Hyderabad: Accurate maps are not just for navigation—they shape roads, power lines, housing layouts and determine how cities respond to floods or fires. Emphasising this, experts at a workshop held at Osmania University on Tuesday called for the wider adoption of Continuously Operating Reference System (CORS) technology across government departments and infrastructure planning agencies.CORS is a GPS-based system that delivers location data accurate to within a few centimetres—significantly more precise than standard smartphone GPS. This level of accuracy is critical for urban utility planning, land boundary demarcation, disaster management and environmental monitoring.The workshop was organised by Osmania University’s department of geography, in collaboration with the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Geospatial Directorate and the Survey of India. It aimed to train students, researchers and junior surveyors in CORS functions and practical applications in the field.Experts explained that conventional GPS systems can have error margins of several metres—acceptable for day-to-day use, but inadequate for precise tasks such as plotting roads, laying sewage lines, or maintaining satellite-linked land records. CORS resolves this by using fixed reference stations that continuously correct GPS signals in real-time, enhancing both reliability and precision.The workshop included technical sessions and live demonstrations led by officer surveyors H.K. Harish and A. Ramesh from the TG & AP Geospatial Directorate and the Survey of India. They explained how CORS stations are set up, how real-time corrections are made, and how the system eliminates common mapping errors.Presiding over the event, Prof. Ashok Kumar Lonavath, head of the geography department, said building awareness and technical skills in CORS is essential if cities like Hyderabad want smarter planning and fewer disputes over land and infrastructure.Other speakers included Prof. G. Prabhakar, principal of the University College of Science; Prof. P. Naveen Kumar, chairman of the Electronics and Communication Engineering Board of Studies; and Manchala Santosh, superintendent surveyor at the Survey of India and general secretary of the Indian National Cartographic Association. They highlighted the potential of technologies like CORS to bridge the gap between academic research and public policy implementation.
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