GPS World

Author: Tracy Cozzens

  • Facebook Buys Virtual Reality Startup Occulus

    Oculus_Rift_-_Developer_Version_-_Front-W

    Facebook has purchased Occulus, a virtual reality gaming startup, for $2 billion. “Today, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve joined forces with Facebook to create the best virtual reality platform in the world,” Occulus announced via a blog post.

    “Facebook understands the potential for VR,” the blog said. “Mark [Zuckerberg] and his team share our vision for virtual reality’s potential to transform the way we learn, share, play, and communicate. Facebook is a company that believes that anything is possible with the right group of people, and we couldn’t agree more.”

    Occulus demonstrated its most recent version of the Oculus Rift development kit at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, March 17-21. Occulus Rift is a virtual reality  headset for 3D gaming.

    The Oculus Rift DK2 prototype took home the award for Best in Show at January’s Consumer Electronics Show.

     

  • Facebook Buys Virtual Reality Startup Occulus

    Oculus_Rift_-_Developer_Version_-_Front-W

    Facebook has purchased Occulus, a virtual reality gaming startup, for $2 billion. “Today, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve joined forces with Facebook to create the best virtual reality platform in the world,” Occulus announced via a blog post.

    “Facebook understands the potential for VR,” the blog said. “Mark [Zuckerberg] and his team share our vision for virtual reality’s potential to transform the way we learn, share, play, and communicate. Facebook is a company that believes that anything is possible with the right group of people, and we couldn’t agree more.”

    Occulus demonstrated its most recent version of the Oculus Rift development kit at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, March 17-21. Occulus Rift is a virtual reality  headset for 3D gaming.

    The Oculus Rift DK2 prototype took home the award for Best in Show at January’s Consumer Electronics Show.

     

  • Pitney Bowes, IBM Collaborate on Hybrid Cloud Location Services

    Pitney Bowes, Inc., and IBM have announced a collaboration on IBM’s codename “BlueMix” platform-as-a-service to develop new hybrid cloud location services that help businesses unearth deeper connections between their customers, their geography, and their networks to deliver more personalized services and contextually relevant experiences.

    IBM’s BlueMix is a new development environment that helps clients and developers speed the adoption of hybrid clouds. The initiative combines the strength of IBM software, third-party and open technologies. BlueMix provides DevOps in the cloud — an open, integrated development experience that scales to any level. Pitney Bowes is among the first third-party solutions now available to developers and companies on the new IBM BlueMix Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS).

    More than 1.2 billion people around the world today use Pitney Bowes location intelligence solutions when they check in or use location-sharing features on major social media platforms. Pitney Bowes’ location intelligence suite of products offers comprehensive capabilities to provide businesses with the ability to visualize spatial data and understand relationships between specific locations. Using advanced, hyper-accurate location data, insurers can improve underwriting decisions, telecommunications providers can better analyze network coverage, and retailers can deliver more targeted promotions to consumers based on when and where they are most likely to buy.

    For Pitney Bowes, the partnership provides the opportunity to expose key solutions, such as location-based services, e-commerce fulfillment, Internet postage, and parcel management, through IBM’s API Management to an extended ecosystem of innovators and developers. It also speeds the availability of new services from Pitney Bowes to vast new markets globally.

    “Together, IBM and Pitney Bowes are developing a powerful lineup of cloud services around mobile application development and location intelligence,” said Steve Robinson, General Manager, IBM Cloud Platform Services. “This open-platform collaboration will inspire development that accelerates innovation and fosters growth.”

    “Companies need tools and expertise to manage and integrate APIs, leverage location intelligence and customer data, and then seamlessly extend their services to reach their customers via the cloud and mobile devices,” said Roger Pilc, chief innovation officer for Pitney Bowes. “We look forward to delivering Pitney Bowes digital commerce solutions on IBM’s BlueMix.”

  • Topcon MAGNET Field GIS Software Offers Cloud Capability

    Topcon Positioning Group has released the MAGNET Field GIS software kit designed for efficient data collection, navigation and maintenance tasks.

