Abstract
The buffering technique in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was used to estimate the land area of a fadama for inland farming. The investigation was carried out in Akure (7°15´N, 5°15´E) in May 2008. The Ikonos satellite image of the five hundred hectare land area at 4 m  resolution was georeferenced using ArcView 3.3 GIS software to make locations on the image align to positions on the earth’s surface. A submap of the image that contained a perennial stream was generated and the stream buffered at a distance of 100 m away from the stream on all sides. The buffered zone depicting the fadama land was polygonized and the total area computed as 34.19 hectares and locations for soil studies in the buffered zone identified on the map. The field work entailed locating on the ground with the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver the points for soil studies already identified on the digital map. Soil samples were taken from the surface (0-30 cm) and subsoil (30-100 cm) for laboratory analysis of soil physical and chemical properties.

Geospatial industry is firmly rooted in Middle East. Political will, abundant resources, high degree of awareness and aspiration to excel have made governments in the region to invest in latest applications, making it a fertile  ground for geospatial technologies.

One of the enduring impressions of any visit to the Middle East (ME) is the ‘forest’ of tower cranes. Building activity seems to be never ending in this part of the world. There is another activity, equally vigorous though not as visible and that is the building up of spatial data infrastructures in the states that make up the GCC. Beginning with Qatar, the efforts have spread to all the states and significant progress has been made. As Zul Jiwani points out, the necessary ingredients for this success are a patron, a field clear of the baggage of legacy, a receptive clientele and adequate financial resources. Understanding the user needs and catering to a variety of users from security agencies to the public drives many of these efforts. Each agency has its own way of meeting its user needs. As systems mature, so do users and the needs grow.

Hemisphere GPS

has introduced the new Outback Sts (S touch screen), the latest addition to its line of situational awareness and data management tools from Outback Guidance. Combining the most popular features of the Outback S2 with the user-friendly touchscreen interface of Outback S3, Outback Sts is intended to offer solid performance and simpler operation, according to Hemisphere GPS. The company introduced the new product at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, and the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California.

Feb 10, 2009 GPS World

Laboratoire IRISA/INRIA/Universit´e de Rennes 1

Résumé
Cet article se situe dans un contexte de génération de modèles 3D d’environnements urbains. La méthodologie présentee doit permettre le recalage initial d’un modèle SIG avec une vid´eo, de fac¸on automatique. Elle se d´ecompose en deux parties. Tout d’abord, un recalage approximatif est effectué grâce aux données GPS disponibles et en utilisant la théorie de la géométrie épipolaire. Ensuite, la pose (position et orientation de la caméra dans le rep`ere du SIG) ainsi que des correspondances 3D/2D sont estimées simultanément à l’aide d’une méthode basée RANSAC. Les tests sur deux séquences réelles ont validé cette approche et montré des résultats de recalage satisfaisants.

Gestion d’amers naturels dans un SIG pour la navigation autonome

• Définition du problème
• Information cartographique
• Amers pour la navigation
• Enrichissement des BDD cartographiques pour la navigation
• Apprentissage
• Navigation
• Conclusion

Trousse d’outils GPS-SIG pour le grand public

Une sélection d’outils peu dispendieux et d’applications typiques
par Pierre Sauvé, RnCan