Aktuelles

April 2012

Successfull 3D GeoWeb Workshop at AGILE
Accompanying the 15th AGILE Conference on Geographic Information Science in Avignon Jorge Rocha (Univ. Minho, Portugal) and Alexander Zipf (GIScience Univ. Heidelberg) successfully organized the first workshop on 3D Web Visualization of Geographic Data. The participants discussed recent developments in technology allowing a more seamless integration of interactive 3D geovisualization in the WWW. A focus was the advancement of drafts of open standards such as the Web 3D Service (OGC W3DS) that is used in a range of projects such as Heidelberg-3d.de or osm-3d.org. Selected papers of the workshop will be published in a special issue of the International Journal of 3D Information Modeling (IJ3DIM). The program and results from the discussion can be found at http://3dwebgis.di.uminho.pt/wiki/

GIS and LiDAR workshop at UC Berkeley
The first OPALS (Orientation and Processing of Airborne Laser Scanning) workshop at UC Berkeley took place at the Geospatial Innovation Facility last week (12 April 2012). The workshop was organized by Bernhard Höfle (University of Heidelberg) and Maggi Kelly (UCB).The workshop included the theoretical concept of OPALS as well as a hands-on part on processing of 3D LiDAR point clouds using GIS and the OPALS software. Combining GIS and OPALS has a strong potential enabling the usage and analysis of (full-waveform) LiDAR point clouds in environmental studies, including vegetation studies, hydrology and (precision) agriculture.

First Multi-Agent Indoor Evacuation Simulation with IndoorOSM
This video demonstrates a multi-agent traffic simulation for the scenario of an emergency indoor evacuation. As a simulation framework MATSim is utilized. The required files (network, agents etc.) are automatically generated from volunteered geographic information (VGI) of OpenStreetMap. The data in OSM is mapped according to the IndoorOSM mapping proposal. The use case building consists of four floors with three bigger (lecture) rooms and several offices (University of Heidelberg, Department of Geography). The scenario assumes that the lecture rooms and offices are occupied, with 313 persons. All agents are routed to one single building exit, thus the scenario describes a organized and structured evacuation. 100 simulation iterations have been conducted, whereby this video features iterations zero, 50 and 100.

New User Interface for OpenRouteService
A first new test version of a new graphical user interface for OpenRouteService.org is online at http://koenigstuhl.geog.uni-heidelberg.de/ors. This version does not yet provide the full functionality of OpenRouteService but focuses only on the routing currently. This beta version presents an outlook on how a future Website for OpenRouteService might look like.

March 2012

Terrestrial Laser Scanning with full-waveform recording capability
The LiDAR Research Group at the Chair of GIScience has now one of the first Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) systems worldwide with full-waveform recording capability (upgraded Riegl VZ-400). Deeper understanding and substantially improved analysis of the laser shot backscatter of natural objects by having direct access to full-waveform signatures and physical observables are expected. The unique system will be applied in new research projects dealing with the extraction of 3D geoinformation in e.g. precision farming, geoarchaelogy, geomorphology and forestry. Furthermore, an extensive web-based database of reference signatures for known objects will be developed based on calibrated waveform features derived by TLS.

Web 3D Service (W3DS) of the GIScience Research Group of the University of Heidelberg supports new XML3D Technology
Currently the 3D-Geoweb is changing fundamentaly. Instead of using plugins which need to be installed, 3D-content is visualized more and more directly within the Webbrowser through new technologies like HTML5/WebGL or XML3D.
While the usage of WebGL has already been demonstrated for 3D geocontent (e.g. http://webgl.uni-hd.de for laserscanning pointclouds) there exist more high level approaches for dealing with 3D on th Web. One of this technologies is XML3D, which is a declarative language, that can be used more easily by typical Web developers. But currently it still is restricted to some special browser versions. The Web 3D Service (OGC W3DS) of the GIScience Research Group of the University of Heidelberg is supporting this new technology as the first implementation of this OGC specification. This offers an alternative to the current Java-Clients or to native WebGL Clients. A demonstrator for http://OSM-3D.org is under development.

Participating in EU Project BLAST on 3D-Web Visualization of Climate Change
The GIScience Research Group is providing a Web-based solution for 3D visualization of simulations of climate change in the coastal zone to the members of the EU Interreg IVB Project BLAST - Bringing Land and Sea Together. The solution uses OGCs W3DS service specifications and will provide interactive 3D visualization of flooding simulations at the North Sea coasts.

Global ASTER Contour Lines @ OpenMapSurfer.uni-hd.de
A new semi-transparent layer with global contour lines based on ASTER GDEM data has been added to OpenMapSurfer.

Brussels UrbIS Online is using OpenRouteService
The official portal of the Capital Region Brussels in Belgium is using our OpenRouteService.org.

New Special Issue on “3D Laser Scanning Spatial Data and Analysis Infrastructures” in Computers, Environment and Urban Systems (CEUS)
The scope of this issue, edited by B. Höfle, N. Pfeifer and A. Zipf, is to bundle research findings aiming at increasing the availability, understanding, and application of 3D spatial elevation data (i.e. 3D point clouds) and services to support applications of Digital Earth in urban and natural environments. Contributions on 3D data acquisition, management, analysis and visualization in a broader (cyber)infrastructure, SDI and GeoWeb context are welcome.

• Oct 31, 2012: Deadline for submission of manuscripts
• Detailed Call for Papers 

February 2012

New Project of the LiDAR Research Group
ESOB – Multi-sensor technology for the optimization of plant production ratings

Best Paper Award @ GeoProcessing 2012 Conference
Our Paper on Live Cities and Urban Services has received a Best Paper Award at this years GeoProcessing conference!
Ref: Resch, B.; Zipf, A.; Breuss-Schneeweis, P.; E. Beniat and Boher, M. (2012): Live Cities and Urban Services - A Multi-dimensional Stress Field between Technology, Innovation and Society. The Fourth International Conference on Advanced Geographic Information Systems, Applications and Services. GEOProcessing 2012. Valencia, Spain.

