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GeoConnexion (Geo): What can visitors expect, and what are the focal points of this year’s event in Frankfurt?
Daniel Katzer (DK): As an internationally-renowned location for trade fairs and with excellent connections, Frankfurt always draws the crowds. With almost 600 international companies lining up to exhibit, INTERGEO is set to grow yet again.
We are seeing an extraordinary increase in the number of market players, particularly in our relatively new theme platforms: SMART CITY SOLUTIONS for cities of the future and INTERAERIAL SOLUTIONS for drone technology. Boundaries and process chains are merging – it’s no longer just about hardware or software, but solutions and approaches across entire business and process chains.
Over the three days of the show, the focus will be on digitalisation, transformation and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The co-located conference promotes networking by venturing into neighbouring disciplines such as construction and architecture, and by addressing topics such as Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), autonomous driving and Building Information Modelling (BIM).
The keynote speeches will cover a wide range of topics. For example, Professor Hansjörg Kutterer, President of the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy, will talk about “Opportunities and challenges for the geoindustry in the era of digital transformation”; Professor Jürgen Döllner from the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam will examine AI/VR/AR applications; Ron Bisio from Trimble will deliver a keynote speech on the topic of BIM and geoinformation for infrastructure planning, while Alanus von Radecki from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO) will look at “The DNA of the smart city”.
Geo: How will INTERGEO in Frankfurt help shape the future?
DK: As the world’s largest trade fair and conference for geodesy, geoinformation and land management, INTERGEO sees itself as a trendsetter in a rapidly-changing world where processes are becoming more efficient and the results more dynamic. We, the Geo community, need to adapt to these changes, and this is where INTERGEO can play a part by encouraging visitors to actively engage in dialogue and avoid being left behind by the digital revolution.
Geo: How has the image of INTERGEO changed?
DK: Needless to say, the show moves with the times. For example, Europe’s dynamic commercial drone sector has grown apace over recent years and early on adopted our INTERAERIAL SOLUTIONS platform as its preferred promotional event. Again, With SMART CITY SOLUTIONS. now a firm fixture at INTERGEO, visitors can peer into the future of our urban environments. How will they look? How can they be digitally transformed in landscapes that are under constant pressure? To help answer such questions, this year’s SMART CITY PLAZA with its World Cafés will give municipal authorities, planners and industry representatives a new format in which to examine these and other issues. To help in this dialogue, we have succeeded in attracting partners such as the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research, the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Roland Berger, the Fraunhofer IAO and the eco Association of the Internet Industry.
Geo: Are any new initiatives planned for this year’s event?
DK: A brand new feature will be the first European Drone Summit, a conference that convenes the day before the INTERGEO exhibition opens. Organised in collaboration with the UAV DACH Association, the gathering invites politicians and industry representatives from across the continent to share ideas on the civilian use of drones.
Geo: Clearly, Frankfurt is the place to be this year!
DK: Where else?Whether attending the main conference, exhibition or parallel events, you can be sure of a warm welcome. Attend the presentations; visit the exhibitions; get talking to fellow professionals; meet experts face-to-face and grow your network. The digital transformation is upon us. Let’s shape the future together.
Daniel Katzer is Head of Trade Fairs at HINTE GmbH (www.hinte-messe.de).More information on this year’s INTERGEO Expo, to be held in Frankfurt, 16-18 October, can be found at www.intergeo.de
