GI minds to unite at mash-up event

13 October 2006, 11:53pm

Experts from organisations dedicated to the development and use of geographic information (GI) and services will share their experience and ideas at a pioneering event on Friday 20 October.

UK Geospatial Mash-Up invites technical minds from the Association for Geographic Information, the Open Geospatial Consortium and the BCS Geospatial Specialist Group to explore the impact of dynamically mixing geospatial content. The event, at Ordnance Survey's Southampton head office, will examine the potential of this trend and the innovation it promises to deliver.

Delegates, from commercial and non-commercial standpoints, with a common interest in helping this technology to develop and thrive will share their technical opinions, strategic vision and market foresight.

The event aims to deliver a cross-organisational perspective on how geospatial content can be combined and used for new applications - a trend with a growing profile across a wealth of sectors.

While the concept of geospatial mash-ups is increasingly being discussed and explored, its potential is not widely understood. UK Geospatial Mash-Up will bring together experts driving innovation to examine and explore how the approach could be more widely applied across the GI industry.

Graham Vowles, Principle Data Consultant from Ordnance Survey's Corporate Geospatial Data Team, explains the importance of embracing and evolving mash-up technology: "Geospatial mash-ups have captured the imagination of a wide cross-section of society, from technical experts to members of the community enjoying the functionality they can deliver. The rise of mash-ups reflects the benefits generated by the sharing and reuse of GI. This event will create a forum of expertise to explore and evolve this emerging technology."

Delegates will consider a wealth of topics, including the history of mash-ups, community-driven open-source mapping, new media technology and the development of data-mashing applications. They are also invited to showcase their own mash-up demonstrations and take part in group tutorials.

UK Geospatial Mash-Up will be facilitated by Peter Cochrane OBE, co-founder of ConceptLabs and Cochrane Associates, business angel, consultant and formerly Chief Technologist at BT. Event speakers will include Ave Wrigley, ITN Head of New Media Technology, Doug Ricket of Google Maps, Ian Forrester, Head of BBC Backstage, and Mikel Maron, the driving force behind GeoRSS.

For further information, visit www.agi.org.uk, http://www.agi.org.uk or http://geospatial.bcs.org.

Register at www.nottingham.ac.uk/cgs/Booking.htm

www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk

GeoConnexion UK