New Product Updates, Styles and Formats for OS OpenData

Ordnance Survey’s free data portal, OS OpenData, is being upgraded to make it even easier for developers and entrepreneurs to create and customise maps.

The new advances to the popular portal, include the release of a fully maintained height dataset, an enhanced version of OS VectorMap District and a new cartographic styling package. The advances will make OS OpenData products easier, even more accurate and more flexible to use. It will enable users to create and customise different maps and give them more options to display their data.

OS OpenData is an online portal from Ordnance Survey, which was launched in April 2010, providing free and unrestricted access to a large range of mapping datasets.

Under the new upgrade package, which will be implemented by April 2013, users will be able to access a new fully maintained height product called OS Terrain 50. The new product, which has a similar resolution to Land-Form PANORAMA, will enable users to access an advanced product with consistently maintained height content for the whole of Great Britain. Land-Form PANORAMA was an unmaintained product and was last updated in the 1990s. The new product will give users more confidence in the currency of the data and will be supplied in additional formats, making it far more accessible.

Another product being upgraded is OS VectorMap District. The new dataset will replace the current beta version with a fully maintained product release, which will include product updates every six months. Several improvements have been made to the product following user feedback, including an improved cartographic style, new ‘look and feel’ and additional data formats.

OS VectorMap District was launched in 2010 to support OS OpenData, and ever since has been one of the most popular datasets downloaded through the online portal. The new version provides users with new look vector and raster products, providing users with an easier to use and more accessible product.

In addition to the new cartographic styling of OS VectorMap District, two other popular products have been restyled to create a consistent look and feel across all datasets. Both Strategi and Meridian 2 will have a new cartographic style from the New Year to complement OS VectorMap District. It is intended that the developments will significantly enhance the usability of the products and deliver a product portfolio which is consistent through a series of mapping scales. This will provide greater interaction with the maps, whilst maintaining the up-to-date and reliable quality of the data.

In the New Year, Ordnance Survey will also be releasing a set of Styled Layered Descriptors, meaning that users can access, for free, online style sheets for OS OpenData products. The new style sheets will make it easier for users to ‘plug in and play’ and build Ordnance Survey maps into their Intranet web services or GIS.

Peter ter Haar, Director of Products, said: “We’ve been really pleased with the success of  OS OpenData since 2010, and watching Ordnance Survey data being used in new and exciting products, services and applications. This latest upgrade will deliver valuable enhancements to a number of our OS OpenData products.

“All of the upgrades are being implemented to benefit the user, whether they are a business, charity, government user or developer. We want to make sure that OS OpenData is easy to use, accessible in the right formats and available in a consistent style across the product range. The new advances allow users to access world-class mapping data in a format which makes it easy to create and customise maps.”

Ordnance Survey is a member of the Public Data Group and is supporting the drive to explore new innovative ways of making data more freely accessible to users.

Claudia Arney, Chair of the Public Data Group said: "Upgrades to the suite of Ordnance Survey OpenData releases will provide the public and businesses with more accurate, detailed and user-friendly products. This is an early example of the Public Data Group working constructively with the Data Strategy Board to identify open data opportunities which will provide benefits to users."

Further information on the product upgrades will be released when the datasets become available through OS OpenData. Alternatively more information on OS OpenData can be found at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/products/os-opendata.html

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Red Eléctrica de España Chooses Blom to Improve Engineering Operations

Red Eléctrica de España, S.A. (REE), the sole transmission and electricity system operator in Spain, has chosen Blom to assist with its plans to improve powerline engineering and maintenance operations. REE employs 1,800 people and had revenues exceeding 1.6 billion euro in 2011. The company’s transmission grid is composed of more than 40,100 kilometres of powerlines.

Blom is to provide detailed topography and vegetation clearance analysis of the powerline, which REE will then use for maintenance planning. In addition, Blom will provide the information needed for REE to be able to set up new, and upgrade existing powerlines. To further enhance the value to REE Blom is also working on maximising the access to the large amount of data being delivered.

All the projects are based on laser scanning and delivery of high resolution data. This allows REE to have innovative and detailed 3D illustrations of their powerlines.

REE and Blom have worked together to improve the services delivered from the laser. Deliverables will include consultancy services, as well as comprehensive models suitable for powerline and forestry engineering.

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Cadcorp Launches GIS Application for Automating Site Audits

Stevenage UK, 4^thDecember 2012 - British developer of geographic information systems (GIS) software, Cadcorp, has announced the immediate availability of ‘Site Auditor’ - an application designed for organisations that own or manage geographically dispersed assets that have to be periodically inspected. Site Auditor streamlines and automates the auditing process by eliminating unnecessary paperwork and data transcriptions.

