GPS World

Author: Tracy Cozzens

  • USGIF launches universal GEOINT certification program

    The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) officially launched its Universal GEOINT Certification Program May 16 during general session at its GEOINT 2016 Symposium. The symposium takes place May 16-19 in Orlando, Florida.

    USGIF’s certification program includes three exams with corresponding certifications: GIS and Analysis Tools (CGP-G); Remote Sensing and Imagery Analysis (CGP-R); and Geospatial Data Management (CGP-D). A fourth competency — data visualization — is incorporated throughout all of the exams.

    Available to U.S. and international GEOINT practitioners across industry, military, academia, and government, the certification program is beneficial to anyone who wants to further their education and training, take the next step in career advancement, or showcase his or her understanding of GEOINT.

    Each of the three exams and subsequent professional certifications are incredibly valuable as standalone credentials. However, GEOINT practitioners who earn and maintain all three USGIF certifications simultaneously will be eligible to apply for USGIF’s overarching Universal GEOINT Professional (UGP) designation.

    USGIF recognized six Universal GEOINT Professionals this morning that achieved the UGP designation during the program’s pilot testing phase. The first UGP recipients are: Talbot Brooks, Stewart Bruce, Chris Johnson, Angel Martinez, Christopher Stahl and Michael Wood.

    Also during the pilot testing phase, 26 individuals achieved the CGP-G certification, 37 earned the CGP-R designation, and 28 achieved CGP-G recognition.

    Parallel with USGIF’s efforts, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has created a certification program designed specifically for the U.S. Defense Intelligence Enterprise. USGIF and NGA have agreed upon a plan for reciprocity. The goal between the programs is to achieve transferability through the concept of functional equivalence, which allows hiring officials to agree that more than one certification meets current organizational needs.

    This concept of transportable and transparent professional certification with universal applicability will continue to be paramount to USGIF Membership as well as to the growing global GEOINT Community.

    USGIF has created an independent Certification Governance Board (CGB) to direct certification efforts. The CGB met several times in the lead-up to the official launch of the certification program, and will hold its first annual meeting at the GEOINT Symposium tomorrow, May 17.

    Universal GEOINT Certification Program testing will begin in July.

    Visit usgif.org/certification to learn more.

  • Esri webinar aims to help Zika virus reponse

    Esri is hosting a free one-hour webinar “Effective Vector-Borne Disease Surveillance and Control” on Thursday, May 26, at 11 a.m. PDT. The webinar will help city and county staff implement a complete workflow that is driven by understanding the location of information.

    Geographic information systems (GIS) technology plays a vital role in monitoring and eradicating mosquitos, and ramping up to fast and efficient response when outbreaks occur. The webinar will introduce how the Esri ArcGIS platform can help create smart communities when collecting and analyzing data, improving operations and response times, and communicating critical information with the public.

    When vector-borne disease outbreaks occur, fast, effective response protects people from infection and its consequences,” said Este Geraghty, Chief Medical Office and Health Solutions Director, Esri. “Integrated pest management programs respond through the vital functions of prevention, surveillance, and control activities. Temporal and spatial information are critical to those efforts to curb the spread of disease. Organizations that harness the power of a location platform can achieve faster, more efficient response.”

    Speakers are Este Geraghty, chief medical officer and health solutions director, Esri; and Jared Shoultz, health and human services technical specialist, Esri.

    For more information on how Esri solutions help with vector-borne disease surveillance and control, visit go.esri.com/vector-ready.

  • Esri workbook teaches basic mapmaking, spatial analysis techniques

    Esri-mapmaking-bookThe new edition of GIS Tutorial 1: Basic Workbook, published by Esri, teaches the fundamentals of using geographic information system (GIS) technology, including making maps, geocoding data and analyzing spatial data.

    The workbook, updated for ArcGIS 10.3 for Desktop software and later versions, also includes a new chapter on how to use the ArcGIS Network Analyst extension to analyze street network data to help solve routing and facility location problems.

    “GIS Tutorial 1 is a hands-on workbook with step-by-step exercises that take the reader from the basics of using ArcGIS for Desktop through performing many kinds of spatial analyses,” said the workbook’s authors, Wilpen L. Gorr and Kristen S. Kurland. “Instructors can use this book for the lab portion of a GIS course, or individuals can use it for [independent] study.”

