In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

The GeoTrellis team is very excited to announce the availability of GeoTrellis 0.8 (codename “Atlantis”), which is a major new release that is a huge step forward towards our goal of a general purpose, high performance geoprocessing library and runtime designed to perform and scale for the web.

As you delve into GeoTrellis 0.8 in more depth, here are some new features you may want to explore:

• A new suite of raster operations in the focal category of map algebra: http://geotrellis.github.com/operations/raster/focal.html
• Simplified raster rendering with a built-in suite of color ramps for data cartography: http://geotrellis.github.com/overviews/rendering.html
• Zonal summary (by feature) operations, including a caching mechanism for tiled rasters for improved performance: http://geotrellis.github.com/operations/raster/zonal.html
• New vector feature framework for operations on points, lines, polygons with a suite of vector operations, as well as re-engineered rasterization operations: http://geotrellis.github.com/overviews/vector.html and http://geotrellis.github.com/operations/feature.html

For more information, see the Azavea Labs blog here: http://www.azavea.com/blogs/labs/2013/03/geotrellis-0-8-has-arrived/

The GeoTools community is pleased to announce the availability of GeoTools 8.6 for download from source forge:

• geotools-8.6-bin.zip
• geotools-8.6-doc.zip
• geotools-8.6-userguide.zip
• geotools-8.6-project.zip

This release is also deployed to the OSGeo Maven Repository. For more information on setting up your project with Maven consult the Quickstart.

About GeoTools 8.6
This is a bug fix release containing fixes and improvements, including:

• Several fixes in the WFS client, making it work against TinyOWS and ArcGIS WFS server
• Improvements in usage of filter fuctions from SLD (some functions did not properly convert their arguments from string to numeric)
• Removed tiling artifacts when rendering oversampled grid coverages
• Sped up the usage of FIDFilter objects in map rendering

Full details are available in Jira's release notes.

Upgrading from GeoTools 2.7

For those migrating from GeoTools 2.7, upgrade instructions are available. No additional GeoTools 2.7 released are scheduled. Thanks for using GeoTools, and Enjoy!
The GeoTools Community
http://geotools.org

- MrSID export ability available with Geographic Imager 4.1 -

Toronto, ON, January 7, 2013 - Avenza Systems Inc., producers of MAPublisher® cartographic software for Adobe Illustrator® and PDF Maps for Apple iOS and LizardTech, a provider of software solutions for managing and distributing geospatial content, today announced the integration of LizardTech® GeoExpress® 8.5 and the ability to produce MrSID format files into the latest release of Geographic Imager 4.1 for Adobe Photoshop.

LizardTech, based in Seattle, WA, specializes in developing the MrSID format, which handles high-resolution geospatial data. Previous versions of Geographic Imager have already provided read capability for raster and LiDAR MrSID via the integration of LizardTech MG4 Decode Software Development Kit (DSDK). With the current release, Avenza customers can take advantage of the ability to write to MrSID format directly from Adobe Photoshop provided they have the current version of LizardTech GeoExpress installed. This ability expands the number of supported file formats Geographic Imager can write and increases workflow options when working with high-resolution imagery.

“As the leading GIS vendor to support both viewing and writing of MrSID files in Adobe Photoshop, we're excited at the opportunity to partner with LizardTech to provide our users with access to MrSID technology,” said Ted Florence, President of Avenza. “With this integration, customers on both sides will be able to use MrSID images with the entire Geographic Imager toolset without compromise. The capability of tools in Geographic Imager and Adobe Photoshop with the ability to export to MrSID format is an invaluable workflow and shows how committed we are at bringing formats to the platform that may have never been thought possible.” he added.

Jon Skiffington, director of product management at LizardTech, notes, “We're thrilled at the opportunity to work with Avenza Systems to expand the reach of MrSID technology into viable platforms like Geographic Imager for Adobe Photoshop for the benefit of our mutual users.” Additionally, Jeff Young, business development manager at LizardTech, commented, “Collaboration with Avenza allows for more effective support of the Avenza/LizardTech world-wide user community with smoother workflows and more transparent data exchanges.

More information about MrSID support in Geographic Imager is available at www.avenza.com/geographic-imager/lizardtech-mrsid.

