Mapping the entire UK rail network

NM Group is pleased to announce it is nearing completion on an aerial mapping project of unparalleled scale and accuracy, covering more than 16,000 km of UK rail network.
In 2014 NM Group was engaged to map the rail assets with a mix of high-tech laser measurement and imaging equipment. This was part of a ground breaking project to improve asset maintenance, operational effectiveness, efficiency and safety. Using a mix of specially commissioned Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and high resolution multi-angle cameras mounted on helicopters, carrying out aerial operations and ground control activities over a four month period, completing before the winter set in. The survey information was rapidly transported to NM Group’s Technology Centre in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, where a large team of specialists have been hard at work converting nearly a petabyte of raw data into a wide range of terrain, asset and imaging outputs.

NM Group’s CEO Kevin Jacobs said of the project ‘I am incredibly proud of the way our team has responded to this large and challenging project, completing the data capture within an unprecedented timescale and producing a high quality output that will serve the rail network for years to come’.

NM Group’s contribution to the programme provides the geospatial fabric on which other layers are overlaid, the basis for asset location mapping and the start point for the design of upgrades and modifications. Traditionally, this information would have been created by a visit to the site by a team of surveyors, the new method will significantly reduce the need for future field work and trackside access. It will also facilitate more efficient maintenance, allowing crews to identify and access assets more safely and efficiently than in the past, via apps on a range of mobile devices.

NM Group is a specialist service provider of asset management, surveying and mapping solutions to sectors including energy transmission and distribution and road and rail transport. Applying a range of remote sensing and geospatial technologies, the company offers a full range of services from data acquisition through to analytics and web applications for wider access to information.

For more information, contact Tom Hall on 01276 857 800 or visit www.nmgroup.com.

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State of our countryside: Land use map of United Kingdom reveals large-scale changes in environment

This is the CORINE land cover map 2012 for the UK.Credit: University of Leicester


Large-scale changes to the environment of the United Kingdom, including an apparent loss of habitats and agricultural land, have been revealed through an updated national map of land cover launched by researchers at the University of Leicester together with consultancy company Specto Natura on 1 July.


The land cover map, which examines data from 2006 and 2012, is based upon a standardised classification system of 44 land cover and land use classes which are structured in a three tier system that shows how much of the UK is made up of artificial surfaces, agricultural areas, forest and semi-natural areas, wetlands and water bodies.

The 'Coordination of Information on the Environment' (CORINE) Land Cover (CLC) map forms the central part of the European Land Monitoring Service under the Copernicus Programme. It is a European-wide project gathering together information relating to the Environment within the European Union.

Professor Heiko Balzter, director of the Centre for Landscape and Climate Research at the University of Leicester and leader of the study, said: "Environmental information from satellites is hugely important to keep a check on the quality of life in the UK. The European land monitoring service turns satellite data into policy-relevant information. The CORINE map is the only consistent European information on land cover change that allows a comparison with our neighbours."

The land cover map depicts areas larger than 25 hectares (0.25 km2) and with a width of 100m. In addition, a land cover change map between 2006 and 2012, which detects changed areas larger than 5 hectares, has been produced.

Professor Balzter added: "For the reference year of 2012, this is the only land cover information available for the UK. At the scale of change mapping of 5 hectares or larger, there appears to be a loss of semi-natural habitats and agricultural land. The apparent decline in wetlands is particularly concerning.

"The maps show the need for a more detailed study of the state of our countryside, because of the technical limitations of the CORINE mapping approach at a coarse spatial scale."