New global Aster Hillshade on OSM available at OpenMapSurfer.uni-hd.de
In October 2011 the second version of the ASTER DEM has ben published. It offers quality improvements compared to the first version. This data has now been used by Maxim Rylov to produce a global Hillshade as overlay for web maps with MapSurfer.Net. The result is now available at OpenMapSurfer.uni-hd.de. You can add the overlay layer by activating the layer button in the right top corner of the map.

Mapping from dusk till dawn: “Night of the Living Maps” - OpenStreetmap organizes global Mapathon on 07.02.2012
Our recent studies showed, that in OSM the countryside has currently still a worse quality, than the bigger cities. Now the OSM community decided to do something and to improve less popular areas in a global map action. Night of the Living Maps is a global Mapathon on Tuesday 7th Feb. 2012, where all mappers come together in local meetings and trace imagery the whole night long, while the moon shines bright. It's a LAN-party like feeling for map enthusiasts, and because you may have blood-shot eyes after 8hrs of non stop mapping, the OSM community decided to give it a zombie theme ;).
More Info @ www.nightofthelivingmaps.org

More then 50 million buildings in OSM worldwide - outnumbering the number of roads now!
OSM-3D.org now includes over 50 million buildings worldwide. This outnumbers the count for roads in OSM by more than 2 million now for Europe. This makes OSM-3D.org probably the largest 3D building model and database available.

The free WordPress Plugin Leaflet Maps Marker uses OpenRouteService for routing.
The free WordPress Plugin Leaflet Maps Marker lets you pin, organize & show your favorite places through OpenStreetMap/WMTS, Google Maps/Earth (KML), GeoJSON or Augmented-Reality browsers. Since the lates release it also supports OpenRouteService.org

January 2012

OpenMapSurfer - a new global OpenStreetMap Service is Online
A first test version of http://OpenMapSurfer.uni-hd.de is available. Currently it offers a global road map and a semitransparent map layer from OpenStreetMap data. It is based on MapSurfer.Net by Maxim Rylow. More layers shall follow later as mentioned at http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OpenMapSurfer
Have fun exploring...

Streaming 3D Point Clouds in the Web with HTML5-WebGL - new Demonstrator online @ http://webgl.uni-hd.de
With HTML5 & WebGL it is possible to render 3D content directly in the Webbrowser without the need for Plugins or applets. A demonstrator has been put online by the GIScience Research Group at the University of Heidelberg, that shows how to stream large point clouds that have been derived from laser scanning with this new technology. Exlore the possibilities at http://webgl.uni-hd.de. All you need is a recent version of an WebGL enabled Browser such as Firefox.

"Spiegel" reports on OSM study
A short report on our new study about OpenStreetMap has been published in the German news magazin "Der Spiegel", Issue 3/2012, page 109. "Navigation: Masse gegen Klasse".

Session @ EGU 2012 General Assembly, Vienna
Laser Scanning: 3D Spatial Data, Analysis, and Infrastructures in Geosciences
Vienna, Austria, 22.-27.04.2012

Second Guest Scientist from Sao Paulo: Dr. Werner Leyh visits GIScience Group for 2 months
Dr. Werner Leyh, Invited Professor at the University de Sao Paulo is the second guest scentist from Brasil this year. He joins our research group for two months in early 2012. Welcome to Heidelberg! We are looking forward collaboration and discussions on Geo-Web Processing and SDIs related to environmental issues in Brasil.

EGU 2012 General Assembly – Session on Laser Scanning: 3D Spatial Data, Analysis, and Infrastructures in Geosciences
The session “Laser Scanning: 3D Spatial Data, Analysis, and Infrastructures in Geosciences” to be held at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2012 in Vienna has been approved by the EGU committees. The conveners B. Höfle, N. Pfeifer, B. Székely and A. Zipf cordially invite you to submit abstracts and actively participate in this event! Further details can be found here.

Call for Papers for new Workshop on 3D Web Visualization of Geographic Data
We are pleased to announce the 1st Workshop on 3D Web Visualization of Geographic Data, which will be held on April 24, 2012 in Avignon, France, in conjunction with AGILE 2012 International Conference on Geographic Information Science. The main focus is the visualisation of 3D geospatial data on the web. The new challenges and opportunities are comparable to the ones we faced a few years ago, when web mapping was just starting. New opportunities arise with WebGL enabled browsers, both on the desktop and on mobile devices. Business opportunities are also emerging, taking advantage of 3D spatial data, and providing smooth transitions between the outdoor and indoor spaces. Further information here  and here

New Project on Data Mining of Crime Information from the General Public
New Project on Data Mining of Crime Information from the General Public with international partners has been approved within the Global Network scheme (with funding from the DFG Initiative of Excellence): more information here.

IndoorOSM - A Map and Routing Web-App for the Interior based on OpenStreetMap (OSM)
has been published by the GIScience Research Group Heidelberg. It demonstrates how the enhanced mapping OSM schema (Götz & Zipf 2011 ) can be used in real applications providing indoor orientation and indoor routing.
Try live at: http://IndoorOSM.uni-hd.de.

DFG Global Network for crime mapping and analysis
Marco Helbich received the "Global Network" funding within the DFG initiative for excellence for multilateral cooperations and outstanding international research exchange. Together with the interdisciplinary consortium located at the Louisiana State University (USA), Temple University (USA), and University College London (UK) the project "Data Mining of Crime Information from the General Public" aims to promote self-organizing maps for mining voluntarily provided crime information by eyewitnesses and the general public. For more details please contact Marco Helbich."

