Join us Wednesday July 17th at 1p.m. ET for the ASPRS Mentors Podcast where we will be joined by special guest, Dr. Qassim Abdullah to discuss the ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards for Digital Geospatial Data (2024) Edition 2, Version 2. Please post your questions here in advance so they can be asked on the podcast.
ASPRS Approves Edition 2, Version 2 of the ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards for Digital Geospatial Data (2024)
Baton Rouge, LA June 28, 2024: The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) is pleased to announce adoption of the Positional Accuracy Standards for Geospatial Data, Edition 2, Version 2 (2024), which includes important modifications and additions to Edition 2, Version 1 published in August 2023.
Edition 2, Version 2 introduces four new addenda for:
a. Mapping with Lidar.
b. Mapping with Photogrammetry.
c. Mapping with Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS).
d. Mapping with Oblique Imagery.
Together with the two addenda that were published in Edition 2, Version 1.0, the Standards offer the mapping community with six addenda detailing guidelines and best practices to help the practitioners perform mapping and create geospatial products that comply with the adopted Standards.
Edition 2, Version 2 was adopted after a formal public review period ending April 26, 2024. Public comments were incorporated into the final version adopted by the ASPRS Board of Directors on June 24, 2024.
"The publication of this new edition of the accuracy standards came in response to evolving technologies and industry needs. It will have a positive and lasting impact on geospatial capabilities and all who benefit from these services, here in the United States of America and worldwide. It is a history-making accomplishment that we should all be proud of" said Dr. Qassim Abdullah, Vice President and Chief Scientist of Woolpert, who led the ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards Working Group. "We are fortunate to have among our members such talented and willing volunteers who worked hard during the last two years to update these important Standards. This latest version represents a collaborative effort by 40 subject matter experts representing public, private, and academic sectors." said Bandana Kar, ASPRS President.
The most significant changes introduced in Edition 2 of the ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards for Digital Geospatial Data include:
1. Elimination of references to the 95% confidence level as an accuracy measure.
2. Relaxation of the accuracy requirement for ground control and checkpoints.
3. Consideration of survey checkpoint accuracy when computing final product accuracy.
4. Removal of the pass/fail requirement for Vegetated Vertical Accuracy (VVA) for lidar data.
5. Increase the minimum number of checkpoints required for product accuracy assessment from twenty (20) to thirty (30).
6. Limiting the maximum number of checkpoints for accuracy assessment to 120 for large projects.
7. Introduction of a new term, "three-dimensional positional accuracy."
8. Addition of Guidelines and Best Practices Addenda for:
a. General Guidelines and Best Practices
b. Field Surveying of Ground Control and Checkpoints
c. Mapping with Photogrammetry
d. Mapping with Lidar
e. Mapping with UAS
f. Mapping with Oblique Imagery
Dr. Qassim Abdullah is an achieved scientist with more than 45 years of combined industrial, research and development (R&D), and academic experience in analytical photogrammetry, digital remote sensing, and civil and surveying engineering. Dr. Abdullah obtained his doctorate and master degrees in photogrammetry from the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is the Vice President and Chief Scientist for Woolpert Inc. His responsibilities include designing and managing strategic programs to develop and implement new remote sensing technologies focused on meeting the evolving needs of geospatial users.
He also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, and at Penn State, where he teaches graduate courses on unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), photogrammetry and remote sensing. Among his achievements, he evaluated and introduced a Geiger-mode and single photon lidar to the geospatial industry while leading Woolpert research activities surrounding intelligent transportation systems, digital twin, smart cities, and UAS sensor calibration and workflow development. Dr. Abdullah is a Fellow with the ASPRS and the creator and principal author of the new ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards for Digital Geospatial Data, Editions 1&2, where he received the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 and has been the recipient of several prestigious awards within the organization. Most recently, Dr. Abdullah was awarded the “Outstanding Personal Achievement in Lidar Award” during the Geoweek 2023 conference. He publishes a monthly column, “Mapping Matters,” in the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) journal, PE&RS. Dr. Abdullah is on the Transportation Research Board’s Standing Committee, the New Users of Shared Airspace (AV095) and a friend of the TRB Standing Committees, the Geospatial Data Acquisition Technologies (AKD70), Geographic Information Science (AED40), Information Systems and Technology (AED30). Dr. Abdullah also serves on the advisory board for Geoweek. Dr. Abdullah is a certified photogrammetrist and licensed professional surveyor and mapper in Florida, Oregon, Virginia, and South Carolina. He is also a certified thermographer by the FLIR Infrared Training Center and a Certified GEOINT Professional in Remote Sensing and Imagery Analysis (CGP-R) by the USGIF
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Greg Stamnes CMS, Engineering Licensee
Spatial Reality Solutions
Saskatoon SK
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