Stuttgart, Germany , August 2008 – The Board of Trustees of the ISPRS Foundation is delighted that Mr. Zhang Wenruo, president of Xi'an Meihang Information Industry Co. Ltd.(ARSC) China, has announced a donation of $US10,000 to the ISPRS Foundation in order to support the ISPRS's Foundation in all its efforts of promoting international scientific exchanges in photogrammetry, remote sensing and geospatial information, encouraging youths to develop technological innovation, and advocating and strengthening international cooperation in basic research and key technology developments in earth observation. The Board of Trustees expresses its appreciation for this generous donation, as it will significantly boost its finances, enabling it to make grants to worthy individuals in the near future. ARSC was also a Gold Sponsor of the XXI ISPRS Congress in Beijing in July 2008.

The Foundation will provide grants for a range of purposes that will assist individuals from emerging markets who wish to further their knowledge, skills and experience in the sciences and technologies associated with the disciplines embodied by the ISPRS. Typical activities that will be supported by The ISPRS Foundation are awareness education, distance learning, fellowships, scholarships, scientific initiatives, exchange programs, international workshops, travel grants, and internships.

Mr . Zhang Wenruo said: “ARSC wishes to become involved in the international activities of ISPRS and develop international cooperation both economically and in terms of technologies. The ISPRS Foundation's support enables individuals from developing countries to improve their knowledge and skills in the spatial information technologies.”

Professor Dieter Fritsch, Chair of ISPRS Foundation Board of Trustees, said, "We strongly encourage all companies and individuals who have an interest in assisting our colleagues in developing countries to donate to The ISPRS Foundation . This is a very worthy cause, and donations will benefit both our industry and the global environment."

To obtain a donation form and for additional information about The ISPRS Foundation, visit www.isprs.org/foundation/. Grant applications will be posted as awards are established.

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The next generation of earth observation and geoinformation services begin with RapidEye's constellation of five satellites.

Brandenburg/ Havel, August 29, 2008 – A DNEPR-1 rocket was successfully launched earlier today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying five earth observation satellites owned by the geospatial information provider RapidEye AG. This marks the first successful launch of a commercial satellite constellation worldwide.

The satellites will download their image data to an X-band antenna in northern Norway . The data will then be transmitted to the processing facilities at RapidEye headquarters in Brandenburg/Havel, where it will be processed and analyzed, and the products for customers generated. Another part of the ground segment is the control station, which monitors and controls the satellites. The combination of the satellite constellation, the control station and the data processing facilities enables RapidEye to offer cost-effective and efficient solutions for its customers in the agriculture, forestry and cartography industries and others. The RapidEye system is supported by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as the next generation of optical earth observation and as an important public/private partnership in aerospace.

A countdown and launch celebration held at the RapidEye headquarters, attended by Jochen Homann, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, Head Official of the Ministry of Economics, Michael Richter, as well as the Mayor of the City of Brandenburg , Dr. Dietlind Tiemann. The RapidEye team along with their family and friends also shared the exciting day with several hundred interested citizens of the city of Brandenburg .

Wolfgang Biedermann, CEO of RapidEye AG, explains what expectations customers from around the globe have of the RapidEye satellite system, “With our satellite constellation, we are able to observe large areas of our earth with a high revisit rate in high spatial resolution. The earth observation data obtained with our system is the basis for important management information services that haven't been commercially available until now, especially in the agriculture and forestry industries. We expect to play a decisive role in the quickly growing geospatial information market.”

For more information, please visit www.rapideye.de

For updated information on the launch, please visit www.rapideye.de/launch2008

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President P r of. Said Irandoust, AIT , met with Dr . M . P . Naraya nan, President of GISD EV India, which is the organizer of the Map Asia 2008 . The " Map Asia 2008 " is an annual Asian conference and exhibition on geospatial information, technology and applications . In its seventh year, the conference was held in Kuala Lumpur from 18 - 20 August, 2008 . Bearing the theme “ Spatially Enabled Government ” , the event was attended by more than 1,000 delegates .

Mr . Sanjay Kumar, CEO of GISDEV India signed the MoU on behalf of GISD . The purpose of the MoU is to enable cooperation between AIT and GISD in the area of human resource development in geoinformation technology . The scope of activities under the MoU includ e collaboration in professional diploma programs in fields related to GIS such as surveying, mapping and imaging, remote sensing and data processing; joint project initiatives in Asia for geospatial and industrial development; and special joint training packages to serve the Asian geospatial community .