    “MAGNET Field GIS is field data collection software with extremely useful data sharing capabilities,” said Jason Hooten, national sales manager, GIS products. “Utilizing the cloud, MAGNET Field GIS can send and receive data via a company’s MAGNET Enterprise account, allowing professionals in the field greater productivity and less time wasted driving to and from an office to deliver collected data.

    “MAGNET Field GIS is powerful and intuitive — built to easily recognize and adapt to a user’s surroundings,” said Hooten. “Whether in an urban area within a GNSS network or in a rural setting with a DGPS connection, MAGNET Field GIS provides a modern data collection solution.”

    The software package also includes features such as Microsoft Bing Maps for real-time background imaging, popular GIS file-format compatibility and a customizable interface.

  • Project Tango: Google’s 3D Mapping Smartphone

    Google has been collaborating with universities, research labs, and industrial partners in nine countries, to concentrate the past 10 years of research in robotics and computer vision into a mobile phone.

    Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP) heads the project, which aims to make it possible to create a 3D model of the space around a smartphone. For instance, a user can map an area, such as a home, by walking around with the phone.

  • Esri Updates Collector and Operations Dashboard Apps

    The Collector for ArcGISapp can be used offline to collect and edit maps and data regardless of network availability.
    The Collector for ArcGIS app can be used offline to collect and edit maps and data regardless of network availability.

    Esri has released new versions of Collector for ArcGIS and Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS. The Collector app now includes the ability to download maps to your smartphone or tablet device to collect and edit data when working offline. Operations Dashboard has added support for browsers so users can view operations on their iPad, Android tablet, or from their desktop. Both apps are available at no cost to ArcGIS Online subscribers and Portal for ArcGIS customers.

    Collector for ArcGIS is a configurable field data collection app for iOS and Android devices. With the latest release, maps can be used anywhere regardless of network availability. Users can take map areas offline and work with them in remote locations where network availability is either nonexistent or unreliable. Users can download Esri basemaps as well as their own basemaps managed within their ArcGIS organization.

    Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS provides a common operational picture for monitoring, tracking, and reporting events within your organization. The new version of Operations Dashboard now supports web browsers. That means you can have the same real-time view of operations on your tablet that you see on your Windows desktop.

    Data sources inside Operations Dashboard have also been improved in the 10.2.2 version of the app. Users can now power operation views using dynamic map services as well as feature services, and other types of layers including real-time weather, traffic, and social media feeds.

    Collector for ArcGIS can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play. Operations Dashboard is available through ArcGIS Online. Portal for ArcGIS users can access the Operations Dashboard app from the Customer Care portal.

  • DigitalGlobe Starts CrowdSourcing Effort for Missing Plane

    Malaysian_DigitalGlobe-O

    DigitalGlobe, Inc., has launched a crowdsourcing campaign that will allow anyone to help look for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 by combing through satellite images for clues of its whereabouts.

    The search drew so many participants on its first day March 17, that it crashed the company’s website, with 500,000 visitors wanting to help find the missing Boeing 777. Anyone can begin searching the satellite images, tagging anything that looks suspicious. Each pixel on a computer screen represents half a meter on the ocean’s surface.

    The Longmont, Colorado, company said two of its commercial satellites have already collected images comprising roughly 1,988 square miles at the confluence of the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea, where the Beijing-bound aircraft mysteriously went missing on Saturday. The company is continuing to update the images to reflect new information about the search area provided by the Malaysian government.

    To help, go to DigitalGlobe’s crowdsourcing website, Tomnod.com.

  • Leica MultiStation Provides Exact 3D Scan of Mont Blanc Ice Cap

    Chartered Land Surveyors from the Upper Savoy region in France set up a Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation to take a 3D scan of the Mont Blanc ice cap and also a Leica Viva GS14 GNSS antenna to measure the mountain’s elevation.
    Chartered Land Surveyors from the Upper Savoy region in France set up a Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation to take a 3D scan of the Mont Blanc ice cap and also a Leica Viva GS14 GNSS antenna to measure the mountain’s elevation.

