DroneSentry-C2 with Nearmap location data. (Screenshot: DroneShield)
DroneShield Limited, an Australian/U.S. global leader in artificial-intelligence-based platforms for protection against advanced threats such as drones and autonomous systems, has announced an enhanced version of its DroneSentry-C2 command-and-control software in partnership with location intelligence firm Nearmap.
Nearmap provides city-scale 3D content, artificial-intelligence data sets, geospatial tools, and high-resolution aerial imagery in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
DroneSentry-C2 provides an intuitive and feature-rich software platform, providing counter-UAS awareness and reporting capability. It integrates both DroneShield and third-party C-UAS sensors and effectors. Those include multiple AI-enabled sensing and tracking products, such as RfOne long-range direction-finding sensors for UAS detection and tracking, and camera-agnostic DroneOptID optical/thermal camera AI software.
DroneSentry-C2 will come with a standard mapping solution for cost-sensitive customers, and an optional Nearmap mapping upgrade for mapping data for markets requiring high performance, such as government, intelligence, Homeland Security and defense.
The software comes as an on-premises, air-gapped solution for intelligence, Homeland Security and defense users, or secure cloud for enterprise customers. The on-premises solution also includes a high-grade physical server. Both options come with regular mapping updates, including the ability for the user to load their own maps for sensitive locations.
“One of DroneShield’s differentiators is that we are both a sensor manufacturer and an integrator,” said Oleg Vornik, DroneShield CEO. “Providing a streamlined and standardized hardware / software bundle that gives our user community an easy-to-deploy and run command-and-control software will be critical as more fixed and pop-up site users seek to deploy counter-UAS products. Importantly, the offering is already validated by deployments such as U.S. Air Force and Australian Army, among a number of other tier 1 end users globally.”
In recent years, the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry has benefited greatly from growing GNSS accuracy, smaller laser scanners, UAVs, and more efficient management, collaboration and visualization software. We asked five companies operating in this space to address three questions:
What are the key challenges of surveying for the AEC industry today, compared with traditional boundary surveying and other types of surveying?
Which of your products are particularly relevant for this kind of surveying?
What was a recent AEC surveying success story?
In the following articles, five companies briefly describe their experience with the AEC industry:
Nearmap Ltd. has appointed Penny Diamantakiou as chief financial officer (CFO) effective Jan. 31. The announcement follows the promotion of Andy Watt to chief growth and operations officer.
Diamantakiou has had a distinguished career spanning more than 20 years as a business executive with a passion for digital, media and technology businesses. Previously the CFO of 5B, a clean technology leader that accelerates access to low- cost, safely deployed, solar energy, Diamantakiou has also held leadership roles at companies including Optus, Yahoo7, WooliesX (part of the Woolworths Group) and the Association for Data-Driven Marketing & Advertising (ADMA).
Diamantakiou is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holds a master’s degree in business administration (an MBA), a graduate diploma in management, and a bachelor’s in economics. She is also a Fellow Certified Practicing Accountant (FCPA).
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Penny to the team at Nearmap,” said CEO Rob Newman. “Penny will start from a strong foundation of fiscal management, reporting and transparency established by Andy, and will take our systems forward as we increasingly manage more products, customers and geographies.”
“Just as importantly, Penny shares our core values, and given her passion, commitment and extensive leadership experience working at high growth digital and technology-led businesses, is the right cultural fit to help drive our business and strategy forward,” Newman said. “I look forward to working together as we continue growing our business and expanding our market leadership position.”
Nearmap will capture aerial imagery of more than 80% of the U.S. population up to three times a year, enabling clients to access 130,000 square miles of additional content, including double the urban coverage of oblique/3D content
Aerial imagery and location intelligence company Nearmap has expanded its United States coverage program to more than 80% of the country’s population. This massive boost in coverage provides companies that rely on high-resolution aerial imagery with improved decision-making capabilities that will help them save time, effort and money, Nearmap stated in a press release.
“Nearmap customers have asked us to increase the amount of the U.S. that we cover and we’re responding by doubling down on our coverage,” Tony Agresta, general manager of North America, Nearmap said. “Our clients will have access to 130,000 square miles of additional unique captured footprint in the United States.”
Overall, the Nearmap capture program will cover more than 1,740 urban areas within the United States, including more than 80% of the population with 308,000 unique square miles captured annually.
In capturing aerial imagery, Nearmap focuses on currency, consistency, coverage and ease of access. The imagery is published within days of capture, with 24/7 access through a web app, API or third-party integration.