Several Press releases (dpa etc.) on new study comparing the development of OpenStreetMap with TomTom
[Golem.de] [Linux-Magazin] [Directions Magazine] [WIRED] [Heise]

Dezember 2011

Heidelberg Center for the Environment (HCE) wird offiziell eröffnet
[Pressemeldung der Universität]

Humboldt Foundation funds Guest Researcher from Brasil
Ass. Prof. Dr. João Porto de Albuerquerquere from the University of Sao Paulo's Department of Computer Systems joins the GIScience team for a three month visit funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He will work together with the GIScience team on AGORA - A Geospatial Open collaboRative Architecture for Enhancing Public Awareness about Environmental Risks and Subsidizing Disaster Management in Brasil. We do welcome him cordially and are looking forward to fruitful discussions.

Wissenschaftliche Hilfskräfte gesucht
Folgende Stellen sind derzeit in der Abteilung Geoinformatik am Geographischen Institut zu besetzen:
– Wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft: Geo-Web-Entwicklung (WebMapping) 
– Wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft: 3D Geo-Laserscanning 

November 2011

Extending OSM to the Indoor
We suggest a new proposal for Indoor-Mapping in OpenStreetMap (OSM). This is also related to our activites regarding extending OpenStreetMap to 3D.
We invite anybody to comment and discuss.

CFP for Session on Laser Scanning: 3D Spatial Data, Analysis, and Infrastructures at EGU 2012
The session “Laser Scanning: 3D Spatial Data, Analysis, and Infrastructures in Geosciences” to be held at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2012 in Vienna has been approved by the EGU committees. The conveners B. Höfle, N. Pfeifer, B. Székely and A. Zipf cordially invite you to submit abstracts and actively participate in this event!
Further details can be found here.

Scientific Report of ESF Exploratory Workshop in online
The Scientific Report of the ESF Exploratory Workshop “Laser Scanning Spatial Data Infrastructure (LaSDI)” has been published and can be downloaded here: ESF EW LaSDI Scientific Report 

Gründungsveranstaltung zur Gründung des gemeinnützigen Vereins „Netzwerk Geoinformation der Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar - GeoNet.MRN“ erfolgreich durchgeführt.
Am Montag, den 14.11.2011 fand am Geographischen Institut der Universität Heidelberg die Gründungsveranstaltung zur Gründung des gemeinnützigen Vereins „Netzwerk Geoinformation der Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar - GeoNet.MRN“ statt. Akteure aus Wirtschaft, Verwaltung und Wissenschaft mit Interesse am Thema Geoinformation fanden sich hier zusammen, um ihre Netzwerkaktivitäten in Form eines gemeinnützigen Vereins zu bündeln. Die Satzung wurde verabschiedet und der Vorstand bestimmt (Hartmut Gündra für Geomer, Dr. Matthias Jöst für HDMI; Volker Wiegand für TW Ludwigshafen, Prof. Ulrich Michel Pädag. Hochschule). Als Vorsitzender des Vorstands wurd Prof. Dr. Alexander Zipf (Geoinformatik, Universität Heidelberg) gewählt.
[Pressemeldung der Universität]

Fachaustausch Geoinformation Heidelberg als Netzwerkkonferenz des GeoNet.MRN etabliert
Rege Beteiligung und interessante Vortraege zeichneten dem 3. Fachaustausch Geoinformation in Heidelberg am 16.11.11 aus, der dieses Jahr unter der Schirmherrschaft des Wirtschaftsministeriums Ba-Wü und der Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar stand. Erstmals und nun zukünftig wird er als die Netzwerkveranstaltung des Clusters GeoNet.MRN durchgeführt werden, welches auch entsprechend vorgestellt wurde. Das spannende Programm behandelte diesmal die Themenblöcke Geoinformation, eBusiness und eGovernment, Klimawandel, Naturgefahren und Risikovorsorge sowie Geoinformation in Bewegung. Zudem fand die Überreichung des Preises der Satelliten Navigation Competition statt. [Alle Infos..]

New German OpenStretMap Website
Our Group Member Pascal (main developer of OpenRouteService.org) helped to develop a new version of the German OpenStreetMap Webportal: openstreetmap.de.

TeleAgro+ – New Project on Analysing Telematics Data for Improved Logistics in Agriculture
The project TeleAgro+ funded by the BLE (Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung) has started. The goals of the project include for example the optimization of logistics in agriculture through developing methods for improving the road network for agricultural routing with the help of telematics data. [Alle Infos..]

Oktober 2011

We're Looking For a Group Leader!
A Group Leader (PostDoc) position is available within the GIScience Research Group. [Alle Infos.. ]

GIScience Research Group Becomes More International
During the last month the University of Heidelberg GIScience Research Group has become much more international than ever. While already some collegues from Austria had joined us as Postdocs some time ago (Bernhard & Marco), during the last month four new PhD students arrived from all over the world. Very cordially we do welcome Ming Li (China), Maxim Rylow (Kyrgyzstan), Hossein Moghaddam (Iran) and last but not least Yeran Sun "Steven" (China) to Heidelberg.

The Size of the GIScience Research Group Exceeds Available Office Space — Parts of the Group Moves to New Home
Because the size of the GIScience Research Group of the University of Heidelberg does no longer fit into the available rooms in the building "Berliner Strasse 48" a part of the team needed to move to new office space at an additional building. Currently four additional rooms (110-113) in the first floor of INF 346 are used as offices for research assistants and PhD students. This means that the GIScience Research Group now is located both at Berliner Strasse 48 as well as in INF 346 on the main university Heidelberg campus.