    Reaching the top of Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest peak, is a formidable challenge even to the most experienced alpinists — not only because of its elevation, but also because of its weather conditions. Strong winds and snowfall at the summit constantly cause altitude changes to the summit’s ice and snow cap. Such changes motivate expert surveyors to try out the latest in measurement technology, like the Chartered Land Surveyors located in the Upper Savoy region in France as well as two surveyors from Leica Geosystems France. For their seventh expedition, they decided to make the first ever 3D laser scan of the shape and volume of this legendary glacier using the Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation.

    Toward the end of 2013, surveyors braved temperatures of -10⁰ C and winds of over 50 km/h, and set up a Leica Viva GS14 GNSS antenna to measure the height and also take roughly 100 point measurements of the ice cap. The Leica MS50 MultiStation scanned the ice cap at an altitude of over 4,800 meters under extreme conditions and recorded thousands of points in a matter of minutes.

    The 2013 expedition proved that the current elevation of Mont Blanc is 4,810.02 meters, which is 42 centimeters less than in 2011. The actual rock summit has an altitude of 4792 meters; however, the snow covering the peak may vary the actual summit’s altitude anywhere from 15 to 20 meters. Expedition partner Géomédia calculated the volume of the ice cap covering the rocky summit at 20,213 m³ and produced a 3D animation from the scan data as well. In the future, these results will help researchers determine possible changes to the ice cap caused by global warming.

    “Using the Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation to make a 3D model of the biannual Mont Blanc summit expedition was a challenging exercise that resulted in highly accurate data,” said Philippe Borrel, owner of the surveying company Cabinet Borrel and an experienced member of the expedition team. “Collecting data under such extreme conditions quickly and efficiently is extremely important. This time, we were able to reduce time expenditure needed to complete the task. The MultiStation was surprisingly easy to carry in a backpack, considering the rocky terrain, steep slopes and windy ridges we had to climb.”

    Click below to watch the short film on this exciting expedition:
    http://www.leica-geosystems.com/ms50_montblanc_shortfilm

     

  • Airbus Mobilizes Satellites to Help Locate Missing Airliner

    Airbus Defence and Space has mobilized five observation satellites to aid in the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines plane. The Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8 during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

    The day after the aircraft disappeared,the very high-resolution Pléaides 1A and 1B satellites, the high-resolution SPOT 5 and 6 satellites, and the synthetic aperture radar satellites TerraSAR-X were programmed to take images of the search zone. All the data collected are analyzed by Airbus Defence and Space maritime experts and provided to the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency (MRSA).

    The Pléiades images are also transferred via CNES, and TerraSAR-X images via DLR, to the Chinese Meteorological Administration, which requested the Disaster Charter activation on March 11.

    Since Sunday, March 9, the experts of Airbus Defence and Space have been analyzing the images taken by the optical and radar satellites. The radar satellites like TerraSAR-X are able to identify layers of hydrocarbon as well as any oil slick or metallic objects floating on the sea. The resolution of the optical satellites Pléiades 1A & 1B (50 cm after resampling) and SPOT 5 and 6 allow for identification and characterization of small objects over large surfaces.

  • Topcon Unveils New Features for MAGNET Enterprise

    MAGNET Enterprise - tablet_Topcon

    Topcon Positioning Group announces two new updates for MAGNET Enterprise — the cloud-based solution for managing field and office data in a web browser environment.  New to the system is the introduction of MAGNET Enterprise Mobile, an application for mobile devices, as well as new project management functions.

    MAGNET Enterprise Mobile is designed to allow users to take the central hub of the MAGNET system of solutions with them on the go. Oscar Cantu, Topcon software marketing manager, said, “The MAGNET Enterprise Mobile app takes the powerful software solution for exchanging data between the office and field through a cloud-based Company Account and puts it in the pocket of the user for easy access wherever they travel.” The app is available on the Apple App Store for iPhones and iPads.

