This is the first eBulletin since the outbreak of the worldwide corona pandemic, which has caused so many unexpected changes in both our everyday lives and also in our professional activities. In ISPRS, we are trying our best to keep you connected to the ISPRS community, we sympathize with those who suffer, and we offer our condolence to those who lost their loved ones.
As you may know, at the end of March, Council postponed the ISPRS Congress to July 2021. We struggled hard when taking this decision, but it was inevitable. At the moment, nearly all national borders are closed, and travel is virtually impossible – who knows, when this nightmare will be over.
The Congress is of course not the only ISPRS meeting affected. For example, the ISPRS Geospatial Week, to be held in Dubai and originally planned for March 2021, has been postponed by 12 months as a consequence of moving the Congress to 2021. Also, the Latin America GRSS and ISPRS Remote Sensing Symposium (LAGIRS 2020), scheduled to be held in Chile in late March 2020, was cancelled altogether. We are hoping for a new edition in 2022 in Brazil.
Other meetings have been turned into online events. In this regard, I would like to draw your attention of the Virtual Rooms of the ISPRS Student Consortium, http://sc.isprs.org/virtual-rooms.html. The SC (see editorial by Sheryl Rose Reyes in the last eBulletin) has started the great initiative, and is organising different online lectures on various topics related to ISPRS. I would like to express my gratitude to Sheryl and her team, and to Armin Grün, who was instrumental in bringing the ISPRS While Elephants to this activity. Besides connecting people – a very worthwhile activity in these times of social distancing - the Virtual Rooms are also bringing together different generations. This is a truly outstanding example of how to make the best out of the current situation – thanks again to all involved!
The Congress will now take place in Nice in July 2021. Preparations by Nicolas Paparoditis and his team are already well on the way, and we will gather in Nice in very much the same way as we had hoped to do this summer. July 2021 is also the time when we will recognise our champions and present them with the ISPRS 2020 awards. The awardees have been selected during the last few months and an announcement can be found in this eBulletin.
Coming to the scientific publications, we will have two editions of Congress proceedings, one for 2020, and another one for 2021 with new papers to be submitted by 5 February 2021. All registrations for 2020 will be carried forward to 2021. Further questions with respect to the Congress postponement are answered on the web site, http://www.isprs2020-nice.com/index.php/postponed-congress-info/#faqcovid. Besides this, we strive to have an online two-day event for those who wish to present their papers accepted for the 2020 edition.
The General Assembly and all elections have also been postponed until next year. The regular sequence of events, however, will be maintained. In 2021, the General Assembly will decide where to hold the 2024 Congress, which members are to host the 2021 – 2024 Commissions, and about positions in Council. The deadlines for proposals is March 1st, 2021. We ask all ISPRS officers to please continue their service for the society in their current position until July 2021.
ISPRS is a worldwide community. We feel strongly connected around the world and we hope the pandemic will be over soon. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us if there is anything we can do for you, or if you have a good idea how we can help to ease the current situation for you and for all of us!
All the best and hoping to see you in Nice in July 2021,
Christian Heipke, ISPRS President
May 2nd, 2020
The ISPRS Foundation (TIF) News
Wanted: Trustees for The ISPRS Foundation (TIF)
TIF seeks replacements for four Trustees due to the expiration of their terms. If you are interested, or know someone else who may be interested, please contact the current Chair of the Board of Trustees, Stewart Walker, foundationchair@isprs.org.
According to its Bylaws, The ISPRS Foundation (TIF) must have eleven Trustees. TIF’s Board of Trustees is responsible for its correct and successful operation, for example: investment, management and disbursement of funds; the annual budget; assurance that TIF’s operations and accounts are in accordance with ISPRS Statutes and Bylaws and relevant laws and regulations. The full list of duties is given in TIF’s Bylaws, Article III (https://www.isprs.org/foundation/foundation/bylaw.aspx). Of the eleven Trustees, two are appointed by ISPRS Council with terms of office running from one ISPRS Congress to the next. The other nine all well known in the profession, come from all over the world and bring extensive experience and wisdom to the Board. The current Trustees are given at https://www.isprs.org/foundation/trustees.aspx and past Trustees at https://www.isprs.org/foundation/past-trustees.aspx. The nine non-Council Trustees have three-year terms and typically retire after two such terms. One of the Trustees ended his second term in February 2020 and is continuing until we appoint a replacement. The term of one other Trustee expires in 2020 and those of two more in 2021. Therefore we need to find four new Trustees!