Fachaustausch Geoinformation am 16.11.2011, PrintMediaAcademy, Heidelberg
Der 2011 zum dritten Male stattfindende Fachaustausch Geoinformation ist nun die neue jährliche Clusterveranstaltung des „Netzwerkes Geoinformation der Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar e.V.“ (GeoNet.MRN). Er bietet eine ideale Plattform für den Erfahrungsaustausch zwischen Interessenten, Experten, Anwendern und Entscheidern, die sich über Anwendungsmöglichkeiten, aktuelle Themen sowie zukünftige Trends in der Geoinformationswirtschaft informieren möchten. Ganz im Sinne der Netzwerkidee richtet sich der Fachaustausch an Vertreter aus Verwaltung, Wirtschaft und Wissenschaft. [Alle Infos.. ]

September 2011

ESF Exploratory Workshop "Laser Scanning Spatial Data Infrastructure" (LaSDI)
The interdisciplinary workshop took place in Heidelberg from 9-10 September 2011. For more than 20 experts from Europe and the USA, this event offered the opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas on the integration of laser scanning point clouds into spatial data infrastructures. The European Science Foundation (ESF) establishes such exploratory workshops to provide impulses for new scientific fields and interdisciplinary collaboration. Further details and photos.

Hengstberger-Symposium "Towards Digital Earth – 3D Spatial Data Infrastructures"
The international symposium "Towards Digital Earth – 3D Spatial Data Infrastructures" took place in Heidelberg from 7-8 September 2011. Leading experts from Europe and the USA were discussing solutions and possibilities for the collection and integration of high-resolution data (e.g. from Laser Scanning) and volunteered geographic information (e.g. OpenStreetMap) to support the vision of a Digital Earth in 3D. The symposium was made possible by the Hengstberger Prize 2010 awarded to Jun.-Prof. Dr. Bernhard Höfle. Further details and photos.

Neue Juniorprofessur für „Geoinformatik und 3D-Geodatenverarbeitung“ verstärkt das Geographische Institut.
Mit Jun.-Prof. Dr. Bernhard Höfle konnte ein international angesehener Experte im Bereich Verarbeitung und Analyse von mittels Fernerkundung, insbesondere Laserscanning erfassten 3D Geodaten auf die erstmals eingerichtete Juniorprofessur in der Abteilung Geoinformatik am Geographischen Institut der Universität Heidelberg berufen werden. Seine Forschung schlägt die Brücke zwischen GIS, GDI und Laserscanning, insbesondere mit Anwendungen aus der Physiogeographie, aber z.B. auch Cultural Heritage. Einen Schwerpunkt seiner Arbeit ist die Entwicklung von Verfahren zur Objekterkennung aus Full Waveform Laserscan-Daten. Bernhard Höfle hat Geographie in Innsbruck studiert und kam über Stationen in Uppsala, Wien und Osnabrück nach Heidelberg.

Pressemitteilungen
Die digitale Erfassung der Welt: Teilnehmer eines internationalen Symposiums befassen sich mit dreidimensionalen Geodaten
Entfernungsmessung durch Laserstrahlen: Internationaler Workshop zu dreidimensionalen Geoinformationstechnologien

July 2011

New Heidelberg Center for the Environment (HCE) has been established - Chair of GIScience is founding member



On July 19th 2011 the University of Heidelberg has founded the new "Heidelberg Center for the Environment" (HCE). The Chair of GIScience is founding member of the interdisciplinary group of researchers that will intensify and focus the research of the partners in the area of environmental research. The aim of the HCE is to investigate the ecological effects of natural, technical and societal change across disciplines. This includes perspectives on the environment from natural sciences to social and cultural sciences and their interrelationships.

http://www.hce.uni-heidelberg.de/

Buildings in OSM-3D: Now with roof geometries
The project OSM-3d.org becomes a bit more detailed and realistic. Since a couple of weeks, different OSM keys with building roof information (e.g. building:roof, building:roof:shape, building:roof:type, building:roof:angle and building:roof:height) are considered while building model creation. That is, based on this information, an approximate roof geometry is generated at least for simple building shapes in a first step. These are automatically integrated into OSM-3D. For creating even more realistic building models, the key building:roof:colour and building:roof:color are also evaluated, so the roof geometry can be colored appropriately. In the case that the mentioned keys are not available for a distinct building, the generation process tries to estimate the values or assign them randomly. OSM-3D currently serves over 35 million 3D buildings within Europe. [Screenshots..]

Open GeoData: Hot topic at this year's AGIT conference
In several sessions and the keynotes "Open GeoData" was one of the hot topics of this years AGIT conference. Examples such as London or Vienna as first movers explained the benefits for all participants in doing so - even for the data providers!

OpenSeaMap.org features water depth shading
OpenSeaMap - a subproject to OpenStreetMap focusing on creating a free nautical chart - has released a new version of it's web map application that features new map layers showing water depth as grey or colour shadings as well as contour lines. The team of the GIScience research group has assisted in creating those.

June 2011

Students from ITC visit GIScience group
On June 22nd, a group of M.Sc. students from Twente University's ITC in Enschede visited Heidelberg on their study trip through Germany and Switzerland. Members of the GIScience group presented results from ongoing research activities, such as 3D-Sutren, GDI-3D and OSMatrix.

Celebrating 625 years University of Heidelberg with Heidelberg-3D.de
The University of Heidelberg is celebrating its 625th anniversary being the oldest university in Germany. The festival week starts on Sat, June 25th with the UniMeile. At this event the project Heidelberg-3d presents the interactive virtual city model of Heidelberg (tent 55, Merianstraße).

Global OSM-statistics at OSM-WMS.de
Scrolling down at osm-wms.de you now find a little graph showing some global statistics about the number of features in our OSM-database.

OSM meets German Academy for Crisis Management Emergency Planning and Civil Protection
Pascal Neis from the GIScience Research Group at the Unviersity of Heidelberg reports on our experiences with Crisis Management and Volunteered Geographic Information.

Links
Solving the "Dublin without a Pub Tour" Riddle from James Joyce's "Ullysses" with OpenRouteService.org.

