FOSS4G 2024 Japan: Packed with QGIS Use Cases

Introduction

From November 9 to 10, 2024, Senshu University's Ikuta Campus hosted FOSS4G 2024 Japan, an event that brings together the open source geospatial community (FOSS4G). The OSGeo Japan Chapter (OSGeo.JP), a general incorporated association, organized it. The event is a place to share the latest trends in open source technology, including GIS, and many developers, users, and researchers attend every year.

Hands-on day

Day 1 was the Hands-on Day, with multiple hands-on sessions on FOSS4G tools.

For QGIS, Katsube of the OSGeo Japan Chapter led a beginner-level session, “Getting Started with QGIS.” It covered the basics of using GIS and basic QGIS operations.

MIERUNE Inc.'s Uemori led another session, “Let's Play with 3D City Models (PLATEAU) Using QGIS!” It covered importing the 3D city model of Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, into QGIS with the PLATEAU QGIS Plugin. The session ranged from basic operations, such as styling by attribute and 3D display, to an advanced one: placing a 3D model on the map and displaying it in AR.

Six hands-on sessions were held in total. They included WebGIS sessions on Cesium and MapLibre GL JS, and every one was fully booked.

Core day

Day 2 was the Core Day, with a variety of sessions, including talks by FOSS4G users, case studies, and panel discussions. Sessions ran in parallel in four rooms, and about 40 presentations were given.

Here are some of the QGIS-related presentations.

Making forest zoning easier to understand with QGIS

The first was a joint presentation by Ogaya of the Japan Forest Technology Association and Kyoku of MIERUNE, titled “Making Forest Zoning Easier to Understand with QGIS.”

In forestry, zoning is needed for sustainable use of resources and disaster risk reduction. It separates areas used mainly for timber production from areas that call for disaster risk management or environmental conservation. Doing this in GIS, however, requires advanced raster analysis, which was a major hurdle for government agencies and forestry businesses. To address this, the Forestry Agency commissioned the development of the QGIS plugin Morizon (もりぞん).

The presentation explained in detail how forestry experts and engineers worked together to build a practical tool. It also explained technical details and other touches that support zoning work, such as features that make raster analysis more efficient and a simple way to set thresholds.

Morizon can be downloaded for free from the G-Spatial Information Center, and anyone can use it. The tool is expected to help more sites manage forests efficiently and effectively.

Introducing MIERUNE, QGIS, and the QGIS business

The next presentation was “Introducing MIERUNE, QGIS, and the QGIS Business” by Asahi of MIERUNE.

MIERUNE, whose slogan is “MIERUNE, the QGIS company,” provides solutions built on QGIS. It does more than use the software: it also works to help the QGIS ecosystem grow and to encourage its use, by contributing to the source code, making donations, and holding training courses.

The presentation covered MIERUNE's QGIS business, which began in earnest this fiscal year, the launch of this site, “QGIS LAB by MIERUNE,” and plans for the future.

QGIS in agricultural remote sensing: combined with RTK positioning

Next was “QGIS in Agricultural Remote Sensing: Combined with RTK Positioning” by Yamamoto of the Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, an agricultural organization in Hokkaido.

Hokuren is working on remote sensing of crops with QGIS and QField to solve problems in the field. Specifically, it uses satellite data, drones, and RTK positioning to calculate areas affected by wheat disease and to survey crop growth. The presentation showed how combining high-precision position data from RTK positioning with drone imagery enables efficient, accurate analysis.

The presentation reaffirmed how well agriculture and GIS work together. QGIS use is expected to grow further.

How to make a hazard map game: generating parameters with a QGIS plugin

The last presentation was “How to Make a Hazard Map Game: Generating Parameters with a QGIS Plugin” by Lay of MIERUNE.

Tokyo Cartographic Co., Ltd. and MIERUNE are jointly developing “Protect! Disaster Defense Squad” (守れ！サイガイ防衛隊), a disaster prevention game that uses maps. A dedicated QGIS plugin generates the data used in the game, and the presentation explained its technical workings in detail. The plugin uses various open data, such as the disaster-related data in National Land Numerical Information, and calculates disaster risk for each mesh according to specific rules.

Games do sometimes use GIS technology, but using QGIS to generate game data is an interesting approach. According to the presentation, the plugin is planned for release as open source.

Conclusion

FOSS4G 2024 Japan was a chance to experience the forefront of open source technology in the geospatial field and to share a great deal of useful information. The event also showed once more how QGIS and other tools and projects are used in the real world to solve problems, and what they can achieve.

FOSS4G Japan is scheduled to take place somewhere in Japan again next fiscal year. For QGIS users who have not attended yet, it is a great chance not only to gain new knowledge and skills, but also to build stronger ties with the community.

For the FOSS4G sessions not related to QGIS and the atmosphere of the event as a whole, see this report.