“Around 11,300 customers worldwide rely on Nearmap to be their eye in the sky, and to provide them with the truth on the ground,” Agresta said. “We’re seeing strong momentum with new and existing customers in the United States. This massive boost in coverage reflects the broader investment and focus Nearmap has on the strategically important U.S. market.”
Features of the expanded mapping coverage include:
130,000 square miles of additional unique captured footprint in the United States, equivalent to about 63,000 football fields
double the number of urban areas covered with oblique/3D content
access to current content, with updates up to three times a year, including leaf-off and leaf-on collection
images at a high resolution, ranging from 2.2 to 3 inches.
Across the world, Nearmap will also capture more than 64% of the population in Canada; more than 90% of the population in Australia, and about 73% of the population in New Zealand.
“The expanded aerial coverage complements our city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence (AI) data sets, and geospatial tools,“ Agresta said. “Nearmap has also recently tested in flight the next generation of our patented aerial camera system, HyperCamera3, to ensure our clients are supported by the very best technology in the market.”
In 2019, the City of Hobart Sanitary and Stormwater District (HSD) in Hobart, Indiana, recognized the benefits of geospatial technology and location intelligence to transform the city. HSD reached out to Geographic Technologies Group (GTG) to write and implement a geographic information system (GIS) strategic plan.
GTG is one of the world’s leading local government GIS companies, working to advance the science of location intelligence and geospatial technology. GTG built a GIS strategic plan for HSD using high-resolution aerial imagery from Nearmap to help build on the city’s need to deliver geospatial data to customers.
“Our content integrates easily with GTG’s applications and acts as a valuable component to their strategic planning services,” said Karl Terrey, director, Global Alliances at Nearmap. “Our imagery is refreshed multiple times per year and when combined with GTG’s technology allows governments to make decisions based on conditions in their communities in near-real-time.”
Image: Geographical Technologies Group
Before GTG, HSD was maintaining a GIS viewer web app that was not user friendly, and thus underutilized.
HSD leaders recognized the need for an interface that would serve the district as well as other city departments while being easy to navigate. Nearmap’s technology corrected this, by equipping users with controls that were customized to address all the needs of its users.
Image: Geographical Technologies Group
“Our goal has always been to solve problems, and introduce a new kind of decision support for our clients,” said James Kelt, VP of Corporate Software at GTG. “Our clients love the imagery and the more we worked with Nearmap, the more we’ve been able to provide this added value to our customers.”
With the help of the user-friendly ArcGIS Hub, where citizens could access GIS tools, and GTG’s new program, the city of Hobart gained greater citizen engagement that allowed them to find information for themselves.
“Seen & Heard” is a monthly feature of GPS World magazine, traveling the world to capture interesting and unusual news stories involving the GNSS/PNT industry.
Integrity sits safely on Mars following an in-flight anomaly. (Photo: NASA)
PNT Issue Rocks Ingenuity
The Mars drone Ingenuity uses an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to track position, velocity and attitude. The IMU works with the rotorcraft’s navigation camera, which feeds images into the system. About 54 seconds into Ingenuity’s sixth flight on May 22, a glitch in the pipeline of images delivered by the camera caused Ingenuity to buck. The glitch caused a single image to be lost, resulting in all later navigation images being delivered with inaccurate timestamps. Ingenuity’s navigation system attempted to correct itself due to “phantom errors,” but the copter still managed to land within 16 feet (5 meters) of its target location. The Perseverance rover snapped an image of its flying companion the next day. The timing vulnerability is being addressed.
The versatility of the ZEB-Horizon device enabled the Deep Time team to map the complex and challenging environment. (Photo: GeoSLAM)
Measuring Deep Time and Space
Geospatial 3D mapping specialist GeoSLAM provided the technology to scan one of Europe’s largest caves as part of the Deep Time isolation study. For 40 days, 15 participants set up camp in the Lombrives cave in southwestern France with no clocks or sunlight, and zero contact with the outside world. Conducted by the Human Adaptation Institute, the experiment aimed to gain insight into human adaptability to isolation. For their first task, the “deeptimers” used the ZEB-Horizon to conduct a digital scan of the 3-km Lombrives cave — a system consisting of both narrow passages and expansive chambers up to 70 meters in height, formed more than 125 million years ago.
Photo: Nearmap
Avengers Assemble!
On June 4, Disney unveiled its Avengers Campus at its California Adventure park. Aerial image provider Nearmap, which has been flying over Disneyland and California Adventure twice a year since 2014, shared a bird’s-eye view of the park’s new area, which replaced “A Bug’s Life.” Nearmap also shared images comparing the crowd size in 2019 before COVID-19 to the reopening limit of 25% capacity in April.
