabric of the brand’.

How attractive is OS?What had attracted him to the job? ‘I’m ageographer so there’s a natural affinity’ and itsoon became clear to him as they moveddeeper in discussions about the job that herealised, ‘I know you as a provider of mapsbut I understand now that you’re a digitalprovider of content with a broad commercialfootprint from the emergency services rightthe way through to helping SME’s and start-ups – a fascinating blend of ingredients.’

Although he’s a geographer and fellow ofthe RGS this is a rather general qualification.Does he feel confident in fulfilling the statutoryrole as advisor to government on geospatialmatters? He paused. ‘There is a point in yourcareer, fairly early usually, when you realisethat you can’t know more than everyonereporting to you. That’s been present in mycareer since I was 26 or 27. At the age of 32 Iwas put in charge of six teaching hospitals, sowould I advise the Royal College of Surgeonson their practices? No, but did I know how tosynchronise together a complicated set offunctions, specialisms and vested interests?Yes. It’s not like being the Poet Laureate whereall you have to do is produce pieces of poetry,

Since the beginningof June last yearOrdnance SurveyGB has had a newCEO. GW met himin London recently.Nigel Cliffordcomes to the jobvia a careercovering the NHS,e-commerce, BritishTelecom and othermobile players.

Talking to Ordnance Survey’s new CEO

We met in OS’s buzzy CityGeoVation Hub.

GW Interview


He talked about the different licenceregimes, how you manage open data and itsreuse, which OS now has considerableexperience of. ‘Those experiences are seen asvaluable. Plus our experience in running a verylarge database with a supply chain aroundIndian subcontractors for data processing ofaerial imagery and our own home grownsuppliers means that a number of mappingagencies have asked us to come and have alook at them with a view to how they mightimprove what they do.’

Research and universitiesWe turned to research and OS’s involvementwith academia. Would he continue supportingresearch into aspects of geospatial data at UKuniversities?

‘Absolutely. In the last 14 or 15 years we’vesupported over 100 PhD’s and MSc’s. Theinteresting movement is that it’s not justgeospatial; we’re looking at data science – theconjoint twin of geospatial. Because the scaleof geospatial sensor data is going to be sosignificant in the next decade for big data andon a scale that hasn’t been there before. Theuse of new techniques, the cloud, analytics isall part of it.’

Is big data mining the job of OS, surelythat’s what your partners should be doing?‘Mining, absolutely but I think the collectionand ordering of it is something we’re havingto take very seriously. By 2050 a 100 billionsensors will be in place around the world;currently there are 7 billion.’

We turned to the policy of open data. ‘OScurrently has 16 open data sets out there atthe moment and they’ve proved popular with50,000 downloads in the first month. So it’swell received’ says Clifford. ‘The focus thatwe’re putting into it at the moment is tounderstand who’s using it and on the licenceconditions. What is the purpose of open data?It’s to allow experimentation, market testingand social development, which we canencourage through licensing conditions andput in place more data-centric licensingconditions like software providers.’

‘If you become a billionaire then probablythe UK taxpayer should benefit from that.There’s a tipping point where enough provensuccess means that a revenue stream beginsto accrue so it’s only fair that the taxpayershould benefit.’ I wondered if there’s anythingin the OS’s conditions that require theirerstwhile partners to register their businessesin the UK. He laughed. He didn’t think so.

Partners, fuzzyness and abrasivenessNext we turned to the thorny question ofpartner relationships and where he thoughtOS might be falling down in meeting theneeds of users. It’s no secret that there hasbeen quite a lot of abrasion between OS andits partners and reseller. Some of it around thefuzzy boundaries between who sells what to

perception perspective, ensuring that we areseen as a digital content data player’. OS’sthinking on this aspect is related to recruitmentwhere they’re looking to blend geography withdata science. ‘To be a really attractive employerI want us to be seen as a digital player inaddition to the traditional cartographic role.’

Is it special?So, did he think geospatial is special? ‘Yes,absolutely it is. When I ran six hospitals inGlasgow one of the first things I did was toget a map of the city and put it on the wall ofmy office. As people came through the doorthey said, ‘Gosh, I never thought of it likethat: “So that’s why people aren’t going tothat surgery because the M8 runs through themiddle of the catchment area”.’

He believes geospatial is special because ofthe way visualisation allows a different set ofwhat he calls “smarts” to be deployed insomeone’s head. ‘It’s no longer mathematicsor algebra; it engages with a whole lot ofdifferent synapses. Secondly, geospatial is trueso you can use it as a golden thread to tietogether lots of different datasets; and linkingdifferent sets together enables you to makemore sense of activities that are focused on alocation or a single person but which areserved through many different agencies.’

Cities get smartWe moved on to the urban environment andthe tax base of cities. ‘It’s becomingincreasingly focused on having an attractivecity to attract industry, commerce and peoplewho will form a big stable tax base; it allbecomes very interesting. The juxtaposingforces of migration, demography, security allcontribute to urban planning andmanagement which is underpinned bygeospatial and segues into transport routing.Geospatial is an accelerator and can make areal difference.’

Clifford had been to a Citylabs sessionrecently to hear Michael Bloomberg (ex mayorof NY) and Boris Johnson. ‘Both of them werethoughtful about how you enact change in anurban environment without causing mayhem;how far should it be politician or citizen led?An answer in Singapore will be different to theone in Jakarta. There will be the equivalent of400 new cities over the next 25 years, mostlythrough expansion of existing ones.’

