Ordnance Survey and University of Southampton to lead pioneering geospatial research

Published by

Daniel Face

From left – Professor Mark Spearing, VP of UoS; Sarah Hodgetts, director at the Geospatial Commission; Matt Goodman, head of external affairs at OS; and Professor Jadu Dash, director of Southampton Geospatial

The University of Southampton has joined forces with Ordnance Survey to drive research into location data and technologies in support of the UK Geospatial Strategy 2030.

Together they’ll share knowledge and cutting-edge geospatial research – that means using location and mapping data to measure and model all manner of objects and events, from buildings to glaciers to populations.

Representatives from both organisations inked an official memorandum of understanding last week to formalise their collaboration.

The signing was overseen by Sarah Hodgetts, director at the government’s Geospatial Commission.

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Jadu Dash, professor of remote sensing and director of the Southampton Geospatial research centre, said: “This new agreement will formalise how we work together, supporting the exchange of scientific, academic and technical information that will help us collaborate on research and innovation opportunities.

“Jointly, we’ll work on addressing objectives in the UK Geospatial Strategy 2030.”

For example, the centre has already embarked on a pilot project in collaboration with Transport for the South East to support the rollout of EV charging points across the UK.

The CoiL (Charging point Locations) initiative will use OS data to identify optimal locations for new EV infrastructure.

David Henderson, chief geospatial officer at OS, added: “Accelerating the continued development of new geospatial capabilities is a fundamental component of our long-term strategy.

“Through this partnership, we’re excited to build on a long-standing collaboration with the University of Southampton and to champion the outcomes of our respective world class research and innovation programmes.”

Among those collaborations is an ongoing project with researchers from the schools of electronics and computer science, and geography and environmental science.

They’re exploring the use of AI to extract information from aerial imagery and satellite data which could enhance OS data products.

Daniel Face

Born and raised in Berkshire, Dan fell into journalism after completing his bachelor’s degree in English at UCL. Writing for The Business Magazine and local Biz News sites has given him the opportunity to chat with all manner of small business owners and share their success stories with a wider audience. Outside of work, Dan enjoys live music, board games and quiz shows, and is making a slow but persistent effort to learn Spanish.