Location Base Services (LBS) Has Been Implemented at Stockholm Subway (Tunnelbana)

Personally, my family has a very close relationship with Stockholm. We started our life there, delivered my old son Arsya, study and others at our early time together.

Read the GPS world, Appear Networks and Cisco Inc. update, really make me impressed. As I knew, last time I was there, the LBS techniology has not been implemented at Stockholm Subway (tunnel bana).

Delivering personalised, real-time information to users in underground stations, anywhere across the Wi-Fi network. It can be explained as follow:

Based on contextual information such as time of day, job role, and current physical location, the solution is able to access the right information, which is interpreted and pushed out in real time to the right users, and to the right location. This Integrated Location Services Solution is also able to determine the location of a handheld mobile device to within a few meters, leading to a better-informed and more effective workforce.

To improve customer service through better information and better-connected employees. In addition to improving station safety, the new solution accelerates access to service disruption updates for staff working on train platforms.

What the bussiness benefit from its implementation we can get?

The Integrated Location Services Solution provides real and tangible business benefits via fast, readily available real-time information and tools.

Benefits provided by this solution include:

• Increased employee productivity
• Better informed and more effective employees
• Reduced employee training requirements
• Improved customer satisfaction
• Improved security through context aware silent alerts
• Increased sales in retail environments
• Improved asset management and security through strategic positioning of connected devices, users or equipment
  

The Stockholm Tunnelbana has three lines encompassing 110km of track and 100 stations of which 64km and 55 stations are underground. Several of the deep underground stations are cut into solid rock which were left with cave-like ceilings. The builders carved fascinating artistic objects out of the rock.

Here is some picture down to subway station,

at Husby Station ( the nearest station where we used to live)

at friedhemsplan ( the closest to the Indonesian Embassy)

at Tensta (where the hallal supermarket is)

reference:

http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/partners/news/2006/pr_prod_05-02.html

http://lbs.gpsworld.com/gpslbs/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=325123

http://www.appearnetworks.com/cisco-location-services

Google Earth Gets Overlay Search Feature

Google Inc. has created a searchable index of Google Earth data files, a feature that should make it easier for users to find and adopt third-party overlays for this popular mapping application.
Google Earth's search engine now returns KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files which developers have created to add data to the application's maps, the Mountain View, California, company said Wednesday.

"Users can now search through all of the world's KML files, making the millions of Google Earth layers on the Web instantly accessible for geobrowsing and exploration," wrote Chikai Ohazama, a Google Earth product manager in an official company blog. Google expects to later extend this capability to its mapping Web site Google Maps, Ohazama wrote.

Google Earth is a free, downloadable PC application that taps a multiterabyte database of aerial and satellite images to let users "fly" around the globe using a video-game type user interface. By creating overlays in the KML file format, users can create markers to pinpoint places and provide all sorts of information about an area, making Google Earth a repository of local business listings, homes for sale, photos, architectural drawings, videos, historical facts and geographical data.

KML users range from casual, individual users to large organizations like Discovery Networks, the U.S. National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic. KML can also be used to add data files to Google Maps, a mapping Web site that is one of the most popular among developers for creating mashups, which are Web applications that use data and features from an existing site or online service via application programming interfaces (APIs).

Online maps, in combination with local search engines, have become very popular in recent years, giving people a way to discover local businesses and attractions, obtain driving directions and view satellite images of an area, among other things. Google competitors like Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc., AOL LLC and Ask.com have made their mapping sites a high priority for development. Advertising revenue in local search engines is expected to grow from US$3.4 billion in 2005 to $13 billion in 2010, according to The Kelsey Group Inc.

adaptep form www.pcworld.com ( http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,129054/article.html )

Better Accuracy on Google Earth by SPOTIMAGE

Spot Image has entered into an agreement with Google in order to improve the available resolution of Google Earth products over wide areas of the world.

Under a multi-year agreement, Spot Image will provide Google Earth with 2.5 meter resolution imagery taken from the SPOT 5 satellite.

As of January 22, users will be able to see new high resolution satellite images on Google Earth for various European areas including France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Spain and Portugal.

"We always look to work with the best satellite imagery providers and are very pleased to be working with a French company. Giving our users access to the highest quality images is very important for us. We hope this will help them explore more of our planet from above", says Mats Carduner, Head of France and Southern Europe for Google.

"This cooperation with Google is a great opportunity to enlarge the community of people who enjoy the images taken by the SPOT satellites, and to show all the benefits of earth observation from space. I am convinced it will contribute to growing public interest for this technology. We are very enthusiastic at Spot Image about this cooperation.", says Hervé Buchwalter, President & CEO, Spot ImageSpot Image's wide range of products and services makes it a leading supplier of geo-spatial information.

Over two decades, the company has perfected the ability to harness space- and ground-based systems to meet customers' needs. Headquartered in Toulouse, France, with subsidiaries and offices in Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, Singapore and the United States, the Spot Image group leverages a global network of ground receiving stations, partners and distributors to bring geographic information to public- and private-sector decision-makers worldwide.

adapted from www.spotimage.fr

Hamburg Port City - The 1st 3D on Google Earth

Anyone who is friendly dealing with Google Eart will be no longer exited by wacthing the 1st 3D visualization on it. You will be able to take a virtual tour of Hamburg port city. Soon, in the next few week,s - downtown of Hamburg port city will take a bow as Google's fitrst vieable 3D city. Hamburg isnt the first city to be rendered in 3D. Cyber city has already created 3D versions of Paris and Florence so did with Postdam.

Remote Sensing Solution has rendered Berlin, Munich and other German Cities in 3D, but Hamburg will be the first metropolis available to anyone who has downloaded Google Earth's free softwre.

The approach is fundamentally different from Google 's main rival, Microsoft, which wants to offer a similiar 3D versions of cites on its own mapping service, Virtual Earth. Instead of using uploaded photos from users, though, Microsoft simply bought a company that specializes in gathering such image.

note: the pics above is berlin on going rendered

Christchurch - New Zealand

Have a chat with my old friend Amalia who is studying political science at Canterbury University, sent me to 5 -6 years ago, when I was still single, worked for a big navigation provider company.

Christchurch, the biggest city in south island of New Zealand, my impression with much of the city being flat and only a few metres above sea level, spectacular views can be obtained from almost any high building. At low elevations the city may appear almost forested with only a few buildings visible, unlike a major city.

The location of CHC is about

Latitude: 43° 31 Mins, 48 Secs South

Longitude: 172° 37 Mins, 13 Secs East

Spent my weekend at Kaikaroa, watching the Whales Dancing Attraction, Diving in Akaroa, Have a dinner at Willowbank Natural Park, and also Dux de Lux with no beer of course.

The only mosque at Deans Street. Jogging at Hagley Park, surrounding with artist who was painting and dancing in front of catedral square.

As we have known that the Government of NZ was very concern about the education, we can find some tertiary university in CHC, there are: Canterbury University, Lincoln University, CHC Polytechnic Institute of Technology and Otago Univesity specially for Medicine Fact.

It's really still fresh in my mind.

Hopefully I can visit CHC again one day.