May 2011

New German-language textbook by Chair of Giscience available dealing with OpenGIS Web Map Services and beyond
Andrae, Graul, Over and Zipf: Web Portrayal Services

OSM.Globe client is Open Source:
The virtual globe for OSM-3D „XNavigator“ has been made Open Source by Chair of GIScience, University of Heidelberg
The 3D Web Client „XNavigator“ is a virtual globe application that acts as client to a „Web 3D Service (W3DS)“, a draft specification by the OpenGeospatial Consortium (OGC). The software has its origins in projects on 3D geospatial data infrastructures (GDI 3D) with the example of the city of Heidelberg (Heidelberg 3D) and was also used as integrated client in the OGC Web Services Testbed OWS6, including tests on 3D Indoor Navigation.
Only recently it has been extended into a virtual globe that delivers interactive 3D scenes generated from OpenStreetMap and SRTM terrain data at OSM-3D.
This 3D client software is written in Java and can be configured as Applet, as Java WebStart or as Java Desktop application. Further it includes several extensions for integrating other OGC services, such as WMS, WFS, WPS, OpenLS Route Service, SOS, CS-W etc. It supports Styling by SLD (OGC Symbology Endcoding), the use of OSM map services as terrain textures and the overlay of GPX-routes and can also import CityGML or VRML files.
The whole client has now been made available Open Source under the GNU Public Licence by the Chair of GIScience at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. We are looking forward to community contributions to this 3D web client. The OSM-3D service URL can be accessed for free, but the server itself as well as the data processing tools are still being extended in PhD research projects and therefore are not included in that package.
More information:
http://www.osm-3d.org
http://giscience.uni-hd.de
http://w3ds.org
Press reviews: Linux-Magazin / GISuser.com

E-Routing for electronic wheelchairs available at RollstuhlRouting.de
Rollstuhlrouting.de now supports the option to calculate an energy-saving route for electronic wheelchairs. Also the energy consumption is given as well as an indicator for the reliability of that information. In this first version only the incline-information from OpenStreetMap is being used, but improvements on the algorithms as well as on the data are planned. RollstuhlRouting offers route planning for people with limited mobility and is based on OpenRouteService and OpenStreetMap. It needs special attributes being mapped in OpenStreetMap, which is a task where anybody can participate (see Wiki OpenStreetMap).

April 2011

First OGC 3D-Portrayal Interoperability Experiment (3DPIE) co-initiated by GIScience Research Group Heidelberg
Visualizing geospatial 3D content on the Web in an interoperable manner is gaining importance considering both the increasingly available 3d geo content as well as the current initiatives to implement Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs). Pioneering projects such as GDI-3D realizing the first 3D-SDIs - e.g. for the City of Heidelberg - lead to the development of advanced concepts for web-based 3D portrayal services such as the Web 3D Service (W3DS). Recent developments such as OSM-3D extended this to virtual globes covering whole continents and millions of buildings.
Now it is time to test and improve the specifications and their implementations in the broader context of an Interoperability Experiment (IE) by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). The IE has been co-initiated by the GIScience Research Group Heidelberg and is focusing on 3D Portrayal services that deliver extremely large and complex 3D geodata like digital landscape models, city models and interior models for rapid visualization on the Web. Further Information...

Berichte zur FOSSGIS 2011 in Heidelberg
Das größte deutschsprachige Community-Treffen zu freien GIS und freien Geodaten wie OpenStreetMap fand Anfang April an der Universität Heidelberg statt. Berichte dazu finden Sie u.a. hier: Geobranchen.de / OSM-Blog.

Stellenausschreibung
Für das neue Forschungsprojekt Rigeo.net im Rahmen des FRONTIER-Programms der Exzellenzinitiative ist eine Promotionsstelle  zu besetzen (Start ca. ab 07/2011, Vergütung TVL E13 - 50%, zunächst für 2 Jahre).

OSM-3D is "Image of the Week" @ OSM-Wiki for week 14-2011:
Image of the Week (OSM-Wiki)

March 2011

Virtual OSM.Globe for Europe in the Press
In English and in German.

Enhanced version of OSMatrix is online!
OSMatrix.uni-hd.de features a new user interface, more attributes indicating the quality of OpenStretMap and covers now all of Europe!

Road Status after the Earthquake in Japan based on OpenStreetMap
Our GIScience Research Group member Pascal Neis has generated a dynamic map overlay showing the Road Status after the Earthquake in Japan based on OpenStreetMap. It is being updated every 30 minutes. Here you see the results and here he tells how it has been done.

New projects
New project GRIPS on combining Evacuation Simulation with Agent-Based Models and Geospatial Data Infrastructures is starting (funded by the German Ministry of Research, BMBF).
New Project on Enhancing the Predictive Accurarcy of Large-Scale Spatial Hedonic Price Models using Laser Scanning Data (Humboldt Foundation).

February 2011

Global Coverage for OSM-WMS.de
www.OSM-WMS.de covers no longer only Europe, but offers a world-wide coverage. The interactive map is both available as OGC-conformant WMS (Web Map Service) as well as a TileCache version. The data update has been automated which allows a weekly update of the OpenStreetMap data for the whole planet into an internal specialized database schema. The initial database features among others about 30 Mio buildings, 36 Mio streets and over 11 Mio further point objects. New OSM map feature classes and attributes have been added which are now being visualised on the map, too. Special thanks to Michael Auer, Marcus Götz and the team of the GIScience research group. Your feedback is welcome.

Detailed Program of FOSSGIS 2011
Detailed Program of FOSSGIS 2011 in Heidelberg and „Kolloquium für Theorie und Quantitative Methoden in der Geographie“ in Heidelberg are online.

