Digital and Societal Transformation ideas-expertise-proces

Often the question is raised onthe  benefits of open data.  Who is using it and for which purposes? It seems it is not so easy to respond, because the benefits of open data are often diffuse and indirect.  In  the past I have seen that it is not always that easy to respond to this question.  Some studies, like the one about London transport open data   indicates that 80 apps have benefited transport usage , created jobs and generated a return to the economy, not bad. The Brussels based Rockestate is than an exception.  It uses open geogrphic data, in a curated way, to created analysis both for the insurance, electricity and property market.  Their website explains the sources and possible uses.  An article from Bruzz explained it as well.  Looking forward to more stories like this one The Brussels Regional open data store    over 130 datasets.  Check them out and see what you can do with it.

Bruno Colmant  (bank Degroof) - in an earlier Linkedin talk about verbal and other violence sees no real alternative to Trumpism in this world. He looks at respect as a solution, respect to one another, without elaborating on it extensively however. As a counter-poison, it makes me think of the analysis of  my Christmas reading of  Naomi Klein in her recent book, ' no is not enough: resisting Trump's shock politics'.    Naomis explanation in the book is a real daring and interesting one, well documented as well.  In former times I would have said 'hats off'. The book goes as follows: - shock:  the strategy of Trump its advisors (mostly coming from investment bank Goldman Sachs) and industrial backing (the security and defense industry) aims to put pressure on all fronts instead of going in a sequential manner; this makes that normal people start to be confused, come into a fear and primitive reaction mode, and at a certain point will want a ...

I attended the conference 'the human city' , organised by a group of researchers and thinkers at the VUB, in the new think tank POINcaré. The book the human city was presented there.  There are a few topics that are quite innovative regarding the Smart city and regarding the rol of Brussels as the digital hub. These definitely are not approaches that are shared by a lot of people (yet), but shed an optimistic light on the perspective of a human and sustainable city. Regarding computer literacy, it is no longer about using a mouse or a smart phone: it is about real data literacy moving up at a higher level for decision makers, and other: how to use data, understand it, understand the implications of data and the way to handle it in an ethical way. Regarding the structure of the city, it sees that the much hyped UX or user interface in the digital work for apps, need to be replicated in the city:  fluidity as the norm. For Brussels, it seems that for example a pedestri...

Begeo.be looks like it is going to be an important landmark in GEO history.  When academics, private sector and government entitites, enthusiasts join forces for a new professional gathering, this must be something.  Save the date of 3/3/2016 in The Egg. Besides, if you have a project you have a project worth for nominations in the Geo-awards , than go for it! 

On 23/6 I am organising at Agoria with my colleagues of Mechatronics an event on Precison Farming.  The content is cutting edge.  I you would like to attend ping me tanguy.delestre@agoria.be before 18/6 From precision farming 1.0 to 2.0: challenges and opportunities" When Agricultural Machinery embraces the GEO-ICT and Data revolution From crop selection and protection to harvest, GEO-ICT components play an active part at every stage of modern agricultural practices. Precision farming means that cultivation and plant protection take place in the right location thanks to GPS activation; precise monitoring is also possible thanks to up-to-date satellite images and the analysis of all data streams from sensors leads to a better understanding and a better knowledge. During this Agoria workshop on  23 June , the two worlds of “agricultural mechanisation and GEO-ICT” will be invited to exchange views to learn from each other and find opportunities. The programme includes...

Last week I visited the Geospatial World Forum in Lissabon.  Great minds captured in a silo mentality it seemed to me.  This is nothing special about the GEO community, this is reflected a little everywhere. The business transformation happening in the overal relevance chain  (my new wording for value chain)  is changing . The amount of data with a geo component is increasing dramatically in the world.  This brings geo in the forefront of new policies like pricacy that was unheard of before. The massive amount of data is crushed to relevant patterns, and goes well beyond an expert analysis of a satellite image to forecast drought in sub-Sahara.  It is about investigating the music that will be played in a local store, personalised according to the playlists of the smartphones that have been geolocalised in that store over the past weeks and linking it with higher engagement/sales in that store.  It is about geotagging the whole public and private d...