Photo: Geoscience Australia
Tasmania First
As part of the Positioning Australia program, Geoscience Australia is building new GNSS ground stations. The first new station was recently completed outside the town of Derby, Tasmania. This new station joins 10 existing stations in Tasmania, providing widely available GNSS-based precise positioning signals. To access the service, users can connect to a service provider offering a fully supported service with system integration; users with specialized equipment and the technical expertise to integrate GNSS positioning can connect directly to the station via Geoscience Australia’s GNSS Data Centre.
Aerial imagery company Nearmap is partnering with Geographic Technologies Group (GTG), which helps local government agencies throughout the United States and Canada with geographic information systems (GIS).
GTG offers local governments with GIS services including strategic planning, consulting, comprehensive data services, mapping services, software development, training and on-call support. GTG also provides ongoing GIS maintenance for villages, towns, cities, counties, multi-regional agencies, public works and public utilities, water districts, and Native American and Alaskan Tribes.
“Our range of high-resolution aerial content — from vertical to oblique, 3D and AI [artificial intelligence] — integrates easily with GTG’s applications and acts as a valuable component to the strategic planning services offered by GTG,” said Karl Terrey, director, Global Alliances at Nearmap. “Our imagery is refreshed multiple times per year and, when combined with GTG’s technology, allows cities, towns, counties and state governments to make decisions based on conditions in their communities in near real time, at a fraction of the cost.”
Nearmap’s 3D imagery provides local governments with the ability to quickly export custom areas for use in platforms such as Esri, Bentley Systems and Autodesk. Nearmap AI enables governments to instantly identify attributes about properties required for the appraisal process. Nearmap AI Packs enable users to determine the type of access made visible in MapBrowser for items such as impervious surfaces, vegetation and solar panels at citywide scale.
Nearmap’s library of aerial imagery provides some of the most accurate imagery available with updates occurring up to three times a year throughout more than 430 markets in North America, including 700 urban and regional areas accounting for more than 70 percent of the United States population.
“Our goal has always been to break through boundaries, solve problems, and introduce a new kind of decision support for our clients,” said James Kelt, vice president of corporate software at GTG. “We began using Nearmap’s aerial imagery a few years ago because we recognized it as a way to differentiate ourselves and push the envelope. Our clients love the imagery and the more we worked with Nearmap, the more it made sense to find a way to partner so we could provide this added value to all of our customers.”
Advancements in sensors, cameras and automation have fueled the growth of the aerial imaging industry, which is expected to reach $2.83 billion by 2022.
By Swamini Kulkarni
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones, often gain the spotlight with to their ability to capture the view from a vantage point. For years, airborne cameras have clicked never-seen-before pictures across planet. Now imaging technology is utilized to monitor natural calamities and borders of countries.
Drones have been quickly adopted in various industries including surveillance, geospatial mapping, post-disaster monitoring, and even entertainment. The advancements in sensors, cameras and automation have fueled growth of the aerial imaging industry.
Cameras mounted on balloons, kites and now drones are used widely across various verticals such as government, agriculture, civil engineering and research. Surveillance through satellite imagery has challenges, many of which drones can overcome. Drones can be used whenever we want and can be equipped with lidar systems, geographic information systems and advanced cameras. This has created lucrative opportunities in the aerial imaging industry.
According to Allied Market Research, the global aerial imaging market is expected to reach $2.83 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 12.9% from 2016 to 2022. The launch of novel and intuitive cameras has further increased the popularity of aerial imaging.
Advent of novel, intuitive cameras for aerial imaging
AirSelfie, a prime market player in the aerial imaging industry, launched AIR PIX aerial camera at Consumer Technology Association (CES) 2020. The company announced that it has started shipping AIR PIX+ to customers the world’s smallest pocket-sized aerial camera. Moreover, it declared that it would make available AIR DUO, the aerial camera equipped with the dual parallel camera later in 2020. Both of these cameras offer state-of-the-art technology and would prove to be vital in aerial imaging and capturing videos from the air.
Skydio, the leading U.S. manufacturer of drones and autonomous flight technology, recently launched new software solutions and autonomous drone platform for situational awareness and inspection. It is observed that despite the potential drones showcase in aerial imaging, its adoption is still limited due to concerns regarding the risk of crashes of autonomous drones.
Moreover, the requirement to hire experienced pilots and data security concerns prevent firms from scaling their aerial imaging programs. That’s why Skydio aims to unlock the potential through this autonomy software and change people’s perspective toward drones.
In addition, the company has partnered with Eagleview, a leader in aerial imagery industry and data analytics to empower home insurance agents to offer accurate inspection of residential homes without the use of expert drone pilots. This technology is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Artificial intelligence: Future of aerial imaging
Today, every industry is searching for ways to operate devices remotely or at least with minimum physical contact. With the experience of global pandemic keeping in mind, the future is clearly bright for autonomous drones.
