The organisers of the 2nd European LiDAR Mapping Forum (ELMF) to be held in Salzburg, Austria from November 29-30, have today launched the 2011 programme. The programme promotes a truly international theme where speakers in the international LIDAR community represent nearly 20 countries from all over the world: UAE, Russia, Australia, USA, Canada and several European countries including Hungary, Poland, Denmark and Belgium.
With over 80 abstracts submitted following the Call for Papers, the committee were tasked with selecting a varied, high quality, topical and interesting programme. And with papers entitled Terrestrial Laserscanning & 3D visualisation of the largest ice cave on Earth, LIDAR Scanning the Equatorial jungle of Central Africa, Monitoring the outmost islands of Indonesia using Airborne LIDAR Bathymetry and Mobile Laser Scanning railway data collection and automated feature extraction they have achieved just that.
The conference is supported by a Showcase of more than 50 of the worlds leading companies in the LIDAR industry market. Exhibitors include the LIDAR and complimentary sensor manufacturers, survey and mapping companies, data processing, GIS and management specialists and the latest mobile mapping vehicles.
Uniquely, this event is not all about the LIDAR experts, it also for novice operators, their managers and potential purchasers of equipment. There is a full series of learning workshops and demonstrations aimed at providing an understanding of the basic principles and fundamental benefits of LIDAR.
The recent advances in LIDAR and associated technologies, matched by a major shift in data processing and visualisation systems, are resulting in a whole new range of markets and applications, enjoying the cost benefits of LIDAR mapping. There is a growing trend in the way data is becoming available to a much larger user community through open sources and cloud services. This is presenting a whole new set of challenges not only to the existing industry players in terms of ensuring commercial viability of mapping projects, but these also flag up the need to educate a congregation of new users in the benefits and limitations, understanding and management of the LIDAR data they use.
ELMF11 Conference Chairman Alastair MacDonald noted: We are at a watershed in the development of the LIDAR industry, where some sectors of the expanding LIDAR user community, intrigued by the easier access to acquired LIDAR data, are in danger of considering themselves experts, without the knowledge or education of the technology and its use in mapping. This is an issue the industry can not ignore.
There are important trends towards greater use of mapping data derived from LIDAR for intelligent mobile devices, and open sourcing and easy access to vaults of LIDAR data. These will have a fundamental effect on the way LIDAR mapping, data processing and management will be conducted in the near future and may well influence the survival of a number of technology and service companies. These key issues are to be debated in a Plenary Panel Session where experts from all sectors of the industry will put forward their opinions for debate with delegates.
Event Manager Caroline Hobden commented, As the worlds leading LIDAR focussed event, the ELMF offers a wealth of interest and benefits to all delegates, users and buyers at all levels. With world class speakers in two Conference tracks on airborne, bathymetry and mobile mapping, and all the key technology suppliers and service providers exhibiting, the ELMF is the unique event to visit which is relevant to all mapping sectors.
The organisers of ELMF also run the International LiDAR Mapping Forum, an annual event in the US. The next ILMF will take place in Denver in January 23 – 25, 2012 www.lidarmap.org There is currently a Call for Papers for the event in the US with a deadline of Thursday September 7, 2011.
For further information please contact info@lidarmap.net or go to www.lidarmap.org
For more information contact:
Caroline Hobden, Event Manager
European LiDAR Mapping Forum
caroline.hobden@intelligentexhibitions.com
