248
April 2016
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
SECTOR
INSIGHT:
.
org
The relative importance of these issues for any
professional will vary depending upon their position,
the organization that they work for and their
“customers.” Geospatial professionals, however, will
at the very least need to consider the legal issues to
make sure there are no “red flags”.
Ideally, organizations should be able to rely upon
their legal counsel to help them identify and resolve
key legal issues. However, the legal and policy
communities have been unable to keep pace with the
growth of geospatial technology and the rapid adoption
of applications that utilize geospatial information.
Spatial Law is not taught in law school and the
Centre for Spatial Law and Policy, in partnership
with the United States Geospatial Intelligence
Foundation (USGIF), are the only organizations
offering courses that provide Continuing Legal
Education (CLE) credits for lawyers. As a result,
many organizations do not have lawyers well versed
in these issues. Therefore, it will be incumbent upon
geospatial professionals in the near term to have a
working knowledge of the legal issues associated with
geospatial information to identify the salient issues
and bring them to their lawyer’s attention.
The geospatial community can take several steps
to address this shortfall. Spatial Law can be
incorporated into undergraduate and graduate
curriculum in geospatial-related fields. In addition,
geospatial professional training and certification
programs should include segments that address key
legal issues. Organizations should also help their
lawyers in learning more about geospatial technology
and ways in which geospatial information is being
used and encourage them to attend specific training,
such as geospatial focused CLEs.
KevinD. Pomfret, Esq
. is the founder and Executive
Director of the Centre for Spatial Law and Policy and
a Partner at Williams Mullen.
to be RMSE
z
= 6.3 cm, equating to +/- 12.3 cm at 95% confidence
level. Actual VVA accuracy was found to be +/- 10.6 cm at the 95
th
percentile.”
Based on the previous reported accuracy, the product accuracy is
well within the accuracy limits of NVA = 20 cm and VVA = 60 cm and
met both the NVA and the VVA requirements according to the new
ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards for Digital Geospatial Data. In
fact, such product is eligible for the following accuracy statement:
“This data set was produced to meet ASPRS Positional Accuracy
Standards for Digital Geospatial Data (2014) for a 10 cm RMSE
z
Vertical Accuracy Class equating to NVA =+/- 19.6 cm at 95% confi-
dence level and VVA =+/- 30 cm at the 95th percentile. Actual NVA
accuracy was found to be RMSE
z
= 6.3 cm, equating to +/- 12.3 cm at
95% confidence level. Actual VVA accuracy was found to be +/- 10.6
cm at the 95
th
percentile.”
Users of the new ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards for Digital
Geospatial Data are encouraged to start defining the accuracy of the
final deliverables in terms of RMSE (i.e.
x-cm
) and to stay away from
expressing the product accuracy in terms of map scale and contour
interval. They are also encouraged to use metric units when defining
product accuracy as the new standard is based on the metric system.
**Dr. Abdullah is Senior Geospatial Scientist and Associate at Woolpert, Inc.
He is the 2010 recipient of the ASPRS Photogrammetric (Fairchild) Award.
The contents of this column reflect the views of the author, who is
responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein.
The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of
the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and/
or Woolpert, Inc.
“Due to the combined effects of the questionable quality and
inconsistency in the surveying practices under and between
trees, especially if the survey relies on GPS techniques and
the reliability of the lidar filtering process around vegetated
areas, RMSEz cannot be used to estimate VVA.”
Mapping Matters
continued from page 245
Too young to drive the car? Perhaps!
But not too young to be curious about geospatial sciences.
The ASPRS Foundation was established to advance the understanding and use of spatial data for the
betterment of humankind. The Foundation provides grants, scholarships, loans and other forms of aid to
individuals or organizations pursuing knowledge of imaging and geospatial information science and
technology, and their applications across the scientific, governmental, and commercial sectors.
Support the Foundation, because when he is ready so will we.
asprsfoundation.org/donate