    The book will guide beginning GIS software users as they learn basic skills such as designing various types of maps; building a file geodatabase; and conducting spatial analyses to determine, for example, where earthquakes are most likely to occur.

    The workbook’s 12 chapters include these assignments:

    • Producing a crime map
    • Comparing serious crime with the poverty rate in a major American city
    • Developing a 3D presentation of historic sites
    • Estimating heart attack fatalities by gender
    • Locating new farmers’ markets in Washington, D.C.

    GIS Tutorial 1: Basic Workbook is available in print (ISBN: 9781589484566, 462 pages, US$79.99) or as an e-book (ISBN: 9781589484641, US$39.99). The book is available at online retailers worldwide, at esri.com/esripress, or by calling 1-800-447-9778. Outside the United States, visit esri.com/esripressorders for complete ordering options, or visit esri.com/distributors to contact a local Esri distributor.

  • Blazegraph update enables geospatial searching

    Blazegraph, creator of a high-performance database for large graphs, is now offering version 2.1.0. Updates of the graphics processing unit (GPU) accelerated program give users faster, easier access to key data sets, such as new support for processing geospatial coordinates and optimizing queries against the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI) PubChem database.

    In addition, Blazegraph 2.1.0 provides new tools that enable semantic search on the largest data published in the Linked Open Data structure, which is heavily used in global publishing, cultural and open government projects.

    To deliver the speed and performance needed to work with these massive data sets, version 2.1.0 includes significant improvements to its bulk load and query performance capabilities.

    Blazegraph 2.1.0 users are powering complex SPARQL queries to uncover new insights. For example, Wikidata, the free knowledge-base community, has deployed version 2.1.0 to power its query service. With it, data experts are using the geospatial capabilities to create graphs such as shared state borders in the United States, a map of all earthquakes and a map of chemical elements and their discovery locations.

    Blazegraph-example

    Another Blazegraph user, Seven Bridges, is a biomedical data analysis company selected by the National Cancer Institute to develop the Cancer Genomic Cloud program. This first complete ecosystem gives cancer researchers immediate access to one of the world’s largest genomic data sets — The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) — and the computational resources to analyze it.

    “We chose Blazegraph to manage the metadata on the Cancer Genomics Cloud because it helps researchers to easily build complex queries based on how they think, not on how the data is stored,” said Igor Bogicevic, CTO at Seven Bridges. “In addition to helping scientists find the data they need, Blazegraph and its new 2.1.0 version is just plain fast. It helps us deliver the scale and performance needed to meet some of the biggest cancer genomics data analysis challenges.”

    Learn more at the Blazegraph website.

     

  • Is reliance on GPS making us lose our mapping minds?

    cozzens_tracy_4_130By Tracy Cozzens
    Managing Editor

    I love maps. As a child, I was my family’s designated navigator on car trips (or my parents indulged me!).

    I studied our roadmaps, searching out each legend icon on the map and finding icons to look up on the legend. I would use the map’s indicators to determine the distance between points and interesting landmarks. I was such a map fanatic, that I spent time one summer recreating in a large size a map of the Ancient Roman Empire. My father asked why. I had no real answer, except that I love history and maps.

    Today, some experts are warning that our ability to read and interpret maps might be in jeopardy because of our reliance on GPS devices. Some GPS-reliant drivers make massive blunders, such as a Syrian truck driver who ended up in Gibraltar Point, England, rather than Gibraltar on the south coast of Spain.

    Former president of the Royal Institute of Navigation Roger McKinlay told Vox reporter Brad Plumer that our reliance on GPS might be causing our innate navigational capabilities to atrophy over time, which is a problem when our smartphones will only ever be as “smart” as the humans using them.

    “Neuroscientists have discovered that our brains have two different specialized systems for navigation,” Plumer writes. “In one system, located in our hippocampus, we create spatial maps of the world around us, understanding how different streets and routes fit together. In the second, located in the caudate nucleus, we make a mental list of the different landmarks we encounter every day.”

    By not figuring out routes using maps, and relying solely on turn-by-turn directions, our ability to work out spatial maps and determine our place in the natural world seems to worsen.

    “McKinlay argues that schools should teach students map-reading and navigation as a critical life skill,” writes Plumer. “He also suggests that researchers start looking at whether there are ways to design GPS systems so that they help us learn about our environment rather than making us unaware of the world around us. (It’s unclear what exactly this would look like, but what if, as a default, these systems always walked us through the spatial map of where we were going?)”

