30 years of MiraMon!

In 2024 we celebrate that 30 years ago we began developing MiraMon, a pioneering software in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) management and remote sensing. Since then, we have never stopped. Over three decades, more than 200,000 users from up to 42 countries have trusted MiraMon to carry out relevant projects in areas such as Earth Observation, territorial analysis, and scientific education. Initially developed for teaching and research, MiraMon has consolidated as an essential tool for scientists, institutions, and professionals worldwide with emblematic projects such as the study of the Health Map of Catalonia, the 4 reference versions of the Land Cover Maps of Catalonia (1993 to 2009), the Digital Climate Atlases of Catalonia and the Iberian Peninsula, or the quinquennial studies of Land Use and Cover Dynamics from 1987 to 2022 carried out with satellite images.

This special year, we will celebrate the collective effort with activities, conferences, and a main celebration event.

• Main Celebration Event.
• Exposition at the Science and Technology Library of the UAB.
• Conference Series "MiraMon 30 Years: New Perspectives".
• Round Tables Series "MiraMon 30 Years Challenges".

Main Celebration Event

The most important aspect of these 30 years of MiraMon has undoubtedly been the community of people involved in the development of the program and also the large community of users who have made it possible for MiraMon to be a reference tool in teaching, research, territorial management, and many other professional fields. For us, this community is the heart of MiraMon. Therefore, we want to celebrate this anniversary with a central event in which we will have speeches from some of the people who have been protagonists of this story, and at the same time, we will reflect on the future of MiraMon. During the event, we will also offer a snack to all attendees as a thank you for their involvement and support.

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Program of the event:

• Mr. Joan Pino, Director of CREAF, opening of the event and presentation of the table.
• Words from:
• Mrs. Assumption Malgosa, Vice Chancellor for Research at the UAB.
• Mr. Jaume Miranda, full member from the Science and Technology Section of the Institute of Catalan Studies (IEC) and former Director General of the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC).
• Mr. Sergi Gumà, Geography UAB student (degree and Master in TD and GIS) with a long career at the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) and in the main GIS companies in the country, as a representative of users-companies.
• Mr. Joan Pino, Director of CREAF.
• Mr. Xavier Pons and Mr. Joan Masó (UAB and CREAF): Conference "30 years Looking at the World". From how to what.”
• Words of Mr. Jordi Sargatal, Secretary of Ecological Transition of the Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
• Toasts and appetizers

📅 December 19, 2024

⏰ 17:30 - Doors Open | 18:00 - Start of the event

📍 Where? Aula Magna of the Casa Convalescència UAB (Hospital de Sant Pau i la Santa Creu. Sant Antoni Maria Claret Street 171, corner with Sant Quintí). Φ, λ: 41.41374, 2.17746

Download the map

Exposition at the Science and Technology Library of the UAB

Under the title "30 Years of MiraMon: The Evolution of Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing, and Our Territory", this exposition commemorates the 30th anniversary of MiraMon with a journey through important objects and milestones from 1994 to 2024.

The first lines of MiraMon code began to be written in 1988, but it wasn’t until 1994 that it became a Windows application used in scientific, educational, and environmental management contexts.

In this exposition, you will discover the evolution of cartography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and remote sensing over the past 30 years, and how MiraMon has been a constant companion in this process of change. You will explore how 3D images were visualized at that time, the physical volume required to store digital data, the first Windows platforms used for code development, the role of satellites in Earth observation, and the challenges that lie ahead with the advent of artificial intelligence.

📅 November 26 - December 20

📍 Science and Technology Library of the UAB

➩ Starting in January at the Humanities Library of the UAB.

Conference Series "MiraMon 30 Years: New Perspectives"

As part of the celebration of MiraMon's 30th anniversary, we are preparing a conference series under the title "MiraMon 30 Years: New Perspectives," a set of sessions designed to reflect on the present and future of geographic information and remote sensing.

The goal of this cycle is to foster a space for critical thinking and debate, addressing current challenges and emerging opportunities in the field of geographic information science and technology. We want these conferences to not only celebrate MiraMon's history but also to offer new perspectives to collective knowledge and discuss the relevance and potential that these disciplines will continue to hold in the coming years.

Central themes of the conferences

• AI and GI. The role of artificial intelligence in the world of geographic information. About how artificial intelligence is transforming geospatial analysis and decision-making in various sectors.
• New remote sensing sensors: What's missing? About the current and future impact of initiatives and technologies such as private constellations of satellites with high spatial resolution and nanosatellites in Earth observation.
• Citizen science vs. official data in geographic information. About the advantages, limitations, and complementary roles of citizen science initiatives and data produced by official entities.

More information coming soon

Round Tables Series "MiraMon 30 Years Challenges"

As part of the celebration of MiraMon's 30th anniversary, we are also preparing a series of roundtable discussions under the title "MiraMon Challenges: 30 Years", a set of events designed to reflect on the relevance of MiraMon's current position in certain areas where we have carried out particularly intensive work.

Each session in the series will begin with a presentation by a member of the MiraMon team, explaining the reasoning behind MiraMon's strategy on the topic of the session. Following this, the rest of the roundtable participants will debate the success of the trajectory and the current state, as well as whether it might be appropriate to rethink the approach. We are confident that, due to the cross-cutting nature of these topics, these roundtable discussions will not only review these aspects of MiraMon's history but will also prove stimulating for anyone interested in the world of Geographic and Territorial Information, whether from the perspective of knowledge, research, planning, or land management.

• Generation of Continuous Surfaces Combining In Situ Data and Remote Sensing. Among the main sources for obtaining data that cover the territory as a continuous surface, whether evapotranspiration, solar radiation, etc., are ground measurements and observations through sensors mounted on satellite or aerial platforms, such as airplanes or drones. In this session, we will discuss the synergy between both sources and the suitability of the approaches we currently employ.
• Generation of Land Use and Land Cover Maps. One of the most important “layers” for knowledge, management, and territorial planning is land use and land cover maps. These can be created using methods based on photointerpretation or automatic classification supported by advanced classification and machine learning techniques, or mixed approaches. The interest in these layers is not only static over time but reaches its maximum value when they shed light on territorial dynamics. In this session, we will discuss how to achieve high-quality information in this field, balancing spatial detail, the number of categories in the legend, the temporal uniqueness of each layer, update frequency, and, naturally, production costs.
• Data Models and Formats for Today’s Geographic Information Science and Technology. After several decades of development in the field, data models and formats now exceed two hundred. MiraMon developed some that have served for decades with very few modifications and have covered data, metadata, and models. In this session, we will discuss the need for such diversity, the advantages and limitations of its existence, and whether MiraMon should integrate any particularly interesting concept or property.
• Metadata, Quality, Lineage, and Traceability. Metadata refers to the data about the data, including their characteristics, who produced them, or what temporal moment they represent. MiraMon includes a very comprehensive metadata model and a manager, GeM+, which allows the inclusion of aspects such as units of measurement and quality, but also lineage and traceability (i.e., documenting all processes carried out to produce a given product and ensuring they are reproducible as much as possible [parameters, etc.]).

More information coming soon