More about Geographic Imager for Adobe Photoshop

Geographic Imager is software for Adobe Photoshop that leverages the superior image editing capabilities of raster-based image editing software and transforms it into a powerful geospatial imagery editing tool. Work with satellite imagery, aerial photography, orthophotos, and DEMs in GeoTIFF and other major GIS image formats using Adobe Photoshop features such as transparencies, filters, and image adjustments while maintaining georeferencing and support for hundreds of coordinate systems and projections.

Geographic Imager 4.1 is immediately available free of charge to all Geographic Imager Maintenance Program members and at prices starting at US$319 for non-maintenance members. Academic and volume license pricing are also available. Geographic Imager 4.1 is available for Adobe Photoshop CS5, CS5.1 and CS6. LizardTech GeoExpress licenses and data cartridges are also available through Avenza Systems.

More about Avenza Systems Inc.

Avenza Systems Inc. is an award-winning, privately held corporation that provides cartographers and GIS professionals with powerful software tools for making better maps and for working with spatial imagery. In addition to software offerings for Mac, Windows and Apple mobile device users, Avenza offers value-added data sets, product training and consulting services. Visit www.avenza.com for more details.

More about LizardTech

Since 1992, LizardTech has delivered state-of-the-art software products for managing and distributing massive, high-resolution geospatial data such as aerial and satellite imagery and LiDAR data. LizardTech pioneered the MrSID technology, a powerful wavelet-based image encoder, viewer, and file format. LizardTech has offices in Seattle, Denver, London, and Tokyo. For more information, visit www.lizardtech.com.

For further information contact:
Avenza Systems: Tel: 416-487-5116 - Email: [email protected] - Web: www.avenza.com
LizardTech: Tel: 206-902-2839 - Email: [email protected] - Web: www.lizardtech.com

- Entry level version is perfect for budget-conscious users -

Toronto, ON, December 26, 2012 - Avenza Systems Inc., producers of MAPublisher® cartographic software for Adobe Illustrator® and PDF Maps for Apple iOS, is pleased to announce the release of the Geographic Imager 4.1 Basic License for Adobe Photoshop. The newly available Basic license provides the well-known georeference framework of Geographic Imager to Adobe Photoshop and the ability to import and export limited file formats at an introductory price point. The Basic license can import all supported spatial imagery that the Full license can (some file size restrictions apply to non-native Adobe Photoshop formats), and allows for limited export to major GIS formats including GeoTIFF and geospatial PDF.

“Geographic Imager is recognized in the geospatial software industry as a powerful geospatial import and export tool and as an important framework for enabling geospatial referencing thorough a Photoshop workflow. The Basic license lowers the price of entry by offering the most essential geospatial functions to users who may not necessarily need the full Geographic Imager toolset,” said Ted Florence, President of Avenza Systems. “An upgrade to a Full license is available for users who decide to jump to the entire Geographic Imager suite of tools to take advantage of features like transforming, cropping, mosaicking and tiling”, he added.

Geographic Imager Basic License features

• Maintains the georeference framework of Geographic Imager in Adobe Photoshop.
• Ability to read Geographic Imager supported file formats up to 1 GB - no limit on native Adobe Photoshop file formats.
• Ability to export to major GIS raster formats including GeoTIFF, geospatial PDF, and JPEG 2000.

More about Geographic Imager for Adobe Photoshop

Geographic Imager is software for Adobe Photoshop that leverages the superior image editing capabilities of raster-based image editing software and transforms it into a powerful geospatial imagery editing tool. Work with satellite imagery, aerial photography, orthophotos, and DEMs in GeoTIFF and other major GIS image formats using Adobe Photoshop features such as transparencies, filters, and image adjustments while maintaining georeferencing and support for hundreds of coordinate systems and projections.

Geographic Imager 4.1 Basic license is immediately available at US$199 with a special introductory price of US$149 through Janaury 31, 2013. An upgrade to a Full license is available at US$500 within the first 60 days of activating a Basic license, $549 thereafter. Academic and volume license pricing are also available. Geographic Imager 4.1 Basic license is available for Adobe Photoshop CS5, CS5.1 and CS6 for both Mac and Windows.

More about Avenza Systems Inc.

Avenza Systems Inc. is an award-winning, privately held corporation that provides cartographers and GIS professionals with powerful software tools for making better maps and for working with spatial imagery. In addition to software offerings for Mac, Windows and Apple mobile device users, Avenza offers value-added data sets, product training and consulting services. Visit www.avenza.com for more details.

