What’s New in Version 3.4.2¶
In addition to other improvements and bug fixes, these are the main new features of the latest Pathfinder release:
Previous releases:
Layer data download¶
In addition to downloading a base dataset from the admin page (only available for admin users), any user can now download the data of a specific project layer in Pathfinder. This is usually more convenient, because it only includes the data within the project area.
This command can be found in the layer’s side panel.
When clicked, it will download a zipped Geopackage file containing:
For vector layers, a “original” and a “buffered” version of the data.
For raster layers, a single raster with the data in the project area.
Note
The download button will only be active for layers processed after this feature was introduced. To download previously existing layers, open the Project / Layer Preprocessing panel, select the layer, reprocess it and then reload the project. The download button should then be enabled.
Geoprocess results in Geopackage format¶
Now the georeferenced results of Pathfinder geoprocesses are provided in two formats: GeoJSON and GeoPackage, for maximum interoperability with GIS software.
Results in both formats can be added as layers to the Pathfinder project or downloaded to the user’s computer.
Improved setup from existing project¶
When a new project is created, users can bring layers and their rings from an existing project. Now also the category structure of the existing project will be copied over to the new one.
In the project creation wizard, the page to add new layers contains a button to copy the layer settings from another project:
After clicking this button, the user can choose an existing project to copy layers, rings and categories from:
An information dialog will appear then to confirm:
After the process is completed, a dialog will show the list of the copied categories and layers:
Automated project thumbnails¶
In this new version, the projects get a default thumbnail created from the MapBox image for its area.
Admin users can change this default thumbnail in the Projects section of the admin page.
Raster classification geoprocess¶
Two new geoprocesses have been added to Pathfinder with this release.
The first one allows users to divide a raster area in different classes depending on the pixel value, outputing a list of datasets, one for each class, which can then be exported or added to the project.
The user can select:
The raster to classify. It can be a resistance map (marked as [RM]), corridor ([COR]), project raster like the DEM or Slope, or a layer raster.
The number of classes to create.
The method to divide the raster area.
Per value divides the raster in classes so that each class covers the same value interval (i.e. if raster values range from 100 to 200 and we select 4 classes, each class will cover 1/4 of the range: class 1 will cover values from 100 to 124, class 2 from 125 to 149, etc.)
Per area divides the raster in N classes so that each class covers approximately 1/N of the total area.
There are three main uses for this process:
Calculate suitability zones from a Resistance Map¶
In an optimal siting analysis (for instance, finding best locations for photovoltaic plants, wind farms or electric substations) a resistance map is calculated, reflecting the overall suitability based on the project layers and their resistances.
A convenient way to present the siting process results is to extract a number of classes from the resistance map raster, representing more to less suitable areas.
The following image shows the original resistance map on the left, the result of the classification per value in five classes (center) and the classification per area (right).
Divide a corridor map into classes¶
When a corridor map is calculated, users can select its width in terms of value or percentile. We can then further analyze and share the corridor by dividing it into vectorized classes near or farther from the optimal value.
The following image shows the original corridor on top, and the result of classifying it into three classes and adding them as new layers in the project (below).
Extract classes from a project or layer raster¶
The geoprocess can also be used to classify one of the default project rasters (DEM or Slope), or any other raster added as a layer in the project.
In the image below, we can see the original slope map (top) and the result of classifying it into three classes based on the value.
Corridor merge geoprocess¶
The second new geoprocess in 3.4.2 is implemented to merge multiple corridor maps and extract a portion of the merged corridor based on value.
Multiple scenario corridores can be selected to be merged, and a minimum value percentage (usually 0, to include the corridor centers) and a maximum value percentage can be selected.
The following image shows an example with two corridors (top and center). Their 50% lower ranges are merged into a single polygonal area, shown in yellow color in the bottom part.
Information security enhancements¶
In the process of obtaining the ISO 27001 Certification on Information Systems Security, we have implemented some improvements to increase the security of the Pathfinder system:
Automated threat detection with AWS GuardDuty.
Continuous automated vulnerability testing to detect potential weaknesses in third party and own components.
In addition, the automatic session logout after an inactivity period, introduced in previous versions, can now be customized by company. Contact Gilytics if you need to change this setting.
Disclaimer: the scenarios depicted in this manual do not represent actual customer projects or infrastructure proposals, and are presented for demonstration purposes only.
For more help, please use the help chat in the application, or contact Gilytics.