News
Tech businesses, start-up companies and educational institutions are set to benefit from a new data hub launched Thursday by Western Australia’s Landgate. The new hub, named SPUR, aims to bring together a selection of Landgate services to support interested businesses and groups to develop new products, services and research projects.
SPUR will provide technology-based businesses, start-up companies and educational institutions with access to a range of resources and networking opportunities to support new technologies and industries.
In lunching SPUR, Lands Minister Terry Redman launched highlighted a number of benefits participants will receive: “This new data hub will offer developer licences and enable these groups to explore Government location data including information relating to property, roads, imagery and geography,” he said.
“For example, a start-up business wanting to produce an app for the property industry would be able to access location data relating to house valuations and sale prices through SPUR to use in the early stages of developing their product.
“Landgate has already helped a number of local start-ups to create prototypes of public safety, mining and other applications that use location information.”
Groups will also have the opportunity to network at SPUR events where they will be encouraged to collaborate to help solve industry and Government challenges using location data.
“They will be able to apply for innovation grants and seed funding through Landgate to help with the development of technologies and products that use location data,” the Minister said.
“This will be through an open, competitive application process.
“I would encourage anyone interested to visit the SPUR website where they can find out more and apply to access the services and products available.”
For more information, visit http://www.spur.wa.gov.au
By on 10 May, 2016 in 3D & BIM, Company & Industry, Email Newsletter, GIS & Data, Latest News
The powerful ways in which technology enables individuals, businesses and organizations to use location information are more tantalizing and troublesome with every passing day. Typical location data is often deceptively simple: coordinates of latitude and longitude, or a common street address. Their relative simplicity contributes to their being easy targets of location fraud: swap around or add a few numbers and it could go unnoticed. More often, though, it’s not deliberate tomfoolery but just lousy luck and sloppiness with digital errors that propagate and persist, such as the Kansas site that can’t shake its alter-ego. Understanding how location data works: its sources, its formats, its limitations and its revelatory power, make all the difference for realizing its potential ROI.
You Want to Be Found, NOW
You’re in luck! There’s never been a better time to let the world know your whereabouts, 24-7. Here’s what you need to do: Keep your smart phone in your pocket at all times. Make sure that location services are always turned on, across the board for all apps. When you get somewhere, check in with the internet. When you’re moving between places, always navigate with online maps. Consider attaching mini-GPS trackers to your car and your computer, and wear one on your body. Don’t leave home without one!
You Don’t Want to be Found, NOW
Using our personal digital devices isn’t the only way to generate a digital footprint but it is one that readily gives us away. Don’t want to be found? Turn off your location services and manipulate your map. Fake out your browser. Mask or confuse the digital trail that your computer leaves by using a virtual private network or other methods of masking your IP address.
Companies Want to Know Where You Are, NOW
Meanwhile, the same technology that lets your find (or hide from) your friends or enemies is also being used by your credit card company to know where you are – and where you’re not – and thus monitor your account for fraudulent activity. For a bank to decline a purchase at the point-of-sale, several geographically-based factors come in to play concurrently, each involving some time and space signal that reflects an unexpected pattern. For example, the digital signal itself took longer than expected to arrive from the usual place of purchases, such as your home, if that were the typical site. The banking system must make those risk calculations in milliseconds so they rely on anticipated behavior and movement patterns. Knowing that we keep our phones close to ourselves, the location of the phone and the place from where we make a purchase should be the same. To scrutinize sale patterns after a transaction has been posted, fraud analysts also investigate purchases that were made where the phone was not.
Understanding the accuracy and uncertainty inherent within location information
Having location information that is as “correct” as it is wanted or needed to be is what makes this subject expensive, fraught with risk and surprisingly challenging. Eighty percent of all data may have a locational component (or not), but most of those locations are wrong. For example, Telenav’s ThinkNear produces a Location Score Index that serves as a high level, report-card style assessment of the location data used in mobile advertising. They regularly find that less than a third of the data sampled is situated accurately, regardless of whether the data are supposed to be within 100 m of a target or 100,000 m of a target. A business purchases what they think is a list of addresses of potential customers and only later realizes they have ZIP code centroids instead. These are not trivial matters when billions of advertising dollars are at stake each year, and costs for the risks to human safety and wellbeing are incalculable.
