Article of the Month in 2017

FIG publishes each month the Article of the Month. This is a high-level paper focusing on interesting topic to all surveyors. This article can be picked up from an FIG conference or another event or it can be a paper written directly for this purpose.

  • December 2017 is written by José António TENEDÓRIO and Luís MARQUES (Portugal): How can 3D models and augmented reality visualization based on mobile platforms enhance the value of urban heritage? This paper was chosen among numerous papers that constituted the program of the FIG Commission 3 workshop in November 2017 in Lisbon. The main idea of the Paper is about Digital Representations in the relation between Technology, Agents and Several Knowledge Domains, and is aimed at analyzing the Augmented Valuation of Cultural Heritage based on Geographic Information Technologies (GIT).

  • November 2017 is written by Jinyue WANG, Martin METZNER and Volker SCHWIEGER (Germany): Accuracy and Quality Assessment of Various Digital Road Maps for Wrong-Way Driving Detection on German Autobahn. This paper was presented at the FIG Working Week 2017 in Helsinki, Finland, 29 May – 2 June. Ghost driver incidents become a major concern for every individual road user. In order to enhance road safety, particularly by entering and exiting an autobahn, a telematics system for preventing ghost driver incidents will be implemented within the research project Ghosthunter. This study aims to investigate the use potential of digital road maps for preparation and development of an intelligent wrong-way driving detection system.

  • October 2017 is written by Vassilis GIKAS, Harris PERAKIS, Allison KEALY, Guenther RETSCHER, Thanassis MPIMIS, Constantinos ANTONIOU (Greece, Australia, Austria, Germany): Indoor Parking Facilities Management Based on RFID CoO Positioning in Combination with Wi–Fi and UWB This paper is a peer review paper that was presented at the FIG Working Week 2017. Fixed geometric constraints, imposed by man-made structures, weather influences, etc., make it possible to restrict positioning. In this study, these problems will be subjected to a number of tests and a low-cost solution will be offered.

  • September 2017 is written by Wallace MUKUPA, China,  Gethin Wyn ROBERTS, United Kingdom, Craig Matthew HANCOCK, China, Khalil AL-MANASIR, China: Correction of Terrestrial LiDAR Data Using a Hybrid Model This paper is a peer review paper that was presented at the FIG Working Week 2017. Wallace Mukupa received a ph.d. grant from FIG Foundation in 2016 and one of the results is this peer review paper. In this paper, a hybrid method for correcting intensity data is presented. 

  • August 2017 is written by Hannu Koivula, Antti Laaksonen, Sonja Lahtinen, Jaakko Kuokkanen, Simo Marila, Finland: Finnish Permanent GNSS Network, FinnRef 
    For the first time FIG Commission 5 decided to award the best Commission 5 paper of the FIG Working Week with the NavXperience Award. The price 2017 was awarded to Hannu Koivula et al. for their contribution.  The paper is focusing on renewing the FinnRef network. The NRTK service will be improved so that it fulfills the internal surveying needs of the NLS. For this purpose the NLS has initiated a project for 2017-2019 to densify FinnRef with 20-30 new GNSS stations.

  • July 2017 is written by Olli NEVALAINEN, Tomi ROSNELL, Teemu HAKALA, Eija HONKAVAARA, Roope NÄSI, Kimmo NURMINEN, Finland: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Municipality Level 3D Topographic Data Production in Urban Areas.
    This paper was presented at the FIG Working Week 2017 in Helsinki, Finland, 29 May – 2 June. Te paper describes general properties and characteristics of different types of UAVs. Results showed that UAV photogrammetry provides low cost tool for producing topographic data in urban areas, especially when small areas are of concern.


  • June 2017 is written by Fernando SOARES, Maria João HENRIQUES and César ROCHA, Portugal:
    Concrete Block Tracking in Breakwater Models
    This paper was presented at the FIG Working Week 2017 in Helsinki, Finland, 29 May – 2 June. This paper focuses on breakwater(BW) and evaluate the effectiveness of the shape and of the protective elements to save the harbour. This study proposes a methodology to estimate displacements of concrete blocks of the outer layer, also called protection layer, of rouble-mound breakwater models.

  • May 2017 is written by Maarit KAHILA and Anna BROBERG, Finland: Making cities wiser - Crowdsourcing for better decisions
    This paper will be presented at the FIG Working Week 2017 in Helsinki, Finland, 29 May – 2 June. The paper presents different innovative case studies from Finland and abroad where Maptionnaire (a leading solution for collecting, analyzing and discussing resident insight on a map) has been used. Based on the findings a new public participation model has been drafted.

  • April 2017 is written by John BROCK, Australia: HADRIAN’S WALL: Boundary Monument for the Northern Frontier of Roman Britannia! 
    This paper will be presented at the FIG Working Week 2017 in Helsinki, Finland, 29 May – 2 June. Much hypotheses and over-thinking has taken place over hundreds of years in an effort to attribute purposes for the raison d’etre of the wall across northern Britain erected at the behest of the formidable Roman Emperor whose name has been ultimately used to describe this intriguing edifice. John Brock makes his own offering to the discussion table about what served as the main reasons for the erection of such a notable memorial to the time of the renowned civilization during the second century.

  • March 2017 is written by Arvo KOKKONEN, Jani KYLMÄAHO and Heli URSIN, Finland: Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure (Arctic SDI)
    This paper will be presented at the FIG Working Week 2017 in Helsinki, Finland, 29 May – 2 June. Understanding and responding to the impacts of climate change and human activities in the Arctic, requires accessible and reliable data to facilitate monitoring, management, emergency preparedness and decision making. The Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure (Arctic SDI), was established to address the need for readily available spatial data in the northern areas of the globe. The paper focuses on the collaboration.

  • February 2017 is written by Zaid ABUBAKARI, Netherlands, Paul VAN DER MOLEN, Netherlands, Rohan M. BENNETT, Netherlands, Elias DANYI KUUSAANA, Ghana: Land consolidation, customary lands, and Ghana’s Northern Savannah Ecological Zone: An evaluation of the possibilities and pitfalls . This paper was presented at the International Symposium on Land Consolidation and Land Readjustment – held in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, 9 – 11 November 2016. The paper demonstrates that Land Consolidation - as an existing and proven approach - can be used very well for future challenges - as mitigation of and adaptation to climate change effects.

  • January 2017 is written by František PAVLÍK, Arnošt MÜLLER, Svatava MARADOVÁ and Michal GEBHART, Czech Republic: Adaptation Measures for Climate Change in the Process of Land Consolidation. This paper was presented at the International Symposium on Land Consolidation and Land Readjustment – held in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, 9 – 11 November 2016. This paper was chosen as being most representative for modern land consolidation in the context of sustainable development. It focuses on how climate changes cause higher demand on the land consolidation process and introduce new challenges especially in the design of adaptation measures through the Common Facilities Plan as an important part of land consolidation process in Czech Republic.