Key findings from the 2006-2012 land cover map are:

• An area of 225,200 hectares (over 2,250 km2) or 1% of the total area of the UK showed a change in land cover / use from 2006 to 2012. Altogether, 167 different types of change were seen from the satellite images.
• The changes are dominated by forest management, therefore their concentration is higher in Scotland and Wales, following the distribution of managed forest.
• Forestry: The dominant change was clear-cutting of coniferous forest (over 100,000 hectares). Almost 50,000 hectares were regrowing or being replanted with coniferous forest. Clear cutting far exceeded replanting of coniferous forest, however the slow regrowth of forest is more difficult to map consistently.
• Forest loss: Nearly 3,000 hectares of coniferous forests were cleared for industrial development. Conversion of coniferous forest to industrial and mineral extraction sites largely relates to the erection of wind turbines in upland areas, mainly in Scotland. Wind farms fall into the industrial land cover class in the European system. The rate of conversion of land to sport and leisure facilities, mainly golf courses at this scale, continues to decline. Clear cutting of mixed forests accounted for another ca. 3,000 hectares.
• Urban expansion: Changes of a range of other cover types to artificial surfaces indicate urbanisation. Over 7,000 hectares were converted from forest to artificial surfaces, and over 14,000 hectares changed from agricultural areas to artificial surfaces. Over 1,000 hectares were converted from wetlands to artificial surfaces. Completion of construction sites in urban areas made up nearly 3,000 hectares and completed new industrial and commercial developments just over 1,000 hectares.
• Loss of arable land: Over 3,000 hectares of arable land and 2,000 hectares of pastures were converted to mineral extraction sites. Over 2,000 hectares of arable land and 2,000 hectares of pasture land were converted to construction sites, but nearly 2,000 hectares of mineral extraction sites were converted back to pasture land. Pasture land converted to arable land made up over 1,000 hectares. Some agricultural land was planted with forest and some changed to wetlands.
• The most dominant land cover type in the UK in 2012 remains agricultural land, followed by forest and semi-natural vegetation. Artificial surfaces represent 8% of the country with the majority being urban settlements.

In addition to the new land cover map, the previous 2006 land cover map has also been corrected by the team and updated to make sure the change results more closely reflect reality.

The 2006 revision and 2006-2012 change maps were produced by visual interpretation of optical and near-infrared satellite images provided by the European Space Agency with a spatial resolution of 20m, supplemented with higher spatial resolution images with 5m pixels. The 2012 map was produced in a GIS operation adding the revised database and the change database.

Dr Beth Cole, postdoctoral researcher from the University of Leicester's Department of Geography in charge of the map production, said: "The production of the 2012 CLC map and the detection of land cover change between 2006 and 2012 shows a continuing trend in the UK landscape of the rotation of clear-cutting and regrowth associated with forest management and a growth in artificial surfaces associated with urban expansion.

"Monitoring like this at a National and European scale is key to allow us to identify these broad landscape scale changes. With a significant improvement on the previous version of the 2006 map, as well as the 2012 update, this study provides data for a large number of users and can be fed into a wide range of research topics and applications."

The interpretation of satellite images took two years and was carried out with funding by the European Union, supported by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Initiated in 1985, the 2012-based land cover map is the 4th generation of the CORINE map, providing consistent geographical information across Europe.

Previous maps were produced for the years 1990, 2000 and 2006.

Dr Geoff Smith, director at Specto Natura Ltd., added: "We have been involved in the CORINE at UK and European levels since the 2000 iteration. Although not always relevant at the local scale, CORINE is an important initiative demonstrating continental-wide environmental monitoring and placing the UK in a broad European context.

"The European Sentinel satellites and harmonisation activities such as the EAGLE Group will drive and improve the future CORINE and high-resolution layer iterations producing a paradigm shift in the information that will be available freely and repeatedly to practitioners and policy makers responsible for environmental monitoring."

The CORINE land cover maps have many real-world applications. As a freely available dataset they can be used in any agency or business.

Examples of previous uses include land management, insurance companies, planning regulations, population disaggregation, forest mapping, green infrastructure, land fragmentation assessment, studies of the urban heat island effect and flood risk mapping.

The maps have informed environmental policy in the fields of climate change, nature conservation and biodiversity, natural resources, environmental health and quality of life.

They have also found uses in research of biodiversity, crop yield monitoring, ecosystem services, the water cycle, urban sprawl and wildfire management.

