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CSIRO Media Release |
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| Ms Rosie Schmedding | (02) 6276-6520 | |||
| Mobile | (0418) 622-653 | |||
| Fax | (02) 6276-6821 | |||
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24 September 1998 |
Ref 98/227 |
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Imagine being able to dial up the Internet and find all sorts of detailed information about your own block of land - such as your boundaries, contours, roads or nearby features such as a famous building.
Such a system is available for one state - the Australian Capital Territory - on the Internet right now. ACTMAPonline takes information from the ACT Government's Land Information Centre (ACTLIC) and makes it available over the Internet using software developed by CSIRO.
ACTMAPonline is one of the star attractions of Manufesto '98, the nation's biggest science and industry fair which is taking place in Melbourne this week from September 23-25, 1998.
ACTMAPonline started as a pilot project by staff at CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences using existing data from the government database. Staff from ACTLIC then took the original pilot project and developed it into a fully-functional spatial information system that is now live on the Internet.
Users who live in the ACT can dial up ACTMAPonline and find their own parcel of land, and information about it. People all around the world can examine ACTMAP using a standard web browser.
"This system was the first to make information available over the Internet in this way," says CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences researcher Mr Ross Ackland.
"The system works from within the normal browsers that are familiar to most people already. We are using an applet that works within the browser that allows the user to view and interact with the spatial data."
"What makes ACTMAPonline so special is the way the data is formatted. Normally when you zoom in on images on the Internet they go fuzzy and unreadable. With this system you are able to zoom in and pan, and the image remains as clear as the original picture," says Mr Ackland.
"CSIRO has continued to develop the system for use in mobile environments. The Mobile Maps projects, a collaborative project with ACTEW Corporation, the ACT Electricity and Water authority is investigating the feasibility of delivering map based information to electricity and water crews working in the field, " Mr Ackland says.
Mobile Maps combines several modern information technologies, including the global positioning satellite (GPS) system. When a crew arrives at a new job, they log in using a laptop computer in their truck, check for recent changes to the power or water network, and download the information.
A GPS receiver in the laptop allows the system to report to base exactly where they are so that specific information for the area they are in can be transmitted to the site. When the job is completed, the crew update the network plans. This makes changes on the corporate system instantly.
"The biggest advantage of both projects is the opportunities that they have opened up. Now that we have been able to take existing databases, and make them accessible to people using mobile communications and the Internet in this way, we can see that there is a whole range of uses this technology could be put to," Mr Ackland says.
Manufesto '98 will showcase more than 100 top technologies drawn from CRC's CSIRO, Universities and some small companies. The conference will focus on the challenges and opportunities facing Australian researchers and industry as they take research to the global market.
The event is sponsored by CSIRO, Business Victoria and AusIndustry (Department of Industry Science and Tourism) with the support of the Australian Industry Research Group (AIRG) and the Australian Vice Chancellors' Committee (AVCC).
Manufesto '98 takes place at the Melbourne Convention Centre 23-25 September 1998. The exhibition will be open 24 - 25 September.
More information:
Ross Ackland 0419 409 129 mobile (during Manfuesto) or 02 6216 7044 (w), 02 6238 3243 (h)
ACTMAPonline can be viewed at: http://polaris.act.cmis.csiro.au/
Media are welcome to attend Manufesto '98.
More information is available on the Internet at: http://www.manufesto.csiro.au/
For a media pass please contact: Rosie Schmedding 02 6276 6520 or 0418 622 653
(Australia's largest scientific research organisation)
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