Intergraph® Supports Disaster Response in Wake of Devastating Fires in Greece

Geospatial Solutions Provided by Geosystems Hellas S.A. to WWF Hellas to Support Land Cover Mapping and Species Recording

Intergraph® announces that Geosystems Hellas S.A., its authorised geospatial distributor in Greece and Cyprus, has provided solutions to WWF Hellas to support relief efforts in the National Forest of Dadia. Last summer, devastating fires broke out in the National Forest of Dadia, located in the Northeast region of Greece. The National Forest of Dadia is situated near the junction of Europe and Asia. This area includes many key species of flora and fauna of the Balkan Peninsula. The National Forest is located along one of the most important migration routes for birds, making it a key region in Europe cohabitated by many different species of birds of prey.

For more than 20 years, WWF Hellas has been mapping and monitoring the National Forest of Dadia. Recently, Geosystems Hellas S.A. provided imagery and software to WWF Hellas, leveraging ERDAS IMAGINE® and LPS for orthorectification, image exploitation, object-oriented classification, land cover mapping and species recording. With ERDAS IMAGINE, users can perform advanced remote sensing analysis and spatial modelling to create new information. ERDAS IMAGINE also provides tools for visualising results in 2D, 3D, movies and on cartographic quality map compositions. LPS is a complete suite of photogrammetric production tools for triangulation, generating terrain models, producing orthomosaics and extracting 3D features.

"Last summer, the fires in the National Forest of Dadia devastated a well-known area for nature and bird enthusiasts," said Betty Charalampopoulou, CEO of Geosystems Hellas S.A. "As such, it was a privilege for us to provide geospatial solutions that will aid in restoring this national treasure."

With Intergraph's geospatial software, WWF is able to accurately monitor the National Forest of Dadia with a special interest in the area affected by the recent fires (also home to rare birds of prey).

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Intergraph® provides state-wide geoportal for Hesse, Germany

Federal State of Hesse, Germany, relies on standardised system platform for GIS related processes

The final acceptance has been achieved for the state-wide internal GIS portal of Hesse Administration for Land Management and Geoinformation - HVBG, Germany. In autumn 2010, the HVBG (Hessische Verwaltung für Bodenmanagement und Geoinformation) commissioned Intergraph® to implement the "HVBG GIS portal". The implementation was completed in summer 2011, followed by several months of live operation, which have been concluded successfully. Intergraph's GeoMedia Smart Client solution is the central system component for HVBG's GIS strategy. HVGB is responsible for planning, steering, organising and implementing all the measures related to sustainable urban and rural development. To this end, data and services from land surveying and land registers, particularly official geoinformation, are a major resource.

 
A special feature of the newly established state-wide internal GIS portal is that it has been designed for many more than 1,500 users and ensures the fully automatic supply of all the official base geospatial data of HVBG. This includes ALKIS® (German Official Real Estate Cadastre Information System) data and ATKIS (German Official Topographic Cartographic Information System) data as well as digital ortho-photos. HVBG's GIS portal will be used throughout the Hesse State Office for Land Management and Geoinformation (HLBG) and subordinate agencies (Agencies for Land Management - ÄfB). In addition to providing basic geospatial data, Intergraph's GeoMedia Smart Client within the "HVBG GIS portal" serves as a strategic platform for specific GIS projects including TIMOR (topographical information management), the development of land reallocation plans and real estate value assessment.

The government decision to opt for Intergraph in autumn 2010 was due to the good practical experience it had gained with various Intergraph applications used within HLBG and subordinate agencies. For example, the Agency for Land Management at Heppenheim has been efficiently using GeoMedia Smart Client (formerly known as GeoMedia ResPublica) since 2003. What is more, various decentralised WebGIS projects had been implemented in the State of Hesse in recent years, all based on Intergraph solutions. The successful installation of the state-wide "HVBG GIS portal" includes the central consolidation of Intergraph's technology with integrated automatic data updating, which is a component of the IT infrastructure installed across HVBG. In this way, GeoMedia Smart Client and its workflow management capabilities offer a future-proof platform for mapping and geospatial processes at HVBG.

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Intergraph® and DigitalGlobe Announce Geospatial Challenge 2012 Winners

Projects will be Presented at the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) 2012 Annual Conference

Intergraph and DigitalGlobe proudly announce that Priyanka Mehta and Allison Howard are the official winners of the Geospatial Challenge. This contest received more than 115 proposals from individuals with project plans to leverage the power and flexibility of ERDAS IMAGINE® to exploit DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2 imagery.

ERDAS IMAGINE allows users to work with WorldView-2's rich set of spectral information, from an easy-to-use set of pre-defined band combinations for deciding on the best way to display the data, to the flexibility offered by the graphical Model Maker environment for designing and sharing new image analysis algorithms. ERDAS IMAGINE provides advanced image classification algorithms such as Spectral Angle, Spectral Correlation, Subpixel Classification and Object Oriented Image Analysis.

Mehta's winning paper is Urban Temperature Profiling Using WorldView-2 8 Band Imagery and ERDAS IMAGINE. This project sought to classify urban land use and land cover to visualise temperature profiles and heat island effects as functions of urban development. The extra four bands of eight-band imagery from WorldView-2 provide increased opportunities for visualisation and extraction of intricate features present in data.

Howard's winning paper is A Maximum Entropy and Least Cost Path Model of Bearded Capuchin Monkey Movement in Northeastern Brazil Incorporating ERDAS Subpixel Classification Analysis of WorldView-2 Imagery. Howard's work has implications for predicting daily movement patterns of all mobile animals, as high-resolution imagery and subpixel analysis in conjunction with habitat modelling represent significant improvements to previous attempts to link species occurrence or animal behaviour with environmental variables.