International dimensionWould he be continuing OS international’srole, which has been such an important aspectof his predecessor’s time at OS? ‘Yes, for acouple of reasons. The first is that the supportwe can provide is particularly valued by NMA’sdue to the journey that we’ve been through,from military, to government to partcommercial, moving from completely closeddata served through 19th century methods todigital data served by 21st century means.’

Is big datamining the job ofOS, surely that’swhat yourpartners shouldbe doing?

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GW Interview


number and we maintain an open dialoguewith advance warning and clarity of wherewe’re going to position ourselves, then wewould hope we can find someaccommodations around that.’

Growing the pieSo how does he plan to coordinate /collaborate/ cooperate with the private sector regardingcurrent and future mapping and geospatialissues? In a nutshell, how will he grow the pie?More open data?

‘Part of that is making more data openlyavailable. On a structural level providing moresupport to the advisory council. We need agood understanding of what our markets looklike and then having good discussions withpartners about where we’re best positioned toparticipate in terms of the value chain, but weneed the right products and the right licensingconditions.’ On the latter, Clifford’spredecessor once told me she wanted to getthe licence down to a single side of A4.‘We’re not there yet’ he confirms ‘but theaspiration is there’.

Is there a clear view out there?Our final topic was whether government,industry, and the general public has a clearidea of the immense value of a good nationalmapping system in improving the country’sinfrastructure – the backbone of economichealth and growth. If not, how was Cliffordplanning to raise awareness?

‘I think we are somewhat spoilt in thiscountry. I recently visited a country wherenearly everyone I talked to complained that itdidn’t have the same level of mapping as wehave. We are well served through variouslevels of infrastructure, mapping being one ofthem, but it’s still important that we keepreminding policy formulators and opinionformers of the value of what we do. ‘We arefortunate in that there are a number ofgovernment departments where thesignificance of what we do is baked into theirworld, like the Rural Payments Agency, MoDor COBRA . We need to showcase the value ofgeospatial to the public sector.’

I mentioned Sir Mark Walport’s address atAGI’s GeoCom 2014 when he said that‘geospatial underpins everything’ he did.Clifford gave an interesting anecdote abouthow a government department’s scientificadviser had recently visited OS and was amazedat what he saw: ‘Crikey, you’re nothing likewhat I was expecting; you are big data, youhave a complex supply chain, complex deliveryto a high standard’. This individual was lookingat what special capabilities there were aroundgovernment that could be showcased and forothers to take advantage of them.

There is clearly work to be done inshowcasing to the public sector what OS doesfor others to take advantage of. We wishNigel Clifford well in his mission.

which and to whom. For instance, why doesOS capture aerial imagery which has eitheralready been captured by the private sector orindeed can be easily contracted out? Anothermoan comes over business that partnersthought was there’s but suddenly is taken onby OS. One group of partners has complainedformally to the European Commission.

‘I can’t speak about what happened beforeJune (when he joined OS). We’ve set up apartner advisory council and we’re doing someresearch into the partner community and whatthey want out of us. I think the abrasion - agood phrase – is something we can address bybeing clear about where we’re going to playand where we are not going to play. We’veasked our advisory council to get our productsguys to do a comprehensive walk-through ofour road map (the product direction of futurechanges). We’ve also been out on the roadtalking to partners and finding out about thespaces we should inhabit for the greater good;and doing that with advance warning ratherthan just putting stuff into the market.Inevitably there will be some partners who feelas though we shouldn’t exist. But we’re hereto make the overall community as successfulas we can.’

A new direction?So does he have a new direction for OS? Arethere other areas he feels OS needs to moveinto? Are there areas that OS should NOT beinvolved in? Has he identified the potentialusers of tomorrow?

‘It’s a good question which can be lookedat from a GB or international perspective. ForGB, the conversation around smart cities isbecoming very interesting for new models ofconsumption and new ways of utilisinggeospatial where we can help with efficientuses of resources such as associating it withBIM, electronic vehicles and the new sensorarrays’ quickly adding,, ‘although it will be anOS with partner conversation to the city.’

I wondered whether there would really be arole for OS around autonomous vehicles,which require much higher accuracy levelsthan OS normally captures apart from the yetto be resolved issues of, if an accident isinevitable, does the vehicle run down awoman pushing a pram or drive off the roadand possible down a cliff?

‘At its base is simply the fabric of Britain.Such vehicles will exist within a bubble whichwill have to exist within a larger set ofinfrastructure, so understanding how that ischanging is an area we would want to stay in.The broader point is that there are going to benew data sources: how do we regard those?Do we embrace them, do we reject them orstand off from them? Of course we shouldembrace them and bring their data into themarket. Will it cause that abrasion we talkedabout earlier with partners? If we enter into itwith – it’s for the greater good for the greater

. . . Clifford’spredecessor oncetold me shewanted to get thelicence down to asingle side of A4.‘We’re not thereyet’ he confirms‘but the aspirationis there’.

‘‘

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Downunder Currents


melted snow to create power as well as tostore the water in a series of dams.

Surveyors were essential to the success ofthis major project. I am proud to say that one ofmy brilliant UNSW lecturers Prof George Bennettwas responsible for surveys to drive many of thevast underground tunnels connecting thenetwork. Another major surveyor Bert Eggling,who was Major Clews’ 2IC, passed me for mycountry job in the Board of Surveyors viva voce(verbal test). The recently opened museum inAdaminaby has a life-sized model of asurveyors’ camp with tents, instruments,cooking and washing equipment to show theSpartan existence of these hardy men duringthe construction of this massive job. Manyimages of surveyors with horses, equipment andencampments are displayed throughout theregion such as the Snowy Discovery Centre inCooma, Khancoban general store and threemosaics in the International Park in Cooma.