New Websites
Websites for both ESF Exploratory Workshop Laser Scanning Spatial Data Infrastructure in Heidelberg as well as Hengstberger Symposium Towards Digital Earth – 3D Spatial Data Infrastructures in Heidelberg are online.
See: Events 2011

January 2011

Stellenangebot PostDoc Geoinformatik
Am Geographischen Institut der Universität Heidelberg ist zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt eine PostDoc-Stelle im Bereich Geoinformatik zu besetzen. Ziel ist der Aufbau einer eigenen Forschungsgruppe innerhalb der Abteilung Geoinformatik im Rahmen einer Klaus-­Tschira Incubator Research Group „Advancing GIScience“. [Alle Informationen.. ]

DFG Global Networks - Excellent International Research Collaboration approved
Within the DFG Initiative for Excellence, Global Networks funding scheme, outstanding international research collaborations are funded. The initiated Global Network "Airborne Laser Scanning for 3D Vegetation Characterization: Set-up of an International Signature Database" allows intensifying the collaborative research of the Chair of GIScience with the Vienna University of Technology (Prof. Pfeifer) and the University of California Berkeley (Prof. Kelly). This research aims at bridging the gap between sensor and target perspective by systematic exploratory analysis of Airborne Laser Scanning vegetation signatures. As central element of this research a novel web-based ALS signature database will be established. For further information please contact: Dr. Bernhard Höfle.

December 2010

OSMatrix is online!
A first alpha prototpye of OSMatrix is online. Thanks in particular to Julian and Oliver and the rest of the GIScience reseach group!
OSMatrix is a new service that presents a growing set of indicators on OpenStreetMap data quality in a spatio-temporal matrix. Currently only the first temporal snapshot is available, but the idea is to add new ones regularily. If you have any ideas for additional parameters to be calculated and visualized feel free to contact us.

OSM-Planet-Version of XNavigator available
OSM-3D as virtual globe with atmospheric effects (version 1.3.1 of XNavigator)

OpenStreetMap enthält in Deutschland nun schon über 2 Millionen Gebäude – more than 2 million buildings in OSM Germany
In Deutschland sind nun schon über 2 Millionen Gebäude in OpenStreetMap enthalten – in ganz Europa sind es derzeit ca. 24 Millionen. Die OSM-Gebäude werden u.a. in OSM-3D.org als 3D-Objekte repräsentiert. Vor Kurzem wurden die relativ gut aufgelösten Luftbilder von Microsoft Bing zum Abzeichnen für OpenStreetMap freigegeben, seitdem steigt die Geschwindigkeit der Aufnahme verschiedenster Objekte in OpenStretMap stark an, da solche gut identifizierbaren Geoobjekte von fast jedermann leicht von Luftbildern abgezeichnet werden können.
(vgl. Vorschlag zu einer „Winter-Aktivität: Gebäude in OSM“)

New analysis of unmapped places in the EU in OSM
by our GIScience research group member Pascal Neis

Extending OSM-3D to Europe (and beyond)
OSM-3D.org is no longer restricted to a rectangle around Germany, but the landuse data from OSM and digital elevation model of SRTM have been processed in 16 levels to detail (LOD) for all of Europe with SRTM coverage (for details see here). The 3D buildings, POIs, Labels etc. for the rest of Europe still need to be processed. This will take some more weeks.
Previews at: http://www.osm-3d.org/videos.en.htm.

Preisverleihung für Netzwerk Geoinformation der Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar durch Wirtschaftsminister Pfister
„Mit Clustern weltweit sichtbar werden“ war der Titel des „4. Baden-Württembergischen Cluster-Forums“. Einen Höhepunkt der Veranstaltung am 6. Dezember im Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart stellte die Prämierung der Sieger des „2. Wettbewerbs zur Stärkung regionaler Cluster in Baden-Württemberg“ durch den Wirtschaftsminister von Baden-Württemberg Herrn Ernst Pfister dar.
Eine hochkarätige Jury hat die innovativsten Beiträge ausgewählt und zur Prämierung vorgeschlagen. Das Netzwerk Geoinformation der Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar (GeoNet.MRN) wurde als einer der Sieger im Wettbewerb „Regionale Cluster“ des Wirtschaftsministeriums Baden-Württemberg ausgezeichnet. Die Preisträger haben nun die Möglichkeit, einen Antrag auf Förderung aus Mitteln des Europäischen Fonds für regionale Entwicklung (EFRE) zu stellen.
Die Geschäftsstelle wird an der vor kurzem neu eingerichteten Abteilung für Geoinformatik am Geographischen Institut der Universität Heidelberg angesiedelt.

Global Coverage for OGC OpenLS Directory Service (location-based POI search) based on OpenStreetMap available at OpenRouteService.org
OpenRouteService.org provides a location-based POI search that is implementing the OpenGIS Location Service Directory Specification (OpenLS) since about 3 years. This has now been extended from European to Global coverage using the free data from OpenStreetMap. Due to the rich and fast growing data of OpenStreetMap now more than 10 Million objects of a wide set of POI types from bus stops to ATM/EC-machines or specific shops and leisure sites can be found and visualized world-wide. Options include finding the nearest POI of a user seleted type, or those within a given distance around the given position, just by name, or even around the calculated route of OpenRouteService.org.

November 2010

European Science Foundation bewilligt internationalen ESF Exploratory Workshop zu „Laser Scanning Spatial Data Infrastructure (LaSDI)“ in Heidelberg
In der Forschung werden z.B. mit GDI-3D schon seit einiger Zeit Konzepte erarbeitet, umgesetzt und evaluiert, wie die derzeit entstehenden 2D-Geodateninfrastrukturen (2D-GDIs) um die dritte Dimension erweitert werden können. Mit der zunehmenden Verfügbarkeit von per Laserscanning erfassten 3D-Geodaten potenziert sich die zu bearbeitende Datenmenge und es ergeben sich neue Herausforderungen in der Wissenschaft. Dies hat auch die European Science Foundation (ESF) erkannt. Die für die Realisierung zukünftiger Laser-GDIs relevanten Forschungsfragen werden im Herbst 2011 in einem international hochkarätig besetzten ESF-Workshop in Heidelberg diskutiert und weiterentwickelt. Weitere Informationen: Dr. Bernhard Höfle.

