Swiss professional drone maker senseFly has launched the eXom, its new quadcopter UAS for mapping and inspection. The eXom is available to pre-order immediately and ships this summer.
The eXom is a sensor-rich system, sensefly said. Developed by experts working across numerous fields of robotics, this lightweight quadcopter offers professionals such as civil engineers and land surveyors the situational awareness, imaging flexibility and durability they need to complete challenging tasks safely, accurately and efficiently.
“We believe the eXom’s level of application-focused technology is unique in the civilian drone market,” said Antoine Beyeler, CTO and co-founder of senseFly. “This platform tightly integrates several one-of-a-kind features, such as TripleView imaging, advanced situational awareness and full flight mode flexibility — to provide inspection and mapping professionals with the functionality they desire from a rotary system.”
eXom is a future-ready platform with a quad-core computer onboard, senseFly said. Like senseFly’s fixed-wing drones, it offers users evolving performance through regular software updates, adding the latest drone tech innovations to keep the eXom at the cutting edge for years to come, the company said.
eXom’s low take-off weight of 1.7 kg (3.7 lb) ensures its users will, in many countries, have less flight authorization paperwork to deal with than those who use heavier systems.
The eXom’s advanced integrated sensors work together to provide the user with full situational awareness and support obstacle avoidance:
Five navcam vision sensors allow the operator to see in the direction the drone is moving, automatically via its flight control software, without needing to turn the system’s TripleView camera head. This technology is similar to the visual parking sensors in modern cars, but brought into a 3D flight environment.
Five ultrasonic proximity sensors work in harmony with eXom’s navcams to ensure the operator always knows the drone’s distance from nearby objects. (The drone’s shock-absorbent carbon fibre shrouding is also always on hand to protect its rotors in case of surface contact.)
Numerous other sensors, including inertial measurement units, barometers, magnetometers, GPS and magnetic encoders, maximize the drone’s stability and safety.
eXom’s autopilot-controlled TripleView camera head enables the user to view and record three different types of imagery during a single flight without needing to land to change cameras:
HD video
Ultra high-resolution stills
Thermal still/video
Because the TripleView head faces forwards, eXom can fly up close to target structures such as building walls and dams to achieve sub-millimeter data resolutions. Plus, with the head’s 270-degree vertical field of view, users can document objects positioned directly above and below the drone — crucial for tasks such as bridge and roof inspections.
eXom offers various flight modes:
Autonomous mode — for mapping projects. First, create a flight plan using eMotion X’s mission blocks. eXom then launches, flies, acquires geo-referenced imagery and lands itself.
Interactive ScreenFly mode — this streaming video mode is for live inspection tasks. Use the supplied joypad to navigate and orient the drone via computer screen. This mode includes flight assistance features such as cruise control and distance lock.
Create a flight plan, launch in autonomous mode, then go live on demand.
No matter which mode is activated, RC-based manual control always remains available as a backup function and for experienced pilots.
Visit senseFly at Unmanned Systems 2015: Hall B2, Booth 519. The eXom will be demonstrated in flight at the senseFly booth at at the show’s Air & Ground Demo Area (demo timings: May 6, 12:15 and 14:15, May 7, 11:45 and 14:15).
Trimble has announced a series of new software enhancements that enable photogrammetry, GIS, geospatial and remote sensing professionals to streamline workflows, achieve faster results and gain increased value from highly accurate geospatial data. Enhancements include the Trimble Inpho version 6.1 photogrammetric suite, UASMaster version 6.1 and UASMaster Lite for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) applications, and eCognition version 9.1 and eCognition Essentials version 1.1 image analysis software.
The announcement was made at the Imaging and Geospatial Technology Forum (IGTF), formerly ASPRS, held May 4-8 in Tampa, Fla.
“Optimizing software workflows for our customers to gain value from imaging data is critical for the success of geospatial professionals and a continued focus of Trimble Geospatial,” said Alain Samaha, business area director of GIS and Geospatial Software Solutions for Trimble’s Geospatial Division. “The new enhancements will enable customers to streamline processes and increase their efficiency and productivity, which translates to increased cost savings and decreased operational expenditures.”