Walking with Evans and CoxJust to see if I still had some stamina left afterturning 60 this year, I joined a walk whichretraced part of the road built by William Cox1814-15 along the line surveyed by GeorgeEvans in 1813-14. Although the descent fromMount York was arduous the stretch toGlenroy Crossing was low grade with manykangaroos bounding through the fieldsalongside our intrepid party, which I alwayslove to see when I am in the country.

FIG 2016 in ChristchurchAnyone thinking about coming down under tothe FIG Working Week in Christchurch NewZealand in May this year can I please tell youthat the locals would love to see you thereand so would I. Having just returned from asnap visit to sort out some details with regardto the History Symposium I am planning forthe Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May I canreport that reconstruction is well under waywith the local community most keen towelcome all visitors to some of the stunningefforts in restoration and other uniqueinnovations of improvisation such as theshopping centre built from shipping containersand the cardboard Cathedral. There are somany amazing sights and attractions inChristchurch with the local organizingcommittee, led colourfully and ably by SimonIronside (one of my best friends in NZ),offering an extensive programme of activitiesfor all registrants to this internationallyeminent event. If you want to know moreabout the History Symposium you can contactme directly at [email protected]

Ihope that all readers of GW have had agreat Christmas and started the fresh yearwith optimism and enthusiasm. To finish off

a vibrant last few months of 2015 we touredwith Topp Tours to Jindabyne, SydmouthValley, Myths and Murders in the BlueMountains Sydney Masonic Museum and theSydney Opera Company facility in Surrey Hills.

Surveyors of Hill EndJoining a full day tour of Hill End historic townwith Bathurst Historical Society, it was brilliant tosee how many extra historic houses have beenopen for inspection as well as the excellentsignage at sites to explain in text and photos justwhat had once occupied what now is grassedfield. Even one of the old shops nowcontinuously screens a slide show of the glassnegatives rediscovered in 1957 of the imagesrecorded by Bernard Holtermann in the late1800’s of most of the town as it stood over 130years ago with two notable scenes of two of thelocal surveyors standing in front of their offices.

One of the men was named J.M. Barrie andlocal legend alleges that he is related to the“Peter Pan” author of the same name but this isto be confirmed. A great tale has it that whenMr Surveyor Barrie was leaving town in the late1870’s his offer of sale of his office wasaccepted by a local lady who thought that itslocation was too low lying and may be subjectto flooding. When she placed an ad in the localnewspaper seeking assistance from the town’smen to help her roll the building on logs tohigher ground, with a guarantee of alcohol tobe supplied, 70 able bodied men showed up to

render help. The house called “BleakHouse” still stands at the spot at whichthe well lubricated workforce left it somany years past. After looking up theother surveyor, Charles Mayes, I wasdelighted to find that an author hadwritten an autobiography of him, a copyof which I have tracked down in theRoyal Australian Historical Society library.

Snowy Mountains WonderlandThe image of snow seems to conjureup delightful visions of a wonderlandfull of reindeer, snowmen and big menin red suits cavorting around thecountryside with sacks full of gifts.Well, in our “little” area of highcountry, which receives snowfall duringthe colder months of the year, we havea hydroelectric scheme hailed as one ofthe wonders of the modern worldconstructed over 50 years ago toharness the energy of fast running

Trips to a historictown and to theSnowy Mountainswhere ourcorrespondent’smentors cut theirteeth on a greathydro scheme plusa big plug for theFIG Working Weekin Christchurch.

Surveying in bygone days: a Spartan life

A giant theodolite? No,just a modern sculpturespotted in one of therebuilt areas ofChristchurch NZ.

• John Brock is a RegisteredSurveyor in Australia and is astalwart of FIG and itsPermanent Institution for the Artand History of Surveying.

D

3D Conference


extracted. Also, a point not lost on us assurveyors was the use of crowd-sourced data.Where does the surveyor fit into this ‘bravenew world’?

Day one ended with a drinks reception inthe exhibition hall and an opportunity to lookaround the exhibitor stands, meet with friendsand colleagues and partake in discussion anddebate whilst being entertained by a liveband.

The next two days saw a full programme ofpresentations covering various acquisitiontechniques, data processing, data delivery anddata management.

Photogrammetry come-backIt was clear from the exhibitors andconference speakers that photography,photogrammetry and the image has made acomeback and was the focus of a number ofpresentations and software demonstrations,including developments with digital imagingquality and moreover, the software to createpoint clouds and 3D models from multipledigital images using Structure from Motion(SfM) processing techniques. Softwaresolutions showed the ability to combine datafrom multiple sensors, fusing laser scanningdata with photogrammetric data processing,enabling fast 3D photorealistic point cloudsand models to be generated. Merging oftechnologies was very much a theme and adriver for future development.

Mapping HDR imagery on to terrestrial scandata was another area of focus, with thespherical camera manufacturers offeringadaptors for different scanners and softwarefor merging the data. We can now easilycreate coloured point clouds using tonemapped imagery, so what next? Could we seeinteractive HDR applied to point clouds andmodels? Now there’s a thought!

