Who is Mercator, and how did he change navigation forever? If you’ve ever had to analyze a map or GPS navigation data, chances are you’ve encountered and even worked with the world of coordinate systems. Coordinate systems are becoming more and more important now that we have historical data that is continually updating and moving through GPS systems. But, not everyone knows why we have coordinate systems, or how to deal with them in a way that will maximize the value of their data. During this webinar, you’ll learn exactly what coordinate systems are and how you can use FME to transform your coordinate system data in an easy to understand way, accurately represented in the geographical space that it exists within. Our team of Support Specialists will walk you through: - An overview of coordinate systems - Why we need datums and projections, and units between coordinate systems - How FME handles coordinate systems - A brief summary of the 3 main reprojectors - Issues with datums and why we are moving towards a time based datum - Where we are heading with FME on coordinate systems Don’t miss the opportunity to improve the value you receive from your coordinate system data, ultimately allowing you to streamline your data analysis and maximize your time. See you there!

1. Coordinate
Systems in
FME 101
with Dave and Kailin

2. How to use this deck
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3. Meet the Presenters
Dave Campanas
Senior Strategic Technical
Support Specialist
Kailin Opaleychuk
Technical Support
Specialist, FME Desktop

4. Agenda
● Introduction to FME
● Introduction to coordinate
systems, projections, and datums
● History of how FME handles
coordinate systems
● Discussion of the 3 main
reprojection engines in FME
● The future of coordinate systems
in FME

5. Our Mission
To help you maximize the value of
your data.

6. Company Profile
Safe Software
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Countries with FME customers

7. FME®
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R & Python
Run
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workflows using an intuitive visual interface.
No coding required.

9. Unrivaled Data Support

10. If you’ve ever had to analyze a map or GPS data,
chances are you’ve encountered and even
worked with coordinate systems.

11. But not everyone knows why
we have coordinate systems.
Or how to deal with them in a way that will
maximize the value of their data.

12. Poll: What is your experience
working with spatial data and
coordinate systems?

13. The Basics
There are 2 ingredients to consider about Coordinate Systems:
● Projections
● Datums

14. What is a projection?
● Used to map data or locations on a flat surface, through mathematical algorithms
● A projections goal: accurately model features on 2D plane using linear units (such
as feet, meters, etc.)
● Commonly used projections in GIS:
○ Mercator
○ Transverse Mercator
○ Lambert Conformal
○ Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area

15. Mercator
● Most familiar projection
● Typically used for web mapping
● The farther from the equator, the worse the
scale distortions.
https://thetruesize.com/
“Mercator with Tissot's Indicatrices of Distortion” by Justin Kunimune is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

16. Transverse Mercator
● Variation of mercator projection
● Good for North/South mapping
● Distortions increase East and West of central
meridian
Standard
Transverse
“Spherical Transverse Mercator” by Peter Mercator is licensed under Public Domain
“Comparison of Mercator projections.svg” by cmglee, US government, Clindberg, Palosirkka is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

17. Lambert Conformal
● Mid-latitude, East/West
dominant data mapping
● Preserves shapes well
“Lambert conformal conic projection SW.jpg” by Strebe is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
“Conformal Conic with Tissot's Indicatrices of Distortion.svg” by Justin Kunimune is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

18. Local coordinate systems
● BIM, CAD and 3D datasets often have local coordinate systems
● Determine lat/long of reference point
● Create custom Azimuthal Equal Area coordinate system
● Assign to features

19. Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area
● Very low distortion around local
area of origin lat/long
● Can be used anywhere in the
world
“Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection SW.jpg” by Strebe is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 “Lambert azimuthal equal-area with Tissot's Indicatrices of Distortion.svg” by
Justin Kunimune is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

20. Datums in GIS
● A Datum: model of the Earth (ellipsoid) that is tied to a particular spot on the Earth
● Different regions use different reference points, and so will have different datums
● More accurate ellipsoid measurements produce new datums

21. Datums, Datums Everywhere
● Reprojecting data often requires transforming between datums
● Two types of datum transformations
○ Mathematical
■ Three Parameter (Geocentric)
■ Four Parameter
■ Seven Parameter (incl Bursa/Wolf)
■ Ten Parameter (Molodensky-Badekas)
○ Adjustment Grids
■ NTv2
■ NADCON

22. Why do we need so many datum transformations?
● Plate tectonics moves datums
○ 2m shift in Australia over last 25 years
● WGS84 tied to geoid, not surface
○ GPS datum doesn’t move
Datums, Datums Everywhere

23. Units
● Meters
● Feet

24. Working with
Coordinate
Systems in FME

25. Demo Overview
The Goal
What is this demo
trying to achieve?
The Obstacles
What is getting in
the way? Why don’t
we have the goal
already?
The Solution
How are you going
overcome the
obstacles to
accomplish the goal?
(Hint: usually by
using FME)
The Result
The goal was
achieved. But why
is that so
significant? How is
life better now?

26. Simple to use
Large library of predefined coordinate systems
Easy datum transformations, through WGS84
Direct Grid transformations
CSMAP Reprojection Engine

27. Set the coordinate system
on the writer
Output data will be
automatically reprojected
if necessary
Implicit Reprojection

28. Setting the coordinate
system on the reader will
override coordinate
system read from data
Use carefully
Source Coordinate System Setting

29. Reproject during the process
Working with source data in
different coordinate systems -
reproject to match
Reprojector

30. We can reproject attributes as
well
Need to set X and Y pair
AttributeReprojector

31. Some users needed more
control over transformations
Needed to match ArcGIS/QGIS
transformations
Choice of reprojection engines
Named Reprojectors

32. WGS84 pivot supplemented by
more direct transformations
We can choose valid
transformation from list
CsmapReprojector

33. Esri reprojection engine
included in FME
EsriReprojector

34. Largest library of coordinate
systems
Can automatically download
transformation grids
Automatic or manual modes
PROJReprojector

35. Country-specific reprojection
engines
Limited coordinate systems and
range
● Sweden
● United Kingdom
● Switzerland
National Reprojectors

36. Writing to 3D formats with
limited precision
Measuring distances and areas
of lat/long data
Calculated or user set origin
Local Coordinate Systems

37. Esri - create in ArcGIS
PROJ - use PROJ or WKT in
manual mode
CSMAP - use online tool
Custom Coordinate Systems

38. ● Vertical Coordinate System support
● Time Dependent Datum Transformations
Future Developments

39. Poll: Which reprojector do you use
most often in FME Workbench?

40. Don’t waste the chance to streamline
your data analysis and save time.

41. Summary Points
Coordinate systems support in FME is all
about choice:
- Simple or Complex
- Reprojection Engine
- Predefined or Local/Custom

42. You can maximize the
value of your coordinate
systems data.
You can be more productive and focus
on the work that matters when your
coordinate systems data is validated,
clean, and where it needs to be.

43. Next Steps
Download FME 2021.2 Choose your Engine Start reprojecting
Free Trial | Upgrade

44. Perpetual License Cloud Deployment
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More info: safe.com/pricing
Subscription Licenses
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deployments

45. Resources
Article: Key Concepts in Coordinate Systems and Mapping
Documents: FME Coordinate Systems

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48. Q&A

49. Thank you!
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