Photogrammetry professionals generating high-quality deliverables, with Trimble’s Inpho software, such as 3D CAD line work, GIS layers and DTMs, can now reduce production time by days through optimized geo-referencing capabilities and new tools for CAD object creation. The Inpho version 6.1 enhancement allows snapping-to-elevation and draping lines-to-elevation models—for greater efficiency in creating CAD data layers—while maintaining the highest level of accuracy.
The UASMaster version 6.1 software enhancement offers greater productivity through new support for precise GNSS data that allows users to reduce the number of ground control points required without compromising accuracy. For professionals new to the UAS market, UASMaster is now also available in an entry-level “Lite” edition. The new UASMaster Lite edition allows users to quickly extract high quality deliverables within a simplified workflow, while obtaining the same industry-leading quality offered with Inpho software.
Inpho version 6.1 and UASMaster version 6.1 now also include a direct interface connection to Trimble’s eCognition analysis software, making it easier to obtain actionable and valuable information from imagery data in land classification maps, GIS layers and change analysis.
eCognition version 9.1, an object-based image analysis software, now includes enhanced multi-core processing, allowing GIS, geospatial and remote sensing professionals to extract valuable information from satellite and aerial based data faster than before. New GIS-based analytic tools and improved tools for packaging applications make it easier to create customer solutions.
eCognition Essentials version 1.1 provides up to 50-percent faster processing than previously, including improved flexibility and control of classification workflows for professionals generating land-cover mapping deliverables.
The Geospatial Solutions staff is reporting live from Unmanned Systems 2015, held May 4-7 in Atlanta. The event convenes the global community of commercial and defense leaders in intelligent robotics, drones and unmanned systems, hosted by AUVSI.
Check back throughout the week for event updates, including news, photos, videos, tweets and more.
DroneMetrex has captured high-quality near-infrared (NIR) mapping data with its TopoDrone-100 UAV. DroneMetrex said in a news release that this is the first time such high quality NIR imagery has been captured by a UAV.
High-quality NIR data is a tool to detect chlorophyll. Because chlorophyll is emitted by all vegetation to various degrees, experts from land and forest departments, agronomists, vignerons and pastoralists will be able to discriminate between health and vigor of vegetation and between different types of vegetation. The data collected helps determine vegetation stress, disease, pest infection, irrigation faults and nutrient variations.
“We say ‘unique high-quality mapping’ because the data are both radiometrically and geometrically unparalleled from a drone,” said Thomas Tadrowski, managing director of DroneMetrex. “From the one-flight sortie, TopoDrone-100 users are able to perform vegetation analysis mapping as well as accurate 3D contours/DTM mapping. The pixel resolution is unsurpassed. The data geometry is unsurpassed. The radiometric mapping is unsurpassed.”
DroneMetrex offers its Extended Spectrum Mapping (ESM) camera modification as an option with the TopoDrone-100. After ESM modification, the camera is supplied with three external screw-on lens filters. Simultaneously using the NIR filter and a high-accuracy L1/L2/L5/GLONASS/COMPASS (BeiDou-2) PPK direct georeferencing solution, the TopoDrone-100 captures three-band imagery, with the near-infrared band recording unparalleled radiometric quality and chlorophyll discrimination.
The high radiometric quality is achieved because DroneMetrex specialists perform the necessary camera modifications themselves, and have designed the external filters specifically to match the requirements of accurate, discriminative vegetation mapping, DroneMetrex said.
Optech will be exhibiting its latest lidar and imaging solutions at the Unmanned Systems 2015 Conference in Atlanta, Ga., May 4-7, at the Teledyne Booth 2311. Optech’s solutions include a fully implemented lidar/camera workflow for UAV operations, as well as other airborne, mobile and stationary sensors.
Visitors can drop by the booth to learn more about Optech’s UAV solution, which combines the rugged Optech ILRIS terrestrial laser scanner and the new Optech XR6 photogrammetry small UAV with an integrated software workflow. The solution merges aerial camera imagery from the UAV with high-resolution data from Optech lidar to deliver comprehensive, georeferenced and highly accurate 3D planimetric data. The ILRIS lidar system can also be operated remotely through a web interface.