Feature identificationSoftware solutions offer increasingly accurateand reliable feature identification andextraction from point-cloud data and imagery,enabling the attributing, as well as thevectorisation of features in an automated orsemi-automated way. It was also clear fromthe numerous exhibitors and conferencespeakers that there have been great leaps

Combining SPAR Europe and theEuropean LiDAR Mapping Forum was aninspired idea, bringing together these

two already popular events under oneumbrella to showcase the best 3D, laserscanning and LiDAR hardware, software,techniques and innovations from the pasttwelve months, whilst at the same timelooking to the future and what’s more locatingit in Salzburg with the Christmas markets,gluhwein and wiener schnitzel.

This was a conference offering what lookedlike a diverse programme of presentations. Weboth come from more traditional surveybackgrounds but our companies have beenembracing new technologies over the last fewyears. Our interest in attending conferences ofthis nature was to understand and quantifyhow hardware and software is developing andthe drivers behind those developments,whether they are legislation (BIM), theengagement of the ‘3D generation’, projectspecific requirements, or something else.

The conference papers and presenters wereof a high standard, covering a wide range oftopics from data acquisition to visualisationand 3D augmented reality, to mobile mappingand UAVs. The opening afternoon keyspeakers were engaging and highly topicaland very much set the themes for theremainder of the conference with theintegration of 3D technologies andtechniques, mass data processing andinterrogation and BIM.

Big data photogram!The excellent presentation by David Boardmanof URVC entitled, “How 12,903 of the world’smost beloved landmarks were virtuallyreconstructed in six days.” demonstrated how asingle computer was used to analyse Yahoo’spublic collection of 100-million crowd-sourcedphotographs and re-construct 3D models of12,903 of the world’s landmarks, in six days.The program took 4.4 days to stream andcluster the 14 terra-byte dataset, beforebuilding the 3D models using photogrammetrictechniques.

The advance here is not thephotogrammetry, or making photo realisticmodels, but the massive amount of data thatwas rapidly analysed and automatically

High quality papersand excellenttechnical workshopswas the judgementof Ian Andersonand SimonCanning whoattended theCapturing Realityconference inSalzburg. Theirpersonal impressionsof the event aregrounded firmly inthe future of 3Dtechnology. . .except for a littlereminiscing.

CCaappttuurriinngg RReeaalliittyy @@ SSaallzzbbuurrgg

. . . to analyseYahoo’s publiccollection of 100-million crowd-sourcedphotographs andre-construct 3Dmodels of 12,903of the world’slandmarks, in sixdays.

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3D Conference


have the capability of registering point cloudsand applying imagery, whilst the scanner isstill operational on site, meaning the user willbe able to download a fully registered andcoloured point cloud. The aim is also to beable to upload the data to the office once it isprocessed, again while the scanner is stillworking on site.

No sales pitchesIt has to be said that the technical workshopswere excellent. In the past at some conferencetechnical sessions or evening meetings we’veattended over the years, presenters will, onoccasion, take the opportunity for a salespitch. You could even be forgiven for thinkingthat that is what these sessions are for, but atCapturing Reality these technical sessions wereenjoyable and informative ways ofdemonstrating, to interested user groups andstakeholders, the developments in softwareand hardware. It was even noted thatcompeting manufacturers were welcomed intotheir competitors’ presentations: friendlycompetition is to be encouraged.

What next for surveyors?So how would we sum up the conference?We can now capture data faster, process anddownload on the fly, combine data types andoffer our clients a deliverable. This was a topicof discussion over the three days, but whatdoes this mean for the survey industry andusers of the equipment? Do we try toundercut each other, reduce our costs and skillsets so as to pass savings on to our clients?

Advances in technology always present arange of technical and business challenges,but where will these lead our profession in thefuture. At what point does the black-boxtechnology and processing mean thatknowledge and skill are no longer the driversto enter into the ‘profession’? Will that be thepoint when the last surveyor (as we think ofthem today), switches off the light and closesthe door? Perhaps a topic for another forum?

For us, the conference was a great successand the standard and variety of exhibitors andspeakers was high. We would encourage allthose involved in our broad and diverseprofession to attend future such events. Wealways come away with new ideas onworkflows and markets based on theinnovations and knowledge gained and findthe experience thought provoking as wegauge the future of our businesses, client baseand profession. Here’s looking forward to thenext one!

About the authors• Simon Canning is dimensional controlmanager for DOF Subsea S&P UK. Email:[email protected]

• Ian Anderson is director of geosphere4d Ltd.Email: [email protected]

forward in the methods of capturing realityfrom multiple sensors. Laser scanners can nowcapture cleaner data faster and in increasinglylarger volumes, whilst UAVs can fly for longerand take more images in a single flight, withbetter quality cameras than ever before.

Computing catches upOnly a few years past, sensors were capturingmore data than we could reasonably store andcomfortably process; now the ability to storeand process gigabytes of data is far more costeffective and efficient. Remember when wehad to leave GPS processing overnight? Andeven further back when we hand booked andmanually calculated. (A note to the reader,Simon has asked not to be associated withany reminiscing from an older generation ofsurveyor!)

Looking to the future, Silicon Valley istelling us that there are infinite amounts ofdata available, too much data to make senseof. With the trick being to make sense of thatdata and bring it alive by making it usable, inan automated way. Let’s face it, we cancapture and store huge datasets but whilst wecan process them faster than we used to, westill can’t process them really fast, or we haveto manually chop up datasets in order to makethem more manageable whilst much is stilldone manually.

