In addition to its services provided to all government organisations which are detailed in "About CGIS", The centre for GIS provides several services to the public. Some of those are:
- Map and data sales
- Geodetic and QCORS services
Like most Government mapping programs world-wide, Qatar's mapping program converted to digital computer technology to facilitate the automation of map revision and to provide a framework for development of Geographic Information System (GIS) databases.
The Centre for GIS updates digital mapping data using the latest technology. Therefore there is only one real source of up to date mapping and customized mapping (i.e., special maps showing selected features); that is, The Centre for GIS. The digital maps also provide an up to date base for utility authorities and other government services to automate their data.
The importance of digital mapping, and its use for GIS, is obvious and appreciated by all Agencies. However, due to the additional costs involved, The Ministry of Municipality & Urban Planning and The Centre for GIS cannot afford to give these maps away free of charge. Some of the costs of mapping has to be recovered to enable the mapping of new areas and to keep the currently mapped areas up to date.
Indexes to all mapping, satellite imagery and aerial photography held by The Centre for GIS are available. Customers can consult our staff members to assist them in selecting items to meet their requirements. These mapping products are priced according to a defined price list.
The Centre for GIS updates digital mapping data using the latest technology. Therefore there is only one real source of up to date mapping and customized mapping (i.e., special maps showing selected features); that is, The Centre for GIS. The digital maps also provide an up to date base for utility authorities and other government services to automate their data.
The importance of digital mapping, and its use for GIS, is obvious and appreciated by all Agencies. However, due to the additional costs involved, The Ministry of Municipality & Urban Planning and The Centre for GIS cannot afford to give these maps away free of charge. Some of the costs of mapping has to be recovered to enable the mapping of new areas and to keep the currently mapped areas up to date.
Indexes to all mapping, satellite imagery and aerial photography held by The Centre for GIS are available. Customers can consult our staff members to assist them in selecting items to meet their requirements. These mapping products are priced according to a defined price list.
Rationale:
With the technical advancement in the field of satellite navigation systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS), survey activities around the world have changed and enhanced tremendously. To cater for the growing need of various entities such as real-time support for survey and mapping, search and rescue, emergency, fleet management, scientific research, automatic machine control system, aircraft navigation systems, precision landing system, etc; a network of Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) was established in Qatar in 2009 and started its operations in 2010.
QCORS Coordinated Network of Reference Stations that can provide Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) carrier phase and code range measurements in support of 3-dimensional positioning activities throughout the country are an improvement of classical GNSS positioning done with a pair of GNSS receivers (commonly referred to as GPS). The result is Survey class (cm level accuracy) or Mapping class (decimeter accuracy) accuracies with greater consistency over the whole country.
Methodology:
Qatar's CORS network consists of a set of 9 reference stations connected by TCP/IP protocol which transmit GNSS corrections to a data center and resulting data set are made available through a web portal (Figure 2).
Each CORS site provides Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS - GPS and GLONASS) Real Time Kinematics correction in support of 3-dimensional positioning activities throughout Qatar where WGS 1984 epoch coordinates of these reference stations are computed. Consequently, transformation between WGS coordinates of Reference stations and QND95 is performed.
Project Results:
- Achieved ±2 cm horizontal accuracy all over Qatar and ±10 cm vertical accuracy. Topographic Survey Division is working on an approach to realise vertical accuracy ~3cm to 7cm, which will be very good in CORS terms.
- There are already several rover users in 12 registered companies.
- Eliminates the need and cost for another GPS receiver which acts as a base.
- Eliminates the resource time associated with equipment setup at the base site.
- Greatly enhances consistency of coordinate determination.
- Reliability is ensured and redundancy is eliminated.
Project Future Potential:
Benefits and future results of QCORS include the following:
- Surveyors, GIS/LIS professionals, engineers, scientists, and others can apply QCORS data to position points at which GNNS data have been collected.
- The QCORS system enables positioning accuracies that approach a few centimetres relative to the National Spatial Reference System, both horizontally and vertically. QCORS shall serve government, academic, commercial and private organisations.
- The system provides economical advantages against conventional GNSS surveying where two GPS units are necessary to accomplish one job – with QCORS only one GPS unit is all that is required to a job.
- Bringing all survey communities to a statewide homogenous accuracy level and hence rendering a dispute free survey control.
- Reduce time required to do a survey
- Can work in remote areas where conventional survey control points are sparsely located.
- Meteorological data set, a by product of the system can be used by the Meteorological Dept.
- Supply real-time GNSS corrections for government and private survey & mapping communities in one reference frame.
- QCORS shall reduce cost, time, errors and reduced inconsistencies.
- Supply Web-based GNSS computation and data downloading system for post-processing techniques of GNSS surveying.
Background image is an oblique aerial photo taken in 1959 of Shk. Abdallah Bin Jassim Palace which is part of Qatar National Museum
The Centre for GIS - MME
Part of the Ministry of Municipality & Environment. CGIS is the official geospatial agency in the State of Qatar.
contact us
Telephone: (974) 44266284
Fax: (974) 44262532
Email: cgisinfo@gisqatar.org.qa
P.O. Box 22088
Fax: (974) 44262532
Email: cgisinfo@gisqatar.org.qa
P.O. Box 22088
what we do
Create and update the topographic base map, geodetic network, COORS network, Addressing system, Landmarks, aerial photography, satellite imagery, etc.