For advances in airborne sensing and surveillance using mid-size to larger UAVs, Optech will discuss the features of the compact Optech Galaxy lidar system and its PulseTRAK technology, which ensures a continuous operating envelope and steady point density even in rugged terrain, vastly simplifying mission planning, and eliminating “blind zones” — overcoming a long-standing limitation inherent to lidar sensors lacking PulseTRAK technology. Galaxy is compatible with all Optech mounts for integrating digital metric cameras, enabling clients to customize their solution with the right mix of LiDAR, multispectral, LWIR, MWIR and RGB sensors for their application.
Optech will also be showcasing the Optech Titan, a commercial multispectral airborne lidar, which accomplishes highly automated land classification using its separate 532, 1064 and 1550 nm laser channels, and performs combined topographic/bathymetric mapping down to a depth of 15 meters in clear conditions.
Visitors who need rapid coastal monitoring and object detection will be particularly interested in the new Optech CZMIL Nova, Optech’s upgrade of the award-winning CZMIL airborne bathymetric mapper. CZMIL Nova maintains its predecessor’s sensing power, including its unmatched turbid water penetration, while boosting installation flexibility and cost savings with a more efficient laser and much lighter hardware, facilitating operation in smaller aircraft.
Skip Miller, UASUSA’s founder and CEO, stands with with the Tempest ET.
UASUSA will unveil its payload advancements in booth 631 at AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems 2015, held May 5-7 in Atlanta.
The new Trimble RTK high-accuracy GPS positioning system will be available through UASUSA. It covers up to 2,300 acres per flight for photo mosaic and mapping missions with manufacturer specified sub-centimeter accuracy.
UASUSA also modified its leading aircraft, the Tempest, to create the Tempest ET. The new aircraft has added payload storage interchangeable in the wing tip extensions, yet still offers the same level of stability, endurance, efficiency and aesthetics as the Tempest, UASUSA said.
The Tempest ET is designed for magnetometer use in the mining industry and offers interchangeable regular, extended and payload tips. With its 10- to 15-pound payload capacity, it may carry the Phoenix Aerial LiDAR system to cover large areas and create survey-grade point clouds.
DroneDeploy, a start-up provider of cloud-based software solutions for commercial drone operations, has launched its mobile app. The app automates drones and receive real-time, reliable, detailed aerial maps and images. Also, through a partnership with DJI, DroneDeploy’s software is now offered on the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+, making it available to end users in agriculture, real estate, mining, construction and other commercial and consumer industries.
DroneDeploy’s new mobile software lets users control drones and cameras while in flight, and is the first solution to process data, information and visuals in real-time. The solution makes simple, real-time mapping, with guaranteed accuracy and one-click automated results, available anytime, anywhere.
“DroneDeploy has created a custom mobile application for the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ that provides a remarkable live mapping platform, autonomous flight, and aerial data capture capabilities,” said Eric Cheng, general manager, DJI San Francisco and director of aerial imaging, DJI. “We are proud to partner with DroneDeploy, and are excited about the future of autonomous aerial imaging platforms.”
Using the DroneDeploy app, farmers and agronomists can now quickly assess and diagnose crop health, detect field variations, categorize yield zones and analyze NDVI outputs for smarter farming decisions. Construction and mining operators can easily generate high-resolution 3D or digital elevation models of sites and structures, and analyze plan progress to eliminate inconsistencies.
“The introduction of our mobile application marks a first in the adoption of drones for commercial use. DroneDeploy makes it possible for users without any training to access and employ drone-based aerial imagery and mapping. Our mobile app is faster, more affordable, easier and more accessible than any other solution on the market today,” said Mike Winn, DroneDeploy’s co-founder and CEO.
DroneDeploy will be exhibiting at booth 2048 at the AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems 2015, held May 5-7 in Atlanta.
Aeryon Labs, GlobalMedic and Monadrone are working together to deploy three unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in Nepal to help locate earthquake survivors. The drones are outfitted with thermal cameras and the Aeryon HDZoom30 camera, which has an extended zoom, to look at targets from more than 1,000 feet away.
