Destination Turkey
The XXth ISPRS Congress will be organised during the dates of
12 - 23 July in the brand new Congress Center, Istanbul Convention
and Exhibition Center (ICEC). It is expected that about 3000
participants will attend the Congress.
INTERVIEW with Dr Dr..M M..Orhan Altan
Turkey has the privelege of organising ISPRS 2004 in Istanbul.
What are the challenges of preparing for this international
event ?
In the year 2000, in Amsterdam, Turkey was candidate for organising
the XXth ISPRS Congress together with China and Spain. Turkey
received the highest number of votes in the history of ISPRS
and won the right of organising the XXth Congress in Istanbul
in 2004. The XXth ISPRS Congress will be organised during the
dates of 12 - 23 July in the brand new Congress Center, Istanbul
Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC). It is expected that
about 3000 participants will attend the Congress. The work to
be carried out for preparing a congress for such a number can
easily be imagined. 45.000 copies of the first announcement
has been prepared, printed and distributed worldwide. Now the
second announcement (15.000 copies) is also ready and will also
be distributed to the whole mailing list of ISPRS and interested
parties. The ISPRS Congress includes all technical meetings
of ISPRS Technical Commissions and Working Groups, all ISPRS
General Assemblies, tutorials and seminars, exhibitions, social
events, technical tours, committee meetings and meetings of
the Joint Board of Spatial Information Societies to be held
in conjunction with the Congress as well as ISPRS Council and
committee meetings held prior to the official opening. In order
to promote ISPRS 2004, I have participated in many international
meetings and with short presentations, I tried to draw the attentions
of the attendees. Now the Congress website has been updated
and can be visited by all the interested parties :
www.isprs2004-istanbul.com
The participants who will fill in the Participant Information
Form will be registered in the Congress Program. Replies to
their various requirements will be sent to them. The submitted
papers will be sent to the related Commissions to be evaluated.
The Congress Proceedings (Archives B Volume) of all available
papers in electronic form on CDROM and in book form shall be
available at the beginning of the Congress. The details of the
scientific sessions and the social programmes will be prepared.
Preparations for the congress were underway for the last
three years. With one more year to go
how do you find the response to the event from exhibitors
and participants ?
The response from exhibitors and participants has been very
good. Many of the stands in the exhibition have been sold
and people pre-registered in great numbers.
 Since
1989 he is the Head of Division of Photogrammetry at the Department
of Geodesy and Photogrammetry. He was two times Vice-Dean
of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and in the period of 1994-
97 he worked also as Head of the Department of Geodesy and
Photogrammetry. He is Member of the Turkish Chambers of Civil
Engineers and Surveying Engineers, Turkish Societies for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing, for Geodesy and Geophysics, for Geotechnics
and Rock Mechanics. He is also member of the German Society
for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and the Working Group
"Close-Range Photogrammetry", Chairman of the OEEPE
Working Group "Spatial Data Quality Management",
invited member of the IAG Working Group IV "Applications
of Geodesy to Engineering", vice-chairman of the FIG
Working Group 5.3 "Cinematic and Integrated Positioning
Systems" and corresponding member of the German Geodetic
Commission at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.
In the last ISPRS Congress in Amsterdam he was nominated as
the Congress Director of the ISPRS Congress in 2004 in Istanbul.
He is Council Member of the International Society of Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) and Ordinary Member of the Executive
Board of The ICOMOS / ISPRS Committee for Documentation of
Cultural Heritage. He is also Symposium Director of the XIX.
CIPA Symposium in ANTALYA/TURKEY in 2003. His main working
areas are Digital and Architectural Photogrammetry, Spatial
Information Systems and Deformation Measurements.
Dr.M.Orhan Altan
Congress Director
What are the various sessions in ISPRS Congress and how
are they conducted ?
ISPRS Congress includes all technical meetings of ISPRS Technical
Commissions and Working Groups, all ISPRS General Assemblies,
tutorials and seminars, exhibitions, social events, technical
tours, committee meetings and meetings of the Joint Board
of Spatial Information Societies to be held in conjunction
with the Congress as well as ISPRS Council and committee meetings
held prior to the official opening. The ISPRS Congresses consist
of: Plenary Sessions : The plenary sessions will pay explicit
attention to the theme of the Congress and also to the latest
developments in the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial
Information Sciences.
Opening Ceremony :
Date & Time : 14 July 2004, 17.30
The Opening Ceremony will take place in the Anadolu Auditorium
of the Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center. During these
two hours, opening speeches will be delivered, some awards
will be presented and an artistic performance presenting the
cultural values of Turkey will be given.