Waw, that's a trend, thanks to Rudi De Waele for point ing out. In 2020, the location-based service market is a $1.3 trillion industry. In 2020, use of geo-location data, including GPS, generates $500 billion in consumer value. Geographer jobs grow 35 percent per annum, while those of cartographers and photogrammetrists grow 22 percent between 2010 and 2020. The future of geospatial technology

It seems that the business model of 21st century (unlimited amount of Uber car rides) versus the 20th century (limited number of licensed taxi rides) is increasing in Brussels. The trade-off has been tax revenue vs regulation of the market and a kind of protection of the sector.  It hasn't stopped the private cars from offering rock-bottom prices to stranded Thalys customers at Brussels south to Paris, or other unregulated practices . Now comes a new type of busines model taking advantage of improving the inbalance between offer and demand.  Looks quite easy no,  if taxis with a Brussels region license are allowed to drop of customers at Brussels airport, but not allowed to take new customers because of limited Zaventem licenses.  The middlemen (central phone dispatch) is replaced by a matching service, and is more efficient.  It is a business model that brings more value to the end customer, really moving the taxi experience to the 21st information area....

Student project on emergency drones - UAV

interactive TWEET MAP

The Belgian Government, after a consultation, came out with a brochure called Marine Spatial Plan. Link to press announcement: Link to actual document I really like the page 23 wih all the overlapping areas together.

I started redently coordination of a research project called European Location Framework, within the frame of KULeuven university partner. It is the extended research effort by the European national mapping agencies to push into the market authorative and accurate mapping information. As it is an extension of INSPIRE and will push for re-use fo this data, it can only be good for more innnovative applications coming into the market. Find out what's happened during the first year of the ELF project

This is the Guacamole test used by Philips to promote indoor navigatin using LEDs, another technology used next to iBeacons. Seems that more mobile phones are capable of using this LED technoogy. It is apparently linking with the light sensor used in the camera and 'hacking' this feature enables this type of apps apparently. Tests by GE : Test by Philips : Philips using LED for indoor store navigation and communication with the smartphone

"Put location to work for you" via @IFTTT :

There is a lot of hype about drones, UAVs. Recently Michael MAes , BeUAS provided an overview of the market situation in Belgium in this sector. What is interesting are the wide variety of UAV applications: geographic applications, ground inspectionis, photography, farming, building industry, police and firebrigade, mining, ...  Link (Dutch) Presentation link

1Spatial plc, the spatial big data company which manages some of the world’s largest spatial data, is one of the UK’s fastest growing and dynamic small to medium sized businesses (SMEs), according to the London Stock Exchange’s landmark research report ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’. http://t.co/CfZSSzOCqk #spatialbigdata

This recent visit to Intergeo has opened my eye to the fast hardware evolution in the UAVs. The presentation below summarizes some of these trends - Connected APPS The success of current mobile app ecosystems is due largely to the opening of the marketplace by Apple and Google to third party developers; these take the risk of innovation away from the platform - However, there are signs from the market that a consolidation phase is likely to take place and that it becomes difficult for an app developer to get attention. (Tapptic study: user only regularly uses 6 apps on his smartphone) - Connected devices and cars - The market of wearable devices linked to a communication device is an upcoming market. Uptake of smart watches (5 million to yes old in 2014 according to Canalys) or visualisation tools like Google glass are set to take off in 2014. The ecosystem of these wearable devices brings in new players that go directly especially in the product solution space - The M2M (machine...

Rise of the iBeacons - Micro Location & Proximity Revolution iBeacon offers tremendous possibilities to retailers who might use the technology to power mobile payment solutions, coupon solutions and also targeted advertising. (source) to be followed...

to be checked Foursquare, the check-in and local search app maker, has rolled out ads for local businesses info

Extract from VRWI future study for Flanders on GEO that I like: Space, territory and landscape (political, social, urban, natural etc.) as the overlap between physical space and virtual space is increasingly discussed and virtual landscapes of communication are redefining our sense of space and time. The human habitat and its landscapes are being redefined in dramatic ways, and new physical and symbolic geographies are needed to explore it. Hence, social science and humanities research has a major role to play.