International events organiser Montgomery Asia has announced that flagship geospatial and location intelligence industry trade show and conference for Southeast Asia, Geo Connect Asia (GCA), is set to return for its second edition in a largely in-person format. It is expected to double in size in terms of participants and floor space, bringing together the latest innovations in surveying and monitoring equipment, sensors, robotics and mapping solutions, among others.

Scheduled for 23 to 24 March 2022, GCA 2022 and its two complementary industry profiles – Digital Construction Asia (DCA) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Asia – will see the geospatial community converge at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore. Like the 2021 edition, the event will once again incorporate a virtual component.

Themed ‘Geospatial & Location Intelligence Solutions for Asia – Underground, Land & Sea to Sky’, GCA 2022 seeks to address the increasing interplay between ground and satellite technologies, and artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, amid growing momentum towards a Geospatial 4.0 world. Visitors can look forward to a comprehensive showcase of the latest technologies and solutions for government and non-for-profit markets, and multiple industry verticals.

According to Montgomery Asia, GCA 2022 is expected to host more than 80 international exhibitors and 2,500 professional visitors, alongside 100 enterprises, associations and agencies featuring all aspects of geospatial technologies, digital construction and UAV solutions. Over 30% of participating companies are new, including drone and aerial providers AECA Solutions, Amuse Oneself Inc, Viscoy and YellowScan; image capture experts PhaseOne; and inspection tech pioneers Screening Eagle.

The event will be graced by guest-of-honour Edwin Tong SC, Singapore’s Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, who will deliver the opening address. Also in attendance will be Colin Low, chief executive of Singapore Land Authority (SLA), and Dr Nadine Alameh, CEO of Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).

“As geospatial solutions become more applicable in most industries, and more accessible via ground and satellite imagery, especially in the Southeast Asian region, the desire to meet and discuss developments and opportunities is evident,” said Rupert Owen, co-founder of Geo Connect Asia.

“With ever-expanding opportunities, we see the industry being transformed into an exciting space in which to operate. The addition of digital construction and UAV solutions as complementary industries in one event will enable solution providers to experience first-hand a full range of exciting industry developments in Singapore.”

GCA Conference

The GCA Conference 2022 will facilitate knowledge transfer among industry players to address some of the world’s leading challenges. By encouraging interoperability, open sourcing and the sharing of key learnings from the pandemic, there is increased opportunity for improving productivity in predominantly traditional industries and accelerating rapid change in others.

Packed into two full days, the conference will comprise over 10 fireside chats featuring over 50 prominent industry speakers, panellists and moderators. Preview of the conference topics include:

• Digital twins for the built environment & climate-resilient communities

• Recycle, renew, refresh – repurposing the urban landscape

• Managing the future of city data – structure, sovereignty & sustainability

• Coastal resource protection and flood planning, recovery & resilience

• Building biodiversity & the greening of communities

• Information mapping for sustainable information exchange

• Earth observation & satellite innovations – microscopic analysis from the sky

• Drones for good & goods

• Geo AI & robotics

• Women in geospatial technology

• Geo-entrepreneurship: creating a new wave of start-ups

• What’s new in Maptech?

Thought leaders and industry experts from the geospatial sector will be present, sharing insights, trends and challenges from around the region. They include: Argoon Chuang, digital consulting lead, Asia, at AECOM; Gerry Ong, president of ASEAN Federation of Land Surveying & Geomatics; John Whitehead, senior director of sales and distribution, APAC, at Trimble; Lanita Idrus, publisher at The Asia Miner; Dr Matt Benson, senior director of Think City; and Ng Siau Yong, director of geospatial & data division and chief data officer at SLA.

Concurrently, GCA 2022 is curating four expert stage programmes, namely Smart Agriculture, Digital Construction Asia, UAV Asia, and Digital Underground Connect. Several free-to-attend programmes include the Tech Talk and PropTech stage.

The event is supported by numerous Singapore government agencies, including the Economic Development Board (EDB), Government Technology Agency (GovTech), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), National Parks Board (NParks) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB), with SLA and GeoWorks (SLA’s geospatial industry centre) as its strategic partners.

GCA 2022 will launch its full programme and registration in January 2022.