    This map lover is all for it.

  • GeoBullseye for ArcPad version 2 released

    GeoMobile Innovations has released GeoBullseye for ArcPad version 2. GeoBullseye is a software extension that turns Esri’s ArcPad mobile GIS software into a high-accuracy GNSS, three dimensional (collecting X, Y and Z) solution supporting Esri workflows.

    GeoBullseyeV2_Accuracy display RTKGeoBullseye supports accurate collection of positions and quality-control GNSS attributes for confident deployment in horizontal XY and vertical Z, including GEOID12 for accurate Mean Sea Level (MSL) elevations.

    GeoBullseye displays real-time estimated accuracies on the ArcPad main map screen and supports automated recording of GNSS/GIS metadata, including key horizontal and vertical accuracy metrics and real-time differential correction status results.

    Version 2 collects up to 35 configurable “auto” attributes to support confidence in critical field data-collection efforts. GeoBullseye is a XY and Z centimeter accuracy RTK GNSS collection solution that can be tightly integrated in a fully disconnected workflow with ArcGIS as well as connected, real-time synchronization with ArcGIS Online (AGOL) and/or ArcGIS Server including SDE environments.

    “The high-accuracy GNSS 3D mobile GIS solution and can be deployed with today’s various Esri workflows,” said Geomobile Innovations President Richard Ash. “We recognize that centimeter-level GNSS data collection is a strong trend in mobile GIS and are excited to bring that capability to the Esri environment.”

    GeoBullseyeV2_prefs_datumFurthermore, GeoBullseye Version 2 implements a rigorous 14-parameter datum transformation to solve a critical horizontal datum shift problem for the specialized positioning needs of North American GPS users mapping in NAD83 (2011 epoch) datum while using satellite-based augmentation service (SBAS) such as WAAS or commercial services like Atlas, OmniSTAR, Terrastar and Starfire. Those services produce coordinates that are referenced to the ITRF08 datum, which is substantially different (greater than 1 meter) from NAD83/2011, the national standard in the U.S.

    “Professional groups such as small and large utilities, engineering, land and natural-resource impact consultants and more are seeking confident collection of high-accuracy RTK horizontal and vertical positions and the ability to efficiently cycle this data to and from the field and update their GIS, perhaps when they return to the office or in real-time out in the field,” Ash said.  “GeoBullsye for ArcPad is an easy-to-use solution that checks the critical ‘must-have’ boxes for organizations that want to streamline their field collection to GIS back-end workflows. It supports the key data elements necessary for reporting, and defending their horizontal and vertical GNSS data collection efforts.”

    GeoBullseye V2 is priced at US$295.00. It is available for purchase through GeoMobile and authorized GeoMobile GNSS reseller specialists.

  • eyesMap3D software provides high-quality 3D models

    3D-Model-with-eyesMap3D-W
    3D model created using eyesMap3D software.

    Technology company eCapture has launched a new software program, eyesMap3D, to generate accurate 3D models and point clouds, measured directly from images.

    EyesMap3D allows users to create high-density points clouds with textures achieving a realistic 3D model appearance. In addition, eyesMap3D is able to measure accurately on the images, generate true orthophotos, and geo-reference and scale the results.

    eyesMap3D users can use their cameras, mobile phone or camera drone to capture images. It is compatible with most popular software packages on the market.

    The goal of the company is to allow the user to easily generate and work with 3D models and photogrammetric tools, while maintaining data quality.

    In 2015, eCapture launched the eyesMap tablet for modeling 3D scenes indoors and outdoors. The EyesMap tablet is a versatile instrument for users who needs results directly while working in the field.

    eyesMap3D software is offering three licenses: educational, public organizations and business. The software can be downloaded from the eCapture website.

    3D model of small object (a bracelet) made using eyesMap3D software.
    3D model of small object (a bracelet) made using eyesMap3D software.

  • IMSAR sells UAV detect-and-avoid radar tech to Fortem

    IMSAR LLC, manufacturer of miniaturized synthetic aperture radar (SAR), is selling its detect and avoid radar technology to Fortem Technologies. The technology powered IMSAR’s previously announced family of collision-avoidance radar designed for the commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) market.