Whether the data inconsistencies are the result of sloppy or rushed data collection, misunderstandings about the limitations or functionality of the technologies, or actual deliberate fraud of one type or another, the temporal nature of the spatial information is one of the most important but most poorly understood contributing factors. To capture accurate information about people, or their cars, computers, or phones, that are in motion require data pulls at interval frequencies that are inconvenient, unrealistic or excessively expensive. The more dynamic the entities being tracked, the more opportunities for error and uncertainty, but this is the heart of mobile advertising: to be able to customize and target the content for just that person at just that time in just that place.
Static, stable entities bypass some of these challenges. Companies like AggData compile address locations of stores for hundreds of different retail chains and sell these as easy-to-use spreadsheets with geocoded point data ready to use. By going directly to the primary source for the information (think Starbuck’s own Find a Store), the risk that the location data itself is incorrect or not current is minimized. As AggData’s Chris Hathaway notes, retailers will naturally have their shared, public data be as complete, current and accurate as possible, in their own best interests.
So it’s an interesting time for this domain. A mix of well-intentioned data publishers and a few fraudsters exist, racing to develop and deploy technologies that leverage our demand for location-enabled goods and services while at the same time studying our exact purchasing and movement patterns. The location spoofing that allows a victim of domestic violence to keep herself safe is the same location spoofing that bogus marketers use to sell trumped-up addresses. I need my phone’s location known so I can find it, and I want to hide my phone’s location so no one else can find me. We’re located precariously on both sides of a double-edged sword.
Companies dealing with location data find themselves explaining basic geographical principles in their need to educate their clients. For example, both Placecast and Factual have illustrated how the decimal places of latitude and longitude coordinates translate to the geographic scale of what is being measured in distances. Want to set up some effective real time geofencing? Use anything fewer than four decimal places and you’ll probably miss your intended target. Well, if more decimal places is better, how about this guy who says his geocoded data will include no fewer than 8 decimal places! Brilliant! More is always better, so definitely go with his bid, and then remind me to tell you about this swampland I have in Florida for sale. Location, location, location!
Like I said earlier, location information seems deceptively simple. We first encounter latitude and longitude in elementary school but misconceptions about the system persist, and even GIS professionals will hesitate when asked whether the latitude value or the longitude value is plotted along the X or the Y axis of a graph. (Latitude are on the Y; Longitude are on the X. Yes, that’s correct.) Being a savvy user of location data means being prepared to solve problems, or at least recognize problems, and perhaps avoid having simple issues become a problem in the first place. The extent of the persistent accuracy problems with location data is strong evidence for persistent shortcomings in both geographic and quantitative literacy.
By By Diana S. Sinton
The 2016 Australian Jobs has been released. This 48 page report provides a great starting point for users to gain an appreciation of trends in the labour market and factors that should be considered when looking for work or making career and training choices.
The publication contains a wealth of information, including summaries for states and territories and industries and occupations. It also includes helpful tips that can give job seekers the edge when looking for their next job.
The publication also touches upon jobs in the future so that all Australians can take advantage of the job opportunities of tomorrow. Employment projections suggest that most new jobs will be in industries and occupations for which post-school study is essential, highlighting the importance of education. There will also, though, continue to be good opportunities in lower skilled jobs, but applicants will need good employability or soft skills.
For the first time, Australian Jobswill be available on its own navigable, mobile friendly website, expected to be live by mid to late May 2016. A PDF of the report is also available online at http://www.employment.gov.au/australian-jobs-publication.
Sourced from: http://www.4-traders.com/news/Department-of-Employment-Australian-Government-Australian-Jobs-2016-ndash-Launchpad-into-the-lab–22276943/
Lots has been happening in the Spatial World. Click here to see your Spatial Jobs Weekly Update!
new agreement between Geoscience Australia and the European Space Agency (ESA) is set to ensure data from the EU’s Sentinel satellites are accessible in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.
The agreement supports the Australian government and European Commission’s partnership announced last year that aims to open up the benefits of the EU’s Copernicus Earth observation programme for the broader international community.
A key component of the cooperation will be the establishment of a regional data access and analysis hub managed by Geoscience Australia (GA). This hub will greatly improve access to Copernicus data in a region which is densely populated and experiencing high rates of economic growth, but which faces significant challenges in areas where Earth observation can help. These challenges include the protection of environmental assets, promotion of sustainable natural resource development and risk reduction from natural disasters.
ESA will supply GA with high-speed access to data from the Sentinel satellites through its Copernicus data access infrastructure. Through a consortium with Australia’s CSIRO national research organisation and Australian state governments, GA will make the data hub available to users in the Southeast Asia and the South Pacific region.