For further information contact:
Tel: 416-487-5116
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.avenza.com

- New Basic license available and new formats supported -

Toronto, ON, December 19, 2012 - Avenza Systems Inc., producers of MAPublisher® cartographic software for Adobe Illustrator® and PDF Maps for Apple iOS, is pleased to announce the release of Geographic Imager 4.1 for Adobe Photoshop. New formats are supported, including the ability to read the BSB compressed raster format generally used for nautical charts, and the ability to save to MrSID format. In addition, there are a number of new and exciting product enhancements. This release also introduces the Geographic Imager Basic license level that provides support for the georeference framework in Adobe Photoshop and limited import and export abilities at an introductory price level.

“With the introduction of the Geographic Imager Basic license in this release, we're broadening the appeal to light users who may not necessarily need the full Geographic Imager toolset,” said Doug Smith, Avenza Director of Sales. “The Basic license maintains the same geospatial framework and can still import all support spatial imagery that the Full license can, but only allows for limited export to major GIS formats including GeoTIFF and geospatial PDF. For those interested, we'll offer an upgrade to a Full license for users that require the entire suite of tools”, he added.

“We've partnered with Lizardtech to bring the MrSID writer to Geographic Imager for Adobe Photoshop,” said Ted Florence, President of Avenza. “There has been strong demand for this and we're delighted that supporting this format continues to expand the capability of Adobe Photoshop while working with geospatial data.” he added.

Additional Geographic Imager 4.1 features

• Available Geographic Imager Basic license
• MrSID write support (when Lizardtech GeoExpress is installed, Windows only)
• BSB format import support
• Geographic Imager panel improvements, including new Measure tab
• New ability to load DEM layers individually and to set transparent alpha channels in Advanced Import
• New option to overlay (drape) an image in Terrain Shader
• Streamlined user interactions with command boxes and simpler messages
• Various bug fixes and user experience enhancements

More about Geographic Imager for Adobe Photoshop

Geographic Imager is software for Adobe Photoshop that leverages the superior image editing capabilities of raster-based image editing software and transforms it into a powerful geospatial imagery editing tool. Work with satellite imagery, aerial photography, orthophotos, and DEMs in GeoTIFF and other major GIS image formats using Adobe Photoshop features such as transparencies, filters, and image adjustments while maintaining georeferencing and support for hundreds of coordinate systems and projections.

Geographic Imager 4.1 is immediately available and free of charge to all Geographic Imager Maintenance Program members and at prices starting at US$319 for non-maintenance members. Geographic Imager Basic licenses start at US$149 (introductory). Academic and volume license pricing are also available. Geographic Imager 4.1 is available for Adobe Photoshop CS5, CS5.1 and CS6. Visit www.avenza.com/geographic-imager for more details.

More about Avenza Systems Inc.

Avenza Systems Inc. is an award-winning, privately held corporation that provides cartographers and GIS professionals with powerful software tools for making better maps and for working with spatial imagery. In addition to software offerings for Mac, Windows and Apple mobile device users, Avenza offers value-added data sets, product training and consulting services. Visit www.avenza.com for more details.

For further information contact:
Tel: 416-487-5116
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.avenza.com

SCALGO has reorganized its software packages portfolio, while also introducing significant new functionality, such that the portfolio now includes software packages SCALGO Model, SCALGO Topology, SCALGO Hydrology and SCALGO Utility. The software packages have successfully been used to process terrain data sets with more than 50 billion data elements on a normal desktop computer.

SCALGO Model is used to construct raster and TIN terrain models from massive terrain points. SCALGO Topology can be used to analyze and simplify the topology of massive raster terrain models, and SCALGO Hydrology contains tools to perform basic hydrological modeling on massive raster terrain models. SCALGO Utility can be used for efficient manipulation and conversion of massive terrain and point data sets.

All SCALGO software can be run through a standalone graphical user-interface or from within ArcGIS and also include an ArcGIS viewer that allows for easy visualization of the output of many of the SCALGO modules.

Information about SCALGO technology, products and services can be found at http://scalgo.com. Future information about SCALGO products and services can also be received directly through Twitter and Facebook.

Illustration showing a section of the result of computing the volume of depressions (including depressions inside depressions) using the SCALGO Topology Depression Mapping module on a high-resolution 13000km² raster terrain model. Each cell in a depression is marked with the volume of the depression below the cell. In this figure green cells have high volume, yellow cells medium volume and red cells very low volume. The map can be used in a rough risk assessment where the value in each cell indicates the volume of water that needs to flow to the depression before the cell is under water. The raster elevation model has been hydrological conditioned using the SCALGO Utility Burn module to add buildings and cut bridges and the SCALGO Topology Topological Simplification module was used to remove spurious depressions. The figure also shows the river network as computed by the SCALGO Hydrology Flow Accumulation module.