A new set of products for this iteration are the high-resolution layers (HRLs) on land cover characteristics. These provide maps at 100m spatial resolution of impervious surfaces (roads, buildings and others sealed surfaces), tree cover density, forest type, permanent grassland, wetlands and permanent water bodies.

These are produced by commercial service providers and have been checked by the University team as part of verification and enhancement processes.

The HRLs are currently being revised by the EEA and the service providers and will be officially launched in October 2015 during the "New horizons for European and Global land monitoring" event be organised by the European Environment Agency and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, supported by DG GROW.

The event will cover the whole range of products, from the local, pan-European and global components and also the in-situ component.

Chris Steenmans, Head of ICT and data management at the EAA added: "The EEA is very pleased to have the collaboration of countries in a European project that already reached its fourth edition and which provides very valuable information to support its regular assessments and reports."

Further information: http://www.eea.europa.eu/soer


Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Leicester. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Article source: Science Daily

Mapmechanics Explain What Energy Assessors Need To Know About The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme

A new regulatory requirement based upon Article 8 of the European Union Energy Efficiency Directive, known as the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), will have a major impact on how companies use, monitor, and regulate their energy consumption, and yet many businesses are still unsure of how it will affect them. Here, Mapmechanics explain how ESOS works and what businesses, and especially energy assessors, across the United Kingdom need to do to prepare for it.

The implementation of ESOS by the government is part of an ongoing drive to make UK businesses greener and more energy efficient. All businesses which are not small to medium enterprises are required to comply with it, which in effect means that any company which employs more than 250 people will have to take part in the scheme. These companies will need to nominate a Lead Energy Assessor, and it will then be their duty to carry out, and sign off, a full energy assessment by 5th December 2015. Further assessments will need to be carried out at maximum intervals of four years after the date of the initial assessment.

"Mapmechanics are currently working with ESOS consultants to assist this mandatory auditing process, specifically in the area of vehicle fuel saving ", said Paul Dawsey, Director of Logistics Solutions, Mapmechanics. "Our Truckstops solution has been helping companies to minimise their fuel usage as well as other areas of their business for over 25 years, which typically results in saving between 10-30% of vehicle running costs."

With the deadline drawing ever nearer, it is important for energy assessors to understand what will be required in an ESOS assessment. The assessor will need to identify specific plans to improve energy efficiency over the organisation as a whole. The assessment will also need to be carried out in a fair and independent fashion on the basis of the minimum criteria set down by the scheme. The Lead Energy Assessor themselves, as well as acting independently, must be a qualified and/or accredited expert, and can be an in-house assessor or belong to external energy auditors.

With such emphasis being placed on energy efficiency by the ESOS regulations, it's essential that energy assessors can find and recommend effective ways to make energy savings right now. One way in which this can be done is by becoming more fuel efficient, and Truckstops from Mapmechanics can help them achieve this. The sophisticated and dynamic route planning software brings huge benefits to businesses and depots who typically make multiple deliveries to multiple destinations. This creates cost cutting and more efficient routes, saving companies around 10-30% when compared to manually selected delivery routes.

Mapmechanics is working hand in hand with accredited assessors to provide expert input on the fuel saving element of the audit. To findout how Truckstops can help energy assessors carry out ESOS assessments, call 020 8568 7000.

About TRUCKSTOPS from MAPMECHANICS


TRUCKSTOPS is a division of MAPMECHANICS, the experts in map based technologies and geographic data. The company has over 25 years' experience in helping companies use a wide range of routing, territory management and map based analysis, to efficiently grow their businesses, while saving money, reducing costs and improving customer service.


The TRUCKSTOPS division of Mapmechanics specialises in using powerful logistics solutions to make complex optimisation simple for the user, whatever the scenario. Customer operations may, for instance, be multi-drop, full loads, part loads, daily scheduling, fixed routes, collect and deliver, require specialist driver skills for specific calls, specific vehicle features such as tail lifts or multi-temperature compartments, single day or multiday, single depot or multi-depot.


