PositionIT e-News

GIS, GPS, surveying and spatial applications in Southern Africa

Issue 68, Aug 2015

Appreciative GIS (AGIS) and transformational community change

by Paddington Hodza, University of Wyoming

Change concerning local communities is generally considered good when it comes with improvements. When such positive change is ignited and sustained by Appreciative GIS (AGIS), communities can become even better... (more)

VIDEO: Closing plenary address at Geomatics Indaba 2015

by Bruce McCormack, European Umbrella Organisation for Geographic Information

Bruce McCormack from the European Umbrella Organisation for Geographic Information and the Irish Organisation for Geographic Information considers "Technological change and the emerging GI environment" in a video which can be viewed here.

Technology drives the future of mining

by Scott Mcgowan, Wipro

Mining may be a highly industrial endeavour that has not changed dramatically over the decades, but sophisticated new technologies are starting to play ever-greater roles in improving productivity and miner safety. In the future, the mining... (more)

Is South Africa ready for smart cities?

by Paul Divall, The Jasco Group

The concept of the "smart city" is growing in popularity as more and more connected technologies emerge. The term has many definitions, however, at its most basic level, a smart city is one in which the municipal... (more)

Information Security: The biggest barrier to the Internet of Things

by Mark Warren, Gemalto

Research conducted by Telecom Intelligence has revealed that information security remains the biggest inhibitor of the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), with 42% of respondents identifying security as one of the top two... (more)

A prototype of RFID-based cadastral boundary mark system

by Tajul Ariffin Musa et al., University of Technology Malaysia

This article discusses an RFID-based cadastral boundary mark system (RCBMS). The aim of the RCBMS is to modernise the conventional cadastral boundary marks with marks that are lighter, robust, and easy to locate, and which offer the capability to perform spatial/non-spatial cadastral information on site... (more)

Near real-time stockpile volume calculations

by Ian du Toit, Optron

This article presents a proof-of-concept trial that was conducted at a mine in South Africa to investigate whether terrestrial laser scanning with real-time 3D computation could be adapted from space and military applications for the mining industry. The premise being that a terrestrial system would have the benefits of fully... (more)

GIS interventions that work at secondary level education

by Bridget Fleming, AfriSpatial

There have been a number of recent successful GIS interventions aimed at secondary school level, ranging from teacher training to GIS camps to classroom visits and GIS resource development. The geo-science industry is an up and coming employer and pupils must be made aware of the opportunities available to them as... (more)

Open-source and the future of software
by Monica Pratt, Esri

This article by the editor of Esri's ArcUser publication looks at open-source and the future of software as seen by GitHub co-founder and CEO Chris Wanstrath. Software development is not really about software; it's about people, said Chris Wanstrath, co-founder and CEO of GitHub, in his keynote address to the attendees... (more)

Satellite camera provides "EPIC" view of Earth
Information from NASA

A NASA camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite has returned its first view of the entire sunlit side of Earth from 1,6-million km away. The colour images of Earth from NASA's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) are generated by combining three separate images to create a... (more)

Surveying a large performance artwork canvas

by Chris Kirchhoff, Kirchhoff Professional Surveyors

Visual artist Hannelie Coetzee collaborated with Wits School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences associate professor Sally Archibald to create Benko and Eland, a 5 ha performance art piece in Gauteng, South Africa. Benko and Eland is a performance art piece created on 13 June 2015 using a controlled fire on a... (more)

Participatory GIS for wind energy landscape assesments

by Andrea Lombard, University of South Africa

Thirteen onshore wind farm projects, totalling approximately 700 wind turbines, are proposed for the West Coast Region (WCR) of the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Wind energy exploitation possesses the ability to transform what can be classified as natural landscapes into landscapes of power, making the type... (more)

Automated measurement of bulk material stockpiles

Information from ABB

Through continuous product development, ABB ensures its customers always get the latest in technology and product benefits. New developments in the VM3D volumetric laser scanner system now enable it to provide faster results without any recurring data fees. The 3D volumetric laser scanner (VM3D) provides a... (more)

Views, comment and opinion

Appreciative GIS (AGIS) and transformational community change

Technology drives the future of mining

Is South Africa ready for smart cities?

Information security: The biggest barrier to the Internet of Things

Industry and institute news

Constructing earthquake-resistant structures

Mine surveyors AGM and conference

National RPAS regulation road show kicks off

Drive for sustainable business practices

Commencement of the Geomatics Profession Act

SACAA issues first RPAS pilot licence