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Vancouver , BC , - Safe Software announced on August 21, 2008 that its software solution FME, the recognized standard in spatial ETL (extract, transform and load), now offers complete support for CityGML.

The FME 2009 beta introduces the ability to write CityGML data, adding to the read support which has been available since the format's early draft stages. This combination of read and write capabilities enables CityGML users to communicate in the common specification while still using their preferred systems for data analyses. FME Server, Safe Software's spatial data distribution solution, will also be extended in 2009 to add capabilities for sharing CityGML data via the OGC web feature service (WFS) protocol.

In addition to the complete support offered in FME for the widely used draft CityGML 0.4, Safe Software is already actively updating FME to support CityGML 1.0, announced yesterday by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) as an official specification. CityGML has been adopted as a common information model for the representation of 3D urban objects, providing a standard means by which to share urban spatial data.

"Finally we have a common standard for people serious about implementing 3D city models that take us beyond beautiful visualizations. Combining quality graphics with robust information and topological models, CityGML will change the way professionals manage virtual cities," says Tim Case, Chair of the OGC 3D Information Management Working Group.

Safe Software has been proactively providing read/write capabilities for OGC standards since the preliminary stages of GML in 2001. Today, FME supports OGC WMS, WFS, GML, and KML along with CityGML.

"We are committed to supporting OGC standards and encouraging data interoperability in the various segments of the spatial data world, including 3D," says Don Murray, President of Safe Software. "This in mind, extending our support for the newest OGC specification, CityGML, was a natural choice. We look forward to seeing the power of data interoperability that CityGML holds unfold in projects around the globe."

FME provides data conversion capabilities to users around the world. To learn more, visit www.safe.com or email info@safe.com .

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This month's map depicts retail turnover growth in the 27 EU countries from 2007 – 2009 (data source: GfK GeoMarketing, GfK Retail Location Guide Europe, 2008).

Our map reveals that retail turnover growth is higher in Central and Eastern Europe than in Western Europe. The Baltic states and Turkey particularly stand out with growth rates in excess of 22 percent.

While impressive, it's important to place these strong growth rates into context: Even a minor increase in the retail growth of western European countries is economically more significant than the much faster growth in the still-developing economies of Eastern and Central Europe. Many expanding companies are nonetheless attracted by these countries' above-average retail growth, despite the associated risks and often lower total retail volume.

But there are also Western European countries such as Scandinavia, Ireland and Spain, which - despite being comparatively established markets - have a growth rate well in excess of the average of 5.3 percent.

GfK GeoMarketing annually publishes its GfK Retail Location Guide Europe, which provides a compact overview of the latest economic figures for hundreds of retail locations across Europe. Some of the information provided includes GfK Purchasing Power as well as profiles of the population, economy and retail structure and development. This data can also be purchased for individual locations or countries.

Download the map in high-resolution .TIF format (10 x 15 cm)  here (approx. 0.5 MB).

The map may be freely distributed and reproduced if the following attribution is included: “Illustration: GfK GeoMarketing”.

More information on: www.gfk-geomarketing.com

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Redlands , California — The City of Philadelphia was presented with the President's Award in front of 14,800 attendees at the 2008 ESRI International User Conference . Jim Querry, director of enterprise GIS, City of Philadelphia , accepted the award from ESRI president Jack Dangermond. The city received the honor for its leadership and innovation in developing enterprise geographic information system (GIS) deployments that improve numerous government functions and city services.

“We're honored to be recognized with such a prestigious award and thankful to Jack Dangermond and everyone at ESRI for helping to make GIS so successful in Philadelphia ,” says Querry. “GIS is enabling city leaders to make better decisions and achieve numerous goals as an information framework. We're looking forward to future applications and the benefits it will provide both city employees and the public in carrying out Mayor Nutter's plan to improve public safety, education, economic development, community health, and services to citizens.”

“The work of Jim Querry and the City of Philadelphia is truly remarkable,” says Dangermond. “They have a long history of innovation. They've shown how government agencies can operate in an efficient, flexible, and customer-focused environment. Their use of GIS not only helps the City of Philadelphia, but it serves as an example for other government agencies on how GIS fosters sharing, collaboration, and cooperation among people and organizations.”