Mapmechanics writes, distributes and fully support TRUCKSTOPS routing and scheduling solutions and OPTISITE site location and territory management software.


Contact:

Zoe Fowke
MAPMECHANICS
Canal Court, 155 High Street,
Brentford, London, TW8 8JA
Tel: +44 (020) 8568 7000 Fax:+44 (020) 8568 7400
Email: Email Contact
Web: www.truckstopsrouting.com

Source

Envitia selected by Blighter Surveillance Systems for New Generation of BlighterView HMI

ENVITIA is pleased to announce that Blighter Surveillance Systems, a British electronic-scanning radar and sensor solution provider, has chosen MapLink Pro to provide the map visualisation capability in BlighterView HMI 2.

BlighterView provides users with a simple interface to control and view one or more Blighter radars with additional controls for advanced users to optimise the radar settings and the HMI display characteristics for specific applications. MapLink Pro enables users to embed high performance mapping components within their systems and is designed and optimised for tactical display environments.

Envitia MapLink Pro was chosen due to its superior performance, cross platform support and flexible licensing model.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Blighter into the growing community of MapLink Pro users” said Dr Matt Perrin, Sales and Marketing Director, Envitia Ltd. “The decision to use our technology demonstrates Blighter’s commitment to providing the highest performance and operational reliability to its users”.

Nick Booth, Sales and Marketing Director, Blighter Surveillance Systems, said: “Envitia’s best-in-class MapLink Pro toolkit is one of the key components in our BlighterView software application. The framework allows a variety of open-source, commercial and military 2D surface maps to be displayed and 3D data to be included, allowing customers to easily integrate coordinate based remote sensors, such as cameras, into their security solution.”

Envitia MapLink Pro is a suite of powerful SDKs (Software Development Toolkits) that enables developers to quickly build and deploy high performance mapping and terrain visualisation systems. It is the “visualisation toolkit of choice” for dynamic management and display of geospatial information and live track data.

About Envitia

Envitia is a world leading geospatial software and solutions provider, serving defence, government and industry customers all around the world. We help our clients make better operational decisions from geospatial intelligence using open information-sharing and visualisation solutions. We specialise in serving customers working in mission- and time-critical domains, delivering products, sub-systems and end-to-end geospatial solutions. Established in 1989, Envitia is a privately owned, small to medium sized enterprise (SME) with offices in the UK and USA.

About Blighter Surveillance Systems ( www.blighter.com)

Blighter Surveillance Systems is an electronic-scanning radar and sensor solution provider. It delivers an integrated multi-sensor package to systems integrators comprising the Blighter e-scan radars, cameras, thermal imagers, trackers and software solutions. Blighter radars combine patented solid-state Passive Electronically Scanned Array (PESA) technology – utilising digital beamforming (DBF) on transmit and receive – with advanced Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) and Doppler processing to provide a robust and persistent surveillance capability and an unmatched combination of high reliability, accuracy and performance with a low cost of ownership. Products are manufactured under a BS EN ISO 9001:2008 certified management system. Blighter Surveillance Systems is a Plextek Group company, a leading British design house and technology innovator, and is based at Great Chesterford on the outskirts of Cambridge, England.

Contacts:

Envitia Ltd
North Heath Lane
Horsham, West Sussex
RH12 5UX, UK
Tel: +44 1403 273 173 Fax: +44 1403 273 123

Email: Email Contact

Source

Yotta Navigates Bournemouth’s Drive to Digitalisation

A range of software and support services from Yotta is supporting the UK’s Bournemouth Borough Council in its drive towards digitalisation. In a coordinated upgrade programme, Bournemouth has moved both its Mayrise Waste and Highways software to a hosted solution. The Council has also introduced mobile working and integrated the back office systems with front office solutions, including its CRM and website. This programme of improvements is designed to improve customer service, increase operational efficiencies and realise cost savings.



