Ordnance Survey Future Data & Data Management Research
Do you have an interest in mapping? In location-based services? In technologies that will locationally enable social networking; in location-based games, in intelligent transport, the semantic web, sensor networks, pervasive location-aware computing? These and many other rapidly evolving technologies and applications areas will demand access to ever richer sources of up-to-date mapping and geographic data. They are just some of the technologies and applications areas which will look to Great Britain's national mapping agency, Ordnance Survey, as the supplier of comprehensive and timely spatial data. Understanding how Ordnance Survey can respond to these new opportunities and the way that traditional and new markets will evolve over the next decade is of vital importance to the UK's economic well-being. To help address the future data and data management challenges which this gives rise to, Ordnance Survey will fund a three-year research programme at the Centre for Geospatial Science, The University of Nottingham, and we are now looking for an outstanding researcher with an enthusiasm for exploring future challenges and directions for our national mapping agency.
The requirement is for a three years full-time research fellow, but for the right candidate we would consider other options including people with industry and market experience who may wish to acquire a PhD in parallel with this research. Salary and benefits will depend on the level of appointment made and will include the usual academic benefits package.
The aim of this three-year funded research programme is to identify the likely challenges that future technology and market developments will have on Ordnance Survey products and delivery systems and to provide insight into the nature of future data models that will maximise Ordnance Survey's ability to meet these challenges. The research is funded by Ordnance Survey of Great Britain and will involve close working with Ordnance Survey staff. This research will suit an outstanding academic researcher with a keen interest in technology and market trends or a commercially experienced person who, excited about the potential market developments arising from new technology and global economic trends, wishes to pursue research into this within an academic environment.
Specific research packages that are currently under consideration are:
- An analysis of near and mid-term market and technology developments that contribute to the collection of spatial data or which need map data, or contribute to stimulating services that need map data.
- Research into the implications of the potential demands in terms of the data needs. This will include an analysis of the necessary and surveyable atomic units of capture from which an agreed economic sub-set of subsequent higher level demands may be met on a consistent basis. The analysis will consider the atomic units of capture in terms of land use/land cover, currency demands, necessary positional accuracy and topological structure and associated metadata.
- A study into what research needs to be undertaken in parallel with the identified technology developments and in anticipation of new user services. For example, whether current methods of metadata capture will prove adequate or will need to be complemented by automated means of gleaning metadata from unstructured web-based data.
- An analysis of the flexibility of the current data model used by Ordnance Survey to hold and manage the identified spatio-temporal primitives.
- Research into the means by which Ordnance Survey could provide the potential range of services, for example, whether required changes would impact on the ability to deliver the current OS MasterMap® product and the implications of delivering multiple "OS MasterMap" type products from a single data model.
- Conclusions on how Ordnance Survey can respond to the findings of the research with the technical pros and cons of the various options.
However, flexibility will be maintained and research components may be removed or changed and new research themes added, in consultation with Ordnance Survey, depending on the research outcomes and findings as the research progresses.
Salary will be within the range £22,332 - £32,796 pa, depending on qualifications and experience (salary can progress to £35,837 pa, subject to performance). This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for a period of three years. There is considerable flexibility in the nature of the post in terms of full-time or part-time/job share options.
Informal enquiries may be addressed to Professor M J Jackson, Email: Mike.Jackson@Nottingham.ac.uk.
Candidates should send a detailed CV, together with the names and addresses of two referees, to Mrs S Fuller, Centre for Geospatial Science, School of Geography, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD. Email: Stella.Fuller@Nottingham.ac.uk. www.nottingham.ac.uk/cgs. Please quote ref. ENG/125X2. Closing date: 6 June 2008.
For all our vacancies and more about working at the University of Nottingham see: http://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/.
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