Closing Ceremony :
Date & Time : 23 July 2004, 16.00
The Closing Ceremony which will take place at the Anadolu
Auditorium of ICEC is the last session of the Congress. There
will be an official hand over of the presidency of the Society
and presentation of some awards. The Congress Director of
the host country of the next ISPRS Congress will make a short
presentation and receive the ISPRS flag. Other plenary sessions
will convene led by renowned speakers on topics of interest
to the entire Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information
Sciences.
Technical and Theme Sessions :
The Technical Sessions are assigned to the Working Groups
of the seven Technical Commissions of ISPRS. Each technical
session will typically consist of the presentations and discussions
of one invited paper and three presented papers. An invited
paper should review or introduce the main topic of the technical
session. Alternatively a session may have 5 presented papers,
comprising 18 minutes per paper for presentation and discussion.
The presented papers should present important research work
related to the topic. Theme sessions are assigned to the specific
topics related to the recent developments in the subjects
of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information
Sciences.
Poster Sessions :
At the Congress in Istanbul, emphasis will be given to the
presentation of technical papers at the poster sessions with
direct interaction between authors and audience. Posters will
be displayed for the whole day according to the date they
are assigned between Thursday 15 July to Thursday 22 July.
There will be seven parallel Poster Sessions with approximately
25 papers each session. Poster Sessions will be organized
from 13.30 to 15.30 hrs on these dates. Authors of posters
which are displayed on that particular date are expected to
be present in front of their posters between these hours.
Special Sessions :
A series of special sessions will be arranged by ISPRS and
international organizations who have close link to ISPRS.
These sessions will concentrate on issues which are expected
to dominate our profession for years to come. The purpose
of these sessions is to discuss the latest developments in
the fields of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information
Sciences and related fields.
 Exhibitor's
Showcase Sessions :
Technical sessions are being made available for presentation
by commercial firms engaged in photogrammetry, remote sensing,
machine vision, computer vision, close-range applications,
spatial/ geographical information systems or related technologies.
Exhibitor's Showcase papers will be presented in a special
meeting room. Time will be made available only for companies
taking part in the Exhibition. The topics of the Exhibitor's
Showcase Sessions will be published in the final program.
Technological Buffet :
The purpose of this session is to enable an individual to
demonstrate a specific concept of a high technological level
to a limited audience. The session should preferably be a
hands-on focusing on computer usage. Interested parties should
apply to the Congress Secretariat stating details of their
proposed demonstration and their specific requirements. Those
wishing to participate in a Technological Buffet should also
contact the Congress Secretariat.
ISPRS has several Technical Commissions with each of them
having a specified activity. What role do the commissions
play in preparing these sessions ?
Commission presidents and convenors determine the themes of
the different sessions. The Commission presidents select papers
for several Technical Commission Sessions and compile poster
sessions. To accomplish their reviewing, they may wish to
call in the help of the Working Group chairmen and/or Technical
Commission Session convenors.
What are the research activities and applications in Turkey
in the fields of Remote Sensing and Image processing ?
There are many research activities and applications in Turkey
in the fields of remote sensing and image processing. In the
remote sensing area, a variety of satellite images ( e . g
. S P O T , L A N D S A T , IKONOS) is used for ortho image
production. Stereo satellite images are used for the topographic
map compilation in different scales.
To monitor the urban development, especially in big cities,
satellite images and remote sensing techniques are used. To
manage this development, the remote sensing is the fastest
and easiest way. Whenever a natural disaster happens in the
area, such as earthquake and/or flood, to detect the volume
of the disaster and to direct the aids to the right location
at the exact time, again remote sensing methods are used.
After the Marmara Earthquake in 1999, many projects were started
using remote sensing. Damages of the earthquake were detected
using automatic change detection. Also radar images were used
to find out the plate displacements. In forestry, remote sensing
techniques are used to detect cutoff areas, forest types etc.
Forest maps are produced by using the multispectral satellite
data. Turkey is a country surrounded by the seas. There is
a very heavy traffic from Black Sea to Mediterranean Sea which
is causing pollution. To monitor the pollution in coastal
zones and in the seas and to control these areas, again satellite
images and the remote sensing are used. There are many more
activities about remote sensing and image processing in governmental
organizations universities and private companies that are
not mentioned here. Almost in every university there is a
department dealing with remote sensing. Many governmental
organizations use remote sensing and GIS to manage and speed
up their jobs. Geospatial Today has succeeded admirably in
identifying a proper blend of theoretical, pedagogical and
business articles. I wish the journal all success.
Dr. R Krishnan
Director, ADRIN
Proper Blend
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