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires an aircraft operating in civil airspace to be able to “see and avoid” other aircraft. Collision-avoidance systems seek to meet this requirement by allowing UASs to detect other airborne objects, predict potential midair collisions, and automatically maneuver the UAS to avoid catastrophes.

    A radar-based sense-and-avoid solution for small UAS was previously not viable because of high cost, weight and complex technology and algorithms required. Fortem’s product will enable small UAS to avoid mid-air collisions with manned or unmanned aircraft as well as targets that lack a transponder, such as cranes, paving the way for the integration of UAS into civil airspace worldwide.

    “Radar is ideally suited because it operates effectively in darkness, cloud cover, fog, smoke and precipitation,” said Britton Quist, IMSAR’s CTO.

    According to Ryan Smith, CEO, IMSAR, key development milestones have been met allowing the spin out of sense and avoid to Fortem Technologies. Adam Robertson, vice president of IMSAR, will be leaving to join Fortem Technologies after nine years at IMSAR.

    Fortem Technologies has announced product availability in July 2016.

    Fortem and IMSAR products are on display May 2-5 at the Xponential show in New Orleans, Booth 134.

  • Canadian UAVs partners with Measure for U.S. and Canadian drone services

    As part of its effort to deliver cost-effective actionable data to enterprise customers, Measure, a drone operator in the United States, has partnered with Canadian drone company Canadian UAVs. Together, the two companies will use drone technology to provide real-time data analysis to businesses in both the U.S. and Canada.

    “Measure can now truly offer cross-border drone services,” said Measure CEO Brandon Torres Declet. “As a result of this partnership with Canadian UAVs, we can deliver cost-effective, actionable data to businesses across all 50 states and 10 provinces.”

    The partnership between Measure and Canadian UAVs provides businesses with real-time response capability. With Canadian UAVs use of helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and drones, Measure can now fly anywhere in Western Canada to acquire data for enterprise customers. Both companies conduct flights that are safe, legal and insured using only licensed pilots.

    “Measure has a great depth in expertise regarding the American market, as well unprecedented approvals from the FAA,” said Canadian UAVs President and CEO Sean Greenwood. “Teaming up ensures our customers have clarity and piece of mind when it comes to trans-border operations.”

  • Quanergy announces new lidar sensor at Xponential

    Quanergy Systems, a provider of lidar sensors and smart sensing solutions, is offering a new sensor.

    Quanergy's S3 lidar sensor
    Quanergy’s S3 lidar sensor

    The S3-Qi is a miniature solid-state lidar sensor that is 15 percent the size of the previous solid-state model, the S3. Quanergy is displaying the new sensor along with its other products in Booth 767 at AUVSI’s Xponential May 3-5 in New Orleans.

    The S3-Qi, offered four months after the original S3, has a smaller 1 inch by 1.5-inch footprint, weighs about 100 grams and has low power consumption. The small form factor, combined with a cost-effective design, makes the S3-Qi well suited for applications such as drones, intelligent robotics, security, smart homes and industrial automation.

    Mass production of the S3-Qi is targeted for the first quarter of 2017.

    “We are excited to raise the bar, once again, with the expansion of our product portfolio,” said Louay Eldada, Quanergy CEO. “We continue to push the boundaries on behalf of our customers. The S3-Qi is a testament to our focus on the user and our investment in innovation for game-changing smart sensing solutions offered at price points that make their use ubiquitous. In drones, payload and battery runtime benefit greatly from our compact sensors.”

    Quanergy’s lidar sensors have applications in more than 30 market verticals including security, transportation, terrestrial and aerial mapping, and industrial automation.

  • Can you dig it? Space archeology, virtual reality and GIS

    By Troy Lambert, contributing author

    In Northern Idaho, not only is the Silver Valley near Kellogg one of the richest silver mining areas ever, but it is also the focus of an extensive EPA Superfund cleanup. There are more than 600 mine and prospecting sites in Shoshone County alone. So how do we sort through them and figure out where buildings were, and what sites were actually developed?

    Photo Credit: United States Forest Service, 1968
    Photo Credit: United States Forest Service, 1968

    Using aerial photography and GIS technology, historians, archaeologists and environmental scientists are able to look into the past and determine what actually occurred at individual sites. The United States Forest Service (USFS) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) took aerial photographs of the entire area in 1937, 1948, 1965 and 1974. Other years, they partially photographed the area. Since then, aerial flyovers have been replaced by satellite imagery. All of this data tells environmental scientists where to look for waste materials.

