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By Jerry W. Saveriano, Sanda Communications
Oregon
is home to many companies, agencies, and research centers
that use geomatics, making Portland a logical host of the
American Congress of Surveying and Mapping Conference. Billed
as the "Big Final Event of the Century," the March
14—17 Conference & Expo will attract geomatics professionals
from around the world.
Along
with the technical conference will be a trade show in the
Oregon Convention Center featuring major hardware and software
manufacturers demonstrating their most advanced technologies.
International industry leaders will be demonstrating global
positioning systems, geographic information systems, CAD,
and a wide range of measuring instruments used in the field
of geomatics. There also will be several Oregon based companies
exhibiting at this important show.
Many
people are recognizing the growing need to make better use
of our earth's resources, and geomatics plays a critical
role in helping to monitor and develop those resources. Geomatics
and related field technical computing technologies will affect
the natural world in much the same way that factory automation
technologies such as CAD/CAM, CNC machines, robotics, and
machine vision systems changed manufacturing.
Geomatics
is the science and technology of gathering, analyzing, interpreting,
distributing, and using georeferenced spatial data and information.
The term "geomatics" has been used for years around
the world and is now becoming accepted in the United States.
Geomatics encompasses a broad range of disciplines and technologies
that can be brought together to create a detailed yet understandable
picture of the physical world and our place in it. These disciplines
include surveying and mapping, remote sensing, geographic
information systems, and global positioning systems.
A
global positioning system (GPS) is a network of satellites
that transmits position information back to earth. A geographic
information system (GIS) is a system of computer hardware,
software, and procedures designed to support the compiling,
storage, retrieval, analysis, and display of spatially referenced
data to help solve planning and management problems.
Geomatics
is being developed and employed in the following industries
and applications: civil engineering, construction, surveying
and mapping, facilities and asset management, precision farming,
forestry, transportation, navigation, security, space, oceanography,
law enforcement, emergency services, and utilities. These
industries and services, as well as many others, will benefit
from the employment of geomatics technologies.
The
state of Oregon is home to a number of software companies,
universities, and government agencies that are working on
the development and application of geomatics. Such organizations
are positioned to play a leading role in this exciting new
industry. A partial listing of Oregon companies, agencies,
and research centers active in the field of Geomatics includes
the following:
- Tripod
Data Systems (www.tdsway.com), the world's leading
data collection and PC software company in the surveying,
mapping, and GPS/GIS industry.
- Penmetrics
(www.penmetrics.com), a leading field automation and GIS
software company.
- Corvallis
Micro Technology (www.cmtinc.com), which makes software
and hardware for field data collection.
- Handheld
Systems, which makes software and hardware for forestry
applications.
- II
Morrow Inc. (www.iimorrow.com), which makes advanced navigation
and communication solutions.
- Traverse
PC (www.traversepc.com), which makes surveying and mapping
software.
- Digital
Inspections (www.diginsp.com), which specializes in helping
utilities, government, and industry measure and manage data.
- Oregon
Environmental Instruments Inc. (www.oeiinc.com), which makes
oceanbased sensors for current, temperature, and pressure
recording.
- Nautical
Software Inc. (www.tides.com), which makes navigation software
and hardware.
- The
Cad Zone (www.cadzone.com), which makes software for law
enforcement, firecontrol, and losscontrol industries.
- Northwest
Geophysical Associates (www.nga.com), which makes gravity
and magnetics modeling software.
- Oregon
State University (osu.orst.edu/dept/geosciences/index.html).
- University
of Oregon, InfoGraphics Laboratory, (darkwing.uoregon.edu/~infogrfx/index.html).
- Office
of Environmental Assessment (www.epa.gov/r10earth/offices/oea/oea.html#envdata).
- Advanstar
Publications, GPS World & Geo Info Systems magazines
(www.gpsworld.com).
To learn
more about the American Congress of Surveying and Mapping
Conference & Expo, visit www.survmap.org.
Jerry
W. Saveriano is president of Sanda Communications, an advertising,
public relations, and marketing communications agency that
works with many geomatics clients. He also is a member of
the executive board of the Geomatics Industry Association
of America (GIAA) and writes for GeoInformatics magazine.
Saveriano is the president of the Corvallis chapter of the
SAO and serves on the SAO board of directors. You can contact
him at jerry@sandacom.com.
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