Chryssy Potsiou, President of International Federation of Surveyors - FIG
Greetings
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to FIG Commission 3 Workshop 2018.
In a world where demographics and urbanization are rapidly driving change, technology brings more automation in business and governments, Internet and the cloud enable a massive creation and consumption of geo-data, and the extended use of affordable smart devices allows us to reach out to people even in the most remote corners of the planet with information and services at significantly high speeds. Largely unheard a few years ago, the coming together of this new powerful and affordable technology (e.g., UAVs, smart phones and mobile apps, digital cameras, IoTs, blockchain, etc) with surveying is rapidly becoming central to the long-term strategy of governments as well as mapping agencies. Responsively, surveyors are taking a long, hard look at their role as “change agents for a global sustainable development” to ensure democratization and make digitalization a peaceful transition power for the benefit of all.
The theme of FIG Commission 3 Workshop 2018 is “SPATIAL INFORMATION IN THE ERA OF DATA SCIENCE: CHALLENGES AND PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS” has a clear technical focus to motivate surveyors to improve their qualifications for the “Geospatial Transformation of the World”. Surveyors care to provide reliable, appropriate and affordable data, tools and services timely to address among other societal disparities, digital transformation and decentralized business models, volatile economy, evolving new city design models, natural disaster, climate change and anthropogenic environmental damage. We offer our expertise to develop the profession and create solutions to comfort those who feel helpless and marginalized when confronted with rapid economic and technological change; those who fear the loss of jobs and of tenure security; those who feel the growing need for more transparency, more safety, more environmental quality, more fairness, more education, more gender equality, and more efficiency in governance of urban and rural areas; those in the low and middle class who seek for more growth, for an economic freedom and for freedom from corruption.
A great variety of presentations are offered this year. This Workshop is the 4th FIG Commission 3 Workshop during the 2015-2018 administration, under the broadly recognized successful chairmanship of Enrico Rispoli, the FIG Commission 3 Working Group Chairs, and the support of the Vice chair of Administration Maria Scorza. This conference has been co-organized by FIG Commission 3 and our Italian colleagues the Consiglio Nazionale Geometri e Geometri Laureati and President Maurzio Savoncelli, as well as the Collegio Geometri e Geometri Laureati della Provincia di Napoli and President Maurizio Carlino.
I wish to congratulate the planners of this event, and all the distinguished members of both the organizing and the scientific committees for setting the theme, exploring the background and defining the goals of the workshop, and for bringing together such important experts, all in the same place. Our Italian colleagues have done their best to organize one more memorable and excellent event.
This is a new big success.
The 1st FIG Commission 3 Workshop under the chairmanship of Enrico Rispoli was held in Malta, the 2nd in Bucharest and the 3rd in Lisbon. But these workshops are only the most recent events co-organized by our Italian colleagues from a long series of successful events including the FIG Commission 3 event in Bologna, a large number of FIG Young Surveyors training events in several countries, and the unforgettable FIG WW in Rome, to mention a few.
They have always worked efficiently and successfully in close cooperation with FIG Council, all FIG Commission Chairs, as well as the Young Surveyors and the FIG Foundation on several key topics.
We feel privileged to be hosted here and share their experience on the theme as well as to be updated on their professional achievements. I want to thank them all for their continued support to FIG and for their generous hospitality.
