GeoPlace announces new MD
Address data specialist GeoPlace has announced the appointment of Nick Chapallaz as its new managing director.
Chapallaz has previously been director business strategy and marketing and Esri UK and a senior consultant at Ordnance Survey. He was a member of the original committee for the creation of the BS 7666 Standard for Addressing and a research fellow for the National Land Information Service.
GeoPlace, a joint venture between Ordnance Survey and the Local Government Association, and its partners have developed a national street and address dataset with a unique referencing system that is widely used by local authorities and other public sector agencies.
Ordnance Survey signs MoU for autonomous vehicles
National mapping agency Ordnance Survey has signed a memorandum of understanding with vehicle manufacturer Westfield Technology Group to support the development of autonomous vehicles. Under the MoU the company will have improved access to the agency’s mapping.
Julian Turner, chief executive officer at Westfield, said: “This MoU will allow us to further advance and improve our autonomous vehicle operations, particularly in areas which desperately need access to sustainable, reliable and flexible transport.”
Drones deal for Defence Forces Ireland
COPTRZ has been announced as the exclusive supplier of UAV solutions to Defence Forces Ireland. The force has invested in their drone fleet with the purchase of four specialist UAVs capable of carrying both thermal and visual cameras simultaneously.
The new drones will be operated by the Corps of Engineers and will aid in peacekeeping operations, search and rescue, disaster relief and general monitoring from the air.
Northern Ireland schools open data winners
Northern Ireland’s Department of Finance has announced the winners of the OpenDataNI Make-it Challenge, under which schools have provided ideas for using datasets from the region’s open data portal.
The five winning projects are: Belfast - Health and Fitness from Lagan College, Belfast; A&E Waiting Times also from Lagan College; Tourism in Belfast- Interactive Display by Fort Hill Integrated College, Lisburn; Historic Parks, Gardens and Demesnes in Northern Ireland by Strathearn School, Belfast; and Holy Trinity Agri Open Data from Holy Trinity College, Cookstown.