BIM4DemolitionAs we have noted, BIM has been an acronymof choice over the past few years, or indeedmore years than we dare to remember, andstill is. An interesting presentation byAlexandra Grounds entitled, “Laser Scanning,BIM and Demolition”, made the point thatBIM is not only useful for the lifecycle of aproject but is also valuable during thedecommissioning phase of a building. To mymind this is an interesting and innovativepoint and not obvious to those less expert inBIM. This type of innovation in the use of ourexisting technology and software solutions isone of many that keep the industry excitingand dynamic.

Another presentation of note was given byProfessor Peter Dare from the University ofNew Brunswick who discussed the monitoringof a retaining wall by laser scanning and UAV.I sat in the auditorium and was transportedback to the late 1980’s when Peter taught meat what was then North East LondonPolytechnic, I even found myself makingcopious notes in case Peter asked questions atthe end! Thanks to Peter for an interestingpresentation and a trip down memory lane. (Anote to the reader, again Simon has asked notto be associated with such reminiscing froman older generation of surveyor. . . I recall theterm veteran being used!)

Registration on the flyWe also saw the introduction of scanners that

. . . Silicon Valleyis telling us thatthere are infiniteamounts of dataavailable, toomuch data tomake sense of.

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Geospatial and the UN


Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies, RICS,the AGI and UK industry. The Policy andEngagement Team at OS then drew all theresponses together into briefing notes, whichwere used during the session. Some topicshave wide scope and potential impact, so aconsidered and balanced approach was taken,reflecting the views of the wider UK.

During the Session, agenda topics areintroduced, either by leaders of the WorkingGroups, or by Member States with asignificant interest in the topic. The floor isthen opened up for general debate anddiscussion. Formal interventions can be madeby representatives of Member States and thisis where the briefing notes come in.

Areas of progressUN-GGIM has made significant progress on anumber of topics, including the adoption of aUN General Assembly Resolution for a GlobalGeodetic Reference Frame. The resolution is thefirst of its kind to be agreed by the UN andrecognises the global importance of locationand positioning for many different areas ofdevelopment. Also adopted at the meetingwere important guidelines for internationalgeospatial standards, and examples of goodpractice. This is an area where the UK, throughits work with OS International and theKingdom of Bahrain, was cited as a globalexample of cooperation and partnership.

Other key achievements relate tosustainable development and the post 2015-sustainable development agenda, as well asthe application of geospatial information toland administration and management. Both ofthese provide opportunities for the UK to beactive as a thought-leader.

Future trendsAnother topic for discussion was the adoptionof the second edition of the report “Futuretrends in geospatial information management:the five to ten year vision”. The first editionwas published in 2013 and at its fourth sessionthe Committee decided that an update should

The UN-GGIM (United Nations Committeeof Experts on Global GeospatialInformation Management) is a formal part

of the United Nations system with a mandatefrom the Economic and Social Council.

The committee operates at a political ratherthan an organisational level and attendees arenominated by and represent their MemberStates. The UK delegation comprised Peter terHaar (Ordnance Survey), Ian Coady (Office ofNational Statistics) and James Norris. Other UKrepresentatives included Vanessa Lawrence (Co-Chair of UN-GGIM) and Louise Brooke-Smith(Immediate Past-President, RICS). Another UKattendee was Andy Coote (see below).

UN-GGIM provides a forum for discussionsat a strategic level on topics relevant to theglobal geospatial industry, such as legal andpolicy frameworks, international standards,the global geodetic reference frame, etc. It isnow in its fifth year of existence. Over thistime, we at OS have taken the lead incoordinating activities. This has includedworking very closely with colleagues acrossgovernment, both in Whitehall and at the UKMission to the United Nations in New York, toensure that the UK is properly represented.

Wide consultationThe meeting follows a set agenda, with formalpapers published ahead of time. We consultedwith a range of key stakeholders, includingcentral government departments, the Scottish,

The Fifth Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial InformationManagement (UN-GGIM) meeting was held at the UN hq in New Yorkduring August 2015. James Norris explains the background to thissignificant body and the role of Ordnance Survey Great Britain.

TThhee iimmppoorrttaannccee ooff ggeeoossppaattiiaall aatttthhee UUnniitteedd NNaattiioonnss

Right: Dr VanessaLawrence, formerCEO of OrdnanceSurvey, receives a

certificate ofappreciation from

the UN’s under-secretary-general of

the department ofeconomic and social

affairs, Mr WuHongbo.

James Norris is OS Policyand Engagement Executiveand Adviser to the UKdelegation to UN-GGIM.

Geospatial and the UN


be completed last year. Like the first edition,the second was collated and edited by OS.

As well as exploring new areas, the 2015edition highlights changes to the trendsidentified in the original report, showing howthe role of government is changing anddocumenting the increasing role of datacollection technologies and processes. Itobserves that in a world which is increasinglydriven by the consumer, the most significantgeospatial information changes will not comethrough singular technologies, rather thelinking of multiple technologies and policies.The updated report explores these ideasthrough a series of themes, focusing on fouremerging and developing trends:• Artificial intelligence and Big Data;• Internet of things and smart cities;• Integration of statistics and geospatial

information; and, • Indoor and outdoor mapping.

Lawrence steps downIt would not be right to finish this reportwithout mentioning the work over the last fiveyears of OS’s former CEO, Vanessa Lawrence,who stepped down from the role of co-chairat this meeting, a position she has held since2011. In recognition of her work, a certificateof appreciation was presented by the UN’sunder-secretary-general of the department of

The big prizebeing talkedabout was GGIMbecoming acommission ofequal status tothe status ofstatistics.