Scalable Algorithmics (SCALGO) was founded in 2009 with the mission to bring cutting-edge massive terrain data processing technology to market. The SCALGO technology is based on more than two decades of basic and applied research on I/O-efficient and geometric algorithms at Center for Massive Data Algorithmics (MADALGO) at Aarhus University in Denmark and at Duke University in the US, in collaboration with industry LiDAR and environmental GIS application experts. Software based on the technology can handle much larger terrain data sets on a normal desktop than most current software and thus it eliminates the need for accuracy-decreasing data thinning. The use of novel mathematical and algorithmic techniques also means that the software works provably efficient on all input data sets, delivering a completely specified output without the use of cumbersome workflows such as those introduced by data tiling. SCALGO is involved in multiple research projects and offer special pricing for academic institutions. SCALGO also offers special non-commercial pricing for national, regional and local governments.

I had to investigate OGC's WCS standard and in the process I learned about Rasdaman, a geospatial radar data manager software which is apparently the only software that currently support WCS 2.0 both as a server and client. Rasdaman exists both in a commercial 'rasdaman enterprise' version and as open source with the 'rasdaman community' version. We never really mentioned rasdaman before.

The rasdaman community introduction: "Rasdaman extends standard relational database systems with the ability to store and retrieve multi-dimensional raster data ( arrays) of unlimited size through an  SQL-style query language. On such sensor, image, or statistics data appearing, e.g., in earth, space, and life science applications rasdaman allows to quickly set up array-intensive services which are distinguished by their flexibility, speed, and scalability.

Rasdaman is brought to you by the guys writing the geo raster standards, including  OGC WCS and  WCPS, the OGC raster query language. The petascope component of rasdaman provides service interfaces based on the  OGC  WCS,  WCPS,  WCS-T, and  WPS. For several of these, rasdaman will be reference implementation. Since April 2011, rasdaman is available on the  OSGeo Live DVD. Rasdaman embeds itself smoothly into  PostgreSQL; further, a  GDAL rasdaman driver is available, and likewise a  MapServer integration (beta). A  PostGIS query language integration is under work, see our planning. EarthLook is a demonstration site showcasing rasdaman in a variety of 1-D to 4-D geo use cases."

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

From the open source and open data front:

• BrainOff shares a few examples of capabilities offered only by OpenStreetMap because of its open nature
• V1 mentions ReadyMap, using OpenLayers to render 3D models directly in the browser
• Here's a way to enhance raster contrast with gdal_lightner, with may makes its way as a QGIS Plugin
• Sean made me aware of pygp, a python geoprocessing package
• Here's a short but interesting article named  The GeoWeb, Citizen Science and Open Data
• Harvard's WorldMap reached version 1.0 and they're looking for participants, we mentioned WorldMap in the past

In the everything-else category:

• MapQuest Releases Native Mobile Mapping APIs for Android and Apple iOS, and yes, you can use OpenStreetMap data with it

• And there's now live traffic cameras in MapQuest too

• SS shares a nicely done 2-minutes video of the OGC on the value of geospatial and standards

• DM shares more information on Pitney Bowes's Geosk geodata platform, we mentioned Geosk last december. From the article: "Geosk is a platform for finding and using geospatial data. It combines a data as a service (DaaS) offering with a data management product. At its heart, Geosk is a completely scalable data management system that allows our customers to share their data with any user they choose, including their customers. Around this data management system we wrap an e-commerce engine to help our customers buy and sell premium geospatial data."

• Slashdot discussed Canada's Massive Public Traffic Surveillance System, which involves license plate reading, a topic covered a few times already
• DM offers an article on socio-demographic structures in Germany
• SS informs us a 3D model of Bangkok is now publicly available
• SS also informs us of Ericsson's Geo Location Messaging API, I wonder how it relates to GeoSMS
• In two entries, V1 explore to potential synergies between music interfaces and controllers and geospatial

In the maps category:

• O'Reilly shares a map of Mexico's drug war
• WunderMap now has historical weather maps for you
• Here's a map of the U.S. showing terrain by using only the roads
• SS shares an entry named Energy Use Data for all of New York City Released in Map Form