Humboldt-Stipendiat an Heidelberger Geoinformatik
Dr. Marco Helbich aus der Abteilung Geoinformatik erhält ab 2011 eines der renommierten Alexander-von-Humboldt-Stipendien für Postdoktoranden. In dem beantragten Projekt wird er am Beispiel des Immobilienmarktes die hedonistische Preismodellierung mit aus Laserscan-Daten abgeleiteten raumbezogenen Informationen verknüpfen.

QLandkarte GT nun mit Routing von OpenRouteService.org
Das vielseitige OpenSource Kartenwerkzeug QLandkarte GT unterstützt in seinem neuesten Release nun auch Routenplanung unter Nutzung von OpenRouteService.org der Abteilung für Geoinformatik der Universität Heidelberg.
QLandkarte ist für Linux, Windows und Mac verfügbar und bietet zahlreiche Möglichkeiten um Karten und eigene Routen und GPS-Tracks in 2D und 3D darzustellen und zu bearbeiten.

October 2010

Gastwissenschaftler Prof. Stefan Keller aus der Schweiz
Prof. Stefan Keller (GISpunkt Labs, Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil, Schweiz) wird einen Teil seines Sabbaticals als Gastwissenschaftler in der Abteilung für Geoinformatik verbringen (November & Dezember 2010). Wir begrüßen ihn sehr herzlich und freuen uns auf den fachlichen Austausch.

Gewinn des Hengstberger-Preises 2010 ermöglicht internationales Symposium „Towards Digital Earth“
Dr. Bernhard Höfle aus der Abteilung für Geoinformatik zählt zu den Siegern des Klaus-Georg und Sigrid Hengstberger-Preises 2010. Dieser ermöglicht uns die Durchführung eines international hochrangig besetzten wissenschaftlichen Geoinformatik-Symposiums zum Thema „Towards Digital Earth - 3D Spatial Data Infrastructures“ im September 2011.

GeoNet.MRN Sieger im Wettbewerb Regionale Cluster Baden-Württemberg
Das „Netzwerk Geoinformation der Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar (GeoNet.MRN)“ wurde als einer der Sieger im Wettbewerb „Regionale Cluster“ des Wirtschaftsministeriums Baden-Württemberg ausgezeichnet. Diese Initiative des Lehrstuhls Geoinformatik zusammen mit weiteren Firmen, Institutionen und Kommunen in der Metropolregion zeigt einerseits die Bedeutung des Wirtschaftsgutes Geoinformation als auch die in der Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar im Bereich Geoinformatik angesiedelte Kompetenz und Innovationskraft. Die Siegerehrung durch Wirtschaftsminister Pfister findet am 06.12.2010 in Stuttgart statt.

Links
New Statistics on OSM usage by our group member Pascal Neis
Blog about Visualising TMC-Data with OpenHeatMap

September 2010

Radiointerview Heidelberg 3D
Für das Uni-Radio Baden hat Alexander Zipf ein Interview zum Thema „Heidelberg 3D“ gegeben. Interview anhören.

Feldkampagne China
Im September wird über das Projekt Sutren-3D zusammen mit der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften eine Feldkampagne in China zu Dokumentation buddhistischer Felsinschriften per Laserscanning durchgeführt.

Treffen Netzwerk Geoinformation Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar am 30.09.
Die Etablierung eines „Netzwerks Geoinformation Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar“ (GeoNet.MRN) ist das Ziel einer Initiative der Abteilung. Hierzu finden sich schon mehrere Firmen, Institutionen und Kommunen zusammen. Das nächste Treffen findet am 30.09. am Geographischen Institut statt.

Links
Statistics for OSM Routing View Europe Sept. 2010
„How did you contribute to OSM“ - Interactive map tool available by Pascal Neis

August 2010

OSM-3D erweitert
OSM-3D ist nun auch für ein Gebiet von Süddänemark bis ans Mittelmeer inklusive Alpenraum etc. verfügbar und wurde neu gestaltet. Für Europa sind nun schon ca. 14 Millionen Gebäude in unserer Datenbank – an der Berechnung eines integrierten Geländemodells für ganz Europa wird gearbeitet.

Projekt GEOSS AIP-3
Die internationale Initiative Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) verfolgt das Ziel, Systeme der Erdbeobachtung wie Satelliten- und Sensordaten besser miteinander zu verknüpfen. Die Abteilung beteiligt sich im Architecture Implementation Pilot Phase 3 (AIP-3) durch Bereitstellen eigener GI-Dienste im Kontext Katastrophenmanagement.

AgrarRouting
Für einen Landmaschinenhersteller arbeiten wir an speziellen Lösungen für die Navigation von Landmaschinen bis zum Schlag, z.B. bei der Erntelogistik für Biomasseanlagen auf der Basis von OpenStreetMap.

OpenRouteService in den digitalen Globus „Marble“ des Linux-Desktop „KDE“ integriert
Mitte August wurde die neue Version 4.5.0 des Linux-Desktop KDE veröffentlicht. Der in KDE beinhaltete digitale Globus „Marble“ enthält nun die Möglichkeit zur Routenplanung. Dabei wird der in der Abteilung für Geoinformatik der Universität Heidelberg entwickelte Routenplaner OpenRouteService.org eingebunden. Dieser nutzt als erster überregionaler Routenplaner die Geodaten des Projektes OpenStreetMap und bietet zahlreiche Optionen. Damit wird OpenRouteService neben dem Web-3D-Service (W3DS)-Client „XNavigator“ in OSM-3D.org und der Java Version von NASA World Wind nun schon vom dritten 3D-Globus unterstützt. Marble ist für verschiedene Betriebssysteme (Linux, Windows, MacOS) verfügbar.

Links
Erreichbarkeitsanalyse für die Feuerwehr / Accessibility Analysis for fire brigades

July 2010

Abteilung wird Mitglied im IWR
Die Abteilung ist nun Mitglied im Interdisziplinären Zentrum für Wissenschaftliches Rechnen (IWR) der Universität Heidelberg.