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economic and social affairs, Mr Wu Hongbo.UN-GGIM continues to grow in both reach

and influence across both the UN system,national organisations and governments. It wasan honour to be part of the UK delegation toagain this year, and we look forward to workingwith other government departments andorganisations in the year to come as the UKcontinues its support for such important work.

The full list of topics, and the papersdiscussed can be found at:http://ggim.un.org/ggim_committee.html

Observer’s viewAndy Coote was also there as an observer – hisorganisation ConsultingWhere being closelyinvolved with National Spatial DataInfrastructure (NSDI) development in a numberof countries. He comments: “This was the first GGIM meeting in the UNthat I have attended. Despite being veryformal and bureaucratic in official sessions,the side meetings and networking sessionsallowed observers to get their views acrosstoo. The big prize being talked about wasGGIM becoming a commission of equal statusto the status of statistics. Whether or not thishappens we will know in April 2016 but onething is for sure, GGIM has usefully increasedthe awareness of things geospatial in the UNwhich can’t help but be good for all of us.”

Overcurrents


private messages between GW’s editor andthe rest of the editorial team from our variouscoordinated positions across the globe. Theyknow that we are planning to get together.“They” are not sure yet, but have seen wordsin our texts (even the stupid predictive oneswe didn’t catch before sending, or our‘grammar-Nazi’ friends didn’t pick us up ondue to our stubby fingers hitting the wrongkeys, and unlike days of old when we weretaught to check everything at least oncebefore we let it go out). “They” have notedthat we use words like “gun” (for theodolite),drone, and kill (as in kill the messenger), andencrypted acronyms like BIM (bomb inmosque), FIG (fight in Georgia), or OS(Operation Syria).

To join the dots get the Bletchley girlsApparently, they have millions, billions, naytrillions of bits of data on us. “They” had allthe information they needed to probablyprevent 9/11, the 7/7 London bombings, theBoston Marathon bombings, the Benghaziembassy storming, the Paris bombings, andseveral more, but failed to act upon the data.Even when someone finally joins up the dots,they either don’t believe what they see, don’tknow how to present it, or are afraid to passthe information on up the archaic chain ofcommand for fear of. . . whatever! Perhapsthe computer nerds or those with advanced ITdegrees need to be replaced by people fromall walks of life, like the women assigned toBletchley to break the Enigma Code, and whohad no preconceived notions of a hierarchyand what they could and shouldn’t do.

So, information is only useful if you knowhow to read it, collate it, what to do with it,how to share it, how to connect the dots andact on it. When you collect all the surveyinformation you amass, do you know whyyou’re collecting it and what you or someoneelse will do with it? Are you just collecting itbecause you can, because modern technologyallows it?

Share, share. . . well up to a pointStill one of the biggest problems today issharing information. It’s bad enough withincompanies, supposedly all employees workingin the same direction to make the enterprisesuccessful, acquire and retain new customers,and grow the business. But far too often, egosget in the way, and many middle managershold their cards close to their vests, falselybelieving that knowledge is leverage, to beused as needed for selfish benefits, rather

“One ringy dingy, two ringy dingies.Have I reached the party to whom Iam speaking?” Some may

remember the 1960s TV programme “Rowan& Martin’s Laugh In” with Lily Tomlin as thehapless telephone operator, Ernestine, wholistened in on everyone’s conversation andknew all the skinny. (Check it on YouTube.)

Back in the UK last year for a tour ofEurope, I was enjoying a jaunt up the RiverThames, with friends, from Teddington toHampton Court. On the way back theydropped me off in Kingston. Looking around, Inoticed I was standing almost outside oldfriend Malcolm Draper’s flat. I’ll give him a callI thought and see if he’s got time for a coffeeat Carluccio’s.

Now, unlike many today who have divestedthemselves of a landline in favour of just amobile, Malc still has one. Not only that, heactually answers it. But this time it was 1 ringydingy, 2 ringy dingies, 3 ringy dingies... nothing!So, I tried his mobile... and an immediate cheeryanswer. “Hi Malc, it’s Nick, I’m right outside yourflat, are you up for a cappuccino in a few mos?”

“Well, Nick,” came the reply, “that’s goingto be a bit tricky right now as I’m half waydown the ski slopes in Val D’Isère.” Now hehas a monthly plan, me a PAYG SIM, so itprobably cost a small fortune to make that callbecause I had no idea where in the world Iwas calling. I didn’t know where Malc was,but I can assure you that the NSA, CIA, FBI,GCHQ, Mossad, KGB, Google, Microsoft,Yahoo, Facebook, et al, all knew exactly wherehe was. They also probably knew what type ofski poles, sun-screen and ski goggles he uses.They also knew what he had for lunch at theski lodge café because he posted a “selfie”eating Steak Tartare, avec les légumes verts etpommes frites, all washed down with a bottleof Château Lafite Rothschild.

BIM! and up it popsSome may have noticed that after sending anemail, via say Gmail, that “they” have pickedout certain words in your text and offerproducts at the side. You write that you “liketo survey the scene”, and before you can sayBIM, an ad appears for Leica equipment. Inone of your rants to a friend about politics inAmerica you mention top conservatives inCongress, and up pops an ad for Topcon gear.Mention you’re off to Venice for your hols andBooking.com or AirBnB bombard you withsuggestions for hotels/apts.

They know everything about you. “They”have seen emails, texts, tweets, and Facebook

You have a $600device in the palmof your hand butcan you control it,asks our UScorrespondent, orwill it control you?