Chryssy Potsiou | FIG President
Bruno Razza, Past Vice President of the International Federation of Surveyors - FIG
The importance of advertising sensitive spatial data in improving the quality of life
Data collection, mutual communication between people and institution are indispensable everywhere. Professional technicians, together with institutions, are the architects of every database update. They work in the area close to the needs of citizens and the environment and are the irreplaceable protagonists in the search for the highest quality of data. Unfortunately, the institutions, municipalities, regions, technical and thematic land registry, taxation, health, school and all public administrations and offices in general can not stay upto-date with new technologies and can not invest the sufficient money in modernity. Institutions of all levels need to be helped in the knowledge of the territory. The territory is environment, community, buildings, climate, infrastructure, work, education, history, health, hopes, past, present and future of people. Local administrators, such as surveyors, are the first representatives of the state in the area, they know places, people, activities and needs. Everyone must contribute to the collection and early identification of citizens' needs, to understand their priorities, through the knowledge and analysis of available spatial data. In our society, which is becoming more and more of elderly people, sick people and lonely people, it is no longer necessary to build new buildings occupying new land, but we need to recover the existing building and recover the ease of communication between people, putting them in a position to be able to use all the technological innovations in the most useful way. So the news and spatial data certified by the new technologies and the professionalism of the technicians must become accessible and public everywhere. With public knowledge of all available data, citizens can live with the times and the leaders must focus on the best strategies to plan the policies of the future. A future that is already here today.
Michal Babacek, Senior Consultant at the European GNSS Agency (GSA)
E-GNSS: Benefits and Key Features for Geospatial Users
The European GNSS Agency (GSA), on behalf of the European Commission, manages Europe's GNSS programmes: EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) and Galileo. Both bring multiple benefits to the surveying and mapping community. EGNOS is free of charge and already today is increasingly used for GNSS-based real-time mapping solutions by providing free accuracy over Europe for applications where meter accuracy is adequate. Typical examples include GIS and thematic mapping for small and medium municipalities, forestry and park management as well as surveying of utility infrastructures. Most of GNSS receivers used for mapping are now EGNOS capable. Following the Initial Services Declaration in December 2016, Galileo is operational and available worldwide. Today, the Galileo constellation counts 26 satellites, progressing towards full operational capacity. Mapping and surveying professionals already benefit from using multiple constellations. Galileo brings surveyors advantages such as easier multipath mitigation, higher availability, continuity, reliability, improved geometry and better results in harsh environments (such as under tree canopy and urban canyon). Along the Open Service with multi-frequency capability (E1, E5a, E5b, E5 AltBOC) Galileo will also offer a free of charge High Accuracy Service (HAS) dedicated to high precision applications. Galileo HAS will deliver PPP corrections across the globe directly via the Galileo satellites on E6 channel. Additionally, users can also benefit from authentication services: Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OS-NMA) and Signal Authentication Service (SAS) - this will be the first Signal-in-Space based method to assure that the positioning is based on real Galileo satellites signals and not any other source (spoofing and meaconing detection).
Vladimir Tikhonov, General Secretary of the European Geodetic Surveyors - CLGE
Russian Cadastral Engineers and their Professional Associations
Situation on Land market in Russia after the USSR ruined. Necessity of Land privatization. Two directions of Land privatization in Russia. Main results of Land privatization. Cadastral Geodesists role in this process. Establishing of Cadastral Engineer profession and their Professional Associations. Management of Cadastral activity in Russia. New Federal Law : Regulation of Cadastral Engineers activity. Requirements to Cadastral Engineer profession, their education and CPD. Requirements to Professional Associations creation and activity. Transition periods according the Law. Brief description of the Association “Cadastral Engineers” – the largest in Russia. Cooperation between the Association “Cadastral Engineers” (Russia) and CNG&GL (Italy) during the last ten years (2008 – 2018).