The duties are not onerous. There is a face-to-face meeting of Trustees during each Congress and typically there are no other formal meetings. From a practical point of view, the work of TIF is done by four committees, each of which includes one or more Trustees. Trustees are kept informed of the work of the committees and their comments are always welcome and taken into account. Often their special knowledge – technical, professional, geographical – can be of great benefit and is requested from time to time.
If you are interested, or know someone else who may be interested, please contact the current Chair of the Board of Trustees, Stewart Walker, foundationchair@isprs.org. Your participation in TIF will be much appreciated.
Did you know that TIF has a Fund-Raising Committee?
In order to expand its efforts to support more students and help them attend events and present their papers, TIF needs to increase the level of funding available. Please consider joining the Committee to pursue the worthwhile goal of expanding TIF’s activities. If you are interested – or know someone who may be interested – please contact Michael Gruber at TIF-fundraising@isprs.org.
The eBulletin often contains articles and reports about students who have won awards from The ISPRS Foundation (TIF) to help them attend conferences, symposia, Geospatial Weeks or other events and present their papers. This valuable, rewarding work clearly benefits the recipients and helps ISPRS move its research agenda forward.
TIF would like to expand its efforts, i.e. make more awards each year and help an increasing number of students. The funds for TIF’s work come partly from donors and partly from ISPRS. To do more we need to increase the level of funding. Last year we established a Fund-Raising Committee with Dr. Michael Gruber of Vexcel Imaging in Graz, Austria, as chair. The terms of reference of the committee are available on request. Currently we see its role as identifying potential donor organizations (private companies, government departments, agencies that make grants, philanthropists etc.) and finding points of contact within these organizations to whom to reach out. The Committee itself may then make contact or enlist the TIF Trustees to help. The Committee will also play a role in recognizing new donors in appropriate ways. The Committee is seeking members who will enable it eventually to cover as much of the world as possible. The current membership is:
Michael Gruber (chair)
Austria
TIF Trustee
Ron Bisio
USA
TIF Trustee
Lawrie Jordan
USA
TIF Trustee
Paul Marshall
UK
Fabio Menna
Italy
Marko Pasko
Slovak Republic
Miguel Pelaz
Spain
Thus the Committee is well posed with respect to Europe and North America, but rather thin elsewhere. Most of the Committee’s work will be done by e-mail and telephone calls; if a meeting is needed, it will take place remotely. Please consider joining the Committee to pursue the worthwhile goal of expanding TIF’s activities. If you are interested – or know someone who may be interested – please contact Michael Gruber at TIF-fundraising@isprs.org. Thank you.
Cancellation of Travel Grants for 2020 due to Postponement of ISPRS XXIV Congress to July 2021
Find out about cancellations, unrecoverable travel costs and how to have your accepted paper published in 2020
Due to the postponement of the 2020 ISPRS Congress to 4-10 July 2021, all travel grants awarded to those listed below, including the associated registration fee waivers, will be cancelled, because there will be no travel to Nice in 2020.
A new round of travel grant applications will be offered for 2021. As a result, all potential attendees at the Congress in 2021 will be invited to apply for a travel grant based on their paper prepared for presentation at Nice during the 2021 Congress. Applicants for 2020 travel grants, whether successful or not, are welcome to apply in 2021 based on fresh papers.
Grantees who would like to have their accepted papers included in the 2020 edition of proceedings will not be charged the publication fee of 100 euros. Winners of 2020 grants who are troubled by unrecoverable travel costs should write to TIF Operations Officer, John Trinder, setting out your case for reimbursement.