    Another addition for both the full web browser solution, as well as the mobile version of MAGNET Enterprise, is the introduction of new project manager extensions.  Customers will have new functions for coordinating and overseeing their projects including: an overview dashboard for all active projects, a proposal writing and task-creation operation, task assignments, a project-specific dashboard, project calendar, project status reports, and user schedule and timecard applications.

    “MAGNET Enterprise has proven itself as an ideal solution for project managers overseeing the progression of multiple projects, managing company assets, safely storing and retrieving project related files and orchestrating daily efforts within their secure cloud-based Company Account.  Now, with the addition of these tools, MAGNET customers will meet deadlines, gain productivity and collaborate like never before,” said Cantu.

    “The project management oriented functionality, coupled with the introduction of the MAGNET Enterprise Mobile app is another step forward in the MAGNET system of solutions that brings together all facets of a company for unmatched collaboration.”

  • TomTom Launches Speed Cameras Service in Brazil

    TomTom has today announced its speed cameras service is now available in Brazil. Drivers will benefit from up-to-date warnings of nearby fixed and red light cameras, as well as speed enforcement zones.

    Car manufacturers can integrate the service in their in-dash and mobile navigation systems, TomTom said. Backed by OpenLR* technology, TomTom is able to pinpoint more than 17,000 speed cameras across Brazil.

    “Drivers in Brazil are now better equipped to make smarter decisions on every journey, keeping to the designated speed limit and avoiding costly fines,” commented Ralf-Peter Schaefer, VP of Traffic at TomTom. “The launch of this service adds to the real-time information available to Brazilian drivers; TomTom recently launched its world-class traffic information in Brazil, helping drivers avoid frustrating traffic jams and reach their destination faster.”

  • MicroSurvey Releases 2014 Survey Drafting Software

    MicroSurvey embeddedCAD 2014.
    MicroSurvey embeddedCAD 2014.

    MicroSurvey announces the release of MicroSurvey inCAD 2014 and MicroSurvey embeddedCAD 2014.

    MicroSurvey inCAD 2014 is a plugin that transforms AutoCAD into a survey and design powerhouse, MicroSroSurvey said. It adds the MicroSurvey feature set to the latest Autodesk software — including AutoCAD 2014, AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014, and AutoCAD Map 3D 2014 — to offer a complete survey drafting toolkit, including COGO, DTM, traversing, adjustments, volumes, contouring and more.

    MicroSurvey embeddedCAD 2014 is a standalone application powered with Autodesk technology that includes the latest AutoCAD OEM 2014 enhanced with the suite of MicroSurvey tools. Like inCAD 2014, it incorporates the full suite of survey drafting tools. MicroSurvey embeddedCAD 2014 includes a licensed copy of AutoCAD OEM 2014, and it opens and saves AutoCAD 2014 drawing files, so implementing it in existing AutoCAD environments is without conflicts.

    Both releases are built specifically for the demanding needs of land surveyors, contractors and civil engineers, and include many new features requested directly from customers. “Several years ago we implemented a transparent and easy to use online feedback forum where our customers could submit their ideas and suggestions for improvements to our products,” said Darcy Detlor, president of MicroSurvey. “The feedback system lets our users propose their feature requests and allows them to cast votes on any request that has been submitted. Requests with the most votes are given the highest priority and get our attention, ensuring that we are working on features that our customers really want.”

    MicroSurvey focused its development efforts on adding several new geodetic tools, hundreds of new coordinate systems, and geoid files. Users can now store and edit points using their latitude and longitude values, view combined scale factors and convergence angles at any point in their drawing or project database, and transform between ellipsoidal and orthometric elevations using geoid files. Other powerful new productivity tools include a 2D draw mode for creating a 2D drawing while maintaining 3D elevation data, as well as rescaling tools for changing the base drawing unit of an entire drawing or specific text.

    Both MicroSurvey inCAD 2014 and MicroSurvey embeddedCAD 2014 are available in two feature levels — Premium and Standard — giving users the choice between two tiers of features to ensure they are getting precisely what they need.

    Free trial versions of the software can be downloaded from the MicroSurvey website.