On Saturday, April 25, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal — the largest quake in 81 years in the region. More than 4,000 people have died, with death tolls expected to rise as the rubble is cleared.
In response, Aeryon Labs deployed three of its sUAS (small UAS) and a qualified Aeryon pilot to the affected region. Aeryon is collaborating with partners GlobalMedic and Monadrone to provide aerial support to international disaster relief teams on the ground.
The Global Medic UAV team responded immediately to the crisis in Nepal. “sUAS provide us the unmatched capability to get onsite and into the air immediately to start determining how and where to provide support to the people,” said Rahul Singh, executive director of GlobalMedic.
Damage to, or the complete loss of, fundamental infrastructure such as airstrips and refueling facilities can make manned aircraft operations in disaster relief scenarios very challenging. Sending rescue workers into damaged structures, or rubble piles, to search for survivors also puts them in harm’s way. sUAS enable ground-based rescue teams to collect critical visual intelligence and deploy rescue resources quickly, carefully and exactly where they are most needed, the companies said.
The Aeryon HDZoom30 is a fully-integrated, ruggedized, high performance electro-optical camera payload for UAS.
The Aeryon sUAS being sent to Nepal are equipped with thermal cameras to help locate survivors by detecting body heat, as well as the companies newest imaging payload, the Aeryon HDZoom30, which can be used at extended distances to zoom in to see a target with clarity and detail. For example, operators are able to recognize a face from more than 1,000 feet (300 meters) away. The team will also undertake aerial mapping of the affected areas, building 2D and 3D maps, so that further response efforts can be planned.
“At Monadrone, we see sUAS as mission-critical tools that not only support day-to-day military, police and fire department needs, but can also play a vital role when disaster strikes,” said Robin Morris, director at Monadrone, Monaco. “The images the Aeryon sUAS will capture will enable the creation of up-to-date maps required to aid the disaster relief in Nepal.”
Aeryon sUAS were also deployed in the aftermath of the August 2014 landslide that devastated the region along the banks of the Sunkoshi River in northern Nepal. Despite the high altitude of Nepal, which is challenging for many aircraft, and the rugged terrain, Aeryon sUAS proved effective and more than up to the task.
“UAS are uniquely able to provide immediate support for disaster relief, like the earthquake in Nepal, helping rescue teams search more effectively, efficiently and safely,” Dave Kroetsch, president and CEO of Aeryon Labs, told AUVSI News. “It’s an honor to see the technology you create make such a difference. We are privileged to be able assist the aid workers who are helping the people of Nepal.”
CartoDB and DigitalGlobe are partnering to bring satellite data to mapmakers everywhere in order to help them visually explain the events and information shaping the world. The new offering will provide users of all levels with access to the latest satellite content from DigitalGlobe, enabling journalists, publishers, bloggers and web developers to easily incorporate high-resolution imagery into their online content in a matter of minutes.
CartoDB is an open-source mapping and visualization tool that allows anyone to create interactive maps with their own data. The cloud-based solution includes the CartoDB Editor, an online tool that enables anyone to analyze and visualize location data, enabling publishing features and collaboration tools. Those looking to do even more with their data can use the CartoDB Platform, a mapping engine that offers a set of APIs and libraries to help users create maps, manage their data and run geospatial analyses. For examples of maps created using CartoDB, visit the Map Gallery.
“Our collaboration with DigitalGlobe is a significant development for anyone who publishes stories about our world,” said Javier de la Torre, co-founder and CEO of CartoDB. “This partnership will democratize access to high-resolution satellite imagery and data on-demand, incorporating satellite images into interactive stories and content at an affordable price point. The combined power of DigitalGlobe’s extremely current satellite imagery and CartoDB’s easy-to-use platform will enable creative storytellers to communicate and contextualize data with the simple click of a button.”
The platform enables access to high-resolution imagery captured as recently as 24 hours ago, and archive imagery dating back to 2011. A CartoDB Enterprise account is availale.
