The Remote Sensing and Mapping Application Industry Alliance, initiated by Oriental Titan Technology Ltd, was established at Zhongguancun Science Park, Beijing, on April 24. It consists of major companies, universities and academic institutions like the Satellite Surveying and Mapping Application Center, National Center for Space Weather, Beihang University and Baidu.

The alliance is expected to promote innovation through building cooperation mechanisms among companies, universities, research institutions and the local government. It will facilitate major technological breakthroughs, set up key industry standards and push forward scale development of the industry in order to meet the demands of economic and social development.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Michael Thai