Fabio Giulio Tonolo, PhD in Geodesy and Geomatics, ITHACA - Information Technology For Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action (Turin, Italy)
The role of geospatial reference data in Emergency Mapping: challenges and solutions
Rapid mapping can be defined as the fast (hours/days) provision of geospatial information to support emergency management activities immediately following an emergency event. The crisis analysis is based on post-event imagery, most often acquired by satellite platforms. Geospatial reference data (road network, settlement, hydrography, etc.) play an important role in rapid mapping, since they provide a knowledge on the territory before the event and are required to provide an assessment of the damages to the main assets and infrastructures in the affected areas. Considering the tight time constraints, the main challenge is to access in near real-time the aforementioned data (when they exist, considering both authoritative NMCA data and crowd mapping initiatives) to streamline the emergency mapping activities and to provide a timely analysis to the users. The alternative approach is based on a time-consuming visual interpretation of the features of interest on available preevent orthoimagery. Additionally the usability of such data must be assessed and verified, often tackling issues related to harmonization, data model, coverage, completeness, level of details, etc. The key note will focus on such challenges, showcasing the use of geospatial reference data in operational Rapid Mapping services such as the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (© European Union, 2012- 2018). Existing operational solutions at EU level (leveraging on the INSPIRE directive) will be reviewed and discussed, exploiting also the analyses carried out by the Copernicus In Situ component (coordinated by the EEA) which maps the landscape of in situ data availability, identifies data access gaps or bottlenecks, supports the provision of cross-cutting data and manages partnerships with data providers to improve access and use conditions
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Franco Maggio, Central Director for Cadastral, Cartographic and Land Registration Services in the Italian Revenue Agency
ITALIAN CADASTRAL SYSTEM, innovative ways in the management and use of the Italia Cadastral Cartography
The presentation illustrates the fundamental characteristics, the structure and the contents of the Italian cadastral and cartographic system, an inventory of both public and private real property present throughout the national territory, its main innovations as well as its role in the national and local real estate tax system. It also outlines the components of the land information system and its different and complementary aims: a correct and effective land management, the knowledge of the
rights claimed on the real estates, fairness in the real estate taxation.Thanks to the computerization of cadastral registers, development of infrastructures and the proven collaboration between the cadastral administration and the professional categories in the cadastral updating processes, the Agency has set up a "direct participation" organizational model and system of IT procedures that have progressively enabled users to submit applications online, in digital format, for the cadastral updates and made possible the registration of information in databanks in real time.With regards to land information management, the report points out the ongoing activities for the migration of the current cadastral and cartographic system to the new Integrated Land System (SIT): a modern WebGIS that will allow the web surfing, the territorial analysis and the search, on a geographical basis, of all the integrated land information managed by the Agency. The SIT integrates with other land information systems and allows the development of innovative services for citizens, professionals and Institutions, already offered through the Sister web portal, the Portal for Municipal Authorities and the Automated Data Exchange System (“Sistema di Interscambio”).The Agency is also recognized as State Cartographic Body and the cadastral cartography is now entirely available in vector format, managed through a GIS application, available in every coordinate system in force in Italy, integrated with high resolution aerial images and interoperable with all kind of geographic data outside the cadastral domain, particularly for civil purposes and for the management of territorial emergencies. Information is provided on the recent activations, also in execution of the provisions of the “INSPIRE” European Directive 2007/2/EC, of an interoperable internet service based on the international standard “Web Map Service” (WMS), which allows the free online dynamic search of a set of spatial data, also usable through mobile devices, and of the "National Cadastral Cartographic Geoportal", through which citizens can have free access to the dynamic view of the cadastral parcels of their interest included in the cadastral map.
Stefano Nicolodi, Presidente Collegio Geometri e Geometri Laureati della Provincia di Firenze
Professional Activity and Geodesy
Over the last few decades and in particular in recent years, Geodesy, Photogrammetry, Cartography, Remote Sensing, just to mention some working sectors related to the activity of surveyors, have developed at increasing speed and have expanded their field of application.
To follow this growing development, a new acronym has also been created and is called "Geomatica". Inside this acronym, the aforementioned disciplines merge and tend to merge. The true fusion, however, is more perceptible under a technical lexical profile. In fact, what were previously independent technologies are increasingly unifying in a new and synergistic approach that leads them to perform a greater number of tasks not predictable until recently.
The development of these technologies has resulted in the asymptotic growth of the volume of data collected and/or processed, creating problems related to their verification and updating and opening also aspects related to the search for optimization of the performance of the systems used for their enjoyment.
Research is increasingly felt towards the study of specific methods of production, verification, integration and use of data through complex structures.
The activity of the Surveyors (in Italian Geometri deriving from “Geo-Metri” measuring instruments of the Earth) is becoming more and more complex and specialized and is directed towards information technology.