Playing with your ringy dingy thingy

What percentage do youuse?

Overcurrents


they say they don’t; but they do, and you’re amarked person from then on. Mobile phoneshave outlawed so much etiquette and goodmanners.

What was it for again?The el cheapo phone has now become thehandheld $600 walkabout computer, wherewe must be connected 24/7 and getinformation instantly, while walking along thepavement and getting upset when we bumpinto somebody. The main purpose of a mobilephone as a device to make and receive phonecalls has become secondary (same for manyother devices). Somewhere along the way,designers, manufacturers, and vendors lost theplot. Or did they? They certainly understandthe importance of branding, marketing, andbeing able to sell as many items as possible.

One of the attractions of the smartphone isto take photos (many grainy and blurred),although some now sport 12 Mpx capabilityenabling video of a cop beating up anunarmed black kid. Then there are the appswhich allow you to find the nearest Starbuck’sfor a cinnamon pecan chocolate lattefrappaccino; book tickets to see AC/DC; tell allyour friends on facebook you just checked inat Gatwick Airport; or fixing up a littleboutique hotel in Margate for a staycation(this is when you can’t afford the time for aproper holiday because you don’t thinkanyone in the office can cover for you whileyou’re gone, or that they can, and do a betterjob making you redundant). And, while you’retaking selfies of yourself with Fido or Fifi infront of the Eiffel Tower, your apps aredownloading (or is that uploading?) never-ending updates, usually adding extrabloatware along the way you don’t want anddon’t even know what it does withoutwatching the 20-min accompanying video,your battery is being drained. When you wantto make that all important phone call (‘Hihoney, I’m at supermarket, do you want me toget the whole organic milk, skimmed milk, orthe soy, and a case of organic gluten-,cholesterol-, sodium-, anti-biotic-, steroid-freebottled water?’) and it’s as dead as a Dodo!

So, do you own a mobile phone, or does itown you? We may have evolvedtechnologically, but have we kept uppsychologically, philosophically, socially, andemotionally with new electronic equipment? Isubmit that 95% of people haven’t (again thatrecurring 95% rule for everything in life). Havewe got control of technology, or has it gotcontrol of us? Is it working for or against us?Dare we admit that much of the time wedon’t know what we’re doing, or, likeMicrosoft Word, only need 5% of what thedevice or software is capable of? Thus the ageof smoke and mirrors is still alive and well,and technology seems to be fuelling ourinability to distinguish between real, virtual,and imagined.

than knowledge is power, which should reallybe knowledge is empowering for all.Collaboration, as I have pointed out manytimes before in this column, is the name ofthe game today. Throughout my career I’vealways been willing to share everything I knowwith others (well, except in legal expertwitness work). Usually, by the time they’vecaught on, or implemented changes, you’reon to the next thing.

When I first worked in the boonies ofCalifornia, we might drive two hours from HQto the job site. When there was no road in, wemight walk for an hour, with tripods, Wild T2,and steel tapes/bands, before getting to a newpower line route. We would set up the T2,gather all the data we needed, then work on itback at the motel after dinner. If the tape broke,we pulled out the repair kit, mended it, andcarried on. Then, enter stage left, the totalstation, and in most respects, life as a surveyorchanged for the better. But, that two-hourdrive, followed by a long hike, became mootwhen the battery died half way through theday, or upon initial set up. The assistant surveyorhad failed to charge it overnight. Next came theadvent of carrying a spare battery (expensive,although not as expensive as a lost day for acrew of three). This didn’t always solve theproblem either, because after a long hard day,working in 100° F + temps, no batteries gotcharged, but an assistant got fired.

View from the stallsFast forward to today. Is there anyone out therewhose mobile phone battery hasn’t died halfway through the day, and at the wrongmoment? Or you forget to charge it overnight;and it isn’t the kind where you can use a spare.The same for a camera. Unless you have onethat takes AA or AAA batteries, most areproprietary and not interchangeable. You canbuy the almost identical camera you had beforeand the batteries won’t fit. Not only that, butthe USB cable at the end that plugs into thedevice is totally different from the previous one.

I sometimes wonder the value of mobilephones. Although people have them on theirperson all the time, they don’t answer them 95%of the time, so you have to leave a message.They then reply when it suits them which couldbe when you’re indisposed, in the shower, in thetoilet, cleaning your teeth, or having lunch. Theyalso never listen to your message; they just hit“Call back.” If they did, they would have heardyou tell them not to call back because, 1) youwouldn’t be at that number, but at anotherwhich you left on the message, or 2) you won’tbe available before 8pm. It never ceases toamaze me that when in public toilets, I hearpeople talking on their phones in the stalls; or,grossly unacceptable in my mind, accepting callswhile eating with colleagues, family, or friends. Ifyou have to make or take calls while eating lunchwith someone, you have poor time managementskills. You may think they don’t mind, even if

. . . do you own amobile phone, ordoes it own you?We may haveevolvedtechnologically,but have we keptup psychologically,philosophically,socially, andemotionally. . .

‘‘

’’

About the authorNick Day, FRICS, FRGS, PLS,

is retired from the CaliforniaDepartment of

Transportation (Caltrans).He can be reached at

[email protected]

O

PRODUCTS & SERVICES


Smart entry-level scannerThe new Faro Focus3D X 30 laserscanner is an affordable, entry-level,short-range (30 metres) scanner.Combining high-precision scanningtechnology with mobility and ease-of-use, the Focus3D X 30 offersreliability, flexibility, and real-timeviews of recorded data. As with allFaro scanners, the Focus3D X 30features a Class 1 “eye-safe” laser.