    It also tells archeologists where to look for old structures and other manmade features. Because before a mine site can be cleaned up, it’s history must be documented. Between historic imagery and modern satellite coverage, this task is made simpler.

    Archaeologists all over the world are applying these same techniques, so it comes as no surprise that the 2016 TED Prize, awarded annually, went to space archaeologist Dr. Sarah Parcak of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, whose wish is to: “…discover the millions of unknown archaeological sites across the globe. By creating a 21st-century army of global explorers, we’ll find and protect the world’s hidden heritage, which contains humankind’s collective resilience and creativity,” she told the Alabama News Center.

    Photo Credit: Wikimedia
    Photo Credit: Wikimedia

    Parcak first earned international attention by satellite mapping Egypt using infrared imagery, discovering “17 potential unknown pyramids, 1,000 tombs and 3,100 settlements.” At the heart of her program is an online, citizen scientist, interactive platform that will allow anyone to discover ancient sites from space. The same information and imagery gathered over time will allow her and her teams to monitor looting.

    The program works simply: Once users take a quick tutorial, they are “dealt” a series of images from a deck with a general location like Northern Italy. The images are of a 50-meter-square area, and have already been processed to simplify the explorer’s search. The exact GPS location is encrypted similar to the way patient data privacy is preserved in Electronic Medical Records (EMR) to protect the exact location from potential looters and unethical archeological expeditions.

    All potential discoveries, once vetted, will be passed along to authorities along with the GIS data, so they can then excavate or protect the sites. This enables archaeologists not only to detect sites, but to find and stop looters in a matter of days or weeks rather than months or years.

    GIS can play a huge role in these and other archeological projects, and with the integration of virtual reality, the possibilities are even more exciting.

    Georeferencing Maps and Historical Photos

    While this is not possible with all sites, historical photos of some areas give archaeologists clues of where to start looking for more recent structures and human activity. Georeferencing ancient maps and photos or drawings where possible show what features have changed, what has remained the same, and what impact modern human activity has had on the site.

    Photo Credit: YouTube
    Photo Credit: YouTube

    “Rebuilding” Structures

    Once foundations and other evidence of structures have been found, 3D modeling software such as Esri CityEngine can be used in conjunction with photos to virtually reconstruct buildings, terrain and other features. This gives archeologists and scholars insight to how each site might have been used, and what other evidence to look for.

    Virtual Reality

    As 360-degree cameras have become more affordable and portable (with the release of several new models like the Nikon KeyMission 360), filming sites once they have been visited in this comprehensive way will allow archaeologists who are unable to physically reach the location to “look” for evidence, and offer advice and insight to those on location.

    Explorers in Parcak’s programs who make new discoveries will be able to accompany archaeologists via Periscope, Skype, Google Hangouts and social media, all of which are headed toward 3D video capability, allowing for more immersive and meaningful visits.

    Infrared photos from space allow us to see things on the ground not previously visible. Three dimensional modeling allows us to visualize structures no longer there, and 360-degree video and virtual reality allow us to visit these places from far away.

    The way we discover new things about our world and the way we explore them is changing, and much of that change is possible due to the blend of GIS and virtual reality.

    Troy Lambert is a freelance writer, editor and thriller author living in Boise Idaho. He became interested in using GIS for unique applications while at a museum, and now looks for and writes about unique ways GIS is used and can be used to change our world.

  • SimActive releases new version of Correlator3D for photogrammetry

    Photogrammetry software company SimActive is releasing a new version of Correlator3D with a redesigned aerial triangulation (AT) module.

    Correlator3D is a patented end-to-end photogrammetry solution for the generation of high-quality geospatial data from satellite and aerial imagery, including UAVs.

    The tie point extraction and bundle algorithms have been enhanced, along with the added capability to address problematic input data (such as low overlap projects).

    The release features an alignment tool that automatically registers new projects to older mosaics and DEMs. It removes the need for recollecting ground control points (GCPs). In addition, a new semi-automatic workflow was developed for GCP tagging.

    “Our significant R&D efforts on the AT are due to its substantial impact on all subsequent results,” said Louis Simard, CTO of SimActive. “As such, the release vastly improves and simplifies the entire production chain.”

    For a live demonstration at AUVSI’s Xponential 2016 (May 2-5 in New Orleans), visit booth 260 or send an email to [email protected].