Prof Chen Jun, Congress Director,
2008 ISPRS Congress on objectives and desired outcomes
What is the unique proposition
of ISPRS 2008 Beijing?
The International Society for
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
(ISPRS) is a non-governmental
organization established in 1910. The
four-yearly Congress of ISPRS is the
most important event in the ISPRS
Calendar. This year, this congress
will first be held in Beijing, China.
Beijing is an ancient city. With a history
of about 3000 years, Beijing has been the
capital of many dynasties and is rich in
natural heritage such as The Forbidden
City (Palace Museum) and Great Wall.
Indeed, Beijing has a numerous number
of historical spots of interest. Beijing is
a cultural city of China, one could taste
different types of food, music, dancing
and performance. Here, “different
type” means from different areas of
China and from different countries.
As the capital city of new China, Beijing
is also a modern city. It is the national
center of politics and culture, as well
as a transportation hub both nationally
and internationally. Recently, Beijing
has undergone great changes in its
environment, transportation, and urban
infrastructures. I hope all the participants
will come to see Beijing and feel the
development and achievement of China
over the past 20 years. It is also worth
mentioning that ISPRS 2008 Beijing will
be held just one month before 2008 Beijing Olympic Games when the city will become
the focus of world attention. Beijing is also
an academic center of China, including a
large number of universities and research
institutes. We offer technical tours for
participants to visit relevant institutions.
What are the major technical
areas of ISPRS 2008?
The ISPRS 2008 Beijing mainly covers
the topics related to the ISPRS, including
photogrammetry, remote sensing and
spatial information science. These three
broad disciplines are subdivided into eight
areas, i.e.Image Data Acquisition, Spatiotemporal
Data Handling and Information,
Photogrammetric Computer Vision
and Image Analysis, Geodatabases and
Digital Mapping, Close-Range Sensing
Analysis and Applications, Education
and outreach, Thematic Processing,
Modelling and Analysis of Remotely
Sensed Data, and Remote Sensing
Applications and Policies. Technical
sessions including oral and poster sessions
are designed to cover these areas.
The ISPRS 2008 Beijing also encourages
people to present inter-disciplinary
research results within the ISPRS and
multi-disciplinary research results with
other sister organization. Theme Sessions
are designed for inter-disciplinary and
Special Sessions are designed for multidisciplinary
research. The ISPRS 2008
Beijing also emphasizes the interaction between academics and
industry. Special user forums are
organized for such a purpose.
What are the
desired outcomes?
ISPRS 2008 Beijing congress will consist
of 140 technical sessions, and 18 special
sessions, with about 4,000 scientists and
professionals from all over the world.
This congress will provide participants
a very good platform to exchange
scientific knowledge and new ideas, to
explore and discuss future cooperation.
As ISPRS Congress Director, I believe
the Congress will certainly promote and
enhance the international cooperation
in the field of photogrammetry, remote
sensing and spatial information science.
How does the conference
serve as a platform
for the integration of
allied technologies?
ISPRS 2008 Beijing congress has paid
special attention to the integration of
allied technologies, such as GPS, GIS and
Internet technology. Five joint Working
Groups has been set for such a purpose.
For example, the ICWG I/V working
Group encourages the combination of
GPS, GIS and Photogrammetry for
‘Autonomous Vehicle Navigation’.
As mentioned previously, some special
sessions have been designed for the
integration with other allied technologies.
Special workshops and tutorials will also
help to integrate allied technologies.
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