"The response to the Geospatial Challenge was absolutely phenomenal, reinforcing that ERDAS IMAGINE is the ideal tool for working with WorldView-2's rich set of spectral information," said Mladen Stojic, Vice President, Geospatial at Intergraph SG&I. "It was exciting to see all the submissions from the very avid community of ERDAS IMAGINE users who truly know how to exploit WorldView-2 imagery."

"This Geospatial Challenge is only scratching the surface regarding what can be done using ERDAS IMAGINE's powerful set of tools and our information rich WorldView-2 data" said Michael Oberg, Technical Product Manager at DigitalGlobe. "We were very pleased with the level of interest in the user community. There was a lot of outstanding work submitted, which definitely made the selection process difficult."

Priyanka Mehta and Allison Howard will present their papers on Thursday, March 22, 2012, at the ASPRS Conference in Sacramento, CA.

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.

Centre for Applied Microbiology Selects Intergraph to Manage Infectious Diseases

Russian State Centre for Applied Microbiology Selects Intergraph's ERDAS IMAGINE and ERDAS APOLLO to Aid Infectious Disease Management

Intergraph^® announces that the Russian State Research Centre for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (SRCAMB) in Obolensk has implemented both ERDAS IMAGINE^® and ERDAS APOLLO to help support its spatial-temporal approach for processing data related to infectious diseases and conduct risk analysis of biologically hazardous objects. NeoGeography R&D Group and Navgeocom, authorised Intergraph Geospatial resellers in Russia, are now working directly with the Russian State Research Centre on implementation.

ERDAS IMAGINE provides the SRCAMB with the ability to process and analyse satellite imagery to assess environmental impact factors. It also serves as an access point for acquiring relevant information, assisting in the analysis of environmental impact factors and aiding further research and development.

ERDAS APOLLO supports the SRCAMB by providing a common, reliable framework from which specialists, as well as the public at large, can access relevant data and the value-added products created in ERDAS IMAGINE. This includes cataloguing and deploying all the available satellite imagery. The end-user utilises ERDAS APOLLO to search, harvest and deploy the information, and ERDAS IMAGINE to measure and analyse the relevant data. From the ERDAS APOLLO interface, users can access spatially located information aggregated from the different software packages installed at the client side. 

"By using ERDAS IMAGINE in conjunction with ERDAS APOLLO, we will be able to provide a unique level of situational awareness for infectious disease monitoring, reducing biological risks and threats for the public," said Igor Govorunov, Information Department Chief, State Research Centre for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology in Obolensk, Russia.

Some of the core areas that both ERDAS products support include:

• Cataloguing of primary, geographically located information about biological and chemical safety
• Development of the first-ever seasonally correct geographical context based on satellite imagery 
•  Analysis of environmental factors of infectious diseases
• Capabilities for rapid net-centric incident information based on WFS-T service Research and development in providing healthcare solutions.

"Throughout Russia, numerous organisations are discovering the value of robust data management solutions that provide true interoperability and security," said Martin Ehrhardt, EMEA Geospatial Manager – Sales & Channel, Intergraph Corporation. "Solutions like ERDAS APOLLO and ERDAS IMAGINE allow global organisations to manage and address real-time needs that directly impact local populations."

For more information about ERDAS IMAGINE or ERDAS APOLLO, please visit www.intergraph.com/geospatial.

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.

Intergraph® Launches GeoMedia® Smart Client

Intergraph® Launches GeoMedia® Smart Client for Integrating GIS into All Business Processes

Dynamically Jumpstart Your GIS with Configurable Workflows

Intergraph® proudly announces the launch of GeoMedia® Smart Client, providing a means for organisations to geospatially accelerate their business workflows with the power of GIS. As an enterprise-wide solution, GeoMedia Smart Client obliterates the growing disparity between antiquated GIS products and the needs of today's geospatial contributors.

Between those working with a rigid and technically demanding desktop GIS and a static, lightweight browser-based GIS, there exists a large potential user base. GeoMedia Smart Client equips this broader audience of users, providing a means for them to access and use rich geospatial data in their business processes.

"Today, users need the power of GIS, not as a horizontal technology, but delivered in vertical market focused workflows," said Mladen Stojic, Vice President, Geospatial at Intergraph SG&I. "GeoMedia Smart Client is an inclusive solution that leverages configurable workflows to augment and deliver geospatial tools to meet the needs of these smart users."

With GeoMedia Smart Client, organisations can create a single deployment that can be configured for an unlimited number of applications. Geographic changes are easily and interactively implemented across an enterprise-wide smart GIS, seamlessly integrating into configurable workflows. Users from multiple departments can now leverage advanced geospatial functionality via simple-to-use map-based tools, streamlining their processes and honing their expertise. Now, a broader group of individuals (and departments) across an organisation can create data, maps and reports for their projects, rather than having to rely on a GIS specialist or outsource this work.

At GeoMedia Smart Client's core are workflow optimisation and web editing capabilities, enabling an organisation to develop efficient, customer-specific workflows to empower smart users. Providing the utmost flexibility, these workflows are sustainable and support on-going, long-term business processes.

Learn more about GeoMedia Smart Client by visiting www.intergraph.com/geospatial/GMSmartClient or by attending our upcoming webinar, Smart Web Editing and Workflow Optimization, on March 6, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).

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.