David Philpot, Getmapping's Content Programs Project Manager, explores how Getmapping is meeting the demand for ever more accurate and detailed data sets that are enabling powerful new customer solutions.
Here at Getmapping, we are experiencing first hand a huge increase in demand for Geospatial data, particularly from non-GIS experts (Geospatial immigrants if you like) across a diverse range of industries.
More and more organisations are now using Geospatial data and solutions to unlock a wide range of powerful and innovative new applications, and this is driving an increase in demand for more detailed, accurate and up-to-date data sets than ever before.
In response to this change in market demand, last year we started to capture more of our urban areas at 3cm and 5cm resolution. The feedback to these ultra-high resolution images was overwhelmingly positive and as a result, this year Getmapping is proud to launch a new, annual 5cm urban content program.
This newly launched Flying program involves capturing all of the UK's major cities and towns at 5cm, and the data will be refreshed on an annual basis. Our ‘best of breed’ survey equipment, including the new, state of the art large format aerial camera system – the Vexcel UltraCam Eagle MKIII – together with our specialist survey aircraft, mean that we are perfectly positioned to deliver this new 5cm City program.
5cm imagery, London
Higher accuracy, higher frequency Geospatial data is enabling clients to do so much more remotely, and do it more effectively. Applications include mapping and managing street assets, developing and maintaining properties, more efficiently delivering Utility services and providing a true digital representation of the environment for a wide range of online and emerging technology companies.
As an example, we are working with a number of organisations with extensive property portfolios, providing them with access to high resolution, high quality Aerial images that enable them to effectively maintain and manage properties from their desktops.
Food Retailers are just one example of this. Using Geospatial data they can locate individual stores and accurately analyse the condition of buildings and roofs (that have historically been difficult and dangerous to monitor) from the safety of the office.
5cm imagery, London
Getmapping delivers an end-to-end solution that allows users to quickly identify change and flag any potential hazards. The retailer can review and manage all of their assets (not just stores) from the data, including car parks, access roads, fencing, storage, bins and more, without the need for a site visit.
5cm imagery, London
The data can be accessed by multiple users simultaneously, including maintenance teams working remotely, from one central point. All users have the same, most current view, and the solution also facilitates annotation, drawing, measuring and printing to PDF, making it easy to share information across the organisation. Users are able to annotate observations, findings and recommendations from individual sites for the maintenance teams to action.
Emerging Tech companies are also recognising the value of having access to the latest and highest resolution imagery to support their growing range of solutions and apps, enabling them to deliver a true digital representation of the real world and ultimately provide a great experience for their users. Geospatial data is particularly relevant for apps that aim to deliver a highly personalised user experience, with localities and map features being a major focus.
Another emerging market for Geospatial data is renewable energy. As the need and investment in clean and renewable energy increases, public and private utilities are focused on diversifying their energy portfolios to include renewable options such as wind and solar. Aerial mapping provides the basis for thorough site analysis to identify the optimum site for wind and solar farms, including essential information on topography, proximity to roads, proximity to local demand etc.
Getmapping’s expertise in the air and on the ground enables us to provide a unique ‘air down, ground up view’ of the environment, by combining high resolution imagery and point cloud data collected from both the air and the ground. Construction and Engineering companies in particular are using the solution to deliver a highly accurate and comprehensive analysis of a target locality with minimum disruption or environmental impact.
It is an exciting time for Geospatial providers as we see Geospatial data becoming recognised as a key technology enabler in its own right and as we help a wider range of customers across an increasingly diverse range of industries unlock and leverage the ‘Power of Where’.
For more information on our 5cm urban content program or to discuss how our powerful solutions could help your organisation, please email sales@getmapping.com
David Philpot, Content Programs Project Manager, Getmapping
David has worked at GeoSense and Getmapping for 17 years. He is an experienced Prince 2 certified Project Manager with a wealth of knowledge of all aspects of aerial photography acquisition, image processing and production. His focus is on delivering high quality data to our customers.
