hello to all
Just passing along 2 e-mails from Bob DeSawal - head of USGS Rocky Mountain mapping center - in regards to my questions about the importance of mapping conversions and the signicance of what Sedona GeoServices was involved in.
Mike:
There is a lot going on in the GIS world for digital products, their generation,
databasing and dissemination.
As far as Sedona is concerned, they have submitted a proposal for a Cooperative
Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the USGS NMD. The CRADA will
address the automated contour tagging software portion of the package, for which
the licensing agreement with the Ohio State University Center for Mapping was
made. The USGS will provide hypsographic related materials, knowledge about the
map product, and test the enhanced software.
To this date I have not had an opportunity to visit Sedona, and do not know
anything more than what you have probably heard from other sources. I do know
that software written at the Center for Mapping does address the thematic layers
of information on USGS map products, along with the ability to be used in
revising USGS map products.
The USGS only has a copy of the automated contour tagging software and is
permitted by Sedona and the Center for Mapping to evaluate for internal use
only, providing feedback to Sedona and Center for Mapping. This portion of the
entire software package is of interest to the USGS in increasing the
vectorization process speed as input in making digital elevation model data from
hypsographic map seperates.
This is a brief overview and I hope has answered most of your questions. If I
may be of further assistance please let know.
Bob De Sawal
Mike:
Automation of map and map related products is important to the USGS, as well as
other GIS related areas. Digital data is essential to GIS related activities in
many scientific and commercial disciplines. Conversion of graphic products to
the digital world will continue in the industry until as such time that data
source, from which the digital products are made, are themselves in digital
format. This includes imagery as well as other data collection devices.
Conversion and collection services are and will be a continuing part of the
digital world for new products, as well as the revision of existing products.
Databasing of these digital data is a very important issue. Information systems
will continue to be a very hot topic for users of data. This is evident already
with the internet, as one example.
Bob DeSawal |