Since its first foray into GIS in 1990, the city has been a leader in applying the geographic approach to government. It implemented enterprise spatial data access in the mid-1990s that included a complete basemap of aerial photography. The city built a spatial data warehouse in 2000, followed by enterprise geospatial Web services in 2001. More recently, the city created a land records system that links property-specific data among departments using a common address model. The city also began using an advanced online economic development application. The city airport's GIS Services Unit developed a mobile computing system that uses GIS software to manage operations, assets, and projects in a real-time digital map environment. GIS provides the city's Streets Department with a geocentric asset and work-order management system. In addition, the Philadelphia Police Department expanded its public Web site (www.ppdonline.org) to make it faster and easier to see where and what types of crime are occurring throughout the city.

The President's Award is a special recognition of an organization that is a model for others to follow in implementing GIS successfully as well as making a positive impact on the environment and society. Previous winners include the U.S. Department of the Interior, the City of New York , the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, and the Hong Kong Information Center .

For more information Visit ww.esri.com .

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Richmond Hill , Ontario – August 12, 2008: PCI Geomatics, a world leading developer of software and solutions for geospatial imaging applications, has announced the appointment of Allan Place as Global Sales Director. Mr. Place will be responsible for PCI Geomatics' direct sales, as well as the company's international reseller channel.

“Allan's considerable experience with both desktop and solution sales will help the PCI sales and marketing teams grow the company's business both domestically and internationally,” said Brad Schmidt, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at PCI Geomatics.

Mr. Place brings over twenty years of experience in sales, marketing and business development, along with a solid track record for securing sales and new business. Prior to joining PCI Geomatics, Allan served as Manager of Business Development at MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA). Allan has also held various management positions with several companies including SkyWave Mobile Communications and Marconi Communications. Mr. Place holds a B.A (Honours) from Queens University .

For more information, visit http://www.pcigeomatics.com/pressnews/2008_PCI_sales.html , www.pcigeomatics.com

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LIVERMORE , CA -- In construction job site management, the key to increasing productivity, effectively managing assets and improving profit percentages is communication – between people, between machines. In the construction business, mastering the art and science of communication is paramount to success, in a boom economy or during an industry-wide slowdown. In the construction communications community, the new buzzword is telematics, a word that means the sending and receiving of information via telecommunications. But in the fast-paced world of telecommunications technology, it means much more than that.

Telematics opens up an entirely new world of communication . . . from transmitting individual pieces of information from big iron to the job trailer, from machines to the home office (no matter where it's located on the globe), or even from machine to machine.

Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) has made a giant leap into the telematics marketplace by forming a new Telematics Business Unit, headed by Mark Bittner, Senior Vice President. The telematics team has hit the ground running with a targeted solution for the construction and agriculture markets. Within the first 60 days of operation, TPS had mobile control and monitoring equipment installed and operating with key customers at five test sites - three in the United States and two in Europe . Topcon's emergence as a global player in the telematics business is the result of a joint venture with Divitech S.p.A., a telematics solution provider based in Turin , Italy . The joint venture company is Tierra ™.

"Topcon Tierra™, along with its myriad application is the product of the TPS telematics business unit," Bittner said. "It uses advanced GPS technology to form a two-way, web-based communications system with unlimited commercial, core-to-client applications. "Topcon Tierra takes information available from any piece of machinery - regardless of age, make or model, analog or digital - and sets up two-way communications, transmitting data about the tracking or operation of the vehicle, plus behavioral aspects of the machines," Bittner said. He described Topcon Tierra as a "tool to increase productivity and reduce costs, allowing users to access a 'window' into machine operations from anywhere in the world, via the web."

Gianluca Fiori, founder of Divitech and a pioneer in web applications for job site management, said, "Telematics will become the decisive factor in job site management information in the future. With Topcon Tierra telematic service, what you do at the machine will be available from a remote location and all that you do in a remote office will be directly available on the operating vehicle.

"In this way you can have complete monitoring and control of all phases of every job," he said. "Adopting and utilizing the best technology for a business will help every operator increase productivity and profitability like never before."

Topcon has been "working hard to get into this market segment," Bittner said, "and now we're doing it in a substantial way. It's a major priority for Topcon Positioning Systems and a key component of our managed services offering."

For more information Visit http://www.topconpositioning.com/news-events/single/item/topcon-fills-niche-in-job-site-management-with-topcon-tierraTM-web-based-global-communications-tool/

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Asian Institute of Technology is conducting the training course managed by 9 internationally acclaimed instructors from AIT, Osaka City Univ., ITC Netherlands, Chulalongkorn University, Kochi Univ. of Technology, Japan . There are 20 participants from Nigeria, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Iraq, India and Vietnam.