“Seeing a better world just got easier and faster for journalists, media outlets, and researchers who want to add geospatial context to their online content,” said Josh Winer, sales manager of DigitalGlobe. “With the ease of CartoDB’s mapping tools and platform, customers of any size can quickly and easily integrate high-resolution satellite imagery into their online maps and stories. We’re thrilled to partner with CartoDB and look forward to empowering their community.”
Great view of the Pentagon while departing from the U.S. Hydro conference held in Washington, D.C.
I’ve attended five conferences in the past couple of months; Esri Water Conference (first one!), Esri Partner Conference, US Hydro 2015, APSG (Association of Petroleum Surveying & Geomatics) and the Esri Petroleum User Group (PUG) conference. It may look Esri-heavy, but the fact is that Esri is doing a really good job of organizing vertical market GIS conferences, and people are showing up. Even with crude oil prices in the cellar (relatively speaking), 1,200 people still showed up at the PUG.
There were a lot of good presentations at these conferences, and I’ll post links to some of them below. Not surprisingly, drones are a major topic of discussion at most GIS conferences. There was even a drone demo (I missed) at the Esri Partner conference showing Esri’s workflow in working with drone-collected data.
If you don’t follow me on Twitter, you might consider it. Twitter is easy and free. When I’m at a conference, I send tweets (most with a photo) in near real-time when I see something of interest. For example, I tweeted when Jack Dangermond showed up at the Esri PUG (he usually doesn’t, but did this year because it was the 25th annual conference) and had something interesting to say (read below). You can sign up for Twitter here, and then choose to follow me at https://twitter.com/GPSGIS_Eric. I get that you may be hesitant to invest any time in this, but it looks like Twitter is becoming the standard for near real-time news (as opposed to other social media such as Facebook or LinkedIn.)
Of all the new technology I’ve heard about over the past few months at these conferences, two subjects continue to excite me.
Drone Mapping. Of course, one of them is drone technology for mapping. It seems like I’ve beat this horse to death over the past few months, but it continues to get juicier and juicier. Technology development in this industry is moving really fast. It seems like new drones are being announced as frequently as new smartphones, maybe more so.
Other ancillary technologies are being developed to support commercial drone operations. For example, in my hometown (Portland, Ore.), a company called Skyward just raised $4+ million in venture capital funding to provide “professional services for UAV operations.” Essentially, the company’s software helps drone operators stay within FAA regulatory compliance.
Last year, the Oregon Unmanned Systems Business Enterprise was formed “with a two-year $882,000 state grant from the Oregon Business Development Department and the Oregon Innovation Council and will be working to match the government money with private investment and other grants.” The organization will award grants up to $75,000. The point is, the money is flowing and it’s a wide-open market.
The drone market is so wide open, in fact, that most drone companies are just buying common airframes and associated parts, putting their brand name on them, and selling them. Perhaps oversimplified, but the point is there’s not much “special sauce” (technology) being added. The manufacturers that aren’t innovating and adding valuable “special sauce” will eventually disappear. Essentially, following are the parts needed for a fixed-wing drone for mapping:
Aircraft components:
Airframe (off the shelf)
Motor (off the shelf)
Servos (off the shelf)
Propeller (off the shelf)
Radio (off the shelf)
GPS (off the shelf)
Autopilot (off the shelf)
Batteries (off the shelf)
Camera trigger (off the shelf)
Camera (off the shelf)
Ground compoments:
900-MHz controller (off the shelf)
Battery chargers (off the shelf)
Mission planning software (off the shelf)
Propeller balancer (off the shelf)
As you can see, all of these components are available off the shelf. You can order each component (maybe all of them from Amazon!), have them shipped to you, and assemble your own UAS for mapping. That said, someone who has gone through the process of building, flying and producing a valuable deliverable that you can make decisions from can add value. But, as competition increases, there’s no doubt that the companies that don’t offer much added value will not be able to operate a sustainable business.
Finally, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is being surprisingly nimble, approving “333 Exemption” requests at record pace and moving towards using a “summary grant” process to issue bulk approvals of 333 Exemption requests for commercial operations.
UAS presentation from Texas A&M University, one of six FAA-designated UAS test sites.