Several industries, including aerial imaging, rely on advancements in autonomous UAVs. Moreover, the success of aerial imaging depends on both autonomous drones and carefully dealing with the data gathered by aerial cameras. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) comes into the picture.
For use of aerial imaging for property surveillance, there is a dire need for a solution that can streamline data analysis, make sense of the data gathered by cameras, and scale up the level of details offered by aerial imaging.
AI-based aerial imaging can be used for automated property analytics and streamline facilitation of risk underwriting and claim management. Moreover, it can offer datasets to improve risk modeling. AI-powered aerial imaging technology can leverage AI to detect changes in property evaluation, which can benefit public safety and city planning.
COVID-19 increases data demand
We live during a period of drastic change. The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced almost every industry across the globe and has increased the demand for quality of data despite a lack of resources. Moreover, there is a need for faster and better data analysis to help industries scale up. The incorporation of AI and aerial imaging can benefit organizations to scale up their operations and streamline their processes at affordable costs.
Nearmap, a prominent aerial imagery company, has launched its innovative Nearmap AI for automatic aerial imagery insights at scale. This technology is the first among aerial imagery to offer AI analysis along with high-definition aerial images on a commercial scale. Moreover, it enables customers to automatically detect ground features and verify insight against aerial imagery at a larger scale.
It is clear that the use of aerial imaging will increase in the future. Moreover, the integration of AI in aerial imaging will help organizations to scale up their business and aid in data analysis to gain valuable insights.
It is safe to say that the aerial imaging technology has changed over time, but the desire of humans to see the world from a high above has been constant, which is exactly what should keep aerial imaging technology profitable in years to come.
Allied Market Research is offering a market report on aerial imaging.
Swamini Kulkarni
Swamini Kulkarni holds a bachelor’s degree from Pune University, India, and works as a content writer.
The webinar, sponsored by Nearmap, takes place June 25 at 1 p.m. EDT / 10 a.m. PDT / 7 p.m. (1900h) Central European Time. Registration is free.
Managing and protecting the nearly 31,000 acres of the preserves is no small task, so the ability to see the environment at scale in crystal-clear clarity is a must. Aerial imagery provides an “eye in the sky” to get better context of truth on the ground.
Lake County Forest Preserves uses Nearmap aerial imagery to:
monitor and track change over time with historical and current captures
assess and address invasive species growth with high-resolution imagery
manage remote work challenges during COVID-19 to locate assets.
Joining Brett Clark of Nearmap are three experts from Lake County Forest Preserves.
Nick Spittlemeister GIS Analyst, Planning and Land Preservation Dept. Lake County Forest Preserves District (IL)
Nick Spittlemeister has been with Lake County Forest Preserves since 2016, working to create an enterprise solution that employs web GIS in all facets of the organization. He helped the district secure a license with Nearmap in 2018 and has deployed it across their GIS system, from Desktop software to web applications and native apps. He has been using GIS for more than 15 years and holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from Northern Michigan University.
Dave Cassin Manager of Landscape Ecology Lake County Forest Preserves District (IL)
David Cassin’s remote sensing training began in the US Navy (1990-94) where he was trained as an Intelligence Specialist / Air Photo Interpreter, put into practice during Operation Desert Shield / Storm. Post military service, he continued his craft in college with incorporation of ArcGIS. He combined his skillset and his love of nature by getting a degree in Natural Resource Management. Integrating remote sensing skills into landscape scale restoration projects by utilizing historical air photos and land survey data, he is able to determine historic land uses and alterations. Specific to Nearmap, he was able to map populations of Phragmites australis (an invasive species in Illinois) by utilizing the fall 2019 Nearmap imagery remotely during the COVID-19 stay at home order.
Kevin Kleinjan Senior Engineer Lake County Forest Preserves District (IL)
Kevin has utilized aerial imagery and geospatial technologies for over 25 years to inform and support planning and infrastructure related decisions. He utilizes Nearmap’s high-resolution imagery with multiple captures throughout a calendar year to analyze and update infrastructure assets quickly and accurately from both the office, and in the field using mobile devices. This enables him to efficiently manage the District’s sign shop, site amenity and heavy equipment crews. He has dual degree in Landscape Architecture and Geography from South Dakota State University and is a Registered Landscape Architect in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Brett Clark Senior Account Executive Nearmap Brett graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in communications. He was employee #2 for Nearmap, U.S., and focuses primarily on serving the public sector – both state and local. Brett lives in the Indianapolis area with his wife and three daughters.