The training program will again be conducted dur in g 19-30 January 2009 in Bangkok. Some people who could not attend this time or others may apply as soon as possible to reserve your seat with Dr. Nitin Kumar Tripathi at e-mail: nitinkt@ait.ac.th

Dr. Nitin K. Tripathi

Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Geoinformatics

Director, UNIGIS@AIT Centre (Online Masters and Diploma Program in GIS)

Associate Professor, Remote Sensing and GIS,

School of Engineering and Technology,

Asian Institute of Technology,

P.O. Box. 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani-12120, Thailand

Phone:+66-2-524 6392, Fax: +66-2-524 5597, +66-2-501 1677; nitinkt@ait.ac.th, nitingis@gmail.com

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LOS ANGELES – SIGGRAPH 2008 – Bentley Systems, Incorporated today announced that it has entered into a technology agreement with Luxology LLC – maker of the modo 3D software widely used by video professionals and graphic artists. Through this agreement, Bentley will license Luxology's super-fast, photorealistic rendering engine for inclusion in its forthcoming release of MicroStation . Though the Luxology technology is the preferred renderer for a broad community of users, including major film studios, it is ideally suited to the demanding requirements of AEC applications to quickly produce extremely high-quality images and animations from huge datasets that typically include vast numbers of parametrically replicated geometry elements.

The super-fast Luxology rendering engine, combined with breakthrough “compression” techniques for replicated geometry in MicroStation , will allow users to generate images and animations with life-like detail, and uniquely enable designers to make real-time decisions from near-real-time rendering within interactive AEC workflows. Unlike other approaches currently available, no time is wasted transferring datasets between the design environment and a separate – and often costly – rendering system requiring special training. As a result, world-class photorealistic rendering has finally become a readily accessible tool for virtually every AEC practitioner and project, empowering design teams to:

•  Immediately visualize and further refine potential designs to provide better-performing infrastructure,

•  More easily secure stakeholder buy-in on concept and final design work with high-impact presentations as a routine by-product of their work.

Commenting on the new agreement, Brad Peebler, Luxology President and Founder, said, “Bentley put us through a rigorous comparison test and we feel fortunate for this opportunity to work with one of the AEC community's leading providers of software solutions and products. We look forward to seeing how Bentley and MicroStation users take advantage of the rendering power we are providing.”

Bentley Systems Executive Vice President Ray Bentley said, “We've always delivered an outstanding set of visualization tools integrated with our MicroStation design platform, and have taken them to an even higher level of flexibility and ease of use in our forthcoming release. Now we can offer users the capability to create visualizations of unsurpassed realism in a lot less time by choosing the Luxology engine from among the many rendering options in MicroStation . In fact, the Luxology engine is so fast that our users will be able to create animations in the time it takes most renderers to create a single image. The new renderer will be available as a simple menu option within our interface, and will not require separate training or specialized hardware.”

For more information about MicroStation, visit www.bentley.com/MicroStation .

For more information about the Luxology technology, visit www.luxology.com .

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Campbell, Calif. August 7, 2008—Brilliant Telecommunications, Inc. (Brilliant), a developer of next-generation synchronization and timing solutions and NovAtel Inc, (NovAtel), a precise positioning technology company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Hexagon AB (STO: HEXA B) (Hexagon), announced they have signed a technology partnership agreement to develop and deliver innovative timing, synchronization and positioning solutions. The companies will undertake cooperative development activities, combining their respective technologies to create new product platforms that target high precision applications. This unique combination will enable both companies to deliver a powerful set of new timing and synchronization solutions to customers worldwide.
“GPS and GNSS precise positioning technology is a key element to meet the growing demands placed on Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Precision Time Protocol (PTPv2) server technology, as the end-to-end transmission and synchronization of voice, data and video across packet-based networks becomes more sophisticated,” said Jon Ladd, NovAtel's Chief Executive Officer. “The integration of Brilliant and NovAtel technology will provide a significant competitive differentiation and a new level of price/performance for network timing, synchronization and management.”

Brilliant has developed an innovative platform for next-generation packet-based networks to address the growing need for highly accurate synchronization across broad markets. Many industries including telecommunications, internet, defense, public safety, financial, health, legal and manufacturing need highly accurate chronological data archived to be compliant with existing and emerging regulations, such as Sarbanes Oxley, HIPAA, and NASD Rule 132. Brilliant's hardware-based timestamp technology has been well received in the marketplace due to its seamless integration into existing networks while addressing strict regulatory demands for accurate and legally traceable time.