“A review of existing IT infrastructure and current working practices identified a number of areas for potential improvement,” commented Jane A’Court, Business Development and Accounts Manager at Bournemouth Borough Council. “By moving our Mayrise software to the online service, we have been able to benefit from the latest software upgrades as well as Yotta’s excellent support service. In addition, the hosted software will also be able to integrate with our CRM function, giving residents 24/7 access to information and the ability to report issues and log requests.



“The introduction of mobile working for Highways Inspectors is already improving the operational efficiency of planned inspections and ad-hoc reports. Using Wi-Fi and 3G enabled devices with mapping, Inspectors can receive daily inspection routines, file completed reports and respond to requests from the public without having to return to the office.”



Bournemouth Borough Council is a long term user of Yotta’s Mayrise software to support the delivery of both domestic and commercial waste and highway services. The recent move to online versions of the Mayrise systems has enabled the Council to benefit from recent software upgrades as well as the improved reliability and security of the hosted solutions. The use of cloud based software has also facilitated the integration of the back office systems with frontline customer support software, improving customer service levels.



Highways Inspectors armed with Honeywell Dolphin devices are also benefiting from the recent programme of upgrades. Using a combination of both Wi-Fi and 3G, they automatically receive the daily inspection routines direct to their handhelds, together with reports received from members of the public and other Council staff. Completed inspection reports can be automatically filed to the back office system, where the results are logged and works orders raised. Council Pest Controllers have also benefited from mobile working with increased efficiencies enabling more jobs to be completed and therefore more income for the Council. Furthermore, the introduction of mobile working in general has realised a 15 percent reduction in office space required by staff now working in the field.

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Bluesky Announces Prototype UAV Flight Restriction Map

Aerial mapping company Bluesky has produced a prototype map of the UK showing where it may be unsafe or even illegal to fly Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as Drones. Bluesky has combined an expertise in flight planning and 3D aerial mapping with various geographic datasets to come up with the concept of a UAV Flight Restriction Map.

The map is designed for commercial operators of UAVs and includes ‘No Fly Zones’, areas where further advice should be sought as well as areas where no restrictions on flying are currently in place.

“The UAV industry is rapidly expanding with new operators offering a wide range of services launching every day,” commented James Eddy, Technical Director at Leicestershire based Bluesky. “With nearly twenty years’ experience in planning large scale aerial surveys, combined with some of the most up to date and accurate geographic data and advanced processing techniques, we have been able to produce this prototype map. It is, however, designed just as a guide to where you can and cannot fly, so UAV operators should still check with the appropriate authorities.”

Currently operators of UAVs in the UK must comply with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations if they plan to undertake ‘aerial work’, while those equipped for data acquisition and or surveillance must obtain permission before ‘commencing a flight in a congested area or in proximity to people or property’. An overriding, all encompassing CAA Article also provides guidance in that a ‘person must not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property’, while other restrictions cover the dropping of articles or animals, minimum distances when flying near people or properties, and references to the Data Protection Act.

Bluesky’s UAV Flight Restriction Map is designed to provide a ‘first stop’ reference for commercial operators of UAVs in addition to CAA guidelines. The colour coded map uses a traffic light system to identify different zones: ‘No Fly Zones’ in red, areas close to no fly zones where further advice should be sought in amber, and ‘Free Fly’ zones in green. This easy to use resource takes into consideration population densities based on small scale postcode units, and congestion based on road location and type. The Bluesky UAV Restriction Map also considers the location and impact of aerial obstacles, such as overhead power lines, and restricted airspace including no fly zones around airports.

The launch of the prototype UAV Flight Restriction Map by Bluesky follows attempts around the world to develop control systems for commercial UAV, UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) or drone deployments. NASA, working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with input from government, industry and academic partners, has recently announced plans to develop a UAS Traffic Management System (UTM) that will keep track of and communicate important information to UAS operators in real time.

Contacts:

Bluesky
tel +44 (0)1530 518 518
www.bluesky-world.com