You may want to take a look at some of the other presentations at the APSG meeting. They were very good. Here’s a quick summary of each by Jon Stigant, long-time member of APSG:
This was a primer in LiDAR technology and methodology — while most of the paper is well understood in the survey community, it is and excellent overview. A reminder for some and a way to fill in the gaps for those not so close to this technology.
Integration of UAVs into O&G Operations — Stacey Lyle, BP (presentation forthcoming)
Stacey provided a valuable summary of the direction in which the FAA is going to regulate the emerging UAV technology. A “must read” for any company that intends to either provide or use this technology. As with most government regulation there is a lot of detail, the devil is in them. Stacey recommended that the APSG engage by developing some standards for the oil and gas industry.
Ron Hughes theme is massive data and managing it — also something of a common theme for all the talks. He focused on automating data processing and recommended a concept of doing this in an automated way with 80 percent of the data. This requires careful procedural development in collaboration with a given client’s business workflows. He gave an example of a large utility company, and how the development of an enterprise metadata server had functional impact for individual business units, but also had the knock on impact of improving inter-functional/inter-community collaboration within the enterprise.
Mike provided input on Geiger mode LiDAR, differentiating Harris’ approach from the more regular LiDAR methodology. The major difference is in data density, data frequency, volume and speed used from higher flying aircraft covering a larger area faster. Providing 10-cm accuracy and expecting 7-cm acuracy development using a/c at 25,000-ft height. Focus on fast processing of immense data volumes (pedabytes) – 24-hour delivery using Harris proprietary processing. Achieve higher density at lower cost.
Mark introduced developments in GIS associated with Common Operating Picture (COP), focusing on the combining of video and data in GIS system. DPFOS mnemonic: Data Management, Planning & Analysis, Field Mobility, Operational Awareness, Stakeholder Engagement. A new SIMOPS (SIMultaneous OperationS). The key is a single source of approved data. Examples of data required in COP from specific disciplines are provided — ROVs, shore clean-up, life of field data, asset and material tracking, live/recorded video, RT data and weather integration, “in the field’” vessel implementation.
GIS, Geospatial, Geomatics…Organizational Capability Evolution — Brian Boulmay, BP (presentation forthcoming)
Rethinking Geospatial Data Management at a major operator. One Map program — not physical, one-way provision. Focus on users vs. geospatial specialists. Users business driven, specialists IT and S driven. Geospatial data integrity and analytics – people, processes and technology. ID goals — massive deployment worldwide — has to be automated. Federated system — regions only have to deal with their own regional data, not be overwhelmed by whole enterprise on their doorstep. IT has the role of providing/maintaining a worldwide solution.
Update on Spring 2014 APSG meeting — All major networks launching satellites. Very soon will have 30 live in-view satellites (U.S., Russia, Europe and China). RTK coverage in China is the best due to BeiDou, supplemented by both Indian and Japanese systems SBAS. $100 RTK on cell phone giving centimeter accuracy eventually, and changing the commercial dynamic!
Set up for managing and analyzing LiDAR data in Global Mapper. Workflows: terrain modeling, visibility, biomass (change monitoring); asset: inspect and maintain pipelines, as-built modeling, simulation. High-accuracy at relatively low cost, outpacing regulatory management. Much public data available — earthexplorer.usgs.gov. xyz values — minimum height threshold, dense RGB point cloud (almost photographic).
Automated dashboard approach, reducing pilot distraction risk, speeding up RT transfer and operational activity reporting.
Esri Conferences
Here are a couple of neat things from the Esri conferences.
First, Jack Dangermond was his usual visionary self at the Esri PUG conference, making his appearance for the 25th annual PUG. He is a master at communicating his GIS vision.
The Evolution of GIS.
In speaking about the evolution of GIS, Mr. Dangermond spoke about the far-reaching impact of email and stated that eventually web-based GIS will be deployed organization-wide, just like email. I agree with this vision. I believe the only question is timing. Is it two years from now? Five years from now? 10 years?