A great hope is that the information technology is kept at the service of Geomatica and not vice versa otherwise the latter would be distorted in something irrational. We have already seen this happen in this sector. Too many times the computer scientists arrogate the skills of the geomatics.
Only to better understand the aspects outlined above, activities carried out for the production of a newly delivered work and aimed at its future and continuous updating will be presented in general. A DBT aimed at maintaining quality in the fourth dimension, the temporal one.
Then some even more brief considerations and examples relating to the activity of surveyors in the geomatic field will follow as below:
1. Implementation of the GIS of the Municipality of an Italian city and its peculiar characteristics:
- The integration of objects with specific themes of municipal interest,
- Rigorous update and prompt update:
Application of different methods of acquisition and processing. Rigorous update and prompt update but with a general congruence check.
- Multi-source and multi-resolution update:
- From the traditional mapping process to the growing evolution and availability of sources and instruments (remote sensing, airborne or drone, terrestrial laser scanners and MMS) for the acquisition of geographical data.
- Geographic databases for their temporal dimension favor multisource and multiresolution acquisition.
- Accessibility to the DBMS:
- The web-application management and access of the DBT, as an interface through which to perform the complete management and use of data.
- A nod to the geodetic aspect:
example for optimizing the geometric accuracy of DBT information.
2. The importance, for the Surveyors, of the management of the GNSS networks of the SP and the consequent distribution of the DATUM
3. Verification of the accuracy of the SAR through the use of GNSS networks.
Giulio Zuccaro, Professore di Scienza delle Costruzioni, Dipartimento di Strutture per l'Ingegneria e l'Architettura - Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Big Data, risk assessment and emergency planning: perspectives in research and practice
The progress of research in the field of risk assessment and reduction of impacts from natural hazards increasingly depends on the quality and availability of data needed to characterize the conditions of hazard,
exposure and vulnerability in relation to the different minimum reference spatial units (national, regional, local), to the specificities of the intervention sectors (such as residential buildings, critical infrastructures,
transport networks) and of the settlement contexts, as well as to evaluate the performance of the measures introduced to reduce vulnerabilities and improve resilience. Data are in this sense an essential
component of any reliable model or tool that aims to provide better knowledge and decision support in the field of Disaster Risk Management, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation. However, the
huge amount of information, albeit available, is scattered among multiple sources, limiting the opportunities for models and tools development, as well as the implementation of actions required by
decision makers to increase resilience and identify viable strategies across the full emergency cycle.
In this sense, the effort produced at European level with the Copernicus programme is oriented towards a progressive data harmonization at European level, combining the information acquired from satellites with
data collected in situ at national level and the results from simulation models. The data made available at national and sub‐national level through public geo‐portals are also an essential source of detailed
information, often necessary for vulnerability analyses and risk / impact assessments. Together with datasets specifically derived from remote sensing or census, the ever‐increasing presence of “Big Data” in various fields ‐ accelerated by rapid ICT developments related, for instance to automated machine learning
and social media data mining techniques ‐ raises the problem of how to turn such content into relevant, usable and reliable data and information for further analysis and specific uses, as well as of how to address
privacy and security issues (such as data from social networks or critical infrastructure operation). To support the necessary progress in the field of data collection, harmonization and use, the scientific
community is called to a coordinated effort in developing innovative methods and advanced tools for collection and analysis, as well as specific procedures for the data management within hazard, risk and
impact simulation models, to be integrated into decision support tools (e.g. for emergency planning and management, adaptation and mitigation measures) and early warning systems (for risks of both
geophysical and climatic origin). Significant experiences in this sense have been developed as part of the researches carried out at the PLINIVS Study Centre of the University of Naples Federico II within national
and European projects, as a Competence Centre of the Italian National Civil Protection Department, and within FP7 (CRISMA, 2012‐2015 and Snowball, 2014‐2017) and Horizon2020 (ESPREssO, 2016‐201) and CLARITY, 2017‐2020) framework programmes.
