GRASS,GVSIG,QGIS confused?

• GRASS has grown in terms of # of developers until 2008 this growth has since then stabilized
• gvSIG had a peak between 2006 and 2008, during which they seemed to have become the desktop GIS software open spurce reference, but its growth was reduced in both terms, contributions in releases in terms of No. of developers involved
• QGIS has had strong growth both in terms of contributions in the releases of both in terms of # of developers between 2004 and 2008 with a trend of steady growth that has taken every 4 years to double the # of developers involved so maybe today is the good tool among open gis desktop reference sources

The 2012 IEEE GRSS Data Fusion Contest

An interesting contest announced by the IEEE – an opportunity to get access to QuickBird, WorldView-2, TerraSAR-X, and LIDAR data and  win up to $800 and an open access publication.  The 2012 IEEE GRSS Data Fusion Contest is designed to investigate the potential of multi-modal/multi-temporal fusion of very high spatial resolution imagery. This year, participants will download three different sets of images (optical, SAR, and LIDAR) over the downtown of San Francisco and each participant will get to choose their own research topic to work with. Proposals should describe in detail the addressed problem, the method used, and the end result. Participants will receive a collection of images provided by DigitalGlobe, AstriumServices, and USGS that includes very-high spatial resolution QuickBird, WorldView-2, TerraSAR-X, and LIDAR data.

Trends in GIS

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Emerging Geospatial Occupations

The geospatial technology market is growing at an annual rate of almost 35 percent, according to GITA (Geospatial Information & Technology Association). Employers will tap an assortment of resource pools to meet the growth of emerging occupations within the geospatial technology industry. This will include targeting young workers through apprenticeship and high school/college . 

One major emerging occupation calling for a highly-trained workforce within the geospatial technology industry is the increased adoption of machine guidance systems. GPS Machine Control produced by major equipment manufacturers has changed the way businesses complete the tasks of grading, surveying, and excavating. Contractors and construction companies who use GPS machine control systems are utilizing the technology to streamline work from procurement to the dirt mover. The technology is a major paradigm shift for the job site that influences the planning, site calibration, data preparation, and project QAQC.

The workforce best suited to fill these roles are today’s Surveyors. Surveyors can get training directly from equipment manufacturers like Caterpillar, Leica, Topcon, Trimble, etc.. However, rebranding as GPS Machine Control experts is advised. This subject is best articulated in an article by Software Advice‘s Houston Neal titled “Automation of Surveying Creates Disruption and Opportunities“.

Competition

Check:http://www.sla.gov.sg/OneMapChallenge/


The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) yesterday announced a new competition that it hopes will spur application developers to create new uses for electronic maps.


The inaugural OneMap Challenge offers top prizes of 20,000 Singapore dollars (US$15,556) cash each in the two categories of desktop and mobile applications, and a total of more than 70,000 Singapore dollars in cash and prizes.

Solar potential ! GIS oportunity!

Check :http://mercator.nrel.gov/imby/

Many location based Solar potential mappers are available across developed world. Many among them are web based and interactive. Being a tropical country, India has huge potential for solar power generation. As per government estimates, India receives 5000tn kWh per year. Majority of Indians stay off-grid and thus there is a need for Solar potential information portal.Mean while ,  India plans to quadruple its power generation capacity from renewable sources to 72,400 megawatts by 2022. 

Check:http://www.solarconindia.org/NationalSolarMission/NSMUpdates