2006 May 18
Contents
- Editor's Introduction
- DDTI: GIS for Emergency Dispatch
- MetaCarta Releases GTS Analyst
- 2006 GIS In the Rockies Conference
- Department of Corrections
Departments
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Editor's Introduction
This week I report on DDTI, a company that produces data and software for dispatching and tracking emergency vehicles and on MetaCarta's release of GTS Analyst and GTS v3.5. I also correct an error that crept into last weekÕs issue. The news from press releases section is in transition; more on that next week.
— Matteo
DDTI: GIS for Emergency Dispatch
Each GIS implementation has different requirements. For crime analysis, for example, such capabilities as identifying "hot spots," running buffers, and producing geographic profiles are essential — but fast processing and accurate geolocation are not. Conversely, speed and accuracy are vital for an emergency dispatching GIS. For example, from the moment a person has a heart attack, paramedics have six minutes to get there and "apply the paddles" of a defribillator, before the victim's chances of survival begin to drop precipitously. Extra minutes spent waiting for routing instructions or searching for the correct driveway can be fatal.
I discussed these and related challenges with Ron Cramer, one of four partners in DDTI, a mapping data and software company. Cramer studied civil engineering and surveying at Michigan Technological University and earned a business degree from Eastern Michigan University. He then went to work for Sokkia, in the late 1980s, first as an engineer, then as a territorial manager. In this latter capacity, he worked with surveyors and state departments of transportation (DOTs) and came in contact with Ohio State University's Center for Mapping. The Center obtained a NASA grant to develop a mapping vehicle. DDTI was born out of that project in 1993 and was incorporated in 1998. Last year, Cramer chaired URISA's GIS in Addressing Conference: Street Smart and Address Savvy. This year, he was on the program committee for the successor conference, the First Annual Geospatial Integration for Public Safety Conference.
MetaCarta Releases GTS Analyst
MetaCarta, Inc., a provider of geographic intelligence solutions, has released GTS Analyst, its newest solution for the public sector, and Geographic Text Search (GTS) v3.5. It plans to release version v.4.0 late this summer. I met with Bob Warren, MetaCarta's V.P. for products, at the company's office in Cambridge, a few weeks ago, and followed up by phone this week with Randy Ridley, V.P. and G.M. of the company's public sector division. They outlined for me some of the features of MetaCarta's latest releases.
GTS Analyst, like other MetaCarta products, bridges the gap between text search and GIS. It also alerts users of new developments in their area of interest. GTS Analyst is a map-driven analytical and operational intelligence solution that features saved search with automated search and notification capabilities, region search based on geopolitical areas, and 2-D analysis and visualization for trend analysis. The product automatically identifies geographic references using natural language processing (NLP) from any type of unstructured content in a customer's archives, such as email, Web pages, newswires, or cables. GTS Analyst contains Geographic Data Modules (GDM), knowledge bases used to identify and disambiguate geographic references, assign latitude/longitude coordinates, and generate rank. The results of a query are displayed on a map with icons representing the locations found in the natural language text of the documents and as a list of text results. Both the icons and text summaries are hyperlinked to the documents they represent.
GTS Analyst provides four features specifically aimed at analysts.
2006 GIS In the Rockies Conference
The 2006 GIS in the Rockies Conference will be held September 13-14 at INVESCO Field at Mile High stadium in Denver, Colorado, with additional offsite field visits in the Denver metro area on September 15. It will feature an array of user case studies, technical sessions, and vendor presentations through a series of organized tracks. According to the conference organizers, this year's theme — "GIS: From Behind the Scene to Extreme" — "illustrates the emergence of GIS as not only a mainstream technology, but also one that has gone well beyond a backroom technology used by scientists and mapmakers." The six sponsoring societies and organizations share a dedication to promote professional development, education, and general community outreach while helping people understand the uses and benefits of GIS technology. Questions about attending the conference should be directed to [email protected].
The program tracks will be:
- GIS for Utilities
- Advanced Data Acquisition and Mapping
- GIS for Surveyors - Spatially Enabling your Business
- GIS in Public Policy
- Remote Sensing
- Data Sharing
- Homeland Security & Emergency Response
- Maps in Apps
- Spatially Enabling IT
- Mapping Goes Mainstream
Department of Corrections
Last week, in listing the members of the board of directors of the ASPRS, I placed the abbreviation "C.P." only next to Daniel J. Paulsen's name. As he has pointed out to me, "C.P. stands for Certified Photogrammetrist, a status granted to qualified individuals by ASPRS after a rigorous application, peer review, reference and examination process. [M]ost of the other people on that list are also C.P. Many of them have been certified much longer than I have. In addition, some of them are also certified in other disciplines such as Remote Sensing and GIS. Several are also licensed as Professional Surveyors and / or Photogrammetrists in their respective states." I had copied the list from the ASPRS site as it was at the time. In has since been updated.
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Matteo Luccio, Editor
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