ISPRS officially announces that due to the coronavirus crisis, and following the postponement of the XXIV ISPRS Congress to July 2021, also the ISPRS Geospatial Week, which was planned to take place in March 2021, has been postponed by 12 months. The exact dates will be fixed shortly.
Workshop organisers, authors, potential participants, sponsors and exhibitors are encouraged to maintain their involvement in the ISPRS Geospatial Week in Dubai even though it has been postponed. The involvement of the whole geospatial community in the activities of ISPRS is indeed essential.
Together with Mohamad Bin Rashid Space Centre, our local host, and under the leadership of Geospatial Week Director, Saeed Al Mansoori, ISPRS Council is diligently working to ensure that GSW 2022 in Dubai will be a prime scientific meeting and a memorable experience. Further announcements regarding the schedule and other relevant issues will be made in subsequent communications in the near future.
All the best and hoping to see you in Dubai in March 2022,
Christian Heipke, ISPRS President
Saeed Al Mansoori, ISPRS Geospatial Week Director 2022
Bid and Nomination Deadlines extended
Bid and nomination deadlines to host the XXV Congress in 2024, the Technical Commissions and for Council positions for the 2021-24 term have been extended by one year due to the postponement of the XXIV ISPRS Congress.
ISPRS 2021 – 2024
The following bids and nominations for positions have been received for the 2020-2024 term. Elections will take place in the General Assembly during the ISPRS Congress in Nice. Detailed documents will be made available to the Ordinary Member in due time.
Nominations for Council Positions 2021-2024
President
Lena Halounová, Czech Technical University Prague, Czech Republic
Vice President
Nicolas Paparoditis, IGN-ENSG, Paris, France
Secretary General
Jie Jiang, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, China
Treasurer
Stewart Walker, photogrammetry4u llc, San Diego, USA
Past President
The position will be filled by appointment.
Christian Heipke, the current president has indicated his willingness to serve in this office from 2020-2024.
Bids for the XXVth ISPRS Congress 2024 (listed in alphabetical order)
Canada, Toronto
Congress Director: Ahmed Shaker, Ryerson University, Toronto
China, Wuhan
Congress Director: Wu Huayi, Wuhan University
India, New Delhi
Congress Director: Prakash Chauhan, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun
USA, Denver
Congress Director: Charles Toth, The Ohio State University, Columbus
Bids for Technical Commissions 2021-2024
Commission I - Sensor Systems
China / Brazil
President:
Tang Xinming, Land Satellite Remote Sensing Application Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing
Vice-president:
Antonio Tommaselli, São Paulo State University
Secretary:
Zhang Tao, Land Satellite Remote Sensing Application Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing
Commission II – Photogrammetry
1. China / Finland
President:
Yang Bisheng, Wuhan University
Vice-president:
Juha Hyyppä, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, Espoo
Secretary:
Chen Chi, Wuhan University
2. USA / Switzerland
President:
Alper Yilmaz, The Ohio State University, Columbus
Vice-president:
Jan Dirk Wegner, ETH Zurich
Secretary:
Rongjun Qin, The Ohio State University, Columbus
Commission III - Remote Sensing
1. Germany / Japan
President:
Uwe Stilla, Technical University of Munich
Vice-president:
Junichi Susaki, Kyoto University
Secretary:
Ludwig Högner, Technical University of Munich
2. India / Turkey
President:
Prakash Chauhan, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun
Vice-president:
Sultan Kocaman, Hacettepe University, Ankara
Secretary:
Sameer Saran, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun
Commission IV - Spatial Information Systems
Australia / Italy
President:
Sisi Zlatanova, University of New South Wales, Sydney
Vice-president:
Maria Antonia Brovelli, Politecnico di Milano
Secretary:
Serena Coetzee, University of Pretoria
Commission V - Education and Outreach
South Africa / Nigeria
President:
Julian Smit, University of Cape Town
Vice-president:
Matthew O. Adepoju, National Space Research and Development Agency, Abuja
Secretary:
Patricia Duncan, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
New ISPRS Honorary Member nominated
Chen Jun, current Past President, Director of the 2008 ISPRS Congress in Beijing and long-standing ISPRS representative, has been nominated as Honorary Member for his dedication to the aims and the activities of the Society to be elected by the General Assembly.
