O’Neill praises community heritage project

Wednesday, 1 February 2012 - ‘ENVISION’ a new community heritage project was officially launched today at An Cárn, Tikrane, Maghera by Rural Development Minister Michelle O’Neill.

Carntogher Community Association is working in collaboration with the Friends of Ballynahone Bog to deliver the ‘ENVISION’ project. The objective of the project is to collate and present the heritage assets of a rural community for the benefit of the local community and for the advancement of a successful rural economy in south Derry. These heritage assets include Archaeology, Built Heritage, Environment, and the Irish language.

The project will involve the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) to record heritage assets associated with Ballynahone National Nature Reserve and Drumnaph Woodland. This will include the creation of computerised 3D Visualisations of the evolution of how today’s landscapes have evolved through human history in Ireland.

Launching the project Minister O’Neill said: “I have a keen interest in any project which will protect and enhance our rural landscape and can contribute to sustainable rural development by utilising our past and present heritage assets. ‘ENVISION’ is an excellent example of such a project."

The Minister added: “I hope through the development of the ‘ENVISION’ project it will give the local community an opportunity to experience, enjoy, care for and protect our heritage for many years to come.”

The Carntogher Community Association was awarded £44,000 funding by Local Action Group SWARD, under a funding stream designed to create opportunities to preserve and upgrade the north of Ireland’s rural heritage and to use the natural and built environment as the basis for sustainable economic growth in rural areas.

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Cadcorp adds routing capability to free-to-use Ordnance Survey map data

OS MeridianTM 2 OpenData available for simple routing - free of charge

PSMA Member Conference, Manchester, 18th October 2011 – Users of Cadcorp SIS web mapping and geographic information systems software will be able to get even more value from their free to use Ordnance Survey MeridianTM 2 mapping data for Great Britain1. Thanks to a new plug-in, SIS users will be able not only to view the roads of Great Britain as backdrop to their mapping applications, but also to navigate those roads as part of a topologically structured transport network. Cadcorp is providing this enhanced capability free of charge.

Martin Daly, technical director, Cadcorp, described what is particularly innovative about the Meridian 2 plug-in. “Cadcorp SIS has always been able to read all Ordnance Survey data dynamically in all supplied formats and, where that format is topological, support that structure What is significant about the new plug-in is that it takes advantage of the link and node metadata from the Meridian 2 database and builds a topological network from the different feature layers, even though the underlying data format is not topological. A user can simply point SIS at a folder containing Meridian 2 ESRI ® Shape files and let it run. As SIS reads the data, it automatically processes it into a topological network.”

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Cadcorp GIS selected by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service

Corporate system to facilitate data sharing throughout the service

Stevenage, 30^th September, 2011 - Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) has selected UK based software developer Cadcorp to provide a corporate Geographic Information System (GIS). The solution includes both desktop and web applications, as well as links to various existing GMFRS systems. It will be available to users across the county, and will support data sharing and exchange not only within GMFRS, but with other authorities and other Fire and Rescue Services.

A key application of the solution will be to help GMFRS proactively target the more vulnerable and at risk communities in Greater Manchester, and assist in the implementation of preventative measures.

‘Following a thorough competitive tendering process, we chose the Cadcorp solution because it offered the best overall fit with our requirement’ commented Eugene O'Brien, Data Centre Manager, GMFRS.  ‘Cadcorp has extensive experience of providing GIS to UK Fire and Rescue Services and we look forward to working with them on another successful installation’.

‘Fire and Rescue Services are not immune to the pressures to make cost savings’ noted Mike O’Neil, CEO, Cadcorp. ‘By sharing spatial data more widely and by linking to existing systems using open standards, GMFRS are maximising their return on investment.  We are proud to have been recognised for our capabilities in these respects.’

The decision of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to standardise on Cadcorp GIS technology brings the number of Fire and Rescue Services in the UK using Cadcorp SIS in their operations to forty.

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Cadcorp reveals new web mapping product at AGI GeoCommunity ’11

20th September 2011 - East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham, 21st September, 2011 - Cadcorp, the UK based developer and supplier of GIS and web mapping software, has unveiled its latest addition to the Cadcorp SIS – Spatial Information System product family - Web Map Layers. Web Map Layers is an off-the-shelf but extensible web mapping product designed for map viewing and interrogation. The product is perfect for users without direct experience of GIS, such as members of the public, and the vast majority of office workers who interact with spatial data but lay no claim to be GIS specialists. 

Web Map Layers  manages spatial data as  individual map layers, each of which is served as an Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. © (OGC) Web Map Service (WMS). The user interface is entirely web-browser-based and built on the OpenLayers JavaScript library. This gives the application the familiar look and feel that everyone has come to expect of web mapping: notably zooming and panning by clicking and dragging – so-called ‘slippy’ maps. Unlike some hosted products, Web Map Layers divorces the application software from dependency on any particular map data supplier or product.

Stephen Cox, Application Development Manager at Cadcorp. explained how Web Map Layers came about. “We originally designed Web Map Layers as a web mapping application for organisations that want to share spatial information with the general public. That is, as an internet-only application. It quickly became apparent to us that there was a strong demand in both the public and private sectors for a single web mapping application which could be used by both the public and by employees alike, albeit serving different spatial data sets in each case.  Organisations can see the benefit of having just one web mapping architecture that supports many use cases.

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Cadcorp and 3tc Software partner to provide in-vehicle mapping to UK Fire Services

Cadcorp SIS software is now integrated into the MODAS mobile data solution

Stevenage, 26^th July 2011 – 3tc Software, a leading provider of mission critical software applications to the UK public sector and global emergency services, now offers Cadcorp SIS as a GIS and mapping engine in their MODAS mobile data solution. The integration marks the start of a business relationship between the two companies - a relationship which has already resulted in sales to two UK Fire and Rescue Services.

MODAS is a mobile data solution which empowers operational personnel to have information where they need it, and when they need it, typically in the vehicle. Crews can access up-to-date information, such as Risk Data, Hydrant Data, GIS and HAZCHEM Data using the MODAS Terminal in the vehicle.

David Todd, CEO of 3tc Software explained why they have extended their offering to embrace Cadcorp GIS software. “Cadcorp has a strong presence in UK Fire and Rescue Services, and has a reputation for making it easy to share spatial data. The MODAS system has to be able to collate, generate, distribute and display a brigade’s risk and mapping data in an efficient and user-friendly way. Cadcorp SIS helps us do that.”

Mike O’Neil, CEO, Cadcorp, emphasised the significance of the partnership to Cadcorp. “3tc Software understands the needs of Fire and Rescue Services in operational situations. That level of understanding allows them to develop applications that deploy the right data, at the right time and in the right place to support operational decision-making. Mapping and GIS is an important part of this.  At present, Fire and Rescue Services are reassessing their use of mobile data and mapping components following the cancellation of the Regional Control Project.  By combining our technological strengths, Cadcorp and 3tc Software are able to offer them a cost-effective and secure way forward.”

About 3tc Software

3tc Software has over thirty years’ experience of supplying IT solutions to clients that include Fire & Rescue Services, NHS & Private Ambulance Trusts, International Ambulance Associations, NHS Hospitals and County Councils.

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