British Association of Remote Sensing Companies

Astrium GEO-Information Services is working with Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) to ensure emergency response crews have access to critical information on the front line. Hampshire FRS is now using Astium GEO-Information Services’ SAFEcommand Vehicle-Mounted Data System in all of its 130 appliances across the county.

With SAFEcommand, fire crews now have access to the latest operational data including potential risks at an incident location – such as gas cylinder storage or how to gain access to particular stretch of river – from their in-cab terminal on the way to an emergency call. The SAFEcommand terminal enables crews to search rapidly for incident-specific information, ensuring that they arrive at the incident better informed, and that they can optimise their performance when on site in an emergency.

At HFRS, SAFEcommand replaces the service’s previous paper-based file system that was difficult to maintain and keep up-to-date. Now the data held on each appliance terminal is scheduled to update automatically twice a day – reflecting any recent inspection results carried out by the extended team and equipping firefighters with the very latest information collated by HFRS.

Paul Ingoldsby, Data Manager, from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, who has worked with the Astrium public safety team on the SAFEcommand implementation project, said: “We want to be the best fire and rescue service in the country, and are committed to making life safer for everyone by reducing risks in our local communities. As part of this drive we decided to implement SAFEcommand as it will dramatically speed up the time taken to update our records, and ensure that our front line staff have access to critical information that can enable faster responses in emergency situations.”

Andy Kerr, Astrium GEO-Information Services’ Senior Commercial Manager, added: “Key SAFEcommand benefits for emergency services include improved access to the latest incident information, improved response times and the accurate real-time location of resources. A central system for data consolidation and management also ensures the seamless delivery of critical operational response information to mobile resources such as Hampshire Fire and Rescue Services emergency crews.”

SAFEcommand solutions take advantage of the latest GIS-based systems and real-time mobile data communication to aid crews and control room staff. SAFEcommand also offers full support for multi-agency data sharing.

DLR and Astrium GEO-Information Services support research following the Sendei earthquake

The German radar satellite TerraSAR-X will acquire co-seismic data and a post-seismic time series of three months duration, covering the area around Sendei, Japan, in ascending (orbit 156, strip 9, incidence 35 degrees) and descending (orbit 42, strip 10, incidence 37 degrees) orbits in 3m resolution (StripMap Mode).

The data will be made available free of charge via the GEO Geohazards Supersites – http://supersites.earthobservations.org/main.php mechanism. First datasets are now accessible, and additional datasets will be uploaded regularly throughout the months of April, May and June.

Such radar data stacks will deliver valuable input for the activities of geophysical and particularly seismic researchers. The data can be used for performing long-term change detection, interferometric analysis, and for documenting even very small aftershocks of the recent quake.

Additional data of this area can be accessed via DLR’s science service system – http://sss.terrasar-x.dlr.de/ – for scientific purposes, and via Astrium GEO-Information Services TerraSAR-X Services – www.astrium-geo.com – for commercial purposes.

Astrium GEO-Information Services has introduced new marine and coastal geospatial data that is now downloadable from its www.geostore.com store. The new data includes the Admiralty Raster Charts, and a new generation of vector data known as Marine Themes that is based on information sourced from the UK Hydrographic Office. Easily accessed online, the new marine and coastal data will be particularly relevant for environmental protection and planning professions in the public sector, as well as for commercial organisations – such as utility companies and other organisations – that are planning offshore wind farms or other coastal projects.

“The availability of new marine and coastal data strengthens our core Geostore offering, and confirms Geostore’s position as the ideal choice for organisations requiring online delivery of critical geospatial information,” said Andrew Stroomer, UK Managing Director, Astrium GEO-Information Services. “These new marine and coastal data sets complement our existing expertise in key offshore applications such as the protection of submarine assets and the provision of offshore oil seepage information.”

In addition to marine and coastal geospatial data, GeoStore provides customers with access to digital terrestrial mapping, aerial imagery and lidar height data. As with all Geostore data products, the new marine and coastal datasets can be fully defined by the customer, providing organisations with the ability to select data on demand – either as an immediate download or even delivered on CD or DVD depending on the amount of data purchased for each application.

The Geostore Marine Themes data comprises authoritative data from the UK and other Hydrographic Offices. It consists of a comprehensive suite of individual marine layers corresponding to important marine features: elevation, shipwrecks and obstructions, transport, industrial facilities, administrative and management units and geographical regions.

This data is ideal for general situation awareness, planning, site selection and investigation, and outline engineering design. It is also applicable for projects where features need to be selectively displayed or interrogated to create derived outputs. Alternatively, it can be used as a reference base for the user’s own data layers. Standard symbology details are provided free of charge allowing for immediate use of the data in GIS.

The new Raster Chart data provide a comprehensive marine map base and is ideal for applications where a set of familiar features and symbology is required for reference or as a backdrop to other datasets. Supplied as separate image files, users can easily load the charts they need and use them directly in their Geographical Information Systems (GIS).