No image stitching fromnew cameraSpheron-VR AG has launched a newsolution to create HDR colour forpoint cloud data. SpheronLite offersaccurate spherical HDR imagery, asits camera head rotates around the

absolute nodal centre position.Requiring no image-stitching orblending, data is capturedautomatically in one single rotation,resulting in a perfect image with noparallax distortion.

The system consists of theSceneCam device, a new lightweighttouch-screen control systemfeaturing a clear display for real-timeonsite previewing and a speciallydesigned tripod attachment armwith integrated battery holders. Atribrach adapter-set allows thecamera lens to be positioned exactlyat the same height and position as alaser scanner to enable high qualityHDR imagery to be precisely overlaidto the 3D point cloud dataset.

SceneCam is able to capture 360° ×180° spherical images automaticallyin a single scan and with 26 f-stopsof dynamic range and a clarity of upto 100 Mpx resolution. The systemcomes complete with a dedicatedtribrach adapter to height matcheach specific terrestrial laser scanner.

Dedicated marine lidarRenishaw has announced thelaunch of Merlin, a low-cost, low-maintenance solution to supportsurvey data acquisition for efficientcoastal, offshore and inlandwaterway projects.

The Merlin laser scanner is uniquein that it offers seamless integrationwith existing vessel hardware andsoftware so vessel operators do notduplicate costly equipment,infrastructure and technologies, whichthey already own. Renishaw hasworked closely with the world’sleading hydrographic softwarecompanies to develop Merlin’s newdedicated Renishaw SLM driver,which is fully operational with majorindustry-standard software packages.

Using time-of-flight lasertechnology, Merlin quickly measuresand records time-tagged geo-referenced data points above thewaterline, which can be synchronisedwith the vessel’s bathymetric datacaptured below the waterline, whichmeans that a detailed 3D map of thefull marine environment can becaptured simultaneously.

Point mesherSequoia converts point cloud datafrom laser scanners, photogrammetryand other sources to geometry quicklyand efficiently. It handles largedatasets exceeding system memory ona wide range of hardware includingtablets, laptops and graphicsworkstations. Through its nativeintegration with Thinkbox’s Deadlinecompute management solution,Sequoia can also perform distributedprocessing using local network orcloud resources. For enhancedvisualizations, 3D meshes can betextured through image projections.

Underground locatorThe new Leica ULTRA undergroundservice locating system is designedfor safe location of buried utilityservices. By providing a wide rangeof transmitter mode frequenciesoperators can easily and quicklyoptimise the locator’s performance

in any operating conditions. Clearvisualisations of line direction anddepth indication are displayed on alarge LCD interface. Users can easilyinterpret signal displays in all lightconditions. Bluetooth enables quickconnectivity so users can easilytransfer data to a GIS data collector.

Used and reconditioned kitAs well as supplying new surveyingequipment for hire or purchase, Opti-calalso provides a wide range of used andreconditioned surveying kit to buyers allover the world. All second hand, ex-demo and reconditioned surveyinstruments come complete with aminimum three months’ parts andlabour warranty and one-year certificateof conformity. Typical of currentofferings is a Leica GS08 NetRover for£7,995.00 (exc. VAT). The GS08 withCS10 controller is Leica’s purpose builtNRTK solution coming complete withan inbuilt 3.5G modem and a robustGNSS antenna. More details fromhttp://surveyequipment.com

BRIEFS

Amberg Technologies hasexpanded its rail surveying GRPSystem FX with the new AmbergIMS 1000 and Amberg IMS 3000system configurations. Theconfigurations provide reliableand highly precise geometryinformation during theconstruction and maintenance ofrailway track systems bymeasuring the inner and outerrail geometry of ballast tracksand slab tracks using a new,high-performance inertial sensor.Measuring 4000 metres of trackper hour, the system’sperformance is twice as high asother devices available on themarket today, providing a typicalpositional accuracy of ±1mm.More details are available fromwww.sccssurvey.co.uk

Septentrio has launched the PolaRx5GNSS receiver for precise scientificand geodetic applications. Poweredby a multi-frequency engine, thePolaRx5 offers 544 hardwarechannels for robust and high qualityGNSS tracking. The receiver supportsall major satellite signals includingGPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDouas well as regional satellite systemsincluding QZSS and IRSS.

With groundwater flood damage in the UK costing an estimated £210 milliona year, a new 5-metre groundwater flood risk map has been launched fromindependent environmental consultancy ESI. The developers claim this is themost sophisticated and accurate map currently available on the market,enabling groundwater flood risk information on individual properties.

The map, which also includes a digital terrain model (DTM) basedon LiDAR data from the Environment Agency, is part of adevelopment programme, that began in 2013 with a 50m resolutionmap and which has been used to screen more than 400,000 UKproperty transactions in the last year. Combining data on geology,permeability and historic groundwater levels, the new map includesflooding from permeable superficial deposits, which can have majorimplications in downstream river valleys and coastal areas. Byoffering better granularity of risk boundaries, topography andintegration with other 5m surface and fluvial flooding datasets, themap provides more real-world clarity with significant implications forinsurance premium calculations, land and property resilienceplanning and due diligence for conveyancers.

5m flood risk map launched

The imagecomparespre-existing50m and thenew 5mdataset.

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