Chen Jun is a most deserving choice! Congratulations!
New ISPRS Fellows nominated
The ISPRS Fellows Nomination Committee selected 5 individuals from the 11 worthy nominations for Fellowships to be elected by the General Assembly. They are:
Kohei Cho
Songnian Li
Marguerite Madden
Charles Toth
George Vosselman
Council is also very pleased to congratulate these five individuals!
The 2020 Brock Gold Medal
Prof. Li Deren, of Wuhan University, China, will be presented with the 2020 Brock Gold Medal for his outstanding scientific achievements in the photogrammetry, remote sensing and geospatial information sciences.
ISPRS awards Prof. Li Deren with the Brock Gold Medal in Recognition of Outstanding Contributions to Photogrammetry
The International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) announced today that Prof. Li Deren, of Wuhan University, China, will be presented with the 2020 Brock Gold Medal for his outstanding scientific achievements in the photogrammetry, remote sensing and geospatial information sciences.
Prof. Li Deren is a professor at the Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (LIESMARS) and the Director of the Collaborative Innovation Center of Geospatial Technology, both at Wuhan University of China. He enjoys dual membership of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. In 1985, he received his doctoral degree from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, and in 2008, an Honorary Doctorate from ETH Zürich, Switzerland.
Highlights of his many achievements are the design of ZY-3, the first Chinese mapping satellite used to produce 1:50.000 orthophotos and digital surface models for large area (1000-2500km2) without ground control points. Collaborating with Prof. Jianya Gong, he further developed the three generations of GIS software GeoStar, GeoGlobe and GeoSmart, which have been widely used for the construction of digital cities and smart cities in China and beyond. He was also instrumental in introducing the integration of theories and algorithms of global navigation satellite systems, remote sensing and geographic information systems, which support such diverse applications as mobile mapping, UAV systems and many others.
The Brock Gold Medal, sponsored by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), is awarded to an individual in respect of an outstanding landmark in the evolution of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences every four years.
Prof. Li will receive the award at the XXIV ISPRS Congress to be held in Nice, France. The quadrennial Congress brings together the global community of scientists and technologists in the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences and is expected to be visited by some 3000 to 4000 participants over its week long duration.
ISPRS is the foremost global non-governmental organization that promotes international cooperation between the worldwide organizations with interests in the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences. Established in 1910, ISPRS is the oldest international umbrella organization in its field, which may be summarized as addressing information from imagery.
ISPRS Headquarters, Hannover, Germany
The U.V. Helava Award
2019 Best Paper for the U.V. Helava Award announced
The U. V. Helava Award – Best Paper Volumes 147-158 (2019) is:
The Jack Dangermond Award Best Paper 2019 and the Jack Dangermond Award 2017-2019
The best paper 2019 for the Jack Dangermond Award, selected by the award committee, has also been selected as the Jack Dangermond Award 2017-2019:
Voxel-based 3D Point Cloud Semantic Segmentation: Unsupervised Geometric and Relationship Featuring vs Deep Learning Methods https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi8050213
by Florent Poux and Roland Billen
The Jack Dangermond Award, sponsored by MDPI and ESRI, consists of a grand prize of USD 10,000 and an ISPRS certificate presented to the author(s) of the most outstanding paper published exclusively in the ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information during the four years preceding the Congress, and three runner- up prizes of a Journal subscription and certificate, presented to the author(s) of the best papers published in each of the other three years preceding the Congress year.
ISPRS announces Awards to be presented at the XXIV ISPRS Congress in Nice
The ISPRS Council wholeheartedly congratulates all awardees to their splendid success! We also want to thank all nominators, jury members and everybody else who had a part in selecting the awardees. More information on ISPRS awards can be found at https://www.isprs.org/society/awards.aspx.
