December 8, 2020
Top Three New Features of Geographic Calculator 2020 SP1
Geographic Calculator is a powerful geodetic application with particular strength in survey, seismic, and energy exploration. In addition to single point, point database, and file conversion tools, this highly accurate transformation software includes many specialized tools such as Canadian DLS (Dominion Land Survey) Land Grid tools, Seismic Survey Conversion tools, Area of Use tools for guiding users to the most appropriate transformation settings for a specific location, Horizontal Time-Dependent Positioning (HTDP), Geoid Creation tools, and much more.
The Service Pack 1 (SP1) release of Geographic Calculator 2020 includes many new features and improvements. This blog focuses on the top three
New IOGP Data Model
The SP1 release includes support for the new IGOP (International Association of Oil and Gas Producers) data-model-types for Usage and Scope Objects, Dynamic Datums, and Ensembles. Usages and Scopes help define where and how particular definitions are used. A Usage takes the familiar Area of Use filter and adds on an intended purpose within that area, the “Scope.” Examples of Scope might be “cadastre mapping” or “geodesy.” Together they give more information about the intended use or purpose of particular coordinate systems, beyond simply where they might apply. Dynamic datums acknowledge motion of a coordinate system through time. Until recently, datum transformations were considered essentially fixed in time without realizing the change over time that is endemic to the Earth. Periodically, some datums are updated with a new “realization” with further information. A Dynamic Datum changes this idea to be a datum that inherently models change. Lastly, Ensembles are a new grouping of datum realizations, such as WGS84, which has many realizations at different points in time. An Ensemble allows those to be grouped together under a single collective entity to simplify talking about them all at once. Together these model updates will lead to some interesting new possibilities in the field of geodetics.
Access to the new GeoCalc Online Point-to-Point Converter
GeoCalc Online is Blue Marble Geographics’ online geodetic parameter library. Users of Geographic Calculator will find the new cloud-based Point-to-Point Converter similar to the popular Interactive Conversion Job found in the desktop software. The Point-to-Point Converter offers three operations: Convert, Forward, and Inverse. Without any need to install software, GeoCalc Online’s Point-to-Point Converter allows users to conduct basic operations in the web app, expanding the reach of GeoCalc to users in the field. This interface works well on a mobile phone or tablet and is a great way to perform Quality Assurance in the field when you need it and where you need it.
The Point-to-Point Calculator has a familiar layout and functionality to Geographic Calculator’s Interactive Job and is optimized for mobile device use.Support for GeoTiff Digital Elevation Models
This new release of Geographic Calculator introduces support for GeoTiff Digital Elevation Models, enabling encoding of elevations or simple raster data. Many users are familiar with GeoTiff imagery formats, but for those working with terrain and elevation data , GeoTiff can also be used to store z-values instead of colors. This new option is found on the Raster Transformations jobs in Geographic Calculator.
Download a Geographic Calculator trial today and join us for a live webinar on December 9 at 2:00 PM (EST) to learn more about all of these new features. Register today to secure your spot.