“Today, NovAtel and Brilliant Telecommunications—two of the leaders in GNSS components, subsystems and end-to-end network timing and synchronization—are coming together, to provide best-of-breed solutions to customers around the globe,' commented Dr. Charles Barry, President and CEO, Brilliant Telecommunications. “This collaboration will enable Brilliant and NovAtel to broaden their product portfolios and extend Brilliant's market worldwide. We chose to partner with NovAtel because they have established themselves as market and technology leaders in GNSS.”

Under the terms of the agreement both companies will collaborate to build products for OEM's in the telecom, industrial and scientific instrumentation market. Brilliant will have access to the complete line of products offered by NovAtel including their high-performance antennas. Additionally, NovAtel will have access to Brilliant's complete line of end-to-end, NTP and PTP/IEEE 1588 products to broaden and expand the overall solutions offered by NovAtel. As part of this joint technology agreement, Brilliant and NovAtel will combine development resources for joint product development initiatives. Products developed under this agreement will be marketed and sold by both companies in their respective markets.


For more information, visit www.novatel.com , www.BrilliantTelecom.com

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Sandy , UT — Azteca Systems, Inc., the leading provider of GIS-centric management solutions, announced today the recent appointments of Carl Horton, George Mastakas, Wayne Hill, and Tom Palizzi to Executive Director. These directors, along with the President, Vice President, and Financial Officer, make up Azteca's executive management team.

As the chief product architect, Dr. Carl Horton leads the Cityworks Product Development team, designing and producing the leading GIS-centric asset, maintenance, and property management solutions. A co-founder of Azteca Systems, he continues to pioneer Azteca's unique approach to business applications. Mr. Mastakas heads up Azteca's Enterprise Services Group. Under his guidance, Mastakas' team ensures the successful implementation of Cityworks.

Azteca's Client and Information Service Division, led by Wayne Hill, is responsible for customer technical support, client relations, product delivery, and training. His team consistently earns top marks in customer service. Tom Palizzi oversees sales, corporate marketing, and partner relations. Under his lead, Palizzi's team of sales and marketing professionals has ushered Cityworks to the top tier of maintenance management solutions.

“The dedication and fortitude these gentlemen have maintained over the years is the reason our customers and our company have enjoyed such success,” said Brain Haslam, President of Azteca Systems. “Talent and hard work are only part of the equation. The integrity, creativity, and strong character they display is the reason we have consistently surpassed our goals. While everyone at Azteca is key, these executives represent the heart and soul of our company and our technology.”


For more information visit Azteca on the World Wide Web at www.cityworks.com

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Redlands, California— More than 300 surveyors, engineers, and geographic information system (GIS) professionals from more than 25 countries attended the ESRI Survey & Engineering GIS Summit, held August 2–5, 2008, at the San Diego Convention Center in California. The summit is the only event of its kind, designed to address the latest geospatial trends, challenges, and solutions in the surveying and engineering industries.

Summit attendees took part in a wide variety of activities including the Plenary Session, where keynote speakers Colonel David W. Madden, commander of the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Wing at the Space and Missile Systems Center, talked about upcoming technical changes with GPS and their benefits, and Timothy C. McCormick, senior vice president of Dewberry's Hazard Engineering and Geospatial Services Group, discussed the role of GIS in a tech-savvy engineering firm. In addition, ESRI staff led discussions on advancements in GIS and how the technology is creating more complete business solutions with capabilities for project planning and execution using advanced data management and analysis.

The summit's technical workshops and hands-on learning lab gave attendees the opportunity to try out GIS software, such as ArcGIS Survey Analyst, while sessions concentrated on how others use GIS to optimize core data management business functions, where GIS is headed and how it is a vital technology to surveyors and engineers, and how GIS can sharpen the competitive edge in a rapidly changing industry. Other features of the summit included the Industry Panel, where heads of industry-leading organizations tackled the complex professional issues of machine control and answered questions about surveyors' and engineers' responsibilities and professional boundaries in this emerging field. Plus, the summit's EXPO gave ESRI business partners a chance to exhibit their solution products and services while meeting with summit attendees.

"It's an inspiration to see all the new things that surveyors and engineers are doing with GIS, and we appreciate all the time that our users have contributed to share what they've learned with their peers," says Brent Jones, survey and engineering industry solutions manager, ESRI. "It's this professionalism, combined with the innovation that surveyors and engineers are renowned for, that continues to make this event so spectacular."

Since the summit was held concurrently with the 2008 ESRI International User Conference (ESRI UC), which took place August 4–8, it also gave attendees the opportunity to interact with GIS and mapping professionals from around the world.

To find out more about the summit and the ESRI UC, visit www.esri.com/uc

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