Unfortunately, due to the current situation, the awards can only be presented at the ISPRS Congress in Nice in July 2021.
New Brazilian Ordinary Member – INPE
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) has been approved as the new Brazilian Ordinary Member following the withdrawal of the Brazilian Society of Cartography.
On behalf of the Society, ISPRS Council welcomes INPE in their new role, previously having been a Sustaining Member.
More information on INPE can be found at www.inpe.br.
General Announcements
WHU-TLS Benchmark available
The WHU-TLS Benchmark, consisting of 115 sets of point clouds and in total over 1740 million 3D points collected from 11 different scenarios, has been made publicly available for the ISPRS community.
GEO initiates Repository to share Information and Data related to COVID-19
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) has invited GEO Work Programme activities, GEO Members, Participating Organizations and Associates to share information about projects using Earth observations to support monitoring, response or recovery actions related to the COVID‑19 pandemic.
This list is not meant to be exhaustive, and it does not imply endorsement from GEO. However, it is intended as a repository to share information and data from the wider GEO community and will be continuously updated.
To request to add your project to this list, please email the GEO Secretariat secretariat@geosec.org.
EO Toolkit for Sustainable Cities and Communities – Call for Contributions
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and UN-Habitat are building an “Earth Observation Toolkit for Sustainable Cities and Communities” Programme designed to support UN Member States, including cities, in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable,” and to implement the New Urban Agenda (NUA) through sustained utilization of Earth observation (EO) data and applications.
The deadline for applications is 15 May 2020.
Dear Colleagues,
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and UN-Habitat are building an “Earth Observation Toolkit for Sustainable Cities and Communities” Programme designed to support UN Member States, including cities, in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable,” and to implement the New Urban Agenda (NUA) through sustained utilization of Earth observation (EO) data and applications.
The Programme aims to develop a customizable and continually updated toolkit on the integration of Earth observation and geospatial information into the urban monitoring and reporting processes on SDG targets and indicators based on inputs from UN Member States and cities.
The “EO Toolkit for Sustainable Cities and Communities” Programme will facilitate knowledge sharing, connect national, sub-national, and city experiences, and foster understanding between technical analysts and decision makers regarding the role and potential contributions of EO in support of SDG 11 and the NUA. Key areas will include but will not be limited to: monitoring urban expansion and densification, tracking accessibility to public transport, taking stock of open public spaces and their distributions across urban extents, mapping slums, informal settlements and inadequate housing conditions, assessing enviro-climatic conditions and spatial typology as well as urban vulnerabilities, and reducing the adverse per capita environmental impacts of cities, including air quality.
The programme will illustrate guidance and use cases on how EO technologies and advances in cloud computing platforms are applied to enable fast and cost effective access to, and use of, EO by countries, cities, and local communities. Special emphasis will be applied to analysis ready data, open data cubes, training data sets and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques to harness EO for decision makers.
GEO Members, and interested cities from Member countries, are invited to contribute to the design and implementation of this toolkit, in accordance with their needs and priorities. A selected list of regionally representative countries, and interested cities from those countries, will participate in a Steering Committee that will serve for a period of one year, with the possibility for renewal. The Steering Committee, consisting of the selected countries and cities from those countries, UN-Habitat, EO providers, and representatives of GEO urban-related activities, will meet (in person or virtually) as needed, and consult electronically between meetings. The participating countries and cities will act as case studies and demonstration pilots to showcase how the toolkit is used to support their monitoring, reporting, and planning activities in relation to SDG 11, the NUA and other, identified urban-related priorities.
To learn more about the Programme, including assessment criteria and full details on how to join, please visit the website here.
The deadline for applications is 15 May, 2020.
Kind regards,
The GEO Secretariat
Announcements of Scientific Meetings
(see also
ISPRS Calendar)
E- CSRS 2020
13-16 July 2020
A Landmark Virtual Conference on Remote Sensing. The pandemic is not going to stop the world’s longest running national conference on remote sensing – the Canadian Remote Sensing Symposium. In 2020 we are offering a virtual conference using the latest technology to bring the whole world together. We invite our colleagues from around the world to join us in July for what we expect to be a unique and interesting conference showcasing the latest research and information our planet needs to make tomorrow better.