Onto the less visionary and more tactical tidbits…
Of particular interest to me is high-precision GNSS in the Esri environment. A lot of people I talk to are screaming for this. What does high-precision GNSS in the Esri environment mean?
support for high-precision metadata in ArcGIS Collector (ArcPad already supports this).
support for high-precision horizontal (eventually vertical) datum transformations in ArcGIS Collector.
This is important because Esri is supporting ArcGIS Collector across all mobile platforms (Android, iOS and eventually Windows), and people want to use their smartphones and tablets. ArcPad will never run on iOS or Android, so Collector is the GIS collection tool of choice, at least for the Esri environment. It needs to support high-precision GNSS, and by the looks of the following slide, it will. It’s just a matter of timing…
ArcGIS Collector to support high-precision GNSS.
The other potentially neat product Esri announced was Navigator for ArcGIS. Imagine trying to guide a work crew to a buried valve across town (or in the next neighborhood). Displaying a system or region-wide map of valves would not be an efficient way of driving your way across town to find the valve. However, giving a crew turn-by-turn street directions to the street-level, then displaying the valves on that street section, might be a very efficient way of finding the valve.
In response to the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck central Nepal on April 25, DigitalGlobe has made high-resolution satellite imagery of the affected areas freely available online to all groups involved in the response and recovery effort through the company’s FirstLook initiative.
The below before and after images show the destruction of the nine-storey Dharahara Tower, which was built in 1832 and was a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Dharahara Tower in Kathmandu, in a DigitalGlobe satellite image taken in October 2014. (Image credit: DigitalGlobe)The Dharahara Tower is shown leveled following the earthquake (Image credit: DigitalGlobe).
Specifically, DigitalGlobe activated FirstLook, the subscription service that provides emergency management and humanitarian workers with fast, web-based access to pre- and post-event images of the impacted area. DigitalGlobe captured imagery of the area April 26 through heavy cloud cover with its WorldView-1, and WorldView-3 and GeoEye-1 satellites. WorldView-2 and WorldView-3 have been tasked to image the area again April 28. Pre-event imagery dating back to April 1 is also available to aid understanding and coordination for on-the-ground missions.
In addition, DigitalGlobe has activated Tomnod, the crowdsourcing platform that allows web-connected volunteers around the globe to help disaster response teams by mapping damage from this earthquake. While satellite imagery on its own is useful, greater benefit comes from extracting meaningful information that can be used by first responder and recovery agencies.
By visiting the Tomnod website, users can participate in the Nepal campaign by tagging damaged buildings, roads, and areas of major destruction to inform disaster response teams on the ground. Whether a person donates five minutes or five hours, anyone can analyze DigitalGlobe imagery to help make a difference.
A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck 77 kilometers (48 miles) northwest of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu at 0611 GMT on April 25, toppling office blocks and towers and killing thousands of people. More than two dozen people were also reported killed in neighboring India, China and Bangladesh.
As of April 27, the Government of Nepal reported 3,351 deaths and 6,833 injured people, according to ReliefWeb. These numbers are expected to increase further as search and rescue teams reach remote areas. Most of the deaths are recorded in Bhaktapur, Kathmandu and Lalitpur. Eight million people in 39 districts have been affected, of which over 2 million people live in the 11 severely affected districts.
The Esri disaster page is featuring news stories, video feeds, and other information about the earthquake in Nepal, on an Earthquake Public Information Map. Users can explore the locations and intensities of the various quakes that struck Nepal, along with a shakemap from the USGS. This map also includes geotagged social media from Twitter and YouTube with local content related to the quakes.
Another Esri map, Mapping the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, provides a closer look at Nepal’s history of seismic activity, and shows how people are impacted by earthquakes. This story map also includes information about relief operations and key points of interest in the region, as well as a 3D web scene of the area affected by the avalanche on Mt. Everest.
OpenStreetMap is also working to help with relief efforts. “Our goal is to contribute to humanitarian relief by rapidly providing a detailed and accurate map (i.e., road network, villages, buildings, etc.) to support the humanitarian organizations. These services help locate people at risk efficiently, and facilitate the delivery of goods and services to remote areas.”
Check back throughout the week for event updates, including news, photos, videos, tweets and more.