“There are many reasons why organisations in both the public and private sector have to carry out periodic inspections,” said Mike O’Neil, CEO Cadcorp.  “They include monitoring safety and compliance, reducing liability, and assessing the state of repair of an asset. What the organisations have in common is that they need to keep an auditable record of these site visits and they want to achieve this using automated means as far as possible. Cadcorp Site Auditor addresses this need by providing a streamlined process for generating a visual and auditable record of the location, time, and duration of site visits.”

A map generated by Site Auditor showing complete and incomplete site visits. (Digital data image reproduced from Ordnance Survey GB, with permission of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown Copyright.)

Site Auditor works in conjunction with a GPS recording device carried by inspectors, either in-vehicle or on-foot. The device is set to record lat-long positions at given time intervals from the start to the end of a site inspection workflow. Site Auditor reads and processes the resultant data file, and provides the analysis and reporting functionality that is required to structure the GPS trace, or ‘bread-crumb’ trail, into an auditable record of inspections.

The application works on the basis that a visual inspection can be deemed to have occurred when an inspector has been within a given distance of a target location for a sufficiently long period of time.

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Law of Street Naming and Numbering Course Announced by Aligned Assets

In Central London on 29^th January 2013, Aligned Assets are running a training course on the Law of Street Naming and Numbering

Woking, Surrey 3rd December 2012 – Gazetteer Specialists Aligned Assets are pleased to announce the next date for their ever-popular ‘Law of Street Naming and Numbering’ training course.

The only course of its kind in the UK, it will be held at Conway Hall in London on Tuesday 29th January 2013 and will be instructed by James Richardson, a trained solicitor with over twenty years of local authority experience.

Street naming and numbering is an essential component of local government, playing a crucial role in everything from the collection of council tax through to waste and recycling.  The laws governing the street naming and numbering process date back to 1847 and in order for the process to operate correctly and within the confines of the law, understanding the legalities involved is of the utmost importance.

The course will examine the various laws such as The Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847, The Public Health Act 1925, The London Building Acts Amendment Act 1939 and The Local Government Act 1972.  In addition to specific legislation, the course will also look at the investigation and prosecution of cases, the role of the Local Government Ombudsman and to which elements of street naming and numbering a charge can be applied.

Speaking of the upcoming course, Managing Director of Aligned Assets, Andy Hird said, “This will be the fifth time we’ve run the Law of Street Naming and Numbering training course and we’re proud to say that to date there is a 100% record of attendees rating it either Very Good or Excellent.”

“At a time when progressively more councils are looking to charge for street naming and numbering services, it is absolutely critical that the law is understood and it is this course that can provide that knowledge.”

To find out more, visit www.aligned-assets.co.uk/events

About Aligned Assets
Aligned Assets are an industry leader in AddressBase, gazetteer and address management solutions.  They supply software across the public and private sectors including over 100 Local Authorities, Fire & Rescue Services and Police Forces.  In addition to software and data solutions, they offer a complete range of consultancy, training, bespoke development and project management.

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.

Blom to Map and Monitor Coastal Stretches in France

Blom’s Italian-French subsidiary has signed a contract with the Finistère Department and the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur Region to map and monitor stretches of the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastline in France. 

The project aims to produce a seamless digital terrain model, or DTM, of the French coastline. Blom will use bathymetric and topographic laser scanners to collect accurate data simultaneously from both land and seabed terrain, delivering the response that 21st century decision makers need.

The contract is in the scope of the Litto3D project. Litto3D®, a SHOM (Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Navy) and IGN (National Geographic Institute) programme, aims to produce a seamless digital terrain model of the entire French coast, covering more than 5,500 km in length, and will feature at the core of all integrated coastal management projects.

Litto3D® is required for a large number of usage areas, such as for flood risk prevention, pollution, safety at sea or natural disasters, and for regional development of for example ports, tourism and industry. Other examples to usage areas are for public maritime delimitation, change of coastline due to erosion, fauna and flora protection, mineral and living resources concerns, research and scientific studies and military needs such as inshore patrol, search and rescue, amphibious operation and mine warfare.

About Blom
The Blom Group is the largest provider of geospatial services in Europe for both government agencies and private commercial organizations and companies. Blom owns exclusive spatial databases composed of maps, images and 3D models. Focused on online services, Blom provides data and solutions to its customers in many markets and allows its partners to create high added-value applications based on Blom data models and services. This strategy is backed by Blom’s major technical capacity in aircrafts, cameras, laser scanners and mapping systems. This makes it possible for all projects to be carried out within the company, assuring a high quality product is delivered both on-time and to budget. Blom has more than 900 employees and offices in 13 countries and its HQ is located in Oslo, Norway. Blom is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker BLO). For more information, visit www.blomasa.com

The demand of advanced and high quality geographical information is steadily growing from year to year. BLOM holds a strong position in the digital geodata market and aims to be the most innovative service provider and preferred choice for its customers.” 

Contacts:

Tel +44 (0)1934 311 000
info.uk@blomasa.com

The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.