The hub is projected to provide access to over 12 Petabytes of data by 2025, and is expected to go beyond simply providing users with the ability to download Copernicus data.
Dr Adam Lewis, GA’s head of Earth and Marine Observations, expects that the regional data hub will be hugely beneficial to Australians: “the regional data hub will also provide a high-performance environment in which all the data can be analysed and applied at full scale to big regional challenges like the blue economy, sustainable livelihoods and climate change adaptation,” he said.
“By enabling multiple user groups, from multiple countries, to come together and ‘work around’ such a comprehensive set of data, we are helping to make sure the full potential of the EU’s amazing programme is realised and that regional partners can find regional solutions to regional challenges.”
The data access hub will be established at Canberra’s National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), the largest facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere, taking advantage of the Australian government’s investments in science and research infrastructure to support the region.
The cooperation will also make it easier for European and Australian experts to collaborate on the calibration and validation activities that are fundamental to ensuring that users have access to high-quality satellite data and value-added products they can trust.
“Through GA, CSIRO and many other players, Australia has long made a valued contribution to our calibration and validation activities,” said Pier Bargellini from ESA’s Copernicus Space Component Mission Management and Ground Segment Division. “Its technical expertise, world-class facilities and the diversity of geographies they have access to makes them a key player,”
Under the arrangement, GA will also act as a coordinating point for European partners to obtain access to Australian in-situ data, which is made available through the efforts of many Australian government agencies, research partnerships and universities.
The regional data hub will become operational on 1 July.
By on 26 April, 2016 in Company & Industry, Email Newsletter, Government & Policy, Latest News, Remote Sensing
http://www.spatialsource.com.au/australias-new-data-hub-for-esa-satellite-data/
The Brisbane-based team behind crowdsourced mapping platform Gruntify has been invited to attend the exclusive 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES16) in Silicon Valley. President Barack Obama is the featured speaker at an event that will bring together the best entrepreneurs and investors from around the world.
GES16 aims create new opportunities for investment, partnership, and collaboration around these technologies. Gruntify’s Founder Igor Stjepanovic will be there to showcase the innovative nature and huge potential of the Gruntify platform.
Particular focus will be on the power of Gruntify technology to help solve problems in the diverse areas of Conservation and Smart Cities. There are big challenges in both these industries in data collection, management and collaboration. Gruntify’s smart, spatial, real-time data management platform provides instant situational awareness and informed decision-making.
As a representative of the startup community and spatial industry from Australia, Gruntify’s attendance at the event will help build a network between Australian businesses and investors, business leaders and government officials from the USA and the rest of the world.
“This invitation is a fantastic recognition for Gruntify and its development team,” Gruntify founder Igor Stjepanovic said, “We’re extremely humbled and proud to be chosen to participate in this transformative event.”
“We’ll proudly wave the Australian and spatial industries flag at this event!”
By
Sourced from: http://www.spatialsource.com.au/2016/04/22/gruntify-invited-to-global-entrepreneurship-summit/
Nineteen of the presenters at last week’s Locate conference were women, showcasing the tremendous value that women have in the spatial and surveying industries, as well as the viability of STEM careers more broadly. Locate16 is the national conference of the spatial and surveying professions of Australia and New Zealand, showcasing the most cutting-edge spatial technologies and in 2016 attracted almost 500 attendees.
While it’s impossible to cover all of the insights of all the presenters, below are highlights from just some of the extraordinary women who were part of Locate16.
Dr Catherine Ball
Dr Ball’s opening plenary was perhaps the standout presentation of the entire event and inspired delegates to the point that they were talking about it for the remaining two days. Dr Ball is a Telstra Business Women of the Year award winning innovator of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) with a background in spatial information and ecology. As part of Elemental Strategy, Dr Ball now consults internationally to governments and private industry not just on drones, but on all elements of technological adoption.
Her impressive plenary highlighted the huge growth the RPAS industry is facing. If you don’t have any shares in a drone company, then she highly recommends that you buy some, since last year over half a billion dollars of venture capital was invested into commercial drone companies. However, Ball’s messages were applicable to all types of data managers, suggesting we need a twitter for spatial data so everybody can find the information they need instantly, and an Australian supercomputer dedicated to process the ever-increasing drone data. She was disappointed to note that as far as she is aware, she is the only woman in Australia operating a drone business. However it’s safe to say Catherine Ball will go on to inspire other women to follow in her footsteps.