Portal für Disastermanangemnt der United Nations
Die United Nations Logistics Cluster Support Cell – angesiedelt im UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Rom – unterstützen wir bei der Entwicklung eines Geoportals für LOGIS/SIMSAS (Security Information Management and Security Analysis System). Das Ziel ist das raumbezogene Management relevanter Informationen für humanitäre Hilfsorganisationen.

Barrierefreie Wegeplanung
Rollstuhlrouting.de ist nun für ganz Deutschland verfügbar. Allerdings müssen in den meisten Gebieten noch die Attribute und Objekte von der OSM-Community aufgenommen werden. Hierbei kooperieren wir auch mit wheelMap.org vom Verein Sozialhelden (Deutscher Engagementpreis 2009).
Im vom österreichischen BMVIT geförderten Projekt 100 Gründe hinauszugehen wird am Beispiel Wien auf Basis von Rollstuhlrouting eine Plattform speziell für Menschen ab 60 entwickelt.
In einem externen Studentenprojekt wurde auf Basis von OpenRouteService eine Braille-Ausgabe der Navigationsanweisungen für Blinde umgesetzt.

June 2010

Geographisches Institut ist Mitglied bei OGC und AGILE
Das Geographische Institut ist über die Abteilung für Geoinformatik nun Mitglied im OpenGeospatial Consortium (OGC) – einem weltweiten Zusammenschluss von mehreren hundert Institutionen und Firmen, die das Ziel verfolgen, die Interoperabilität von GIS-Systemen zu erleichtern – und Mitglied in der Association of Geographic Information Laboratories in Europe (AGILE), dem europäischen Verbund von Forschungseinrichtungen zum Schwerpunkt Geographischer Information.

Links
Geoinformatik Heidelberg mit zwei eingeladenen Vorträgen beim ersten Wo?-Kongress vertreten

April 2010

Erreichbarkeitsanalysen für E-Mobile auf der Hannover Messe vorgestellt
Auf der Hannover Messe zeigt die ALL4IP TECHNOLOGIES GmbH & Co. KG Zukunftsperspektiven für E-Mobilität. Eine wesentliche Frage bei der Entwicklung zukünftiger Elektromobile ist die Analyse der Erreichbarkeit in Abhängigkeit vom aktuellen Fahrverhalten und der Topographie. Ein Live-Demonstrator mit dem E-Bike ELMOTO veranschaulicht auf Basis des Erreichbarkeitsdienstes von OpenRouteService (ORS) der Abteilung für Geoinformatik der Universität Heidelberg das Szenario zunächst in prototypischer Form.
Noch besteht großer Bedarf an szenariospezifischen realistischeren Modellen, die neben unterschiedlichen Fahrzeug-, Batterie- und Fahrertypen auch die relevanten geographischen Gegebenheiten detailliert einbeziehen. Die Demonstration können Sie live sehen auf dem Stand der ESA (European Space Agency) in Halle 2, Stand D56.

March 2010

HistOSM
Eine erste Version der Karte HistOSM.org bietet Zugriff auf als historisch klassifizierte Objekte in OpenStreetMap – von archäologischen Stätten bis zu Ruinen und Schiffswracks wurden derzeit in Europa ca. 70 000 Objekte von Freiwilligen aufgenommen.

Links
„GEOINFORMATIK 2010“ in Kiel ein voller Erfolg - Prof. Zipf Scientific Chair der Konferenz

February 2010

OGC veröffentlicht Kandidaten für neue 3D-Standards: W3DS, WVS und 3D Symbology Encoding
Das Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) hat drei Kandidaten für neue Standards für die Bereitstellung von 3D Darstellungen veröffentlicht. Es handelt sich um zwei Web-Dienste für 3D-Visualisierungen mit etwas unterschiedlichem Anwendungsspektrum. Dies sind eine revidierte Version des Web 3D Service (W3DS) und der Web View Service (WVS). Beide zusammen etablieren eine neue Familie von 3D-Darstellungsdiensten mit dem Fokus auf 3D-Karten, interaktive virtuelle Umgebungen und kartographische Visualisierungen in 3D. Zusätzlich wurde mit dem 3D Symbology Encoding (3D SE) ein Entwurf für die zugehörigen 3D-Darstellungsvorschriften veröffentlicht. Dieser erweitert die vom WMS bekannten Styled Layer Descriptor (SLD) Spezifikation um Darstellungsspezifikationen für 3D-Szenen. Eine Referenzimplementierung des W3DS und des 3D SE wird in der GIScience Research Group der Universität Heidelberg unter der Leitung von Prof. Alexander Zipf entwickelt und ist seit geraumer Zeit in verschiedenen Diensten im Online-Einsatz. [Alle Infos..]

January 2010

Heidelberger Geographen unterstützen Katastrophenmanagement für Haiti - neuer Notfallroutenplaner online
Nur 2 Tage nach dem Erdbeben auf Haiti konnte das Team der Abteilung für Geoinformatik einen neuen Online-Routenplaner für Haiti online stellen. Mit diesem können u.a. auch Umwege bei zerstörten Straßen berücksichtigt werden. Er basiert auf dem OpenRouteService der Arbeitsgruppe und nutzt die freien Geodaten der Wiki-Weltkarte OpenStreetMap (OSM). Die erste Version des neuen Routing-Dienstes findet sich unter openls.geog.uni-heidelberg.de/osm-haiti/. Die Daten werden stündlich aktualisiert.

Neue Mountainbike-Option in OpenRouteService
Seit kurzem werden mehrere Radfahrer-Optionen in OpenRouteService.org zusätzlich zu Fußgängern und Autofahrern unterstützt. Neben kürzester Route nun auch eine Option mit Voreinstellungen für Rennradfahrer, für Mountainbiker und die „sicherste“ Route. Feedback welcome!