Hans passed away at the age of 93 years. He was an early pioneer in adapting computing power to the field of photogrammetry, through his work with Kern Instruments, Inc.
A global canopy water content product from AVHRR/Metop
Francisco Javier García-Haro, Manuel Campos-Taberner, Álvaro Moreno, Håkan Torbern Tagesson, Fernando Camacho, Beatriz Martínez, Sergio Sánchez, María Piles, Gustau Camps-Valls, Marta Yebra, María Amparo Gilabert
Pages: 77-93
07-10 Sep 2020
20th Anniversary International Scientific and Technical Conference
“FROM IMAGERY TO DIGITAL REALITY: Earth Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry” http://conf.racurs.ru/conf2020/eng/
Irkutsk, Russia
09-12 Sep 2020
HERITAGE 2020 (3D Past | Risk-Terra)
International Conference on Vernacular Architecture in World Heritage Sites. Risks and New Technologies Online Conference https://heritage2020.blogs.upv.es
Valencia, Spain
14-17 Sep 2020
AI3D2020
3rd International Workshop on Artificial Intelligence for 3D Big Spatial Data Processing http://www.dexa.org/ai3d2020
Bratislava, Slovakia
07-09 Oct 2020
The 5th International Conference on Smart City Applications http://www.medi-ast.org/SCA20/
Safranbolu, Turkey
31 Oct - 02 Nov 2020
UASG-2020
Second International Conference on Unmanned Aerial Systems-2020 https://www.iitr.ac.in/uasg2020/
Greater Noida, India
03-04 Nov 2020
International Workshop of ISPRS WG V/7, ISPRS WG III/5 and ISPRS WG II/10 on
International scientific and technical conference “GEOSPACE 2020”
and “Digital technologies in architecture and construction education – BIM modelling, virtual and augmented reality” http://www.geospacer.net.ua
Kyiv, Ukraine
07-09 Dec 2020
Urban Geoinformatics 2020
International High-level Forum on Urban Geoinformatics
website not yet available
Beijing, China
08-11 Dec 2020
SGEM Vienna Green 2020
20th International Scientific GeoConference SGEM Vienna Green 2020 http://www.sgemviennagreen.org/
Vienna, Austria
28 Jan - 04 Feb 2021
COSPAR 2020
43rd Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and Associated Events http://www.cospar2020.org/
Sydney, Australia
10-14 May Cancelled!
FIG2020 Working Week website
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
26-28 May Postponed!
Joint EARSeL Workshop "Earth Observation for sustainable cities and communities" website
Liège, Belgium
01-06 Jun Cancelled!
7th SPLIT Remote Sensing® Professional Summer School 2020 website Zadar,
Croatia
03-05 Jun 2020
27th International Conference on Systems, Signals and Image Processing IWSSIP 2020 held as an online conference http://iwssip2020.ic.uff.br/
Niteroi – Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
06-10 Jul 2020
GI_Forum Symposium | Exhibit
connecting spatially GI_Forum 2020 will take place as virtual conference http://www.gi-forum.org/
Salzburg, Austria
24-29 Aug Cancelled!
FOSS4G 2020 website
Calgary, Canada
08-11 Sep 2020
3D GeoInfo 2020 ** Note this is now a virtual/online event ** http://ucl.ac.uk/3dgeoinfo
London, UK
2-3 Ph.D. students to work under the general topic of “Semantic 3D Reconstruction from heterogeneous sources”
Geospatial data analytics Lab, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, USA
3-Apr-2020
Open PhD-research positions in the context of the international graduate school TransTIP (funded by German Science Foundation), e.g. related to remote sensing
Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany Project S7, remote sensing
Deadline: 31-May-2020
14-Apr-2020
Professorship in Photogrammetry
Faculty Spatial Information, University of Applied Sciences Dresden, Germany
Deadline: 26-May-2020