Position magazine featured an exclusive interview with Catherine Ball, which can now be read online.
Helen Owens
Locate attendees were lucky enough to have a distinguished MC, Helen Owens, of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Owens joined the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet as the Principal Advisor for Public Data Policy on 22 October 2015 and her insights allowed her to guide the audience through each of the inspiring plenaries. Her keynote ”Building a World Class Public Data Infrastructure,” highlighted the federal government’s recent initiatives for open data, which culminated earlier this year in the release of PSMA’s national address data, G-NAF.
Denise McKenzie
Coming from the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), McKenzie is somewhat of an expert when it comes to open data standards. Her talk focussed on what is happening in the world of IoT (Internet of Things) standards and how the geospatial component will enable smart cities. Her suggestion that we’ve been dealing with sensors for much longer than the term IoT has existed, places spatial professionals at the forefront of this technology. Using the example of the ‘internet of babies’ and how almost everything can be monitored (and hacked), open standards are a critical part of what will make up our future society.
Andrea McDonald
As Deputy Chief Executive at Land Information New Zealand, Andrea McDonald’s presentation highlighted the tremendous overhauls undertaken in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that struck the Canterbury region of New Zealand in 2010 and 2011. Since then McDonald has been involved in a number of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) related projects that were established to help assist and accelerate the rebuild process. Of her lesson learnt is the process, she revealed that above all else, implementing SDI’s in the end is all about people.
Katie Dick
From Spatial Vision, Katie Dick’s project “Victorian Women’s Health Atlas” used spatial analysis to uncover the burden that domestic violence has in women in Victoria, as well as the distribution of depression and anxiety. Among the many findings of the project were the striking gender imbalances that adversely affect women’s health in the region. The success of the project shows the viability of such an approach, which should be considered by other agencies the world over dealing with women’s health.
Alison Rose
As the Assistant Secretary of GEOINT Foundation and Support, Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO), Rose’s plenary highlighted the extents to which spatial analysis can be taken. While unfortunately she could not indicate specifics of AGO’s operations due to their intrinsically sensitive nature, it is apparent that under Rose’s guidance, Australia’s geospatial intelligence is in good hands.
Libby Hillman
Finally, Libby Hillman, Executive Officer of the Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria, is working hard to give school students the chance to achieve all that the above mentioned women have so boldly done. In her Keynote, Hillman alongside Cory Bixler, explored the diverse opportunities of the industry and the barriers to undertake tertiary studies and employment in the sector. As a founding member of educational initiative, Destination Spatial, and participant of a number of other successful educational initiatives, Hillman showed that there is hope that even more women like those represented in this article will rightfully come into prominence. If you are interested in a career in spatial, please visit Destination Spatial.
This is just a subset of the many amazing women who were part of Locate16.
Keep a watch of Spatial Source and the upcoming issue of Position for a more detailed wrap up of the Locate16.
By Anthony Wallace
Sourced from http://www.spatialsource.com.au/2016/04/19/women-of-innovation-dominate-at-locate16/
Source: Directions Magazine
Editor’s note: Welcome to the second installment of our 2016 monthly series, Geospatial on a Budget. Today we’re going to take a look at some time-saving converter tools that won’t stress your math abilities or the budget…they are free.
Most professional data workflows include converting coordinates. Does converting points and working with projections ever make you feel like you’re back in that math class that you were certain wasn’t going to be useful in life? Whether you have a big stack of points or just one or two, we’ve found some options that may make life easier for you. If you’re working with groups of students, young or old, these may make the days on coordinate systems much easier. Impress all your friends at the next party with your knowledge of projections and coordinates!
Latitude, longitude, UTM and some datum
Montana State University has datum selection built into their converter choices. Their page includes the single lookup, UTM converter and a map in one stop.
Steven Dutch in Natural and Applied Sciences at University of Wisconsin-Greenbay has created some very helpful resources. “I got enough inquiries on this subject that I decided to make a page for it,” he said. You will find a newer java script version along with formulas that will take you back to trigonometry class. He has created a spreadsheet resource that does the math for you. And if you really want to get your geogeek on, then he has included some nice explanations of projection for you as well.
For more information go to: http://www.directionsmag.com/entry/geospatial-on-a-budget-2-converting-coordinates/466767
By Barbaree Ash Duke