The ability to capture and evaluate truth on the ground through aerial imagery is an ever-growing industry, thanks to the proliferation of UAVs and access to imagery on demand and online. Yet obstacles remain that could prevent organizations from capturing location intelligence.
For organizations that require timely, accurate and current aerial imagery, an additional capture program outside of drones could be necessary. One company, Nearmap, flies fixed-wing aircraft two to three times per year over 430 urban areas across the United States. Using proprietary camera technology, Nearmap captures aerial data in a variety of formats: vertical, oblique and 3D. The location content is then delivered to customers via a web browser application and can be easily integrated into GIS/CAD applications.
A mid-size tech company in New Mexico using a drone to capture digital surface model data ran into two obstacles: proximity to no-fly zones at Albuquerque International Airport and need for image consistency over an entire metro area. With a project due date looming, the company turned to Nearmap, which provided the necessary image data around the airport, as well as historical imagery. With the Nearmap data, the company was able to speed project planning from design to project completion.
Nearmap aerial imagery also provides data at scale (an entire city, not one city block). The clarity of the imagery is 2.8-inch ground sample distance, providing optimal data for seeing truth on the ground.
Aerial imagery company Nearmap has acquired technology and assets from Pushpin, a deep learning and analytics technology company that extracts data from 3D models to provide roof geometry insights to a variety of sectors including roofing, solar and government.
The technology acquisition allows Nearmap to rapidly extract and disseminate roof geometry from its wide-scale 3D models and offer a new form of location content to its customers.
‘‘By acquiring Pushpin’s 3D geometry extraction technology and pairing it with our rich data, we bring the best of both worlds together at unprecedented scale’’ said Rob Newman, Nearmap CEO. “Over the past couple of years, we’ve evolved our offering from 2D imagery to a multi-product portfolio, and this acquisition is an important milestone in our approach to continue adding new content types for our customers. This addition aides our company mission by providing 3D geometry data at unmatched speed, thereby changing the way our customers perform their work.”
With this new technology, Nearmap can provide a semi-automated calculation and extracted representation of any roof geometry within an hour, significantly reducing turnaround time. The combination of Nearmap’s 3D content and Pushpin’s geometry extraction technology opens up a diverse range of use cases, enabling businesses to fast-track job estimation, determine solar irradiance, plan drone delivery routes and model 5G propagation.
“The addition of Pushpin’s 3D geometry extraction technology into our large-scale 3D reality models will enable us to further evolve our offering and produce at scale roofing geometry,” said Tom Celinski, Executive Vice President, Technology and Engineering at Nearmap. “With the added ability to provide roof geometry data, we will be able to provide even deeper insights on what’s happening on the ground, and help businesses and government organizations transform the way they work and do their job more efficiently.”
The roofing and solar industries are poised for significant growth. Currently, 1% of the United States population has solar panels on their homes. According to the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), total U.S. solar capacity will more than double over the next 5 years.
Additionally, a significant number of U.S. residential homes have their roofs replaced every year due to roof damaging storms and changes in roofing trends and material. This new product offering from Nearmap is poised to significantly impact these markets, as companies are expanding their use of technology to assist with tasks such as roof material and project quoting through reports, project management through roofing specific software, and customized sales and marketing tools for the roofing industry.
How have improvements in mapping data-collection advanced other PNT technologies?
Tony Agresta
“Real-time positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) benefit from high-resolution aerial maps captured and published on a consistent basis. With sub 3-inch aerial photographs streamed through custom applications or instantly accessible solutions, governments and commercial use cases apply these maps for emergency 9-1-1 dispatch, routing guidance, and new information applications to inform citizens.” Tony Agresta
Nearmap
Ismael Colomina
“In principle, PNT shall be based on linear/angular motion sensors. However, since the origins of aerial triangulation down to contemporaneous hybrid multi-sensor systems, mapping and motion sensors have cooperated in PNT tasks. Current visual- and lidar-odometry are brilliant examples thereof.” Ismael Colomina
GeoNumerics
Members of the EAB
Tony Agresta Nearmap
Miguel Amor Hexagon Positioning Intelligence
Thibault Bonnevie SBG Systems
Alison Brown NAVSYS Corporation
Ismael Colomina GeoNumerics
Clem Driscoll C.J. Driscoll & Associates
John Fischer Orolia
Ellen Hall Spirent Federal Systems
Jules McNeff Overlook Systems Technologies, Inc.
Terry Moore University of Nottingham
Bradford W. Parkinson Stanford Center for Position, Navigation and Time
Nick Spittlemeister
Dave Cassin
Kevin Kleinjan
